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How do collective agreements stack up: Implications for academic freedom
No full textThe principle of academic freedom is officially articulated in the enforceable language in the collective agreements between universities and the respective faculty unions. Collective agreements are often the artefacts of previous dilemmas at institutions and tracing the language they contain will show the chronology and subtleties embedded in these documents that circumscribe faculty freedoms. This study analysed collective agreements from over 40 different Canadian institutions using Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) and Term Frequency Inverse Document Frequency (TF-IDF) to reveal anticipated issues
PREPARATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF MISFIT CHALCOGENIDE [(SnSe)1+δ]m[VSe2]n
Get PDFThe two-dimensional misfit layer dichalcogenide compounds [(MX)1+δ]m [(TX2)n]
consist of alternating stackings of two subsystems of MX (Rock Salt) and TX2 (Transition
metal dichalcogenide). Where, M = Sn, Pb, Bi, rare earth; X = S, Se; T =
Ti, V, Nb, Ta, Cr. In Misfit layer compound (MLCs), at least one lattice parameter
of the two subsystem unit cells should be incommensurate. m and n are integers
that determine the stacking arrangement of MX and TX2 layers[1]. As a part of
this research, attempts to synthesize single crystal of [(SnSe)1+δ]m [(V Se2)n] using a
chemical vapour transport technique with I2 crystals as the transporting agent were
carried out. Mixed crystals were formed with thin layers of [(SnSe)1+δ]m [(V Se2)n]
present among the other byproduct materials. Monolayer, bilayer, and trilayer misfit
layers were observed. The compositions and crystal structure of the misfit layer
were investigated by Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction
respectively. The parent compound, VSe2 was successfully synthesized as single
crystal using the same method.
Characteristic MLC vibrational modes were studied via optical Raman spectroscopy
measurements and compared to the parent compound, VSe2. At 3.5 K, three characteristic
vibrational modes are observed in the XX polarized Raman spectrum: Ag(1),
Ag(2), Eg. Based on the observed Ag(1) mode in VSe2, the MLC Ag modes have been
shifted. Those Raman frequencies for the intralayer vibrations of the VSe2 layers in
the MLC deviate from that of the VSe2 crystals, which may be due to the charge
2
transfer from the SnSe layer to the VSe2 layer. In addition, the polar plots of the
intensity of the MLC vibrational modes as a function of XX polarization angle are
presented to study the symmetry of the vibrational mode. In comparison with the
VSe2 Ag mode, both MLC Ag modes exhibit two-fold polarization anisotropy with
a period of 180 degrees. This reveals that the site symmetry of the MLC is altered
compared to VSe2
Niagara Falls Review photographs [compact discs], 1896-1990, n.d.
Get PDFThe Niagara Falls Review was first published in 1873. The newspaper has been published daily since the 1930s and reports on local, national, and global news, primarily serving Niagara Falls, Fort Erie, and Niagara-on-the-Lake. Ownership of the paper has changed several times since its founding and is currently owned by Torstar and published by Metroland Media Group, a subsidiary of Torstar.Two compact discs containing black and white photographs taken for the Niagara Falls Review. There are a total of 1363 photographs on the discs. Photos include bridges, tourist attractions, factories, parks, roads, schools, and the Falls
Convergence Analysis of Heterogeneous Decision-making Populations Under the Coordinating Best-response and Imitation Update Rules
Get PDFThis thesis emphasis is on coordination games.
In a coordination game, selecting the same strategy or decision as the opponent is mutually beneficial for both parties.
We studied the problem of equilibrium convergence in such games in both discrete and continuous (time) cases.
In the first Chapter, we provide a brief introduction to the field of game theory. We discuss different categories of agents based on their levels of rationality and decision-making strategies, along with a variety of games. Additionally, we address important issues and challenges within this field.
The second Chapter of this work is dedicated to a heterogeneous mixed population of imitators and best-responders.
In this model, agents’ update rules are assumed to be discrete functions of time.
Imitators refer to agents who simply replicate the strategy of another agent with the highest payoff, while best-responders pick the strategies that maximise their individual outcomes.
Suggesting the concept of ’sections’--a consecutive sequence of agents with similar strategies– helped us in establishing convergence to an equilibrium state.
This convergence was demonstrated under any arbitrary asynchronous activation sequence within a linear network.
The proof was then extended to networks with ring, starike, and sparse-tree structures.
However, the question of equilibrium convergence for other network structures remains an open challenge.
In the third Chapter, we examined a large well-mixed population of imitators within a coordination context.
Our analysis is grounded in the assumption that imitation here is driven by dissatisfaction. Equivalently, agents with lower payoffs are more dissatisfied and have more tendency to change and imitate higher earners within the population.
