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2011 — The Optimal Workplace: Organizational and Managerial Structures Supporting Individual Role Quality in the WorkplaceRésumé
Rationale: The purpose of this thesis is to examine employee perceptions and experiences in order to understand which attributes support the creation and maintenance of an optimal work culture. Aim: The thesis is driven by three areas of inquiry: an individual‘s perception of workplace quality and optimality; organizational and managerial attributes contributing to quality workplaces; and techniques applied in a workplace to achieve an optimal workplace culture and employee experience. Methodology: This investigation is situated under the rubric of the Interpretivist paradigm, which emphasizes the importance of understanding the ‗lived experiences‘ from the point of view of those who live … Lire la suite
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2024 — Time-optimal motion planning of multiple collaborative robots for pick-and-place tasksRésumé
The ongoing revolution in robotic automation presents unparalleled opportunities and complex challenges for manufacturing industries. This thesis investigates optimization strategies for a fundamental robotic action: pick-and-place operations. Utilizing MATLAB's Robotics Toolbox, we devise detailed simulations, ranging from dual-robot static workflows (Scenario 1) to conveyor-integrated dynamism (Scenario 2). This research employs diverse optimization techniques that leverage both kinematic modeling and an analysis of robot dynamics for trajectory planning. The outcome? Significantly shortened task execution times through iterative trajectory refinement and tailored adjustments to the simulated work environment. Results not only underscore the tangible impact of simulation-driven optimization, but also point towards … Lire la suite
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2015 — Impacts of Snowfall, Low Temperatures, and their Interactions on Passenger Car and Truck TrafficRésumé
Winter weather conditions such as extremely cold temperatures, heavy snowfall, and high wind chills are common occurrences in Canada and many other countries around the world. Impacts of such adverse weather conditions on total highway traffic volume have been the subject of numerous research studies in the past. However, none of the past studies investigated thoroughly the impacts of severe cold and heavy snow fall on temporal and spatial variations of truck traffic on Canadian highways. Impacts of weather on route choice behaviour of truck and passenger car drivers have also not been addressed in the past. A detailed investigation … Lire la suite
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2015 — Design Method for Layered Bed Adsorber for Separation of CO2 and N2 from Natural Gas Using ZEOLITE13X, Carbon Molecular Sieve and Activated CarbonRésumé
Natural gas (NG) is a low-carbon fossil fuel that carries impurities such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen (N2). These two impurities reduce the heating value of NG. Also, CO2 causes corrosion in the pipeline and N2 produces nitrogen oxide (NOx) when combusted. These facts have forced NG transmission and distribution companies to limit the concentrations (mole percent) of CO2 (≤ 3%) and N2 (≤4%). Consequently, selective separation of CO2 and N2 from NG has gained considerable importance. There are many technologies that are in use for separation of these two constituents. Most of them are suitable for single component … Lire la suite
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2022 — Forecasting waste volume and identifying barriers of Canadian photovoltaic waste managementRésumé
The worldwide exponential upsurge of photovoltaic (PV) installations and the subsequent heights of PV waste is a swelling apprehension. The objectives of this study are to forecast the photovoltaic waste volume and to analyze the critical barriers for the photovoltaic waste management in Canada. In the first section, the solar waste volume forecasting was done using linear regression, 2nd order polynomial regression, and power regression models. In the second section, the barriers to photovoltaic solar waste management were identified through literature review and analyzed by formulating a framework from integrating Rough Analytical Hierarchy Process (RAHP), Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory … Lire la suite
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2018 — Developing Grassland Songbird Management Targets for Multi-Species Conservation on Native Mixed-Grass PrairieRésumé
Grassland birds are declining at steeper rates than birds from nearly every other habitat type, and the primary reasons for these declines are loss and degradation of native grasslands. Moisture, along with other environmental conditions such as soil type, topography, fire, and grazing, play important roles in determining the extent of habitat features important to grassland songbirds. I examined the associations between the abundance/occurrence of 14 grassland songbird species and vegetation characteristics along a moisture gradient in southwest Saskatchewan. Associations with at least one vegetation characteristic changed along the moisture gradient for 12 of the 14 species. Songbird abundance/occurrence was … Lire la suite
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2021 — The Effects of Parental Environment and Embryonic Temperature on Thermal and Hypoxia Stress Responsses, and Thermal Tolerance in Early Life State Lake Whitefish (Coregonus Clupeaformis)Résumé
