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2023 — Putting the pieces together: Client experiences of intuition in counsellingAbstract
Intuition is when we know something but are unable to determine how we know it. It is an automatic and unconscious process that influences our decision-making. In counselling, this can be a helpful tool, as long as biases are mitigated. There are studies that address intuition used in clinical practice and psychology. However, there is a lack of research in social work practice, especially focusing on exploring intuition from the clients’ perspective. Guided by an overarching research question “what are the clients’ experiences when intuition is used in a session by a professional counsellor?”, this study addressed the phenomenon of … Read more
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2023 — Exploring the work-related experiences of retail workers in Saskatchewan: A critical narrative studyAbstract
The retail industry is predominant in providing goods and services to customers worldwide. For example, studies have found that more than 10% of employees work in the retail sector in Canada. However, frontline retail employees experience considerable challenges, such as mistreatment and hostility from managers. Yet, research has generally failed to explore the nature of those challenges or offer strategies to address them. Using a narrative inquiry/approach methodology, the study explored the work-related experiences and conditions of four frontline retail workers at a Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada store. The study drew on critical theory and social justice theory as theoretical lenses … Read more
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2023 — Exploring grief among Canadian Indigenous women who have experienced perinatal loss: Interactions with the healthcare systemAbstract
This study aimed to understand the experiences of Canadian Indigenous women who experienced perinatal loss and how their interactions with the healthcare system impacted their healing process. Perinatal loss can lead to unacknowledged grief, and the lack of specialized support within the healthcare system often leaves women to grieve alone. Women from low income families are more vulnerable to pregnancy loss, adding to the stressors that this population already endures. A qualitative approach was used to interview four women and two healthcare workers about their experiences receiving and providing care for perinatal loss. The findings highlighted the importance of acknowledging … Read more
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2023 — Embryonic thermal stress and its effect on the stress response during embryogenesis and early life stages in yellow perch (Perca flavescens)Abstract
Temperature is one of the most influential abiotic factors that affects every aspect of biology. Currently, the combination of climate change, and the widespread use of once-through cooling systems in industrial facilities, has resulted in an increase in thermal plume production and temperature variability in aquatic environments. Changes in the thermal environment can have drastic changes on fish biology, due to their ectothermic nature, especially during key stages of development when the formation of vital structures and organogenesis is occurring. Less focus has been put on examining the heat shock response (HSR) in cool water, spring spawners such as yellow … Read more
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2023 — An evaluation on electronic waste management and product stewardship programs in North AmericaAbstract
Electronic waste (E-waste) has been extensively investigated by researchers throughout the globe, however specific research trends in North America (NA) are yet unknown. The first part of the study attempts to present an up-to-date bibliometric view of e-waste studies and to identify the research sub-fields and networks. A total of 271 documents were retrieved from the Web of Science (WoS) database (from 2001 to 2022). E-waste research topic that originated from NA, as well as its relative growth rate, collaborative measures, institutional productivity, and the popular journals were evaluated in this bibliometric analysis. The first part of the study showed … Read more
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2023 — On Koszul duality between polynomial and exterior algebrasAbstract
In this thesis we will study Ext-algebras over a polynomial and exterior algebra. We prove the classical fact that the Ext-algebra over a polynomial algebra is exterior and the Ext-algebra over an exterior algebra is polynomial, using the tautological Koszul complex. We also give a proof using Koszul duality for algebras. Read more
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2023 — Constraint propagation and variable ordering heuristics for solving Constrained Partial CP-netsAbstract
Representing, reasoning and finding Pareto optimal solutions from users' qualitative conditional preferences is one of the interesting research topics in Artificial Intelligence(AI). A conditional Preference Network (CP-net) is one of the extensively used graph models to represent these conditional preferences. Based on user-specific partial order for every value of a set of variables, a CP-net is constructed in ceteris paribus (all else being equal). A Partial CP-net can be used if a user does not specify the order for every variable value. The Search-Partial-CP algorithm can be used for reasoning and producing a set of Pareto optimal solutions from the … Read more
