Faculty of Graduate Studies Online Theses

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Access status: Open Access ,
The Ontario Disability Support Program: Exploring Lived Experiences for Policy Reform
(2026-04-10) Mazziotti, Fallon; Not Applicable; Master of Social Work; School of Social Work; Received; Professor Sheila Wildeman; Not Applicable; Dr. Katie Aubrecht; Dr. Judy MacDonald; Dr. Catherine Bryan
The Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) is a provincial social assistance program in Ontario that provides financial and social support to individuals experiencing (dis)Abilities. However, critiques highlight its limitations in financial security, autonomy and equity. This study asks: How does ODSP support individuals while also perpetuating ableist structures, and what policy changes are needed? Using semi-structured interviews with six current and recent ODSP recipients in Ontario, this qualitative study employs inductive thematic analysis to understand the lived experiences of the program. Findings show that ODSP governs access to survival through ongoing constraint, with participants describing insufficient benefits, administrative burden and the need for continuous advocacy. A Disability Justice framework centers recipients’ knowledge and highlights tensions between policy and lived experience, emphasizing principles of interdependence, collective access, and sustainability. By centering lived experience, this study highlights the need for structural policy change informed by ODSP recipients' priorities and recommendations.
Access status: Open Access ,
Domain-Adaptive YOLOv9 for Foggy-Weather Object Detection Using Partial Spatial Self-Attention
(2026-04-15) Xiao, Ziqi; Not Applicable; Master of Applied Science; Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering; Received; Dr. Issam Hammad; Not Applicable; Dr. Hamed Aly; Dr. Jason Gu; Dr. Yuan Ma
Cross-domain object detection remains challenging because a detector trained on a labeled source domain often generalizes poorly to a target domain with different visual characteristics. This problem is especially evident under adverse weather conditions, where visibility degradation changes contrast, texture, and object boundaries while target-domain annotations are typically unavailable. This thesis develops a domain-adaptive YOLOv9 framework for foggy-weather object detection. The method combines image-level appearance adaptation with feature-level refinement. At the image level, Contrastive Unpaired Translation (CUT) is used to translate labeled source images into pseudo target-style samples while preserving the original annotations. At the feature level, a Partial Spatial Self-Attention (PSSA) module is introduced to refine deep feature representations through spatial contextual modeling over only part of the channel dimension. The proposed framework is evaluated on the Cityscapes$\rightarrow$Foggy Cityscapes benchmark. Experimental results show that both components improve target-domain performance, but their contributions are not identical. CUT produces the larger gain by reducing the appearance discrepancy between the source and target domains, while PSSA provides an additional improvement through deep feature refinement. When the two components are combined, the resulting detector achieves the best overall performance among the evaluated configurations. These results show that substantial improvement under foggy cross-domain conditions can be obtained without abandoning the inference structure of a one-stage detector. The thesis therefore provides a practical domain-adaptive detection framework that improves robustness under adverse visibility while remaining compatible with deployment-oriented YOLO-style detection.
Access status: Open Access ,
Kelp Urbanism: Eco-Industrial Architectures in the Littoral Zone
(2026-04-15) Fraser, Cole; Not Applicable; Master of Architecture; School of Architecture; Not Applicable; n/a; Not Applicable; Catherine Vernart; David Correa; Michael Faciejew
The littoral zone is a globally transformative geographic threshold. It mediates economies and ecologies across scalar boundaries and determines the extractive systems and infrastructures that shape cities and seas. Having been programmed for industrial-extractive purposes throughout modernity, the littoral zone today emerges as a critical space to reorient industrial and spatial dynamics towards ecological reciprocity. Sited in the post-industrial littoral zone of Saint John, New Brunswick, this thesis develops a design framework through which production, labour, and public space are reconsidered as outcomes of environmental and ecological design. The thesis proposes an industrial aquaculture campus on disused industrial and brownfield land, utilizing the kelp species and its cultivation-processing-manufacturing cycle as a vehicle for rethinking the organizational flows of a site. Addressing the scale of the masterplan and key processing buildings, the thesis proposes multi-functional eco-industrial architectures in littoral zones can generate new urban frameworks that reciprocally engage land and water.