The analysis reveals the presence of three fixed points, of which two are stable and one is a saddle point. The stable manifold of the unstable fixed point is also calculated. Additionally, It is demonstrated that starting from any initial state, the population eventually converges towards one of these introduced fixed points
INTER-JOINT COORDINATION IN THE BACK SQUAT WITH A BAND AROUND THE KNEES
Get PDFLooped resistance bands are often placed around the knees to provide a proprioceptive aid to reduce knee valgus during a squat. So far, research examining the kinematic effects of band use is limited to frontal plane knee mechanics. The objectives of this thesis were: 1) to determine if the use of looped resistance bands during a loaded barbell squat, would alter sagittal plane squat mechanics and 2) to determine if changes in squat mechanics were different between male and female participants. Subjects (10 males, and 10 females) completed 3 repetitions of 4 squat conditions (3 band conditions of varying tension, and one control) in random order, at 85% of their estimated one repetition maximum loads. Knee, hip, and barbell kinematics were measured, as well as coordination and variability during the ascent and descent of the movement. Reductions in knee flexion angles, joint velocities, and increased variability at the knee were observed with band use. Increased variability at the hip joint, and in turn, coordination between the knee and hip joint, were altered when bands were used. As a result of changes at the knee and hip joint, vertical barbell range of motion was reduced. The effects of the band appeared to be more pronounced with increasing band tension. Analysis of sex differences revealed coordinative differences between the male and female groups in control and band conditions, with female subjects displaying more significant changes in technique with increasing band tension. This study suggests that the effects of a looped resistance band are not limited to the fontal plane as originally intended and have several effects on sagittal plane squat kinematics
The Feasibility of Wearable Sensors for the Automation of Distal Upper Extremity Ergonomic Assessment Tools
Get PDFWork-related distal upper limb musculoskeletal disorders are costly conditions that many
companies and researchers spend significant resources on preventing. Ergonomic assessments
evaluate the risk of developing a work-related musculoskeletal disorder (WMSD) by quantifying
variables such as the force, repetition, and posture (among others) that the task requires. Accurate
and objective measurements of force and posture are challenging due to equipment and location
constraints. Wearable sensors like the Delsys Trigno Quattro combine inertial measurement units
(IMUs) and surface electromyography to solve collection difficulties. The purpose of this work
was to evaluate the joint angle estimation of IMUs and the relationship between sEMG and overall
task intensity throughout a controlled wrist motion. Using a 3 degrees-of-freedom wrist
manipulandum, the feasibility of a small, lightweight wearable was evaluated to collect accurate
wrist flexion and extension angles and to use sEMG to quantify task intensity. The task was a
repeated 95º arc in flexion/ extension with six combinations of wrist torques and grip requirements.
The mean wrist angle difference (throughout the range of motion) between the WristBot and the
IMU of 1.70° was not significant (p= 0.057); but significant differences existed throughout the
range of motion. The largest difference between the IMU and the WristBot was 10.7° at 40°
extension; this discrepancy is smaller than typical visual inspection joint angle estimate errors by
ergonomists of 15.6°. All sEMG metrics (flexor muscle root mean square (RMS), extensor muscle
RMS, mean RMS, integrated sEMG (iEMG), physiological cross-sectional area weighted RMS)
and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) had significant regression results with the task intensity.
Variance in RPE was better explained by task intensity than the best sEMG metric (iEMG) with
R2 values of 0.35 and 0.21, respectively. Wearable sensors can be used in occupational settings to
increase the accuracy of postural assessments; additional research is required on relationships
between sEMG and task intensity to be used effectively in ergonomics. There is potential for
sEMG to be a powerful tool; however, the dynamic nature and combined exertion (grip and
flexion/ extension) make it difficult to quantify task intensit
More than a Game: Understanding Gendered Discourse in Online Video Game Communities
Get PDFUsing discourse analysis guided by Connell’s Relational Gender Theory and the concept of Hegemonic Masculinity, this research focused on the gendered discourse of online communities for the video game “Overwatch”. The overall aim of this study was to explore the discourse about gender in online communities dedicated to gaming to see how gender norms are reproduced, challenged, or both. Seeking answers to two research questions, 1), How does discourse about gender develop from images and text in conversations within digital communities?, 2), What forms does gendered discourse take in the images and text users post to their individual blogs?, data in the form of text and image social media posts were collected from one focus community on Reddit and one focus community on Tumblr over a three-month period. Two main themes were identified on Reddit: Promotion of Men as Gamers and Traditional Gaming Behaviours. These themes provided evidence of gender norms being reproduced, with men being seen as the superior gender in gaming spaces maintaining the belief that gaming is an activity reserved for men and boys. Two main themes were also identified on Tumblr: Critiquing the Heroes and Taking Pride in the Game. These themes demonstrated gender norms are being challenged in the selected community on Tumblr. A prominent LGBTQ+ community largely rejected heteronormativity as users critiqued the design of the game’s characters. Overall, the findings suggest there is potential to disrupt the established gender hierarchy in gaming that assumes men are superior to every other gender, but there is still a long way to go before this change becomes widespread
Language Agnostic Software Energy Kernel Framework
Get PDFSoftware efficiency has taken a toll in recent times and code quality and optimization
is often an afterthought nowadays. Also there exists no standard operating system
support or unified tooling to gather fine grained energy consumption data about
source code. Current tooling that exist tackles this problem by running the entire
process/application as a whole, therefore localizing the exact part in source code is a
blind endeavour. It is also time consuming and expensive to improve such efficiency
concerns during the development phase. Coupled with the fact that recent hardware
leaps has made it possible to write non-performant software to run relatively fast
without much regards to code efficiency. The downside to this phenomenon is that,
the hardware compensates for bad code quality by using far more resources increasing
energy usage.