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2023 — Integrated optimization of hybrid steam-solvent injection in post-CHOPS reservoirs with wormhole networks and foamy oil behaviour under uncertaintyAbstract
As for the enormous heavy oil resources deposited in Western Canada, cold heavy oil production with sand (CHOPS) has achieved a low recovery about 5-15% of the originaloil- in-place (OOIP), though both its in-situ generated open channels (i.e., wormholes) and induced foamy oil lead to a higher oil recovery than expected. Hybrid steam-solvent injection has been considered as the most effective recovery method for heavy oil reservoirs; however, the existence of wormhole networks makes it technically and operationally challenging and foamy oil may be artificially induced. Physically, geological uncertainty needs to be considered appropriately with respect to wormhole networks and … Read more
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2023 — Modeling of volumetric changes in cracked expansive soilsAbstract
Extensive damages to civil infrastructure occur due to volumetric deformations in expansive soils. Deformations in this class of sediments are affected by variations in soil properties, surface conditions, antecedent water, and meteorological parameters. Ground shifting is further aggravated by the presences of cracks originating from cycles of hydration-dehydration, freeze-thaw, and glacial advance-retreat. This research is focused on developing a clear understanding of modelling volumetric changes in cracked expansive soils. For this purpose, a representative expansive soil from Regina having a high water adsorption capacity (liquid limit of 77% and plastic limit of 27%) along with hairline cracks was characterized to … Read more
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2023 — Sedimentologic and lithostratigraphic properties and reservoir characterization of the Winnipeg Formation, Southern SaskatchewanAbstract
The Winnipeg Formation is a Late Ordovician siliciclastic unit that occurs in subsurface of SE Saskatchewan. Deposition of the formation took place on the northern shelf of the sub-circular intracratonic Williston Basin. In the study area, the formation consists of two members: a lower sandstone-dominated Black Island Member and an upper shale-dominated Icebox Member. Core and well-log data from twenty-one wells, along with a detailed petrographic study of rock samples from the cores, have been collected, described, integrated, and interpreted. Textural properties, sedimentary structures, temporal stacking nature of the various lithofacies, and spatial correlation of the logged sections are significant … Read more
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2023 — Quantification of crops' consistency on corn fields using robust deep learning modelsAbstract
Inconsistent crops across large fields lead to lower overall crop productivity. Traditional methods for evaluating the consistency of crops, such as manual inspection of a predefined sample area to determine plant stand count, crop coverage, and spacing, are time-consuming and inaccurate, leading to insufficient analysis of the crops’ status and poor decision-making. Despite the recent technological advancement in the agricultural management system, an automated approach to assess multiple parameters has not been thoroughly explored. This thesis aims to develop a vision-based framework to identify uneven crop distribution areas and quantify the consistency of crops across different fields under natural conditions. … Read more
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2023 — World class manufacturing during prototyping for productionAbstract
The transition from prototype to production affects impacts cost and scalability and contributes to the organizational culture. Since, the implementation of World Class Manufacturing (WCM) during prototyping has not been well document; this thesis examines applying WCM tools and techniques to foster a Lean culture by selecting, and optimizing the assembly process, integrating Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, developing standard operating procedures, continually improving processes and adapting facility layouts, along with assessing ergonomic factors. The management team selected a modular assembly which allowed uncoupling workstations, un-synchronizing movements, improving changeability for agility, and lowering lead times. The effect balanced the production … Read more
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2023 — Fusions of association schemesAbstract
Since their introduction as symmetric coherent configurations by Bose and Mesner in 1959, association schemes have gained significant importance in algebraic combinatorics. An important breakthrough was achieved by Delsarte’s PhD thesis where he proved that many problems from coding theory, combinatorial design theory and statistics can be treated using the concept of association schemes [12]. Since its initial introduction, many algebraists and graph theorists have been studying the existence, construction and generalizations of various association schemes [1, 3, 7, 8, 17, 19, 28, 29, 30]. Because of their impressive construction, association schemes are useful to these subjects and there is … Read more
