Liste complète
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2015 — Classification Methods for Temporal Gene Expressions and High-Dimensional DataRésumé
Temporal gene expression data is of particular interest to researchers as they contain rich information on characterization of gene function and have been widely used in biomedical studies and early cancer detection. Dense temporal gene expression data in bacteria shows that gene expression has various patterns under different biological conditions. In contrast to the rich literature available on how to estimate gene expression over time under a given condition, few researchers have considered identifying the different effects of multiple conditions on gene expression profiles. In this thesis we investigate the effects of multiple conditions on gene expressions and then classify … Lire la suite
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2024 — Alcohol and social work: Context and meaningsRésumé
There is little research available about alcohol use among social workers in Canada. This mixedmethodology study seeks to address gaps in research regarding alcohol use among social workers in Saskatchewan. Social workers in Saskatchewan were invited to participate in an online survey that collected quantitative data including demographic information, alcohol consumption, adverse childhood experiences, and professional quality of life. Qualitative data was collected using semi-structured interviews to capture the meanings social workers attribute to their experiences of alcohol use. The survey found that the overall alcohol consumption of Saskatchewan social workers may be lower than that of the general Canadian … Lire la suite
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2019 — Experimentally Testing the Tree-Factor Structure of Socio-Emotional ComparisonsRésumé
Evolutionary theories posit that comparisons to others are essential in determining one’s relative position in a social hierarchy. Social comparison information can help guide behaviour in several ways, but has been associated with different adverse psychological issues (e.g., depression; stress). However, a purely cognitive view of social comparisons ignores the emotional content that usually accompanies them. A novel construct named socioemotional comparisons (SEC) is theorized to bridge the cognitionemotion gap. SEC is defined as experiences of negative affect following a subjective evaluation of unfair or unjust disadvantage compared to another. These comparisons are represented by three factors: malicious envy, low … Lire la suite
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2021 — The Portrayal of Central American Migrants in North American Media: A Critical Discourse AnalysisRésumé
In Fall 2018, the mass migration of Central American migrant caravans from their home countries heading northbound to the US-Mexico border in a quest to seek asylum gained international attention. Faced with unimaginable threats, due to the imposition of neoliberal ideology that forced their migration, the asylum seekers were met by the United States’ border patrol with racist immigration policies, unlawful detention and other oppressive measures that render the United States unsuitable for resettlement. Using critical discourse analysis, the purpose of this study is to analyse how North American media discourses published since the crisis commenced in October 2018 until … Lire la suite
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2019 — Examining Health Anxiety and Anxiety About Fetal Health During PregnancyRésumé
Background: Health anxiety refers to excessive preoccupation or worry about one’s health. The experience of health anxiety during pregnancy is unclear. The limited existing research provides mixed results regarding the impact of pregnancy on health anxiety (e.g., Kowalyk, Hadjistavropoulos, & Jones, 2009; Savron et al., 1989). Purpose: The current investigation was designed to assess health anxiety in pregnant women, examine the relationship between health anxiety and fetal health anxiety, and examine the relationships between health anxiety, fetal health anxiety, associated constructs (i.e., general anxiety, depression, anxiety sensitivity, intolerance of uncertainty), and core health cognitions. In addition, inductive content analysis of … Lire la suite
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2013 — Childhood Abuse and Health Anxiety: The Roles of Attachment and Emotion RegulationRésumé
Health anxiety refers to excessive preoccupation or worry about one’s health. A number of childhood experiences have been linked to the development of health anxiety in adulthood; however, the influence of childhood abuse on health anxiety is unclear. Previous literature has revealed mixed findings (e.g., Noyes et al., 2002; Salmon & Calderbank, 1996). The purpose of the current study was to examine levels of health anxiety in adults who have a history of childhood abuse (i.e., physical, sexual, emotional, and neglect) and to investigate the roles of emotion regulation and attachment in this relationship. It was hypothesized that there would … Lire la suite
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2023 — Establishing wastewater surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 in Southern SaskatchewanRésumé
Wastewater surveillance has become a crucial part in the monitoring of the COVID-19 pandemic. Infected people shed SARS-CoV-2 in their feces, therefore, virus levels in wastewater reflect the trends in infection numbers in the population that contributes to the wastewater. Wastewater surveillance offers information about the spread of SARS-CoV-2 independent of testing strategies and individual choices and therefore better reflects population health than individual testing. In this study we compared five RNA extraction kits and reagents and different enrichment methods for wastewater surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 RNA and determined that the solids fraction of wastewater was most suitable for RNA extraction … Lire la suite
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2024 — Trust-aware virtual network embedding algorithms for wireless sensor networksRésumé
Network virtualization (NV) in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) enables the utilization of their shared sensing capabilities. Efficient assignment of WSN resources to maximize the infrastructure provider’s revenue can be achieved by virtual network embedding (VNE) while considering the quality of information (QoI), quality of service (QoS), and wireless interference handling constraints. Improving the acceptance rate of VNE is essential because the more the virtual network requests (VNRs) can be mapped onto the substrate network, the more revenue they will generate for the infrastructure provider. However, the shared and complex nature of VNE exposes WSNs to security risks. In this thesis, … Lire la suite
