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Gender normativity in teacher education : a critical participatory action research study with trans and gender nonconforming preservice teachers in Canada
No full textThis dissertation explores how a group of seven trans and/or gender nonconforming preservice teachers from various programs in British Columbia and Ontario experienced, developed their analysis of, and created a resource to challenge gender normativity in teacher education through critical participatory action research. Drawing from transcripts of monthly meetings, interviews with each participant before and after the six months when the group met, participant art, and memos I wrote throughout the process of planning and facilitating the study and building on the analysis developed by the group, I suggest that gender normativity is primarily enacted implicitly in Canadian teacher education programs. Many Canadian teacher education programs declare themselves inclusive of all candidates and explicitly teach about supporting gender and sexual diversity in schools. Yet, colloquial ideas about “professionalism,” others’ apparent discomfort discussing gender nonconformity, and transphobic sentiment can lead candidates to perceive that transness and gender nonconformity in teacher candidates is unwelcome. Some candidates experience similar subtle exclusions related to race and ability, leading to particular concerns among multiply marginalized candidates about anticipating and navigating others’ perceptions of themselves as prospective teachers. In response, candidates in this study came to consider being a trans and/or gender nonconforming candidate in a teacher education program as increasing one’s vulnerability to harm and as involving additional labour to negotiate or respond. At the same time, many participants described moments of joy and connection that were enabled by their presence as trans and/or gender nonconforming people in schools or teacher education programs, leading the group to also conceptualize being trans and/or gender nonconforming as a potential asset in the classroom. I suggest that our meetings created space to collectively develop and try out new ways of conceptualizing ourselves as trans and gender nonconforming educators and to consider how teacher education might be otherwise, even as our work together was also riddled with anxieties, disappointments, and silences.Education, Faculty ofCurriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department ofGraduat
Advanced grant-free NOMA and hybrid beamforming techniques for 5G and beyond
No full textMobile cellular communication has evolved significantly since the advent of the first-generation networks in the 1980s. Fifth-generation (5G) networks were designed to support three critical use cases: massive machine-type communication (mMTC), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), and ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC). These use cases continue to expand with the emergence of sixth-generation (6G) networks. This thesis advances key technologies essential for 5G and beyond, focusing on three pivotal topics in collaboration with industry partners. The first part addresses mMTC by exploring the integration of grant-free (GF) transmission with non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA), referred to as GF-NOMA, to leverage the strengths of both techniques. A primary challenge in GF-NOMA is mitigating high packet drop rates due to decentralized user activity. To address this, we propose uplink GF-NOMA schemes incorporating hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) with two packet combining techniques—chase combining and incremental redundancy. Additionally, we introduce a grant-free single-transmission scheme that concurrently transmits all redundancy versions of a packet. Comparative evaluations confirm that our proposed strategies outperform conventional grant-based and existing GF-NOMA approaches in mMTC scenarios. The second part focuses on eMBB and investigates a deep learning (DL)-based hybrid beamforming (HBF) strategy to mitigate phase noise in millimeter-wave transmission systems caused by local oscillator instabilities. Our method employs a deep neural network to optimize precoding and combining matrices based on channel state information, integrating an adaptive attention mechanism that adjusts per symbol to counteract phase noise. The approach also considers practical constraints such as low-resolution phase shifters and imperfect channel estimation. Simulation results demonstrate substantial data rate improvements, outperforming conventional techniques in scenarios affected by phase noise and compounded distortions.
The third part extends DL-based HBF to high-mobility scenarios where users traverse multiple environments, causing significant channel distribution shifts that necessitate efficient online fine-tuning. This work introduces low-rank adaptation (LoRA) fine-tuning for beamforming, establishing a novel online re-training paradigm applicable beyond our proposed model. Extensive simulations across various channel conditions confirm that LoRA-based fine-tuning outperforms meta-learning and direct transfer learning, further validating its effectiveness.
