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The Spectral Cloth: Textile Readings of Queer Identity
Get PDFThis thesis rethinks queer reading as textile reading as it traces instances where queerness appears as represented through clothes, becoming textile. After demonstrating through historical examples how clothes create meaning and can be subverted in their wearing, the thesis turns to cinema to argue that queer representation appears on screen as a textile coding. The thesis enacts a survey of queer textile representation in cinema’s history, from Morocco (1930) to Queen Christina (1933), Rebecca (1940), and All About Eve (1950), to argue that queerness and sexuality are partly textile constructions. While elevating textiles from their designation to costume and mise-en-scene to a category of signification of their own, the thesis conceives of textiles as signifying spectrally, through coded representation. The third chapter synthesizes textility and spectrality, to question how queer representation, and representation in general, manifests. The thesis offers a textile approach to queer theory: one that synthesizes essentialism and constructionism through the queer visions conjured by textiles. Through an understanding of “style” as a defiant queer practice that can enact change upon the world, the thesis offers new ways of thinking about our identities and their textile constructions. It champions a reading of textiles for meaning, constructing the method of queer textile reading, that it then applies to later films such as Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), Personal Shopper (2016), and Barbie (2023), to show the method’s utility throughout film history and today. What also becomes visible in these queer textile readings is the textility and spectrality of the film medium itself: its textile-like qualities, but also its ability to make ghosts appear through the cloth
Machine Learning-Driven Strategies for Efficient Resource Management in Cloud Data Centers
Get PDFCloud computing is one of the major paradigms in the information technology industry, offering diverse scalable on-demand services over the Internet. Nevertheless, managing and predicting workloads in cloud data centers is a challenging task due to the dynamic nature of cloud services. In order to reduce costs and improve performance while managing cloud resources efficiently, it is essential to obtain highly accurate projections and estimations. Therefore, this thesis proposes a methodological framework that integrates multiple machine learning models to improve estimation accuracy and enable better decision-making within cloud data centers. In terms of clustering, we develop segmentation pipelines that incorporate various clustering techniques with different data preprocessing methods to improve the cloud workload segmentation process. This process aims to reveal hidden patterns within workloads to obtain segmentation based on various data-driven perspectives. In predictive modeling, we delve into the enhancement of prediction precision, focusing on single-output and multi-output forecasting models. For single-output-based prediction, we propose a multilevel learning-based model for resource utilization prediction that leverages anomaly, clustering, and ensemble methods to improve prediction outcomes. Also, we present a proactive regression-based cost estimation approach, navigating the complexities of prediction-based cloud service pricing and the effect of various target transformation methods on prediction accuracy. In addition, we propose a host load prediction, leveraging both imbalance and ensemble learning methods to improve prediction and handle the challenge of the imbalance states within cloud computing systems. For multi-output-based prediction, advanced predictive models are proposed to forecast function invocation patterns at the user, application, and function levels within serverless computing environments. In this thesis, we conducted research that utilizes advanced data analysis techniques, including windowing, dimensionality reduction, and ensemble learning, to enhance the robustness and precision of workload segmentation and predictive models within cloud environments. We evaluated the proposed models based on their efficiency in processing real cloud workloads using various performance metrics. The findings of this thesis hold the potential to revolutionize cloud resource management, leading to more intelligent, adaptable, and cost-effective cloud operations
Trajectories of Affective Organizational and Occupational Commitment: The Case of Public Service Employees
Get PDFThe goal of this dissertation is to document the evolution of affective organizational and occupational commitment trajectories among public service employees. To this end, three longitudinal person-centered studies were conducted to identify the main types of commitment trajectories identified among three independent samples of participants (i.e., school principals, nurses, military recruits), and to assess how these trajectories were related to a variety of antecedents and outcomes. A first study focused on the occupational commitment trajectories of 661 established school principals (42% males) followed over a period of two years. A second study focused on the organizational commitment trajectories of 4859 military recruits (68.4% males) followed across basic training (3 months) and their first nine months of employment in the