English

Grooved stones first appear in the Southern Levant with the development of the Natufian culture (~15,000 - 12,000 BP). These tools come in a variety of shapes and sizes; however, they share in common the presence of an intentionally manufactured groove. This thesis focuses on a few types of grooved stones, specifically, those which are often considered to be straighteners for arrow-shafts. If this interpretation is correct, then these tools represent the only clear evidence of the bow and arrow prior to the Neolithic (~12,000 - 6,500 BP), which has implications for our understanding of changing hunting strategies in the millennia leading up to the origins of agriculture. Using an experimental and use-wear approach, I analyse a sample of grooved stones from three Natufian and Neolithic sites in Northern Israel, the results of which generally support the arrow-shaft straightener interpretation. Furthermore, by placing grooved stones in their broader technological context, it becomes apparent that they represent progression and diversification of long-range projectile weapons, which likely existed even earlier in time

Author Keywords: grooved stones, Natufian, Neolithic, PPNB, use-wear analysis

Changes in climate and land-use practices are leading to higher peak flows and increased transport capacity of channel substrate. Semi-alluvial streams underlain by bedrock or clay were examined to understand the potential impacts of alluvium loss on the biological community and overall productive capacity of semi-alluvial rivers. More specifically, this research investigates the productivity of gravels, bedrock, and consolidated clay, through the biomass and density of periphyton, coarse particulate organic matter, benthic invertebrates, and fish. The ecological approach undertaken demonstrates the relationships among each trophic level and linkages to productive capacity between different substrate types. Significant results were detected at the stream type level and substrate level. Bedrock-based streams were overall more productive in terms of CPOM, biomass and density of benthos in comparison to clay-based streams. Stream reaches with small to large areas of exposed bedrock or clay at the site level did not differ to areas with 100% gravel coverage in the comparison of any variable, including stream fishes. At the substrate level, gravels demonstrated the highest productive capacity in comparison to bedrock and clay substrates. CPOM biomass in gravels compared to bedrock and clay at a ratio of 30:14:1, respectively. Biomass of benthic invertebrates also demonstrated a higher productivity on gravels with a ratio of 59:19:1 in comparison to bedrock and clay, respectively. Positive relationships between CPOM and benthic invertebrate biomass were detected in both stream types.

Relationships were also detected between fish biomass and benthic invertebrate biomass. Examination of benthic fishes also demonstrated positive relationships with benthic invertebrate biomass and density. Clay substrate on all accounts supported little biota. Results indicate alluvium loss in clay bed streams could reduce productive capacity. Understanding and integration of the potential impacts of alluvium loss would aid management and No Net Loss compensation plans to protect fisheries resources in semi-alluvial streams.

This thesis presents an assessment of the role of culture in the political marginalization and the socio-economic violence and abuse against women in Zambia. It also explores other contributing factors such as the country's economic crisis of the 1970s, and its colonial legacy, especially in as far as these factors related to the status of women and contributed to the issue of violence and abuse against them. The study utilized primary sources in the form of newspaper articles from the year 1980 to the mid-1990s, to make conclusions for its findings. While previous scholarship emphasized that the violent abuse of women in the country was prevalent because of the highly patriarchal attitudes of the society, this thesis seeks to suggest that the context of violence, abuse and the political marginalization of Zambian women was shaped by an intersection of various elements some of which were not necessarily patriarchal by nature. Furthermore, the thesis explores women's agency in this issue to show that patriarchal systems are not as fixed and uncontested as has been assumed to be the case.

Author Keywords: Abuse, Culture, Political Marginalization, Tradition, Violence, Zambia

Interactions between hosts and pathogens play a crucial role in their adaptation, evolution and persistence. These interactions have been extensively studied in model organisms, yet it is unclear how well they represent mechanisms of disease response in primary vectors in natural settings. The objective of my thesis was to investigate host-pathogen interactions in natural host populations exposed to raccoon rabies virus (RRV). RRV is endemic to North America, that causes acute encephalopathies in mammals and is commonly regarded as 100% lethal if untreated; however variable immune responses have been noted in natural reservoirs. In order to further understand variable immune responses to RRV, my thesis examined (i) potential immunogenetic associations to RRV using genes intimately associated with an immune response, (ii) the nature of immune responses triggered in the host after infection, and (iii) viral expression and genetic variation, to provide insight into factors that may influence RRV virulence.

Immunogenetic variation of RRV vectors was assessed using major histocompatibility complex (MHC) DRB alleles. Associations were found between specific MHC alleles, RRV status, and viral lineages. Further, similarities at functionally relevant polymorphic sites in divergent RRV vector species, raccoons and skunks, suggested that both species recognize and bind a similar suite of peptides, highlighting the adaptive significance of MHC and contemporary selective pressures.

To understand mechanisms of disease spread and pathogenesis, I screened for variation and expression of genes indicative of innate immune response and patterns of viral gene expression. RRV activated components of the innate immune system, with transcript levels correlated with the presence of RRV. These data indicate that timing of the immune response is crucial in pathogenesis. Expression patterns of viral genes suggest they are tightly controlled until reaching the central nervous system (CNS), where replication increases significantly. These results suggest previous molecular mechanisms for rabies host response derived from mouse models do not strictly apply to natural vector populations. Overall my research provides a better understanding of the immunological factors that contribute to the pathogenesis of RRV in a natural system.

