We have witnessed two main trends in recent years that have shaped the current state of communication networks. First, the Internet was designed with the initial idea to provide remote access to resources in the network; today it is overwhelmingly being used for content distribution. In addition, the community of content creators has evolved from a small group of professionals into a global community where every user can generate his contents and share it with other users. Second, the proliferation of personal mobile devices, such as smartphones and media tablets, has altered the way people access, create and share information, leading to a significant migration from wired to wireless networks and raising user expectations for ubiquitous connectivity. These trends have incited research on new communication modes and in this thesis we consider a specific mode, namely opportunistic networking. Opportunistic networking is a communication paradigm that utilizes intermittent connectivity between mobile devices to enable communication in infrastructure-less environments, and to provide complementary transport mechanisms in wireless networks where infrastructure is present. The thesis focuses on two main topics: understanding and modeling human mobility, and opportunistic content distribution. Mobility modeling is one of the key issues in opportunistic networking research. First, we discuss the structure of human mobility and introduce a framework to study mobility at different behavioural levels. We propose a queuing model, denoted by meeting-point model, for pedestrian mobility in smaller urban areas, such as city squares, parks, shops or at bus stops. The model is also a contribution to the second topic we address in the thesis, since we will use it to study characteristics of content distribution in smaller areas. We envision this model as a building block in a library of analytical models that would be used to study the performance of pedestrian content distribution in common scenarios of urban mobility. Furthermore, we show how the proposed model can be used to build larger, more complex models. In the area of opportunistic content distribution, we apply both analytical and simulation-based evaluation. We empirically study the performance of epidemic content distribution by using real-life mobility traces and investigate the fitness of a homogeneous stochastic model to capture the epidemic process. In addition, we present the design, implementation and evaluation of a mobile peer-to-peer system for opportunistic networking and discuss some promising application scenarios. / <p>QC 20131115</p>

Unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) are being explored for use in military domains. Military UGVs operate in complex off-road environments. Vehicle mobility forecasting plays an important role in understanding how and where a vehicle can operate. Traditional mobility forecasting has been done using an analytical model known as the NATO Reference Mobility Model (NRMM). There has been a push to extend the forecasting capabilities of NRMM by integrating more simulation methods. Simulation enables the repeated testing of UGVs in scenarios that would be difficult or dangerous to study in real world testing. To accurately capture UGV performance in simulation, the operating environment must be accurately modeled. Current widely used methods for generating forested virtual environments rely on random methods. These methods result in forests that can appear to be realistic when visually inspected but lack the appropriate distribution of different sizes of vegetation. The size and distribution of vegetation plays a major role in the ability of a vehicle to operate in a forested environment. Therefore, there is a need for alternative forest generation algorithms that generate more realistic virtual forests. To address this, a novel environment generation model based on forest ecology was implemented. This model accurately captures vegetation growth, disbursement, and competition. Simulated UGV self-driving performance for scenes generated using the ecological model was compared to performance for scenes generated using a widely adopted random model. Resulting speeds across each scene were averaged to predict a speed made good (SMG). Vehicle SMG predictions were made in NRMM using scene descriptions matching each of the random and ecological scenes. Using a continuous vegetation override function in simulation, SMG predictions for both methods were similar to the results of NRMM. However, the predicted speeds for scenes generated with the ecological model were different from the predicted speeds for scenes generated with the random model. When examining the distribution and frequency of different sizes of trees, ecological scenes more closely match the distribution and frequency of trees that are expected for real forested environments suggesting that predictions for speed in ecological scenes better represent potential speeds for real environments.

