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A human rights critique of Bangladesh's Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (BCCSAP) & National Adaptation Plan (NAP) (2023-2050): assessing participation, equity, accountability, and justice in adaptation policy
No full textClimate change is no longer just an environmental crisis; it has become a direct threat to the protection of fundamental human rights. In Bangladesh, one of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world, rising seas, recurrent cyclones, salinity intrusion, and river erosion threaten the lives and livelihoods of millions. However, these effects of climate are not impacting everyone equally. Marginalized groups like Indigenous peoples, women, children, slum-dwellers, and low-income groups continue to face the devastating impact of climate change, which is exacerbating the pre-existing inequalities. This Paper examines whether Bangladesh’s two key adaptation frameworks, the Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (BCCSAP, 2009) and the National Adaptation Plan (NAP, 2023–2050), have effectively protected those most at risk or reinforced the very vulnerabilities they seek to address.
Using a rights-based approach (RBA) as the guiding framework, the paper assesses these policies through the principles of participation, equity, accountability, and non-discrimination. While the BCCSAP was one of the earliest comprehensive national climate plans for Bangladesh, it largely reflected a top-down and technocratic approach, prioritizing infrastructure projects over community voices. The NAP adopts a more progressive language on gender and Indigenous knowledge, but evidence shows that structural gaps remain, particularly around meaningful participation and Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) for Indigenous peoples.
The analysis also examines climate finance and the role of international cooperation, highlighting how loan-based mechanisms and donor-driven agendas frequently restrict rights-based adaptation. By linking Bangladesh’s climate governance with its obligations under international human rights law, the study argues that adaptation cannot be reduced to technical fixes, but rather must ensure justice, accountability, and community agency at its core. Without this shift, adaptation risks becoming another form of exclusion. The paper concludes that for Bangladesh and for international partners, the challenge is not only to adapt to climate impacts, but to do so in ways that protect dignity, rights, and justice.October 202
Continuous cerebral compensatory reserve monitoring in acute neural injury: statistical properties and behaviours
No full textTraumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the leading causes of death and disability within Canada and globally. The mechanisms involved in secondary brain injury after TBI (i.e., the cascade of systemic and local cellular events that lead to tissue damage within the brain) are amenable to therapeutic intervention. Intracranial pressure (ICP) is the cornerstone for these current management paradigms in moderate-to-severe TBI, which is also used as a surrogate for cerebral compliance (CC)/compensatory reserve (CCR) (CC/CCR; the brain's ability to accommodate changes in intracranial volume without causing significant increases in ICP). This approach relies on manual visual inspection for intervention, which is prone to error and inter-/intra-observer reliability issues. An effective alternative is the CC/CCR index RAP, which has recently been used in hydrocephalus studies and proven useful in predicting shunt failure.
RAP is a continuous measurement, derived using the moving correlation between ICP and the pulse amplitude of ICP (AMP), with progressively positive values denoting impaired CC/CCR. Despite its application in hydrocephalus literature, RAP has not been extensively explored in moderate-to-severe TBI. Currently, we have limited, or no, understanding of: A. the temporal statistical structure of the RAP index, including its artifact profile/management strategy, and B. overall insult burden of impaired RAP in association with other cerebral physiology in moderate-to-severe TBI. Therefore, this thesis aims to address these gaps.
This work shows that the time-series statistical features of RAP demonstrated inherent autoregressive features and data trends, regardless of temporal resolution. The difference in temporal characteristics indicates RAP contains distinct information compared to its constituent ICP or AMP alone. Furthermore, such time-domain statistical features of RAP signals can be used to identify artifactual segments in RAP data streams. Additionally, this work explored the relationship of RAP with other cerebral physiology in moderate-to-severe TBI across different predefined RAP ranges ([-1, 0), [0, 0.4], (0.4, 1], which was defined based on the overall physiological state observed in prior literature). Consistent patterns of the physiological parameters were observed across these RAP ranges. Notably, impaired RAP state (i.e. large positive values) was associated with increased ICP, AMP, impaired cerebral autoregulation and decreased regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rSO2) and extracellular brain tissue oxygen (PbtO2).
