Carleton University Institutional Repository
Not a member yet
20816 research outputs found
Sort by
Class Struggle in the Climate Crisis: Strategic Considerations for Life-Making In and Against a Settler-Colony
No full textIt is vital to understand the climate crisis in terms of class struggle, using social reproduction theory and an intersectional perspective. This makes the climate struggle a struggle for life-making, and not for emissions reduction. I look at a cohort of thirteen prominent climate action organizations operating in the settler-colonial petro-state of so-called “British Columbia, Canada,” focusing on the calls to action the organizations make to their members or potential members on Facebook, the social media site where they have the most followers. They most frequently call on people: to petition elected officials; to donate money; and to engage in or to assist illegalized blockades. I argue that turning towards a class struggle approach opens up new possibilities
Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Proactive Community Outreach and Support Team
No full textTo better support individuals with mental health related challenges that frequently come into contact with the police, four partner organizations in London, Ontario co-developed the Community Outreach and Support Team (COAST). This program was designed to be health care led and police supported and involves a police officer and a mental health professional responding to calls together. We conducted three studies aimed at evaluating the COAST. The first study is an implementation analysis that examines whether the COAST program is operating in the way that was intended. Based on a range of data sources, we found that while many aspects of the program do align with the original implementation plan, there are also numerous discrepancies, typically due to the fact that the program was adapting operations to emerging issues (e.g., COVID-19). In the second study, we conducted pre- and post-implementation surveys with staff members working within the partner organizations, as well as satisfaction surveys with clients. The results collectively suggest that while the COAST is perceived as a valuable resource that is perceived as beneficial for clients and staff, it may not be having a broader impact on staff knowledge, attitudes, or workload due to its limited size, scope, and availability, as well as communication challenges. The final study examined the impact of the COAST from multiple perspectives based on in-depth interviews with those who had direct contact with the team. A grounded theory was developed to explain how the COAST takes individuals from suffering to enhanced connection to support. The theory also outlines the supportive conditions that facilitate this process and the key barriers that detract from it. The current dissertation contributes to the growing body of literature that examines the impact of co-response teams. While this research generally supports the value of COAST, it also highlighted specific challenges with the program and identifies areas requiring improvement. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for the London COAST, as well as for other communities that are considering implementing similar initiatives or modifying existing ones to enhance outcomes for clients. Keywords: police crisis response, co-response teams, persons in crisi
Knowledge Reuse as a Foundation for Security Metrics
No full textThe recurring question within the cybersecurity landscape is---why do systems keep getting successfully attacked? This relative ease of system breaches necessitates a reevaluation of what it means for attacks to be ``hard''. Existing security metrics quantify narrow aspects of attack difficulty but do not give insight into why attacks remain feasible. Diversity is frequently discussed as a strategy to mitigate the risks associated with cybersecurity monoculture. However, determining the optimal level and type of diversity in security presents complex challenges for which we have little basis. We propose a new way of conceptualizing attack difficulty in terms of knowledge reuse. To this end, we present two models---one abstract model inspired by artificial intelligence search and another model, product family algebra, inspired by software components. Using these models we propose three new metrics: knowledge obfuscation (KOSM), defense evolution (DESM), and population fragility. We then analyze the practical implications of our proposed models for an information security analyst. By adopting these models, information security analysts can better navigate the complexities of the cybersecurity landscape, tailor security measures more precisely to their organization's needs, and ultimately contribute to a more resilient and secure digital environment
Aspirational Homeownership in a Time of Crisis: An ethnography of new homeowners in an Ottawa suburb
No full textWhile homeownership in Canada has been out of reach for many Canadians for decades, the economic and social conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic propelled the housing market further beyond the means of many young Canadians. Despite the expanding costs, young Canadians continued to jump into a housing market that left them in precarious financial situations. With the housing crisis such a major part of news media, many people decode the term ‘housing crisis’ as the cause of their financial anxieties associated with homeownership. Through ethnographic research with new homeowners in a small suburban community in Ottawa called Findlay Creek and a Peircian semiotic approach, this thesis looks to translate the deeper meaning of homeownership and the experience of the perceived housing crisis. It argues that the phrase ‘the housing crisis’ is a symbol that has come to represent new homeowners’ financial anxieties and sense of belonging to the middle-class
Respectful Design With Remote Communities: How Can Real-Time Digital Tools Contribute in Cross Cultural Collaboration
