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Metal and body condition assessment in aquatic furbearers from the Porcupine River system, Timmins, Ontario
Get PDFIn 2014, MOECC, MNRF, local First Nations, the City of Timmins, and local mines designated
the Porcupine Watershed, east of Timmins, Ontario, as an area of concern due to a variety of
potential point-source contaminants from over a century of forestry, mining, and
urbanization. Further study of the watershed was necessary to determine the existence and, if
present, the extent of contamination. This study evaluated metal uptake and its relationship with
body condition of Castor canadensis, Ondatra zibethica, Lontra canadensis, and Mustela vison.
Results indicated that in the industrial area, Castor canadensis had an increase of 5% in body
condition and 26% decrease in body condition in Ondatra zibethica. Moving up the trophic level,
aquatic carnivores, Lontra canadensis had a 46% lower body condition in industrial areas, while
Mustela vison’s body condition was lower in the industrial area by 33%. In both trophic levels,
arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, copper, iron, and manganese levels in tissues were significantly higher
(P<0.05) in the industrial area compared to the reference areas. These results indicate that
bioavailability of certain metals is higher in the industrialized area of the Porcupine Watershed
and that potentially, some pressures on fauna health may exist. No evidence of site-influence or
enhanced levels were observed for mercury, lead, antimony, selenium, chromium or zinc. No
direct link between higher point-source bioavailability of metals and current and past industry,
urban development nor natural variability in local geology was found. However, if remedial
measures are implemented, all parties should be involved. In order to protect and restore the
health of the watershed, further investigation is necessary to determine the point- sources of the
identified metals.Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Biolog
Placemaking and water management: architectural catalysts for the incremental development of disenfranchised communities in Bangalore, India
No full textThe thesis investigates the current water crisis that
Bangalore, India, is facing, and particularly how architecture can
help alleviate some of the negative effects of water-related issues
on the everyday lives of disenfranchised communities. While water
conservation policies and technical solutions are discussed and
implemented at the national and municipal level, the effects of water
scarcity and lack of infrastructure on more impoverished communities are
often forgotten. The thesis is making the argument that a placemaking
approach, which builds on an in-depth analysis of current community
status and assets in order to create gathering spaces that tackle both
environmental and social issues, can serve as a catalyst for flooding
mitigation and self-development. This question was explored through
a mapping investigation of key water issues in Bangalore, a review of
the literature, precedent analysis, as well as on-site observations. The
resulting project, Vegavardhaka, transforms an underused public space
by integrating water security strategies with the design of a gathering
space, a washing area, a playground and an Anganwadi (women and
children care centre). Thought in different phases, the project acts a
guide to a responsive design process that aims at breaking the walls
of segregation, both physically and metaphorically, by supporting local initiatives
Surviving the concrete jungle: the eco-physiological consequences of consuming anthropogenic food waste on raccoons (Procyon lotor)
No full textUrbanization is a process where natural landscapes are transformed to include
structures like buildings and roads to accommodate the growing human population. Many
species of wildlife are unable to adapt to these rapid and drastic landscape changes,
resulting in declines to certain populations. However, species like mesocarnivores that
have flexible diets are able to thrive in these urbanized environments due to the increased
access to anthropogenic food waste. Food resources such as this are different in both
quantity and quality, potentially leading to individual health effects. This research studied
the physiological consequences associated with an urban diet in raccoons (Procyon
lotor), a species that is opportunistic and omnivorous. Dietary patterns using C and N
stable isotope analysis were measured, along with their effect on body condition, glycated
serum protein (GSP), and leptin across an urbanization gradient from the Ontario and
Québec regions during the fall. Stable isotope analysis revealed δ13C and δ15N were
highest in agricultural and barren landscapes, exhibiting a diet highly reliant on C4 plants
such as corn and animal protein, respectively, instead of anthropogenic food waste as
previous studies with summer sampling periods have shown. Body condition had a
positive relationship with both δ13C and leptin, providing evidence that increases in body
condition is associated with fat mass. However, extremely high body condition with
greater fat reserves may have negative health consequences such as hyperglycemia, as
seen with increased GSP concentrations from raccoons in agricultural and barren
landscapes. Broad scale analyses of body condition (Ontario and Québec) showed sex-
specific results, where males were in better body condition in urban areas and females
were in poorer body condition. Finer scale analyses of Ontario showed that raccoons
from agricultural and barren landscapes were in poorer body condition than those from
natural landscapes, which may provide insight into how raccoons conserve energy for
locomotion. Males were found to be in consistently better body condition than females in
Ontario. Surprisingly, there was no effect of urbanization in Québec potentially due to
differences in municipal waste management policies. Overall, this study suggests a shift
in diet from anthropogenic food waste to resources from agricultural and barren
