Prediction of reservoir production using different technical scenarios and designs is essential for optimization of a reservoir development plan. Due to the scale of a reservoir, simulators use simplified discretized equations to predict the production and other properties of the reservoir. Therefore, they cannot observe complicated physical phenomena that occur at the pore scale. Such phenomena have a significant effect on the relative permeability of the fluids which is an important factor for predicting multiphase flow behavior at the reservoir scale. Commercial reservoir simulator software use correlations to calculate relative permeability of the fluids. Even though such method is proven practical for conventional reservoirs, it is not accurate for unconventional and tight reservoirs if not calibrated and matched using SCAL data and can lead to erroneous predictions. The objective of this research is to calculate the single-phase and immiscible two-phase flow properties including porosity, permeability, capillary pressure, and relative permeability using random-network modelling technique at the pore scale and then scale up the results to macro scale, and core scale using analytical and numerical methods available in the literature and develop new scale up methods when the current methods prove to be inaccurate. The scaled-up flow properties are then used to construct a comprehensive near well bore model with complex well completion setups which contain tubing-deployed and liner-deployed flow control devices (FCDs). The effect of various completion designs such as open-hole, single and parallel tubing, liner-deployed FCD, and retrofitted tubing-deployed FCD setups in conjunction with the scaled-up flow properties obtained from pore level modelling is incorporated in a comprehensive software package. The application of the coupled scaled-up micro-scale simulation and near well bore modelling is illustrated in two aspects: Control of gas coning in horizontal wells with tubing deployed FCDs and application of PNM in simulation of black oil reservoirs. Control of gas coning in horizontal wells using tubing deployed FCDs is studied and the scaled-up relative permeability curves were incorporated during simulation. In this study, a new formulation is also developed to capture the phase-change normal to the well. In this model a modified version of boundary-element-method (BEM) is implemented, and the pressure is used as a tracer and all the properties such as saturation and mobility variation are calculated normal to the well bore. This is a new semi-analytical method where all the integration terms are calculated numerically. Application of PNM and its corresponding scaled-up results in near well bore simulation is also studied. We explain the variability of pore structure on its relative-permeability and capillary pressure curves, and for a similar formation and identical permeability how other factors can vary the characteristic curves. By using a boundary-element-method we also incorporate such variations into well/reservoir interaction. As a result of such modelling one may evaluate the performance of the well on different gas cresting/coning scenarios. The results show that such variability in the pore network has less than 10% on production gas rates, but its effect on oil production can be extensive. The results of such work show the importance of PNM in well completion design and probabilistic analysis of the performance and can be extended on different factors of the reservoir in the future works.

Despite the promise of digital technologies such as crowdfunding platforms to remove geographic barriers to trade, distance and local bias effects persist on these platforms, and an active program of research is aiming to identify the drivers and mechanisms of these local bias effects. Using two novel measures of tradability in the context of crowdfunding, we show that crowdfunding campaigns in highly tradable product sectors set higher goals for their campaigns on average. However, correlational analysis suggests that the extent to which tradability can be leveraged can depend on other factors such as political context. We find that political ideology context may act as a barrier to trade such that campaigns located in blue states set higher goals than campaigns located in red states, and also show a stronger association between tradability and goal level compared to campaigns in red states. This thesis is the first ever study on tradability as well as the first ever study on political ideology in the context of reward-based crowdfunding.

The conflict that started in Syria and Iraq in 2011 has inspired an unprecedented surge of foreign fighters to join jihadist terrorist groups and engage in terrorist activities on a global scale. The primary focus of this research was to explore the term “terrorism” in the context of the Western worldview. This research was guided by the following primary research question: How is the term “terrorism” made meaning of when viewed from a Western worldview? This primary research question centered on how and why meaning of the term is made when viewed through the Western worldview. Sub-questions to inform the primary research question include: 1. How is the discourse of terrorism being produced through Western hegemony? 2. What are the ways in which the state becomes implicated in this discursive production of terrorism? 3. How can Western and critical sociocultural view of terrorism be reconciled through adult education. What does this mean for adult education? This study examined recent scholarly research in the fields of terrorism studies, adult education as well as scholarly research on history and politics of the Middle East. I drew from critical discourse analysis as my research methodology to reveal the different discourses on the term “terrorism” from a Western viewpoint. Insights from the analyzed discourses for government policy documents and news media may provide relevant stakeholders—parents, communities, law enforcement agencies, rehabilitation centers, or social workers—with a deeper understanding of the discourse and meaning-making of terrorism.

