The Cambrian – Lower Ordovician Potsdam Group is a mostly siliciclastic unit that provides important insight into the paleoenvironmental, geologic and tectonic history of Early Paleozoic Laurentia. Nevertheless, in spite of 178 years of study the Potsdam in the Ottawa Embayment and Quebec Basin remains poorly understood. Also poorly understood is how the Potsdam relates with coeval strata regionally. In this work six siliciclastic paleoenvironments are recognized: (a) braided fluvial, (b) ephemeral fluvial, (c) aeolian, (d) coastal sabkha, (e) tide-dominated marine and (f) open-coast tidal flat. Fluvial strata were examined in particular detail and interpreted to consist of two end-member kinds. Braided fluvial deposits are dominated by low-relief bars formed in wide, shallow channels; however where basement structures limited the lateral growth of channels, flows were deeper and bar deposits thicker and higher angle. In contrast, ephemeral fluvial strata are dominated by sheetflood splay sedimentation with rare preservation of scour-filling supercritical bedform strata – all later subjected to aeolian reworking. In the upper Potsdam, alternating ephemeral and braided fluvial strata provide a record of climate change, which, respectively, correlate with documented global cool (arid) and warm (humid) periods during the Late Cambrian and Early Ordovician. Three allounits are recognized in Potsdam strata, recording regional episodes of sedimentation and facilitating correlation with coeval strata throughout eastern North America. These correlations, aided with provenance data from detrital zircons, show that changes in the areal distribution of sediment supply, accommodation and deposition/erosion were principally controlled by episodic reactivation of the Neoproterozoic Ottawa graben, which then periodically modified the stratigraphic expression of the ongoing Sauk transgression. Specifically, episodes of tectonic reactivation occurred during late Early to Middle Cambrian (allounit 1), late Middle to early Late Cambrian (allounits 2 – 3 unconformity), and Earliest Ordovician (allounits 3 – 4 unconformity). The earliest episode is correlated to regional extension of southern Laurentia, whereas the latter two are linked to peri-Laurentian accretion events that triggered reactivation of the Ottawa graben via the Missisquoi oceanic fracture zone.