Together, these contributions advance data-driven solutions for wireless networks, addressing critical challenges in 5G and beyond.Applied Science, Faculty ofElectrical and Computer Engineering, Department ofGraduat
Investigating the role of platelet factor 4 (CXCL4/PF4) in asthma
No full textThe full abstract for this thesis is available in the body of the thesis, and will be available when the embargo expires.Medicine, Faculty ofPathology and Laboratory Medicine, Department ofGraduat
Statistically Informed Multimodal (Domain Adaptation by Transfer) Learning Framework : A Domain Adaptation Use-Case for Industrial Human–Robot Communication
No full textCohesive human–robot collaboration can be achieved through seamless communication
between human and robot partners. We posit that the design aspects of human–robot
communication (HRCom) can take inspiration from human communication to create more
intuitive systems. A key component of HRCom systems is perception models developed
using machine learning. Being data-driven, these models suffer from the dearth of comprehensive,
labelled datasets while models trained on standard, publicly available datasets do
not generalize well to application-specific scenarios. Complex interactions and real-world
variability lead to shifts in data that require domain adaptation by the models. Existing
domain adaptation techniques do not account for incommensurable modes of communication
between humans and robot perception systems. Taking into account these challenges,
a novel framework is presented that leverages existing domain adaptation techniques
off-the-shelf and uses statistical measures to start and stop the training of models when
they encounter domain-shifted data. Statistically informed multimodal (domain adaptation
by transfer) learning (SIMLea) takes inspiration from human communication to use
human feedback to auto-label for iterative domain adaptation. The framework can handle
incommensurable multimodal inputs, is mode and model agnostic, and allows statistically
informed extension of datasets, leading to more intuitive and naturalistic HRCom systems.Applied Science, Faculty ofNon UBCElectrical and Computer Engineering, Department ofReviewedFacultyResearche
Subcutaneous Lidocaine Infusion for Chronic Widespread Pain : A Chart Review and Survey Examining the Safety and Tolerability of Treatment
No full textChronic widespread pain (CWP) is characterized by persistent pain across multiple
body regions, often accompanied by fatigue, cognitive difficulties, and psychological
distress. Background/Objectives: Affecting approximately 10% of the general population,
CWP disproportionately impacts women, individuals from lower socioeconomic backgrounds,
immigrants, and those with a family history of chronic pain. Standard treatments,
including cognitive–behavioral therapy, exercise, and pharmacotherapy, often provide
insufficient relief. This study explores a novel approach to treating treatment-resistant
CWP: high-dose subcutaneous lidocaine infusions administered over extended periods.
Methods: The research included a retrospective chart review and patient survey to evaluate
safety and tolerability. The protocol started with a dose of 10–12 mg/kg of adjusted body
weight, increasing by 10–15% per month, with a maximum dose of 2000 mg. Results: The
chart review of 27 patients revealed mild to moderate adverse events (AEs) in seven patients,
with no severe AEs. A survey of 15 patients indicated a higher incidence of AEs;
however, all patients reported that the benefits outweighed the negatives. On average,
patients experienced 61% pain relief, lasting 19 days per infusion. Conclusions: This study
demonstrates that subcutaneous lidocaine infusions are a well-tolerated treatment for CWP,
offering substantial pain relief and improving patients’ quality of life.Arts, Faculty ofMedicine, Faculty ofAnesthesiology, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Department ofFamily Practice, Department ofPsychology, Department ofReviewedFacultyResearche
Chemogenomic screening of topoisomerase inhibitors : mechanistic insights and cellular interactions
No full textThe full abstract for this thesis is available in the body of the thesis, and will be available when the embargo expires.Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty ofGraduat
Carbon fiber-based chemiresistors for structural health monitoring
No full textWith the increasing demand for durable infrastructure in chemically aggressive environments, the development of self-sensing cement-based materials has emerged as a promising approach for real-time SHM. Traditional methods of assessing infrastructure often rely on periodic inspections, which are not only costly and time-consuming but also limited in their ability to detect early-stage deterioration. This thesis investigates the development and application of carbon fiber-reinforced cement-based chemiresistors designed to detect chemical-induced degradation in concrete infrastructure. The research addresses a critical gap in Structural Health Monitoring, where traditional piezoresistive sensors primarily focus on strain detection, overlooking the effects of chemical exposure.
The study explores the performance of these chemiresistors under exposure to 5% NaCl, 3% and 7% H₂SO₄, 10% and 20% NH₄NH₃, simulating conditions found in marine environments, wastewater systems, and agricultural settings. Cement composites incorporating two types of carbon fibers and hybrid fiber systems (carbon and steel fibers) were fabricated and subjected to cyclic wetting-drying exposure at 50ºC for 30 days to accelerate degradation and create a more realistic environment. Electrical resistivity and UPV were used to monitor degradation over time. The result of this research discusses the best type of carbon fiber, fiber content, and a range of FCR that is expected to be seen after 30 days of exposure.
