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2022 — Understanding how Saskatchewan parents promote children’s mental health: A grounded theory studyAbstract
This dissertation contributes to MHP scholarship by focusing on how parents from a prairie province in Canada understand and promote their children’s mental health. Middle childhood was chosen because it is a ‘sensitive period’ of human development (DelGuidce, 2018) that is often overlooked and understudied (Montreuil et al., 2018). The salutogenic perspective underpins this research; therefore, the origins of health and how it is promoted were of interest in contrast to the prevention of illness and dis-ease. To guide this inquiry, the qualitative research tradition was chosen, and the constructivist grounded theory methodology served as its roadmap. In total, 23 … Read more
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2017 — Dogma, Dada, and Disneyland: Investigating the Impact of Space on Ideological FormationAbstract
Academic investigations of ‘ritual’ and ‘religion’ have at times conflated each with the other. Within modern academic study, there is emerging research that attempts to decouple this association by underscoring the importance of processes of ritualization—the specific ways humans elevate actions and thought processes to importance—on identity-making and social participation. Through a combination of literature review and analysis of current social and legal issues, this thesis looks at the construction of space on three levels—the experienced, perceived, and imagined—in an effort to show that ritual, community, and identity are shaped and constrained more by economic and social influence and the … Read more
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2018 — Real-Time Vehicle Make and Model Recognition SystemAbstract
Automatic License Plate Recognition (LPR) is a basic computer vision problem. LPR has been thoroughly explored and is widely considered to be a well-understood problem. LPR systems are widely deployed all across the globe for a variety of situations. LPR systems perform poorly in the situations where the license plate is ambiguous, forged, or damaged. Similarly, LPR systems cannot work if only partial license plate information is available or if only vehicle’s description is available; hit and run, hot pursuit, and amber alert are a few of the situations where a vehicle’s description is often available. A Vehicle Make and … 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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2017 — Movement, habitat selection, and resource use by western painted turtles (Chrysemys picta bellii) in an urban environment near their northern range limitAbstract
Understanding resource use is necessary to properly manage and conserve habitats for long-lived species, especially for populations residing urban settings. I studied habitat selection, space use, and isotopic resource use of an urban population of western painted turtles (Chrysemys picta bellii) residing in Wascana Creek in Regina, Saskatchewan from May 2015 to April 2017. Using radio-telemetry to track movements, I determined habitat selection at multiple spatial (Johnson’s second and third order habitat selection) and temporal scales (active season; encompassing emergence, nesting, and post-nesting) using compositional analysis. I found that turtles selected for shoreline habitat over urban/parkland and open water (second … Read more
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2017 — Modelling Artificial Intelligence in Games Using MindSet Behavior TreesAbstract
Behavior trees are a popular way of structuring artificial intelligence in games and other virtual reality applications. A behavior tree is a model of plan execution and is graphically represented as a tree. Nodes in a behavior tree either encapsulate actions to be performed or act as control flow components that direct traversal over the tree. The popularity of behavior trees stems from their maintainability, scalability, reusability, and extensibility. However, constructing behavior trees only using a programming language is difficult because the behavior tree cannot be easily visualized. We introduce MindSet, a new architecture for constructing behavior trees. Accompanying the … Read more
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2016 — Exploring Justice Practices: Stakeholder Conceptualizations of the Regina Mental Health Disposition CourtAbstract
Mentally ill people are overrepresented in the criminal justice system. Correctional statistics report that these individuals compose 13% and 29% of the male and female population respectively at the time of admission into a prison facility, which is two to three times the prevalence of the general Canadian population. Mental health courts can help alleviate this problem as they seek to divert individuals from the criminal justice system to the various community services and resources that are required. This thesis investigated the Regina Mental Health Disposition Court. Stakeholders in this study included the professional individuals who are involved with the … Read more
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2015 — Women Leaders in Education: A JourneyAbstract
This narrative inquiry explores the journeys of women leaders in the educational landscape in an attempt to shed light on the phenomena of the experiences of women leaders with the purpose of sharing their experiences as a means of growth and learning for others and informing future leadership development and theory. The inquiry was born of personal interests as I began to puzzle about my own experiences and those of other women leaders as they journey into and attempt to navigate the historically male-dominated landscape of educational leadership and endeavour to balance their professional and personal lives. Two women leaders … Read more
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2020 — Effects of training with an increase in training bar diameter on strength and functional endurance within older adultsAbstract
It is well established that there is an underlying process of muscular atrophy that occurs throughout the aging process. This issue of muscle atrophy more specifically known as sarcopenia, has been (and will continue to be) a great burden on both health care and quality of life. Current research has shown the importance of resistance training (RT) within all age groups, regardless of level of functionality or lifestyle. It was hypothesized that aging adults (≥50 years of age) who completed a 6-week RT program using a thick training bar attachment would increase upper limb muscle strength and endurance (primary outcome … Read more