No full textThis research investigates the role of digital technology in fostering respectful design practices in multidisciplinary distributed collaboration. Time and financial limitations currently hinder the application of respectful design, an Indigenous approach. This research assesses real-time digital tools to address these limitations. A mixed-methods approach was used to holistically evaluate distributed collaboration tools: real-time physical Immersion, the video conferencing platform Zoom, and interactive Hologram technology. Three research methods were used: observation of collaborative design projects with remote Indigenous communities, design charrettes in which participants used different tools for each stage of the design process, and reflective interviews utilizing card sorting. This research illustrated that distributed collaboration tools can enhance collaboration and create a respectful design space when in-person meetings are not feasible. It further identified recommendations for strategically implementing distributed collaboration tools within a cross-cultural design process by addressing technical and facilitation challenges
Cervical Cell Separation using Deep Learning Techniques
No full textWe propose a novel deep learning based solution to overlapping cervical cell separation from cervical cell cytology images, aiming to improve the diagnostic process for cervical cancer by providing clear and detailed images of individual cells. The proposed solution involves a deep learning-based image separation pipeline for overlapping cervical cells. This pipeline first computes the overlapped portion of cells using a segmentation technique, which is a cascaded deep learning network comprising the Meta-Polyp model and a modified U-Net model employing transfer learning from a pretrained backbone network. The proposed segmentation pipeline's application is extended to obtain the union mask of overlapping cells. The resulting non-overlap segmentation mask is used in an instance segmentation network to yield individual cell masks. The cell separation pipeline, using a conditional generative adversarial network, generates separated cell images. The proposed pipeline generates accurate predictions of individual cervical cells, outperforming existing techniques
R&D on an Ion Extraction Technique for Barium Ion Tagging
No full textNeutrinoless-double-beta-decay (0νββ) is a hypothesised process which, if observed, would confirm the Majorana nature of the neutrino. It would also provide better limits on the absolute mass scale of the neutrino. Its observation is thus the goal of many experimental collaborations around the world. Identifying the barium daughter produced in neutrinoless-double-beta-decay of 136Xe (‘barium tagging’) would reject all non-double-beta-decay background and provide a dramatic increase in the experiment’s sensitivity. One approach to barium tagging involves extraction of the barium ion from a liquid xenon chamber as the first step. As a preliminary milestone towards this goal, ion extraction is attempted from a chamber with gaseous argon. The experimental apparatus and setup is described, and a Monte-Carlo simulation is developed to predict the background spectrum of the ion extraction and detection tests. The simulation results are compared with data, and conclusions are drawn about the model of the system being used
The Self and The Saint Artemisia Gentileschi and Self-Presentation in Seventeenth-Century Florence
No full textThe discovery of a new work from an old master necessitates a reappraisal of said artist’s catalogue and progression. When Artemisia Gentileschi’s Self-Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria was brought to light in 2017 it stood out not only because it was a new painting, but because it fit neatly into a series of paintings from her time in Florence, in particular, her Saint Catherine of Alexandria that resides in the Uffizi. The self-as-saint portrayal reveals a great deal about Artemisia Gentileschi. This work enhances scholarly understanding of her specific appraoch to self-portraiture – a genre that she frequently experimented with. Perhaps even more pertinent, it helps to situate her within the social dynamics of Medici Florence, revealing her to be an extremely self-aware and socially aware actor that was well versed in presenting herself as not only a skilled artist, but as a commendable public figure as well
Capitalism, Democracy, and the Epistemocratic Alternative in 20th Century Intellectual Culture: Studies in the Ideal Reconciliation of Systemic Contradictions, 1919-1940
No full textThis thesis engages whether the bearing of intellectuals in liberal democracies toward citizens retains the stereotyped blend of hauteur and trepidation identified by some historians, and proposes “epistemocracy” as an idiom by which to encapsulate a political vision associated with swathes of the intelligentsia as it has evolved since its purported inception. It is further suggested that during crises, epistemocrats spearhead initiatives described as “returns of the political,” the objective of which is to reassert control of two major cloacae of epistemic pollution: the masses and the market, both of which contest the primacy of intellectuals and the desirability of their projects. Between an examination of how epistemocracy has been conceptualized and some theoretical material that may potentially be synthesized to produce an original variation of epistemocracy sits an examination of five texts by interwar intellectuals designed to illustrate the heterogeneity and cohesion of this conceit
In Revenge He Has Taken the Stays: Dandyism and Social Othering in Regency Newspapers, 1814-1818
No full textPublic and social Othering as a means of establishing social authority was a recognized cultural practice during the British Regency period (circa 1811-20). The dimensions of Othering techniques are discussed in this thesis by analyzing middle-class primary sources including articles, letters, diary entries, witticisms, and poems published in British newspapers between 1814 and 1818. Public shaming and Othering dandyism during this period was critical for the development of a middle-class value system that prized separate gendered spheres, financial responsibility, and class cohesion. Othering language critiqued the dandy’s mode of dress, their social presentation, and how they performed gender. Ultimately, this language created stereotypes about dandies that posed them as much more threatening to the status quo than was their aim