D.Ed. / Although media have been used in the classroom for centuries the imporance and the difficulties of the selection of a medium have only been recognised since the 1960' s. Since then, the proliferation of media and their increasing invasion of the classroom have drawn attention to the need to reconcile the medium and a particular teaching objective. This new consciousness, together with a desire to approach the problem systematically has led to comparative studies of the various media!and to a classification of their similarities and differences. Then media taxonomies were drawn up, and models for media selection were extrapolated from these in an effort to provide both practical and theoretical guidelines. These efforts have not yet provided satisfactory solutions, firstly because there is no concensus regarding the concept "media" and secondly because they have tended to concentrate on media per se, while it is the media-attributes, the properties of each medium, which determine how information will be corrnnunicated. Finally, most of those selection models lack a sound pedagogical basis. The large number of determinant factors capable of influencing the final choice of a medium makes media selection a complex matter. These determinants include teaching objectives, learning content, learning tasks, leamer attributes, learning environment, media attributes and application of the medium. All these can act both independently and in concert in selection further compounding the problem. Existing literature has been examined with one particular determinant in mind, viz, media attributes. Definitions and taxonomies were analysed in an effort to determine what the properties of media are and how they should be classified. A media classification system based on the results of that analysis is put forward, with each attribute being examined separately. It is quite obvious from existing literature that media selection must take account of the interaction between the various determinants. Since this study is limited to one determinant - media attributes - further research into the role played in media selection by each of the other determinants is imperative. Two recent attempts at defining and describing the interaction between the determinants, are Aptitude-Treatment Interaction and Trait-Treatment Interaction. They have not, as yet, produced many positive results, but they gave rise to the Symbol System approach. This approach advances a theory relating media's most basic modes of presentation - their symbol systems - to common thought processes and to learning. Each medium, using symbol systems, may have its oWn specific effects on how the knowledge is extracted and on how meanings are arrived at'. This approach holds great promise for the future, but certain questions remain unanswered in the meantime. It is not yet understood, for instance, how a child's symbolic capabilities and preferences interact with his way of handling the symbolic nature of media's messages, nor in what specific ways they affect his cognitive abilities. Today's teacher, in urgent need of practical guidelines, cannot wait for answers. This study attempting to fill that need and contains an open media selection model which is based on all the determinants identified and which is founded on pedagogical considerations.

Doctor of Philosophy / Security Studies Interdepartmental Program / Andrew G. Long / David R. Stone / This dissertation research examines the effect of organizational lethality on the longevity of terrorist groups. The current scholarship has sought to understand the demise of terrorist groups through means such as group success, government repression, negotiations, internal conflict, reorientation of goals, defeat, leadership decapitation and loss of public support. However, little research is available on the determinants of terrorists’ target selection and its implications for the group’s longevity. This study evaluates the targeting patterns and preferences of 480 terrorist groups that were operational between 1980 and 2011 and disaggre- gates the victims of all terrorist attacks into combatant versus non-combatant target-types. It is hypothesized that organizational lethality – defined as the average number of civilian killings generated by each group in its home-base country – is associated with negative group reputation, which results in faster group mortality. Popular support for violence, however, can influence and result from terrorism at the same time and has been found to be inherently endogenous by many previous studies. Therefore, a Seemingly Unrelated Bivariate Probit Model is employed to examine this endogenous relationship, and the results confirm that there is a significant correlation between negative group reputation and group mortality. Moreover, the study differentiates between terrorist group activity – defined as average at- tacks generated by a group – and group lethality, and employs the Cox Proportional Hazard Model to estimate group duration. The study includes covariates like group size, ideology, positive consistency reputation and other factors affecting group longevity and mortality. The results imply that organizational lethality is associated with higher political risks for terrorist groups and tends to backfire by decreasing their survival probability. However, on the other hand, the study finds that an escalation in terrorist activity (launching more attacks) significantly increase the group longevity over time. The results of this study are tested by conducting group-specific case studies on the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban in Pak- istan using information collected from the English language Pakistani newspaper archives, and Harmony Database from Combat Terrorism Center at West Point, NY.