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Na presente tese utiliza-se o método dedutivo-comparativo para desenvolver um estudo do factoring, principalmente no Brasil e na Argentina, e uma análise da Convenção de Ottawa do UNIDROIT, que dispõe sobre o contrato de factoring internacional. Este estudo inicia-se com uma breve análise histórica do factoring e suas características gerais na Europa, nos Estados Unidos e na América Latina, sendo investigada ainda a etimologia da palavra factoring, o seu enquadramento como instituto e a sua estrutura e função. Em seguida, passa-se a analisar o factoring no Brasil em seus mais variados aspectos, tais como o processo histórico, a terminologia adotada, a legislação interna, enfatizando-se o contrato internacional e as figuras contratuais afins, como também abordando as sociedades de factoring e os seus volumes de operações. Por envolver um estudo comparativo, a pesquisa volta-se, em seguida, à análise desses variados aspectos do factoring em relação à Argentina. Analisa-se, também, a referida Convenção de Ottawa do UNIDROIT, as suas características, a influência de outras convenções internacionais, a participação do Brasil e da Argentina e, especialmente, o que dispõem os seus artigos. Em seguida são identificados os aspectos do contrato de factoring internacional que seriam harmonizados se o Brasil e a Argentina adotassem essa convenção, especialmente os seguintes: (a) adoção do termo factoring em vez de qualquer outro em língua portuguesa ou espanhola; (b) reconhecimento mútuo e expresso de que o factoring é importante para o desenvolvimento do comércio internacional; (c) adoção de uma moldura legal mínima dos direitos e obrigações das partes envolvidas na relação contratual, já que esses dois Estados não possuem lei específica regulamentando o contrato de factoring internacional; (d) consolidação das duas principais atividades do factoring internacional (cessão de créditos e prestação de serviços diversos); (e) consolidação do entendimento de que a cláusula pro soluto (sem direito de regresso contra o cliente faturizado) no contrato de factoring internacional é facultativa e não obrigatória; (f) flexibilização das formalidades do ato de notificação ao devedor impostas pelos artigos dos Códigos Civis brasileiro e argentino, que tratam da cessão de direitos; (g) indubitabilidade quanto à internacionalidade do contrato de factoring; (h) reconhecimento da cláusula de cessão global de créditos futuros no contrato de factoring internacional; (i) proibição da cláusula de não cessão (pactum de no cedendo); (j) consolidação do sistema de dois agentes (two factors system) no factoring internacional. Ao final, é demonstrado que se mostra necessário que Brasil e Argentina adiram à Convenção de Ottawa do UNIDROIT, como forma de se ter um direito uniforme aplicável ao contrato de factoring internacional e, por conseqüência, maior segurança jurídica na relação contratual, que poderá incentivar os pequenos e microempresários a se utilizarem desse instrumento para fomentar suas exportações. / In this thesis, it is used the deductive-comparative method to develop a study of factoring, mainly in Brazil and Argentina, and an analysis of the Ottawa Convention of UNIDROIT, that regulates the contract of international factoring. This study begins with a brief historical analysis of factoring and its general characteristics in Europe, the United States and Latin America, and even an investigation of the etymology of the word factoring, its framework as the institute and its structure and function. Then, factoring in Brazil in its most varied aspects, such as its historic process, the terminology adopted, the law are examined, emphasizing to the contract and international figures related contract, but also addressing companies, factoring and their volumes of transactions. By involving a comparative study, the search then back up the analysis of various aspects of factoring in reaction to Argentina. It is also analyzed the referred Ottawa Convention of UNIDROIT, its characteristics, the influence of other international conventions, the participation of Brazil and Argentina and, especially, their articles. Then aspects of the contract of international factoring that would be harmonized if Brazil and Argentina adopt this convention are identified, especially the following: (a) adoption of the term factoring instead any other in Portuguese or Spanish languages; (b) mutual recognition and expression that factoring is important for the development of international trade; (c) adoption of a minimum legal framework of rights and obligations of the parties involved in the contractual relationship since the two states have no specific law regulating the contract of international factoring; (d) consolidation of the two main activities of international factoring (assignment of receivables and provision of other services); (e) consolidation of understanding that the clause pro soluto (without right of recourse against the customer faturizado) in the international factoring is voluntary and not mandatory; (f) easing the formalities of the act of notification to the debtor imposed by the articles of the Brazilian and Argentinean Civil Codes, which deal with the assignment of rights; (g) leaving no doubts about the internationality of the factoring; (h) recognition of the clause of global assignment of future receivables in the international factoring; (i) ban of the non-assignment clause (pactum de no cedendo); (j) consolidation of the system of two agents (two factors system) in international factoring . In the end, it is shown that it is necessary the accession of Brazil and Argentina to the Ottawa Convention of UNIDROIT, as a way of having a uniform law applicable to the contract for international factoring and, consequently, greater legal security in the contractual relationship, which could encourage small and microentrepreneurs to use this instrument to promote their exports.