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2023 — Carbon capture, utlization, and storage supply chain risk management framework developmentAbstract
Technology called Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) is important for capturing CO2 emissions before they get into the air. Because everyone wants to stop global warming by reducing CO2 emissions, CCUS is an important and emerging technology that can help slow down climate change, lower emissions in many areas, and support the move to a sustainable and carbon-neutral future. As CCUS technology and its adaptation increases, it is very important to pay attention to the CCUS risks from the supply chain (SC) point of view. The ultimate goal of this study is to is to identify CCUS supply chain … Read more
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2023 — Policy issue networks: Social network analysis case studiesAbstract
This research demonstrates that Social Network Analysis (SNA) can be a powerful, proactive tool for policy makers to understand the online policy networks in which they operate. It does so by undertaking SNA at two points in time to quantify the actor nodes of three Canadian public policy networks, comparing the network evolution over time, and visualizing their structure and relationships with related policy issues. The three Canadian policy case study subjects are cannabis legalization, nuclear energy development, and the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion project (TMX). The cases were selected for their current social importance and national concern, and complexity … Read more
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2023 — Crystallography of Pharmaceuticals: Ways to improve efficiency and assessing the fragment-based approach for enhanced polymorph discriminationAbstract
Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) crystallography is an emerging method that combines experimental and computational data to perform various characterization tasks, such as structure determination, validation, and refinement. NMR crystallography can be used to determine the crystal structures of chemicals even when other experimental methods, such as X-ray diffraction, cannot. Here, we discuss aspects of computational modeling at the Density Functional Theory (DFT) level. Specifically, we calculated NMR parameters such as magnetic shielding values. Most often, we will be looking at 1H magnetic shielding values, as they are associated with the hydrogen atoms that are regularly involved in the intermolecular interactions … Read more
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2023 — The things of nowAbstract
The Things of Now uses a blend of creative non-fiction and poetry to explore what it means to live in this contemporary moment. The work can be considered a memoir, one which is guided by Patricia’s Hampl’s insight that the self can be transformed into an instrument of observation. Covering aspects of my formative years living in post-apartheid South Africa, my time spent as a member of the professional managerial class in Cape Town as an adult, and my shift into economic precarity as a graduate student in Canada, the thesis touches upon my gradual awakening to the forces, both … Read more
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2023 — Analyzing the effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines among different age groups using multinomial logistic regression modelAbstract
This study is conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines in different age groups in Saskatchewan, Canada. Data was collected between September 2021 and December 2021, and a statistical method called multinomial logistic regression was used to analyze the relationships between multiple categorical variables. In this study, the categorical variables were the age groups and the vaccination status (fully vaccinated cases, partially vaccinated cases, and unvaccinated cases) of the individuals with the interaction effect of rate of cases. The mathematical proof for the multinomial logistic regression model with interaction effect was derived in this study. The study demonstrated the … Read more
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2023 — Detection of DoS and DDoS attacks on 5G network slices using deep learning approachAbstract
A new degree of connectedness and interaction has been introduced by the development of 5G networks. By dividing a physical network into several logical networks, 5G network slicing is a special feature that gives network operators the ability to allocate specific resources and services to various applications and customers. However, 5G network slicing is susceptible to cyberattacks, particularly Denial-of-Service (DoS) or Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks, just like any other network. Such attacks can have a significant negative effect on network performance, degrading services and reducing the availability of slices. The primary objective of this thesis is to examine the impact … Read more
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2023 — A decision-making system for medical transportation mode using machine learning methodsAbstract
