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Conflict analysis, learning from practice
Get PDFConflict analysis is an essential component of designing and implementing peacebuilding action because it focuses on making sense of the situations where a peacebuilding action or intervention is desired. This article presents the results of an exploratory study based on semi-structured interviews with 20 practitioners from 19 countries on four continents. Participants represented diverse organizations working on peacebuilding projects in conflict-affected locations. The study focused on how participants (peacebuilding practitioners) gather and make sense of data (information) about the situations they face so they can make decisions for program design and implementation. Topics addressed by the study's participants included practice trends, methods of data collection and analysis, difficulties in gathering and assessing data, theories of change, and program or project assessment. The study concludes that the practitioners who participated mainly use informal methods to collect and make sense of data and do not make use of systematic approaches to conflict analysis
A House to Call a Home: Housing, Governance, and Wellbeing in Nunavik
Get PDFThis thesis examines the persistence of the housing crisis in Nunavik, Quebec by conducting an in-depth analysis of government policies and social, cultural, and economic motivations. Using a phronetic research approach based on Bent Flyvberg’s work, the analysis is conducted using ethical knowledge and “practical common sense” (known as phronesis) to derive an interpretation of the status of values and interests expressed in housing policies, agreements, and Inuit-Crown partnerships. The analysis reveals a disconnect between the intentions and promises made by governments and the programs and actions actually proposed, evidenced in the details of the actual policies and plans. The major gap is found in the goal towards wellbeing, a term that is neither well-defined nor Inuit-specific in government policies. Moreover, the foundational role of housing in Inuit wellbeing is not understood. Assumptions made about what wellbeing means and how it can be reached are largely influenced by neoliberal policies that identify solutions in economic terms. Inuit housing is framed by a capitalist welfare model that responds to housing needs rather than housing as a right. Housing is dealt with through social policy. In this context, the story of social housing as welfare, as a response to poverty, and as a drain on government resources, can only be countered with a discourse of housing as an economic asset. However, I argue that reducing the housing discourse to economic terms and technical issues (such as questions about construction and logistics) leaves no room to insist on critical political issues related to housing such as autonomy, control, and self- determination. Housing is political. It is part of the larger Inuit-state relationship framed by legal, constitutional, and policy contexts. By expressing the political, historical, and cultural contexts of the housing discourse, I survey the vast potential of the idea of home as a new focal point. Shifting from housing to home opens the door to reflect on housing for Inuit wellbeing and for self-determination. Building on Julia Christensen’s work with northern Indigenous populations that showed the material, relational, emotional, and spiritual qualities of homemaking, I explore the idea of home in detail from the literature and from reflections drawn from Inuit sources. Because home is part of what makes us human, something everyone can relate to at some level, and because home is also political, I suggest that it has the potential to change the housing dialogue and bring ethics, justice, care, and the shared value of mutual respect as key themes to include in Inuit housing decisions
The use of Gas Discharge Visualization in near death studies research
Get PDFThe purpose of the research is to understand the death process and its link to the human energy field with the help of gas discharge visualization technology. The presentation is aimed at presenting preliminary results that would help us to reveal how the human energy field (HEF) is connected to the body and how collected evidence is used to support the hypothesis of the survival of human consciousness. GDV technology gives an impression of the HEF and allows to see its day-to-day transformation linked to the different states of consciousness of the individual. GDV utilizes a weak, completely painless electrical current applied to a conductive object for one tenth of a second. The object's response to this stimulus is the formation of an electronic emission. The electrons emission stimulates gas (or air) discharge (or glow) that is captured by the in-built video camera. The number of emitted electrons is dependent on the state of the energy flows of the conductive object. Energy flows are related to the blood and lymph circulation, activity of the sweat glands, nerves and any other signals transmitted by the human body. The more electrons are emitted – more light will be formed around the conductive object. The higher the energy of the emitted electrons – higher will be the intensity of the photographed glow. An energy parameter is calculated from the area and intensity parameters of the glow captured by the GDV device, The principle of GDV is that the inner energy of the human body relates to the energy of the photographed glow collected by the device. The amount of the emitted light is dependent on the number of electrons emitted by the part of the body being measured. The frequency, number and energy of electrons emitted are directly connected with the inner energy reserves of the human body by the means of energy channels. Literature has shown that, with the use the GDV technology is possible to measure the activity of consciousness and observe its effect upon the emission characteristics of several organs of the human body. These parts include the brain, the heart, and the lungs. In this experiment, we use a GDV device in continuous mode by wearing a glove that helps us to collect data from the experiment’s participant. These measurements were conducted before and after death in several people that participated in the study, The intention of this collection is to monitor statistically significant changes of energy levels during measurements. The hypothesis is that states of consciousness have an effect in energy changes in the HEF. The second hypothesis is that death changes the state of consciousness of the individual and that consciousness remains linked to the body even after death and slowly detaches from the body after several days
Lack of Collections as Data: Making Meaning out of the Films we Cannot See
Get PDFStreaming media licensing by academic libraries has, in recent decades, grown in breadth and complexity. Simultaneously, in the communication and media studies community, critical analysis of consumer-direct streaming media or over-the-top (OTT) platforms has explored media ownership and power dynamics. This article intends to bridge the gap between these two worlds and reframe the discourse of research into modern library analysis, turning away from the “how” media gatekeeping is being experienced by academic librarians and towards “what” media is being withheld. The analysis will be done through a case study of a collection, or rather, absence of collection, of films requested but unavailable for institutional licensing in a specific Canadian academic library. In exploring request, film, and market availability data for each title and analyzing trends found therewithin, the article aims to bring to light possible implications to the future of academia as technological advancements and media powerholders render certain audiovisual cultural artifacts inaccessible
Investigating the regulation of Arabidopsis stomatal development by ABA
No full textStomata are microscopic valves in the plant epidermis that efficiently exchange gas while minimizing water loss. Their patterning and differentiation are influenced by various signals, including the phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA). ABA is crucial for stomatal closure during stress conditions, particularly drought. While ABA's role in stomatal movement is well-studied, our understanding of ABA’s role in controlling stomatal development and the mechanisms underlying its interaction with the stomatal development pathway are limited.