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2022 — PilgrimRésumé
This critical engagement paper is intended to reflect on the film I made for my Master of Fine Arts degree in media production. The first part describes the film and its main ideas and goals. Then it proceeds to elucidate the core and primary theories and concepts that founded my approach to cinema, particularly this project. Therefore, the theoretical part expands upon Jacques Lacan's concept of the Real and Julia Kristeva's idea of abjection (which she relates to the experience of immigration) and Slavoj Zizek’s Lacanian reading of partial objects as organs without bodies. After covering the theoretical aspects of … Lire la suite
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2024 — Designing open-source, cross-platform user interfaces for improving home careRésumé
Long-term care (LTC) facilities, once the primary source of healthcare for aging citizens face critical shortages that are increasing due to heightened demand for healthcare services. In Canada, LTC facilities struggle to meet the growing needs, which have only increased since the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, there is a shift in preference among aging citizens towards staying in their homes, emphasizing the importance of robust home care (HC) systems. Local data suggests that by 2038, over half of Saskatchewan's population is estimated to be 55 and older, emphasizing the pressing local demands. Furthermore, statistics released in 2020 indicate around … Lire la suite
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2018 — The Experiences of People with Schizophrenia or Shizoaffective Disorder in Accessing Non-Psychiatric Health CareRésumé
In this study, a phenomenological approach was used to understand the lived experience of individuals with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder when accessing non-psychiatric health care services. Healthcare can be accessed upon a variety of levels such as primary care physicians, specialized physicians, or emergency services. For the purpose of this study, all three levels of entry to healthcare were considered and included. Doing so provided a rich description of overall healthcare services accessed and the ways in which this population experienced accessing it. The findings from this study will contribute to the literature available to identify the ways in which … Lire la suite
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2017 — Investigating the Nova Scotia Waste Management Model: Business and Financial AspectsRésumé
Canadians disposed 965 kg of solid waste per capita (kg/cap) in 2010, while in Nova Scotia, a Canadian province, the average disposal was only 390 kg/cap. Using aggregate data from national surveys, the first part of this study used regression analysis to analyze disposal and diversion trends, and their relationships with expenditure, GDP, business size, and diversion rates in Nova Scotia, Québec, Ontario, and nationally. Waste diversion increased by 35% in Nova Scotia, compared to a 1.5% increase nationally over the study period (1996-2010). In Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Canada there were somewhat strong relationships between GDP and residential diversion … Lire la suite
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2021 — Improving Data Driven Canadian Waste Management Policy Using GIS, Remote Sensing, and Other Advanced TechniquesRésumé
Data-driven techniques are vital to improve the efficiency of waste management systems in Canada and around the world. Canadians generated 935.6 kg/cap of waste in 2016 and spent $3.3 billion to manage this waste. This research aims to solve problems related to waste region optimization and landfill siting. Specifically, this research develops topologies for regional waste management systems and analyzes specific features of preexisting regionalized and non-regionalized systems to increase system efficiencies. Methods including Geographic Information Systems (GIS), remote sensing (RS), spatial statistics, and data science are incorporated to inform data driven policies in waste management. First, a novel recursive … Lire la suite
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2018 — Investigating The Impacts of Adverse Road Weather Conditions on Free-Flow Speed and Lane UtilizationRésumé
Winter driving poses additional safety challenges to drivers and other road users due to reduced visibility, snow and ice accumulation on travel lanes, and variations in transportation infrastructure such as reduced lane width due to snow plow operations and coverage of lane markings by snow. On the other hand, road-weather related variations in transportation infrastructure characteristics and driver behavior negatively impact traffic operations in winter. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the anticipated consequences of extreme road-weather conditions on traffic flow parameters and driver behavior. Thus, in this study, the free-flow speed and the lane utilization patterns under adverse roadweather … Lire la suite
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2013 — Characterization and Centrifuge Dewatering of Oil Sands Fine TailingsRésumé
Oil sands mining operations in northern Alberta, Canada generates an ever growing volume of fine tailings that are disposed off hydraulically in the tailings ponds. The caustic extraction process results in dispersed tailings that do not dewater under conventional gravity settling. Centrifugation along with polymer addition has recently demonstrated promising results for these tailings at the pilot-scale level. The complex colloid-water-polymer interactions govern the dewatering behaviour of the tailings during this process. The main objective of this research was to characterize and improve the dewatering properties of oil sands fine tailings using centrifuge technology in conjunction with polymer amendment. MFT … Lire la suite
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2013 — The Influence of Reproductive Condition and Roost Type on Thermoregulation and Foraging in Big Brown Bats (Eptesicus Fuscus)Résumé