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2025 — The Oracle’s DreamAbstract
The Oracle's Dream is a work of historical fiction set in 5th century BCE Greece, exploring the intersection of myth, history, and the feminine psyche through a feminist-Jungian and historical fiction lens. In this creative writing thesis, I will develop the first 81 pages of my novel. I apply Jungian concepts of the “shadow” and “anima/animus” with a double narrative plot that follows protagonists Nefeli, an Apollonian priestess in training turned hetaera; and her daughter Lena, a young lyricist navigating patriarchal society, grief, and guilt years later following Nefeli’s unexpected passing. The Oracle’s Dream challenges and subverts patriarchal leanings in … Read more
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2014 — The Impact of a Cardiac Rehabilitation Program and Gender on Depressive Symptoms in Cardiac PatientsAbstract
A cardiac event affects the physical and psychological well being of individuals. Among the psychological consequences, researchers have found that a cardiac event can lead to high levels of depressive symptoms in both males and females (Milani, Lavie, & Cassidy, 1996). To date, research has confirmed the beneficial effects of a cardiac rehabilitation (CR) program on depressive symptoms (Casey, Hughes, Waechter, Josephson, & Rosneck, 2008; Zellweger, Osterwalder, Langewitz, & Pfisterer, 2004); however, there has been a limited focus on how males and females differ in their depressive symptoms both prior to commencing and after completing a CR program. Previous research … Read more
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2018 — The Efficacy of Online Vinyasa Yoga and Taijifit™ on Physical Health Outcome Measures and Quality of Live of Adult Informal CaregiversAbstract
Too often, informal caregivers suffer from physical pain, musculoskeletal injuries, aggravation of chronic illnesses, and other negative physical health consequences. Part of the negative impact on caregiver health may be a result of the reduced likelihood that informal caregivers engage in regular physical activity. Since nearly every Canadian will at some point in time be in the position of having to provide care for a loved one, reducing negative outcomes associated with informal caregiving represents a very large health concern. The purpose of this thesis was to investigate the effects of online Vinyasa Yoga (VY) and TaijifitTM practice and cessation … Read more
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2021 — A Risk Management Framework to Increase Success of IT ProjectsAbstract
Companies around the globe continually seek to improve the quality of services to realize their primary mission and increase their success, branding, and profit. Based on strategic planning, they compete fiercely in their markets to accomplish a remarkable outcome about their commercial growth. When a company devises a new idea, it is launched to execute it. A project refers to planning and executing structured tasks by qualified personnel with clear goals, a specified schedule and budget, and an initial establishment of controls and indicators to assess the results achieved compared to expected. Here, project management becomes a critical path 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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2020 — Complete Order Equivalence of Spin UnitariesAbstract
The main objective of this thesis is to explore linear spaces of matrices and linear maps on matrix spaces that arise from spin systems, or spin unitaries, which are finite sets S of selfadjoint unitary matrices such that any two distinct unitaries in S anticommute. We are interested in examining finite-dimensional spin unitaries obtained from spin systems and complete order isomorphisms between the operator systems associated with spin systems. Read more
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2021 — Can Cognitive Behavioural Techniques Reduce Exercise Anxiety and Improve Adherence to a Resistance Training Program for People with Anxiety-Related Disorders?Abstract
Anxiety-related disorders (ARDs) are highly prevalent and associated with substantial functional impairment, including poor health outcomes and economic burden. Exercise is a cost-efficient alternative to other treatments for ARDs (e.g., psychotherapy, pharmaceutical) that is also associated with health benefits. Several exercise modalities, including resistance training (RT), have demonstrated efficacy at reducing symptoms of ARDs; however, there are challenges associated with effectively implementing such protocols, most notably, exercise avoidance or early discontinuation. Researchers have identified exercise anxiety (i.e., exercise-related worries, fear of exercise-related physical sensations, and anxiety-driven exercise-related behaviours) as a contributor to exercise avoidance for people with ARDs. Consequently, exercise-based … Read more
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2017 — A Single Bout of Sprint Interval Training or Continuous Moderate Intensity Training for Reducing Anxiety Sensitivity: A Randomized Controlled TrialAbstract
Anxiety sensitivity (AS) is the fear of arousal related sensations based on the belief that these sensations may have harmful or negative consequences, such as death, insanity, or social rejection (Reiss & McNally, 1985). Significant reductions in AS have been observed following as little as one session of moderate intensity exercise (Broman-Fulks et al., 2015); however, the effect of high intensity exercise on AS has not yet been investigated. Reductions in AS are associated with successful treatment outcomes in clinical populations, as well as a decreased risk of developing mental disorders in nonclinical populations (Schmidt, Keough, Timpano, & Richey, 2008). … 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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2024 — Women in social work leadership in Saskatchewan: The myth of shattering the glass ceilingAbstract
The purpose of this qualitative research was to enhance knowledge about the experiences of women in the 1% of marginalized leadership representation statistics in Saskatchewan in the field of social work. Through an intersectional feminist framework, based on the interrelatedness of our social identities, both privileged and oppressed; narrative interviews were completed with five women. The participants identified as belonging to the LGBTQ2S+, BIPOC, disability and/or trans communities. Within the social work leadership sector, the women have held upper management, director, and CEO positions. Data was analyzed through a case-by-case analysis and a thematic analysis. Several key findings emerged from … Read more