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2014 — As Iron Sharpens Iron: Understanding Competitive Processes in Elite Sport TeamsAbstract
The purpose of this thesis was the exploration, definition, conceptualization, and measurement of competition within elite sport teams (i.e., intrateam competition) by using an exploratory sequential mixed-methods design (Creswell, 2006). In Study 1, intrateam competition from coaches’ perspectives was examined. It revealed two distinct competitive processes: situational competition and positional competition. Situational competitions are planned competitive situations that occur during practice (e.g., scrimmages). Positional competition is the vying for the same limited playing time by teammates in the same position. The latter was examined further. In Study 2, athletes’ perspectives of positional competition were explored. The results showed that positional … Read more
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2024 — Geochemical and petrographic studies of accessory minerals in the Athabasca Basin: implications for unconformity-related uranium mineralizationAbstract
The unconformity-related uranium (URU) deposits in the Athabasca Basin rank among the world's largest and highest-grade U deposits, many of which are also characterized by enrichment in rare earth elements (REE). The source of U and REE for the mineralization, whether from the basin or the basement, is a subject of scientific debate. This study focuses on the petrographic features and chemical compositions of detrital and diagenetic accessory minerals within the Athabasca Basin sandstones to evaluate the potential contributions of the sediments in the basin to the U and REE budget in the mineralization systems. Employing various analytical methods including … Read more
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2022 — Self-Compassion, Psychological Flexibility, Hardiness, and a Hint of Harmonious Passion: The Recipe for Building Athletes Adaptable to the Stress of Sport Related InjuryAbstract
Due to the recognition that sport related injury be approached from a biopsychosocial perspective, there has been a push for deeper psychological exploration in research. This has led to interest in two main areas: 1) identifying the psychological variables that may play a role in making an athlete more prone to injury, and 2) an athlete’s emotional, cognitive, and behavioural response to injury and how they influence the rehabilitation process (Almeida et al., 2014). As a result, the study presented in this dissertation explored the psychological factors believed to be important to athlete health. Using path analysis, two path models … Read more
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2014 — Population Aging and Long-Term Care Policy Change in Canada: A Comparison of British Columbia, Manitoba, and OntarioAbstract
Introduction: Residential long-term care (LTC) is an important component of the care continuum for older adults in Canada. Three factors related to population aging are contributing to an increased demand for LTC services: 1) an increased prevalence of age-related health disorders; 2) reduced societal capacity to provide unpaid care; and 3) a lack of available substitutes for LTC. LTC is not one of Medicare’s insured services and as such great variation in the provision of LTC services exists across provinces. Provincial governments are currently grappling with how best to provide and pay for quality LTC services while also weighing investment … Read more
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2013 — Hydrothermal Gasification of Flax Straw in Subcritical WaterAbstract
There is substantial interest in the application of biomass as a source for renewable fuels and chemicals. When processed for energy purposes, biomass has the benefit of being either CO2 neutral or a sink. Flax straw, which is rich in lignin content, decays slowly, making it difficult to incorporate it into the soil. Flax straw can be gasified to produce fuel gases or liquid fuels. However, flax straw may contain a higher percentage of water, causing high drying cost if a conventional gas-phase conversion process is employed. This can be avoided if gasification in subcritical or supercritical water is employed. … Read more
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2017 — Exploring subjectification processes in environmental education: How environmental education researchers come to construct their environmental subjectivitiesAbstract
In this study I explore ways in which environmental subjectivities are formulated in and through developing discourses, practices and ways of interacting. Using the poststructurally-informed concept of environmental subjectivity and narrative approaches I explore how personal and academic positions and positionings are constructed for environmental education researchers through ongoing subjectification processes. My primary research question is How do postsecondary environmental education researchers come to construct their environmental subjectivities? Two sub-question guide this exploration of environmental subjectification processes: How did the participants come to construct their environmental subjectivities across the time and space of their life? and How does their current … 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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2024 — Home range, nest-site, and perch selection of great horned owls (Bubo virginianus) in a human-modified grasslandAbstract
Temperate grasslands have undergone extensive anthropogenic alterations, contributing to an increased abundance of Great Horned Owls (Bubo virginianus) in these areas. Great Horned Owls now nest within remnants of native grasslands, where they exert predation pressure on at-risk species, such as the Greater Sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus). My research aims to understand Great Horned Owl habitat selection to inform conservation efforts protecting vulnerable grassland species from owl predation by: (1) identifying key habitat features influencing nest site selection, (2) evaluating the impact of vegetation and anthropogenic structures on movement patterns and perch selection, and (3) providing tangible targets for habitat management … Read more
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2021 — Analysis of Model Aggregation Techniques in Federated LearningAbstract