The research introduces cement-based chemiresistors as a novel SHM solution for detecting chemical damage in real time. The dual assessment of resistivity and UPV provided a comprehensive understanding of both electrical and mechanical degradation mechanisms. This enhances sensor performance. The findings have significant implications for developing smart, self-sensing materials capable of improving the durability and safety of critical infrastructure exposed to harsh chemical environmentsApplied Science, Faculty ofCivil Engineering, Department ofGraduat
Compartmental models and Hawkes processes : equivalence and computational advantages in epidemiological modelling
No full textEpidemiological modelling is crucial for understanding and responding to the spread of infectious diseases, helping public health officials assess the impact of interventions and inform policy decisions. Some prominent models within this field, such as the SIR and SEIR compartmental models, rely on unobserved measurements and can be computationally intensive. This thesis investigates the equivalence between the stochastic SIR and SEIR compartmental models and the Hawkes process, a self-exciting point process, in the epidemiological setting. The research demonstrates that, under specified conditions, the SIR and SEIR models can be interpreted as special cases of the finite population Hawkes process, offering a unified framework for disease modelling that does not rely on latent measurements. This thesis contributes to the growing body of literature on stochastic epidemic models by providing an alternative approach to complement compartmental models, highlighting how inference under the Hawkes process, when fitting the process to data, is consistent with the parameters associated with the SIR and SEIR models. The findings suggest that the Hawkes process can approximate some compartmental models, offering a promising tool for epidemiological modelling.Science, Faculty ofStatistics, Department ofGraduat
Migration as resilience : multi-scalar GIS investigations of Levantine climate migration from the 13th-10th centuries BCE
No full textThe Levantine Late Bronze Age (1600-1100 BCE) ended in what scholars have deemed a perfect storm of cataclysmic factors such as warfare, famine, earthquakes, invasion, and climate change. This thesis focuses on the latter, specifically how non-anthropogenic climate change influenced human movement and adaptive strategies. Paleoenvironmental data indicate regional variations of aridity between the 13th and 10th centuries BCE in the Levant. However, despite renewed interest in migration studies in archaeology, little attention has been given to how shifting aridity coincides with the abandonment or continuation of LBA sites into the Early Iron Age (EIA). Moreover, dominant narratives of mass “Sea People” migrations have framed most regional migration as disruptive and destructive. This thesis argues that reframing Levantine migration as a form of resilience rather than a product of crisis allows climate migration to be conceptualized as a process instead of a singular event. This argument is demonstrated through a multi-scalar analysis, including GIS mapping of LBA and EIA settlements, shifting rainfall parameters, and two case studies of regional variations in resilience. This thesis’s exploration of migratory responses to LBA climate change relies on the assumption that despite other push factors compelling migration, access to reliable water determined survival. Archaeological evidence of water storage and management serves as a proxy for understanding the complexity of how climate influenced human movement. I compare migration patterns between two coastal settlements (Tell Tweini and Tell Sukas) and two inland sites (Tell Tayinat and Tell Atchana) in the Northern Levant, with abrupt migration to the Negev Highlands in the Southern Levant. In doing so, I explore how other “collapse” factors intersected with climatic change to cause unique migration situations. Ultimately, these case studies suggest that movement, technological innovation, or a combination of both enabled Levantine migrants to achieve water security, shaped by the duration and magnitude of climate change.Arts, Faculty ofAncient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Studies, Department ofGraduat
Pyres, pyre debris, and conspicuous secrecy : a built environment approach to Eleusinian cults ca. 725-575 BCE
No full textThis thesis investigates the relationship between two cultic sites of memory in Archaic Eleusis, the Telesterion site and the Sacred House site, from a built environment approach. Following Amos Rapoport’s definition of the built environment as “Space,” “Time,” “Communication,” and “Meaning,” I focus on pyres and their leftover, burned debris as distinct features of each site.
Previous scholarship has acknowledged the unusual uses of pyre debris at the Telesterion and Sacred House, and that both can be considered ‘sites of memory.’ But despite lying less than 90 m. apart, coexisting for at least a century between ca. 700-600 BCE, and going through two major renovations within the same generation of one another, the relationship between the two sites remains underexplored. Most studies on Archaic Eleusis focus on its relationships with the growing Athens, which is hotly contested. While addressing the potential connections with Athens, this thesis will also consider comparisons to sites beyond Athens and even Attica.
After a background chapter information on Eleusis, a chapter each will be dedicated to the Telesterion and the Sacred House. They begin with a site description (“Space”) and an overview of associated activities (“Time”). “Communication” investigates the inclusivity and exclusivity of each site’s built environment based on size, shape, visibility, distance from doorways, and other factors. “Meaning” takes a contextual approach, comparing pyres, debris, and inclusive and exclusive features to other similar or neighboring sites.
This thesis finds that not only did the Telesterion and Sacred House use pyres and debris as distinct, locally specific cues within the built environment, but that they had a bi-directional relationship. Initially, the smaller and more insular Sacred House adapted this ritual vocabulary from the neighboring Telesterion. Around a century later, the Sacred House was destroyed and the Telesterion site was expanded, while creating a more obviously private environment to compensate. Such conspicuous secrecy later became a defining feature of the Eleusinian Mysteries, but at the time it was a strategy to negotiate socio-political changes across Attica, and to preserve and legitimize the local community.Arts, Faculty ofAncient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Studies, Department ofGraduat