Housing affordability is an enduring issue globally. Disproportionately affected by this trend are renters: those households who do not own their primary dwelling. Rather than being a transitionary phase – a stepping stone to homeownership – as in decades past; renting is becoming a permanent, and often financially draining, state for many households. Housing affordability is significant to the lives of renters, as renters overwhelmingly spend more of their income, as a proportion, on housing than homeowners do. In Canada, renters are not eligible for many wealth subsidies that homeowners enjoy (i.e., the exclusion of capital gains tax on the sale of primary residence), have less autonomy over their living space, and less security of tenure. These concerns, combined with aging multi-unit rental stock, disinvestment of governments from social housing funding, and a funneling of private funds towards condominium developments, has left those in the rental market with increasingly fewer housing options. This dissertation seeks to explore how households renting in the low-cost segment of the housing market gain access to housing and why they move. Special emphasis is placed on the nom-purpose built market, and a tool for better enumerating otherwise undocumented housing units is proposed. Findings suggest that previously undocumented, secondary units play a significant role in local housing markets, particularly within dense 19th century neighbourhoods with good access to amenities and transit. The dissertation also suggests that the social milieu of participants’ lives, including relationships with landlords and property managers, highly influences decisions to move. Lastly, the research finds that informal agreements, as well as units, characterizes entry and habitation of many units within the low-cost segment of the housing market. This dissertation contributes to the field of knowledge on residential mobility and housing geographies by exploring two primarily unexamined areas of local housing markets: informal units and informal agreements. / Thesis / Candidate in Philosophy / This dissertation examines the role of the private sector in housing individuals living in the low-cost segment of the rental market. Emphasis is placed on non-purpose built rentals and how they contribute to the larger function of local housing provision. Hamilton, Ontario is used as a case-study in all three papers that comprise the thesis. Findings are largely derived from a novel field enumeration technique and qualitative interviews with tenants. Taken together, results from the three papers indicate that the non-purpose built market plays a non-negligible role in providing affordable housing options to tenant households. The presented findings also suggest that amateur landlords and informal rental arrangements highly influence the form and function of low-cost rental units. Lastly, the papers suggest that highly mobile tenant populations are considerably affected by social milieu in the selection of housing units and intra-urban mobility decisions.

Due to various societal changes such as globalization, urbanization and connectivity, new lifestyles, such as that of urban nomads, are becoming more common and relevant. Therefore, this study observes and analyzes this target group from a critical and multidisciplinary perspective. Urban nomads can be defined as a collective group of people who live and work in urban areas. They do not reside permanently in one place but move frequently within urban locations. Minimalism as part of low-consumption lifestyles and the concept of mobility, which form the core of the urban nomads‘ mindset, are examined in detail.The focus of the research is the relationship of urban nomads to material possessions and their meaning. Based on this, the thesis aims to generate criteria and requirements for a product design from the perspective of design, which meets the needs of urban nomads and simplifies their everyday life. Through a people-centered approach and the collaborative application of different methods, the urban nomads are placed in the focus of the innovation process and are actively involved in the process.The thesis results in the development of a transportable and multifunctional lamp (Mobilamp), which is realized in the form of a prototype based on the generated criteria from the research. The product design is considered as an example and analyzes in which way needs can be satisfied and through which usage situations the daily life of urban nomads can be facilitated. The aspect of sustainability in the consumption behavior of the target group is also critically analyzed and evaluated through the product.

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<p> This study investigates variables associated with residential mobility and migration at the ecological level. The aim of the study is to test the application of factor analysis to a more specific subject than the description of the whole urban structure. </p> <p> Theoretical formulations about urban growth, urban ecology and mobility are examined, together with empirical research in these fields, to determine variables considered to be associated with changes in residence. The indicators of variables chosen for analysis are from census data and city reports, and each census tract of the chosen urban area is assigned a value for each indicator. The area selected for the study is the Hamilton Metropolitan Area, Ontario. </p> <p> The results of the analysis reveal that most of the variation in the variables is accounted for by two factors: dwelling type and household composition, and economic status. These are the same factors which have been identified in factorial ecologies of geaeral urban structure. </p> The remaining factors are more associated with mobility, and reveal that different origins of movers and migrants are associated with different characteristics and geographical distributions. The hypotheses concerning the relationships with age, population growth and distance from the city centre are supported by the analysis, and the size and direction of movement is generally as expected. However, the hypothesis of increasing economic status with increasing distance migrated is not confirmed: migrants from abroad and different provinces tend to migrate to areas or lower economic status than migrants from Ontario or from the Hamilton metropolitan fringe. </p> <p> This study recognises the limitations of a factorial ecology of residential mobility. Particular care should be exercised in the selection of variables and measures of these variables. Factorial ecology is a descriptive tool, and further analysis of apparent association between variables should be undertaken to determine their statistical significance. </p> <p> The study emphasises the contribution of factorial ecology to the description of areal associations of more specific subjects such as residential mobility, and possibly for other social phenomena. As such, it provides a means for parsimonious description of aspects of urban social geography. </p> / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

This paper investigates how bike advocates in Boston understand and express concerns about bike justice. The study analyzes the distribution of bike infrastructure and resources across Boston neighborhoods with varying socioeconomic conditions and racial/ethnic representation. Additionally, the study examines how procedural justice practices are integrated into the decision-making process for bike infrastructure expansions, and how community engagement is involved in bike policies and programs. Using a mixed methods approach, the study analyzes the distribution of bike infrastructure in relation to demographic data and conducts semi-structured interviews with city officials, nonprofit organizations, and grassroots organizers. The results of the study reveal that bike justice goes beyond the mere expansion of bike lanes and other bike resources; bike justice extends to education and training programs as well as community building and engagement. These programs aim to create a sense of belonging for marginalized cyclists and promote procedural justice through incorporating marginalized voices in decision-making processes. These insights have important implications for the development of just and sustainable transportation systems that can meet the needs of diverse communities.

