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Bats, Bugs and Bioaccumulation: investigating trophic pathways, toxicological risk, and cortisol as an indicator of sub-lethal effects of mercury in Eastern Ontario bats
No full textPrevious work in Eastern Ontario demonstrates species-specific variation in mercury bioaccumulation between two common bat species, Myotis lucifugus and Eptesicus fuscus, that challenges assumptions about trophic exposure pathways. The consequences of this mercury exposure also remain unclear. Habitat-specific bat diet and mercury exposure were characterized using THg and stable isotopes (δ15N, δ13C) in fur and prey insects, and the DNA metabarcoding of bat guano; fur cortisol was assessed as a biomarker for concurrent physiological stress. Adult E. fuscus exhibited higher concentrations of fur THg compared to M. lucifugus despite lower reliance on aquatic insects, potentially related to greater consumption of beetles. Linear mixed-effects models found a positive THg–cortisol relationship in the fur of E. fuscus, compared to a negative relationship for M. lucifugus. This research enhances our ability to quantify exposure potential and sub-lethal effects of mercury, informing proactive conservation planning crucial for bat population resilience amidst widespread declines
An Investigation into Mobility Tool Ownership and Mode Choice Behavior of High-Rise Condo Residents - a Case Study of the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area
No full textDecreasing SOV use not only reduces the economic burden of congestion but also reduces the need for parking, decreases development costs, and benefits the environment by reducing GHG emissions. This thesis aims to reduce SOV trips among high-rise condominium residents in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. An SP survey was conducted to examine mode choice and mobility tool ownership behaviors. Various multinomial and mixed logit models were estimated to identify the factors influencing mode choice and understand the effectiveness of condo-specific TDM policies. Moreover, a trivariate ordered probit model was estimated to reveal factors affecting mobility tool ownership. The results show that the building’s geographical location, tenure status, and parking availability significantly affect car ownership. Additionally, TDM policies, including an innovative parking policy, transit fare incentives, the provision of an e-bike share station, and membership discounts, are effective in encouraging residents to shift toward active modes and public transportation
A Novel Model of Same- and Other-Gender Sibling Sexual Contact
No full textThis study assessed risk factors of sibling sexual contact, drawing from Seto’s (2019) Motivation-Facilitation model and from the evolutionary theory of incest aversion. Among 1,164 adults aged 18 to 30 years old, motivation factors (e.g., atypical sexual interests) were more strongly correlated with propensity (e.g., sexual interest in sibling sexual contact), than facilitation factors (e.g., antisociality) and kinship cues (i.e., cues suggesting relatedness). Kinship cues were positively, rather than negatively, correlated with incest propensity and modelling kinship cues did not improve model fit; the present results do not support the evolutionary theory of incest aversion. Typical characteristics of sibling sexual contact (i.e., pre-pubertal; non-penetrative) may not align with the type of contact most susceptible to evolutionary pressures. Taken together, motivation factors are important risk factors for sibling sexual contact and more research is needed to ascertain the contribution of kinship cues to sibling sexual contact
Assessment of Tensile Strain Capacity in X70 and X100 Pipeline Steels
No full textThis thesis examines the Tensile Strain Capacities (TSCs) of API 5L steel pipelines, focusing on X70 and X100 grades. It evaluates X70 base metal pipelines with internal or external semi-elliptical cracks and extends to X70 and X100 girth weld pipes under tension and bending conditions. FEA incorporates initiation and ductile tearing criteria for various crack depths, internal pressures, Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) softening levels, and overmatch ratios. Crack-tip opening displacement (CTOD) and J-integral values were calculated, considering crack depth and internal pressure. TSC results show minor disparities between CTOD and J-integral values and between bending and tension conditions, indicating material and pipe properties may influence their behavior more than loading conditions. TSC calculations using initiation and ductile tearing methods showed no significant differences for either external or internal cracks under bending and tension. Additionally, TSC decreases with increased HAZ softening and internal pressures but improves with higher overmatch ratios
Wealth Drain and Value Transfer: A Study of the Mechanisms, Harms, and Beneficiaries of the Sanctions Regime on Iran
No full textThis dissertation offers a critical examination of the practices and techniques of economic sanctions as ‘slow and structural violence’ in and through international law. These coercive measures have been constructed and deployed by the global North to impose de-development and facilitate wealth drain from the periphery to the imperial core. At its heart, this study challenges the conventional and reductionist understanding of economic sanctions as ‘peaceful alternatives to war’, and their systematically deliberate violence as ‘unintended consequences’. Grounded in the context of the sanctions regime against Iran, my research traces its origins to 1950s—when Iran first asserted sovereignty over its natural resources—and examines the intensification of these sanctions after the 1979 Iranian revolution. I develop a critical account of sanctions, examining how these coercive measures operate as legal, political, and economic instruments of imperialism. This involves a comprehensive critical analysis of the violence inherent within the structures of these sanctions, offering a detailed examination of their mechanisms, justifications, harms, and beneficiaries
Co-Healthism in Health at Every Size®-Aligned TikTok Activism: Transforming the Definition of Healthism via Feminist-of-Color Disability Studies Theorizing