Author Keywords: immune response, major histocompatibility complex, rabies, raccoons, skunks, virus

Site fidelity is the behaviour of individuals to return to the same location; for female woodland caribou it may reflect reproductive success and depend on habitat quality. I investigated the influence of landscape and disturbance conditions on fidelity among three populations in Manitoba and Ontario, Canada. Habitat classifications were based on Forest Resource Inventory (FRI) and Landsat TM landcover maps. A total of 261 sites were ground-truthed to determine mapping accuracy. An amalgamated map incorporating FRI and Landsat TM data was estimated from field measurements to have an overall accuracy of 69.0%. Site fidelity was expressed as the distance between consecutive-year locations of individuals and was investigated during five week-long periods representing calving, early and late post-calving, winter, and breeding. Site fidelity was strongest during the post-calving seasons and weakest during the winter. Habitat had little influence on site fidelity in all seasons, excepting winter, even under highly disturbed conditions, suggesting maintenance of fidelity may be a maladaptive trait. Individual variation proved a strong predictor and cursory mapping indicated that caribou may return to sites visited two or more years earlier. Conservation management and policy should recognize that site fidelity may represent an ecological trap.

Author Keywords: calving, disturbance, habitat, movement, Rangifer tarandus caribou, site fidelity

Selenide is cited as a geochemically important selenium (Se) species, but it is unknown whether selenide is a stable aqueous ion in natural waters. The feasibility of using anoxic anion exchange chromatography (AEC) coupled to dynamic reaction cell-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry to separate aqueous selenide was investigated with the goal of quantifying this anion to determine its importance in reducing waters.

It was possible to qualitatively identify selenide using AEC, but much of the aqueous selenide oxidises to Se0 faster than the separation procedure could be completed. AEC analyses of solutions containing polyselenides produced peaks for unidentified Se compounds, which have been assigned tentative structures Se2O22-, Se2O32-, and Se2O62- based on close matches in retention time to stable S compounds.

The results of this work show that aqueous selenide can be qualitatively observed in synthetic solutions using AEC, but it is unknown whether these conditions are relevant to natural waters.

Author Keywords: anoxic speciation, polyselenides, selenide, selenium geochemistry, selenium speciation, selenoselenate

With the exponential growth of the Internet, performance is an issue as bandwidth is often limited. A scalable solution to reduce the amount of bandwidth required is Web caching. Web caching (especially at the proxy-level) has been shown to be quite successful at addressing this issue. However as the number and needs of the clients grow, it becomes infeasible and inefficient to have just a single Web cache. To address this concern, the Web caching system can be set up in a distributed manner, allowing multiple machines to work together to meet the needs of the clients. Furthermore, it is also possible that further efficiency could be achieved by balancing the workload across all the Web caches in the system. This thesis investigates the benefits of load balancing in a distributed Web caching environment in order to improve the response times and help reduce bandwidth.

Author Keywords: adaptive load sharing, Distributed systems, Load Balancing, Simulation, Web Caching

A presidential spouse in an era of rigid gender norms, Jacqueline Kennedy frequently straddled the divide between celebrity, social acceptability, and personal desire. Yet, history remembers America's thirty-seventh First Lady more for her fashion and soft-spoken nature. Forgotten is that she was a `transitional' figure, who oversaw America's largest restoration of the White House and served as a `goodwill ambassador' for her husband. When three gunshots brought their tenure to an abrupt end, Jackie's focus shifted and she fixated on the creation of a legacy that immortalized JFK. `Camelot,' is a construct almost exclusively conceived and executed by the former First Lady. In this vein, the coming exploration delves into the private actions of Jackie during her time in as First Lady, contrasting them sharply with her public image. What emerges is a portrait the world seldom saw: one driven by raw intellect and a desire to be of service to her husband and country.

Author Keywords: Camelot, First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Restoration, White House

This thesis is an attempt to explore the role that musical texts played in the development of a public by writing a work of fiction and then applying to it a critical exegesis. Part One, the literary text Some Of This Is True, (re-)creates and remembers punk in its iteration in Regina, Saskatchewan, in the late 1970s. Part two, the critical exegesis, examines how the theories of public formation outlined in Michael Warner's Publics and Counterpublics can partially explain the creation and behaviour of publics, but not entirely. Similarly Mikhail Bahktin's theory of carnival helps explain punk, but not entirely. Some gaps can be filled partly with theory borrowed from art history that reveals useful links between punk and Continental art movements; Michel Foucault's concept of heterotopia fills other gaps. Literature fills the rest.

Author Keywords: Creative Writing, Heterotopia, Michael Warner, Michel Foucault, Mikhail Bakhtin, Punk & Punks

This thesis examined the applicability of the sexual self-control model to men, which resulted in the creation and analysis of a new two-dimensional sexual double standard scale. In Study 1, a sample of 124 men completed the Self-Control Schedule assessing general learned resourcefulness, the Sexual Resourcefulness Inventory, Sexual Self-efficacy Scale, Reasons for Consenting to Unwanted Sexual Advances Scale, and the Sexual Giving-in Experiences Survey. Contrary to expectations based on female samples, lower sexual resourcefulness was not a unique predictor of consenting to unwanted sexual advances in men. Instead, a mediation model was supported whereby men having more reasons for consenting to unwanted sexual advances were more likely to comply despite having higher levels of sexual resourcefulness skills. Concurrent with Study 1, 11 men were interviewed in Study 2 to further examine their giving-in to unwanted sexual advances, reasons for consenting, and sexual resourcefulness, but men shifted the conversation toward the sexual double standard despite scoring neutral to a quantitative sexual double standard measure in the survey of Study 1. Therefore, a new sexual double standard scale was created based on the content of the interviews. Study 3 examined the new scale's psychometric properties and its association with sexual consenting. The findings revealed that the new scale was best represented by two dimensions: personal attitudes and peer responses. Neither of these two subscales uniquely predicted giving-in to unwanted sexual advances, but were significantly associated with several key variables differentially.

Author Keywords: learned resourcefulness, sexual double standard, sexual health, sexual resourcefulness, sexual script theory, unwanted sex