Experiments were completed in order to examine the effects of combined constriction and pier scour. Scour is cited as being a leading cause of bridge failure. It was found that in cases where both constriction and pier scour are present, the sum is greater than the linear addition of each individual case. This is contrary to the current industry assumption which states that the total depth of scour is the linear sum of the constriction and pier scour depth. Velocimetry and scour data were collected enabling comparisons to be made in order to determine how the flowfield influences the equilibrium scour conditions. In addition, experiments were performed examining the effect that the pier shape has on the scour depth and distribution. Since the results are contrary to the assumption used in industry, they are especially important and may help reduce future bridge failures.

The desire to obtain value and justify investments from the different Information Systems in place in organizations has been around for a long time. Organizations constantly theorize and implement different approaches that provide some sort of alignment between their different business objectives and Information Systems. Unfortunately, the environments in which these organizations operate are often dynamic, constantly changing with influence from external and internal factors that require continual realignment of the Information Systems with business objectives to provide value. When businesses evolve, leading to changes in business requirements, it is hard to know what direct Information System changes are needed to respond to the new requirements. Similarly, when there are changes in the Information System, it is not often easy to discern which business objectives are directly affected. Whilst the different Enterprise Architecture frameworks available today provide and propose some form of alignment, in their implementation, they do not show links between business objectives and Information Systems, i.e., indicating what Information System is directly responsible for different business objectives thereby allowing for anticipation and support of changes as the business evolves. This thesis utilizes insights from Business Intelligence and uses the User Requirements Notation (URN), which enables modeling of business processes and goals, to provide a framework that exploits links between business objectives and Information Systems. This Business Intelligence - Enabled Adaptive Enterprise Architecture framework allows for anticipating and supporting proactively the adaptation of Enterprise Architecture as and when the business evolves. The thesis also identifies and models levels within the enterprise where responses to change as the business evolves are needed and the ways the changes are presented. The tool-supported framework is evaluated against the different levels and types of changes on a realistic Enterprise Architecture at a Government of Canada department, with encouraging results.

Secretoneurin (SN) is a 31-43 amino acid, functional peptide derived by proteolytic processing from the middle domain of the ~600 amino acid secretogranin-II (SgII) precursor. In teleosts there are 2 forms arising from 2 different genes, SgIIa and SgIIb. In turn, there are both SNa and SNb in teleost. Secretoneurin is a well-conserved peptide during evolution from fish to mammals and widely distributed in secretory granules of endocrine cells and neurons. Secretoneurin plays important roles in different biological processes, for example controlling vertebrate reproduction by stimulating luteinizing hormone release from the pituitary. A potential new role of SN in feeding in goldfish is the subject of the research presented in this thesis. Firstly, we looked at the distribution of SgIIa mRNA in various female goldfish tissues using both RT-PCR and Q-PCR techniques in order to determine which tissue expresses SgIIa mRNA and in which level. We found that SgIIa mRNA was detected in different amounts in all tissues examined. The main tissues of interest were hypothalamus, telencephalon and gut, they all expressed SgIIa. Secondly, we examined the effect of acute (26 h), short (3 days), medium (7 days) and long (14 days) fasting and periprandial changes on SgIIa mRNA level in hypothalamus, telencephalon and gut using Q-PCR method. The results showed that SgIIa mRNA increases under the effect of acute and short fasting, however, medium and long fasting did not affect SgIIa mRNA. Thirdly, we examined the effect of brain injection of goldfish SNa on food intake and locomotor behavior and the expression of some feeding neuropeptides such as neuropeptide Y, orexin, chocystokinin and cocaine-and amphetamine-regulated transcript I after treatment. Injection of SNa in the third brain ventricle increased food intake and fish activity. Associated with this was an increase in NPY and decrease in CARTI mRNA levels in hypothalamus. The increase in SgIIa mRNA following fasting and the increase of food intake as a result of SNa treatment suggest a novel role for SNa in feeding processes.

The cognitive and/or behavioural problems associated with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) place this population at increased risk of involvement in the justice system. Although FASD poses challenges at each stage of the justice system, legal discussion and commentary have pinpointed the sentencing stage as the phase in which the issue of FASD is most commonly raised and considered. The purpose of this study is to examine if (and how) FASD is being taking into consideration at sentencing. To this end, a comparative analysis of 87 sentencing judgments (42 FASD offenders and 45 non-FASD offenders) reported in Quicklaw was conducted. Cases were matched on most serious offence (assault, robbery and sexual assault) and jurisdiction (Yukon, British Columbia and Ontario). Descriptions of FASD and non-FASD offenders as reported by judges were found to differ in a number of significant ways. Similarly, sentencing purposes applied to each offender group emerged as distinct. Despite these distinctions, no differences were found in the type and length of sentence handed down (even after controlling for criminal record and breaches). These findings indicate a need for further research and possible policy changes.