Canadian Armed Forces. A third study had a dual focus on the organizational and occupational commitment of 659 early career nurses (12% males), recruited within their first three year of employment, and followed over the course of two years (allowing us to estimate trajectories covering their first five years in the nursing occupation). All three studies identified profiles of employees following persistently high commitment trajectories, persistently low or decreasing commitment trajectories (both of which were identified among school principals) and increasing commitment trajectories. Among school principals and nurses, a persistently moderate commitment trajectory was also identified. Moreover, our results demonstrated the benefits of efficient socialization practices (military recruits, nurses), basic psychological need fulfillment (school principals, nurses), realistic job previews (military recruits) and satisfaction with the implications of military life for work-life balance (military recruits), as well as the harmful nature of experiencing identity conflicts (military recruits). Finally, our results demonstrated the benefits of higher and increasing commitment trajectories for a variety of outcomes, including lower levels of burnout (school principals), psychological distress (nurses), psychosomatic symptoms (nurses), turnover intention (school principals, military recruits), transition intention (military recruits), and higher levels of satisfaction (school principals, military recruits, nurses) and quality of care (nurses). These results suggest multiple avenues to foster desirable commitment trajectories and its associated benefits, which will be highlighted in each of the chapters as well as in the general discussion
Magic is Only Magic Until it's Science; Unifying Art/Science Pedagogy for Sustainability
Get PDFAs educators it is part of our job to ensure the long-term best interest of our students. At this point in our history, it is common knowledge that the number one threat to the futures of students is climate change. It is therefore imperative to adjust our teaching methods accordingly by engaging in more sustainable, accessible, cross-disciplinary practices to address this concern.
It is also common knowledge that, for several hundred years now, the fields of the arts and the sciences have been considered as separate from each other; this despite the fact that the two fields were once indistinguishable. Isaac Asimov writes that, by the 1800s, the exponential nature of scientific discovery made it impossible for one person to master all the sciences and that, “… with each generation of scientists, specialization has grown more and more intense” (Asimov, 1985, p.138). This, he goes on to say, renders scientists as “magicians – feared rather than admired” in the eyes of those who have studied other topics (Asimov, 1985, p. 138). He also writes that one of the most integral components of scientific advancement is the ability for scientists to better communicate: this is a double-edged sword in the age of Facebook. The specialization/mystification of science combined with an abundance of social media has left us with an issue: those who do not choose to study the sciences specifically are taught very little science. The result of this has become an internet hailstorm of false information amongst a well-meaning public that simply struggles to tell good science from bad. Mercifully, the solution is simply to make scientific concepts more palatable for those who may not possess a particularly scientific mind. After all, an individual may easily understand scientific concepts without actually being a scientist by profession. Isaac Asimov words the same notion slightly differently, stating that a person does not necessarily need to be able to write a symphony to enjoy hearing one (Asimov, 1985). Either way, the sentiment is the same.
Over the past year and a half, I plunged into a studio thesis process which addressed the question: how can I bring both scientific precision and sustainability into my visual arts practice and how might this inform art education practices? I researched ways we can bring scientific precision into more visual arts projects. To do this I began by using Steiner and Kolb’s philosophies, along with the scientific method, and embarked upon a research-creation thesis that explored the above-mentioned questions. The result of my research has been this paper, and a documentary of the same name
Quest for Communitas: Using the carnivalesque aesthetic to co-design a transformative rite of passage with high-school dropouts– a generative exploration.
Get PDFThe Province of Quebec has a staggering high school dropout rate of 19% for boys and 12% for girls. Often, efforts to help these young people are mostly focused on remedial school work. As such, they fail to fully address some key psychological elements of adolescence and early adulthood. For this project, I therefore decided to look at the problem by considering adolescence as a transitional or liminal phase from youth to adulthood, one necessitating special recognition by the larger community. I also considered the adolescent brain's propensity for risk-taking and its desire for heroic stories as means to discover the world during this liminal period. This led me to look to rites of passage, play, theatre and the aesthetic of the carnivalesque as means to create humorous, and symbol-laden ways for the youth to engage with the world.
