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Heritage3DMtl: A Multi-modal UAV Dataset of Heritage Buildings for Digital Preservation
Get PDFUnmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technology has emerged as a transformative tool for 3D reconstruction, offering diverse applications in urban planning, heritage studies, infrastructure monitoring, and emergency response. Despite considerable progress, the field of heritage studies faces challenges due to the scarcity of real-world data tailored for heritage preservation. To address this gap, this thesis presents Heritage3DMtl, an extensive multi-modal dataset comprising 17 heritage buildings in Montreal, acquired using a UAV. The dataset includes images, estimated camera poses, and reconstructed 3D data (point clouds and meshes), providing great detail and diversity.
A Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for data collection is provided, demonstrating the efficient use of low-cost consumer-grade UAVs to capture heritage buildings. This SOP serves as a replicable blueprint for future similar efforts. Various 3D reconstruction techniques are explored and experimented with using the dataset. Additionally, the dataset's applicability is showcased through the reconstruction of Level of Detail (LOD) models in alignment with the CityGML standard.
Furthermore, the integration of advanced reconstruction techniques, such as NeRF and Gaussian Splatting, has revolutionized the way we visualize and interact with building sites in digital environments. These techniques enable the generation of photorealistic renderings as well as interactive 3D models, enhancing our ability to study and interpret heritage buildings with unprecedented fidelity and detail.
In summary, this work contributes to the discourse on 3D heritage reconstruction by introducing an open-source dataset that enhances resources available to researchers and practitioners. Heritage3DMtl facilitates advancements in the field and serves as a valuable asset for digital preservation efforts, providing a comprehensive foundation for future research and innovation in heritage documentation and 3
Reframing the Game: How the interaction between technology, culture, and marketing plays along in the platform society.
Get PDFThe video game industry has substantially transformed itself in the last decade. Game companies had to adapt to fit into the new logic of production and consumption dominating the global market. In the continuous evolution of digital communication, technologies like social network systems, mobile devices, app stores, and live-streaming broadcasting allied to their capacity to gather and move a large amount of user data, have each played crucial roles in speeding up the rate of change in the game industry. This rapid transformation has also affected players. While expert players had to adapt to new ways of paying for and playing games, subjecting themselves to new designs, mechanics and gameplay, newbies found new opportunities to expand their gameplay.
Drawing from Kline et al. (2003), this dissertation examines the current state of the game industry, underlining the significant changes it has been facing over the years. In their scholarship, Kline and colleagues developed an analytical tool to investigate the video game medium in the context of a high-intensity marketplace. I make use of their circuitry to investigate the current context surrounding the game industry. In broad strokes, this study examines how the industry’s new business models and strategies influence and leverage these circuits, which, in turn, interferes, accelerates, and intensifies the interconnections between them, generating new layers of interactivity at every turn.
The video game industry is massive in scope, and its business strategies vary according to each developer’s size and ambitions. Thus, this research focuses on two mainstream companies as a case study: Electronic Arts and Tencent. By following these companies' production practices and business strategies in the last decade, this study attempts to understand the processes that shaped the game industry during the 2010s. This research uses critical political economy and textual analysis as methodological tools to look closely at a large corpus of documents. As this research demonstrates, the interplay between the circuits tends to be guided by the marketing circuit; accordingly, the intense acceleration between the circuits and the formation of new layers of interactivity entail the reduction of social and cultural relationships to mere monetary transactions
Brand Reputation, a Dilemma, or a Solution? The Case of Data Breach Crises
Get PDFThe examination of brand reputation has constituted a focal point within the realm of marketing, albeit with a dearth of exploration within the business crisis literature. This paper tries to contribute to this literature by elucidating the brand reputation’s dualistic impact during a crisis, consequently seeking to reconcile the previous varied results. We demonstrated that a pre-crisis transitory brand reputation (TBR) can exacerbate the damage of the crisis for less-reputed brands while a long-term prior brand reputation has a positive role after a data breach crisis. Additionally, we have shown that the negative effect of TBR is more vivid for B2C firms. We introduced the paradox of transitory resources that states in order to obtain long-term resources to preserve the brand in times of crisis, one should obtain transitory resources that backfire. We build our hypotheses based on the Expectation-Evidence framework and the literature on the data breach crisis. We used Twitter (rebranded as “X”) to gather and analyze stakeholder-generated content before the crisis. The sentiment analysis approach based on a bag of words is used in an event study methodology and cumulative abnormal return is the dependent variable. The findings of this study underscore the importance of a robust and enduring long-term brand reputation for businesses. Furthermore, a shift away from reliance on transient advertisements, returns, and reputational constructs is necessary for the firms to successfully recover after a crisis
