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Sustainable Material Pedagogy in the Faculty of Fine Arts at Concordia University
Get PDFThis thesis looks to uncover how studio-based Fine Arts students are learning about sustainable material practices at Concordia University. By investigating current material approaches in art education and interviewing technical support staff and professors in five departments and programs across the university, I set to find out. As I built the case study, four themes emerged: waste, health and safety, time and natural materials. They helped to frame what I learned from my participants, but also guided the recommendations for future directions in material pedagogy and literacy. The goal of my research is to change the culture of sustainable material practice in the Faculty of Fine Arts at Concordia University
Evaluation of Implementing Mining Wastewater in Closed-Loop Pressure Retarded Osmosis
Get PDFPressure-Retarded Osmosis (PRO) is an osmotic process that is used to harvest energy from salinity gradients using a semi permeable membrane. The driving force in this system is the difference in produced osmotic pressure between feed and draw solutions. Water flows across the membrane from the feed side and mixes with the draw solution. The draw solution is pressurized at pressure less than the net driving force and depressurizes in a turbine to generate electricity. A thorough comparison between open-loop PRO (OLPRO) and closed-loop PRO (CLPRO) was made regarding their performance and costs. In this study, gold mining wastewater was investigated to be used as the feed solution in PRO and its potential was evaluated. Prior to the main process, this solution was pretreated using ultrafiltration (UF) and nanofiltration (NF) to separate large molecules, colloids, multivalent ions, heavy metals, etc. In each step the fouling components and mechanism were explained. NF permeate characterization showed high removal efficiency of the present ions and heavy metals separation. In PRO, a solution of NH_3-CO_2 with concentration of 3M were used as the draw solution. The proposed system could generate power density of 15.0 ± 0.4 W⁄m^2 . In the last section, Thermal efficiency was calculated and improving this efficiency were discussed. Overall, the utilization of the mining wastewater as the feed solution in PRO showed good potential, though, foulant elements may still have a major impact on pre-treatment steps and harnessing the full potential of the PRO process
The Integral Role of the Therapeutic Relationship within a Neuroscience-Informed Approach to Music Therapy Practice: A Philosophical Inquiry
Get PDFThe purpose of this philosophical inquiry was to argue for the integral importance of the therapeutic relationship within a neuroscience-informed approach to music therapy practice. A preliminary review of the music therapy literature revealed that the therapeutic relationship is important for the following reasons: the therapeutic relationship (a) provides a safe environment integral to the music therapy process; (b) enhances motivation and engagement through a collaboration between the client and music therapist; and (c) informs the active individualization of music therapy interventions. An initial review of the literature included an exploration of the neuroscience-informed music therapy literature and the importance of the therapeutic relationship in music therapy practice. The neuroscience-informed music therapy literature was analyzed using the aforementioned reasons to investigate why the therapeutic relationship is important within the approach. Findings of the analysis provided evidence of the importance of the therapeutic relationship within neuroscience-informed music therapy, as well as preliminary conceptualizations of the relationship using existing neuroscience-informed clinical protocols. Perspectives from social neuroscience, interpersonal neurobiology, music neuroscience, and music therapy were integrated throughout the research thesis to provide music therapists working from a neuroscience-informed approach with the language to articulate the importance of the relational elements of their work. Recommendations for future research are presented
The Main Types of Work Integrated Learning Programs, its Key Features, and its Stakeholders’ Responsibilities
Get PDFAbstract
The Main Types of Work Integrated Learning Programs, its Key Features, and its Stakeholders’ Responsibilities
Fauzia Sikender
Canada’s aging population, rapid technological change, and increase in demand for new labour in the workforce are contributing factors responsible for an increased demand for new workers and enhanced job fit for them (Fields et al., 2017). Prior studies have documented the benefits of work integrated learning, in which students acquire knowledge outside the realm of the traditional classroom to enhance their job readiness skills. However, there is a gap in current literature on the types (nomenclature) of work integrated learning that enhance students’ job fit in different contexts. The purpose of this integrative literature review is to identify the major definitions, key features, and stakeholder responsibilities of different types of work integrated learning. Applying a combination of deductive and inductive methodologies, this study identified 24 articles to answer the research questions. The results suggest that there are four major types of work integrated learning; internships, “a form of experiential education that combines practical realities to students while reinforcing classroom lessons” (Barbarash, 2016, p.21).; cooperative education, “the integration of theory with practice within a purposefully designed curriculum ” (Rowe, 2018, p.144); apprenticeships, “a work placement where the student acquires the knowledge, skills, and behaviours required to be competent in a particular occupation, at the higher and degree level” (Crawford-Lee, 2016, p.324); and practica, “a pedagogical strategy adopted by colleges and universities to help students acquire essential career skills and enhance their career readiness” (Akpan, 2016, p.412). However, there is confusion