Access status: Open Access ,
Improving nursery systems and clonal gametophyte seeding in Nova Scotian sugar kelp aquaculture
(2026-04-14) Tymoshuk, Kit; Not Applicable; Master of Science; Department of Oceanography; Not Applicable; Dr. Kira Krumhansl; Not Applicable; Dr. Anna Metaxas; Dr. Stephen O'Leary; Dr. Carolyn Buchwald
Kelp aquaculture has the potential to enhance sustainable marine food production and ameliorate local climate change impacts, yet variability in nursery protocols continues to limit cost-effective scaling. This thesis investigated methods to improve sugar kelp (Saccharina latissima) growth and survivorship from the nursery phase through ocean cultivation. The effects of water motion and sporing density were examined in the nursery phase, finding that flow-through systems enhanced nutrient delivery and survivorship, while lower sporing densities produced longer sporophytes. I also tested the efficacy of clonal gametophyte-based seeding. While a six-week nursery phase produced viable outplants, 1–3-week treatments failed, underscoring the need for longer, more stable conditioning before ocean exposure. During outplanting, sporophyte density influenced morphology, revealing a manipulable trade-off between density and individual size. Collectively, these findings advance the development of reliable, efficient kelp nursery practices to build regional aquaculture and support kelp restoration efforts in a warming world.
Access status: Open Access ,
THE ROLE OF ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION MECHANISMS IN POST- CONFLICT SOCIETIES: A CASE STUDY OF SOUTHEASTERN NIGERIA
(2026-04-13) Charles-Beke, Adachigoziri Daniella; Not Applicable; Master of Arts; Department of International Development Studies; Not Applicable; n/a; Not Applicable; Dr. Heather Tasker; Dr. John Cameron; Dr. Peter Arthur
This thesis examines how alternative dispute resolution (ADR) can be governed to strengthen legitimacy and stability in Southeastern Nigeria, a post-conflict region in fragile negative peace, where formal courts hold authority but lack trust, and community forums are trusted yet insufficiently safeguarded. The literature highlights ADR’s promise but often assumes that ‘local’ equals legitimate and gives limited guidance on structuring recognition. Using legal pluralism and social justice, this thesis analyses secondary scholarship, policy, and institutional documents, and draws on cases from Rwanda, Liberia, and northern Uganda for analytical comparison. Findings show that ADR’s effects depend less on cultural authenticity than on design: state control, voluntariness, authority structures, and enforceability thresholds shape legitimacy, inclusion and accountability. The thesis argues that selective legal embedding is a promising governance model: a narrow, facilitative, consent-based legal interface that gives limited recognition to community-settled outcomes without bureaucratic absorption, while recognising that recognition without social acceptance can deepen distrust. Recommendations include piloting community and state protocols in Anambra, Imo and Abia, shifting monitoring from settlement counts to legitimacy indicators, and institutionalising peace committees with safeguards against elite capture and exclusion. The thesis contributes a design-focused framework for hybrid justice that prioritises procedural legitimacy over coercion.
Access status: Open Access ,
The Water Edge as Thermal Commons: A Network of Bathing Infrastructure for Halifax
(2026-04-15) Mascarenhas Castro Lima, Camila; Not Applicable; Master of Architecture; School of Architecture; Not Applicable; n/a; Not Applicable; Catherine Venart; Julia Jamrozik; Michael Putman
The commodification of water in urban development has reduced our relationship with this element into a predominantly visual experience, weakening embodied engagement and social affordances. In response, this research uses Halifax as a prototype to explore the concept of dispersed commons: a network of public bathing programs conceived as nodes of social infrastructure and anchored by a neglected urban beach. To challenge this sensorial detachment, the project positions temperature as a primary medium of architectural investigation. In a country defined by long winters and increasingly hot summers, seasonal extremes become an opportunity to re-engage the body with water through thermal enjoyment. The principles of collage operate as a generative method, enabling the reinterpretation of program and the speculative reassembly of fragmented site conditions. Ultimately, the thesis proposes a design framework for reclaiming the edge, reframing the collective perception towards urban waters, and collaging city and ocean back together.