Na presente tese utiliza-se o método dedutivo-comparativo para desenvolver um estudo do factoring, principalmente no Brasil e na Argentina, e uma análise da Convenção de Ottawa do UNIDROIT, que dispõe sobre o contrato de factoring internacional. Este estudo inicia-se com uma breve análise histórica do factoring e suas características gerais na Europa, nos Estados Unidos e na América Latina, sendo investigada ainda a etimologia da palavra factoring, o seu enquadramento como instituto e a sua estrutura e função. Em seguida, passa-se a analisar o factoring no Brasil em seus mais variados aspectos, tais como o processo histórico, a terminologia adotada, a legislação interna, enfatizando-se o contrato internacional e as figuras contratuais afins, como também abordando as sociedades de factoring e os seus volumes de operações. Por envolver um estudo comparativo, a pesquisa volta-se, em seguida, à análise desses variados aspectos do factoring em relação à Argentina. Analisa-se, também, a referida Convenção de Ottawa do UNIDROIT, as suas características, a influência de outras convenções internacionais, a participação do Brasil e da Argentina e, especialmente, o que dispõem os seus artigos. Em seguida são identificados os aspectos do contrato de factoring internacional que seriam harmonizados se o Brasil e a Argentina adotassem essa convenção, especialmente os seguintes: (a) adoção do termo factoring em vez de qualquer outro em língua portuguesa ou espanhola; (b) reconhecimento mútuo e expresso de que o factoring é importante para o desenvolvimento do comércio internacional; (c) adoção de uma moldura legal mínima dos direitos e obrigações das partes envolvidas na relação contratual, já que esses dois Estados não possuem lei específica regulamentando o contrato de factoring internacional; (d) consolidação das duas principais atividades do factoring internacional (cessão de créditos e prestação de serviços diversos); (e) consolidação do entendimento de que a cláusula pro soluto (sem direito de regresso contra o cliente faturizado) no contrato de factoring internacional é facultativa e não obrigatória; (f) flexibilização das formalidades do ato de notificação ao devedor impostas pelos artigos dos Códigos Civis brasileiro e argentino, que tratam da cessão de direitos; (g) indubitabilidade quanto à internacionalidade do contrato de factoring; (h) reconhecimento da cláusula de cessão global de créditos futuros no contrato de factoring internacional; (i) proibição da cláusula de não cessão (pactum de no cedendo); (j) consolidação do sistema de dois agentes (two factors system) no factoring internacional. Ao final, é demonstrado que se mostra necessário que Brasil e Argentina adiram à Convenção de Ottawa do UNIDROIT, como forma de se ter um direito uniforme aplicável ao contrato de factoring internacional e, por conseqüência, maior segurança jurídica na relação contratual, que poderá incentivar os pequenos e microempresários a se utilizarem desse instrumento para fomentar suas exportações. / In this thesis, it is used the deductive-comparative method to develop a study of factoring, mainly in Brazil and Argentina, and an analysis of the Ottawa Convention of UNIDROIT, that regulates the contract of international factoring. This study begins with a brief historical analysis of factoring and its general characteristics in Europe, the United States and Latin America, and even an investigation of the etymology of the word factoring, its framework as the institute and its structure and function. Then, factoring in Brazil in its most varied aspects, such as its historic process, the terminology adopted, the law are examined, emphasizing to the contract and international figures related contract, but also addressing companies, factoring and their volumes of transactions. By involving a comparative study, the search then back up the analysis of various aspects of factoring in reaction to Argentina. It is also analyzed the referred Ottawa Convention of UNIDROIT, its characteristics, the influence of other international conventions, the participation of Brazil and Argentina and, especially, their articles. Then aspects of the contract of international factoring that would be harmonized if Brazil and Argentina adopt this convention are identified, especially the following: (a) adoption of the term factoring instead any other in Portuguese or Spanish languages; (b) mutual recognition and expression that factoring is important for the development of international trade; (c) adoption of a minimum legal framework of rights and obligations of the parties involved in the contractual relationship since the two states have no specific law regulating the contract of international factoring; (d) consolidation of the two main activities of international factoring (assignment of receivables and provision of other services); (e) consolidation of understanding that the clause pro soluto (without right of recourse against the customer faturizado) in the international factoring is voluntary and not mandatory; (f) easing the formalities of the act of notification to the debtor imposed by the articles of the Brazilian and Argentinean Civil Codes, which deal with the assignment of rights; (g) leaving no doubts about the internationality of the factoring; (h) recognition of the clause of global assignment of future receivables in the international factoring; (i) ban of the non-assignment clause (pactum de no cedendo); (j) consolidation of the system of two agents (two factors system) in international factoring . In the end, it is shown that it is necessary the accession of Brazil and Argentina to the Ottawa Convention of UNIDROIT, as a way of having a uniform law applicable to the contract for international factoring and, consequently, greater legal security in the contractual relationship, which could encourage small and microentrepreneurs to use this instrument to promote their exports.

Enhancing primary care is key to the Canadian health care reform. Considered as an indicator of primary care access and quality, hospitalisations for ambulatory care sensitive (ACS) conditions are commonly reported by Canadian organisations as sentinel events signaling problems with the delivery of primary care. However, the literature calls for further research to identify what lies behind ACS hospitalisation rates in regions with a predominantly urban population benefiting from universal access to health care. A theoretical model was built and, using an ecological design, multiple regressions were implemented to identify which neighbourhood characteristics explained the socio-economic gradient in ACS hospitalisation rates observed in Ottawa. Among these neighbourhoods, healthy behaviour and - to a certain extent - health status were significantly associated with ACS hospitalisation rates. Evidence of an association with primary care accessibility was also signaled for the more rural neighbourhoods. Smoking prevention and cessation campaigns may be the most relevant health care strategies to push forward by policy makers hoping to prevent ACS hospitalisations in Ottawa. From a health care equity perspective, targeting these campaigns to neighbourhoods of low socio-economic status may contribute to closing the gap in ACS hospitalisations described in this current study. Reducing the socio-economic inequalities of neighbourhoods would also contribute to health equity.