Acute & Chronic Anaerobic, Muscular Endurance Effects of Beetroot Supplementation in MMA Athletes
No full textThis study examined the effects of beetroot powder on acute and chronic anaerobic sprint intervals (RST) and muscular endurance (MET). In a quasi-experimental design 7 male MMA athletes with 2+ years’ experience was given 13mmol/L beet powder (BRJ) mixed with 500ml of water 2-3 hours before RST and MET 72h after completing a baseline test. Following the acute test participants were given BRJ for 21-days which followed a wash out period for 21-days. Measurements during the RST taken; lactate levels, punch power, punch speed, total punches, and total kicks. Measurements during the MET were lactate levels and total reps. The results of the current study showed an increase in total workload in the acute setting for total punches p>0.05 ES 0.65, kicks p = 0.07 ES 0.82, chest passes p0.05 with an ES of 0.32 and 0.26. The MET lactate values showed a p>0.05 ES 0.25 at the 1-minute mark and p=0.01 ES 1.28 at the 3-minute mark. Chronic testing showed a total increase in workload for total punches p=0.008 η² = .55 and a power value of 0.86, P = 0.01, η² = .49 and a power value of 0.77. Lactate values at the one- and three-minute mark P = 0.92 and P = 0.31, η² = .13, η² = .24 with a power value of 0.17 and 0.31. The MET testing showed an P < 0.001, η² = .69 and a power value of 0.98 for chest passes and P < 0.001, η² = .87 and a power value of 1.0 for squat pick-ups. Lactate values at the one- and three- minute mark for chest passes showed a P = 0.45 η² = 0.12, P = 0.09, η² = .33, with a power value of 0.16 and 0.46. Medball squat pick-ups at the one- and three- minute mark showed a P<0.001 η² = .71, P<0.001 η² = .82 with a power value of 0.99 and 1.0. In conclusion BRJ has an acute and chronic benefit on sports performance in MMA athletes with the ability to increase total workload, decreased fatigue perception and improve muscular endurance blood lactate values with a moderate to large ES benefit
"Look at me now, Mom!" Mirroring at the Intersection of Neuroscience, Drama Therapy, and Adult Attachment
Get PDFThis theoretical research examines the benefits of drama therapeutic mirroring as an attachment-oriented therapy for adults and addresses the need for further research into the development of adult-oriented interventions involving the mirror game. This need for further research is stated as an expression of the limited work available on embodied attachment therapies for adults, particularly in comparison to the robust body of research that has been conducted in the context of earlier developmental stages. A review of the literature includes information on mirroring at the intersection of neuroscience and the creative arts therapies as well as an overview of the relationship between attachment and identity formation over the course of development, and tracks the strong bases in theory and praxis that support drama therapeutic mirroring as an attachment therapy across the lifespan. The work concludes with proposals for future areas of research, with particular foci on: how the intervention of the mirror game might be applied more widely and intentionally to support attachment outcomes in various adult relationships; and how the composition of adult sexual identity and attachment might inform the formulation of future adult attachment therapies across modalities
Anti-Foundationalism Without Relativism: An interpretation of On Certainty
Get PDFThis paper provides an interpretation of Wittgenstein’s remarks in On Certainty. On Certainty was intended as a response to the sceptic. Despite this, it seems that Wittgenstein’s remarks, in particular the ones referencing the “groundlessness” of our epistemic practices, imply a kind of relativism. One of the interpretive challenges of this text is to figure out exactly how his view succeeds at being anti-sceptical despite this groundlessness. I argue that rational incommensurability on its own does not imply relativism. I critique a contextualist interpretation of On Certainty by Michael Williams. Williams argues that our epistemic practices are not system dependent, and that this provides a reason for Wittgenstein not being a relativist. I will argue that for Wittgenstein, our epistemic practices are system-dependent, but that we can avoid relativism by demonstrating that the charge of relativism falls outside of the bounds of what can be intelligibly thought
Enhanced Diagnosis of Breast Cancer through Detection of Exosomes using ex-situ, in-situ, and Solid State Dewetted Nanoplasmonic Platforms
Get PDFBreast cancer is one of the leading causes of death and the second most common among women in Canada. This thesis aims to develop sensing nanoplasmonic platforms for the early diagnosis of breast cancer through the detection of exosomes. The adsorption of bio or organic molecules on metallic nanoparticles leads to a plasmon band shift towards longer wavelengths; a phenomenon central to Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance (LSPR). This study aims to develop nano-structured arrays of plasmonic platforms for the high-performance detection of sub-micron biological entities such as viruses, exosomes, and other extracellular vesicles (EVs) ranging from 30 - 1000 nm.