Access status: Open Access ,
Nature in Focus: A Photovoice Project Exploring Perspectives of Equity-Owed Youth on Challenges to Engaging with Nature in Nova Scotia
(2026-04-14) Cohen, Agustina; No; Master of Arts; School of Health & Human Performance; Received; n/a; No; Dr. Becky Feicht; Dr. Michelle Stone; Dr. Barb Hamilton-Hinch; Dr. Son Truong
Research shows that participating in nature-based activities supports youth wellbeing and resilience. However, many youth, particularly those from equity-owed communities, face barriers to accessing nature. Using photovoice methodology, the purpose of this study was to examine the challenges that youth experience when engaging with nature in Nova Scotia. Twelve youth participants (ages 17-22) took part in a focus group, photography workshop, a three-week period to take photos, two collaborative analysis sessions, and a final presentation planning session. Through a three-step participatory analysis process, participants generated codes that informed the creation of four themes, developed by the researcher using polytextual thematic analysis. By centering youth as co-researchers, this study highlights their perspectives on challenges and barriers to engaging with nature. Findings offer valuable insights for multisectoral knowledge users seeking to create more inclusive and accessible nature-based opportunities for youth across the province.
Access status: Open Access ,
Career Persistence of Underrepresented Technology Professionals in Secondary-City Labour Markets: Anchoring Conditions and Barriers in Nova Scotia
(2026-04-14) Karimy, Pourya; Not Applicable; Master of Science; Rowe School of Business; Received; Guy Paré; Not Applicable; Dana Kabat-Farr; Paola A Gonzalez
Canada's digital economy grows unevenly, with secondary cities struggling to attract and retain skilled tech professionals, particularly from underrepresented groups. Yet existing research focuses predominantly on large urban markets, leaving career sustainability in smaller regional ecosystems largely underexplored. This thesis addresses that gap by examining career persistence among underrepresented technology professionals in Halifax, Nova Scotia — defined as the ability to establish, navigate, and sustain a career in place despite structural, organizational, and external constraints. Using an interpretivist, abductive design, the study draws on 13 semi-structured interviews and two focus groups with technology executives and HR leaders, analyzed through thematic analysis. Six interrelated themes spanning entry pathways, labour-market structure, workplace inclusion, organizational capability, economic sustainability, and individual strategies inform a multi-level model centered on anchoring mechanisms that reduce exit pressure. The study reframes persistence as a place-based phenomenon and offers practical insights for building more inclusive regional tech ecosystems.
Access status: Open Access ,
Between Invisibility and Presence: Negotiating Islamic Community Space in Halifax
(2026-04-14) Aqlan, Rafa; Not Applicable; Master of Architecture; School of Architecture; Not Applicable; N/A; Not Applicable; Frank Palermo; David Correa; Émélie Desrochers-Turgeon
This thesis examines how Islamic community spaces in Halifax, Nova Scotia negotiate visibility, identity, and religious practice within inherited urban buildings not designed for Islamic use. As the Muslim population grows, most institutions operate in adapted warehouses and commercial structures, resulting in spatial constraints and limited civic legibility. Focusing on the Sabeel Islamic Youth and Community Centre along the Bedford Highway, the project investigates how architecture can mediate between religious needs, community growth, and redevelopment pressure. Rather than pursuing relocation, the thesis proposes transforming the existing warehouse through layered thresholds, vertical reorganization, and adaptable sacred space. By retaining the structural shell and reconfiguring circulation, program, and visibility, the design supports everyday negotiation between public and sacred life. The project positions adaptive reuse as an architectural strategy that strengthens cultural presence while remaining embedded within its urban context.
Access status: Open Access ,
Missing Voices and Perspectives: Investigating the Shadows of the Canadian Working Holiday Program
(2026-04-12) Kim, Minsun; Not Applicable; Master of Social Work; School of Social Work; Received; Dr. Ann Kim; Not Applicable; Dr. Marjorie Johnstone; Dr. Catherine Bryan
Over the past decade, transnational temporary mobility has become a global trend, reflecting the rise of short-term migration programs aimed at addressing labour shortages and stimulating economic growth. Under Canada’s immigration regime, the Working Holiday Program (WHP) has emerged as a new supplier of temporary migrant labour, while perpetuating racialized labour hierarchies and exclusionary notions of neoliberal citizenship. Despite its exploitative nature in tandem with the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, the WHP has remained off the public radar and understudied, with much of the Canadian scholarship focusing on the experiences of European Working Holiday Makers (WHM). This study addresses this gap by focusing on Korean WHMs in Nova Scotia, considering the vastly growing newcomer population in Nova Scotia. By foregrounding Korean WHMs’ narratives, the research reveals how race, ethnicity, and nationality intersect to produce systemic inequalities, exposing WHP’s role in sustaining hidden hierarchies of labour, belonging, and citizenship in Canada.
