Although water covers 70% of the earth's surface, less than 1% of it is freshwater that can be used for drinking. Even in Canada, where there is an abundance of freshwater in groundwater and in rivers and lakes, there are many indigenous communities that lack a sustainable source of drinking water. Such is the case for the Six Nations of the Grand River, the largest indigenous Reserve in Canada, located within an hour drive from major urban centers in southern Ontario and where less than 9% of the residents have access to safe, treated potable water. The major tributaries that drain the Six Nations reserve are part of the McKenzie Creek Watershed, which has been characterized as having the highest loading of sediments and nutrients to the lower Grand River, which eventually drains into the eastern basin of Lake Erie. This research project was initiated by the Six Nations community, who wanted an update on the prevalence of fecal contamination in their drinking water sources (wells, cisterns). Secondly, the community wanted to know the ecosystem health status of tributaries flowing through the Six Nations Reserve (McKenzie and Boston Creeks), and to determine if land uses in the watershed were negatively affecting the health of these streams. A study conducted in the summer of 2018 confirmed that 29% of the tap water tested in 75 households were contaminated with E. coli; 40% of the wells and 15% of the cisterns were contaminated and these were distributed throughout the Reserve with no apparent pattern. A study conducted in the summer of 2019 found that the McKenzie Creek was highly polluted with total phosphorus (P), total suspended solids, turbidity and total-ammonia nitrogen (N), while Boston Creek was highly polluted with soluble reactive P and E. coli as well as total-nitrate N. Nitrogen concentrations at 14 stations were highly and significantly related to percentage of agricultural land in catchments. Elevated levels of pollutants have been observed in the two creeks for three decades, indicating that conditions will not improve without remedial actions. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

The aim of this thesis is to explore the localisation agenda in humanitarian aid put forward during the 2016 Grand Bargain. The thesis aims to prove that localisation remains a high level concept with little effective implementation in humanitarian contexts. The concepts of “the local”, decoloniality and localisation provide a theoretical framework for the analysis, while the theories of power and dependency are used to analyse the results of the research.  In order to show that localisation has not been highly effective at the local level, this thesis compares the contexts of Haiti and Bangladesh to the 2016 Grand Bargain commitments and the fifth annual report on the progress of the Grand Bargain. A comparative case study was conducted using desk research to analyse the available data on each Grand Bargain commitment. This research suggests that there has been mixed success in implementing the Grand Bargain commitments in Haiti and Bangladesh. Some commitments, such as increasing the use of cash and joint assessments, have been successful in both contexts, and are consistent with the reported progress by IASC. Several commitments, such as shifting power to affected communities and increasing funding to local and national humanitarian organizations, have seen little progress in either Haiti or Bangladesh. The findings are largely in line with the fifth annual report on the progress of the Grand Bargain commissioned by IASC. Despite this seeming progress on the Grand Bargain commitments, this thesis also explores how the international sphere — including INGOs and donors — have shaped the localisation agenda to be more palatable to the stakeholders who have to give up funding and power to empower local actors.

The goal of the diploma project is the architectural design of The Gallery Grand Prix in Brno Racing Circuit. Project considers the actual urbanization of racing circuit. It's goal is to continue in long-term history of this kind of sport in Brno and to make this racing circuit more attractive.

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Discipline‐based medical curricula face the challenges of promoting horizontal (across course) and vertical (across years) integration, as well as providing opportunities for students to build the skills needed to become “residents‐as‐teachers”. To address these issues, we developed an Integrated Grand Rounds (IGR) series in which cases are co‐presented to M1/M2 students by clinical and basic science faculty. Sub‐topics relevant to the case are expanded upon by means of live patient interviews and small group sessions led by M3/M4 students. IGR effectiveness is measured by comparison of pre‐/post‐test scores and student attitude questionnaires. Overall, student post‐test scores improved by 23% and >; 95% of all students felt that this activity was an effective way to both integrate information across courses and highlight clinical applications of basic science material. Additionally, all M3/M4 students polled felt that the IGR provided a valuable opportunity to review important basic science concepts and practice clinical teaching skills. The IGR series has proven to be a highly successful tool for cross‐course and longitudinal integration and is enthusiastically supported by both faculty and students. Notably, the IGR provides an efficient and cost‐effective vehicle to expand interdisciplinary connections and enhance integration. As a result, we are in the process of expanding its use in our curriculum.

