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2017 — Through "The Forest of Things, Acts, and Signs": A Study of Edmonton's The Works Art and Design Festival and Nuit BlancheAbstract
This thesis explores large-scale public arts festivals that function under a narrative of greater inclusivity and accessibility for audiences. More specifically, it examines the ways in which these emergent curatorial strategies reconfigure the role of the spectator, while maintaining an emphasis on such cultural practices within the prairie region of Canada. Since 2003, numerous festivals have begun popping up across the country, from Halifax to Whitehorse, yet there is relatively little academic scholarship on the presence of these events in a Canadian context. By taking Edmonton, Alberta, as its case study, this analysis will investigate how the dissemination of interdisciplinary … Read more
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2014 — Territorial Stigma on the Canadian Prairies: Representations of North Central, ReginaAbstract
The community of North Central, located within the small prairie city of Regina, Saskatchewan in Canada, is known for high crime rates, poor socioeconomic conditions and a large concentration of Aboriginal residents. The area’s negative reputation was furthered when MacLean’s magazine named it “Canada’s Worst Neighbourhood” in 2007. The goal of this research is to offer a richer context for this "reputation" by investigating North Central as a stigmatized territory. Territorial stigma has harmful effects (i.e. negatively impacts the social, economic, physical and mental wellbeing of residents) and as such, the role of representation and stigma must be analyzed so … Read more
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2013 — Play Pals Case Study: Promoting Physical Activity and Health Literacy Through Near-peer Role Modeling and MentoringAbstract
Adolescent girls are not meeting the recommended daily physical activity levels needed to maintain a healthy lifestyle. The 2012 Active Healthy Kids Canada report card states that only 17% of girls ages 10-16 accumulate at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity on each of the past seven days (Active Healthy Kids Canada, 2012). If this trend continues into adulthood, many girls are facing the risk of developing chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, colon cancer, asthma, and arthritis, which could easily be prevented by establishing and maintaining a healthy, active lifestyle early in life (Center for … Read more
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2012 — The Gang Alternative: A Participant PerspectiveAbstract
Gang activity has increased in Regina over the past ten to fifteen years and has attracted considerable attention ostensibly contributing to higher crime rates and the abundance of drugs. As a result the public pressure on government to slow and reverse this proliferation of gangs is also growing. This is not a phenomenon unique to Regina yet the factors leading to gang proliferation in Regina among Aboriginal youth are vaguely understood at best. This results in an increased likelihood of faulty theorizing as to what are these risk factors and ineffective prevention and intervention programs. Through interviews with gang involved … Read more
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2020 — Effects of Creatine Supplementation During Resistance Training Sessions in Physically Active Young AdultsAbstract
The purpose was to examine the effects of intra-workout creatine supplementation during resistance training sessions on muscle mass and exercise performance in physically active young adults. Twenty-two participants were randomized to supplement with creatine (CR: n = 13, 26.15 ± 4.66 yrs, 80.5 ± 18.07 kg, 174.50 ± 10.53 cm; 0.0055 g/kg post training set) or placebo (PLA: n = 9, 26.44 ± 5.10 yrs, 79.88 ± 19.97 kg, 175.05 ± 12.09 cm; 0.0055 g/kg post training set) during 6 weeks of resistance training (18 sets per training session). Prior to and following training and supplementation, measurements were made for … Read more
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2012 — Discovering the Meaning of the Experience of Interacting with Horses.Abstract
The literature on the human-animal bond is vast and has focused mainly on the bond between humans and their pets or small companion animals. However, within the literature, few studies exist that explore the human-horse interaction. Furthermore, studies that specifically examine the human partner’s perceived meaning of human-horse interactions are limited. Thus, the purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study is to explore the lived experiences of adults who have interacted with horses. The intent of the study is to: 1) explore the essence or meaning of human-horse interactions, and 2) examine how this essence may contribute to a perceived sense … Read more
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2020 — Advances in Representation and Learning of Temporal Event SequencesAbstract