Access status: Open Access ,
MOLECULAR INSIGHTS INTO RESOURCE ALLOCATION STRATEGIES UNDER NUTRIENT STARVATION IN PELAGOMONAS CALCEOLATA
(2026-04-14) Cantelo, Julia; Not Applicable; Master of Science; Department of Biology; Not Applicable; Paul Berube; Not Applicable; John Archibald; Caroline Chénard; Erin Bertrand; Zoe Finkel
Marine phytoplankton account for approximately 50% of global net primary production and play an essential role in global carbon and biogeochemical cycles. Among them, photosynthetic picoeukaryotes are small microbes that contribute significantly to primary producer biomass in warm, nutrient-poor oceanic regions. The geographic range of photosynthetic picoeukaryotes is expected to shift with climate change-induced warming and associated water column stratification, gyre expansion, and decreased surface ocean nutrient availability. Pelagomonas calceolata is a globally distributed and ecologically significant photosynthetic picoeukaryote, notably tolerant to nutrient-limited growth conditions. To elucidate P. calceolata’s strategies for growth in nutrient-poor environments we investigated how Pelagomonas reallocates its cellular resources under nitrogen and phosphorus starvation using proteomic analyses. Quadruplicate batch cultures of P. calceolata (CCMP1756) were grown under nutrient-replete conditions and subsequently transferred to nitrogen- or phosphorus-starved media and sampled during mid-exponential and stationary phases throughout the growth cycle. Growth rates, photosynthetic parameters and macromolecular quotas (protein, RNA, DNA, lipids, and carbohydrates) were measured to provide physiological context for mass spectrometry-based discovery proteomics. In total, 11,052 proteins corresponding to 62% of the genome-encoded proteome were identified – the highest proteome coverage obtained for Pelagomonas to date. Total cellular protein content declined sharply under nitrogen starvation (55% reduction) and more moderately under phosphorus starvation (37% reduction), indicating that nitrogen imposes a stronger constraint on proteome size. Under nutrient-replete conditions, the Pelagomonas proteome is dominated by photosynthetic machinery (20.7% of total proteome), alongside substantial allocation to ribosomal proteins (5.6%), transporters (5.6%) and histones (3.3%). Nitrogen starvation resulted in significant reductions in proteome allocation to ribosomal, photosynthetic, and ATP synthesis proteins alongside increased allocation to histones, transporters, and EGF-like domain-containing proteins. In contrast, phosphorus starvation resulted in increased proteome allocation toward the dark reactions (RuBisCO), and decreased protein allocation toward light reactions and transporters. Further comparison of manually curated coarse-grained protein groups with data-driven co-expression modules revealed that ribosomal protein allocation strongly predicts growth rate, supporting core assumptions of macromolecular and resource allocation theory, while WGCNA-derived modules better explained variation in carbon storage and particulate phosphorus quotas. These results reveal how Pelagomonas sustains productivity under nutrient stress and provide empirical grounding for defining proteome allocation in ecosystem and biogeochemical models of marine ecosystems.