landscapes throughout the fall, as it is more readily available food source
Honouring water: remediating an anthropocentric worldview
No full textLack of Potable Water in First Nations communities is often portrayed negatively
in the media. Framed as a Water crisis, the responsibility and failure to provide safe
Water for communities is solely placed on the federal government of Canada. While
colonization and enforcing these mindsets play a large part in these issues, all people are
accountable for what is happening to the Water. This exploration of Water in First Nations
communities considers two worldviews: Anishnawbek and Western perspectives. Western
understandings of Water include implications of governance, policy, and set infrastructure
within First Nations communities that measure its success based on funding models and
meet regulated standards. Through ending Water advisories in communities, a surface
understanding of addressing Water protection is framed through human well-being, and
how to prevent further damage to human health. This perspective is very problematic when
considering Anishnawbek ways of being, that value relationships and interconnections
with all living beings. Wateris life, it is a living entity, and has a spirit that must be respected
and honoured. Views of Water need to be reframed through an understanding of how we can
respect the Water that brings us life and sustains us. We must reclaim the relationship
with Water, by reconnecting community involvement in Water processes and to Water
itself. As a response to the current society, Indigenous women are reasserting their
role as the voice that speaks for the Water. Through leaders such as Water Walkers,
there is an awareness brought to seemingly transparent issues of Water pollution and
neglect, by walking around bodies of Water such as the Great Lakes. Water Walks are
acts of ceremony themselves, honouring Water through prayer, song, and offerings of
tobacco at every waterway that is passed, showing thanks and respect for the Water. In order to value Anishnawbek ways of being and living, it is imperative to reassess
existing political hierarchy in water governance and establish inclusive processes
encompassing community voice, and the affected ecological factors of the land that is
being impacted through substantial infrastructure intervention. To address the problem
of Water, Water and wastewater infrastructure as they are understood presently, add
large amounts of chemicals to the Water, which often results in dead Water without spirit,
while undervaluing Anishnawbek perspectives and community involvement. Through
an investigation of Water practices in other cultures, and case studies that address Water through phytoremediation systems, an integration of Anishnawbek concepts,
meanings, and teachings can be reflected upon in a new understanding of the value of
Water through architecture systems and design. In collaboration with the Atikameksheng
Anishnawbek First Nation community, located near Sudbury, Ontario, the history of
Water and community will be transcribed through story. Engaging with community
Elders, Knowledge Carriers, and other public figures will help in understanding the
strong connections with Water prior to Water facilities, as well as mapping a small part
of the land. Through a proposed framework that considers both worldviews, a new
understanding of Water and architecture can begin to amend the perceptions and current
realities of Water purification in First Nations communities and restore relations to Water
Anarchist reconstruction: towards a political dialectic
No full textToday we lack a substantial discussion
about what political-economic system
should define our future. This discourse has
been largely replaced by the hegemonic
position of capitalism.1
The architecture I
propose pushes toward a significant reentry into this debate, intellectually as well
as physically, calling socio-political ideas
of possible futures into action to engage in
a revived political dialectic. This thesis will
explore anarchism’s position in producing
an alternative political space and the
contribution architecture can make to
anarchism.
The anarchism proposed by this
project challenges existing structures to
prove their legitimacy and if they fail,
deconstructs them, and then reconstructs
them from below.2
On the architectural scale this mechanism can transform a
building into a testing ground for new
kinds of material processes, building
systems, social organizations and lifestyle
patterns. This includes the production
and consumption of food, electricity,
water, and a reconstruction of how space
is defined and what new socio-spatial
patterns might emerge. The project will
not itself be, nor will it promote revolution,
rather it will use revolutionary politics
expressed through architecture as an
argument for a space in which to explore
and participate in a discourse on politicaleconomic alternatives through a material
exploration. To this end, I propose an
architectural process that engages in
an imaginative dialogue of alternative futures.The project will be named “The
Complex” since it collapses programs of
dwelling and production into a single site.
“The Complex” will take comprehensive
ideas of revolution and utopianism
and translate them into a heterotopia3
,
responding to revolutionary politics from a
position of critique. By heterotopia I mean
a space that uses utopian principles but
becomes a real space amongst other
real spaces, proposing not to completely
reshape a society but transform it from
within. This heterotopia will invert and
subvert the socio-spatial conditions
that capitalism creates to explore how
architecture can embody an anarchist
critique of capitalism.
“The Complex” will be an embodiment
of a political-economic critique where
criticism is embedded into a material
process of spatial production where-from
emerges a critical paradigm for living. The
process seeks to step out of normative productions of space and uses material
outside the capitalist system, shown in
evidence through the thesis’ narrative and
conceptual drawing.