INPs are aerosol particles that allow for the formation of ice crystals in clouds at temperatures warmer than required for homogeneous freezing. These aerosols are particularly important for the formation of mixed-phase clouds, which are ubiquitous during the Arctic summer. In order to better understand the factors affecting the rapidly warming Arctic climate, this study investigates INP concentrations found in size-segregated aerosol, fog and precipitation samples collected in the Arctic during the summer of 2016. The key findings from this study include: (1) the initial droplet freezing temperature correlates with sea salt ion concentrations for fog samples and aerosol samples in the size range of 1.5-7.2µm diameter, (2) INP concentrations for aerosol samples decreased after both heating and filtering, but were still distinguishable from blank samples, indicating the presence of biological INPs and separable ice nucleating components, (3) the INP concentrations measured for co-collected seawater samples were similar overall, but were not consistent at the exact locations of collection, and (4) the important size range of aerosols acting as INPs varied by sample time and location.

Concussion is a common injury among children and youth, although population-level incidence and trends related to service use are not well described in the literature. In addition, while treatment and management decisions are led by best practices and clinical guidelines, there is a paucity of studies exploring the individual and contextual factors that impact health service utilization following concussion in the pediatric patient. Thus, the objective of this thesis was to address these gaps and better understand how children and youth are interacting with the health care system following concussion in Alberta. In this thesis, 14-years of system-level linked administrative health data and a defined episode of care (EOC) were used to describe trends in health care utilization following pediatric concussion in Alberta. An increased incidence of concussion and other mild head injury diagnoses was observed across the province. In addition, a shift in care from emergency department (ED) to outpatient physician office (PO) settings and a higher use of the ED by some segments of the population was observed. Findings suggest some children and youth are more likely to receive care following a concussion. In addition, follow-up care increased over time, demonstrating accordance with clinical guidelines. However, rates remained low, indicating a lack of application by provider or adherence by patient. Findings indicate that the likelihood of receiving follow-up care in Alberta was influenced by both individual and contextual factors. Factors related to need (perceived and evaluated) were most strongly associated with health care utilization. The index visit occurring in PO had the strongest positive association with follow-up care, followed by a history of concussion-related EOC. At the same time, patient predisposing and enabling factors also affected utilization. Younger children and youth, females, and those from areas of lower socioeconomic status (SES) or residing in certain geographical areas were less likely to receive follow-up care. Findings suggest that to improve service delivery and targeted treatment in line with clinical guidelines for all children and youth, policies that focus on equitable access are needed.

This thesis investigates the planform response of proglacial fluvial systems to deglaciation, specifically in northwest North America. Increase glacier retreat is extremely widespread today, drawing our attention to proglacial environments. Fluvial systems are being directly impacted by increasing rates of glacier retreat, resulting in changes to discharge, erosion and deposition, and sediment supply. It is important to understand how fluvial systems are going to reconfigure their geometries in response to these changing parameters and to help identify and assess future behaviour. Fluvial response to deglaciation was studied by two experiments, first focusing on the response to an instantaneous and dramatic change in discharge without a concomitant change in sediment supply, and second, focusing on slower changes, where sediment supply may have altered. In the first experiment, a rapid drop in discharge in Ä'ay Chu ("ay-CHEW", formerly known as Slims River) decreased the overall braiding complexity, while a rapid increase in discharge to Kaskawulsh River increased the braiding complexity. Further, alluvial fans in the Kaskawulsh River valley were eroded due to the wider active braid plain, while fans within Ä'ay Chu underwent minimal changes. In the second experiment, at 9 of 11 locations, where changes over multiple decades occurred, braiding intensity markedly decreased as proglacial lake area increased, also increasing the number of wide channels at the expense of narrower ones. The remaining two locations slightly increased in braiding intensity without ever forming a proglacial lake (control sites). This appears to be a ubiquitous trend in glaciated regions, as retreat affects sensitive proglacial rivers by disrupting the flow of discharge and sediment supply. Glacier retreat has resulted in drainage reorganization, directly altering levels of flow, and caused the formation of proglacial lakes, altering discharge and sediment supply to the rivers inducing geomorphic changes. These alluvial river systems have reconfigured their geometry in response to changing discharge and sediment supply.

