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Reckoning with Truth Commissions: Implication in Transitional Justice and Settler Colonialism
No full textThe inability to address institutional harm is a criticism of Western, liberal democracies and is particularly pertinent for settler colonial contexts where violence is structural and often seen as occurring solely in the past. Through a lens of “implication,” as developed in Michael Rothberg’s 2019 book The Implicated Subject, I assess the role of collective responsibility of and for settler colonial institutions. Through a case study of the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Mandate and Calls to Action, alongside a review of the commission’s summary reports, I evaluate how institutions in settler colonial contexts see themselves implicated (or not) for colonial policies and how these forms of responsibility are negotiated within transitional justice processes. The lens of implication can be a catalyst for understanding our associated relationality to institutional harm/violence, how we are involved in it, and how we can begin to recognize the potential for its dismantling
Acidogenic Fermentation of Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) Biopolymer for Short-Chain Fatty Acids Production: Effect of Inoculum to Substrate Ratio, PHB Pre-Treatment and Operating Temperature
No full textBio-based polymers such as polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) have emerged as an environmentally benign alternative to conventional petroleum-derived plastics due to their high biodegradability. Acidogenic fermentation is an emerging biotechnology that can convert PHB waste to short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) which is used as a precursor in the PHB manufacturing process, thereby fostering a closed-loop waste management model. This study aimed to expand the applicability of the acidogenic fermentation process for efficient management of PHB waste by investigating the impact of inoculum to substrate ratio (ISR), impact of PHB pretreatment and impact of operating temperature on hydrolysis and SCFA production. The results showed enhanced hydrolysis and SCFA yield from PHB with increase in ISR. Pretreatment of the PHB pellets led to higher hydrolysis and SCFA yield while operation at mesophilic temperature also resulted in increased hydrolysis and SCFA yield from PHB. The dominant SCFAs found in this study were acetate and butyrate
Land, Science and Architecture: Politics of Scale in 1856–1939 Ottawa, Canada
Get PDFSettler colonial regimes of city making in Ottawa have incorporated the built environment to construct a narrative of liberalism, benevolence, and rational governance, effectively obscuring the processes of land dispossession and environmental transformation. This dissertation investigates the land representations that shape Ottawa as a settler state capital, examining the scientific institutions of the Dominion Observatory, the Central Experimental Farm, the Geological Survey of Canada, and the Central Canada Exhibition at the turn of the twentieth century. It explores how these state institutions relied on the manipulation of scales and the construction of architectural fictions to alter land into metrics of possession. This dissertation historicizes and critically examines architecture’s entanglement with imperial networks and settler colonial imaginaries through practices of bordering, inventorying, improving, and displaying in Ottawa and across Canada. It argues that architectural expertise, coupled with centralized government control, constructed geographies that structured the lives of both human and non-human entities within imperial frameworks. Beyond the visual culture of science in Ottawa, this study explores the frictions and contradictions inherent in the negotiation of terrains through architecture. By considering scale both as a subject of study and as a methodological tool, it delves into architectural histories of land, highlighting agential materialities within these practices
Nonlinear Model Predictive Control for Visual Servoing Control of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles
No full textThis thesis enhances Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) control using Image-Based Visual Servoing (IBVS) by integrating novel nonlinear Model Predictive Control (MPC) strategies. Traditional IBVS lacks robust constraint handling, limiting its application in dynamic underwater environments. We address this by incorporating MPC, which explicitly handles constraints but typically requires extensive computational resources. Our proposed MPC formulations significantly reduce these demands, facilitating real-time application and compliance with dynamic constraints. Additionally, we introduce an uncalibrated IBVS framework to adapt to underwater conditions without frequent recalibration. We also develop a robust MPC to manage disturbances and model uncertainties, enhancing AUV operations' robustness and reliability. These advancements provide a comprehensive solution to the challenges of implementing effective visual servoing in AUVs, improving autonomous navigation and task execution
Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF) based Piezoelectric Biosensors Utilizing Guided Acoustic Waves
No full textThis thesis explores the in-house fabrication of Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF) films for biosensor applications. It focuses on producing PVDF films, optimizing their electrical and mechanical characteristics, and depositing sensor electrodes for various uses. The thesis details methods for creating pristine PVDF films through solution casting, annealing, and electrical poling, alongside physical and chemical characterization using FTIR, XRD, AFM, and impedance analysis. The PVDF films were used to fabricate biosensors that function as acoustic wave transducers, enabling guided wave-based detection of α-Synuclein, a biomarker for Parkinson’s disease, with a detection range from 10 μg/ml to 1 pg/ml using surface-activated antibodies. Additionally, the thesis examines the fabrication of Polycaprolactone (PCL) based Surface Imprinted Polymer (SIP) as an alternative bio-recognition material, offering a comparison to the PVDF acoustic wave sensor. The work also demonstrates the use of free-standing PVDF films as ultrasonic wave transmitters and receivers
Stigmatized (M)Others: Navigating Stigma, Sex Work, and Motherhood in Canada