Access status: Embargo ,
Evaluation and Process Optimization of Micronized Copper Azole for Environmentally Sustainable Wood Preservation
(2026-04-14) Walker, Kathleen; Not Applicable; Doctor of Philosophy; Department of Process Engineering and Applied Science; Not Applicable; Dr. Meng Gong; Not Applicable; Dr. Gordon Murray; Dr. Paul Amyotte; Dr. Sophia He
Micronized Copper Azole (MCA) is a commonly used wood preservative in Canada for pressure-treated products such as decking and fence boards. This research addressed concerns about its treatment process and long term performance. During treatment, preservative dripping from freshly treated wood was frequently observed, creating safety risks for workers and increasing the potential for environmental contamination. This problem was addressed by optimizing the treatment parameters, resulting in a significant reduction in dripping. The environmental impact of MCA was further assessed through a leaching analysis of treated wood exposed to simulated rainfall. Although optimization of the treatment cycle reduced leaching, the wood preservative levels in the leachate still did not meet government regulatory standards, indicating the need for further investigation. Another key issue examined in this research was the presence of black residue on the surface of treated wood, which negatively affected the product’s appearance and quality. An in-depth analysis of the chemical composition of the MCA solution from these treatment facilities revealed considerable variability in preservative composition. Miscibility tests further showed poor compatibility among MCA ingredients, leading to improper mixing, surface defects, and consequently, unsatisfactory quality of the treated wood products. These observations were supported by contact angle and surface tension measurements, which confirmed inadequate miscibility and wettability of the MCA solution. To improve miscibility, four surfactants were selected and evaluated for their effects on contact angle, surface tension, and solution quality: Ammonium Sulfate, TERGITOLTM 15-S-9, TERGITOLTM LFE-635, and a proprietary surfactant. Among these, TERGITOLTM LFE-635 was identified as the most effective surfactant for improving wettability and overall performance of the MCA solution. Finally, efforts were made to analyze how particle size varied with treatment parameters using a laser particle size distribution method. However, this approach was not feasible at this stage due to the complex solution composition and the absence of an accurately estimated refractive index (RI) for the MCA suspension. In summary, this thesis identified key challenges in applying Micronized Copper Azole as a wood preservative and proposed practical approaches to improve treatment efficiency, preservative performance, and the overall quality of wood products treated with MCA.
Access status: Open Access ,
GENDER GAP AND INTERGENERATIONAL DIFFERENCES IN LEISURE TIME IN SOUTH INDIA: EVIDENCE FROM INDIAN TIME USE SURVEY 2019
(2026-04-14) Joseph, Reshma; Not Applicable; Master of Development Economics; Department of Economics; Not Applicable; n/a; Not Applicable; Dozie Okoye; Weina Zhou; Lars Osberg
This thesis examines the gender gap and intergenerational differences in leisure time allocation in the five southern states of India, and the analysis is done using the Indian Time Use Survey 2019. This study implements Oaxaca-Blinder Decomposition to understand gender gap in leisure time allocation, and robust linear regression is utilized to understand the relationship between various socio-economic factors and leisure time allocation of daughters-in-law and mothers-in-law residing in a shared household. The results show that, on an average, women in South India have more leisure time compared to men in the working age population. However, in the elderly population, men enjoy more leisure time. The Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition gives a deeper insight into the inequalities in leisure time. While not being employed favour women through the explained component, this same factor favour men through the unexplained component. The intergenerational analysis shows that married woman residing without their mother-in-law have more average leisure than those who reside with their mother-in-law. However, a few socio-economic factors are associated higher leisure time or lesser reduction in leisure time for married woman residing with their mother-in-law, implying a complex role of household dynamics on women’s leisure time allocation.
Access status: Open Access ,
Bodies on Bodies: Queer Sex and Architectural Fantasy in New York City
(2026-04-14) Warren, Keegan; Not Applicable; Master of Architecture; School of Architecture; Not Applicable; n/a; Not Applicable; Colin Ripley; Julia Jamrozik; Michael Faciejew
Queer sexuality has continuously shaped the urbanism of New York City, by inhabiting its forgotten areas and reimagining them as spaces that embody queer fantasies and desires. Today, neoliberalism, gentrification, and LGBTQIA+ discrimination continue to threaten queer spaces, while the growth of online hookup culture has brought a renewed agency and visibility to queer desire. This thesis reimagines a soon-to-be demolished building in New York’s West Village, into an object of queer sexuality. Using a fantasy methodology that interprets queer history and culture through journaling, sexual experiences are translated into fragmented design interventions. These interventions explore topics including affect, embodiment, kink and materiality through their own architectural and queer references. The design fragments intervene with the existing structure in unique ways that, at the scale of the building, preserves it as an architectural ruin, while intimate connections and incisions create new relationships and opportunities at the scale of the body.