Age-related changes in bone fundamentally occur at the surface. Understanding and modeling these changes is the primary means of understanding and preventing age-related fractures. However, this is a challenging task, as the bone microarchitecture changes topology during adaption when rods disconnect and plates form holes. The primary objective is to handle topological changes mathematically and develop computational methods for the simulation of bone adaptation. This thesis develops a model of age-related bone loss based on the axioms that the bone surface is orientable and smooth. First, a novel artifact is discovered and described for the distance transform of sampled signals that limits their applicability in simulation and morphometry. Second, a new transform is defined termed the ``high-order signed distance transform'' that is better than the so-called exact signed distance transform in the sense that it has an order of accuracy greater than one. However, this transform does not permit a unique solution on sampled binary images, and another method is needed. Third, an algorithm is presented for computing the unique, high-order signed distance transform of biphasic materials from computed tomography data. Fourth, a method of performing morphometry on closed surfaces is described that relates existing global bone morphometric techniques to local curvature values. This method works on binary images without the need for signed distance transforms when small changes in the bone volume are permitted. Finally, the morphometry and high-order signed distance transform are integrated into a model of age-related bone loss. Principally, this work establishes bone adaptation as a geometric flow, simulated using level set methods that are efficient and naturally handle topological changes. The contribution of this thesis is the establishment of a strong mathematical foundation for modeling bone adaptation. High accuracy computational methods are defined to integrate the theory into practice. The theory and methods form a rigorous basis for biological theories of bone adaptation and provide techniques for measuring and falsifying theories.

Microglial cells may be seen as a relay station between the periphery and central nervous system (CNS) – they are tasked with modulating signals from the periphery to protect the CNS from potential harm. As such, microglial cells are known as the sentinels of the brain. These cells respond to inflammatory cytokines, enzymes, and other cell regulators in the microenvironment. However, the role of microglial-secreted proteinases or proteinase inhibitors is not well characterized, particularly when stimulated with cytokines and other inflammatory regulators. Proteinase-activated receptors (PARs) are G protein-coupled receptors that are activated by N-terminal cleavage and subsequent binding of the unmasked tethered ligand sequence to the receptor. PARs are present in the periphery and the CNS. In the context of microglia, the role of PARs, PAR-cleaving proteinases, and their inhibitors has not been elucidated. The literature indicates the presence of PARs in microglial cells, however, their function in the BV2 and EOC 13.31 microglial cell lines has not been explored. Therefore, I hypothesized that microglial cells (BV2 cells, EOC 13.31 cells, and primary murine microglial cells) respond to stimuli, such as proteinases, cytokines, and bacterial products (LPS). The responses can result in changes in PAR expression, changes in PAR activation, and/or the production of PAR-regulating proteinases and proteinase inhibitors. The changes in PAR regulation may impact neuroinflammation pathologically. The aforementioned hypothesis was addressed using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) to quantify PAR mRNAs, calcium signaling assays to monitor PAR function, and a chromogenic substrate assay and Nano-Luciferase release assay to monitor PAR-regulating proteinase secretion by microglial cells. Further, approaches such as proteomic analysis of cell secretions and in vitro imaging of dual-labeled PARs, transfected into BV2 and EOC 13.31 cells, to visualize PAR cleavage in cultured microglial cells were implemented to obtain a more complete picture of the PAR landscape in microglia. The results herein indicate six main findings: 1. PAR mRNAs are expressed in microglial cell lines (BV2 and EOC 13.31 cells), but the cells are not responsive to PAR-cleaving enzymes and minimally responsive to the PAR2-activating peptide. Intact PARs were not identified in the BV2 and EOC 13.31 cell plasma membranes (cleaved PAR2 visualized at the BV2 and EOC cell plasma membrane; PAR2 retained intracellularly in EOC 13.31 cells). This result can explain the lack of response to PAR stimulation. 2. An inhibitor was secreted by microglial cells that blocked trypsin’s ability to activate PAR2 and acted in an autocrine or paracrine manner to regulate PAR cleavage. 3. The microglial phenotype of BV2 and EOC 13.31 cell cultures can be modulated by cytokines. Lipopolysaccharide increased PARs 1 and 2 mRNA expression in BV2 cells. Tumor necrosis factor alpha did not significantly increase PAR1 mRNA expression but decreased PAR2 mRNA expression in EOC 13.31 cells. IL-4 decreased PAR1 but increased PAR2 mRNA expression in both BV2 and EOC 13.31 cells. Surprisingly, PAR function/calcium signaling responses changed minimally in concert with increased PAR mRNA expression in treated microglial cells. 4. Proteomic analysis revealed that untreated and LPS-treated BV2 cells secrete a number of proteinases and proteinase inhibitors that may regulate PARs and a pro-inflammatory phenotype. 5. Primary cultures of microglial cells exhibited similar PAR expression but different function than cultured microglial cell lines. 6. The same approaches were performed in mouse subventricular zone (SVZ) stem cell-derived glial-like cells to identify PAR mRNA expression and PAR function. These cells expressed PAR mRNAs and responded to PAR activation in calcium signaling assays. Unfortunately, the SVZ cells were subsequently identified as an oligodendrocyte-like, rather than a microglial-like phenotype. Nonetheless, the results obtained with the SVZ cells act as proof of principle for the methods implemented in the microglial cell lines and primary microglial cells. In conclusion, the overarching hypothesis of the thesis was supported, in that PAR mRNAs are expressed in microglial cells, that the microglial PAR mRNAs can be regulated by cytokines, and that the microglial cells produce both PAR-regulating proteinases and an inhibitor of trypsin-activation of PAR2.