No full textDespite a large body of research exploring the obstacles sex workers face due to their occupational stigma, little research focuses on how their stigmatized paid work influences their navigation of unpaid care, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. My dissertation examines the narrated and photographic experiences of womxn in Canada who identify as both mothers and sex workers and asks: how do these womxn navigate and negotiate the daily work of unwaged social reproduction and paid work in stigmatized and precarious conditions? This dissertation is informed by feminist methodologies, visual methodologies, and contributes to literatures on stigma, sex work stigma, social reproduction, unpaid care work, mothering, and working motherhood. Fourteen participants in this qualitative project engaged in autophotography, capturing their daily routines and surroundings to provide visual insight into their daily lives. Then each participant attended a photo elicitation interview to discuss the meanings, experiences, and feelings being conveyed in their selected photographs. My findings illuminate that sex work stigma operates contextually, influencing these mothers’ engagement with and disclosure of their stigmatized paid work, their families’ experiences with courtesy stigma, and the structural barriers they face as sex working mothers. This dissertation also explores participants’ engagement with mothering practices, crediting their ability to be good, empathetic mothers because of their experiences navigating stigmatic occupations and their transferrable skills as sex workers. Womxn’s choices to navigate sex work and mothering are acknowledged as being both calculated and meaningful— granting sex workers financial security, flexible working hours, and unique opportunities to invest time into themselves and their families. To uphold the aims of producing accessible research, these images were displayed in public fundraising exhibits, relying on participant observation and anonymous feedback to further assess the project’s ability to co-produce destigmatizing and empathetic knowledges—by, with and for sex workers. All funds raised from these exhibits were donated to various sex worker grassroots organizations in Canada to assist in funding their ongoing mutual aid efforts and to ensure this research possess tangible benefits for sex workers themselves
Evaluating Mock Jurors’ Judgements on Eyewitness Age, Inconsistencies and Crime Type
No full textVictim testimony is a persuasive form of evidence presented in criminal trials that plays an essential role in influencing verdict outcomes despite eyewitnesses' making inconsistent statements (Innocence, 2022). The current study examined the influence of victim age (12, 42, 72), number of inconsistencies in testimony (4, 9), and crime type (hit, threatened with a weapon) in a home invasion case. Mock jurors read a mock trial transcript and were asked to deliver a verdict, provide a continuous guilt rating, provide a sentence recommendation (if found guilty), and rate their perceptions of the victim. While neither the independent variables in isolation, nor the two-way interactions, influenced verdict or sentencing decisions, a three-way interaction emerged for victim perceptions. Overall, the results suggest that there are certain contexts in which older victims may be perceived as more credible than younger victims in the criminal justice system. Implications and future directions are discussed
Enhanced Uplink Communications in 5G Cellular Connected UAV Networks Using Machine Learning
No full textThere have been substantial advancements in Fifth Generation (5G) and Beyond-5G (B5G) wireless communications, marked by key technologies such as Millimeter-Wave (mmWave), Non-orthogonal Multiple Access (NOMA), and Massive Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO). These innovations address user demands for ubiquitous connectivity, high throughput, low latency, and a reliable and secure connection. However, deploying these technologies successfully presents challenges, including modeling propagation channels, ensuring effective user coverage, detecting pilot contamination attacks in MIMO systems, and managing inter-user interference. This thesis aims to tackle the latter two issues. In the initial section of the thesis, we introduce a novel mechanism for detecting pilot contamination attacks in the uplink communications of massive MIMO systems using Generative Adversarial Networks (GAN). This approach empowers a base station (BS) to identify invalid uplink connections, thereby enhancing accuracy in the channel estimation process. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed method achieves a 98% accuracy in detecting pilot contamination attacks. The second part of this thesis focuses on 5G cellular-connected Uncrewed Autonomous Vehicle (UAV) networks. Integrating UAVs as aerial users into 5G cellular networks involves addressing two fundamental challenges. Firstly, data transmission from UAVs to base stations (BSs) requires low-latency and high bandwidth. Additionally, the aerial-to-ground interference generated by UAVs degrades the performance of existing terrestrial uplinks. This thesis introduces innovative approaches that leverage NOMA, mmWave, and Reinforcement Learning (RL) algorithms to mitigate inter-user interference, maximize the total data rates for both aerial and ground users, and enhance UAV-energy efficiency during its flight from an initial point to a target
Preserving the Past, Ensuring the Future: The Adaptive Reuse of the Maillou House for Sustainable Tourism in Old Québec
No full textThe 400th anniversary of Old Québec created a surge in tourist activities, animating the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Designated due to its Outstanding Universal Value as a coherent and well-preserved fortified colonial town, the rise in tourism following the celebrations have pushed residents out of the historic district, leaving significant heritage sites under-utilized. The Maillou House National Historic Site of Canada is an example of this condition. Built one hundred years after the founding of New France, the Maillou House is historically significant, relating to the military heritage of Old Québec. Although located in a central touristic area, the house sits practically empty. Utilizing heritage conservation practices, this thesis proposes the adaptive reuse of the Maillou House to illustrate how the adaptive reuse of built heritage within the historic district can be used as a means for sustainable tourism
Bio-Graphing Secrecy Subjects: The Case of The Quiet Canadian
No full textMemoirs, biographies, and fictions of espionage capture the cultural imagination of a curious public. They draw readers into what Timothy Melley describes as the covert sphere. Biography is a predominately understudied site of secrecy research. In this thesis, I discuss the first biography, The Quiet Canadian, about Sir William Stephenson, the head of the British Security Coordination (BSC). By utilizing correspondence between the biographer, the secrecy subject, the secretary, former BSC members and many other individuals, I expand the discussion to the making of The Quiet Canadian. I centre the research on the individuals’ lives and interactions through the method that I call bio-graphing. The individuals struggle with rumours of controversy and disagreements over questions of power, reputation, anonymity, and legitimacy. By bio-graphing, I interrogate cultural interpretations of secrecy subjects, while highlighting overlooked persons, such as the secretary, the deputy, and the wife of the secrecy subject