The purpose of this doctoral thesis was to develop, implement and evaluate the PULSE program, a community-based physical activity and life skills program for at-risk youth. The thesis is composed of four articles. The first paper describes the rationale and development of the PULSE program which was designed to help youth develop the skills to self-regulate and successfully perform physical activity. The second article presents a process evaluation of the PULSE program. This article examines how the youth progressed through the program with regards to the five levels of the Teaching and Social Responsibility (TPSR) model, one of the frameworks on which the PULSE program is based. A second purpose of this study was to understand the youths’ perceptions of the impact of the program on these five levels. The results indicated that the program led to slight increases in the five levels of the TPSR model and the youth reported transferring the skills they learned related to the levels in their lives outside of the program. The third paper represents an outcome evaluation of the PULSE program. Results showed that youth who participated in PULSE increased their fitness, physical activity levels as well as a number of positive youth development outcomes. Finally, the fourth paper examined how the PULSE program helps support the tenets of Basic Needs Theory. The results indicated that the program successfully nurtured the three basic needs of autonomy, competence and relatedness. The overall findings suggest that the PULSE program is a practical, evidence-informed program that may help youth understand and apply life skills to be physically active as they approach adulthood, and also more generally in their lives. The current findings show promise for both Physical Activity (PA) and Positive Youth Development (PYD) outcomes but further research is needed to make causal links.

Objective: To explore adult cancer symptom management by home care nurses. Scoping review: A scoping review was conducted to describe interventions used by nurses for cancer symptom management in the home care setting. Five included studies revealed that home care nursing contributed to positive client- and system-level outcomes. Study: A mixed-methods descriptive study explored usability of a set of 13 cancer treatment-related symptom management protocols for nurses in the home care setting. Thirty-eight nurses in home care participated. Qualitative and quantitative data indicated the protocols were highly usable. Several barriers suggested they would be better used as resources to support and train nurses rather than documentation tools. Conclusions: Few studies have evaluated interventions for cancer symptom management by home care nurses. This set of protocols was well-received, but further research is required to determine their effectiveness and interventions for implementing with home care nurses providing cancer symptom management.

Isothermal flow development, gap instability, and gap vortex street generation in eccentric annular channels have been studied experimentally. A representative paradigm of a flow in a highly eccentric annular channel was examined for a channel having an inner-to-outer diameter ratio d/D = 0.50 and an eccentricity e = 0.8 for a Reynolds number Re = 7300. Observation of the flow development has identified three distinct regions: the entrance region, the fluctuation-growth region and the rapid-mixing region. Weak quasi-periodic velocity fluctuations were first detected in the downstream part of the entrance region, and grew into very strong ones, reaching peak-to-peak amplitudes in the narrow gap that were nearly 60% of the bulk velocity. The dependence on inlet conditions, d/D, e and Re on the development and structure of flows was also investigated. Experimental conditions covered the ranges: 0 ≤ Re ≤ 19000, 0 ≤ e ≤ 0.9 and d/D = 0.25, 0.50 and 0.75. For Re < 7000, the Strouhal number, the normalized mid-gap axial flow velocity and the axial and cross-flow fluctuation intensities at mid-gap were found to increase with increasing Re and to depend strongly on inlet conditions. At higher Re, however, these parameters reached asymptotic values that were only mildly sensitive to inlet conditions. A map was constructed for the various stages of periodic motions vs. e and Re and it was found that, for e < 0.5 or Re < 1100, the flow was unconditionally stable as far as gap instability is concerned. For e ≤ 0.5, transition to turbulence occurred at Re ≈ 6000, whereas, for 0.6 ≤ e ≤ 0.9, the critical Reynolds number for the formation of periodic motions was found to increase with eccentricity from 1100 for e = 0.6 to 3800 for e = 0.9. The use of an empirically derived "mixing layer Strouhal number" permitted a universal description of gap vortex street periodicity in eccentric annular channels. This study has contributed to our understanding of the physical mechanisms that lead to gap instability and the development of a gap vortex street and the dependence of these flow phenomena on the channel geometry and the dynamic conditions of the flow.