Federated learning is a distributed machine learning method that enables model training on client devices, which protects the privacy of user data. In federated learning, instead of passing clients’ data to a server, clients generated models are transferred to the central server, which in turn aggregates all models into a global model. The global model then goes back to clients and continues the same process to improve model performance. We proposed three central server model aggregation techniques namely, all model averaging (AMA), one model selection (OMS), and best models averaging (BMA) in this thesis. We adopted neural network models in … 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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2019 — Exploring The Perspectives of West African Immigrant Families on Active Living Among Adolescent Children: A Grounded Theory of StudyAbstract
Accumulating evidence suggests that the risks of inactivity-related problems such as obesity are becoming a population health concern among younger age groups. High income countries show an elevated rate of physical inactivity among children. Low- and middle-income countries are beginning to experience a gradual increase in this trend. Canada is a highly industrialized multicultural society with nearly 22% of foreign-born individuals coming through the immigration process. Recent immigrants tend to experience a decline in their health status, over time as their years in Canada increase (negative acculturation effect). This phenomenon can be attributed to several factors including adaptation to the … Read more
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2018 — Developing a Multi-Objective Closed-Loop Supply Chain For Meat Distribution Network Considering The Environmental ImpactAbstract
In the past few years, environmental issues have had a critical and an essential role in designing a supply chain network and need to be taken into consideration; many companies and organizations have started employing environmentally sustainable processes in their business and supply networks. On the other hand, the trends show that by the year 2050, the global demand of food may increase as twice as it is now, as the population of the world may reach 9 billion by then. For thousands of years meat has been an important part of human diet as it is recognized as an … Read more
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2013 — Exergy Analysis of Pulverized Coal-Fired Ultra Supercritical Power PlantsAbstract
Demand for power generation has been increasing day by day and, along with it, a clean and efficient way of generating power is becoming more and more important. Apart from the electricity generated, the emission of the hazardous gases plays a vital role in the research field. The world’s power generation majorly depends on fossil fuels like coal and natural gases. Among power plants, pulverized coal-fired power plants are of great concern due to the relatively high emission of CO2 per MW of production. The modification of coal-fired power plants has been significantly used in reducing the emissions of particulate … Read more
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2017 — That's Just Your Point of View: How Visuospatial Biases and Functional Lateralization Influence the Way We Perceive the WorldAbstract
How can individual differences in visuospatial attention and other lateralized functions affect the perception of one’s environment? This research question was examined through the four studies which comprise this dissertation. Studies 1 and 2 examined how visuospatial biases (and other lateralized attributes) influence the perception of paintings, Study 3 examined how these factors influence how paintings are created, and Study 4 examined how visuospatial biases themselves can be influenced by the perception and processing of other lateralized attributes. For all studies, biases in visuospatial attention were measured using the line bisection task. In Study 1, participants rated asymmetrical paintings on … Read more
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2012 — Inquiring into inquiry learning in secondary science education.Abstract
This research study investigates the creation, use, and effectiveness of inquiry lab activities in a secondary science classroom. The study begins by reflecting on what leads the teacher-researcher to convert traditional, step-bystep lab activities into student-centered inquiries by turning them inside-out and gains momentum as positive student-participant feedback is obtained. Using the reflective practice and narrative inquiry influenced approaches as the central research tools teacher-researcher and student-participants can provide one another with feedback into their experiences with both traditional and inquiry approaches to lab activities. The two-way communication between teacher-researcher and student-participants is illustrated within the thesis text itself as … Read more
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2024 — Source nutrients identification and management for Lake Diefenbaker irrigation canalsAbstract
Lake Diefenbaker Irrigation Canals are an essential part of the agriculture industry in Saskatchewan, Canada, as they provide irrigated water to the downstream farmers. However, filamentous algal blooms occur throughout canals every summer. These algae are not toxic but a nuisance. They block water intakes within the irrigation canals. At present, the approach for controlling algal blooms in Lake Diefenbaker’s M1 canal is manual cleaning of intake screens and periodic application of the algaecide Magnacide H, which is expensive (approximately one million dollars per year) and may be detrimental to the aquatic ecosystem and canal water quality if it is … Read more
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2024 — Design, development, and control of an off-road hybrid electric vehicle power systemAbstract
With global warming and climate change threatening the planet, the auto industry is transitioning from conventional internal combustion engines to electrical power trains. Globally, electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles are becoming popular with 10 million cars sold in 2022. Electrification is not limited to the personal cars and public transport, but includes applications in transportation, mining, and military. The power system and battery pack are the main components of electric and hybrid electric vehicles. Battery pack capacity and performance affect the overall mileage. This thesis models and sizes the battery pack based on the mechanical and electrical specifications of … Read more