There is number of complicated operations in freight transportation system to cover customer demands in the world. Nowadays, companies have huge competition to fulfill customer needs and get a higher level of performance in freight transportation. Transportation mode has been considered as one of the components that has influence on service levels of freight transportation. Road, sea, air are popular modes of transportation which have different features and unique benefits. They also have various costs, different emissions in environment and risks in society. People use these transportation modes based on their needs, but they do have some advantages and disadvantages. … Read more
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2023 — Surface electromyography signal classification using SFDN+DNN for hand gesture recognitionAbstract
In this thesis, a novel Deep Learning approach to classify the Surface Electromyography (SEMG) signals for hand movement recognition is presented and compared to the other approaches in the literature. EMG or muscle’s cells electrical activity are the electrical signals that are carried from the brain to the muscles through the spinal cord. These signals can be recorded and used to measure the activity of muscles. The concept is to measure the signals of different movements for healthy individuals, classify and train the signals, and use the trained model to predict the movements of individuals suffering from disability. The classifier … Read more
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2023 — Gender differences in Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers’ mental health: The role of sexual victimizationAbstract
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) is Canada’s national police service, comprised of over 19,000 police officers (21.7% women) who work to prevent and solve crime, uphold the law, and ensure the safety and security of Canadian citizens (RCMP, 2021). The paramilitary roots and structure of the RCMP are evident in the organizational culture (Bastarache, 2020; RCMP, 2018). Military and police cultures tend to be hegemonically masculine, suggesting the same is likely true for the RCMP (Angehrn et al., 2021; McCristall & Baggaley, 2019; Prokos & Padavic, 2002; Workman-Stark, 2015). Hegemonic masculinity is a theoretical construct that refers to the … Read more
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2023 — Structural analysis of the north-central Glennie Domain and controls on gold mineralization in the Santoy Gap Hanging Wall deposit, Seabee area, northern SaskatchewanAbstract
The Glennie Domain of northern Saskatchewan, centrally located within the Reindeer zone of the 1.9-1.8 Ga Tans-Hudson orogen, is a poly-deformed terrane with evidence of at least four phases of ductile deformation and resultant complex fold interference patterns. The domain also hosts the only producing gold mine in Saskatchewan, Seabee Gold Operation, currently producing from the Santoy deposits situated along a splay of the Tabbernor fault zone. This thesis presents results of structural study at a range of scales and involves two main components: a broad-scale analysis of the structural geology of the central Glennie Domain, coupled with detailed mapping … Read more
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2023 — A narrative exploration of the right to health in the lives of Indigenous womenAbstract
This study explores, through critical narrative analysis, the understanding of Indigenous women about conditions that they need to be healthy, and how their stories and reflections provide a critique that can inform thinking around the right to health. Literature from varied disciplinary perspectives describes the right to health, and a body of health human rights, as conceptual tools that identify the conditions all people require to be healthy, encompassing not just health care and access to material goods, but equality, culture, power and participation. Literature also provides some critique of human rights, and indicates that their alignment with dominant discourses … Read more
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2023 — Design and validation of a data-driven infrastructure decision and planning framework for improving climate resiliency of small municipalities and rural communitiesAbstract
The Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change calls for local governments to be the drivers toward resilient communities concerning climate change. Resilient municipalities must make decisions incorporating climate change to reinvest in an aging infrastructure network. The challenge is that small municipalities need access to information or the capacity to make informed decisions. Expenses related to specialized engineering for asset management and prioritization are a high cost for the municipality, where the municipality may see the value in prioritizing the funds toward operations and maintenance practices. In response to this challenge, a framework is created and presented to summarize this concept … Read more
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2023 — Evaluation of anxiety treatment for children through online education (ACE)Abstract
