In general relativity, the cosmological constantΛ is a special term in the Einstein field equations. Many observational clues suggest that Λ is positive. In this thesis, we investigate the behavior of quasilocal horizons of black holes under the condition of positive Λ. We modify the Λ = 0 condition in [10] and recalculate the evolution of marginally trapped tube in Tolman-Bondi spacetime with non-vanishing Λ. Then, we apply the obtained results to some examples of...

Music Research Annual is the first peer-reviewed journal devoted to publishing review essays from the full range of academic disciplines that study music. Each article explores the current state of scholarship on a key topic within a discipline or interdisciplinary juncture and charts ways forward to new research. Led by a group of renowned scholars, the journal seeks to forward academic inquiry into music and foster interdisciplinary dialog. MRA is an open-access journal published by...

This article surveys feminist music scholarship in the 21st century. It focuses on a set of key issues, problems, and sites of contestation that impact a diverse range of feminisms and musics: the rise of popular and postfeminisms, precaritization and work, trans feminisms, digital technology, and sexual assault and harassment. The discussion of each topic begins by examining the relevant scholarship in feminist theory and then proceeds to survey the music studies literature in this...

Brillouin light scattering was used to understand how the acoustic and mechanical properties of gastropod mucus are influenced by temperature over the temperature range -11ᴼC ≤ T ≤ 52ᴼC. Two peaks were observed in spectra obtained in this study, one which was present throughout the full temperature range and at a frequency shirt of ~8.0 GHz, while the other peak appeared at a shift of ~18.5 GHZ but only for temperatures below ~ -3.0ᴼC. Results...

Sea cucumbers play fundamental roles in marine ecosystems, and they have long been commercially harvested for seafood. In light of stock declines worldwide, research on cold-water suspension-feeding species is expanding. This thesis explores two species from the North Atlantic. The first chapter validates an aging technique in Psolus fabricii, based on the growth rings found in its large calcareous dermal plates. Imaging of plates obtained from juveniles of known age confirmed the annual addition of...

The prevalence and mortality rates of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are increasing worldwide. Therefore, COPD remains a major public health problem. Using an mobile health (mHealth) intervention has the potential to enhance COPD treatment outcomes while mitigating healthcare costs. However, the complexity of the process of developing an mHealth intervention for COPD management is poorly understood, and in-depth assessment of the development process of mHealth interventions for COPD management is currently lacking. This thesis...

We divide this thesis into three major parts. In the first part, we study three velocity models and corresponding traveltimes to obtain the inhomogeneity and anisotropy of a medium by comparing them to the field data. We derive an analytical relation that relates the linear inhomogeneity of a layered medium to the anisotropy parameter in an equivalent medium. For the analytic ease, we consider the P and S wave velocity gradients to be equal. We...

Monitoring is one of the major concerns in offshore oil and gas production platform since the access to the offshore facilities is difficult. Also, it is quite challenging to extract oil and gas safely in such a harsh environment, and any abnormalities may lead to a catastrophic event. The process data, including all possible faulty scenarios, is required to build an appropriate monitoring system. Since the plant wide process data is not available in the...

Studies in geography and STS looking at containment-in-practice have shown that thinking about containment as a hermetic closing off of a definite space is not suitable for this world, which is characterized by leakages, overflows, excesses, movements, and borders being crossed, contested and drawn again. However, renderings of containment still play an important role in the practices that make and break our worlds. This thesis attempts to open up containment by thinking through how containment...

Micellar-enhanced ultrafiltration (MEUF) and polymer-enhanced ultrafiltration (PEUF) show potential as promising techniques to remove dissolved ions from wastewater, but they remain inadequately understood. In this thesis, the MEUF removal of copper, nickel, and cobalt ions from aqueous solutions was investigated. The effect of surfactant-to-metal (S/M) ratio and pH on MEUF performance (i.e., metal rejection rate and permeate flux) were examined to obtain the preferred operational conditions. A resampling-based artificial neural network (ANN) modeling was proposed...

This thesis provides a proof-of-concept approach to the analysis of ultrasound imagery using machine learning and computer vision for the purposes of tracking relative changes in apparent circulating blood volume. Data for the models was collected from a simulation which involved having healthy subjects recline at angles between 0 and 90 degrees to induce changes in the size of the internal jugular vein (IJV) resulting from gravity. Ultrasound video clips were then captured of the...

This research program aims to investigate the mechanical properties, impact resistance, and abrasion resistance of steel fibers reinforced concrete under cold temperatures. The abrasion and impact resistance of steel fiber reinforced concrete were also evaluated before and after exposure to salt scaling. The studied parameters are the type of concrete (self-consolidated concrete and vibrated concrete), type of steel fibers (SFs) (coated and uncoated), SFs end conditions (needle, single-hooked ends and double-hooked ends), length of SFs...