Reproduction is energetically expensive for mammalian females and seasonality limits the amount of time available to successfully reproduce. Temperate mammals often have methods to cope with time constraints, such as thermoregulatory and foraging flexibility, but typically at a cost. However, foraging and thermoregulation are often studied separately, which leads to limited knowledge about what, if any, relationship exists between these two factors. The purpose of my research was to determine how thermoregulation and foraging patterns vary among reproductive stages in big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) that switched between building and tree roosts. I equipped pregnant and lactating bats with temperature … Lire la suite
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2014 — Every ‘Body’ Has A History: Embodied Values of Ballet TeachersRésumé
This dissertation is an inquiry into the meaning of the teacher’s body in the pedagogy of female dance teachers. It explores how teachers experience their bodies, and considers the values which become embodied and normalized through the style of dance recognized as classical ballet and the international training institution known as the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD). Framed by hermeneutic phenomenology, the research incorporates a poststructural genealogy and related concepts to situate experience as constituted historically, culturally, and institutionally. Feminist concerns inform, and arts-based ways of knowing infuse, both methodology and method. Participants were recruited through a purpose-driven sampling process. … Lire la suite
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2021 — Dynamics of Forest-Grassland Boundaries in Cypress Hills Interprovincial ParkRésumé
My research evaluated the rate and nature of forest expansion within the Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park in western Canada, where it is currently a topic of management interest. I analyzed historical aerial photographs to estimate the rate and pattern of forest expansion over two time intervals (1970s-1990s and 1990s-2018). Using aerial laser scanning (ALS), I assessed canopy height and canopy cover in newly established forested areas. From field transects, I measured the density of tree regeneration outwards from the forest edge and assessed its relationship to grazing activity. The estimated rate of forest expansion was slower in the second time … Lire la suite
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2013 — Dexter in LoveRésumé
Showtime’s Dexter (2006-) is a television series about a serial killer named Dexter Morgan that has become a cult-hit in the landscape of popular North American television. The series’ narrative follows Dexter’s life as he struggles to manage his identity as a killer with his growing desire to evolve as a human being capable of experiencing love. In this thesis, I will offer an interpretation of Dexter that varies from most of what has been written on the series by focusing on the theme of love and its role in shaping Dexter’s developing sense of self. To consider the influence … Lire la suite
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2015 — Evaluation of Antibiotic Production and its Regulation in Pantoea agglomerans Tx10Résumé
The prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens, such as methicillinresistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), has prompted numerous efforts to identify new antimicrobials. One untapped source of antimicrobial products is the enterobacterial genus Pantoea. Although antibiotic discovery efforts in Pantoea have focused largely on agricultural applications, Pantoea remains an unexplored reservoir of antibiotics that may have utilization in a clinical setting. Using an agar overlay assay, Pantoea agglomerans Tx10 (Tx10)—an isolate from the sputum of a cystic fibrosis patient—was shown to inhibit the growth of several pathogens, including Gram-positive Staphylococcus and Streptococcus, and the Gram-negative Citrobacter, E. coli, Erwinia, and Salmonella. A genetic screen … Lire la suite
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2015 — An Analysis of Auxin Distribution and Activity during Photomorphogenesis and Skotomorphogenesis in the moss, Physcomitrella patensRésumé
Plant development varies depending on whether it occurs in the light (photomorphogenesis) or in the dark (skotomorphogenesis). This phenomenon has been studied in depth in flowering plants such as Arabidopsis thaliana but remains largely unexplored in more ancient plant groups such as the bryophytes, which include the model moss, Physcomitrella patens, despite decades-old awareness of the markedly different gametophytic morphologies that result from photomorphogenesis and skotomorphogenesis in this moss. Research undertaken with Arabidopsis has elucidated in detail roles for various phytohormones, including auxin, in regulating the reversible developmental interconversion of photomorphogenesis and skotomorphogenesis. By contrast, although auxin has previously been … Lire la suite
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2020 — The Influence of Knowledge Acquisition on Attitudes Towards Radiation and Nuclear Technologies Among Non-Experts in SaskatchewanRésumé
The information deficit model attempts to explain the difference in attitudes that are held between experts and the lay public towards the use and application of matters of science. This model suggests that a paucity of scientific understanding and knowledge can lead to skepticism regarding a particular matter of science, and rejection of its use in a societal context. For example, in the case of radiation, non-experts view nuclear power plants and nuclear waste as riskier than do scientific experts on radiation, while the opposite is true when radiation is being applied in a medical context. The information deficit model … Lire la suite
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2020 — Investigation of Polymeric Reagents for KCI Collection Furing Potash FlotationRésumé
Potash is an integral component of agricultural fertilizers, and remains in high demand throughout the world. Presently, the majority of potash refinement is achieved via froth flotation, which is typically facilitated by tallow amine collectors. Recent developments in mineral extraction have begun to incorporate polymeric reagents within the refinement process. However to date, the use of polymers has yet to be evaluated for potash flotation. In this research, the selectivity for KCl of four dimethylamine-epichlorohydrin and six polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride (polyDADMAC) polymers were examined to investigate the feasibility to be used as collectors during potash flotation. It was found that the … Lire la suite