This systematic literature review synthesizes findings from empirical studies published between 1989 and 2016 to examine types, use, purpose and implementation of information and communication technology in public child welfare to determine if there are thematic reoccurrences in these arenas. Study results yielded information to the field of social work and public child welfare by determining themes in successful usage, purpose and implementation of information and communication technology in public child welfare to better serve those vulnerable populations. This systematic literature review contextualizes and identifies these themes across the literature. Studies included in this review were analyzed and categorized to determine reoccurring themes in information and communication technology use, purpose and implementation.

Game with a purpose (GWAP) is a concept that aims to utilize the hours spent in the world playing video games by everyday people to yield valuable data. The main objective of this research is to prove the feasibility of using the concept of GWAP for the segmentation and labeling of massive amount of 3D human body scan data. The rationale behind using GWAP as a method for mesh segmentation and labeling is that the current methods use expensive, time consuming computational algorithms to accomplish this task. Furthermore, the computer algorithms are not as detailed and specific as what natural human ability can achieve in segmentation tasks. The method presented in this paper overcomes the shortcomings of computer algorithms by introducing the concept of GWAP for human model segmentation. The actual process of segmenting and labeling the mesh becomes a form of entertainment rather than a tedious process, from which segmentation data is produced as a bi-product. In addition, the natural capabilities of the human visual processing systems are harnessed to identify and label various parts of the 3D human body shape, which in turn gives more details and specificity in segmentation. The effectiveness of the proposed game play mechanism is proven by experiments conducted in this study.

<p>Simulating fluid behavior has proven to be a demanding challenge which requires complex computational models and highly efficient data structures. Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) is a particle based computational model used to simulate fluid behavior that has been found capable of producing convincing results. However, the SPH algorithm is computational heavy which makes it cumbersome to work with.</p><p>This master thesis describes how the SPH algorithm can be accelerated by utilizing the GPU’s computational resources. It describes a model for how to distribute the work load on the GPU and presents a suitable data structure. In addition, it proposes a method to represent and handle moving objects in the fluids surroundings. Finally, the performance gain due to the GPU is evaluated by comparing processing times with an identical implementation running solely on the CPU.</p>

This study examines the utility of the Business Cost Recovery (BCR) metric, a social accounting tool that is used by social purpose enterprises in Toronto Enterprise Funds portfolio to separate their business and social costs. This research builds upon the BCR metric developing definitions for social and business costs and a guide to accompany the metric. The researcher tested the reliability of the metric useing test-retest methods with 20 participants. Three social enterprise experts evaluated the validity of the reliability test. The reliability test proved statistically significant, indicating that the BCR metric accompanied by the BCR guide can be used consistently. The BCR metric is a practical tool for the field of social accounting because of the relative ease with which it can be used to distinguish between social and business costs. The definitions created for this research can help mitigate ambiguity that exists across the field of social accounting.

This study examines the utility of the Business Cost Recovery (BCR) metric, a social accounting tool that is used by social purpose enterprises in Toronto Enterprise Funds portfolio to separate their business and social costs. This research builds upon the BCR metric developing definitions for social and business costs and a guide to accompany the metric. The researcher tested the reliability of the metric useing test-retest methods with 20 participants. Three social enterprise experts evaluated the validity of the reliability test. The reliability test proved statistically significant, indicating that the BCR metric accompanied by the BCR guide can be used consistently. The BCR metric is a practical tool for the field of social accounting because of the relative ease with which it can be used to distinguish between social and business costs. The definitions created for this research can help mitigate ambiguity that exists across the field of social accounting.

