Theses & Dissertations - Harvested by LAC
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This collection contains all non-embargoed theses and dissertations that comply with Library and Archives Canada's (LAC) Theses Canada harvesting requirements. All theses and dissertations that are suitable for harvesting are automatically mapped into this collection and will be harvested into the Theses Canada collection.
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- ItemEvaluation of The Use of a Deep Active Learning Model in Anatomic Segmentation Tasks in Canine Thoracic Radiographs(University of Guelph, ) Norena, Nicole; Appleby, Ryan; Appleby, RyanThe main objective of this work was to assess the use of a semi-automated segmentation method compared with a manual method for canine thoracic radiographs. Additionally, this study seeks to compare the accuracy of novice evaluators to that of experts in basic anatomic segmentation tasks using an active learning (AL) model. The artificial intelligence algorithm was trained using 900 thoracic radiographs from patients referred to the Ontario Veterinary College between January 2020 to July 2021. Participants achieved better intersection over union (IoU) and Hausdorff distance scores using the semi-automatic method for the segmentation of the heart, abdomen, and spinous process in comparison to the manual method. There were no significant differences in the mean IoU scores between cohorts for the automatic method. In conclusion, the AL segmentation model is a feasible model for assisting users with varying levels of radiology experience to segment anatomical structures effectively on canine thoracic radiographs.
- ItemAbsorptive Capacity: An Umbrella Review(University of Guelph, ) Jiang, Jiamin; Arndt, FelixResearch on absorptive capacity (AC) has proliferated in the last thirty years. With over 12,000 papers in the web of science addressing AC, it becomes increasingly difficult to offer a comprehensive overview of this field. This paper uses an umbrella review to integrate the findings of 26 literature reviews performed on AC since 1989. Included reviews have attempted to address contentious issues in conceptualization, for example conflicting conceptualizations for the identification of antecedents and outcomes for AC, and operationalization of AC. Interestingly, despite the commonly suggested integrative and synthesizing character of literature reviews, the existing reviews of AC add to the conceptual ambiguity of AC. As such, this paper interprets the reviews as a source of identifying contentious issues of AC that persists even in those areas that literature reviews have been undertaken with the purpose of finding common ground. Building on this finding, this paper argues that it is time to tackle the persisting issues in dimensionality, multilevel nature, and in understanding the process and system of absorptive capacity. However, we may need to go back to the drawing board to integrate prior findings and allow progress in tackling the persisting issues.
- ItemPreferences and Perceptions of Vertical Pay Inequality and Upward Mobility in the Workplace(University of Guelph, ) Curran, Alexandra; Mishra, SandeepIn most workplaces, pay is varied among employees depending on their position or status within the organization. The purpose of this study was to investigate this pay inequality in two different contexts. First, researchers investigated individuals’ preferences for pay inequality and considered upward mobility as a possible explanation for strong pay inequality preferences. Second, researchers examined how employees might justify the pay inequality they face in their workplace. In addition, several moderating variables were investigated to determine what might strengthen or weaken the predicted relationships between pay inequality and upward mobility. Past research has studied pay inequality and upward mobility separately but has failed to investigate how they may influence one another. Practical contributions include giving organizations an understanding of how to successfully create dispersed pay systems in their workplaces and contributing to a better understanding of inequality and individuals’ preferences or justifications for it in society.
- Item"It's a future-me problem" - How future-self continuity and message framing affect climate change risk perceptions(University of Guelph, ) Arora, Sherlyn; Wang, Juan; Wan, JingClimate change is perceived to be a distant problem, both in terms of time and self-relevance. Psychologically, this may impede the depth with which individuals think about and process information related to climate change and, subsequently, their motivation to engage in some form of climate-action behaviour. The main objective of this project was to examine the use of future-self continuity as a behavioural intervention for the climate-action space, given its core components of self-relevance and time. The project proposed an information processing perspective that considered how future-self continuity could influence the way individuals process either negative or positive information related to climate change, and how this manifests in their perceptions of risk related to climate change. The project found inconclusive evidence for any significant main effects of future-self continuity and framing, but there was some evidence for the interaction effect between future-self continuity and non-loss message framing on risk perceptions. Additional relational effects are also explored. These findings hold relevance for climate communication specialists, climate psychologists, and academics looking to extend the reach of future-self continuity.
- ItemFire Governance, Ecological Regime Change, and Epistemic Rigidity in Settler-Established Protected Areas: Lessons Learned from the Northeast Boreal in Ktaqmkuk.(University of Guelph, ) Schmidt, Brodie; Loring, Philip; Moola, FaisalThis thesis aims to acknowledge the existence and legitimacy of diverse cultural relationships to fire. We use a systems-thinking approach to shed light on the ecological, managerial, and epistemic elements that are suspected to be related to an ongoing ecological regime shift from closed canopy boreal forest habitat to open savanna and heathland habitats in the boreal region of eastern Ktaqmkuk (in Newfoundland). Using causal loop diagramming and expert reviews, we identify the Western-defined concept of ecological integrity and the subsequent reliance on baselines as an intervention point for addressing ecological regime change and colonial legacies in Canadian conservation. Settler-constructed baselines both ecologically and socially constrain people from adapting to change by freezing landscapes, cultures, and ecological knowledge in time. To address this issue, we recommend that conservation practitioners and researchers move beyond Western monolithic understandings of nature and knowledge towards a paradigm of social-ecological integrity focused on holistic system health.