Warming environmental conditions and increased temperature fluctuations associated with climate change or other anthropogenic processes can detrimentally impact fish development and survival. However, these stressors can be mitigated via protective cellular responses. My research aimed to determine how parental environmental history and embryonic thermal history influence thermal tolerance, the heat shock response (HSR), and the hypoxia stress response in early life stage lake whitefish. The HSR is characterized by an upregulation of heat shock proteins. Similarly, the hypoxia stress response is characterized by an upregulation of hypoxia-related genes. Embryos derived from parents from three geographically separate lakes were either exposed … Lire la suite
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2021 — Effects of Lignite Fly Ash on the Degradative Pathways of Aqueous Amine SolventsRésumé
The investigation of the catalysis of the side reactions that affect alkanolamine solvents used in post-combustion carbon capture has been focused on dissolved metals present alongside them. These metals enter the process by way of suspended fly ash present in flue gas from coal-fired power stations. Once present in the solution, they dissolve to produce soluble metal species, which interact with alkanolamine present. The fly ash is composed of aluminosilicate with metals interspersed throughout. The influence of the presence of fly ash in model solutions was investigated. It was found increase the degradation rate significantly, and products unique to this … Lire la suite
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2019 — Trunk Muscle Activation Patterns During the Barbell Back Squat with Progressive Load and InstabilityRésumé
Low back injuries are common in sports that involve repetitive/high spinal loading. The muscular system is largely responsible for maintaining proper spinal posture and efficiently transferring load during movement to protect the spine from excessive strain. Atrophy/reduced recruitment of specific trunk muscles are associated with low back pain, suggesting changes in recruitment patterns and compensations that may lead to additional stress on spinal structures. Athletes involved in high loading sports (e.g., football) engage in strength training programs that typically involve high load compound movements to increase strength (e.g., back squat) and stability training. It may prove effective to increase the … Lire la suite
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2015 — The Roman Villas of WalesRésumé
Roman villas are a primary component of the landscape of the Roman Empire. Despite their varying architectural features and appearances, these elite rural settlements are an important element in examining the extent and effect of Romanization within the provinces of the Roman Empire, and are a primary factor in considering the way in which Roman villas developed in the western frontier region of Roman Britain; an area known today as the country of Wales. This thesis will examine the establishment, development and evolution of Roman villas in Wales. Particular attention will be placed on the elements which led to the … Lire la suite
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2017 — Studies on quadratic matrix equations and riccati differential equations associated with regular m-matricesRésumé
The thesis is mainly about the quadratic matrix equation X2- EX- F = 0, where E is a diagonal matrix and F is a regular M-matrix. Quadratic matrix equations of this kind arise in noisy Wiener-Hopf problems for Markov chains. The solution of practical interest is a special M-matrix solution. The existence and uniqueness of M-matrix solutions and some numerical methods for nding the required M-matrix solution are studied by transforming the equation into a nonsymmetric algebraic Riccati equation for which the four coe cient matrices form a regular M-matrix. We also discuss the initial value problem for a matrix … Lire la suite
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2013 — Reconciling the Divide: An Analysis of Farmers’ Land Strategies Within the Corporate-Environmental Food RegimeRésumé
After twenty-five years of contested change following the collapse of the mercantile-industrial food regime, a corporate-environmental food regime appears to be consolidating. The new food regime consists of two distinct yet complimentary paradigms: the Ecologically Integrated paradigm, and the Life Sciences Integrated paradigm. Through the use of in-depth interviews with organic and conventional farmers living in southern Saskatchewan, this thesis examines how the management strategies utilized by Saskatchewan farmers fit within the larger world food regime in relation to farmers’ self-described identities. This study also explores the heterogeneity of management strategies, and the consistency of these strategies with the ideologies … Lire la suite
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2022 — Effect of Textured Insoles on Gait Variability During Continous Overground Walking in Older Adult Fallers and Non-FallersRésumé
Falls represents one of the leading causes of injury and mortality in older adults. There is a need amongst gait clinicians and researchers to develop better methods to analyze fall risk. In addition to the calculation of mean spatiotemporal gait parameters, gait variability and the fractal scaling index (FSI) have been suggested to be sensitive markers of previous falls and predictive of future fall risk in older adults. Gait variability and the FSI of gait require hundreds of strides for valid analysis, which requires specific technology such as accelerometers to capture such large data sets. In addition to developing more … Lire la suite
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2018 — Rheometry of Dense Granular Collapse on Inclined PlanesRésumé
