To reproduce color images in print, the continuous tone image is first transformed into a binary halftone image, producing various colors by discrete dots with varying area coverage. In halftone prints on paper, physical and optical dot gains generally occur, making the print look darker than expected, and making the modeling of halftone color reproduction a challenge. Most available models are based on macroscopic color measurements, averaging the reflectance over an area that is large in relation to the halftone dots. The aim of this study is to go beyond the macroscopic approach, and study halftone color reproduction on a micro-scale level, using high resolution images of halftone prints. An experimental imaging system, combining the accuracy of color measurement instruments with a high spatial resolution, opens up new possibilities to study and analyze halftone color prints. The experimental image acquisition offers a great flexibility in the image acquisition setup. Besides trichromatic RGB filters, the system is also equipped with a set of 7 narrowband filters, for multi-channel images. A thorough calibration and characterization of all the components in the imaging system is described. The spectral sensitivity of the CCD camera, which can not be derived by direct measurements, is estimated using least squares regression. To reconstruct spectral reflectance and colorimetric values from the device response, two conceptually different approaches are used. In the model-based characterization, the physical model describing the image acquisition process is inverted, to reconstruct spectral reflectance from the recorded device response. In the empirical characterization, the characteristics of the individual components are ignored, and the functions are derived by relating the device response for a set of test colors to the corresponding colorimetric and spectral measurements, using linear and polynomial least squares regression techniques. Micro-scale images, referring to images whose resolution is high in relation to the resolution of the halftone, allow for measurements of the individual halftone dots, as well as the paper between them. To capture the characteristics of large populations of halftone dots, reflectance histograms are computed as well as 3D histograms in CIEXYZ color space. The micro-scale measurements reveal that the reflectance for the halftone dots, as well as the paper between the dots, is not constant, but varies with the dot area coverage. By incorporating the varying micro-reflectance in an expanded Murray-Davies model, the nonlinearity caused by optical dot gain can be accounted for without applying the nonphysical exponentiation of the reflectance values, as in the commonly used Yule-Nielsen model. Due to their different intrinsic nature, physical and optical dot gains need to be treated separately when modeling the outcome of halftone prints. However, in measurements of reflection colors, physical and optical dot gains always co-exist, making the separation a difficult task. Different methods to separate the physical and optical dot gain are evaluated, using spectral reflectance measurements, transmission scans and micro-scale images. Further, the relation between the physical dot gain and the halftone dot size is investigated, demonstrated with FM halftones of various print resolutions. The physical dot gain exhibits a clear correlation with the dot size and the dot gain increase is proportional to the increase in print resolution. The experimental observations are followed by discussions and a theoretical explanation.

This study provides a new account of the evolution of the eighteenth-century British novel by reading it as a response to contemporary interest in, and self-consciousness about, print communication. During the eighteenth century, print went from being a marginal technology to being one with an increasingly wide circulation and a diverse range of applications. The pervasive adoption of print generated anxiety about its positive and negative effects, prompting a series of responses from writers. Examining the work of five British novelists from across the long eighteenth century, this dissertation investigates the influence of eighteenth-century philosophical thinking about human understanding and social interaction on the assumptions that these novelists made about the way their work would be received. In particular, this thesis explores the ways in which these novelists respond to contemporary philosophical ideas about the cognitive functions of the imagination by experimenting with the form of their work in order to generate new kinds of reception. But this study also shows that, while these five novelists drew on the tenets of eighteenth-century moral philosophy, their work exposed a number of the limitations of that philosophy by putting it into practice. Each chapter in this study focuses on a different aspect of the intersection of mediation and imagination. Chapter One considers the ways in which Locke's understanding of probability informed Richardson's attempts to promote specific affective reading practices with his epistolary fictions and editorial commentary. Chapter Two reads Sterne's manipulations of the material page in Tristram Shandy as an attempt to expose the limitations of print communication and to suggest new ways of reading that could overcome those limitations. Chapter Three examines the writing of Smith, Kames, Mackenzie, Reeve and Godwin in order to illustrate both the promise and the danger that these authors attribute to imaginative sympathy and to the reading practices that promote sympathetic reactions. Chapter Four explores Scott's experiments with a form of fiction that could collapse the distance between writing and orality in order to force readers to reevaluate the complex relationship of sound and writing in the establishment of communities in an age of print.

