With globalization and the growth of the World Wide Web, it is increasingly important for non-Anglophone students to acquire a functional level of English before graduating from secondary school. However, Francophone students in the province of Quebec who are learning English as a second language (ESL) face particular challenges that hinder their development of English proficiency, not the least of which is motivation. This quasi-experimental case study explores the effects of an eTandem project with Anglophone peers on the motivation of Francophone ESL learners in secondary school. The results indicate that Francophone students who completed the eTandem project showed greater motivational intensity, greater desire to learn the target language, and less anxiety. It also appears that technical problems, scheduling issues and anxiety contributed to the majority of Francophone students discontinuing the project. Recommendations are made to integrate eTandem projects into Quebec’s ESL curriculum and to address the anxiety issues of students in class.

With globalization and the growth of the World Wide Web, it is increasingly important for non-Anglophone students to acquire a functional level of English before graduating from secondary school. However, Francophone students in the province of Quebec who are learning English as a second language (ESL) face particular challenges that hinder their development of English proficiency, not the least of which is motivation. This quasi-experimental case study explores the effects of an eTandem project with Anglophone peers on the motivation of Francophone ESL learners in secondary school. The results indicate that Francophone students who completed the eTandem project showed greater motivational intensity, greater desire to learn the target language, and less anxiety. It also appears that technical problems, scheduling issues and anxiety contributed to the majority of Francophone students discontinuing the project. Recommendations are made to integrate eTandem projects into Quebec’s ESL curriculum and to address the anxiety issues of students in class.

Meltwater pulse 1A (MWP-1A) is the largest land ice melt event of the last deglaciation. In a period of no more than 340 years, between 14.65 and 14.31 ka (Dechamps et al, 2012), ~10% of the total deglacial sea-level rise occurred (Hanebuth et al, 2000; Peltier and Fairbanks, 2006; Deschamps et al, 2012), resulting in the highest reported rate of global mean sea-level rise in the geological record, which may have exceeded 4 m per century (Deschamps et al, 2012). Yet, the implications of MWP-1A for constraining the rates of the underlying processes and its role in the sequence of climate events during Termination 1 remain unclear due to the lack of information on its melt source distribution. While glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) modelling experiments (Clark et al, 2002; Bassett et al, 2005; Deschamps et al, 2012) and recent assessments of ice-sheet histories (Carlson and Clark, 2012) suggest that at least 50% of the event may have come from Antarctica, other interpretations of Antarctic ice-extent and sea-level records suggest a substantially smaller (including zero) Antarctic contribution (Ackert et al, 2007; Mackintosh et al, 2011; Whitehouse et al, 2012). In this study, we show that after reassessments of local MWP-1A amplitudes at Barbados and Sunda Shelf based on the well-constrained timing derived from the Tahiti sea-level record (Deschamps et al, 2012), the sea-level data from Barbados, Sunda Shelf, and Tahiti do not provide as tight of a constraint on the Antarctic contribution as previously thought. We find that between 1 to 10 m sea-level equivalent (sle) could have melted from the Antarctic, compared to 7 to 15 m sle from previous analyses (Clark et al, 2002; Bassett et al, 2005; Deschamps et al, 2012). To better constrain the source of MWP-1A, we also consider sea-level data from Scotland (Shennan et al, 2000), which have, until now, been excluded from MWP-1A fingerprinting experiments because they are strongly influenced by local ice unloading. To overcome this, we isolate the elastic MWP-1A amplitude (i.e. fingerprint signal) at this location using a suite of models that provide optimal fits to the Scottish data, and thereby remove near-field contamination. Preliminary results show that the inclusion of these data leads to an improved MWP-1A source distribution constraint compared to that obtained using the far- and intermediate-field data alone.

A theory is developed for the analysis of composite systems consisting of steel wide flange sections reinforced with GFRP plates connected to one of the flanges through a layer of adhesive. The theory is based on an extension of the Gjelsvik theory and thus incorporates local and global warping effects but omits shear deformation effects. The theory captures the longitudinal transverse response through a system of three coupled differential equations of equilibrium and the lateral-torsional response through another system of three coupled differential equations. Closed form solutions are developed and a super-convergent finite element is formulated based under the new theory. A comparison to 3D FEA results based on established solid elements in Abaqus demonstrates the validity of the theory when predicting the longitudinal-transverse response, but showcases its shortcomings in predicting the torsional response of the composite system. The comparison sheds valuable insight on means of improving the theory. A more advanced theory is subsequently developed based on enriched kinematics which incorporates shear deformation effects. The shear deformable theory captures the longitudinal-transverse response through a system of four coupled differential equations of equilibrium and the lateral-torsional response through another system of six coupled differential equations. A finite difference approximation is developed for the new theory and a new finite element formulation is subsequently to solve the new system of equations. A comparison to 3D FEA illustrates the validity of the shear deformable theory in predicting the longitudinal-transverse response as well as the lateral-torsional response. Both theories are shown to be computationally efficient and reduce the modelling and running time from several hours per run to a few minutes or seconds while capturing the essential features of the response of the composite system.

