Carleton University Institutional Repository
Not a member yet
20816 research outputs found
Sort by
Inclusive Leadership: Supporting Employees with Disabilities
Full text linkThis study addressed the gap in literature regarding the impact of inclusive leadership on employees with disabilities, focusing on workplace loneliness, disability disclosure, and psychological empowerment, while considering the moderating role of self-compassion. The study involved 205 participants who self-reported having a disability and responded to quantitative questionnaires as well as open-ended questions. The results revealed that inclusive leadership was associated with lower workplace loneliness and higher psychological empowerment. However, contrary to expectations, inclusive leadership did not influence disability disclosure, and self-compassion did not moderate these relationships. Analysis of open-ended responses identified leadership behaviors that fostered a sense of belonging and appreciation for employees' uniqueness. These findings underscore the importance of inclusive leadership in shaping the work experiences of employees with disabilities, particularly regarding loneliness and psychological empowerment. The study also provides valuable insights for future research and organizational practices aimed at enhancing inclusion for employees with disabilities
Three Essays on Mergers and Acquisitions: Merger Termination Risk and Takeover Rumors
Full text linkIn today’s competitive business environment, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are key strategies for firms to expand margins, enhance market positions, and create value. Understanding the motives, challenges, and outcomes of M&A is crucial for navigating the complexities of the current business landscape. While M&A transactions have been widely studied, gaps remain, particularly in merger termination risks and market rumors. Many M&A transactions fail, while others are mere market rumors before materializing into actual deals. These uncertainties pose financial and strategic risks, influencing firm valuations, investor behavior, and market dynamics. This dissertation explores two underexamined areas in M&A: terminated mergers and rumored takeovers. The first essay investigates the risk of unsuccessful bidders becoming takeover targets after a failed merger attempt, which we refer to as merger termination risk. The market can predict which unsuccessful bidders are likely to be acquired as early as the termination of their deals, particularly if they are profitable, liquid, have smaller boards, or if the target initiates the termination. The second essay finds that the market can efficiently process rumored takeovers, anticipating both the timing of rumor materialization and the likelihood of deal success. Additionally, the presence of rumored competing bidders and post-bid competition significantly increases the likelihood of deal completion. The third essay finds the role of deal synergies and low information asymmetry in rumored takeovers as key drivers of positive post-merger performance. CEO duality and compensation, which serve as proxies for managerial hubris, show mixed results in the post-merger performance. CEO duality positively impacts the post-merger performance, while higher CEO compensation is associated with negative post-merger outcomes. This underscores the complexity of managerial characteristics in determining rumored M&A outcomes
Effect of Polymer-Based Coagulants on Consolidation Behavior of Flocculated Fluid Fine Tailings
Full text linkThis study investigates the effect of different coagulants and flocculant treatments on the dewatering. The research employed a series of laboratory experiments, including Capillary Suction Time (CST) tests, settlement tests, oedometer experiments, and oscillatory rheometry, to evaluate short- and long-term behaviors of the treated tailings. Results demonstrated that employing polymer-based coagulants, especially FL 4150, achieved faster dewatering, higher stiffness, and more stable settlement profiles with minimal creep, in contrast and relative to the conventional treatment employing Alum., These findings highlight the potential of optimized polymer treatments to improve tailings management and accelerate reclamation timelines in the oil sands industry. The research contributes critical data toward developing more sustainable tailings treatment strategies with reduced environmental footprints
How Visual Representations Affect Fraction Arithmetic Performance
Full text linkAlthough adding visuals helps participants solve math word problems (Hu et al., 2020), it is unclear if adding visuals to a purely symbolic arithmetic problem (e.g., 15 + 49 ) would improve participant performance. The goal of the current research was to determine whether and how the presentation of multiple representations affects adults’ performance on fraction arithmetic. Participants were given fraction arithmetic problems presented in one of three formats (symbolic, visual, dual). Operation type (addition, multiplication) and the compatibility of the denominators used in the problems (same, compatible, incompatible) were additionally manipulated. In general, participants responded to visually presented problems slower and less accurately than symbolically presented problem, but had unique patterns of error indicating fundamentally unique coding. However, participants largely solved dual presentation problems identically to symbolically presented problems. This suggests that the benefits of dual presentation in mathematical problem-solving may not extend to purely symbolic procedural problems
Assessment of Vitamins, Secondary Metabolites, and Antioxidant Properties of Vegetables Grown Hydroponically and Inoculated with Bacterial Endophytes