The news media serve as the Canadian public’s main source of information about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This thesis examines the ways in which the Canadian media portray the conflict, through a lens of Habermas’ (1962) public sphere theory, Foucault’s (1926 – 1984) ideas on discourse, and Rawls’ (1921 – 2002) conceptions of equality and justice. Building on these theories, Noelle-Neumann’s Spiral of Silence theory (1974), Said’s Orientalism (1978), and d’Arcy’s (1913 – 1983) conception of the right to communicate are examined to arrive at a framework for analyzing Canadian news. Looking at ideological representations, power manifestations, issue framing, and social responsibility within the media, this thesis explores whether the Canadian media portray the conflict in such a way that fosters a downward spiral of opinions within the Canadian public. A Critical Discourse Analysis of coverage in two national English Canadian newspapers, The Globe and Mail and the National Post, during three separate timeframes of increased violence in Israel and Palestine between 2000 and 2009 reveals that newspaper representations of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are often entrenched in predefined ways of portraying the Other, fostering an Israeli-Palestinian spiral of silence in Canadian media.

Theodore Stanton’s career as a literary middleman exemplifies several of the intermediary professions in book and periodical publishing that were being created and tested in the late nineteenth century in response to expanded publishing opportunities in France, Great Britain, the United States, and Canada. The need for professional middlemen between writers and publishers developed differently in each country, thus their roles and activities, the literary agent’s in particular, varied according to regional demands. Different interpretations of intellectual property in copyright laws determined the balance of power between creators and producers of texts. In turn, writers’ relative ability to control copyrights shaped the middleman’s field of endeavour. The range of professional middleman specializations is described. A case study of some American publications of Émile Zola’s novels shows the legal and logistical difficulties of transatlantic publishing in practice. In chapter 3, Stanton’s beginnings as an American newspaper correspondent in Paris precede his middleman role as editor of the European Correspondent, a weekly galley-proof service printed in English in Paris and syndicated to American newspaper editors. Stanton’s work as a European sub-editor of the North American Review and other magazines is detailed in chapter 4. As the Paris representative of Harper & Brothers from 1899, Stanton presented previously unpublished writings of Honoré de Balzac, Victor Hugo, Émile Zola, and others to American readers, also co-operating with French publishers. Case studies portray the challenges and successes of a middleman position within a large, complex enterprise. In chapter 5, a more independent Stanton arranges the simultaneous, posthumous publication of the memoirs of Eugénie, ex-Empress of France, by D. Appleton and Company in New York and London, and in four European translations. Count Maurice Fleury compiled and authored the two-volume work, which was not published in France. The manuscript took a circuitous path to publication through Stanton’s efforts to ensure authenticity, maintain exclusivity, and protect copyright. Methodological approaches of correspondence editing, bibliography, and textual criticism reveal both the processes and the results of Stanton’s mediation and illuminate how the participation of literary middlemen shaped the way French culture was received and understood in North America.

This study used an experimental script awareness task to measure the script recognition and metacognitions of 129 English language learners (ELLs) in Senior Kindergarten from Chinese, Portuguese, or Spanish L1 backgrounds. Items formed two clusters: those involving the Latin alphabet and those involving symbolic script. Based on ability to name letters and read some words, children were divided into “readers” and “prereaders.” There were significant effects of home language and reading group: the Chinese ELLs were better at distinguishing items of symbolic script from the Latin alphabet items, but the Portuguese and Spanish ELLs were better at explaining their metacognitions. When the item was more similar to English, readers were more likely to accept it as English. Differences in script awareness development are discussed in relation to home language, reading ability, nonverbal ability, and vocabulary skills.

This study used an experimental script awareness task to measure the script recognition and metacognitions of 129 English language learners (ELLs) in Senior Kindergarten from Chinese, Portuguese, or Spanish L1 backgrounds. Items formed two clusters: those involving the Latin alphabet and those involving symbolic script. Based on ability to name letters and read some words, children were divided into “readers” and “prereaders.” There were significant effects of home language and reading group: the Chinese ELLs were better at distinguishing items of symbolic script from the Latin alphabet items, but the Portuguese and Spanish ELLs were better at explaining their metacognitions. When the item was more similar to English, readers were more likely to accept it as English. Differences in script awareness development are discussed in relation to home language, reading ability, nonverbal ability, and vocabulary skills.