Residents are positioned to create safe learning environments where medical students are comfortable asking questions and presenting ideas. However, residents frequently teach without training or confidence in their teaching ability. Resident-as-teacher training improves observed teaching skill, but little is known about their impact on medical student learning. A realist review was conducted to describe the impact of resident-as-teacher training on the knowledge, skills, and perceptions of medical students. Studies reporting medical student outcomes following exposure to trained resident-teachers were identified in five databases and independently reviewed by two investigators. Analysis of contextual factors suggested that longer, dispersed, and mandatory interventions that targeted a larger number of residents with low prior ratings of teaching effectiveness were more likely to show a positive effect on student ratings of resident teaching. The provision of highly rated training sessions that improve residents’ confidence and self-ratings of teaching ability was the proposed mechanism. There were no studies that elicited changes in medical student knowledge or skills, suggesting that improved teaching ability may not translate into improved student performance unless the content of the teaching is congruent with the examination. A sequential explanatory mixed methods study was then completed to explore the impact of introducing a resident-led and content specific curriculum on medical student performance on certifying examinations. Quantitative analysis demonstrated an increased percentage of medical students passing the surgery OSCE station. However, there was no difference in performance on the surgery MCQ or student ratings of resident teaching. Student ratings of the surgery rotation significantly declined. Qualitative analysis of medical student and resident focus groups revealed poor utilization of the curriculum resources designed for knowledge transfer, while the clinical skills elements were readily integrated into clinical activities. Overall, resident-as-teacher training can improve medical student perceptions of resident-led teaching, but independently have little effect on measures of knowledge and skill. Providing residents with learning objectives and teaching resources that are appropriate for the clinical environment can improve medical student performance on standardized examinations. Creating the time required to address the learning needs of medical students remains an ongoing barrier to teaching amid busy clinical rotations.

The purpose of this study was to explore and analyze promising online pedagogical practices that enhance engagement and learning in one course of an Ontario-based pre-service teacher (PST) education program. The study used a multiple methods Design Based Research (DBR) approach and was framed by the theoretical perspectives of social constructivism, Communities of Inquiry, TPACK (technological, pedagogical and content knowledge) and a flipped classroom model (FCM). Data was collected from the perspectives of three students and one instructor. Data analysis focused on themes related to student engagement and learning, including additional considerations for online PST education. Key findings included: (a) the importance of timely, positive and personal teacher feedback for student way-finding, motivation and rapport building; (b) the importance of professional learning networks (PLNs) for social and cognitive presence development; (c) the importance of a FCM and choice (in content and responses) for cognitive and social presence development; (d) the importance of authentic learning experiences for deeper learning and (e) additional considerations for PST online education. Future research possibilities include replication of the study’s research design in other contexts in order to build an understanding of the practices that transcend contextual boundaries with an eye toward theory-building.