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2018 — Modeling and Control of Multi-Rotor UAVS: Design for Safety and PerformanceAbstract
Recently, a class of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) called multi-rotors has gained significant attention. Despite remarkable progress in control and design of multirotors in the past decade, two issues, namely endurance and safety, still remain of main concerns. This thesis mainly aims at investigating about modeling and control of multi-rotor UAVs while focusing on safety, performance and optimal design. A complete model for forces and moments of a propeller in presence of freestream is presented which helps to derive mathematical models for two different types of multi-rotor UAVs: i) quadcopters with angled thrust vector; and ii) spinning multirotors with streamline-shape … 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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2013 — Environmental Factors Affecting the Landscape-Scale Spatio-Temporal Distribution of Small Mammal Assemblages Across the Northern Great Plains of North AmericaAbstract
The logistic constraints of traditional sampling methods have limited our understanding of the effects of landscape-scale factors on the spatiotemporal distributions of rodents and shrews (small mammals), particularly in heterogeneous landscapes. I used owl pellets as an alternative sampling method, from which the remains of 60,972 individuals were identified and quantified in samples collected across 4.3 million hectares over 15 years. These remains were used to examine the influence of landscape-scale environmental factors on the spatial composition and annual abundances of small mammal species. I hypothesized that the spatial distribution of soil characteristics, agricultural land use, and weather patterns would … Read more
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2019 — Rodent Responses to Land Modification for Agriculture: Implications for Trophic Dynamics In the Northern Great PlainsAbstract
My thesis examines rodent species responses to agricultural land modification and their implications for trophic dynamics on the northern Great Plains. I first validated owl pellet analysis as a landscape-level sampling method for small mammal studies by comparing mammal diversity and composition between owl pellets and trapping from 27 studies of 15 owl species. Then using a dataset of >10,000 owl pellet samples collected from landscapes varying in agricultural intensity, I estimated rodent species responses to habitat loss and fragmentation, predicting species would respond relative to their affinity for unmodified grassland habitat. I found species responded irrespective of grassland specialization, … Read more
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2018 — Topic Modelling and Sentiment Analysis with the Bangla Language: A Deep Learning Approach Combined with the Latent Dirichlet AllocationAbstract
In this thesis, the Bangla language topic modelling and sentiment analysis has been researched. It has two contributions lining up together. In this regard, we have proposed different models for both the topic modelling and the sentiment analysis task. Many research exist for both of these works but they do not address the Bangla language. Topic modelling is a powerful technique for unsupervised analysis of large document collections. There are various efficient topic modelling techniques available for the English language as it is one of the most spoken languages in the whole world, but not for the other spoken languages. … Read more
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2019 — Evaluation of Different Recovery Mechanisms on an Oil Field With History MatchAbstract
Full field development for a sandstone reservoir of complex structure has been studied using PETREL for building geological model, Eclipse 100 for black oil simulator and Eclipse 300 for compositional simulator. The FZI method that was adopted in this study is a viable methodology to distinguish rock types in the reservoir. Distinguishing the rock types gave us the privilege to calculate the permeability in each grid cell based on the cell porosity and rock type. Initial water saturation was calculated for each grid cell using the J-function algorithm based on rock type. Relative permeability curves were distributed in the simulation … Read more
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2014 — Generating Newness: The Third Space Modality in The Buddha Of Suburbia, Fruit of the Lemon and White TeethAbstract
In The Location of Culture, Homi Bhabha introduces his concepts of the third space, in-between spaces, the beyond and hybridity to explore how subordinated people – including colonized people, minorities and migrants – resist the dominant group’s power and generate newness. Newness, as presented by Salman Rushdie in The Satanic Verses, is difference that derives from immigration and hybridity, specifically, constructive changes in the way people think and behave in relation to immigration, hybridity, culture and people of colour. By examining Bhabha’s concepts in relation to the identity crises of four fictional second-generation immigrants of colour – Karim Amir in … Read more
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2020 — Thermal Tolerances of an Endemic Hot Spring Snail Physella wrighti Te and Clarke (Mollusca: Physidae)Abstract
Physella wrighti (Te and Clarke, 1985) is an Endangered freshwater snail endemic to the Liard Hot Springs in northern British Columbia. It inhabits water temperatures from 23.5oC to 36oC and is active year-round. Despite its conservation status, little else is known about this species. To advance our understanding of P. wrighti in its environment, I investigated how water temperature affects aspects of its life history in a lab setting. I first investigated if P. wrighti would be more active in the scotophase versus the photophase at 30oC and observed no differences in activity level. I tested if P. wrighti had … Read more