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From Change to Challenge: The Intersection of Leadership, Educational Reform, and Teacher Burnout
No full textThis study examines the intersection of educational change, teacher burnout and the role of leadership in mitigating the negative impacts of changes in post-secondary educational institutions. Drawing from multiple theoretical frameworks such as job-demand model (Demerouti et al., 2001) and transformational leadership theory (Bass, 1985), it argues that effective leadership has a significant role to play in mitigating teacher burnout and other negative impacts of educational change and contributes significantly to instructors’ mental and physical well-being. Instructors in higher education often struggle with heavy workloads, administrative tasks, research and instruction burdens, and other factors influencing their job satisfaction, such
as job insecurity. Therefore, understanding how leadership can mitigate or exacerbate burnout in post-secondary education through the lens of an effective framework has significant implications for instructors, leaders, and policymakers in post-secondary institutions
Removal and Alteration of Organic Matters from Mineral Surfaces in Low-Temperature Hydrothermal Treatment
No full textNon-aqueous extraction (NAE) of bitumen from Alberta oil sands has garnered increasing attention as a potential alternative to the commercial warm-water extraction process. However, a notable limitation of the NAE process is the high mineral fines content in the produced NAE bitumen. This thesis investigated the removal of mineral fines from NAE bitumen by room temperature filtration with and without a low-temperature thermal or hydrothermal treatment. The laboratory-scale hydrothermal treatment, ranging from 200 to 300°C for 30 minutes at 0-30 wt% water content in bitumen-cyclohexane suspensions, served as the focal point of experimentation.
The bitumen-cyclohexane suspension was unfilterable at room temperature. Thermal treatment at 200°C and 250°C did not improve filtration. At 300°C, thermal treatment made the suspension filterable albeit slowly. In the presence of water, the hydrothermal treatment led to a substantial decrease in filtration time, from infinite to 3-9 minutes at 200°C and 0.4-7 minutes at 250°C, and from 50 seconds to 18-24 seconds at 300°C. Elemental analysis unveiled a decrease in carbon content of the mineral fines following hydrothermal treatment, suggesting the removal of organic matters from mineral solids via subcritical water which contributed to the improved filtration of the mineral fines. Settling tests and optical microscopic observations showed the aggregation of mineral fines subsequent to hydrothermal treatment, indicative of their destabilization caused by the removal of surface organics. It appeared that water had the capacity to desorb organic matters from mineral surfaces under elevated temperatures and pressures – a phenomenon that was not observed with cyclohexane or toluene during thermal treatment. Subsequently, a portion of these organic matters underwent dissolution in water, while another fraction coalesced to form a "carbon-rich" precipitate. Elemental analysis of this "carbon-rich" fraction revealed a lower H/C ratio, indicative of higher aromaticity than the adsorbed organics on fine solids surfaces.
FTIR spectroscopic analysis delineated that the carbon-rich solids manifested a higher prevalence of aromatic and aliphatic groups than NAE mineral fines, albeit with fewer alkyl chains tethered to benzenes and the emergence of new functional groups such as ethers or aromatic amines. Solubility-based separation showed that a significant proportion of the carbon-rich solids were coke (up to 70 wt%). Moreover, GC-MS analysis of the vented gas indicated the presence of C1-C3 hydrocarbon (0.97 mg/g), H2 (0.06 mg/g), H2S (0.11 mg/g), and CO2 (0.37 mg/g), hinting at the cracking of the desorbed organic fraction.
Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation of a system comprising C5Pe model asphaltenes and kaolinite within a water medium, conducted at both ambient temperature and pressure and at 250ºC and 56 bar, corroborated the role of water in facilitating C5Pe desorption. The vertical distance (D) between the center of gravity of C5Pe molecules and the kaolinite clay surface consistently exceeded 3 nm during a significant portion of the simulation at elevated temperatures. Additionally, radial distribution function (RDF) analysis corroborated the aggregation of C5Pe molecules under hydrothermal conditions, thereby substantiating the observed formation of "organic-rich" solids in the experiments.