This thesis provides an improved understanding of RAP’s temporal structure and its relationship with other parameters, which are critical prior to future adoption of the RAP index into bedside monitoring, leveraging RAP data for patient trajectory modeling, and clinical interventional studies based on RAP values.February 202
The effects of norms on support for the decolonization of cultural symbols in Canada
No full textSocial justice efforts can benefit from the involvement of allies who think, feel, and act to support positive change. Social norms may signal growing support for positive change and may persuade further support for a cause. I examined the effects of social norms on reactions toward the removal of colonial statues from public spaces. Specifically, I examined static-norm messages, which describe the proportion of people who hold an attitude, and dynamic-norm messages, which add that the proportion is increasing. Using an online survey platform, I randomly assigned 255 non-Indigenous university students to one of three conditions: no-norm, static-norm, or dynamic-norm. All participants first read a passage describing how John A. Macdonald was involved in residential schools. At the end of the passage, both static and dynamic-norm participants also learned the proportion of people in Canada who support removing John A. Macdonald statues from public spaces. Dynamic-norm participants read that the proportion is increasing. After reading the passage, all participants completed measures of empathy, political solidarity, behavioral intentions, and their attitude toward statue removal. I also collected self-reported political orientation for context. I evaluated the pattern of effects with a one-way ANOVA, mediation, and path analysis. I expected participants in both norm conditions would report higher empathy, political solidarity, behavioral intentions, and attitude toward statue removal than no-norm participants. I also anticipated that dynamic-norm participants would report higher scores than static-norm participants. Finally, I expected that empathy and/or political solidarity would mediate the effects of norms on behavioral intentions. I found limited evidence to support these objectives and some backlash effects. Attitudinal support increased after removing outliers, some of whom identified as strongly right-wing. Additionally, right-wing leaning participants reported lower support when they read one of the norm messages. These participants may have actively resisted the norm appeal. My results highlight the need to tailor messaging to political ideologies and to avoid such resistance.October 202
The influence of extratropical cyclones in the seasonal growth and decay of sea ice in Hudson Bay
No full textHudson Bay, a large continental marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, experiences seasonal sea ice, with sea ice advancing around November and retreating by July. Hudson Bay also experiences extratropical cyclones throughout the year, which modulate sea ice in Hudson Bay through both dynamic and thermodynamic mechanisms. Despite their known influence in other parts of the Arctic, the role of extratropical cyclones in shaping sea ice conditions in Hudson Bay remains poorly understood. This study addresses this gap by examining how extratropical cyclones affect sea ice concentration (SIC) and sea ice effective thickness (SIT) in Hudson Bay from 1979 to 2023. Using sea ice data from NSIDC and PIOMAS (Pan-Arctic Ice-Ocean Modeling and Assimilation System), as well as ERA5 sea ice and atmospheric data, we analyzed cyclone-driven anomalies in atmospheric and sea ice variables across three seasons: freeze-up (November-December), ice-covered (January-April), and break-up (May-July). By categorizing cyclones according to their positions (north, south, east, west) relative to Hudson Bay grid cells, we investigated the influence of extratropical cyclones on the SIC and SIT across the Bay. Results reveal that sea ice responses to cyclones are both seasonally dependent and spatially variable. SIC changes are most closely tied to a combination of dynamic and thermodynamic anomalies, particularly air temperature, sensible heat flux, and ice motion, which is driven by the wind pattern. Meanwhile, SIT variability is primarily driven by dynamic processes, including ice advection and convergence. Cyclone positioning plays a critical role in modulating these effects, with cyclones located to the west or east of the grid cells exhibiting more consistent influences on ice, resulting in either faster or slower growth or decay across the seasons. Lastly, the cumulative impact of cyclones in the seasonal SIT was observed along the western, southern, and eastern boundaries of Hudson Bay, with cyclones contributing an average of 50 cm in total growth during the ice-covered season.October 202
Developing a framework for using artificial intelligence to update and maintain 4D BIM schedules