This thesis focuses on representation and learning of two types of temporal event sequences. The first type is a sequence of interval-based events, called an e-sequence, where every event can have a duration, and the second type is a sequence of pointbased events, where events have no durations. For interval-based event sequences, we propose the coincidence eventset representation (CER) to represent interval-based events along with their durations. This representation is especially designed for pattern mining problems. We incorporate both internal and external utilities into e-sequences and formulate the problem of high utility pattern mining of e-sequences. We present a sound … Read more
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2024 — Image-based direct geo-referencing of farm boundaries for autonomous farming vehicles using computer visionAbstract
Agriculture is undergoing a transformative technological revolution that has led to significant improvements in automation and efficiency. Although contemporary satellite imagery is limited in resolution and update frequency, it presents inherent challenges in the determination of farm boundaries. A novel image-based methodology has been developed in response to these limitations, which is poised to redefine precision agriculture by enabling accurate geo-referencing of agricultural boundaries within the context of autonomous vehicles. Through the integration of onboard cameras and GPS data into the very fabric of autonomous farming vehicles, this approach allows for the detection and geo-referencing of farm boundaries at an … 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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2021 — Model for Predicting Failure Probability in Boiler HeadersAbstract
Pressure headers are a critical part of coal-powered power plant. The different modes of failure depend on the part of the plant operating parameters including its temperature. Low temperature headers are normally affected by erosion-corrosion and fatigue, while the high temperature headers are normally affected by creep and fatigue or an interaction of the mechanisms. Due to the constant deterioration during operation, having a tool that can predict the current state of the header based on operational information that is readily available to the operators is valuable. The objective of the thesis is to develop a methodology to predict the … Read more
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2019 — Spatial and Temporal Assessments of Zooplankton Community and Stable Isotope Indicators: Developing A Predictive Understanding of Ecological Dynamics In Boreal LakesAbstract
Developing a predictive understanding of processes that regulate lake ecosystem dynamics is crucial in the face of environmental perturbations affecting boreal western Canada, particularly atmospheric pollutant deposition from oil sands operations in Alberta and climate change. Based on spatial and temporal analyses of zooplankton communities and their δ13C and δ15N values, my research sought to 1) assess the biological responses to climate and industrial deposition and 2) develop a holistic understanding of regulatory processes of these indicator dynamics to better assess future impacts. First, a spatial assessment of 97 lakes detected significant correlations of zooplankton community composition to environmental gradients … Read more
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2018 — Development of Ionic Liquids Functionalized Porous Materials for CO2 Capture ApplicationsAbstract
The utilization of ionic liquids (ILs) for CO2 capture applications has recently gained considerable attention due to several remarkable properties including a high CO2 solubility, low volatility, and thermal stability. However, the cost and, in some cases, high viscosity of ILs are considered the major challenges for their wide scale applications in CO2 capture. One of the promising approaches to overcome these limitations is to incorporate ILs into solid porous materials also known as supported ILs (SILs) that were shown to enhance performance in various applications such as catalytic esterification reaction, ionic conductivity, and gas separation applications. In this work, … Read more
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2014 — Experimental, Numerical, and Soft Computing-Based Analysis of the Vapex Process in Heavy Oil SystemsAbstract
There are significant heavy oil and bitumen resources in Canada. Considering increasing energy demands, these abundant resources are a potential energy source. Regardless, looking for an economically viable and environmentally friendly heavy oil recovery technique is essential for exploiting not just these resources, but all future heavy oil resources. The problems with highly viscous heavy oil reservoirs—excessive heat loss to the surrounding formations, low permeability carbonate reservoirs, and the large amount of CO2 emitted during these thermal processes—introduce economic and environmental drawbacks for thermal methods. In fact, solvent-based heavy oil recovery methods have recently gained attention due to the potential … Read more
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2024 — Spinel: a framework for counting wheat spikes and kernels using UAV and ground-based imaging in breeding fieldsAbstract