No full textThe Version of Record of this manuscript has been published and is available in Fat Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Body Weight and Society, Jan 18 2024, https://doi.org/10.1080/21604851.2024.2306991.This article is a feminist-of-color disability studies-oriented TikTok critical discourse analysis of 100 popular Health at Every Size®1 (HAES®) TikToks. It evaluates the power relations surrounding how HAES® frameworks are disseminated on TikTok and unpacks the implications for fat liberation. HAES® frameworks of care capacitate the eradication of medical fatmisia and the weight-centered health paradigm. While popular among online fat activists, HAES® frameworks have been widely accused of perpetuating healthism. My analysis makes clear how HAES® discourse is often steeped in ableist, white supremacist, and colonial healthism. Through this analysis, I ultimately argue that the definition of healthism needs to shift to center ableism, white supremacy, and colonialism, as well as the co-constituting nature of how systems of oppression aggregate to weaponize health against those with embodiments marked as “unhealthy.” I argue that this shift is necessary to produce analyses committed to radical solidarity. I mark this shift by coining and utilizing the term co-healthism. To demonstrate the need for my argument, I organize the results into three themes: healthist ableism, healthist white supremacy, and healthist colonialism in HAES® discourse. In the discussion, I clarify the coconstitutive nature of these themes and argue for the shift from healthism to co-healthism. I also define the concept and explain its methodological potentialities
Optimizing Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Detection with Time Series Transformers
No full textDistributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks are a growing threat, particularly with the expansion of the Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud services. These attacks can disrupt services, leading to severe financial consequences. Effective detection and response are crucial, requiring high precision and recall. False positives can make services inaccessible to legitimate users, while false negatives may allow attacks to go undetected. This research proposes that DDoS traffic can often be identified by unique packet creation traits, distinguishing it from regular network traffic. Despite advancements in DDoS tools, they still struggle to mimic authentic traffic closely. We explore the use of the Time Series Transformer to enhance DDoS detection, utilizing datasets like CICDDOS2019 and CICIOT2023. This approach aims to demonstrate the robustness of transformer-based models in identifying and mitigating DDoS attacks effectively
Masarap ng Pelikula(m): Representations of Food and Foodways in Filipino Cinema
No full textFrench gastronome Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin once famously wrote, “Dis-moi ce que tu manges, je te dirai ce que tu es” (1852, 1). Contemporary Filipino identity has been heavily shaped by food, and its presence in several Filipino genre films spanning different decades not only emphasizes the importance of food in Filipino culture, but representations of foodways also embody intangible ideas. Through a close analysis of foodways in three different Filipino genre films from various decades, I will explore how food is used as a familiar metaphorical tool for constructing and understanding contemporary Filipino identity. By analyzing how food functions in the bomba film Insiang (1976), the horror film Sukob (2006), and the kilig film Hello, Love, Goodbye (2019), I seek to determine the ways in which Filipino food and film intersect to navigate the idea of a unified Filipino identity both in the Philippines and in the diaspora
How Inclusion Caused Division: A Critical Examination of Muslim Mothers’ Resistance to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Approaches in Ontario Public Schools
No full textThis research explores the practice of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) in public schools within the multicultural context of Canada. It critiques institutional diversity as a mechanism of liberalism that perpetuates Western cultural imperialism. The study focuses on Ontario’s revised Health and Physical Education Curriculum (HPEC) and the EDI framework, with specific attention to the inclusion of 2SLGBTQ+ related education and the resulting resistance from Canadian Muslim mothers. Through the findings of ten in-depth interviews with Muslim Mothers, the research reveals that EDI policies and framework of Ontario public schools often perpetuate existing power dynamics, selectively including marginalized individuals. The findings suggest that a multidimensional understanding of respect can better accommodate diverse needs within the EDI framework. The study provides concrete recommendations for Ontario public schools to improve the implementation of EDI policies, fostering a more inclusive and harmonious environment where all students and parents feel respected and heard
Topology and Uniqueness of Optimal Plans for Multi-marginal and Stratified Mass Transport Problems
No full textWe begin by investigating the uniqueness of an optimal mass transport problem with marginals for by transforming it into a lower marginal optimal transportation problem. Specifically, for a family of probability spaces and a cost function , we consider \tag{\textbf{MKP}}\label{T1} \inf_{\lambda\in\Pi(\mu_1,\ldots,\mu_N)}\int_{\prod_{k=1}^N X_k}c\,d\lambda. Then, for each ordered subset , we create a new cost function corresponding to the original cost function defined on . This new cost function possesses many of the features of the original cost , while having the property that any optimal plan of \eqref{T1} restricted to is also an optimal plan to the problem \label{T2} \inf_{\tau\in\Pi(\mu_{i_1},\ldots\mu_{i_p})}\int_{\prod_{k=1}^p X_{i_k}}c_{\mathcal{P}}\,d\tau. Our main contribution is to demonstrate that, for appropriate choices of the index set , one can recover the optimal plans of \eqref{T1} from \eqref{T2}. We examine situations in which the problem \eqref{T1} admits a unique solution depending on the uniqueness of the solution for the lower marginal problems of the form \eqref{T2}. This allows us to establish numerous uniqueness results for multi-marginal problems, even when the unique optimal plan is not necessarily induced by a map. To achieve this, we extensively employ disintegration theorems and the -extremality notions. Furthermore, we demonstrate several new applications to illustrate the applicability of this approach. Next, we deal with the case . For , for Borel probability spaces and and the cost , we study \tag{\textbf{2-MKP}}\label{T3} \inf\left\{\int_{X\times Y} c(x,y)\,d\lambda\ :\ \lambda \in\Pi(\mu,\nu) \right\}. We first consider an optimal transport problem with a multi-layers target space for the cost with being strictly convex and differentiable. Namely, we assume We also assume that , but . We show that for , the solution to \eqref{T3} is unique but it concentrates on the graph of several maps. Secondly, for general closed subsets , we consider the case where the first marginal of the form where is an -dimensional manifold