Tris(1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TCPP) and tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TDCPP) are added to polyurethane foams in a variety of industrial and consumer products to prevent flame ignition. The gradual release of these flame retardants (FRs) from such products leads to contamination of various abiotic and biotic media, including wild birds. Recent studies demonstrated endocrine-disrupting effects of TCPP and TDCPP, including alteration of circulating thyroid hormone (TH) levels. The TH-pathway is essential for normal growth and development in birds. There are limited data on the toxicological effects of TCPP and TDCPP in avian species and, prior to this work, no study has examined their effects in avian embryos. This M.Sc. thesis investigates the developmental, molecular and biochemical effects of TCPP and TDCPP in chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) embryos via egg injection studies. TCPP delayed pipping at doses ≥9.24 μg/g, both TCPP and TDCPP reduced embryo growth at the highest dose (51.6 μg TCPP/g and 45 μg TDCPP/g), and TDCPP decreased free plasma thyroxine and gallbladder size at 7.64 μg/g and 45 μg/g, respectively. Real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction was used to measure changes in mRNA levels of hepatic genes that were responsive to these FRs in a previous in vitro study. TCPP dysregulated the expression of TH-responsive genes and xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes (cytochrome P450s; CYPs), whereas TDCPP only affected CYPs. Less than 1% of the administered TCPP or TDCPP was detected in egg contents following 19 days of incubation, indicating extensive metabolism of the parent compounds. DNA microarrays were used to perform a global transcriptional analysis on liver samples from embryos that exhibited adverse effects following TDCPP injection. 47 differentially expressed genes were identified at the 45 μg/g dose. Functional analysis revealed that immune function and lipid and steroid metabolism were major targets of TDCPP toxicity and indicated a state of cholestatic liver/biliary fibrosis. Since the TH-pathway is a key regulator of metabolic homeostasis, its disruption early in development is a potential cause of the observed adverse effects. This thesis demonstrates, for the first time, developmental and endocrine-disrupting effects of TCPP and TDCPP in an avian species and attempts to link phenotypic changes to molecular-level disruptions in hopes to improve the understanding of their modes of action.

Pollution is a major cause of biodiversity declines worldwide. Therefore, understanding exposure and uptake mechanisms for contaminants such as mercury (Hg) is a crucial step in our efforts to understand the causes of species decline. I investigated the influence of dietary reliance on the benthic food chain, and the influence of the proportion of zebra mussels in the diet, on the accumulation of Hg in freshwater fish and turtle species. I collected turtle blood samples and fish muscle samples in 2012 and analyzed these tissue samples for carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios (δ13C and δ15N), and for Hg concentrations. Isotopic ratios were used to calculate trophic level, dietary reliance on the benthic food chain, and the proportion of zebra mussels in the diet. Reliance on the benthic food chain was a good predictor of Hg concentration in fish muscle, but not in turtle blood. The proportion of zebra mussels in the diet was not a good predictor of Hg in turtles or in fish. My results indicate that dietary reliance on the benthos should be considered in future tissue Hg modelling studies for fish, and that this predictor variable could be used to identify other fish species likely to be burdened by high concentrations of Hg.

In the first chapter “Impact of Quantitative Easing at the Zero Lower Bound (with J. Dorich, R. Mendes)”, we introduce imperfect asset substitution and segmented asset markets, along the lines of Andres et al. (2004), in an otherwise standard small open-economy model with nominal rigidities. We estimate the model using Canadian data. We use the model to provide a quantitative assessment of the macroeconomic impact of quantitative easing (QE) when the policy rate is at its effective lower bound. In the second chapter “Impact of Forward Guidance at the Zero Lower Bound”, I consider alternative monetary policy rules under commitment in a calibrated three-equation New Keynesian model and examine the extent to which forward guidance helps to mitigate the negative real impact of the zero lower bound. The simulation results suggest that the conditional statement policy prolongs the zero lower bound duration for an additional 4 quarters and reverses half of the decline in inflation associated with the lower bound. It even generates a period of overshooting in inflation three quarters after the initial negative demand shock. Alternatively, the effect of price-level targeting as a forward guidance policy at the zero lower bound is slightly different. In the third chapter “Impact of Quantitative Easing on Household Deleveraging”, I extend the DSGE model in the first chapter with some financial frictions to explore the effects of QE on asset prices and household balance sheet. There are two effects of QE on aggregate output originated from the model. First, QE leads to a decline in term premium, which increases current consumption relative to future consumption. Second, it leads to a lower loan to collateral value ratio and a decline in external finance premium. Favorable financing condition encourages further accumulation of household debt at cheaper rates, in turn, leads to an immediate higher household debt to income ratio. In the consideration of the future withdrawal of any stimulus provided from QE, this would pose greater challenges as it implies much intensive household deleveraging process. I provide some sensitivity analysis around key parameters of the model.