in the terms since many of the definitions are similar in nature and can be used interchangeably, like internship and cooperative education. Key features of these programs include academic credit, renumeration, self-reflective activities, application of academic knowledge in a work environment, and feedback from supervisors and co-workers. Roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders involved tend to overlap with one another as employers and institutions are responsible for organizing and aligning work assignments respectively to meet the employers’ needs. Major challenges include ensuring there is a good fit between the work placement and the student’s area of study, ensuring student learning is linked to employers’ needs, and ensuring students learn to adapt to real life work experiences. Clarity in the terms and definitions of work placement models by employers, students, and educational institutions would help reduce confusion and enhance students’ job readiness skills
Mature Fine Tailings Hydrocarbon Degradation and Biosurfactant Production Capacity by Indigenous Bacteria under an Anaerobic Environment
No full textBitumen extraction from oil sands has by-products which discharge to tailings ponds. The by-products called tailings, contains residual hydrocarbons. Also, mature fine tailings (MFT) at the bottom of the tailings ponds are exposed to oxygen depletion. Treatment of residual hydrocarbon leads to significant environmental concerns. Many chemical methods are used to degrade the residual hydrocarbons in addition to biodegradation by exogenous microorganisms and biosurfactant production. However, using the indigenous bacteria and the potential of biosurfactant production under anaerobic condition have been neglected. The objective of this research was to select indigenous bacteria with biosurfactant production potential under anaerobic condition and then add them to the MFT simulated environment to monitor bioremediation of the tailings.
At the first phase, 13 oil degrading indigenous bacteria were isolated from mature fine tailings of oil sands refineries under anaerobic condition. The type of 13 isolates were identified and examined to recognize which one of them could live under anaerobic condition. Seven isolates were grown on LB agar plates, 4 isolates on BH agar plates and 2 isolates on TSB agar plates. Biosurfactant production of isolates were monitored under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Also, their optical density, surface tension and biosurfactant production were monitored during the incubation. Eight isolated bacteria were facultative anaerobe or aerotolerant anaerobe which 7 of them could produce biosurfactant under anaerobic condition.
At the second phase of the research, MFT environment conditions were simulated in a SRT (with agitation) and anaerobic bottle (no agitation). Seven potential isolated bacteria which could produce biosurfactant under anaerobic condition, were added to the SRT and the anaerobic bottle to monitor the effect of bacteria to the MFT sample for 8 weeks. Results showed that the isolated bacteria degraded approximately 55% of residual hydrocarbon in the MFT and decrease the surface tension of saturated water from 68 mN/m to 45 mN/m under anaerobic condition. The population of bacteria showed satisfactory resistance in the anaerobic environment which indicates that the
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identified isolates can be used in the tailings management methods such as microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR)
BIDIRECTIONAL LSTM AND KALMAN FILTER FOR PASSENGER FLOW PREDICTION ON BUS TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS
Get PDFForecasting travel demand is a complex problem facing public transit operators. Passenger flow prediction is useful not only for operators, used for long-term planning and scheduling, but also for transit users. The time is quickly approaching that short-term passenger flow prediction will be expected as a matter of course by transit users. To address this expectation, a
Bi-directional Long Short-Term Memory Neural Network model (BDLSTM NN) and a Bi-directional Long Short-Term Memory Neural Network Kalman Filter model (BDLSTM KF) predict short-term passenger flow and based on the dependencies between passenger count and spatial-temporal features. A comprehensive preprocessing framework is proposed leveraging historical data and extracting bidirectional features of passenger flow. The proposed model is based on [1] but adapted, applied, and analysed to produce optimal results for passenger flow forecasting on a bus route. Building on [2], a BDLSTM architecture is then combined with a Kalman filter. The Kalman filter reduces the training and testing complexity required for passenger flow forecasting. The BDLSTM-based Kalman filter produces predictions with less uncertainty than each method alone. Evaluating the BDLSTM-based Kalman filter with two months of real-world data, one year apart shows positive improvements for short-term forecasting in high complexity bus networks. It is possible to see that the BDLSTM outperforms traditional machine and deep learning techniques used in this context
Imagining networked scholarly communication: self-archiving, academic labour, and the early internet
Get PDFThis essay explores the emergence of self-archiving practices in the 1990s as a form of academic labour that is intimately tied to the popularisation of the Internet. It argues that self-archiving is part of a sociotechnical imaginary of networked scholarly communication that has helped to shape understandings of digital scholarship and dissemination over the past three decades. Focussing on influential texts written by open access archivangelist Stevan Harnad in 1990 and 1994, the essay analyzes the language and discursive strategies used to promote self-archiving as form of collective scholarly exchange. Through these writings, Harnad helped to articulate scholars to the Internet as a medium of publication, with impacts still seen today in policy discussions around open access and the public good that shape relations of knowledge production under contemporary forms of capitalism