Child anxiety is very common and can potentially have lasting, harmful effects. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is an effective treatment for child anxiety, but access to traditionally delivered (i.e., face-to-face) CBT is limited. Low-intensity interventions are more accessible to families and less time-consuming for therapists, allowing for therapists to help more families. Anxiety Treatment for Children Through Online Education (ACE) is a low-intensity, therapist-guided, parent-directed, Internetdelivered cognitive behavioural therapy (ICBT) intervention for child anxiety. The implementation of ACE has yet to be comprehensively evaluated. This intervention is relatively unique within the field. Past research on ACE has aimed to investigate … Read more
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2023 — Design optimization of sloshing tank using weakly compressible mesh free modelAbstract
In this study, the sloshing of the middle-baffled tank and non-baffled water tank under different external excitation frequencies and amplitudes. It was simulated and analyzed using the Weakly Compressible Moving Particle Explicit (WCMPE) method under condition of high-precision simulation data. Through the conversion of simulated data and images, the effects of baffle configuration, external excitation frequency and excitation amplitude, the effects of liquid sloshing were analyzed. The results showed that half-proportional baffles caused more complex liquid sloshing, which resulted in the dampening of the liquid slosh. On the other hand, it has been observed that the sloshing of the water … Read more
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2023 — Numerical simulation and optimization of cyclic and continuous fluid injection for geothermal energy recoveryAbstract
Geothermal energy is a viable solution for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating climate change. It has a wide geographic distribution, requires little exploration and operation costs, and has virtually no carbon emissions. This renewable energy source can generate electricity, provide direct heating and cooling, and even be utilized for agricultural and industrial processes. It can be harnessed at any scale, from individual buildings to large-scale power plants, and is available in many parts of the world. In addition, the operation and maintenance costs of geothermal energy resources are relatively low, making it a cost-effective alternative to other energy production … Read more
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2023 — An exploratory consideration of cognition and physiology in athletes following concussionAbstract
A mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), colloquially known as a concussion, is an injury of the brain that often results in significant functional impairment for days, weeks, or even months. While the most common symptoms of concussion have been well documented and studies frequently note a deficit in either higher-level cognitive functioning and autonomic physiological control, there is a lack of research describing the effect of concussion on executive functioning and heart rate variability (HRV). The aim of this study was to address gaps in literature by describing changes in an individual’s executive functioning and physiology simultaneously following a concussion … Read more
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2023 — Characterization of fracture networks using tracer tests in a hydrocarbon reservoirAbstract
In a hydrocarbon reservoir, natural and/or hydraulic fractures can not only provide main paths for fluid flow and increase formation permeability, but also complicate flow behaviour and production performance. Tracer tests have been widely used for reservoir characterization to determine residual oil saturation, reservoir wettability, and fluid flow paths; however, few attempts have been made to characterize complex fracture networks by quantifying tracer transport behaviour due to the associated technical challenges including the composite effects of fluid flow and geomechanical dynamics, fracture geometries, and tracer transport mechanisms. It is, therefore, of fundamental and practical significance to quantitatively identify such fracture … Read more
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2023 — Statistical models in ecological and health economic dataAbstract
Different statistical models can be used interdisciplinary areas such as health studies, epidemiology, biology, etc., Traditional models can allow for analysis in different ways. Data on methylmercury (MeHg) concentrations and other environment parameters were collected between 2006 to 2012 from wetlands in the prairie pothole region in Saskatchewan by members of the Department of Biology, University of Regina. Data for health studies were collected from previous researchers (such as Endovascular Therapy Following Imaging Evaluation for Ischemic Stroke from Albers, G.W., et. al.). My research goal was to use statistical models to provide researchers in other fields with some ideas and … Read more
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2023 — Saskatchewan fossils inform the timing and ecological evolution of extant arthropod lineagesAbstract
Questions remain regarding the evolutionary and ecological history of insects, in part due to their low potential for fossilization. There is a 16-million-year gap in the insect fossil record surrounding the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) mass extinction (~66 Ma), a catastrophe that shaped the subsequent evolution of modern biotic communities. The rarity of insect fossils near the K-Pg boundary limits our understanding of how insect lineages were impacted by this event and latter half of the Angiosperm Terrestrial Revolution (100–50 Ma). Here, I report a diverse amber assemblage from the Late Cretaceous (67.04 ± 0.16 Ma) of the Big Muddy Badlands, Canada … Read more