No full textNatural language interfaces can transform the construction industry by enhancing accessibility and reducing administrative workload in the day-to-day operations of project teams. This thesis introduces the Voice-Integrated Scheduling Assistant for 4D BIM (VISA4D) tool that integrates speech recognition and Natural Language Processing (NLP) capabilities with Building Information Modeling (BIM) to streamline construction schedule updating and maintenance processes. It accepts voice and text inputs for schedule updates, facilitating real-time integration with Autodesk Navisworks, and eliminates the need for direct access to or advanced knowledge of BIM tools. It also provides visual progress tracking abilities through colour-coded elements within the 4D BIM model for communicating task status updates within the project teams. To demonstrate its capability to enhance schedule updating and maintenance efficiency, the VISA4D tool is implemented in an office building project in Canada and user testing is performed. An overall accuracy of 89% was observed in successfully classifying 71 out of 80 tested construction-specific commands, while the user surveys indicated high usability, with 92% of participants finding VISA4D easy to use and reporting consistent command recognition accuracy. This study advances the existing work on AI-enhanced construction management tools by tackling the challenges associated with their practical implementation in field operations.October 202
Odonata Park: a wetland park for downtown Winnipeg
No full textOdonata Park: A wetland park for downtown Winnipeg, is a practicum project that has allowed me to test the boundaries of what is possible for urban habitat, stormwater management, and placemaking in the uniquely harsh context of downtown Winnipeg.
Human pollution and climate change are having detrimental effects on nature and people. Pollution stemming from human activity poisons freshwater ecosystems throughout the province. The concrete blanket of urban development is further esasperating the problem. The pavment heats up the landscape to the point where it is becoming a health risk. The destruction of natural habitats such as wetlands only compounds these issues, as they are nature's way of filtering pollutants from water and air.
A key function of this design is to capture, manage, and purify stormwater in downtown Winnipeg. The focal point is on a specified site, but the hope is that this project can capture water from a more expansive area. This would lessen the burden on Winnipeg's sewer system and reduce pollution in natural water bodies.
While focusing on the technical requirements of stormwater management, another goal will be to reuse the captured water to facilitate a viable wetland habitat. To accomplish this, the project incorporates a group of indicator species, in this case, dragonflies of the order Odonata. These species live in and around wetlands, and their numbers are often linked to the health of these environments. Therefore, designing an environment to meet their needs will result in a healthy habitat, not only for Odonata but a wide range of wetland species.
Equally important to designing a place for habitat is making a space for downtown Winnipeg. This practicum aims to reveal more potential for downtown, providing a new space for visitors and residents.
This practicum comes with an opportunity to demonstrate a holistic design approach that combines sustainability, habitat, and place.October 202
Investigating cultural wellness in an intergenerational facility: a design approach for a senior-children activity center
No full textIntergenerational facilities offer numerous well-documented benefits, including reducing loneliness, increasing opportunities for social interaction, and supporting active lifestyles that enhance overall wellness. Despite these advantages, architectural theories that specifically address the design of such facilities remain limited. This chapter draws upon frameworks from stage design, cultural studies, and healthcare design to address the cultural and spatial complexities of intergenerational spaces. By integrating architectural, psychological, cultural, ergonomic, and well-being considerations, the research emphasizes a human-centered design approach that fosters connection, learning, and holistic well-being. Renderings of the proposed Activity Centre are presented to illustrate how research-informed strategies were translated into spatial design decisions.October 202
Givens factorization based construction of data-driven fast transforms for image coding
No full textAdaptive transform coding using data-driven linear transforms has been shown to outperform the widely used separable two-dimensional discrete cosine transform (2D-DCT) in image and video compression. However, while the 2D-DCT benefits from efficient fast algorithms, data-driven transforms are typically unstructured and computationally expensive, limiting their practical adoption in image coding applications. In this thesis, a novel approach to image coding is proposed using low-complexity, data-driven image coding using structured orthonormal transform matrices constructed from approximate Givens factorizations optimized for transform coding.