Since the 1950s, Haitian transnational migrants have ensured the socioeconomic survival of many nonmigrants in Haiti by sending billions of US dollars annually to their families and friends back home. While Haitian migrants are often perceived as having a positive economic impact on Haiti, some are criticized for engaging in homosexual behaviours, seemingly infringing on ‘traditional’ Haitian family values in a largely conservative ‘Christian’ society. This revives old debates about migrants’ role in using their money to normalize same-sex identity and practices and pervert sexual morality and ‘acceptable’ gender norms among nonmigrants in Haiti. Accordingly, men in Haiti are involved in same-sex intimate transnational relationships with migrants from the Haitian diaspora because of their precarious socioeconomic status in Haiti and not necessarily because they may be gay. Although homosexuality has always existed in Haiti and same-sex intimate relationships among men in Haiti and those abroad have long existed, these relationships have rarely been studied in the literature on transnational migration and sexualities. To fill this gap, this thesis draws on eleven months of ethnographic fieldwork and forty-four semi-structured interviews with men in Northern Haiti to show how homosexuality intersects with transnational space and socioeconomic inequality to shape and organize transnational processes and same-sex intimate relationships involving men in Haiti and their migrant partners across the Haitian diaspora in the United States, Canada, France, Brazil, Chile, and the Dominican Republic. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / In 2022, the World Bank estimated that international migrants sent 647 billion US dollars to their families, kinships, and friendship networks worldwide. This significant flow of money exemplifies the cross-border ties, connections, and relationships that people who moved from their homelands to resettle in host countries maintain with those who have stayed behind in their home communities. While scholars have conducted significant research in the past four decades on how international migrants’ gender, socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, country of origin and host countries’ reception contexts shape how they maintain such ties, connections, and relationships with their homelands, there is a dearth of research on how the sexuality of LGBTQ+ migrants and nonmigrants shapes how they develop and maintain connections, ties, and relationships that span national borders. To fill this gap, this thesis uses a Haitian case study to examine how migrant and nonmigrant men develop and sustain same-sex intimate relationships across national borders and what they mean to them in their home country’s socioeconomic and political contexts.

<p dir="ltr">Urban air mobility (UAM) has the potential to revolutionize the transportation industry, offering fast, convenient, and sustainable travel options for passengers and cargo. The development and operation of UAM networks, however, face significant challenges, including the need for infrastructure investments and the management of grid electricity usage. In this thesis, we present a comprehensive model of UAM network operations based on system-of-systems engineering principles and employ a data-driven simulation framework to analyze the expected performance of a UAM operation. Our approach optimizes the composition of the UAM network, including the number of vehicles, chargers, and sizing of solar microgrids, to minimize total acquisition costs while adhering to operational constraints such as maximum average passenger delay and grid usage for each vertiport. Through the application of our methodology to diverse case studies, we provide valuable insights into the optimal design and integration of on-site microgrids for UAM vertiport networks, highlighting their impact on carbon emissions, operating costs, and grid electricity usage. This research contributes to the development of sustainable and efficient UAM systems, supporting informed decision-making among stakeholders involved in the planning, deployment, and operation of urban air mobility networks.</p>

This study offers an in-depth examination of the motives and reflections impacting international students' choice to study in Sweden. Three central themes emerge, namely: motivations for choosing Sweden, cost-benefit evaluations, reflections on immigration prospects, and the impact of Sweden's immigration policy. Inspired by the push-pull theory, human capital theory, and sociological theories, these themes highlight the intricate dynamics that shape the students' decision-making process. This understanding is further enriched by qualitative interviews with a diverse pool of international students, adding layers of individual perspectives to the theoretical framework. The findings explore the noteworthy influence that the prospect of immigration and Swedish immigration policies have on students' destination preferences. Factors such as the educational quality, allure of the country, financial considerations, and post-study opportunities surface, with a strong emphasis on the pivotal role of immigration prospects in students' decision-making. The study notably reveals immigration prospects as a major pull factor for students, an aspect often underrepresented in the discourse on international student mobility. Additionally, despite potential drawbacks, students perceive the benefits of studying in Sweden, such as high-quality education and potential post-study work, as outweighing the costs. This research provides valuable insights for educational institutions and policymakers to better understand and cater to international students' needs and preferences, thereby bolstering Sweden's reputation as an appealing global destination for higher education.