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Winner prediction in fighting games
No full textA fighting game is a video game in which two or more players battle and a winner is decided. A replay file format for a fighting game was reverse engineered to understand how important game values were stored inside saved game states. 10479 replays were gathered and the savestates of each replay were extracted into an organized dataset. The game values in each savestate were used to train an artificial neural network to predict the winner of a given match with a validation accuracy of 75%
COVID-19 and intimate partner violence: the implications of the pandemic on women's shelters in Atlantic Canada
No full textThis thesis explores how women's shelters serving survivors of intimate partner violence in Atlantic Canada were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Intimate partner violence is a persistent and widespread issue in Atlantic Canada: every year, thousands of women seek refuge and support from women's shelters when fleeing abusive relationships. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 came increased incidents of severe intimate partner violence with implications on the work of the women's shelter sector. This thesis reviews published information from violence against women's organizations in Canada during the pandemic to discuss how the regular service provision of women's shelters was affected and thereby adapted. I found that the challenges women's shelters face during 'normal' times, including deficiencies in funding and shelter capacity, were exacerbated during the pandemic. The experiences of staff at women's shelters during the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates that without adequate and stable government funding and without investment in infrastructure for the sector, the current shelter system will continue to be insufficient to meet the needs of Canadian women fleeing violence
Beyond calories and currency: exploring the impacts of a farmers market coupon program on more-than-food-security
No full textThis undergraduate thesis explores the impacts of a farmers market coupon program on folks for whom their local market may not otherwise be accessible (such as people with low incomes). The Nourishing Communities Food Coupon Program is a provincially funded program, that, in 2021 reached over 500 households across 27 farmers markets in Nova Scotia, Canada. Through an "anonymous", reoccurring coupon system, folks can purchase whatever they wish at the farmers market, over a period of at least 6 months (or the length of a market season). Through 61 semi-structured interviews spanning 12 diverse farmers markets, the impacts and experiences of the Nourishing Communities Food Coupon Program were investigated. Findings showed that participants in the program experience it in vastly different ways, albeit mostly positively/constructively. The impacts and experiences of the program in the eyes of participants, extended far beyond a method of food provision, and served to enhance people's sense of belonging, social/emotional wellbeing, security, citizenship, quality of life, self-efficacy, and awareness of local-global systems; as well as materially nourished connections with people, places, and things that may have otherwise not been made possible. Participants also stated that the program contributed to the social and economic fabric of their communities, which in turn may strengthen community and ecological resilience. In experiencing the farmers market, participants may have also been exposed to new ways of ecological thinking and relational experiencing, which may have the potential to provoke small interruptions to potentially harmful aspects of neoliberal and anthropocentric thinking, knowing, structuring, and experiencing the world. As such, this paper puts forth the notion of more-than-food-security, through which programs such as this can be understood, grappled with, and celebrated. This paper also provides recommendations and good practices which can inform the development of the current program, as well as motivate a reimagining and proliferation of farmers markets coupon programs (and other food justice/sovereignty and broader community work), elsewhere
Central role of spiritual identity in youth ministry: integrating Henri Nouwen's "Life of the Beloved."
No full textThe purpose of this study was to explore how Henri Nouwen's understanding of spiritual identity as the "Life of the Beloved" can be helpful in youth ministry. In the research, there were fourteen participants who were youth pastors from the Canadian Baptist of Ontario and Quebec Denomination. This study was conducted at a one-day retreat where Nouwen's four movements of "becoming the Beloved" were presented over two sessions. After each session, the participants were divided into three focus groups. The focus groups were given open-ended questions to discuss the value of Nouwen's concepts in youth ministry.