Then, the aggregation mechanism of hydrothermally-treated mineral fines was investigated, using silica particle aggregation in non-aqueous media at both macroscopic and microscopic scales. By studying the sedimentation behaviors of clean and bitumen-treated silica particles in hydrocarbon solvents, it was shown that clean silica exhibited higher sedimentation rates than bitumen-coated silica. Colloidal probe atomic force microscopy (AFM) studies indicated stronger adhesion between clean silica surfaces than coated ones, implying a correlation between organic coating and sedimentation behavior. This thesis research demonstrated that hydrothermal treatment at subcritical conditions could strip organic coatings from the surface of mineral fines, so that these mineral fines could aggregate in cyclohexane, leading to much improved filtration efficacy
A Numerical Approach to Compare Lifetime by Fatigue Crack Growth in Hydrogen Condition
Get PDFThe growing demand for hydrogen energy due to climate concerns necessitates efficient transportation systems. However, there is a lack of comprehensive data for large-scale hydrogen pipelines, posing a challenge for commercial applications. Existing studies focus on hydrogen infrastructure but lack detailed insights into pipeline durability, particularly Hydrogen Assisted Fatigue Crack Growth (HA-FCG). This research addresses the gap by using existing experimental research and standards guidelines to analyze carbon steel pipelines under varying conditions. By comparing material performance under hydrogen and
air, this study provides critical insights into hydrogen energy transportation.
This study focuses on a detailed numerical analysis of pipeline lifetime and contributes to the field by expanding the analysis of the pipeline’s HA-FCG through three key innovations. First, it diversifies results by including pipe size as a variable, enhancing the understanding of fatigue behavior under hydrogen conditions. Second, it provides a comprehensive lifetime calculation based on hydrogen-assisted fatigue crack growth, not just crack rates, offering
more intuitive insights. Finally, the study integrates reliable guidelines (API 579-1/ASME FFS-1, ASME B31.12, ASME B31.3) to ensure the accuracy and reliability of its theoretical results, setting a robust foundation for further research. This comprehensive approach aims to provide valuable insights into the material behavior and durability of pipelines in varying
environmental conditions, contributing significantly to the field of hydrogen energy transportation.
In conclusion, a comprehensive analysis of pipeline lifetimes under different conditions revealed varied results. When subjected to high-pressure environments, X70B material exhibited the shortest lifetime, whereas X52 Alloy J had the longest. Interestingly, in air, all materials demonstrated longer lifetimes compared to those in hydrogen, with each material showing distinct levels of variation. Additionally, experimenting with different thicknesses for the X100 material under various inner diameter and pressure conditions led to notable
findings. Under identical conditions, lower-pressure scenarios consistently resulted in longer lifetimes. However, in high-pressure environments, the lifetime was surprisingly extended, contingent upon the adjusted thickness for each specific pressure condition. This study highlights the critical influence of environmental factors and material properties on the durability and performance of pipeline
GrEx-KMB Section
No full textThis document contains an overview of the elements of knowledge mobilization, strategies and worksheets for writing a persuasive knowledge mobilization plan, and a guide to mobilizing knowledge in media, social media, and for the government. It also includes some possible strategies for integrating EDI and accessible design into knowledge mobilization
Mexican Intercultural Bilingual Education Program as Decolonization? Listening to Wixaritari Educators' Perspectives
No full textThis research, using the Colonial Matrix of Power (CMP) as a theoretical framework (Quijano, 2000; Mignolo, 2018), argues that the Intercultural Bilingual Education Program in Mexico represents an attempt to unify the nation hegemonically rather than a decolonizing project because it benefits the teaching of a colonial Spanish-coded curriculum rather than fostering the Indigenous languages and cultures. The mainstream Mexican education system (Secretaría de Educación Pública) designs this program as an alternative for the Indigenous background to be included but not taught/transmitted significantly.