Flax is often considered a total utilization crop because of the potential to extract value from two distinct products - seeds and stem fibres. However, very little genetic information is available on flax fibre genetics in comparison to oil improvement studies. In order to gain a detailed understanding of genetic control of the fibre concentration and search for the possibilities of developing dual purpose flax lines using both seed oil and stem fibre, the following studies were initiated: The first study evaluated the fibre and oil-related traits in a recombinant inbred population derived from a cross between a fibre flax variety Viking and an oilseed flax genotype E1747 over multiple locations under western Canadian field conditions. The study confirmed the presence of a significant genotype by environment interaction (p < 0.01) for fibre concentration indicating selection for this trait will be challenging. However, a lack of significant correlation between fibre and oilseed characteristics in field trials was encouraging and strengthened the hypothesis that breeding dual purpose flax types for western Canada is possible. The study also identified potential recombinant inbred lines (RILs) with enhanced fibre concentration as well as oil characteristics for use in future breeding endeavors. The second study established an anatomical basis for further research into flax fibre improvement by studying differences between the stem anatomy of 14 diverse flax genotypes in the field and under controlled environments such as a growth chamber. The results from the study supported the use of controlled environments for the purpose of quick screening of high fibre containing genotypes, especially at the green capsule stage of plant growth. The results also indicated that it was possible to select high fibre oilseed flax lines based on anatomical markers such as average area of single fibre cells, total fibre area and fibre to stem area ratio. In the third study, 17 simple sequence repeat (SSR) and 2 cleaved amplified polymorphic sequences (CAPS) molecular markers were used to assess the extent of genetic variability in the Viking × E1747 RIL population. CAPS markers LuFAD3A and LuFAD3B had the highest marker trait association (p < 0.0001) with linoleic and linolenic acid concentration. SSR markers such as CV8824, 5B6 and LU32 were found to be associated with plant height, oil concentration and protein concentration respectively using single marker analysis and step wise regression analysis. The molecular study confirmed the importance of Viking × E1747 mapping population in identifying genes/ markers related to both fibre and oilseed related traits in flax. In the fourth study, global transcript profiling using cDNA - based microarrays was performed to identify differentially expressed fibre related transcripts between Viking and E1747. The largest group of transcripts (7 %) found more abundant in Viking relative to E1747 fell under the functional group of cell wall development using gene ontology (GO) analysis. Transcripts such as callose synthases, expansins, cytochrome P450, fasciclin-like arabino galactan proteins and β-galactosidases were highly abundant in Viking relative to E1747. The transcripts more abundant in E1747 relative to Viking were UDP – glucose glucosyltransferase, auxin repressed protein, ubiquitin conjugating enzyme, peroxidases and lipid transfer proteins. Quantitative real time PCR results confirmed the suitability of the microarray platform to accurately discriminate transcript profiles between the two diverse flax types. In conclusion, this research has provided a number of new insights into flax fibre genetics. This information lays the foundation for further genetic studies on flax bast fibres and will complement research on developing dual purpose flax varieties.

With increased enrolment in post-secondary education in Canada, communities hosting universities or colleges have witnessed a higher number of students residing in their near-campus neighbourhoods. The concentration of students has negative impacts on these once low-density, family-oriented neighbourhoods. Near-campus neighbourhoods are often associated with images of run-down properties, garbage-strewn front yards, and alcohol fuelled parties. Some Ontario municipalities have responded to these problems with student accommodation strategies and planning initiatives. However, the problems in near-campus neighbourhoods and the effectiveness of the planning strategies have not been well understood due to the novelty of the issue and the scarcity of related research in the Canadian context. This study aims to answer two research questions: 1) what are the impacts of student populations on near-campus neighbourhoods in Ontario? 2) how, and how effectively, have planning authorities responded to the challenges of near-campus neighbourhoods? To answer these research questions, surveys and interviews were conducted among planners and post-secondary institution housing officers in Ontario university/college communities. Evidence was also sought from other resources including other academic studies, planning documents and media output. The study results showed that at least 23 Ontario municipalities faced challenges associated with the concentration of student population in near-campus neighbourhoods. The challenges relate to demographic imbalance, decreased rates of homeownership, a deteriorating neighbourhood environment, and student behavioural issues. However, only around half of the affected communities have developed planning strategies to respond to the challenges. Eleven planning approaches are identified, analyzed, and evaluated in the study. In general, planning policies to encourage high-density development to accommodate students are common approaches and considered effective: purpose-built student housing has significantly increased its market share in some university communities. This type of development relieves housing pressure, but it is not clear if it helps to stabilize low-density neighbourhoods near campus; the attempt to regulate the student private rental market by zoning and licensing regimes has several drawbacks. The study also reveals diverse interests of different stakeholders in near-campus neighbourhoods, and the lack of effective collaboration and partnerships among them in addressing challenges in their neighbourhoods in general.