Access status: Open Access ,
Resonant Infrastructure Soundscape as Generator of Coastal Memorial Architecture
(2026-04-13) Gray, Keegan; Not Applicable; Master of Architecture; School of Architecture; Not Applicable; David Correa; Not Applicable; Catherine Venart; Michael Putman
This thesis investigates how architecture can function as an environmental instrument that mediates relationships between environmental soundscape, and collective memory. Situated in Herring Cove, Nova Scotia, the project responds to the 1940 Hebridean pilot boat disaster, in which nine harbour pilots lost their lives at the entrance to Halifax Harbour. While the event profoundly affected the local community, its commemoration today remains limited. Through site analysis experiments with acoustic instruments, this thesis explores how environmental forces such as wind and waves can generate a memorial architectural form. The project proposes a memorial pathway composed of three interventions: a Sea Organ embedded within the existing breakwater infrastructure, an Aeolian Harp Chapel activated by coastal winds, and a Bell Tower Lookout derived from navigational infrastructure studies. Together these instrumental architectures transform environmental forces into acoustic experience, framing the act of listening as a spatial practice of remembrance.
Access status: Open Access ,
Searching for Tír na nÓg: Translating Myth, Memory and Feminist Narratives as Elements of Architectural Resilience
(2026-04-15) MacLeod, Katherine; Not Applicable; Master of Architecture; School of Architecture; Not Applicable; Julia Jamrozik; Not Applicable; Émélie Desrochers-Turgeon; Catherine Venart
This thesis reveals traces of myth at the intersections between female heroism, sacrifice, and spatial histories within the Shannon watershed of Ireland. Through deep mapping of mythic, cultural, and institutional histories of control over women, this thesis proposes a sequence of four architectonic interventions along Ireland’s River Shannon that reframe the myth of the river’s origin, the story of Shannon, through a feminist lens.The pilgrimage begins at the river’s origin and concludes in release embodied by a counter-archive positioned in Limerick at the convergence of historic corridors of institutional authority and control. By establishing architectonic spaces for storytelling, archive, and play, this thesis argues that architecture can be used as feminist historiography, collecting and retelling embedded knowledge to renegotiate societal relationships to water as a living archive, myth, and women as sacred bodies of knowledge.
Access status: Embargo ,
Valorization of Drinking Water Treatment Residuals to High-Performance Adsorbents
(2026-04-14) Seid Shazileh, Seid Amir Hosein; Not Applicable; Master of Applied Science; Department of Process Engineering and Applied Science; Not Applicable; n/a; Yes; Dr.Azadeh Kermanshahi-pour; Dr.Sonil Nanda; Dr.Khaled Benis
This thesis develops a circular valorization pathway that converts drinking water treatment residuals (WTR) into high-performance adsorbents and evaluates performance, regeneration, and system feasibility. WTR was transformed into porous materials via ZnCl₂-assisted thermal activation, with synthesis optimized to enhance porosity while retaining reactive surface sites. The adsorbents were tested for aquaculture antibiotics and representative anionic and cationic dyes, with adsorption interpreted using kinetic, equilibrium, and thermodynamic analyses to identify contaminant-dependent mechanisms. To assess practical applicability, pelletized materials were evaluated in continuous fixed-bed systems, where breakthrough behavior was described using column models and linked to operating conditions. Regeneration using chemical and electrochemical methods demonstrated partial capacity recovery over multiple cycles. Techno-economic analysis identified thermal energy and chemical use as key cost drivers, while life cycle assessment showed that optimized valorization can reduce environmental burdens relative to landfilling. Overall, this work establishes an integrated framework for scalable circular deployment of WTR-derived adsorbents.