This thesis particularly focuses on developing and optimizing unique plasmonic platforms for detecting EVs/exosomes derived from breast cancer cell lines. These EVs/exosomes are nano-sized (30 - 100 nm), cargo-bearing vesicles secreted by almost all cell types, consisting of a lipid bilayer encasing a semi-fluid core of cytoplasmic materials, including proteins, nucleic acids, and exhibit significant heterogeneity, reflecting their cellular origin. Despite their potential as biomarkers for diseases like cancer, their heterogeneity and overlapping physicochemical properties with other vesicles pose challenges for effective detection, separation, and purification.
In the beginning, two different types of platforms, one fabricated by an ex-situ method and the other by an in-situ method, were investigated to find out which was more convenient in terms of sensitivity for detecting EVs/exosomes. Different fabrication conditions have been explored and the sensitivity of the platforms has been measured. A sensing protocol involving several steps has been developed and optimized for detecting EVs/exosomes. It has been found that the platform prepared by an ex-situ method, that is, by convective assembly of gold colloidal particles, is more sensitive than the silver (Ag)-PDMS and gold (Au)-PDMS nanocomposite platforms fabricated by an in-situ method. In the case of gold (Au)-PDMS, gold is segregated under the surface of the polymer, without direct contact with the environment, and thus not suitable for detection.
Additionally, to improve the refractive index sensitivity, novel platforms have been investigated. This thesis is further dedicated to developing and characterizing new plasmonic platforms, based on nano-islands/particles, fabricated from thin gold films e-beam deposited on an adhesion layer. The nano-islands/particles fabricated by the dewetting of the uniform gold films deposited on Chromium (Cr) (Cr-Au) and Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) adhesion layers (ITO-Au), respectively. Subsequently, based on the characterization results, the Cr-Au platform has been identified for the detection of EVs/exosomes. In addition, a direct detection method as well was developed without any surface chemistry modification of the plasmonic platform. The detection results obtained by using this novel platform and method were compared with the results of the ex-situ, and in-situ platforms studied earlier in this thesis work. It was found that, with the novel platform and method, the sensitivity of detection improved around 1.5 times, and the time taken for the detection was reduced by around one-fourth of the time of the earlier method.
This work also provided invaluable information, regarding the adhesion layers, and their characteristics, especially stability, in association with very thin gold films. The phenomena of interdiffusion and oxidation during the deposition and heat treatment and their effect on detection have been studied as well.
Overall, this work contributes to the development of cost-effective, high-performance nanoplasmonic platforms, for early diagnosis of breast cancer establishing a foundation for their broader application in detecting and analyzing diverse biological and environmental samples
Blockchain and Sustainability in Digital Goods: A Case Study Approach Using the 7R Framework
Get PDFThis thesis investigates the integration of blockchain technology within the digital goods sector, with a focus on enhancing sustainability through the 7R framework—Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Repair, Recover, Regenerate, and Rethink. By embedding these principles into the digital goods supply chain, this research addresses the pressing challenges of resource efficiency, waste reduction, and lifecycle management in the evolving digital economy.