Emergency surgeries are serviced by three main forms of capacity: dedicated operating room time reserved for emergency surgeries, alternative (on call) capacity, and lastly, canceling of elective surgeries. The objective of this research is to model capacity implications of meeting wait time targets for multiple priority levels in the context of emergency surgeries. Initial attempts to solve the capacity evaluation problem were made using a non-linear optimisation model, however, this model was intractable. A simulation model was then used to examine the trade-off between additional dedicated operating room capacity (and consequent idle capacity) versus increased re-scheduling of elective surgeries while keeping reserved time for emergency surgeries low. Considered performance measures include utilization of operating room time, elective re-scheduling, and wait times by priority class. Finally, the instantaneous utilization of different types of downstream beds is determined to aid in capacity planning. The greatest number of patients seen within their respective wait time targets is achieved by a combination of additional on call capacity and a variation of the rule allowing low priority patients to utilize on call capacity. This also maintains lower cancelations of elective surgeries than the current situation. Although simulation does not provide an optimum solution it enables a comparison of different scenarios. This simulation model can determine appropriate capacity levels for servicing emergency patients of different priorities with different wait time targets.

Many health geography studies, including the Ottawa Neighbourhood Study (ONS), have faced significant challenges uncovering local variation in patterns of community health in rural areas. This is due to the fact that sparsely populated rural areas make it difficult to define neighbourhoods that are representative of the social and resource utilization patterns of the individuals therein. Moreover, rural areas yield small samples from population-based regional health surveys and this leads to insufficient sample sizes for reliable estimation of health determinants and outcomes. In response to this issue this thesis combines geographical and statistical techniques which allow for the simulation of health variables within small areas and populations within rural Ottawa. This methodological approach combines the techniques of dasymetric mapping and statistical micro-simulation in an innovative way, which will allow health geography researchers to explore health determinants and health outcomes at small spatial scales in rural areas. Dasymetric mapping is used to generate a statistical population surface over Ottawa and then estimate socio-economic (SES) variables within small neighbourhood units within rural Ottawa. The estimated SES variables are then used as correlate variables to simulate health determinant and health outcome variables form the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) using statistical micro-simulation. Through this methodology, simulations of specific health determinants and outcome can be investigated at small spatial scales within rural areas. Dasymetric mapping provided neighbourhood-level population estimates that were used to re-weight as set of SES variables that were correlates with those in the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS). These neighbourhood-level correlates allowed microsimulation and consequent spatial exploration of prevalence for smoking, binge drinking, obesity, self-rated mental health, and the presence of two or more chronic conditions. The methodology outlined in this paper, provides and innovative way of exploring health determinants and health outcomes in neighbourhoods for which population and health statistics are not traditionally collected at levels that would allow traditional statistical analyses of prevalence.

Canada has distinct contemporary faith communities that differ from western and European counterparts. Unfortunately statistics tracking denominational allegiances give little insight into the daily intricacies of collective religious practice. The purpose of this study is to contribute towards filling a gap within scholarly research on the lived culture and experiences of contemporary religious communities within Canada. This study examines the pattern of culture-sharing within a non-denominational faith community as lived and practiced in Ottawa. Through autoethnography, this study asks why members attend and how members view the use of popular culture video clips within church. Individual and collective religious identities are constructed through observations, interviews and material artifacts gleaned through participant observation from January 2011 to December 2011. The results show that within the church, a community of practice is built around shared parenthood and spiritual journey. Members place importance on children, on providing support of all kinds for one another, and on keeping religion relevant. Reasons for attending are echoes of the patterns of culture-sharing: members enjoy the feeling of community, the support, the friendships, the play dates. Participants view popular culture video clips played within church as one aspect of an overall importance placed upon relevance. Mutuality of engagement results in members experiencing their lives as meaningful, it validates their worth through belonging, and it creates personal histories of becoming within the context of a community of practice. Future research recommendations include further study of other contemporary faith communities within Canada, with investigation into the possibility that communities of practice may be what the churched and unchurched are seeking.

Enhancing primary care is key to the Canadian health care reform. Considered as an indicator of primary care access and quality, hospitalisations for ambulatory care sensitive (ACS) conditions are commonly reported by Canadian organisations as sentinel events signaling problems with the delivery of primary care. However, the literature calls for further research to identify what lies behind ACS hospitalisation rates in regions with a predominantly urban population benefiting from universal access to health care. A theoretical model was built and, using an ecological design, multiple regressions were implemented to identify which neighbourhood characteristics explained the socio-economic gradient in ACS hospitalisation rates observed in Ottawa. Among these neighbourhoods, healthy behaviour and - to a certain extent - health status were significantly associated with ACS hospitalisation rates. Evidence of an association with primary care accessibility was also signaled for the more rural neighbourhoods. Smoking prevention and cessation campaigns may be the most relevant health care strategies to push forward by policy makers hoping to prevent ACS hospitalisations in Ottawa. From a health care equity perspective, targeting these campaigns to neighbourhoods of low socio-economic status may contribute to closing the gap in ACS hospitalisations described in this current study. Reducing the socio-economic inequalities of neighbourhoods would also contribute to health equity.