Quantifying wheat spikes and kernels is crucial for evaluating the grain yield potential of diverse breeding lines. It enables breeders to measure grain yield and select superior breeding lines to improve crop productivity. Traditional methods for assessing these traits are labour-intensive, error-prone, and manual. Despite the widespread use of deep learning (DL) techniques in recent studies, there remains a gap in applying these methods to provide practical, quantified analyses for breeding field applications. This thesis introduces SPINEL (SPike and kerNEL), a comprehensive framework that combines unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-captured multispectral imaging and fieldcaptured RGB camera imaging for advanced phenotyping. The … Read more
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2017 — Handling Qualitative and Quantitative Preferences with Constraints in Interactive ApplicationsAbstract
Preference elicitation is very important for interactive systems. A potential buyer typically has speci c expectations in the attributes of the product he or she is interested in. While the current interactive systems allow users to provide some keywords and other information in order to lter and obtain only what they need, users feel the product they get does not necessarily meet their satisfaction. This thesis proposes a new interactive system that enables buyers to express their needs and desires. Users are given the ability to elicit their requirements and preferences in a friendly and interactive way. The system will … Read more
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2022 — Design of hygienic blood collection system for poultry slaughterhousesAbstract
Blood collection methods from poultry slaughterhouses are assessed and designed. Specifically, a hygienic method to collect blood with no solid debris has been investigated. The research involved designing, improving and/or selecting the blood collection troughs, pipelines, valves, blood pumps, storage tank and related equipment. The research also involved flow simulations in AnsysTM Fluent. The existing blood collection system in poultry slaughterhouses was reviewed. The slaughterhouse blood uses, equipment needed, blood preservation methods and related processing were also studied. The changes needed were identified and a proposed system was evaluated for both small and large commercial poultry slaughterhouses. The focus was … Read more
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2025 — Automated aerial detection of spruce tree crowns through YOLOv5 and watershed segmentationAbstract
The spruce tree, a key species in Canada, is crucial to industries like timber and pulp. Effective management of these resources relies on monitoring forest parameters to ensure long-term forest health and productivity. Tree crown dimensions contribute valuable insights into these parameters. This study investigates an automated approach for detecting and measuring spruce tree crowns using the YOLOv5 machine learning model combined with watershed segmentation. The method enhances the accuracy of crown measurements from aerial drone images. Over 2,000 spruce trees in a limited forested area of Saskatchewan, Canada, are analysed using top-view images captured by a DJI Mavic 3 … Read more
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2012 — A New Approach to Face Recognition Based on Generalized Hough Transform and Local Image DescriptorsAbstract
In this thesis a new approach to face recognition is presented. Face recognition is one of the most proli c research elds and also one of the most demanding. It is in uenced not only by face-related attributes such as pose, position, scale, facial expression, accessories and physiognomy changes, but also by environmental factors like illumination, background, occluding objects, and, lastly, camera characteristics. The generalized Hough transform is improved so that it can nd the image region that best matches the template face image. Its reference point and hit rate are later used to discriminate between faces. The transform takes … Read more
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2024 — Advanced CNN architecture integrating machine learning algorithms for precise Alzheimer's disease classificationAbstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a degenerative neurological disorder that affects millions of individuals worldwide and is very difficult to detect and treat in its early stages. This thesis presents a novel architecture for a convolutional neural network (CNN) designed exclusively to classify Alzheimer's disease using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data. This work improves the accuracy and reliability of early Alzheimer's identification by using state-of-the-art deep learning techniques to the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) dataset. The basis of this research is the ADNI dataset, a vast collection of brain imaging and associated data from people with different degrees of … 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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2024 — The Macdonald groupAbstract
Given α ∈ Z, the Macdonald group G(α) is defined by G(α) = ⟨ A,B | A[A,B] = Aα, B[B,A] = Bα ⟩. It is known that G(α) is finite if and only if α ̸= 1, in which case the prime factors of |G(α)| are those of α − 1. It is also known that G(α) is nilpotent in certain cases. We show that G(α) is always nilpotent, so that for α ̸= 1, G(α) is the direct product of its Sylow subgroups. In the first third of the thesis, we determine the order, upper and lower central series, … Read more