The research took the form of eight (8) day-long sessions, structured like a rite of passage, focusing on rituals that were co-designed with a group of high school dropouts attending a youth center in Trois-Rivières. We used Future Workshops Participatory Design principles and Augusto Boal’s Games for Actors and Non-Actors as means to encourage free and authentic contributions from the participants. The work was at times filmed in order to provide participants with a method for self-analysis crucial in their ritual design. Beyond increasing participants’ self-esteem and sense of belonging, this project provides educational designers with new play-based ideas for engaging youth as well as a carnivalesque approach for participatory design
Virtual Islands, Submersion, Empathy, and Identity in Virtual Reality
Get PDFABSTRACT
Virtual Islands, Submersion, Empathy, and Identity in Virtual Reality
Olivia Mc Gilchrist, Ph.D.
Concordia University, 2024
This project explores the novel possibilities of representation offered by VR, and the tension between the promise of VR-as-empathy-machine and VR as another form of media relying on limitation or stereotype. As an artist-researcher, I engage with various Black thinkers and artists to reimagine how my iterative research-creation artwork can foster constructive dialogue around the re-inscription of Blackness and whiteness within immersive installations and VR worlds. With VR’s potential omnipresence in mind, the thesis’ theoretical component advocates for an approach to VR that builds on concepts and practices proposed by established theorists and working artists across the realm of contemporary art and popular culture, in regard to Black representation, feminist representation, and submersion - water as a historical space - through the lens of Black futurity and Caribbean hybridity within a postcolonial context. My positionality as a French Jamaican, visibly white and of non-visible mixed heritage, informs this project’s artistic component. My artwork initially sought to interpret these theoretical lessons by designing a VR experience where Black and white subjects are represented in relation through performance. Moreover, these same thinkers and artists led me to continue interrogating how a white-passing artist can create VR art that is able to address issues of race and gender, and that transcends their white privilege. By shifting my approach to focus on the experiential aspects of submersion, I propose a call toward a mode of inclusive, collaborative VR creation, exploring the technology’s potential while remaining watchful when undertaking the portrayal and enactment of distinct identities through VR mediums
Modelling Neuron-Glial Network Interactions at the Whole-Brain Scale for Human Neuroimaging Applications
Get PDFGlial cells, together with their neighboring neurons, constitute an integral functional unit within brain circuitry, rather than isolated elements. Astrocytes, for instance, are strategically situated around neurons and profoundly modulate neuronal circuits. They achieve this by forming gap-junction networks that actively monitor and regulate synaptic and extrasynaptic transmission of glutamate and GABA. Consequently, recent neuroscientific research firmly proposes that our understanding of brain function should incorporate a neuron-glial perspective. This approach necessitates an in-depth comprehension of neuron-glial interactions and emphasizes the critical role of computational modelling, which is essential due to the inherent nonlinearity and multiscale nature of these interactions. Despite this recognition, there is a notable deficiency in computational frameworks that elaborate on the neuron-glial perspective, particularly at the whole-brain level. This thesis addresses this significant gap.
The objective of this thesis is to underscore the significance of neuron-glial network interactions to whole-brain computational processes, particularly at the scale relevant to neuroimaging data. It conceptualizes the brain as a dynamic network-of-networks, wherein glial assemblies and neuronal populations communicate via various channels (mediated by glutamatergic and GABAergic transmission systems) and across diverse spatiotemporal scales, with structural constraints imposed by gap-junctional and axonal densities. The thesis introduces a biophysically plausible dynamical model of neuron-glial network interactions at the whole-brain scale, employing neural mass network and compartmental modelling techniques. It reveals how glial networks contribute to whole-brain activity and the emergence of functional connectivity patterns, using simulations grounded in multilayer network and dynamic system theories. The thesis further presents two neuroimaging applications. The first elucidates the influence of glial networks in the non-invasive electrophysiological reconstruction of resting-state functional networks. This offers a biologically informed computational framework to refine and assess empirical methodologies in whole-brain electrophysiological connectomics. The second generates credible mechanistic hypotheses for large-scale network dysfunctions, resistance, and adaptations in brains afflicted by Alzheimer disease. This aims to inform potential empirical investigations.