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2023 — “Vacation for Victory!” British Columbia’s call for a Women’s Land Army during the Second World War and the prairie women who answeredAbstract
During the Second World War, Canada experienced a shortage of agricultural workers. After a decade of economic depression, the appeal of well-paying factory jobs or a position in the armed forces pulled many young men and women away from rural areas. While each province strived to maximize food production in agricultural regions with a depleted labour force, only British Columbia and Ontario instituted a Provincial Women's Land Army. However, while Ontario's Farm Labour Program quickly gained momentum, British Columbia experienced difficulty in recruiting women from within their province to engage in fruit farming and orchard labour. Reaching out of province, … Read more
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2023 — ‘Return on[boarding] investment’: Exploring volunteer onboarding experiences on newcomer behaviours and implications for volunteer board performanceAbstract
Exploration of the onboarding experiences (OE) of newcomer volunteers in a volunteer leadership context is lacking in current volunteer management and governance research. Through a lens of socialization and self-efficacy principles, this study aims to address whether OE can be an interceding influence for newcomer behaviours and motivations. The level at which an individual is onboarded (Bauer, 2010) and the exchange between existing employees and newcomers, affects attitudinal aspects of the individual toward the role that they uphold (Sluss & Thompson, 2012). Increasing the knowledge base about the implications of onboarding practices within a volunteer context allows for more discernment … Read more
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2023 — Understanding dependance on institutions and wellbeing: A mixed-methods study of institutional betrayalAbstract
Individuals rely on institutions (e.g., health care systems, legal systems, universities) for a wide range of important needs. Too often, institutions betray those who rely on them by failing to protect or respond appropriately to individuals who have experienced traumatic events, further compounding the harm of traumatic stress. This is known as institutional betrayal (Smith & Freyd, 2014). While studies on interpersonal betrayal have found that victims who have higher levels of dependence on their abusers experience greater negative impacts to their wellbeing, this association has not yet been directly examined in relationships in which the perpetrator of harm is … Read more
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2023 — Effects of a global pandemic on the collection and disposal of municipal solid wasteAbstract
The COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns had significant effects on solid waste management, which has received greater research focus during this time due to the infectious nature of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. As such, in the first part of the study, SARIMA models were developed to predict residential waste collection rates (RWCR) across four North American jurisdictions before and during the pandemic. Unlike waste disposal rates, RWCR is relatively less sensitive to the changes in COVID-19 regulatory policies and administrative measures, making RWCR more appropriate for crossjurisdictional comparisons. It is hypothesized that the use of RWCR in forecasting models will … Read more
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2023 — Part-aware vehicle re-identification using harder negative aware triplet loss and attention embedded learnable resizerAbstract
Vehicle re-identification is identifying and position referencing a vehicle of interest through images or video streams collected using a network of camera stations. This task is crucial in intelligent transportation systems and smart city development. However, vehicle re-identification poses a difficult problem due to various challenges, including intra-class variations, inter-class similarities, and near duplicate pairs. These challenges lead to a considerable false-positive rate in retrieved candidates. This research aims to design and develop a robust deep-learning-based vehicle re-identification system to address these challenges. Effective training of deep learning models requires image down-scaling in preprocessing step, which can lead to a … Read more
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2023 — Training agents to play cooperative games: A reinforcement learning approachAbstract
Due to recent advances in research on reinforcement learning, self-learning agents are capable of accomplishing numerous kinds of tasks in complex environments without any prior knowledge. Recently, deep reinforcement learning algorithms have shown promising results in game-playing tasks that were previously impractical, including playing video games directly from raw screen pixels. In this project, we created a game engine for a card game called “The Mind”, and used reinforcement learning techniques in order to train agents to master this game. The Mind is a multi-player cooperative card game with the challenge of synchronizing the agents’ actions. We used Q-learning and … Read more