This dissertation investigates discourses of anti-violence strategies in the context of international development. While violence against women is, of course, an urgent problem, this dissertation explores how the urgency to end violence against women is socially, culturally, economically, and politically constructed. I consider the manufacturing of urgency in three case studies of contemporary anti-violence initiatives: i) American foreign policy including what has been branded as “The Hillary Doctrine” and proposed International Violence Against Women Act; ii) the World Bank’s report entitled The Cost of Violence; and iii) the United Nation’s UNiTE To End Violence Against Women and Say NO campaigns. In doing so, I argue that World Bank, the United Nations, and American foreign policies are too often technocratic, narrow, depoliticized, and are executed in an urgent manner in the interest of neoliberal economic growth, security concerns, and “feel good” aid at the expense of more holistic, effective and accountable responses to global violence against women.

Organizations own data sources that contain millions, billions or even trillions of rows and these data are usually highly dimensional in nature. Typically, these raw repositories are comprised of numerous independent data sources that are too big to be copied or joined, with the consequence that aggregations become highly problematic. Data cubes play an essential role in facilitating fast Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) in many multi-dimensional data warehouses. Current data cube computation techniques have had some success in addressing the above-mentioned aggregation problem. However, the combined problem of reducing data cube size for very large and highly dimensional databases, while guaranteeing fast query response times, has received less attention. Another issue is that most OLAP tools often causes users to be lost in the ocean of data while performing data analysis. Often, most users are interested in only a subset of the data. For example, consider in such a scenario, a business manager who wants to answer the crucial location-related business question. "Why are my sales declining at location X"? This manager wants fast, unambiguous location-aware answers to his queries. He requires access to only the relevant ltered information, as found from the attributes that are directly correlated with his current needs. Therefore, it is important to determine and to extract, only that small data subset that is highly relevant from a particular user's location and perspective. In this thesis, we present the Personalized Smart Cube approach to address the abovementioned scenario. Our approach consists of two main parts. Firstly, we combine vertical partitioning, partial materialization and dynamic computation to drastically reduce the size of the computed data cube while guaranteeing fast query response times. Secondly, our personalization algorithm dynamically monitors user query pattern and creates a personalized data cube for each user. This ensures that users utilize only that small subset of data that is most relevant to them. Our experimental evaluation of our Personalized Smart Cube approach showed that our work compared favorably with other state-of-the-art methods. We evaluated our work focusing on three main criteria, namely the storage space used, query response time and the cost savings ratio of using a personalized cube. The results showed that our algorithm materializes a relatively smaller number of views than other techniques and it also compared favourable in terms of query response time. Further, our personalization algorithm is superior to the state-of-the art Virtual Cube algorithm, when evaluated in terms of the number of user queries that were successfully answered when using a personalized cube, instead of the base cube.

Natural health products (NHPs) are attractive due to the public’s perception that they are natural and safe but there is wide variety of risks associated with these products. Post-market surveillance is the key to control hazards produced from NHPs. A set of activities are involved in post-market surveillance designed to assure the safety, efficacy and quality of products after being launched into the market. Although post-market surveillance is an efficient tool to preserve the safety of users from adverse reactions of NHPs but there are various challenges associated with performing post-market surveillance specifically for NHPs. This research project is focused on defining a framework for performing post-market surveillance for NHPs and on identifying best practices in its application. An international comparative analysis was undertaken to formulate best practices by reviewing existing frameworks for post-market surveillance of NHPs in Australia, Germany, New Zealand, United Kingdom and United States. Evidence-based best practices are compared with the Canadian post-market surveillance framework to identify key gaps in the Canadian system. Recommendations are provided for bridging each gap, and making the Canadian NHPs surveillance system, strong according to the international standards of best practices.