In this study, the characterization of ABA-deficient and ABA-signaling mutants indicated that ABA regulation of stomatal development is mediated by upstream signaling components, including PYR/PYL/RCAR (ABA receptors), ABI1/ABI2 (ABA phosphatases), and SnRK2.2/2.3/2.6 (SnRK2 kinases), but is likely independent of the transcription factors in the core ABA signaling pathway. We analyzed the epidermal phenotype of ABA signaling mutants. The abi1-2 abi2-2 mutants, lacking two negative ABA signaling regulators, showed remarkably fewer stomatal and non-stomatal cells on the plant epidermis. Among nine ABA PP2Cs, we further identified ABI1 and ABI2 phosphatases as key regulators of stomatal development. To investigate epidermal defect generated in ABA signaling mutants, I examined the epidermal phenotype of wild type, abi1-2 abi2-2, and snrk2.2 snrk2.3 mutants using the TMMpro: GUS, a stomatal lineage cell-specific marker. The abi1-2 abi2-2 mutant showed fewer epidermal cells entering stomatal lineages, while the snrk2.2 snrk2.3 mutant exhibited an increased number. This finding indicates ABA restricts stomatal cell lineages. Using high-order ABA and stomatal mutants, we next investigated the molecular link between ABA signaling and stomatal developmental pathways. Our genetic interaction studies showed that ABIs act upstream of the stomatal receptors TOO MANY MOUTHS (TMM) and ERECTA family members (ER, ERL1, ERL2), the MAP kinases MPK3 and MPK6, and the transcription factor MUTE in the stomatal development pathway. Based on our genetic interaction data, we analyzed the physical interactions between ABI1/2 and ERECTA family receptors and TMM. Our data demonstrated that ABI1, but not ABI2, interacts with stomatal receptors, ER, ERL1, and ERL2.
Our data reveal novel interactions between ABA signaling and stomatal development pathways, expanding our understanding of ABA's role beyond stomatal movement regulation. These findings suggest potential strategies plants may employ to optimize growth and adapt to environmental stresses like drought. This research establishes a framework for future investigations into the intricate links between ABA and stomatal developmental pathways
Working Madames in Canada’s Sin City: The Lives and Businesses of Montreal’s Brothel Owners and Workers in the 1930s and 1940s
Get PDFSex work has held an important yet marginalised space within Montreal society, with a pervasive culture of vice living alongside a selectively implemented legal framework. This thesis examines the lives and legal status of the women who owned and worked within brothels in Montreal during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as how brothels operated as small businesses. Women at all levels within the brothels, from sex workers to housekeepers to brothel owners, exercised agency in different ways. Many of Montreal’s brothels during this period were run as female small businesses that both interacted with and circumvented the police and municipal authorities. The main sources for this thesis are the depositions of twelve sex workers before Montreal’s 1954 Caron Inquiry, which provide an insider perspective on Montreal’s sex work industry in this period. These sources also shift the perspective from seeing sex workers as “existing” on the margins of society, criminalised and stigmatised for their methods of procuring a living and brings their work into Canadian workers history as a form of labour. Using a history from below approach, this thesis reads hostile state documents against their grain to piece together the lives of sex workers and to situate their stories within the context of the period’s legal framework surrounding sex work and cycles of relative toleration and repression. Through biographies of the women who were deposed before the Caron Inquiry, this thesis contextualises and humanises sex workers as workers and Montrealers with multi-faceted lives
Face à l’effacement, l’illustration : De la mémoire à l’archivage d’espoir par l’histoire orale des Cambodgiens au Québec
Get PDFL’amnésie collective causée par la purge des arts et des passeurs de savoirs durant le génocide des Khmers rouges a engendré un mémoricide, marqué par la perte des archives et la rupture de la transmission orale, privant les Cambodgiens des repères pour négocier l’évolution de leur identité collective. Cette fragmentation, amplifiée par la diasporisation massive dès 1979, a conduit à l’aplanissement et à la distorsion des histoires, à la perte de la langue khmère et à l’ancrage d’un silence latent, amplifiant les effets du fossé et trauma intergénérationnels. Pris entre la mélancolie et la dissociation raciale, une majorité de Cambodgiens au Québec peine à s’approprier sa culture et à participer au mouvement de renaissance khmère en effervescence depuis plus de quinze ans au Cambodge, en France et aux États-Unis. Cette recherche-création est une expérimentation méthodologique sur l’apport de l’illustration comme langage visuel pour réactiver les mémoires et les savoirs, afin de produire de nouvelles histoires orales : quel récit mettre en l’avant, comment le représenter et le raconter? Grâce à une revue de littérature et de médias, des interviews d’aînés cambodgiens, des archives retrouvées, puis une analyse d’artéfacts culturels et des tactiques de réappropriation narrative en illustration, ce projet aboutit à un court récit visuel muet sur l’histoire non-documentée de l’écriture khmère au Québec. La thèse conclut en mobilisant les thèmes de la mémoire, de l’espoir et du langage visuel de l’illustration pour répondre à l’interrogation implicite qui traverse ce projet : comment exister face à l’effacement