Previous methods for planning clothoid based continuous curvature paths aim at minimizing path length. However, minimal length paths are not always smooth, natural, and drivable. A method of generating clothoid-based trajectories is discussed using constructive polylines. The goal of the motion planner is to create a path for a large car-like vehicle in human driving environments. Thus, the trajectories generated by the motion planner must be smooth, drivable, and natural such that the vehicle can follow the planned path on human roadways. Several examples are shown of trajectories developed for a DARPA Urban Challenge vehicle and a method of testing the motion planner and the vehicle controller is described.

In 2001, 3269 unidentified individuals were found in a mass grave on the Northern part of Vilnius, Lithuania. Artifactual context indicates that these individuals were likely soldiers that were a part of Napoleon’s Grand Army. Stable oxygen isotope analysis was performed on bone apatite from 9 femoral bone samples to determine whether or not these individuals were Lithuanian locals and to test ratio variation. If individuals were foreigners, then geographical origins were approximated utilizing percentages of C4 plants from Holder (2013) and δ18O values that were extracted from bone apatite. The carbonate oxygen isotope compositions (δ18Ocarbonate) of bone apatite from the femoral samples (-4.4‰ to -6.2‰) indicate that these individuals were from central and western Europe (-4.0‰ to -6.9‰). It is significant that none of the individuals have values consistent with the area around Lithuania (-10.0‰ to -11.9‰), because it means that they all were non-local. It is also indicative that the Lithuanians were not burying their citizens in the grave and therefore strongly support that these individuals were Napoleonic soldiers. Additionally, although C4 percentages in the diet ranged from 17.8% to 31.7%, which overlaps with eastern European consumption patterns (approximately 15% to 25% of C4 plants) (Reitsema et al., 2010), the slight shift towards a higher C4 percentage is more representative of a central and western European diet. These results are significant because they provide stable isotopic evidence that these individuals were Napoleon’s soldiers whom participated in the Russian campaign of 1812.

Scholars have examined how occupational mandates – shared understandings of an occupation’s purpose – are established and how these mandates, to be fulfilled, translate into occupational jurisdictions. To date, however, we lack a clear understanding of how occupational members uphold their mandates when they are impossible to fulfill. I define an impossible occupational mandate as a purpose pursued by a given occupation, but almost impossible to attain. I draw from observations, interviews and archives related to the work of reentry counselors, whose occupational mandate is to ensure former prisoners (i.e., their clients) secure stable employment. My findings suggest that counselors faced multiple challenges in fulfilling their mandate. Faced with an impossible mandate, counselors revised their mandate in different ways, emphasizing their roles as experts in shaping success (advisors), assisting clients with their specific needs (aides), or advancing clients’ cause through their work (advocates). In doing so, they deflected their attention away from their initial mandate and onto their revised mandates. Counselors also shared their mandate with others in their proximate environments. To different degrees, counselors from each group projected partnerships with outsiders to their occupation: they imagined clients, employers, other human and correctional service professionals as possible partners who could share the responsibility for fulfilling their mandate. In doing so, they diffracted the mandate towards people outside of their occupation. Findings suggest that how counselors revised their mandate shaped who they projected as key partners, and how they reported feeling about failed mandate partnerships. Additionally, while all counselors performed the mandate despite the strain it could induce, and used different strategies to cope, the advocates expressed the strongest feelings of emotional strain of all groups. I discuss the connections between deflection and diffraction — namely, the two main strategies people used to uphold impossible mandates — and the conditions under which these strategies can limit professionals’ strain and help them uphold their mandates. Findings add to our understanding of an understudied yet key part of today’s occupational landscape — professionals who hold impossible mandates – and extend the study of occupations and meaningful work. I also discuss implications for labor market inequality, social justice, prisoner reentry programs, and practice. / 2024-05-16T00:00:00Z

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.