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Revisiting the Relationship Between Moral Responsibility and Reasonable Expectations
Get PDFIn this paper I build upon the capacitarian account of moral responsibility, whose main tenet is that in order to hold someone blameworthy for a wrong they commit, it must be the case that the agent could and should have known better and done otherwise. I first suggest, on grounds of fairness, that the capacitarian account is more plausible than its strongest competitors, notably the attributionist and volitionist account. Proceeding this, I argue that many of the most prominent capacitarians accounts fall short of encompassing all wrongs an agent can fairly avoid, and so proceed to offer my own amended capacitarian account that formulates an expanded conception of reasonable expectations that I argue is vital to our understanding of moral responsibility. This new formulation of reasonable expectations considers four variables specific to the agent in question: Capabilities, Environmental Influences, Access to Information, and Professionally and Socially Assumed Roles. I use these variables, in conjunction with a focus on effort and risk to define the condition for moral responsibility of a wrong. I conclude by considering some of the practical consequences of assenting to this theory of moral responsibility, and argue that despite certain uncertainties in practice, this account nonetheless leads to the humanization of those around us, even those who have wronged
NGOs, international courts, and state backlash against human rights accountability: Evidence from NGO mobilization against Tanzania at the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights
Get PDFWhen nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) encounter state resistance to human rights accountability, how do NGOs use international courts for their human rights advocacy strategies? Considering the overlapping phenomena of shrinking civic space within authoritarian, hybrid, and democratically backsliding regimes, and state backlash against international courts, NGOs navigate two potential levels of state backlash against human rights accountability. Building on the interdisciplinary scholarship on legal mobilization, we develop an integrated framework for explaining how states' two-level (domestic and international) backlash tactics can both promote and deter NGOs' strategic litigation at international human rights courts (IHRCs). States' backlash tactics can influence NGOs' opportunities, capacities, and goals for their human rights advocacy, and thus affect whether and how they pursue strategic litigation at IHRCs. We elucidate the value of this framework through case studies of NGOs' litigation against Tanzania at the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, an understudied IHRC. Drawing on an original data set, interviews, and documentation, we process-trace how Tanzania's various backlash tactics influenced whether and how NGOs litigated at the Court. Our framework and analysis show how state backlash against human rights accountability affects NGOs' mobilization at IHRCs and, relatedly, IHRCs' opportunities for influence
Automating Mammalian Cell Electroporation using Digital Microfluidics
Get PDFTo examine a wide range of unique genetic edits, especially for cellular immunotherapy, techniques for automating mammalian cell engineering is needed while working with cell types that are rare and/or difficult to culture and expand. Herein, we introduce a miniaturized digital microfluidic module for electroporation of minimal number of mammalian cells (~40,000) at a time, potentially allowing for genetic engineering on a scalable and automated platform. The system functions by first merging three droplets together to form a continuous droplet chain. We call this the triDrop structure where the outer droplets contain high conductive liquids which are in contact with gold electrodes, while the middle droplet consists of low conductivity liquid containing the cells and target delivery molecule. This effectively creates a liquid cuvette where by applying a voltage, an effective electric field is generated within the triDrop structure with field focusing across the middle droplet. This allows for transient pore formation and insertion of biological payloads into cells without compromising long-term health by isolating cells from harmful electroporation effects. We show the proof-of-concept by successful delivery of a range of biological payloads (plasmid, mRNA, and Cas9 RNP) into adherent and suspension cells, including primary T cells. The flexibility and versatility of the triDrop, a digital microfluidic (DMF) electroporation module, suggests that our platform can be integrated with other DMF devices to allow for end-to-end automation of mammalian cell engineering. Additionally, this platform can potentially be used for the automation of large-scale genetic screens while using a single patient sample and low cell and reagent consumption
Picturing Canadian Modernism Through the Poetics of Eldon Grier
Get PDFThis thesis recovers and contextualizes the works of the Canadian painter/poet Eldon Grier (1917-2001). Grier was a painter first, studying under John Lyman in Montreal and Diego Rivera in Mexico City before beginning, “quite inexplicably, to write poetry.” This thesis recuperates and makes use of archival sources in order to ascertain the reasoning for this switch, ultimately situating Grier within a trend of Canadian “painterly poets” which includes P.K. Page-Irwin, Roy Kiyooka and Phyllis Webb. Each of these poets changed artistic mediums in the latter half of the twentieth century as they contended with the formal conventions of literary modernism. Not yet the concrete poetry of postmodernism, theirs is a poetics that recruits the visual at the level of methodology. As a foregrounding figure in this tradition Grier helps to chart the development of visual poetry in Canada, writing through what Len Early calls the “ambiguous fault-line” between modernism and postmodernism in Canada
The USMCA: A Bad Deal for Most