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2023 — Metal culvert renewal prioritization framework development: A study for Saskatchewan HighwaysAbstract
Saskatchewan comprises over 250,000 km (160,000 mi) of roads, the highest length of road surface compared to any other Canadian province. Along these roads, over 26,500 culverts have been installed for passaging water flow. Some of which have been installed over a century ago with no recorded installation dates. The failure of culverts, caused by a wide range of factors such as environmental, structural, or material failures, can result in sudden and catastrophic consequences, leading to injuries or loss of life. Additionally, damaged culverts can negatively impact water quality by causing erosion and scour, as well as impeding the passage … Read more
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2023 — Role of physiologically relevant hypoxia in neural stem and progenitor cell proliferation, migration and differentiation into oligodendrocytesAbstract
Stem cells are undifferentiated cells, defined by their capability to self-renew and differentiate to give rise to different cells of the body. Neural stem and progenitor cells are a type of multipotent stem cell capable of giving rise to the cells of the mature central nervous system (CNS): neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. The mechanism by which various factors influence stem fate is of wide interest, as these cells play a key role in development, and have a potential role in repair of CNS injury. I investigated the role of physiologically relevant hypoxic levels as a driving force for the proliferation … Read more
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2023 — Heavy oil recovery by combined solvent and hot water (CS-HW) injection: Experimental, numerical and data mining-based analysisAbstract
In this study, a hybrid EOR process is developed and optimized in a two-well configuration for heavy-oil recovery which combines solvent injection using different solvents such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and propane (C3H8) with a moderate reservoir heating by hot-water flooding (HWF) as a solution to enhanced heavy oil recovery (EHOR), reduce energy consumption, and improved solvent retrieval efficiency. The combined injection of solvent and hot water offers several advantages including reduction of energy consumption compared to steam-based thermal EOR methods, and reduction of solvent volume required to reduce the viscosity of heavy oil. The proposed hybrid EOR … Read more
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2023 — Impact of an online discussion forum on self-guided internet-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy for Canadian public safety personnel: A randomized trialAbstract
First responders and other public safety personnel (PSP) are at elevated risk of experiencing potentially psychologically traumatic events, mental disorders, and barriers to accessing mental healthcare. Internet-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy (ICBT) is an effective and accessible treatment for various common mental disorders. Therapistguided ICBT is more effective than self-guided ICBT, but self-guided ICBT is easier to implement on a large scale. Designing self-guided ICBT to be more engaging for users has been recommended to improve engagement and outcomes. One way to engage users is to provide them with access to an online discussion forum. Self-guided ICBT interventions that have included … Read more
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2023 — Psychometric evaluation of observational tools in the assessment of pain in older adults with severe dementiaAbstract
Specialized observational tools that assess pain in specific patient populations (e.g., older adults living with dementia, people with developmental disabilities) or that assess specific types of pain in populations with limited ability to communicate (e.g., orofacial pain) are available and routinely used in clinical practice and research settings. This investigation involved the comparison of various observational pain assessment tools in the assessment of pain in people with dementia. Despite available psychometric evaluations, it has not been demonstrated that observational pain assessment tools, specifically developed for patients with moderate to severe dementia, are better equipped to assess various types of pain … Read more
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2023 — koskon âtâyohkan: Healing the integration of intergenerational trauma and addictionsAbstract
This qualitative research delved into the recovery experiences from substance use disorder among nine Indigenous participants with co-occurring intergenerational trauma (IGT). Prompted by the health disparities Indigenous people face, particularly from the lingering trauma of the Indian Residential School (IRS) system, the study aimed to understand the intersection of IGT with addiction recovery. The absence of culturally congruent treatment initiatives in current approaches necessitates this exploration. Utilizing the Nêhiýaw Methodological Framework grounded in phenomenology, participants’ narratives were summarized, unveiling their lived experiences of trauma and its intergenerational impacts. The discovery of the recovery processes, termed “miskamowin,” is illustrated through three … Read more