This timely thesis represents a critical step towards resolving longstanding neuron-glial questions through computational approaches, setting a foundation for an era where real-world experimentation and computational modeling mutually inform and advance our understanding of the brain
Procreation and Sacrament as Valued Goods of Marriage: Re-Evaluating the Foundational Principles of the Catholic Marriage Tradition in the Secular Contemporary Western World
Get PDFThe foundation of the Catholic marriage tradition is deeply Christological and ecclesiastical. The tradition today continues to stress that spouses must be joined in Holy Matrimony, wherein newlyweds are married in a religious ceremony held in a church and exchange the sacrament of marriage. The appeal of the Catholic marriage tradition, however, has become strained among both Christians and non-Christians in the contemporary Western world. Marriage is now a private social or legal contract between consensual partners, and the sacramental model of marriage that chiefly encouraged indissolubility, heterosexual unions, and childrearing is largely ignored in current civil marriage laws. Marriage practice has also developed many secular alternatives in favor of individualism. While some might rightfully argue that there is an ongoing need for reform within Catholic churches regarding its enduring marriage customs, there is, on the other hand, a legitimate concern for the protection of the values embedded in Catholic marriage theology and law. The challenge becomes how to appropriate such biblical and ecclesiastical traditions into the more fluid contemporary Western age
Bolstering EV Charging Ecosystem Infrastructure Resilience and Unraveling Threats - A Comprehensive Study
Get PDFThe adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) has seen a significant rise in recent years, driven by the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create greener cities. This has led to the development of a new EV charging ecosystem, composed of both physical and cyber systems. The physical layer consists of high-wattage IoT charging equipment and the power grid, while the cyber layer provides access and flexibility.
As the EV ecosystem has advanced, securing it has become crucial due to its critical role in providing essential services. The inter-connectivity of charging equipment and the lack of standardization make the system an attractive target for cyber attacks, with the potential to disrupt and destabilize the power grid. Khaled Sarieddine's research contributions aim to address these security challenges. The thesis provides a comprehensive analysis of the EV ecosystem, starting with a detailed literature review and the creation of a real-time co-simulation testbed that includes both cyber and physical layer components. The research develops an advanced fingerprinting technique to identify EV charging stations (EVCSs) in the wild and investigates the malware threat landscape, discovering Mirai-infected EVCSs. It also examines mobile applications as a potential attack vector against the power grid, identifying vulnerabilities that could be exploited to initiate unlawful charging sessions. Furthermore, the research assesses the security of OCPP backends worldwide, uncovering 6 zero-day vulnerabilities in each of 16 vendors studied. These vulnerabilities impact the infrastructure's confidentiality, integrity, and availability (CIA triad). To mitigate the limitations of centralized detection algorithms, the research develops an edge-based detection mechanism to identify oscillatory load attacks that leverage both physical and cyber layer features. By addressing these security challenges, this research contributes to the development of a more secure and resilient EV charging ecosystem, ensuring the reliable and safe provision of essential services to individuals and businesses
Élaboration d’une approche utilitariste pour une défense de l’allocation universelle.
Get PDFCe mémoire offre une défense morale de l’allocation universelle fondée sur un argument utilitariste. L’argument en question propose d’appliquer une version nouvelle du principe d’utilité en démontrant qu’en concentrant ce principe sur l’amélioration des conditions de vie, l’allocation universelle nous permet de maximiser l’utilité totale. En partant des bases théoriques et pratiques posées par Philipe Van Parijs, nous allons défendre l’implantation de l’allocation universelle comme étant moralement impératifs si l’on souhaite respecter le principe d’utilité tel que défini