Full text linkVertical farming utilizing hydroponic systems offers a sustainable alternative to conventional agriculture by reducing water and land use while enabling year-round crop production. However, due to the absence of soil in hydroponic systems, beneficial plant microorganisms, including endophytes are absent. This thesis hypothesized that the inoculation of hydroponically grown vegetables with endophytes would enhance the synthesis of vitamins, secondary metabolites, and antioxidant properties. Vitamins and polyphenols were quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) while complementary assays were used for antioxidant activities. Basil inoculated with Curtobacterium herbarum showed up to 39% increase in γ-tocopherol content compared to control. C. flaccumfaciens, the consortium (P. flavus A + P. flavus B), Rizhobium selenireductens, and Bacillus fluminis enhanced reduced ascorbate by up to 40%, indicating lower oxidative stress. Five strains increased phenolic content, mainly hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives such as chicoric and rosmarinic acids. Significant changes were also observed for the flavonoids quercetin, and luteolin. C. flaccumfaciens, Methylobacterium oryzae, R. selenireductens, and B. toyonensis showed the greatest effects. Highest scavenging capacities for ROO• (94 ± 4 μM TE/g F.W.) and HO• (87.6%) were achieved by R. selenireductens and B. toyonensis (82.9%), while P. flavus and Sinorhizobium medicae exhibited the highest iron-chelating capacities (56.89% and 54.15%) and completely inhibited lipid hydroperoxide formation. In pepper, P. flavus-A and two consortia increased thiamine concentration by up to 57%. Burkholderia phytofirmans increased redox values (3.3 ± 0.7, p < 0.05), implying reduced oxidative stress. Paenibacillus taichungensis and consortium P. flavus-B + P. taichungensis + R. selenitireducens improved total polyphenols, hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives, total flavonoids, flavonols, and were associated with higher radical scavenging data (ROO•, HO•, and ABTS•+). In conclusion, endophytic inoculation in hydroponic cultivation of basil and peppers enhanced vitamin content (γ-tocopherol, vitamin C redox couple, thiamine), polyphenols, and antioxidant capacities, thereby improving overall nutritional quality. These effects were both metabolite- and strain-dependent. Future studies will focus on elucidating the mechanisms underlying these effects
To Unpack or Not to Unpack: Living with Packers to Enable Dynamic Analysis of Android Apps
Full text linkAndroid security has become increasingly important, with recent advancements making app analysis more difficult. Developers use commercial Android packers to protect their apps by implementing anti-analysis techniques, posing challenges for security researchers. Malware authors also exploit these packers to hide malicious behavior. This work examines anti-analysis techniques, Android packer methodologies, and state-of-the-art unpacking solutions. It systematically compares unpackers and packed app analysis methods, highlighting the need for an adaptive approach. A prevalence analysis of 12,000 apps from Chinese and non-Chinese app stores reveals that 50% of Chinese apps and 2% of non-Chinese apps are packed. Additionally, 28% of Chinese apps and 8% of non-Chinese apps detect Frida, while 18% and 11%, respectively, detect JDB. To address these challenges, the authors propose Purifire, an eBPF-based tool that bypasses anti-analysis techniques at runtime, allowing security researchers to conduct dynamic analysis using Frida effectively
Quantitative Assessment of Energy and Emissions Impacts of Teleworking on the Four Domains of Homes, Offices, Transportation, and the Internet
Full text linkTelework was introduced in 1980s as an alternative work arrangement with the aim of reducing transportation. Telework primarily impacts four domains of homes, offices, transportation, and the internet in terms of energy use and emissions. Previous studies mostly focused on a single domain but savings from one domain can be offset by another domain, resulting in different and even contradictory results in the current literature. Therefore, this thesis aims to quantify the overall impact of teleworking on the four domains simultaneously to reach a conclusion regarding the energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with telework. To achieve this, the current thesis utilizes a mixed-methods approach to inform simulations and to quantify emissions. It begins with a comprehensive literature review and interviews to identify existing gaps. This is followed by a simulation-based sensitivity analysis of various telework scenarios across four archetype homes and a medium-sized office. Finally, a survey is conducted to further inform the simulations and accurately quantify emissions. The sample includes government employees in Quebec and Ontario (National Capital Region (NCR)). With more than 1500 participants, GHG emissions along with scope 3 emissions are calculated and estimated for the sample size. The results demonstrate that emissions from in-person work are 34% and 181% more than remote work in NCR and Quebec, respectively. Across domains, transportation has the highest potential to reduce emissions among teleworkers. Homes are the dominant source of emissions in Ontario due to the use of natural gas while transportation is the dominant source in Quebec since most home heating systems are electric. Overall, findings suggest teleworking can be a more sustainable alternative if stakeholders adopt environmentally responsible practices across all domains. Besides addressing the current knowledge gap, the outcome of this thesis is the first comprehensive and systematic study on the impact of teleworking on four domains of homes, offices, transportation, and the internet. The results of this thesis will help policymakers to make an informed decision regarding adopting hybrid working models in order to reduce energy use and the carbon footprint and take a step towards achieving 2050 net zero goals
From Isolation to Integration: An empirical study on differences between unit and integration testing with applications to C programs
Full text linkUnit and integration testing are both well-established, yet their practical differences have received limited empirical attention. This work compares the two approaches to better understand how they differ when applied with the same test cases. Unit testing, based on isolating the unit thanks to the use of stubs, is contrasted with integration testing, where functions are tested together through real calls instead of stubs. The study focuses on structural coverage, fault detection, and the effort required to manually build test harnesses. We observe that unit testing offered greater control and reachability but required significant manual setup. Integration testing involved less infrastructure but limited observability, especially for functions that are not directly executed by the test harness. Fault detection varied depending on call structure, input flow, and oracle quality. Some faults were only exposed in integration, others only through unit testing