Optimal Transportation Fleet Scheduling in Panelized Construction
Get PDFOptimal transportation scheduling is crucial to improve the performance of the panelized construction supply chain. Previous studies lack transportation scheduling approaches for distribution and reverse logistics in panelized construction as a bridge to balance factory and site operations. To address the current gaps, this research proposes a genetic algorithm-based optimization framework to generate optimal distribution and reverse transportation schedules and on-site unloading schedules, considering a diverse transportation fleet (trucks and trailers), multiple sites, multiple panel types, on-site parking limitations, and assembly sequence while ensuring continuity of factory production and on-site operations. The proposed model extends and improves the existing transportation models by considering the distribution and reverse transportation operations and introducing design constraints in the transportation practices of the panelized construction. Results demonstrated that the method achieves transportation fleet efficiency of 98.8% and ensures seamless on-site operations, offering an invaluable planning tool for project managers and enhancing resource allocation for factory and construction sites
Optimizing Multi-Item Lot-Sizing Problem: A Study on Aggregate Service Levels, Piecewise Linear Approximations, and Fix-and-Optimize Heuristics
Get PDFIn this research thesis, we address the intricate challenges presented by multi-item lot-sizing problems in production environments, considering stochastic demand, capacity constraints, and inventory limitations. Our objective is to formulate an optimized production schedule, drawing inspiration from existing literature models. We introduce two mathematical models for the lotsizing problem, incorporating aggregate service levels β and γ, and employ novel piece-wise linear approximations to address and extend existing formulations. Our research presents an iterative optimization-based solution approach for the piecewise linear approximation of the stochastic lotsizing problem. This process involves breaking down the overall planning horizon into smaller intervals, creating a more manageable planning horizon, and iteratively addressing a series of subproblems. Extensive computational experiments explore the implications of aggregate service levels, comparing the solution quality of the actual piecewise linear approximation model and the Fix-and-Optimize heuristic using four different interval lengths. Results highlight the nuanced relationship between interval lengths and computational efficiency, emphasizing the strategic importance of selecting intervals aligned with operational objectives. For instance, solving the piecewise linear approximation model for the β service level with a higher interval length (9) reduces computational time by 60% on average, with a corresponding average increase of 4.5% in the relative gap (cost). Similarly, for the γ service level, computational time decreases by 38% on average, with an average relative gap increase of 3.7%
Reading Robots, Making Human: An Examination of Consciousness, Agency, and Programmed Entities in Ex Machina, BioShock, and Soma
No full textThis thesis uses the analogy of human consciousness as a computer program and its reversal, computer program as human consciousness, as bases for examining the consciousness and moral capacity of programmed entities depicted in popular media. An understanding of the term ‘program’ as it relates to the analogy plays a crucial role in exploring how modern media depictions fit into the analogous history.
My argument is explored through depictions of the analogy found in three major texts. Beginning with Alex Garland’s film Ex Machina, I frame my argument through the film’s interventions with established ideas of consciousness and agency, emphasizing Cartesian mind-body dualism. Following, I introduce two games, Irrational Games’ BioShock and Frictional Games’ Soma, that provide their own interventions to these ideas, introducing an additional variable to the discussion of agency through ludonarrative dissonance.
Using these texts, I argue in favor of moral patiency and agency as indicators of consciousness in both human and artificial subjects. Ex Machina engages with this argument by presenting how moral capacity alters a subject’s quest for freedom. BioShock adds to this argument by having the player experience the protagonist’s inconsistent agency, inspiring them to help the character break from their programming and regain complete control as an agent. Soma reinforces the argument by depicting the quest for freedom as a relentless struggle for agency, rewarding its protagonist with a life in paradise thereafter. These deliberate interrogations of the human-machine distinction invites the audience to embrace programmed entities as moral patients