The purpose of this study is to contribute to a better understanding of how visions could be applied in subsidiaries and similar sub organisations of global enterprises. With increasing globalisation it becomes more difficult to work in accordance to same standards and towards a common and unifying interest. The study has a qualitative and deductive approach and is based on interviews with three global subsidiaries with some hundred people employed each. Conclusions are that the subsidiaries visions have to be based on a guiding philosophy issued by their mother entities and it is the responsibility of the sub organisation to develop a tangible image with a local vision, mission and strategy with targets requiring feedback. Sustainable strategies cannot be issued without a vision describing where the organisation want be in the future. Otherwise they will not come very far until they have to make a restart with a new strategy and they will never be a market leader.

Mobile computing is becoming one of the most widely adopted technologies. There are 1.3 billion mobile phone subscribers worldwide, and the current generation of phones offers substantial computing ability. Furthermore, mobile devices are increasingly becoming integrated into everyday life. With the huge popularity in mobile computing, it is critical that we examine the human-computer interaction issues for these devices and explicitly explore supporting everyday activities. In particular, one very common and important activity of daily life I am interested in supporting is conversation. Depending on job type, office works can spend up to 85\% of their time in interpersonal communication. In this work, I present two methods that improve a user's ability to enter information into a mobile computer in conversational situations. First I examine the Twiddler, a keyboard that has been adopted by the wearable computing community. The Twiddler is a mobile one-handed chording keyboard with a keypad similar to a mobile phone. The second input method is dual-purpose speech, a technique designed to leverage a user's conversational speech. A dual-purpose speech interaction is one where speech serves two roles; it is socially appropriate and meaningful in the context of a human-to-human conversation and provides useful input to a computer. A dual-purpose speech application listens to one side of a conversation and provides beneficial services to the user. Together these input methods provide a user the ability to enter information while engaged in conversation in a mobile setting.

Participating students¡¦ association at school can enhance the students¡¦ learning, all kinds of life skills and social abilities. It¡¦s not simply a part of curriculum courses, but with more significance on cultivating the concept of being gregarious and law-abiding. Arising out of this, it comprehends positively the purpose of being well-developed education. The subject of this thesis is ¡§the Operation and Administration on the Student Arts Association at Elementary Schools¡¨, enphasizing mainly on the influences on students who have already participated the arts asssociation. From my observation on the anterior research, they emphasized more on the study of music asssociation as well as pedagogy, instead of expanding thoroughly on the operation and administration on arts asssociation. This thesis takes seven arts organizations as case studies, they separately are: Orchestra, Choir, Taiwanese Golden Loin Dance, Jazz Dance Group, Arts Association, Recorder Association, and Pottery-flute Association. The purposes of this research are, firstly, make a thorough investigation on the operation mode of the Elementary Schools¡¦ Arts Association, by the theory and method of management; secondly, in order to comprehend the operation mode of Yen-Chen Elementary School¡¦s Arts association, the interviews of each individual case are applied. Also, the interview groups can be divided into five: administrants, professors, students, graduated students, and parents of students, to the amount of twenty-two cases. This thesis draws two main conclusions.One is the suggestions for operation and administration:(1)arts association demand clearer objectives;(2)they require stronger organization;(3)they call for a flexible staff;(4)they need concise plans which should be excuted with good use of resourses;(5)with the ideas of ¡¥positive aspiration¡¦ and ¡¥encouragement leadership¡¦, arts associations aim to converge comradship;(6)arts association are supposed to recruit new members and hold the old ones;(7)The mainipulation of funds should be made public;(8)Relations among arts associations should be intensified. The other part suggests that students not only learn professions, but also cultivate appreciation. Students make friends, develop abilities and have a good time in clubs. Therefore, most of students join the same association when they go to high schools. This thesis is devided into five chapters. Chapter One is the introduction about research background and theme; Chapter Two is the literature review and theory framework; Chapter Three is the method; Chapter Four is the research process; Chapter Five is the conclusion and suggestions.