Natural disasters are happening more frequently and more intensely around the world, potentially exacerbated by climate change. There is an increasing concern to strengthen resilience in countries from the impact of these disasters. This thesis assessed the influence of empowerment on resilience using a quantitative approach, including descriptive, interrupted time series and ordinary least square regression analyses. Using data from 177 countries spanning over 16 years from 2000 to 2015, our results demonstrated that countries...

Although peatlands cover only 2.84% of the world’s land area, they play a key role in the global C cycle and store one-third of the global soil carbon. Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) is one of the available forms of carbon in peatlands, which is lost from the peatland together with other forms of carbon, including dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and as the gases carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4). DOC contains both biologically available (labile)...

Background: Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a tool used to measure corticospinal excitability. To evaluate the usefulness of TMS as a biomarker in multiple sclerosis (MS), the first step is to examine how well variables derived using TMS align with clinical symptoms of MS. Methods: Participants with MS (n=38) were assigned to motor, cognitive, sensory, or asymptomatic clinical group based on their Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) assessment. Following recording of demographic information, subjective health...

This thesis outlines the development of an electromagnetic (EM) backscatter model of icebergs. It is a necessary first step for the generation of in-house synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data of icebergs to support optimum iceberg/ship classifier design. The EM modelling was developed in three stages. At first, an EM backscatter model was developed to generate simulated SAR data chips of iceberg targets at small incidence angles. The model parameters were set to mimic a dual...

he most influential and dominant philosophical justification for basic income is Philippe Van Parijs’ “real freedom for all,” a classical-liberal argument premised on individual freedom. My thesis identifies and critiques problems in “real freedom for all,” namely its abstract ideological foundation, limited conception of the self, and narrow understanding of valuable activity. As a superior justification of basic income, I propose William James’ social ethics: it uses listening, experimentation, and revision as foundations for ethics;...

This study investigated student attitudes towards online and face-to-face counselling at a university in Newfoundland. In addition, the variables ‘self-stigma’, ‘perceived stigma from others’ and ‘practical barriers to treatment’ were examined for their relationship with attitudes towards counselling. There were 166 students that participated in the study that included an online survey. While participants’ attitudes towards online counselling were favourable (M=39.34), students still significantly preferred face-to-face counselling (M=44.18). Students did not associate discomfort with either...

Acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs) are the standard instrument used to monitor ocean currents. These instruments also detect signals scattered by fish and other organisms, but these signals are normally treated as noise and rejected by ADCP data processing techniques. Those rejected signals do however contain information on fish movement providing an opportunity to extend the application of ADCP technology. The added capability of the ADCP offers a monitoring tool for fish activity and presence...

Molecular Dynamics simulations were used to recreate mechanical testing procedures and to predict the mechanical properties of aluminum and epoxy polymers. In the first study, a procedure for performing nanoindentation on single crystal FCC aluminum was designed and used to test which available force field and parameter sets were best suited for accurately predicting the elastic modulus. The modulus was calculated from the generated force-displacement curve using Oliver & Pharr as well as Hertz indentation...

Online consumer reviews have become an important source of information for understanding markets and customer preferences. When making purchase decisions, customers increasingly rely on user-generated online reviews; some even consider the information in online reviews more credible and trustworthy than information provided by vendors. Many studies have revealed that online reviews influence demand and sales. Others have shown the possibility of identifying customer interest in product attributes. However, little work has been done to address...

The research investigates refugee youth’s aspirations for and access to post-secondary education in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The theoretical framework that underpins this study consists of segmented assimilation theory and the bioecological model of human development. A basic qualitative research approach was employed. Twenty refugee youths and three staff members from educational service providers participated in this study. Data were collected through one-on-one semi-structured interviews. Findings revealed that new life in Canada instilled...

The adaptive virulence hypothesis states that parasites cause death to their hosts because virulence is beneficial for the transmission and spread of parasites. A growing body of empirical evidence supports the adaptive virulence hypothesis but more examples are needed for its empirical validation. The classic mathematical framework of the adaptive virulence hypothesis does not account for host population structure which can have important implications for virulence evolution. The goal of this thesis is to address...

Traditional C-C cross-coupling reactions generally rely on the use of expensive and sometimes toxic metal catalysts, such as palladium or ruthenium. These methods generally require two functionalized reagents, which can increase reaction cost. In the interests of sustainability and reduced costs there has been considerable interest in catalysis using earth-abundant metals, such as iron, as well as in C-H activation reactions. One example of a C-H activation reaction is the Minisci reaction, which is a...

The film Renaissance, a feature black and white science fiction animated film, proves the power of the image exploited by the cinema, in particular that of animation. Released in 2006, this film, directed by Christian Volckman, combines a series of technical and scriptwriting elements from various moments in the history of cinema, in particular a scenario which makes a link with classical cinema, particularly with the American Black Film of the fifties, with thrillers, and...