In this thesis, we focus on an energy centric view of running applications and
devise tooling to assist the software developer when choosing libraries, frameworks,
programming languages and critical architecture designs. We propose a standard
unified way of gathering energy consumption data from the operating system kernel
and propose two solutions: a kernel energy module and associated energy reading
libraries. The objective is to introspect process/applications without massively altering source code. The idea is to probe into source code and gather energy data for
comparison against different implementations to create awareness amongst software
developers.
The tooling is designed to be application and programming language agnostic
so that it can infer runtime metrics without much assumption of the underlying
software. This allows to gather virtually any scenario and compare software models
with different versions, environments and systems. The thesis also does extensive
machine-learning tests using different libraries and synthetic datasets to shed light on
ML experiments and their energy consumption. Together with these approaches, the developers can make informed decisions about which part to prioritize improvement
and achieve greener software
Institutional signals of inclusion: Increasing perceptions of possibilities available for the self and others in STEM
Get PDFWomen in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) face systemic barriers due to the prominent masculine culture that has been established within the field. The present research aims to examine strategies for improving the experiences of women in STEM by exploring the benefits that institutional signals of inclusion can have on perceptions of what is possible for the self and others at work. Across four studies, participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions where we manipulated the extent to which the company policies at a fictitious technology development company were gender-inclusive. Studies 1 through 3 assessed the impact of gender-inclusive policies on beliefs regarding how possible the work culture of the described organization would make it to behave inclusively (Study 1), be your authentic self (Study 2), and achieve professional goals (Study 3). Results revealed that gender-inclusive policies led individuals to anticipate a warmer interpersonal climate and possess a stronger belief that it would be possible to behave in an inclusive manner, authentically express themselves, and achieve professional goals. In Study 4, participants rated their preferences between job candidates and selected who they would hire for a position in STEM from an array of candidate profiles. The findings demonstrated that gender-inclusive policies result in a significant preference for qualified women candidates and increase the likelihood of hiring qualified women in STEM. This research suggests strategies to improve experiences in STEM by expanding perceptions of what is possible for the self and others in male-dominated domains
Practicing Ecological Security and Making Multispecies Relations in Anti-Base Resistance: Insights from Environmental-Oriented Anti-Base Activists in Henoko and Takae struggles in Okinawa
Get PDFHenoko and Takae are two Okinawan villages entangled in the struggles against militarization of Henoko-Oura Bay and Yanbaru forest, respectively. These struggles highlight the problems associated with the US military bases and operations in relation to environmental justice (EJ), conservation, and ecological security concerns. Focusing on environmental-focused anti-base resistance, my research asks what activities activists engage in and how those activities relate to activists’ understanding of the problems associated with the US military bases in Okinawa. Drawing on in-depth interviews with environmental-oriented anti-base activists and participant observation in protest sites and activist communities, my research explores how activists ascribe meanings to their current resistance activities in Henoko and Takae, particularly direct action interferences, monitoring, and translocal collaborations. My analysis of activists’ perceptions, experiences, and behaviours in these activities contributes to (Critical) EJ and social movement studies (SMS) literatures by highlighting non-western forms of resistance and activists’ interpretation and articulation of their particular approaches. Additionally, informed by assemblage theory, my research investigates how activists interact with human and nonhuman entities in their activism and how those interactions shape activists’ perceptions of their relations with others and their ideas of security. My analysis reveals activists’ exceptional humility to and practice of ecological security from the ways in which they interact with the local community, those on ‘the other side,’ and nonhuman surroundings. My analysis also demonstrates how protest sites become spaces of knowledge production and relationship-building, which challenge the Japanese and US governments’ colonialist, militaristic, and anthropocentric governance and security narratives. Such findings contribute to the theoretical understanding and practical application of assemblage theory, particularly in relation to the SMS and environmental sociology literatures. The activists’ practices of ecological security and multispecies relations in Henoko and Takae can be an exemplar for EJ and other social justice activism