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Recent shifts in wildfire activity in regions of boreal North America indicate decreased resiliency of carbon pools and forest state. Here, I quantify the initial response and long-term recovery of belowground carbon pools to wildfire across various vegetation trajectories in ~140,000km2 area of the Northwest Territories, Canada, across 502 stands ranging from 1-100 years post-fire. Recovery of soil organic carbon depth and stocks post-fire are regulated primarily by time, moisture level, and their interaction. Hydric sites store more carbon than mesic and dry sites, and rates of post-fire soil carbon accumulation are slower in wetter stands than in mesic or dry stands. My results also suggest that shifts in vegetation state are likely to reduce soil organic carbon depth and stocks during the fire-free period. By modelling across gradients of fire history, hydrology, and vegetation dominance, we can predict the short- and long-term consequences of wildfire for ecosystem carbon behaviour. This research was funded by Northern Science Training Program (NSTP), Northern Water Futures, NASA, and was in kind partnership with the Government of the Northwest Territories.

A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy In Education, University of Regina. x, 367 l. Using Critical Discourse Analysis and Foucaultian Discourse Analysis, this study applies postcolonial theory to an examination of the discourses of wide-scale reading and writing assessments in Saskatchewan. The study provides answers to three questions examining how the discourses of wide scale assessments in reading and writing construct disadvantages for First Nations and Métis students and simultaneously construct advantages for white settler students. The research data includes the publicly available Assessment for Learning instruments, handbooks, pre-assessment materials, scoring guides and reporting documents for 2005 through 2010, a total of 177 documents. The analysis indicates that there are at least four distinct discourses within the Assessment for Learning materials that are made available for colonial knowledge production and power relations. These discourses can be identified as: linking reading and writing proficiency to becoming a successful and productive member of society; valuing the possession of a particular set of reading and writing strategies as indicative of reading and writing proficiency; espousing a set of common experiences and knowledge among all students at a grade level; and placing white settler English above all other varieties of English as the norm against which student work is measured, reinforcing the dominance of white settler language and culture over all other languages and cultures in Saskatchewan. The discourses of the provincial Assessments for Learning privilege students who come from white settler backgrounds while First Nations and Métis student interests are marginalized as are the interests of other linguistic minorities including Hutterian students and new Canadian students who do not speak the same variety of English as do the local white settler students. There are ways in which each of the four discourses can be troubled and countered and a set of 13 recommendations has been made to disrupt these discourses and put in their place new discourses that do not marginalize minority students. These recommendations include developing a set of shared beliefs around what the goals of education are and how achievement of those goals should be measured at a provincial level; arriving at a set of indicators and measures, acceptable to all stakeholders, to use in reporting on student achievement in reading and writing in Saskatchewan; constructing assessments that connect to curricular content common to all Saskatchewan students; providing student choice in assessment items; the development of a tool or set of tools for examining the discourses of all parts of the assessment materials for colonial knowledge production and power relations; and the review and revision of Saskatchewan curricula with a view to countering and troubling discourses found within the PreK-12 curriculum documents that are similar to those identified in the assessment materials. A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy *, University of Regina. *, * p. Student yes

Neurodynamics refers to the mechanical and physiological components of the nervous system and the interconnections between them (Shacklock, 1995). This is a phase 1 pilot trial investigating the immediate effect of a neurodynamic treatment as compared to a sham treatment in eight participants with low back pain. Primary outcome measures included: H-reflex latency and nerve conduction velocity. Secondary outcome measures included: the sitting slump test and visual analog scale for pain following a neurodynamic treatment compared to a sham treatment on eight participants with low back pain. T-tests were used to analyze any differences between the groups at baseline and post- intervention. No statistically significant differences were observed between the groups at baseline. Statistically significant differences were noted post- intervention between the treatment groups for H-reflex latency (t(5)=4.323, p=0.008) and the unaffected leg sitting slump test (t(5)=3.402, p=0.019). The H- reflex latency increased for the group following the neurodynamic treatment and decreased following the sham treatment. This was not expected and is of interest due to the possible mechanisms that may be underlying these phenomena. Despite the small sample size used in this study, differences were observed and displayed trends that were unanticipated. These between-group differences are of interest but require further investigation using a larger sample population. Sample size calculations for future studies based on the primary outcome measures yielded a sample of 2008 participants. This accounted for both a 20% difference between the two groups and a 20% dropout rate. Future studies need to investigate the most beneficial length of time, type and dosage of neurodynamic treatments, as well as, the most appropriate times to assess the outcome measures. Comparison to controls would be beneficial in subsequent studies. Master of Science Rehabilitation Science (MSc)