The project will be sited in downtown
Sudbury in an old office building [called
the Mackey building, formerly the
Frontenac Hotel]. The habitation and
build process will be an exploration of
“The Complex’s” architectural unfolding
over time, following the actions of a
group of occupants as they reconstruct
the architecture over 15 years. A 1:40
architectural scale model will be the set
for the political ideas to be explored in a
haptic material manner to better simulate
the bodily action of the occupants on and
in the buildin
The effects of automation on the environmental impact of deep underground metal ore mining operations
No full textThe growing demand for increased production has resulted in the need to develop deeper
underground mines to extract more resources. However, the mining process becomes less
economically attractive as the ventilation and ore transportation costs drastically increase when
operating at large depths. This has led to the industry investigating automated battery-electric
and biodiesel fueled machinery instead of diesel machines to reduce emissions, and hence
ventilation costs, as well improve productivity and thereby, the economic viability of deep mine
projects.
A life cycle assessment (LCA) approach has been developed to evaluate the environmental
impact from introducing automated equipment in underground copper mines. This is a novel
application for an LCA, and as a gauge of model accuracy, it was found that calculated
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for an underground mine site in Canada were within 5.6% of
their reported emissions. The model was then expanded using data collected from automation
trials at a Canadian mine to predict changes due to the introduction of various levels of
automation with regards to the impact potentials of global warming, acidification, eutrophication
and human toxicity. All impact levels were quantified and found to decrease due to automation.
Data from this site study was then used to further develop the LCA model to predict changes in
environmental impacts for underground copper mine sites in Australia, Canada, Poland, USA
and Zambia. Site specific parameters and processes that contribute to their overall environmental
impacts were identified, and the calculated CO2 emissions were within 4.2-5.6% of the reported
values.
The mining industry is moving toward introducing significantly more technology to enhance
both productivity and safety. This thesis investigates using an LCA approach to add a third
dimension; improved environmental impacts that contribute to more sustainable minin
The contribution of family composition to attachment, emotional intelligence, and family functioning
No full textFamily composition is defined as a caregiver (or more than one caregiver) and other people (such
as siblings, half-siblings, or step siblings) who live within a household and are related or
unrelated. Family composition has been studied in many areas related to physical well-being,
psychological well-being, and emotional well-being. Though an abundance of information exists
in some areas, information specifically concerning family composition and attachment,
emotional intelligence, and family functioning is limited. The available literature neglects the
adult child population and has focused primarily on an adolescent population. Several
researchers have referred to the importance of studying these variables. The present study aimed
to further the literature by primarily investigating the moderation of attachment and emotional
intelligence by family composition and the differences in family functioning according to family
composition and length of time in a specific family composition. It assessed the prior mentioned
hypotheses in 143 undergraduate university students through a variety of questionnaires. The
results revealed that family composition did not moderate attachment and emotional intelligence
and family functioning did not differ according to family composition and length of time. The
findings of the present study contributes to the scarce literature in these area
The impact of staff interaction in the learning experience of visitors to a science centre: an initial framework for facilitation
No full textThe purpose of this study is to investigate how the interaction with interpretative science centre
staff impacts the learning of visitors who engage with exhibits at Science North (Sudbury, Ontario).
Science North is a science center in which tailoring the learning experience for each visitor is of
paramount importance. Staff and volunteers are affectionately known as Bluecoats, in reference to the
bright blue lab coats they wear on the exhibition floors. Given the current understanding of
unstructured visitor-staff interactions, it becomes evident that there is a need to further explore this
rich and complex field, paying special attention to behaviours and attitudes of staff that are conducive
to learning, independently of the particulars of an exhibit or its science topic.
Although researchers agree that learning happens in museums, and that staff play a meaningful
role, assessing the impact visitor-staff interactions can be difficult and costly (Barriault & Pearson, 2010).