This thesis explores whether independent directors in the USA and Canada are effective in holding management accountable by: (1) analyzing how the policy of relying on independent directors developed and operates; (2) introducing the main theoretical critiques of independent directors’ monitoring effect; and (3) examining whether empirical studies in the field of management science and financial economics support the policy in both countries of relying on independent directors as corporate monitors. Empirical evidence shows that boards with a majority of independent directors, in some circumstances, were associated with better firm performance (in the post-SOX period) and fulfilled certain board tasks effectively in the United States. Canadian studies, however, have not shown a positive association with improved firm performance. Audit committees composed entirely of independent directors have been effective in ensuring the quality of financial reporting in the United States, but this effect has not been found in Canada. Compensation committees composed fully of independent directors neither constrained the level of executive compensation nor tied CEO pay to firm performance in either country. US firms with an audit committee member who had accounting expertise, rather than financial analysis or supervisory expertise, were associated with a higher quality of financial reporting, while Canadian firms with an audit committee member who has financial expertise, instead of financial literacy, were associated with a similar effect. Studies also showed that independent directors perform better in certain circumstances. Based on empirical evidence, US regulators should consider: (1) changing the current mandatory requirements for an independent board and a completely independent compensation committee to a comply-or-explain requirement; (2) narrowing the qualification of a financial expert to an individual who has accounting expertise; and (3) recruiting independent directors who have two or fewer outside directorships, hold more of the corporation’s shares, have lower cost of acquiring corporate information, and have no social connections with the CEO. In Canada, weak evidence of the monitoring effectiveness of independent directors supports the existing comply-or-explain approach. Canadian regulators may only need to require or recommend that at least one audit committee member has financial expertise, instead of only financial literacy.

Tudor domain-containing protein 3, TDRD3, was first identified in a proteomic survey of the spliceosome machinery. Although its function remains elusive, elevated TDRD3 gene expression is associated with poor prognosis of estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer. The Tudor domain of TDRD3 is highly similar to the Tudor domain of the survival of motor neuron (SMN) and accordingly, it has been shown to bind dimethylated arginine residues. Our lab has previously demonstrated the association of TDRD3 with the translation machinery and most importantly, its localization to stress granules (SG) upon various cellular stresses. In this study, it was revealed that TDRD3 knockdown facilitates and accelerates SG assembly and consequently accelerates SG disassembly. Moreover, we showed that wildtype TDRD3 rescued this defect while a mutation in the Tudor domain of TDRD3, E691K, was not able to do so. Taken together, these findings allude to a prominent role for TDRD3, via its Tudor domain, in the proper formation of SGs.

Most of existing North American bridge infrastructure is reported to be deficient. Present infrastructure management mainly relies on qualitative evaluation, where bridge safety and serviceability are judged through routine visual inspection. With the successive increase in the number of severely deficient bridges and the limited available resources, it is crucial to develop a performance-based quantitative assessment evaluation approach that enables an accurate estimation of aging bridges ultimate and seismic capacities and ensures their serviceability. Reinforcement corrosion is the main cause of most of North American concrete infrastructure deterioration. Experimental investigations prove that reinforcement corrosion results in reduction of the steel reinforcement cross sectional area, localized (or global in very extreme cases) loss of bond action, concrete spalling, loss of core concrete confinement, and structural collapse. Field observations show that damage due to reinforcement corrosion in reinforced concrete (RC) bridge columns is localized in highly affected zones by splash of deicing water. In this thesis, an innovative performance-based semi-quantitative assessment framework is developed using newly developed simplified nonlinear static and dynamic finite element analysis approaches. The framework integrates the bridge’s available design and after-construction information with enhanced inspection and additional material testing as sources for accurate input data. In order to evaluate the structural performance and the capacity of the corrosion-damaged bridge columns, four nonlinear static and dynamic analysis approaches have been developed: (i) simplified nonlinear sectional analysis (NLSA) approach that presents the basis of the analysis approaches to estimate the ultimate and seismic capacities, and serviceability of bridge columns; (ii) simplified nonlinear finite element analysis (NLFEA) approach, which enables estimating the ultimate structural capacity of corrosion-damaged RC columns; (iii) simplified hybrid linear/nonlinear dynamic finite element analysis (SHDFEA) approach to evaluate the serviceability of the bridge; and, (iv) simplified non-linear seismic analysis (SNLSA) approach to evaluate the seismic capacity of the bridge columns. The four analysis approaches are verified by comprehensive comparisons with available test experimental and analytical results. The proposed semi-quantitative assessment framework suggests three thresholds for each performance measure of the evaluation limit states to be decided by the bridge management system team. Case studies are presented to show the integrity and the consistency of using the proposed assessment framework. The proposed assessment framework together with the analysis approaches provide bridge owners, practicing engineers, and management teams with simplified and accurate evaluation tools, which lead to reduce the maintenance/rehabilitation cost and provide better safety, and reduce the variation in the data collected using only traditional inspection methods.