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2022 — A community based and mixed-methods approach to exploring the Dove Confident Me five-session body image intervention in a holistic school classroomAbstract
Purpose: Body dissatisfaction is experienced by many adolescents and is linked to mental, physical, and social consequences. Increasing rates of body dissatisfaction amongst adolescents have led to developing teacher-delivered interventions to alleviate the reliance on external providers and increase the accessibility of such interventions. This paper describes a pilot study which explored the delivery of the Dove Confident Me 5-Session Body Confidence Program through a mixed methods approach. In this study, the researcher worked collaboratively with the students and teacher to determine program adaptations needed to elicit positive body image and self-esteem in a classroom in Saskatchewan. Method: This study … Read more
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2022 — A non-linear MPC local planner for tractor-trailer vehicles in forward and backward maneuveringAbstract
Designing a local planner to control a tractor-trailer vehicles in forward and backward maneuvering is a challenging control problem for autonomous driving systems. This thesis considers the critical situation of the stability of tractor-trailer systems. A practical and novel approach is presented to design an non-linear Model Predictive Control (NMPC) local planner for tractor-trailer autonomous vehicles in both forward and backward maneuvering. The tractor’s velocity and steering angle are considered as control variables; the proposed NMPC local planner is designed to handle jackknife situations, to avoid multiple static obstacles, and to path follow a certain path in both forward and … Read more
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2014 — Overall Equipment Effectiveness and overall Line Efficiency Measurement using Intelligent Systems TechniquesAbstract
Increasingly, Intelligent Systems (IS) techniques are being used to solve both complex problems and problems with uncertainty. They also can implement the operator‟s knowledge (experience) into the system. This research aims to evaluate the well-known manufacturing metrics: the Overall Equipment Effectiveness, and Overall Line Efficiency, using IS techniques. Existing methodology to measure Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) is based on three main elements consisting availability, performance and quality. This traditional method of measuring OEE has proven to be effective for batch production systems, also for production systems with the same weight of losses; however this method has some flaws. First, each … Read more
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2019 — Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) Measurement Using Intelligent Systems TechniquesAbstract
Progressively, Intelligent Systems (IS) techniques have been used to reduce the uncertainty in complex problems. Because Intelligent Systems can be taught and predict the results, operations’ knowledge can be implemented into the systems. This Thesis is related to the application of Intelligent Systems to the solution of real-world problems, and it intends to estimate the Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) by using Intelligent Systems techniques. EOQ is the maximum number of inventories to be ordered at the time to minimize the company’s total costs of ordering, carrying, shortage and holding costs. There are some mathematical methods to calculate EOQ, but there … Read more
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2014 — Using Social Media to Support Language Maintenance: An Account of Minority Language Speakers’ ExperiencesAbstract
This narrative inquiry study explores the social media experiences of two minority language speakers who have lived in an English speaking country. More specifically, it aims at gaining a better understanding of their experiences on social networking sites and of the ways these experiences have supported the maintenance of their languages. The data comes from dialogue with the participants, who told their stories and wrote reflections about their lives. As a narrative inquirer, my experiences as a minority language speaker and a social media user were also included. Findings from this study provide a sense of the uniqueness of the … Read more
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2016 — Genetic population structure of the round whitefish (Prosopium cylindraceum) in North America: multiple glacial refugia and regional subdivisionAbstract
The round whitefish (Prosopium cylindraceum) is an understudied species of freshwater fish found throughout northern North America and eastern Eurasia. Little is known about the ecology or population genetics of this species. Round whitefish are sensitive to environmental disturbance and have declined in regions of eastern North America, prompting interest in their conservation and management. Understanding the population genetics and phylogeography of round whitefish will inform planning for this species. I genetically characterized round whitefish from 16 locations across North America, and one site in eastern Russia, using microsatellites, mtDNA sequencing, and thousands of SNP loci using a nextRAD approach. … Read more