The continuum deformation of gravity-driven dense granular materials on steep inclined planes exhibit similar flow phenomenon to natural and industrial occurrences. This kind of granular flow dynamics corresponds to unsteady flows which currently lack any theoretical formulations for its kinematic properties. The implementation of the μ(I) rheology model and the Moving Particle Semi-implicit (MPS) mesh-free method as a coupled set is used to predict quantitatively the flow properties and phenomena of the granular materials on inclined planes. During deformation of the granular materials, transition of flow regime shows that the velocity profile is maintained at the dense region but fluctuates … Lire la suite
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2017 — A Practice Approach to Attachment and Autonomy In Site Based Educational DevelopmentRésumé
My dissertation engages the familiar trope that when the full development of the human personality is directed toward the autonomous individual, a form of neo-colonialism emerges that pathologizes students who come from families or cultures that do not practice the autonomous individual as full development of the person. I show 1) that obligatory education and autonomous individualism are strongly coupled, and related 2) that despite stated intentions otherwise, many of the practices of obligatory education tend to exacerbate rather than ameliorate for problems like compulsive consumerism and neo-colonialism. My overall concern is to show that there are ways for educators … Lire la suite
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2020 — Characterization of the Microbial Communities Within Managed Bioremediation Systems: A Culture- and Genomics-Based ApproachRésumé
Wastewater treatment facilities (WWTF) and biobeds are engineered systems developed to mitigate nutrient and pesticide pollution, respectively, through microbial biodegradation. While understanding the microbiomes of these systems may help inform on optimization and maintenance, genomic characterization of these systems is generally lacking, particularly in reference to biobeds, with many questions regarding which microbes are present, and how these microbial communities change across the treatment process over time. Within this, an additional point of interest relates to the unintended negative effects these systems might pose, specifically as potential environments for the enrichment of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). WWTFs have become known … Lire la suite
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2021 — Immune Modulating Peptide for the Suppression of Autoimmune Cells in Multiple SclerosisRésumé
Multiple Sclerosis is a chronic demyelinating inflammatory disease that causes symptoms ranging from fatigue to cerebellar ataxia. I propose a novel treatment for MS that targets the aberrant inflammatory cells directly in order to halt the progression of the disease. This protein complex will competitively bind to inflammatory cells that target the components of the central nervous system and subsequently eliminate them, thus eliminating the disease as it arises. Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis induced mice were treated with 0.2 mL of trimeric protein at peak disease. Gait score was used to measure disease progression. The cerebellum was fixed, sectioned and stained … Lire la suite
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2018 — The Role of Information and Communications Technology to Help Facilitate Aging in PlaceRésumé
In the field of gerontology, it is recognized that older adults want to remain at home, even when their needs change. Over the past decade, research has grown in the field of independent senior living. The use of technology, ranging from cell phones and assistive devices to smart homes, may enable older adults to age in place. The goal of this research was to explore the role of Information and Communications Technology (ICT), and to understand whether such technology can help facilitate aging in place for older adults living in a prairie city in Canada. Data was collected through 20 … Lire la suite
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2021 — Spatial and Temporal Variation in Lake Huron Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens) Life History TraitsRésumé
Knowledge of fish population structure allows fisheries managers to account for potentially different responses of discrete groups to external stressors. Life history traits are very useful indicators of population structure because they provide information about fish populations that incorporates elements of genetics, environment, and resource use simultaneously. In Lake Huron, the yellow perch (Perca flavescens) is managed based on 17 geographic management units; however, it is unknown if management units accurately represent discrete perch groups. Furthermore, it is unclear whether yellow perch population structure changed temporally over the course of the major ecosystem shift in the early 2000s, where invasive … Lire la suite
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2021 — The Use of Clinical Testing Procedures in the Diagnosis of Motor Control Impairments Associated with Low Back PainRésumé
Background: The underlying causes of low back pain (LBP) have been proposed to be associated with motor control impairments that can result in compensatory movement and spinal instability. The Prone Hip Extension (PHE) Test and the Active Straight Leg Raise (ASLR) Test are clinical tools used to test for the presence of these motor control impairments. Movement and muscle activation patterns exhibited during these tests have been proposed to be representative of those employed during gait. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis was to determine the appropriateness of the PHE Test (Study 1) and ASLR Test (Study 2) in identifying … Lire la suite