This thesis first develops a tree-search-based coordinate descent algorithm on the orthonormal matrix manifold for the design of Givens factorization-based fast transforms (GFFTs) on minimizing the mean square error of high-rate transform coding, offering improvements over simple coordinate descent. Experimental results demonstrate that the theoretically predicted coding gains of the proposed GFFTs can be up to 7 dB higher than those of the 2D-DCT at comparable complexity, and up to 9 dB higher when operating at twice the complexity of the 2D-DCT.
Next, the design of a data-driven image codec based on the idea of using a predesigned set of fast transform matrices, referred to as a transform matrix codebook, is explored. To this end, a novel method for designing a transform matrix codebook is presented, which is based on the concept of the structure tensor for data-driven classification and the tree-search-based coordinate descent algorithm for designing
GFFTs.
Finally, the implementation of a complete data-driven fast transform image codec is presented, which is an adaptation of the baseline JPEG codec integrating a GFFT transform codebook. Experimental results show that, for many images, the proposed GFFT-based codec outperforms the standard JPEG at comparable or lower computational complexity, achieving peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) improvements of up to 6 dB in some cases.University of Manitoba Graduate Fellowship (UMGF)October 202
Effects of social support interventions on depressive symptoms and quality of life among older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis
No full textBackground: Interventions that include participation in social or group connections as measures to prevent or reduce depression have received little attention. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to determine the effects of social support interventions on depressive symptoms and Quality of life (QoL) among older adults.
Methods: A detailed search of six databases comprising Medline, CINAHL, PubMed, Cochrane Library, African Journals Online and Web of Science Core Collections was conducted until January 2025. A review protocol was developed and registered with the PROSPERO database (ID-CRD42021283342). A meta-analysis was used to synthesize the findings of the included studies based on subgroups of social support interventions. Of the 1524 articles found from the six databases, only 16 randomised controlled trials (14 parallel and 2 cluster) were eligible for inclusion.
Conclusion: Social support interventions included emotional support, social engagement, instrumental, instrumental and appraisal, and social engagement and appraisal support. Meta-analysis findings indicated that social support interventions had non-significant effects on depression and QoL among older adults. Social support interventions have the potential to reduce depressive symptoms and improve QoL. However, current evidence is insufficient to determine the impact of social support interventions on depression and QoL in older adults
Growth below canopies: trees & water guiding Steinbach's urban growth & development
No full textWhen planning new city expansions or urban developments, trees and green spaces are often thought of at the end of a project; this means grey infrastructure is laid out first, and remaining spaces are then planted. The downside to this workflow is that trees are sensitive beings that already struggle to survive in urban spaces. If we think about them at the end of a project, we cannot guarantee that their needs are met and ultimately ensure their longevity. Therefore, it is essential to protect existing forests while continuing to encourage new tree plantings in suitable sites to ensure optimal survival in urban environments. This practicum aims to establish an urban forest network for the growing city of Steinbach, Manitoba, found in the southern prairies. It will explore Steinbach’s urban growth and propose a green network that aligns with the city’s future development. The tree profile of Steinbach will be analyzed through mapping to illustrate the current state of its urban canopy. The practicum aims to develop a comprehensive city-wide urban forest strategy that utilizes existing spatial treescapes and, through new plantings, enhances and connects existing forested areas, creating a holistic and healthy urban forest for the city of Steinbach. This will be accomplished by analyzing a progression of scales, starting with a regional analysis, followed by an examination of the city’s inner boundary scale, and concluding with a more detailed site design scale. The design will be focused on the outlined future expansion zones needed for Steinbach’s future growth. The practicum will aim to increase Steinbach’s canopy cover from the current 7.5% to 20%. This canopy cover goal will be achieved through two different strategies: one focusing on preservation and the other on new forest plantings. The intention is to establish a more recognizable and interconnected urban forest that enhances the city’s legibility, connects public parks and green spaces, and serves as a natural cooling system for the future. By making tree planting a priority early in the urban development process, we can create better growing conditions for the planted green networks, providing sufficient space for healthy growth and development.October 202