Theodore Stanton’s career as a literary middleman exemplifies several of the intermediary professions in book and periodical publishing that were being created and tested in the late nineteenth century in response to expanded publishing opportunities in France, Great Britain, the United States, and Canada. The need for professional middlemen between writers and publishers developed differently in each country, thus their roles and activities, the literary agent’s in particular, varied according to regional demands. Different interpretations of intellectual property in copyright laws determined the balance of power between creators and producers of texts. In turn, writers’ relative ability to control copyrights shaped the middleman’s field of endeavour. The range of professional middleman specializations is described. A case study of some American publications of Émile Zola’s novels shows the legal and logistical difficulties of transatlantic publishing in practice. In chapter 3, Stanton’s beginnings as an American newspaper correspondent in Paris precede his middleman role as editor of the European Correspondent, a weekly galley-proof service printed in English in Paris and syndicated to American newspaper editors. Stanton’s work as a European sub-editor of the North American Review and other magazines is detailed in chapter 4. As the Paris representative of Harper & Brothers from 1899, Stanton presented previously unpublished writings of Honoré de Balzac, Victor Hugo, Émile Zola, and others to American readers, also co-operating with French publishers. Case studies portray the challenges and successes of a middleman position within a large, complex enterprise. In chapter 5, a more independent Stanton arranges the simultaneous, posthumous publication of the memoirs of Eugénie, ex-Empress of France, by D. Appleton and Company in New York and London, and in four European translations. Count Maurice Fleury compiled and authored the two-volume work, which was not published in France. The manuscript took a circuitous path to publication through Stanton’s efforts to ensure authenticity, maintain exclusivity, and protect copyright. Methodological approaches of correspondence editing, bibliography, and textual criticism reveal both the processes and the results of Stanton’s mediation and illuminate how the participation of literary middlemen shaped the way French culture was received and understood in North America.

The news media serve as the Canadian public’s main source of information about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This thesis examines the ways in which the Canadian media portray the conflict, through a lens of Habermas’ (1962) public sphere theory, Foucault’s (1926 – 1984) ideas on discourse, and Rawls’ (1921 – 2002) conceptions of equality and justice. Building on these theories, Noelle-Neumann’s Spiral of Silence theory (1974), Said’s Orientalism (1978), and d’Arcy’s (1913 – 1983) conception of the right to communicate are examined to arrive at a framework for analyzing Canadian news. Looking at ideological representations, power manifestations, issue framing, and social responsibility within the media, this thesis explores whether the Canadian media portray the conflict in such a way that fosters a downward spiral of opinions within the Canadian public. A Critical Discourse Analysis of coverage in two national English Canadian newspapers, The Globe and Mail and the National Post, during three separate timeframes of increased violence in Israel and Palestine between 2000 and 2009 reveals that newspaper representations of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are often entrenched in predefined ways of portraying the Other, fostering an Israeli-Palestinian spiral of silence in Canadian media.

Breast and penis augmentations are century old processes of body modification continuing in development and practice today. This Masters thesis is a content analysis of breast and penis augmentation print and internet advertisements to explore one facet of augmentation discourse presented in public space. Relevant theoretical literature includes fetish discourse and medical discourse as existing frameworks that conceptualize augmentation predominantly as a process of body fragmentation. After reviewing this literature, I expand to blend together perspectives from three body theorists, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Michel Foucault and Judith Butler, as an alternate framework for embodiment. I then use content analysis to examine the data collected from 21 print sources and 27 internet sources. The data indicates fetish discourse, focusing on body fragmentation, is the dominant content in breast and penis augmentation advertisements; however, I argue in the conclusion that incorporating elements of embodiment into fetish discourse is a better perspective for future research.

Throughout the 1950s, U.S. policymakers actively encouraged Americans to participate in civil defense through a variety of policies. In 1958, amidst confusion concerning which of these policies were most efficient, President Eisenhower established the National Shelter Plan and a new civil defense agency titled The Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization. This agency urged homeowners to build private fallout shelters through print media. In response, Americans used newspapers, magazines, and science fiction novels to contest civil defense and the foreign and domestic policies that it was based upon, including nuclear strategy. Many Americans remained unconvinced of the viability of civil defense or feared its psychological impacts on society. Eventually, these criticisms were able to weaken civil defense efforts and even alter nuclear defense strategy and missile defense technology.