Nowadays, when a keyword is provided, a search engine can return a large number of web pages, which makes it difficult for people to find the right information. Web page classification is a technology that can help us to make a relevant and quick selection of information that we are looking for. Moreover, web page classification is important for companies that provide marketing and analytics platforms, because it can help them to build a healthy mix of listings on search engines and large directories. This will provide more insight into the distribution of the types of web pages their local business listings are found on, and finally will help marketers to make better-informed decisions about marketing campaigns and strategies. In this thesis we perform a literature review that introduces web page classification, feature selection and feature extraction. The literature review also includes a comparison of three commonly used classification algorithms and a description of metrics for performance evaluation. The findings in the literature enable us to extend existing classification techniques, methods and algorithms to address a new web page classification problem faced by our industrial partner SweetIQ (a company that provides location-based marketing services and an analytics platform). We develop a classification method based on SweetIQ's data and business needs. Our method includes typical feature selection and feature extraction methods, but the features we use in this thesis are largely different from traditional ones used in the literature. We test selected features and find that the text extracted from the title and snippet of a web page can help a classifier to achieve good performance. Our classification method does not require the full content of a web page. Thus, it is fast and saves a lot of space.

The research that is currently available on abortion practices among Punjabi women focuses on the phenomenon of sex-selective abortion. To date, there has been no research published on the abortion experiences of Punjabi women in Canada. The objective of this qualitative study is to fill a gap in the literature and shed light on the abortion experiences of Punjabi women across Ontario and British Columbia. Through in-depth interviews with Punjabi women and key informant interviews with health professionals involved in abortion provision, this study documents Punjabi women’s abortion experiences in Canada and providers’ experiences serving this population. Four Punjabi women and three key informants were interviewed across Ontario and British Columbia. The overall findings suggest that the abortion experiences of Punjabi women are very similar to those of Canadian women, in general. Although none of the participants had undergone sex-selective abortion themselves, women described their perceptions of this practice in the Punjabi community. In addition, Punjabi women suggested improvements in pregnancy options counseling, availability of medication abortion and employment accommodation. Key informants’ experiences serving this population differed based on the location of the abortion facility and the demographics of that area. All of the key informants suggested improvements to overcome challenges such as language barriers and newcomer status. Due to the small sample of participants, this study can be considered as a starting point for further research in this area. We hope that the findings of this study can inform improvements in abortion services for this population, as well as shed light on some of the debates underway regarding sex-selective abortion practices. La recherche qui est disponible sur les pratiques d'avortement chez les femmes punjabi met l'accent sur le phénomène de l'avortement sélectif dans les populations asiatiques. À ce jour, il n'y a pas de recherches publiées sur les expériences d'avortement du femmes Punjabi vivant au Canada. L'objectif de cette étude qualitative est de combler cette lacune dans la littérature et faire la lumière sur les expériences d'avortement de femmes punjabi en Ontario et en Colombie-Brittanique. Par le biais d'entrevues en profondeur avec les femmes punjabi et d'entrevues avec les informateurs clés impliqués dans l'avortement disposition, cette étude documente les expériences d’avortement des femmes punjabi au Canada et les expériences des informateurs clés qui desservent cette population. Quatre femmes punjabi et trois informateurs clés ont été interviewés en Ontario et en Colombie-Britannique. Les résultats suggèrent que les expériences d'avortement des femmes punjabi sont très similaires à ceux des femmes canadiennes en general. Bien qu'aucun des participants n’avaient eux-mêmes l’avortement sélectif, les femmes ont décrit leurs perceptions de cette pratique dans la communauté punjabi. En outre, les femmes Punjabi ont suggéré des améliorations dans les options de grossesse counseling, la disponibilité de l'avortement médicamenteux et l'adaptation des emplois. Les experiences des informateurs clés qui desservent cette population diffèrent en fonction de l'emplacement de l'avortement et la démographie de cette région. Touts les informateurs clés ont suggéré des améliorations à surmonter des défis tels que les barrières linguistiques et statut de nouveau venu. En raison du petit échantillon de participants, cette étude peut être considérée comme un point de départ pour d'autres recherches dans ce domaine. Nous espérons que les conclusions de cette étude peuvent orienter des améliorations dans les services d'avortement pour cette population, ainsi que de faire la lumière sur certains des débats en cours au sujet des pratiques de l'avortement sélectif.