For this reason, this study uses the Visitor Engagement Framework, a practical tool based on
constructivist learning theories, which is effective in assessing the learning potential of exhibits. In this
framework, Breakthrough behaviours are observable behaviours and activities which reflect that the
visitor is fully engaged and committed to the learning experience and recognizes its relevance to their
personal life (Barriault & Pearson, 2010). This study has two complementary phases. In the quantitative phase, the goal is to determine
what impact (if any) do Bluecoats have on visitors’ learning behaviours. Using the Visitor Engagement
Framework, we will compare the visitor engagement levels of multiple exhibits, with and without a
Bluecoat present, paying special attention to the difference in the percentage of visitors that reach
Breakthrough in each condition. In the qualitative phase, through an analysis of emergent themes, the
goal is to explore what Bluecoats do and say to have that impact. The presence of a Bluecoat has a clear, quantifiable, statistically significant impact on the
percentage of visitors that engage in Breakthrough behaviours. When a Bluecoat is present, more
visitors engage in Breakthrough behaviours. To produce this impact, Bluecoats resort to strategies and
methods that can be grouped in 4 categories or Dimensions: Comfort, Information, Reflection, and
Exhibit Use. These dimensions encompass different strategies and techniques of facilitation, all equally
useful and powerful. A rich learning experience means that Bluecoats resort to many different
strategies, in a variety of sequences, tailored to each visitor and exhibit. Furthermore, this framework
can serve as an assessment tool for science centres, to help them better understand how their staff can
make the visitors’ learning experiences richer.Master of Science Communicatio
The kind centre: a built intervention to remediate transgenerational trauma in immigrants
No full textThe question that this thesis attempts to answer is: what defines kind architecture and what is its validity in the
architectural field? How can architecture create a supportive environment to investigate transgenerational trauma and its epigenetic modifications in immigrants? First understanding
the environment as the brain perceives it, one can then understand how the environment influences the brain.
Focusing on transgenerational trauma, the thesis analyzes the epigenetic modifications of this phenomenon, and how behaviour and biology play a role in its transference. The NR3C1 gene indicates that mothers and children from the ages of 4-16 years old are particularly vulnerable, creating
a set demographic to programmatically design for. Since environmental perturbations such as political climate play a role in transgenerational trauma progression, the scope of site is decided on New York City due to the ease of access to the site, and personal connections Architectural solutions are linked to an accumulation of
trauma symptoms, including intrapersonal and interpersonal affecters. Examining materiality and partis of the spaces become important to the overall design. Further, cognitive behavioural therapy becomes the fulcrum of the solution: using communication through activities and meditation to help the individual process their thoughts, dismantle lay perceptions and social factors to break the negative cycle that promotes the
longevity of PTSD and transgenerational trauma transference. The best environment to achieve this therapeutic model is through multi-level interactions which include varying calibers of privacy. Kind architecture is explored as a methodology, revealing public libraries and community centres to be an adequate architectural match to offer a diversity of social interaction that can be encouraged and suggested (rather than
enforced Within Washington Square Park exists the same interventions that allow for diverse levels of communication. However, immigrants tend to feel uncomfortable in large open spaces, especially in New York’s harsh winters. After justifying a public library as a safe shelter, a further analysis of the surrounding
programs further strengthens the site as a potential incubator for further research: most buildings around the East side of Washington Square Park are currently focusing on cultural trauma and the myriad ways to reverse it, particularly between the mother and the child. The research then postulates that a community centre with a public library integration is the best approach to transgenerational trauma therapy. The goal is to create a space for linguistic support, but also exposure to the multitude of cultural expression between occupants: similar
to cognitive behavioural therapy and exposure therapy, one can create architectural strategies to bond relationships and encourage interaction between those who would otherwise be struggling on their own. The proposed architecture would incorporate private therapy rooms, group therapy areas, kitchen and dining areas, and two libraries
L'impact de l'activité physique sur les sphères motrices, sociale et scolaire du trouble déficitaire de l'attention avec ou sans hyperactivité: l'état de la question
No full textLe trouble déficitaire de l'attention avec ou sans hyperactivité (TDAH) est un trouble neurodéveloppemental qui est le plus souvent diagnostiqué chez des enfants d'âge scolaire au Canada.Selon le Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V, 2015), la prévalence du TDAH est de 5% chez cette population. Le TDAH se manifeste principalement de trois façons telles l'inattention, l'hyperactivité et l'impulsivité, et ces caractéristiques ont tendance à perturber la vie sociale, académique et professionnelle de la personne atteinte. Les traitements d'aujourd'hui s'avèrent efficaces, mais ils ont toutefois des lacunes et des effets secondaires (Sonuga-Barke et al., 2013). Plusieurs études récentes démontrent que l'activité physique (AP) a un impact positif sur l'amélioration du fonctionnement cognitif, le développement social et la performance motrice. Il ne faut donc pas exclure l'AP comme une modalité d'intervention en soi-même pour des individus atteints du TDAH. Cette étude veut déterminer si l'AP peut fournir un complément ou encore remplacer les. À partir d'une analyse documentaire, cette étude cherche à voir si l'AP peut même porter avantage au développement cognitif, psychomoteur et social chez les enfants d'âge scolaire. En raison d'un manque de recherches, les résultats de cette étude montrent que l'AP est plutôt un traitement complémentaire aux traitement actuels du TDAH