Qualitative results indicated that Nouwen's "Life of the Beloved" is important and significant in youth ministry. Nouwen's "Life of the Beloved" has the potential to help in the shift in youth ministry to spiritual formation as it was found to be important in the spiritual identity of youth pastors and their youth. It is valuable as it can help remind them of their spiritual identity as the beloved children of God, which is fundamental to who they are
Applying image segmentation to deep reinforcement learning in video games
No full textDeep Reinforcement Learning (deep-RL) has been used to create agents that can outperform top human players in game domains from chess to modern video games. The models using the most general techniques in this field apply image preprocessing techniques, such as downsampling, that remove key information and non-key information in equal measure. This thesis proposes a novel method of generating image segmentation datasets in domains which can be simulated, including video games. The intention behind this is to enable the creation of image segmentation models that can preprocess image state input to a deep-RL model in a more intelligent manner by removing non-key information from the images. In testing these methods, it was found that image segmentation improved the sample efficiency and reduced the learning time of a deep-RL agent in Pong. Furthermore, it was found that a segmentation model using the proposed automatic method trained on Super Mario Bros., an environment where deep-RL is still behind human ability, outperformed a model using more traditional manual labelling methods in segmentation accuracy and dataset creation time
Problematic smartphone use: relating self reports of addiction to actual use, age of phone acquisition and gender
No full textUntil recently, the research on smartphone use has relied heavily on self-report estimates of use. When compared with log data, these estimates have been found to be weak. Because few studies have compared validated self-report scales with actual use, this study examined whether self-report measures of smartphone addiction align with iPhone screen time data. Gender differences and relations with age of first phone acquisition were also examined. To address these issues, 75 undergraduate students completed an interview in which they were directed to the screen time feature in their iPhone and asked to report on their social media, texting, and gaming use within the last week. They also estimated console gaming time. Participants then completed online measures of addictions to the same constructs. It was hypothesized that: (1) the self-report and screen time measures would be significantly correlated, (2) women would have more texting and social media use, but less video game use than men, and (3) the younger that participants acquired their first phone, the more smartphone use they would have. It was found that all self-report measures of smartphone addiction were positively correlated with the screen time data, with the exception of texting. It was also found that women had more social media use but less video game use than men and that the younger that participants acquired their first phone the more texting they engaged in. Due to the correlations between the two measures of smartphone use being weak, it was concluded that self-reports of addiction are approximate but not very accurate measures of actual smartphone use
Application of the BCG strategy palette on small and medium sized enterprises
No full textAcademics and researchers have long wondered about how decisions makers in organizations perceive the environments in which they operate in. This important question assumes that the behaviours of organizations are not solely determined by their environments. A group of observers from BCG suggests that the different ways managers perceive these operating environments can be grouped into five different categories making up a framework called the Strategy Palette. The framework was based on observations of large corporations in the Fortune 500. It begged the question, does this framework also apply to managers of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) which make up over half of national GDP?
The framework was presented as being all encompassing and applicable to managers of SMEs. A set of hypotheses were tested in the current study using textual analysis of a dataset of SME manager interviews to determine whether managers were perceiving their operating environment through a specific strategy described in the Strategy Palette. It was found that the Strategy Palette is applicable to the context of SMEs. The scope of this study was limited but allows for further research into the different applications and nuances of the Strategy Palette
Universal basic income: a potential solution to financial inequality and poverty in Canada
No full textUniversal Basic Income (UBI) is a form of social welfare through which the Government pays its citizens a predetermined amount regardless of their employment status. The purpose of UBI is to reduce financial inequality and poverty by providing recipients with the financial means necessary to support themselves. This report explores the potential of implementing a national UBI program in Canada, the subsequent economic and social impacts, and offers recommendations concerning the framework, funding, and subsequent reporting. First, it provides an overview of Canadian UBI experiments including the Ontario Basic Income Pilot Project and the Manitoba Basic Annual Income Experiment. Next, it reviews economic analysis including two reports published by the Parliamentary Budget Officer on potential national UBI models, as well as proposed legislation for a national UBI framework. The