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2023 — Two-parameter super-product systems of compact Hausdorff spacesAbstract
The theory of C∗−algebras [1, 7,17] is incredibly rich and provides a great starting point for exploring various types of operator algebras within the realm of Functional Analysis. Previous papers [8, 12] have used these algebras to analyze what are called C∗-product systems and C∗-subproduct systems, as a natural generalization of two parameter product systems of Hilbert spaces, introduced by B. Tsirelson in [18]. The Gelfand duality shows that commutative unital C∗-product and subproduct systems are directly related to certain two-parameter families of compact Hausdorff spaces, referred to in this paper as compact super-product systems. Building on this, we define … Read more
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2023 — Unprecedented preservation of soft tissues and organic matter in fossils characterized by synchrotron radiation techniquesAbstract
Fossilization is a rare process. Many orders of magnitude rarer is fossilization of “lifelike” soft tissues or original organic molecules, as compared to mineralized components such as bones and teeth. To probe for these extraordinary structures, a useful tool that can be employed is synchrotron radiation — extremely intense photons that can analyze complex heterogeneous samples with unmatched resolution, signal-to-noise ratios, and acquisition times. Synchrotron radiation has revolutionized palaeontology research, challenging conventional limits of taphonomy, the study of decay and fossilization, and providing abundant information about ancient life. In this thesis I will discuss the application of synchrotron radiation techniques … Read more
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2023 — Computation of inverse kinematics of redundant manipulator using particle swarm optimization algorithm and its combination with artificial neural networksAbstract
Nowadays, the world of the industry is not working without the robotics’ manipulators. Logically, robotic manipulators are very old topics and lots of researches have been done on them. However, with implementing recent methodologies on them, many contributions have been achieved, which even become a part of human’s life. The objective of this research is to achieve more precise position for end effector of rescue robotic manipulator in real time within reasonable calculation time. In this regard, all the inverse kinematics formulation of the 2, 3, and 4-links manipulator are derived, and be solved by Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) method. … Read more
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2023 — DSA-BEATS: Multi step, multi-variate dual self-attention N-BEATS model for forecasting COVID-19 hospitalizationAbstract
The high number of hospitalization rates of COVID-19 made public health providers overloaded. Forecasting the number of hospitalized patients related to COVID-19 can help public health providers to make informed decisions for controlling the spread. In this study, we present the Dual Self-Attention N-BEATS (DSA-BEATS) model, a novel approach that effectively combines the self-attention mechanism of transformers with the proficiency of the N-BEATS model in dealing with multi-variate forecasting problems. The model has been applied to a real data set from Regina’s daily hospitalization rates. We proposed to expand Regina’s COVID-19 daily hospitalization rates dataset to a multi-variate one by … Read more
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2023 — Improving semantic segmentation of difficult classes in autonomous driving using Attention-Convolution Feature ExtractorAbstract
Deep learning has indeed brought about a revolution in computer vision applications, showcasing impressive outcomes across tasks like object recognition and autonomous driving systems. Nevertheless, there is still a demand for further research and the development of models that can achieve human-level performance while efficiently utilizing hardware and data resources. Specifically, in the realm of semantic segmentation for autonomous driving systems, challenges arise when it comes to accurately detecting and segmenting important object classes, such as Persons, that may be obstructed or only partially visible within street scene images. The challenges of handling these classes, coupled with the current approach … Read more
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2023 — Efficient coverage path planning and navigation of mobile farming robotsAbstract
Autonomous farming uses technologies such as robotics and artificial intelligence to automate agricultural operations, reduce labor requirements, and improve productivity. With a shortage of skilled labor in many parts of the world and increasing demand for food due to population growth, autonomous farming can help farmers increase efficiency, manage larger farms, and improve crop yields and profitability. Furthermore, autonomous farming technologies can lead to improved environmental sustainability by reducing the use of pesticides and fertilizers through targeted and precise application. Mobile robots, such as self-driving tractors, are increasingly being used to automate various agricultural operations such as planting, spraying, and … Read more