The study begins with an extensive literature review, examining existing work on blockchain, circular economy, and digital goods supply chains, highlighting key gaps and opportunities. Based on these insights, the thesis proposes an extension of the traditional 5R framework, evolving it into the 7R model to better suit the digital goods landscape. This framework is then applied to two detailed case studies: Microsoft’s Azure Blockchain Services and Nike’s CryptoKicks project. These cases demonstrate how blockchain can enhance transparency, traceability, and operational efficiency while aligning with circular economy principles.
The research presents a comprehensive analysis of how blockchain technology supports each aspect of the 7R framework, enabling digital goods to be tracked, reused, recycled, and regenerated efficiently. The case studies illustrate the potential for blockchain to overcome key challenges such as digital piracy, counterfeiting, and inefficient resource management. Through blockchain's ability to secure ownership transfer and monitor digital goods' lifecycles, the thesis highlights blockchain’s role in reducing waste and extending the lifecycle of digital products.
The findings contribute to academic and practical fields, offering a new theoretical framework for the sustainable management of digital goods. This research also provides actionable insights for businesses and policymakers, showing how blockchain and the 7R framework can foster innovation in digital goods consumption and production, driving the sector towards more sustainable practices. The results underscore the transformative potential of blockchain in reshaping the digital goods supply chain to support environmental and economic sustainability
Advancements in Photocured Graphene-Oxide Coatings: Enhancing Tribological Performance through Liquid Crystal Technologies
Get PDFThis thesis presents an exploration of advanced tribological coatings for improving wear resistance and reducing friction in mechanical components, particularly in industries like aerospace. Traditional coating methods such as physical vapor deposition and high-velocity oxygen fuel have limitations, necessitating innovative approaches. This research introduces the use of graphene oxide liquid crystals combined with photocuring to develop coatings that significantly enhance tribological performance. The liquid crystal self-assembly of graphene oxide in alcohol allows for dense ordering of platelets on substrates, and photocuring creates strong, covalent bonds between the platelets and the substrate, resulting in durable coatings.
Experimental results demonstrated a remarkable reduction of up to 72% in the friction coefficient compared to uncoated substrates. The study also explored the effects of annealing on coating performance, finding that annealed coatings exhibited lower friction and superior wear resistance for low graphene oxide contents. The research underscores the potential of photocured graphene oxide coatings to address the tribological challenges in critical applications, offering a cost-effective and environmentally sustainable solution that advances the field of coating materials science and engineering
Assessing the Sensitivity of the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Oil Spills Through Ecosystem Services Valuation
No full textIn recent decades, the growing demand for energy has significantly increased the volume of marine transportation and exploration, which raises the risk of marine oil spills that endanger coastal and marine ecosystems. These ecosystems provide crucial services for human well-being. The main objective of this study is to identify areas most sensitive to oil spills in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, considering the value of ecosystem services. To achieve this, four groups of ecosystem services were considered: cultural, provisioning, supporting, and regulating services. For cultural services, tourism data on marine conservation areas, historic sites, and national parks were analyzed. Provisioning services were evaluated by considering commercial fisheries and aquaculture activities. Supporting services focused on biodiversity maintenance, including seabirds and marine mammals, while regulating services were assessed by accounting for carbon sequestration and natural waste processing. The socio-economic sensitivity map was created based on the values of provisioning and cultural ecosystem services, and the biological sensitivity map was developed using regulating and supporting services. To complete the sensitivity analysis, a physical sensitivity map was also created, considering shoreline characteristics such as tidal range, wave height, slope, and cleanup cost based on the shoreline classification. The final integrated sensitivity map for the Gulf of St Lawrence was generated by combining the physical, socio-economic and biological layers. The highest sensitivity was observed along the shorelines of the Gulf, within the Estuary, and near the Anticosti Island. This study provides an integrated plan for oil spills, enabling decision makers to prioritize zones for protection before an oil spill and to optimize their cleanup efforts during an incident