Access status: Embargo ,
UV LED TECHNOLOGY FOR COMPREHENSIVE SURFACE DISINFECTION: ADDRESSING BIOFILM INACTIVATION, SPORE FORMATION, AND DIVERSE MATERIAL CHALLENGES
(2026-04-13) Mullin, Toni; Yes; Doctor of Philosophy; Department of Civil and Resource Engineering; Not Applicable; Natalie M Hull; Yes; Azadeh Kermanshahi Pour; Amina Stoddart; Graham Gagnon
The use of ultraviolet (UV) irradiation for inactivation of microorganisms is well established in water treatment. Through the emergence of UV light emitting diodes (LEDs), the replacement of mercury-based systems is now more feasible than ever. LEDs boast benefits such as flexible deployment, mercury-free chips, and wavelength selectivity. These characteristics open the door for new inactivation applications, such as irradiation of surfaces, an area not yet well defined across the literature. This thesis investigates the use of germicidal 280 nm UV LEDs for the inactivation of A. brasiliensis, C. albicans, P. aeruginosa, B. subtilis, S. aereus held in liquid suspension, in biofilm and across materials typical of residential and commercial spaces (glass, plexiglass, stainless steel, PVC, PTFE, Epoxy, and Silicone). Materials were subject to fouling chemically (phenolic disinfectant) and physically (wheel scuffs). This study is the first to provide experimental data supporting these effects, establishing a baseline for predicting the behaviour of other pathogens and materials under UV-C and provides advancements for innovative use of UV LEDs for surface inactivation. Results showed that direct irradiation of surface-bound microbes impacts inactivation effectiveness when compared to typical, in-solution irradiation. In-solution testing revealed variation in UV susceptibility across the species tested, with C. albicans demonstrating the greatest sensitivity, while the bacterial species P. aeruginosa, B. subtilis and S. aereus achieved similar inactivation potential. The most UV-resistant bacterial species were B. subtilis (k = 0.318 mJ/cm2) and A. brasiliensis (k = 0.0147 mJ/cm2) for the fungi at 280 nm, representing the broad spectrum of UV sensitivities across microbes and reinforcing the value of diversifying experimentation. This thesis demonstrates that surface characteristics, such as roughness and reflectivity, are key factors that should be considered when assessing the feasibility of applying UV LED surface disinfection of surface-bound microbes and biofilms. Physically fouled surfaces achieved a statistically lower LRV compared to pristine surface inoculation alone. This suggests that mechanical fouling (e.g. wheel scuffs) may slightly modify surface topology, partially mitigating the shielding effects observed in surface inoculation alone. However, consistency between log reduction values and modelled k-values across materials indicates that UV LED disinfection remains effective despite physical surface fouling and provides the first demonstration that UV LED disinfection is an effective and viable option for physically fouled surfaces.
Access status: Open Access ,
Rant and Roar with the Dying of the Light
(2026-04-11) Roberts, Melanie; Not Applicable; Master of Architecture; School of Architecture; Not Applicable; Julia Jamrozik; Not Applicable; Steve Parcell; Talbot Sweetapple
This thesis proposes the design of a residential hospice facility in the resettled outport community of Little Bay Islands, Newfoundland, that honors the island’s cultural heritage and addresses the need for compassionate end-of-life care in remote communities. By subtly criticizing resettlement policies, this project suggests that, despite economic hardship, isolated communities hold inherent value in their lived traditions. The design culminates in a facility that supports terminally ill people through their final lived experiences, while providing emotional support and a sense of community to their loved ones. Informed by literature on hospice care philosophy, contemporary hospice design, phenomenology, and Newfoundland ethnography, this proposal will explore how architectural interventions can transform a neglected landscape into a place of dignity and reconnection. Ultimately, this project symbolizes perpetual arrival and farewell to a place that is at risk of being forgotten, rewriting its narrative as a place of care, remembrance, and continuity.
Access status: Open Access ,
High-Throughput Screening and Mechanistic Characterization of Enzyme Inhibitors as Tools for Rational Drug Discovery
(2026-04-13) Rowland, Bronwyn Elizabeth; Not Applicable; Master of Science; Department of Chemistry; Not Applicable; n/a; Yes; Dr. Carlie Charron; Dr. Alexander Baker; Dr. David Jakeman
Rational design of enzyme inhibitors is a cornerstone of drug discovery. However, progress is limited by inefficient enzyme activity assays and unclear determinants of enzyme-inhibitor interactions. In this thesis, I developed tools for the development of inhibitors targeting Cps2L, a pathogenic bacterial thymidylyltransferase, and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), linked to cancer and inflammation. For Cps2L, I developed a NADPH-coupled assay that monitors real-time enzyme activity, improving the precision and efficiency of existing methods. Using this platform, I characterized thymidine diphosphate-L-rhamnose as a non-covalent Cps2L inhibitor. For G6PD, I evaluated structure-reactivity-activity relationships of ortho-substituted aryl aldehydes as imine-forming inhibitors. I showed that aldehyde reactivity is controlled by intramolecular interactions formed by ortho-substituents. Reactivity trends correlated with inhibition potency, but not reversibility. Diverse binding mechanisms and novel G6PD inhibitors were identified within the aldehyde panel. Together, this work demonstrates how assay innovation and electrophile-focused inhibitor profiling advances rational drug design across diverse targets.

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