report also looks at experiments performed in other high-income countries, the results of which are largely consistent with those of the Canadian experiments. The results of these experiments and analysis suggest that the economic impacts of UBI include an insignificant reduction in labour effort, an increase in GDP, job creation and government revenue as well as a reduction in the effects of poverty. Meanwhile, the potential social impacts of UBI include a decrease in crime and violence, improvement in mental and physical health, an increase in quality of education as well as the mitigation of various gender-based issues. Overall, this evidence makes a compelling argument in support of UBI regarding its ability to alleviate financial inequality and poverty. However, if a national UBI program were to come to fruition, it must be accompanied by progressive tax reform to ensure successful wealth redistribution. Additionally, the existing literature lacks insight on the impact of UBI on subgroups based on race and gender. Data collection and reporting requirements outlined by the proposed legislation should incorporate intersectionality in its framework
Immune responses of mosquitoes infected with Hepatozoon parasites from the blood of garter snakes
No full textProduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is an immune response of mosquitoes when they are infected with apicomplexan parasites such as Plasmodium and Hepatozoon species. Little is known about the immune response of mosquitoes infected with Hepatozoon species from the blood of snakes, and if immune responses are elevated or suppressed in certain tissues of these insects. The objectives of this study were to determine the nature of the immune response of Culex territans infected with Hepatozoon sipedon of Common Garter Snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis) and to compare such responses to those observed in mosquitoes infected with closely-related Hepatozoon species from the blood of frogs. Using a peroxide assay, the concentration of peroxide was measured in the midgut, haemocoel, and ovaries of mosquitoes that had taken a blood meal from uninfected and heavily-infected snakes. We found that oxidative activity significantly increased in the haemocoel of C. territans, but not in the midgut or ovaries. Comparison of these data with those of peroxide responses of mosquitoes infected with Hepatozoon species of frogs reveal that production of reactive oxygen species appears to be a generalized immune response in mosquitoes infected with Hepatozoon species, but is elevated in different tissues depending on the location of infection of various species of these parasites. These findings suggest that conserved immune responses are activated in different tissues as a result of the diversity of developmental locations of Hepatozoon species infecting mosquitoes
Comparison of dynamic and static postural control in individuals with and without a history of concussions
No full textIntroduction: Concussions can result from a direct or indirect force causing the brain to accelerate in the skull, straining brain tissue and altering normal functioning. They are an increasing concern in sport, from detection through treatment and return to play. Concussion recovery should be considered individually
specific because there are many signs and symptoms, each requiring protocols in the rehabilitation plan. One concussion related deficit is in postural control, often assessed with a static balance test that may allow athletes to return to sport prematurely. In contrast to static balance tests, this study introduces a
sport specific dynamic postural control assessment that measures differences in center of pressure (COP) motion. The strength of neck stabilizers may also help maintain the stability of the neck in contact sport, thus reducing the likelihood of a concussion. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine if dynamic balance assessments could detect differences in postural control in individuals with and without a history of concussions and if there was a relationship between neck strength and a history of concussions.
Methods: Fifty-one participants (females= 25, males =26) completed this study. Anthropometric measures (reach length, eye height, isometric neck strength, cervical flexion endurance, and dynamic neck strength) were completed. Four novel dynamic balance tests were completed in addition to Balance
Error Scoring System (BESS) and Concussion Balance Test (COBALT), giving a comprehensive assessment of postural control, vestibular, ocular, auditory systems, proprioception, and cognition.
Results: In contrast with standard clinical practice COP measurements, two of our four novel dynamic tests yielded statistically significant differences based on concussion history and all four measured greater COP mean velocity. A pairwise comparison of these measurements showed statistically significant
differences with both BESS and COBALT. All neck strength tests were statistically significant when compared by sex, but not by concussion history.
Discussion: The four dynamic sport specific balance tests provide a comprehensive assessment of the functional integration of cognition, postural control, ocular, and auditory systems and allow better understanding of underlying post-concussion postural and cognitive deficits. Neck strength results were sex specific but further research is needed to understand why females are predisposed to concussions.
Importance: Dynamic balance assessments are crucial to the long-term success of athletes when returning to play post-concussion. Neck muscles play an important role in head posture and improving their strength, especially in females and may reduce risk of sustaining a concussion