Get PDFThis study investigates the impact of the USMCA on the stock market returns of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. We also analyze the impact of USMCA on volatility spillover across the markets. Our research design consists of two parts. First, we examine the market and sectorial indices returns using an Event study methodology. Second, we use the BEKK-GARCH model to study the spillover between the three markets. The event study results show that most sectors across the three countries had a negative abnormal return with Canada suffering a relatively bigger loss. The multivariate GARCH results show that the U.S. market historically has the most influential impact on the volatilities of the Canadian and Mexican markets. We also find that USMCA had a negative impact on the mean returns of the Canadian and Mexican stock markets. Besides, we find no significant evidence of change in volatility spillover post-USMCA. Overall, our analysis shows that the USMCA was a bad deal for most
The Need for Affiliation: Why Income Inequality Leads to Luxury Consumption
Get PDFConspicuous consumption—spending money on luxury goods and services to publicly display the economic power of the buyer—has historically been associated with people that have more disposable income. Recent literature suggests this may no longer be true. The phenomenon of “keeping up with the Joneses” is found across income classes, sometimes even more so in lower-income communities and households. Furthermore, income inequality in an area or region is often a strong predictor of that population’s tendency to engage in conspicuous consumption. Literature across disciplines (i.e., economic theory, social psychology, cross-cultural psychology, and marketing) has explored the relationship between income inequality and conspicuous consumption. The goal of this dissertation is to explore the role of both social and psychological motives in consumer decision making to understand how income inequality impacts luxury consumption. Previous literature has explored the impact of income inequality on conspicuous consumption. In this research, I examine the role of self-reported socioeconomic status and how it relates to conspicuous consumption. Furthermore, I explore the role of need for affiliation, and it’s impact conspicuous consumption behaviours—how aspirational consumers are driven to spend more as a function of their desire to fit in with wealthier consumers. While previous literature examines conspicuous consumption in emerging economies, here I explore the cultural and individual differences underlying these prior findings. Lastly, I explore sex differences in conspicuous consumption across cultures, and hypothesize that while conspicuous consumption increases in emerging markets, sex differences should not change. The findings suggest the opposite of what I hypothesized: socioeconomic status increases the tendency to use conspicuous consumption. However, this is mediated by the need for affiliation which also increases with higher socioeconomic status. Finally, the data suggests that sex differences in conspicuous consumption are non-existent in emerging markets, a finding which opens a new avenue of research beyond the scope of the work already completed in this field
Assessing the Impact of Gold Mining on Forest Cover in the Surinamese Amazon Rainforest from 1997 - 2019: A Semi-Automated Satellite-Based Approach
Get PDFThe Amazon rainforest, as a biodiversity hotspot and regulator of the earths climate, is one of the most important ecosystems on earth, but has been facing extensive deforestation for decades due to urban growth, agricultural expansion, logging and mining. Mining (and the use of remote sensing methods to detect it) has been relatively understudied in the Amazon compared to the other drivers up until a decade ago, highlighting the importance of current research. The objectives of this study are: To quantify the increase in industrial and artisanal mining and its impact on forest cover in the northern Amazonian country of Suriname between 1997 and 2019; Evaluate the impact of this expansion on the structure (fragmentation) and health (phenology) of the forest; and improve existing remote sensing techniques for mining detection through the development of a pioneer method based on cloud processing and semi-automated mining reclassification. The cloud processing software known as Google Earth Engine (GEE) was used for the initial land use land cover classification of the study area. Landsat 5 and 8 images and the classification and regression trees (C.A.R.T) algorithm were used in this step. The resulting classified maps were fed into the semi-automated re-classification model developed for this study, producing final re-classified output maps, which were used to analyse the expansion of mining and its associated impacts on forest fragmentation and phenology. The proposed method is the first documented method which combines cloud processing with a semi-automated re-classification model, providing a technologically advanced approach capable of rapid and efficient detection of mines. This approach resulted in an 89.5% accuracy of mining detection, and the combination of speed, efficiency, and highly accurate detection outperformed many of the other currently documented methods for mining detection in the Amazon. The results highlighted that mining increased from 69.4km² in 1997 to 431.6km² in 2019, an increase of 522% over 22 years. This growth led directly to 351.9km² of forest loss, 83% of which was due to artisanal mining. This loss of forest led to a 122.8km² reduction in the effective mesh size for the artisanal mine sub-area, compared to a decrease of 83km² for the Industrial mine sub-area. Mining also caused a decrease in the health of the surrounding forest, with the decrease in peak greenness being more pronounced for artisanal mining compared to industrial mining. Recommendations for future research include exploring the use of higher resolution imagery such as Sentinel for better results, as well as the use of microwave data in the classification to combat the issue of extensive cloud cover in the Amazon. The issue of overclassification present in the proposed method can potentially be combated by exploring combinations of different classification algorithms with the reclassification model
Sites of Learning: Rural Artist Residencies in the East, West, and North of Canada/Turtle Island