A study of the dispersion patterns of moose in winter habitats was conducted from June 1972 to May 1974 in a wildlife reserve in northeastern British Columbia. Major factors affecting the patterns were examined in an attempt to determine their relative importance. Data from eight representative vegetation plots indicated productive browse in deciduous forests and open habitats. In coniferous forest there was very little shrub development. Moose were well adapted to low winter temperatures which often followed warm winter temperatures associated with Chinook winds. Snow cover rarely exceeded 76 cm. Canopies of mature coniferous forest profoundly influenced the depth of snow on the ground, but, because the snow depth in open areas was not restrictive, moose did not extensively use coniferous forest. Willow, aspen and bog birch were the most important forage species. Rumen analyses and trailing methods supported these observations. Instances of moose cratering (pawing) and debarking were observed. Winter forages (probably a limited sample) were very low in crude protein. Open shrubland, agricultural land, and deciduous forest were preferred winter habitat. Several variables, quantified during ground and aerial observations, were used in a model to predict moose dispersion, but the model was applied with limited success. Future management of habitat for moose should include logging and prescribed burning to enhance the forage resource. The purchase of alienated lands to ensure control of the land base is also recommended. / Land and Food Systems, Faculty of / Graduate

This study of elk winter habitat selection was conducted from June 1975 to May 1977. Surveys were conducted from November to April to observe elk use of habitat, patterns of use within clearcuts, and elk reaction to human activities and vehicle traffic. Programmes of habitat mapping, vegetation description and pellet group counts were conducted during the rest of the study period. The two winters of the study were mild. Snow depths never exceeded 45 cm, the depth hypothesized to initiate elk movement to areas of lower snowdepth. During these mild snow conditions elk selected clearcuts for feeding but utilized forested habitats for resting and escape cover. Subsequent studies in the same area (McLellan 1978) showed contrasting avoidance of clearcuts for two months during deep snow conditions where snowdepths exceeded 50 cm. Within clearcuts elk were observed to select moderate slopes further than 200 m from active roads for feeding and resting. Feeding activities within clearcuts showed selection for ridges, grass/forb vegetation and burned areas. Elk showed varying responses to slash accumulations during feeding activity. Elk selected the largest clearcut site and no preference for areas near edge of clearcuts was shown. Elk showed a strong avoidance reaction to human activity and vehicle traffic, fleeing to forest cover when disturbed. Recommendations for forest management are included. / Forestry, Faculty of / Graduate

8 pp. / Originally published: 1998 / Animal learning has been shown to play a major role in the development of diet selection by domestic herbivores. Dr. Frederick Provenza and his associates at Utah State University have conducted a series of studies over the past 30 years to learn how physiological and behavioral mechanisms govern diet selection. In this paper, we synthesize several key diet selection concepts presented in 4 articles (i.e., Provenza et al. 1992; Provenza 1995, 1996, 1997). Reviewed 12/2014; originally published 05/1998.

Among other things, mentoring research is concerned with how mentors go about the process of choosing who they should mentor. Even when mentoring relationships are assigned, mentors need to feel that the efforts they are putting forth are worth the time and energy. What protégé attributes best attract the attention of a mentor? What mentor attributes make some protégés more attractive to them than others? This study looks at 3 explanations for mentor-protégé attraction, shedding light on the mental processes that influence why some protégés find it easy to get mentors and why some have a much tougher time finding the right person to mentor them. Practical and theoretical implications of this study are included.

Mutant strains of the fern Ceratopteris richardii Brongn. were selected in vitro for tolerance to culture medium containing Al2(SO4)3-Na2EDTA at pH 4.4. Three strains, HαAT3, HαAT7, and HαAT29 showed enhanced growth relative to the wild type on selection medium. Because of the complex nature of the selection conditions, the mutants were tested for tolerance to low pH and other individual components of the selection medium. All three mutant strains were notably more tolerant to acidic conditions and slightly more tolerant to Na2EDTA, relative to the wild type. No consistent differences in response to Na2SO4 were evident. Genetic characterization indicated a single nuclear gene basis of inheritance for strain HαAT3. Strains HαAT7 and HαAT29 showed a nuclear basis of tolerance, but responses of gametophytes from F1 hybrids suggested segregation at two or more loci.

The driver is the club which receives the greatest scrutiny by golfers and the most marketing efforts by manufacturers. One characteristic often indicated and believed to effect driver performance is the degree of loft on the clubface. The purpose of the current study was to investigate club head speed, ball speed, launch angle, descent angle, total spin, carry, and total distance in an attempt to determine performance measures of three different lofted drivers. Fifteen participants were used to test three different degree drivers (9.5, 10.5, and 13 degree) on the variables listed above. Participants performed ten tested swings for each driver and variables were recorded. Launch angle and carry distance produced no significant differences between clubs. Club head speed, ball speed, total spin, descent angle, and total distance resulted in significant differences when between clubs analysis was conducted. The low lofted driver was found to produce the greatest performance measures.