Throughout this qualitative study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with Wixaritari teachers in the Haimatsie primary school in the north of Jalisco and officials from the Direction of Indigenous Education in Jalisco to identify how they define the Intercultural Bilingual Program. Classroom observations informed how the program is implemented. This study shows the efforts of Wixaritari teachers to adapt the Wixárika culture and language to the objectives of the national curriculum. Findings indicate that the Intercultural Bilingual Program functions as an assimilationist resource that not only alienates the Indigenous way of being but prevents the widespread use of Indigenous languages. The findings help reveal how formal education in Mexico acts as a structure that excludes, misrepresents and marginalizes the Indigenous ontologies and epistemologies (Chomsky, 2010; Young, 2014/1988) to establish a “one-and-the-same” nation (Núñez-Méndez, 2019). This research is a call to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous educators throughout Mexico to discover new decolonial avenues to support the resurgence of Indigenous languages and cultures
An Investigation of Responsibility in Diffusion Models
No full textExplainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) methods are intended to help human users better understand the decision-making of an AI agent. However, many modern XAI approaches are not intuitive to end users, particularly those without prior AI or ML knowledge. In this thesis, we present an XAI approach we call Responsibility that identifies the most responsible training example for a particular decision. This example can then be shown as an explanation: “This is what I (the AI) learned that led me to do that”. Through a series of experiments, we investigate the application of Responsibility to diffusion models. Our results demonstrate that focusing on the responsible samples of the parameters responsible for smaller changes is a promising avenue for explainability in diffusion models
Seeing Fleas in Victorian Images of Gender
No full textImages of fleas were as common as the insects themselves in Victorian England. In addition to their consideration as entomological specimens and household pests, fleas were associated with women and eroticism in images from early modernity into the nineteenth century. By the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, the insects could be found in gendered, often fantastical relationships with each other and humans in souvenir arts, print illustrations, and pornography. In these images, fleas are both objects and agents of observation; they are revealed or remain unseen, or spectate gendered, erotic liaisons themselves. In this research, I will analyze preserved dressed fleas, flea hunt vignettes, and illustrated flea pornography to ask how gender, sexuality, and looking are connected and iterated in Victorian images of fleas. I argue that gendered flea images draw uniquely from multidisciplinary histories of the insect to both support hegemonic perspectives on gender and offer subversive alternatives
Mechanisms behind the Bifurcation of Irminger Water into Davis Strait and the Northern Labrador Sea
No full textIrminger Water (IW), originating in the Irminger Current, is an important water mass supplying heat and salinity to the western subpolar North Atlantic. As the warmest (4-6°C) and most saline (34.9 PSU) water mass entering the region at intermediate depths, it plays varied roles in stratification and sea ice and glacier melt. IW brings heat to the interior of the Labrador Sea and helps maintain its weak stratification, essential for deep convection. IW also reaches the marine-terminating glaciers at Greenland through fjords where heat from this water mass melts the glaciers at depth and destabilizes them. This study investigates the variability and mechanisms of the flow of IW in the western subpolar North Atlantic and specifically the bifurcation near Fylla Bank that allows this water mass to enter Baffin Bay or the northern/western parts of the Labrador Sea. We use a 1/60° horizontal resolution simulation (LAB60) run with the NEMO (Nucleus for European Modelling of the Ocean) model to conduct the study. The method of Lagrangian particle tracking is used to estimate the pathways of IW and to find the drivers of this flow. We find that significant differences exist in the dynamical control of the two split pathways of IW as indicated by their potential vorticity structures. A composite analysis of the variable northward transport leads us to conclude that anti-cyclonic winds and downwelling events over the water mass pathways are the main drivers of the northward pathway. The results from this study allow us to improve our understanding of ocean heat forcing to the subpolar gyre
Navigating Communication Research: A Practical Guide for Media Practitioners
No full textThis book is dedicated to exploring how we acquire knowledge and understand the truth. Specifically, we will delve into the ways communication professionals can gain insights into society using research and effectively share that knowledge with the general public.
Research methods represent a systematic process of inquiry used to gain understanding about our social world. Various techniques can be used to accomplish this and researchers must always make choices that will have both benefits and limitations. One of the primary ways we can learn about research methods is through peer-reviewed academic articles. However, these documents are not intended for the general public. This can make deciphering them feel like learning a new language. Nevertheless, with additional guidance, research can become more accessible. Our hope is that you may find value in incorporating research into your professional practice if you have not already done so. You will also gain a better understanding of how communication researchers themselves use different research methods and the choices they have to make in their study designs