Get PDFAs spaces for professional development and creative incubation, artist residencies represent important stepping stones in artists’ careers. Often overlooked are those established in rural areas, which serve as sites for community gathering, sharing, and learning. Rural communities also face distinct challenges, such as mass urban migration, imminent climate change, and waning support for rural education studies. The purpose of this thesis is to identify what practices are underway at three rural Canadian artist residencies, by examining educational infrastructures, environments, and attitudes. Using case study and autoethnographic methods (written and visual journaling, field notes, interviews) these practices are explored from the perspectives of visiting artists-in-residence, local residents, and residency staff. The results illustrate innovative strategies that seek to empower, connect, and grow artist residencies as places of public pedagogy, contextualized by their rural locales. Described using six themes, they depict learning at rural artist residencies as: (a) embedded in social context, (b) situated in relation to the land, (c) occurring at an intersection of industries, (d) involving informal learning relationships, (e) requiring a hunger for knowledge, and (f) rooted in issues of access. This study suggests that the resulting infrastructural, environmental, and attitudinal practices can be mobilized to sustain and/or revitalize rural communities through dynamic networks, socially engaged programs, and arts advocacy
Integrated Optimization of Location, Design, and Operation of Renewable Energy Systems for Urban Microgrids
Get PDFThe building sector of urban areas plays a crucial role in carbon emissions and climate change. Distributed generation using clean energies could help to reduce emissions. Furthermore, urban microgrids increase the reliability of power supply since most of the power outages are created in the grid distribution system and transmission lines. However, a cost-effective design and operation of an urban microgrid poses challenges, such as limited space for installing the renewable components, especially in populated areas, the uncertainty of renewable resources, and the resiliency of the designed microgrid in case of not having access to the central grid. Therefore, this thesis was initiated with the objective of developing a comprehensive method for the efficient design of an urban microgrid. The developed framework consists of three main modules. The first module aims at designing an energy system for a community microgrid by sizing and finding the optimum configuration of the energy system. To resolve the spatial issue problem in urban areas, regional renewable generation is proposed in this research where clean energy is produced outside of the populated area as a virtual power plant in relation to the microgrid. A mapping model is also developed to select the best location for installing components outside the microgrid. The mapping model is connected with the optimization model to automatically generate the best configuration and location of regional generation based on several aspects of each zone. The second module deals with renewable resources and electrical load demand uncertainties and tries to reduce them by forecasting strategies. Since renewable resources such as solar irradiance and wind speed are not predictable using just historical data, hybridized numeric weather prediction (NWP) and deep learning models are offered to tackle the drawback. The last module proposes a solution to ensure resilience against power supply failures in electricity grids caused by extreme weather conditions, unavailability of generation capacities, and transmission components problems.
The discussed models were applied to one of Concordia University's largest buildings in downtown Montreal, Canada. The results show a significant improvement in the environmental aspect of the regional generation if the existing gas boiler would be substituted by electric boilers and heat pumps (using generated renewable electricity outside of microgrid), preventing emissions of about 4233 tons CO2 and 5.3 tons NOX per year. Using a proposed tariff structure beneficial to both the customer and utility, the resulting levelized cost of energy is about 5.3 Cents per kilowatt hour, i.e., lower than the current rate of about 6 Cents per kWh. Using the second module’s proposed hybrid models for renewable resources and electrical load demand prediction of the case study was also helpful by considerably bringing down the error. Finally, operation dispatch scenarios are developed to reinforce the system’s resiliency in severe conditions for the case study in the third module. A mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) approach is employed to identify global optimum dispatch solutions based on the next 48 h plans for different seasons to formulate a whole-year operational model. The results show that the loss of power supply probability (LPSP), as an indicator of resiliency, could be lowered to near zero while minimizing operational cost using the proposed optimal load (derived from critical load)
Midtribulation
Get PDFMidtribulation is an attempt at grappling with “apocalypse” as a concept, a literary genre, and a material reality. Despite deeply-ingrained ideas of the end of the world as fire and brimstone, Medieval scholar Bernard McGinn notes that an apocalypse is really just an unveiling or uncovering—a revelation of some great, previously hidden knowledge, usually of how the end (defined broadly) will come about. The poems in this collection are my own apocalypses—texts which reveal something to me as they’re being written. Grounded in readings of biblical prophecy and Medieval eschatological texts, such as those of Hildegard of Bingen and Joachim of Fiore, these poems address endings, ecologies, collapse. Moving through a confessional, lyric mode, a fragmentary, digital mode, and the more traditional lexicon of mystical revelation, this collection enacts the long process of uncovering what an ending feels like—the religious vs. the secular, the collective vs. the personal, the created vs. the decreated. The apocalypse-in-construction here asks: how do we exist in relation to others and to space? How do we mediate, and how are we mediated by, our environment? How do we conceive of futurity?
Midtribulationists, the least popular of apocalyptic millenarians, believe the elect will suffer through part of the tribulation before being saved, ascending just as God’s real wrath is unleashed on the unworthy. They are not kept entirely apart from destruction, but they are also not witnesses of the true end. They are suspended in the very middle of messianic time, endlessly waiting