Design of Reconfigurable On-Chip Optical Architectures based on Phase Change Material
Get PDFIntegrated optics is a promising technology to take the advantage of light propagation for high throughput chip-scale computing architectures and interconnects. Optical devices call for reconfigurable architectures to maximize resource utilization. Typical reconfigurable optical computing architectures involve micro-ring resonators for electro-optic modulation. However, such devices require voltage and thermal tuning to compensate for fabrication process variability and thermal sensitivity. To tackle this challenge we propose to use non-volatile Phase Change Material (PCM) to configure optical path. The non-volatility of PCM elements allows maintaining the optical path without consuming energy and the high contrast between two state of crystalline (cr) and amorphous (am) allows to route signal only through the required resonators, thus saving the calibration energy of bypassed resonators. We evaluate the efficiency of PCM based design on Reconfigurable Directed Logic (RDL) and nanophotonic interconnect. We develop a model allowing to estimate optical and electrical energy consumption. In the context of nanophotonic interconnect we evaluate the efficiency of the proposed PCM-based interconnects using system level simulations carried out with SNIPER manycore simulator. Results show that the proposed implementation allows reducing the static power by 53% on average for RDL and communication power saving up to 52% is achieved for nanophotonic interconnect
The relationship between inflation and small-cap premiums and evaluating small-cap stocks as a hedge to inflation for G7 countries
No full textInflation erodes personal wealth, and portfolio managers must seek inflation hedging strategies to mitigate this risk. Small-caps stocks have been shown to react more negatively to macroeconomic shocks than large caps and a better understanding of this effect on small-cap returns can have important implications for portfolio management decisions. This paper studies the effect of inflation shocks on G7 small-cap premiums as well as the regime-dependent relationship of premiums with inflation and default risk. This paper also studies the long-run hedging properties of small-cap and large-cap stocks against inflation risk in G7 countries from 1994 to 2022 by estimating their Fisher Elasticities through univariate and panel analysis. Markov Switching regression shows that the variation in the small-cap premium can be explained by inflation and default risk factor regimes under weak and strong economic regimes. Cross-sectionally dependent panel cointegration analysis shows that G7 country large-cap and small-cap stocks are effective hedges against inflation in the long run in the post-GFC period. These results have important implications for building effective hedging strategies based on the market capitalization of publicly traded companies in the G7
Factors Underlying Listener-Based Assessments of Second Language Comprehensibility: Linguistic, Experiential, and Metacognitive Contributions
No full textComprehensibility, which refers to listeners’ perception of how easy or difficult it is for them to understand second language (L2) speakers, is an important global dimension of L2 speech. Comprehensibility has been included in high-stakes language assessment instruments and has been promoted as a learning goal in language teaching. However, listener-assessed comprehensibility can be affected by various variables, such as linguistic characteristics of L2 speech and individual differences among raters in their cognitive, experiential, and affective profiles. The overarching goal of this dissertation is to examine several of these sources of variance in L2 speech assessment, with a particular focus on comprehensibility.
Study 1 examined the role of discourse organization in L2 comprehensibility ratings. Twelve English for Academic Purposes teachers listened to 60 L2 speech samples elicited through a TOEFL-type integrated speaking task, evaluating each sample for comprehensibility and coherence (perceived interconnectedness of ideas). The speech samples were analyzed for the occurrence of various discourse features at micro and macro levels. Linear mixed-effects modelling revealed that coherence and comprehensibility were strongly related, and that comprehensibility was uniquely predicted by micro measures of discourse organization.
Study 2 investigated how individual differences in teachers’ experience and beliefs profiles are associated with their judgements of L2 speech. Participants included 50 in-service and 50 pre-service teachers who rated 40 audio-recorded speaking performances by Japanese secondary school students, evaluating these students’ L2 English comprehensibility, fluency, and accentedness. The teachers also completed online questionnaires targeting their beliefs about L2 pronunciation instruction and recorded their professional and personal experiences related to language teaching and learning. Results revealed that in-service teachers held significantly stronger beliefs about L2 pronunciation instruction compared to pre-service teachers. Notably, some of the teachers’ beliefs and experiences were related to their L2 speech assessments.
Finally, Study 3 explored how speakers themselves evaluate their own L2 speech, examining the extent to which individual differences in speakers’ metacognitive skills were relevant to their self-assessments. The study also examined whether a brief peer-assessment activity was effective in helping L2 speakers align their self-assessments with the evaluations provided by external listeners. For this study, 40 L2 English-speaking international students performed an academic oral summary task and then self-assessed their speech for comprehensibility. Their speech was also evaluated for comprehensibility by 30 external listeners from mixed language backgrounds. Results showed that peer-assessment, but not L2 speakers’ metacognition, was associated with greater alignment between L2 English speakers’ self-ratings and external listeners’ evaluations