Industrial wastewaters contain various contaminants depending on their sources, including phosphate, ammonium and heavy metals. To remove different contaminants, several physical, chemical or biological methods are applied in wastewater treatment plants. In this study, two contaminants of ionic lead and phosphate from two different wastewaters were considered separately with two different removal methods. Exoelectrogenic bacteria were studied for lead removal and application of zeolite for phosphate removal was also investigated. The examined methods were proposed for a relatively small-scale (maximum 5000 liters per day) and non-continuous treatment plant for achieving more than 90% removal of both contaminants. The first part of this project was investigating Pb(II) removal using a bio-electrochemical method. Lead, as a toxic and non-biodegradable heavy metal, has been a major concern in the wastewater treatment area. Microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) are known to remove heavy metals effectively while the exoelectrogenic bacteria oxidize organics at the anode electrode and cations (like heavy metals) get reduced at the cathode electrode. A study has shown that Pb(II) can be reduced both at the cathode and the bioanode. In this lab-scale study, exoelectrogenic bacteria have been prepared on the anode fibers of an MEC and then the enriched bioanode was used individually in the system without applying any voltages. The effectiveness of the proposed system on Pb(II) removal in different initial pH condition and the consistency of this system were studied. Pb(II) removal mechanisms were also investigated. Results showed more than 90% Pb(II) removal in 24 hours for a wide range of pH conditions (pH 5 to 9). Moreover, adding lead after each 24 hours for four times showed the high capacity of bioanode. Two mechanisms of direct reduction and biosorption were identified as the removal mechanisms of lead. Biosorption mechanism with the contribution of 82% to lead removal had a more significant role than the reduction mechanism. It was also indicated that the exoelectrogenic bacteria played the main role in both of the removal mechanisms by providing oxidation-reduction condition and biosorption capacity. The second aspect of this project was focused on phosphate removal using zeolite. Phosphate in wastewater and the resulting eutrophication have always been a crucial concern and have resulted in developing of different technologies for its removal. Natural zeolites with the capability of cation exchanging have been extensively studied for cation removal like ammonium. However, by pretreating zeolite and making changes on its physico-chemical properties, zeolite can also be used for removing anions like phosphate. In this aspect of the thesis, a clinoptilolite zeolite was pretreated by NaCl, Mg(OH)2 and Ca(OH)2 and the effect of pretreated zeolites on phosphate removal efficiency was investigated. Results showed no improvement with magnesium pretreatment although zeolite pretreated by sodium and calcium improved the removal efficiency. 18% phosphate removal by natural zeolite increased to 37% and 60% for zeolites pretreated by Ca(OH)2 and NaCl respectively. The existence of ammonium in the solution also increased the removal efficiency from 18% to 44% for natural zeolite and ammonium was removed itself by around 34%. Sodium and ammonium in the solution improved the removal efficiency due to being exchanged with calcium and increasing the calcium phosphate precipitation. Regarding that, the type of zeolite and its amount of calcium were shown to be effective on phosphate removal efficiency. In all conditions, phosphate was removed by calcium phosphate precipitants using either the calcium hydroxide added or the calcium in zeolite structure. Calcium-pretreated zeolite despite its high capacity for phosphate removal had a low efficiency which was explained by the mass transfer mechanism and shaking results showed that better shaking condition could improve mass transferring here and get to 100% phosphate removal by calcium-pretreated zeolite. However, using only calcium hydroxide without any zeolite could also remove 100% of phosphate. Using calcium hydroxide provided a high removal efficiency but increased the final pH as well. Pretreated zeolite had lower efficiency than calcium hydroxide but did not change the pH significantly and had the ability to remove ammonium as well. Using a type of zeolite with a high amount of calcium in its structure and existence of ammonium and sodium in solution along with an appropriate shaking condition can reach high removal efficiency as well. Thesis Master of Applied Science (MASc)

Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) living in their natural habitat flee to their burrows and footthump in response to the appearance of humans, while conspecific individuals reared in open-laboratory cages approach and investigate humans attempting to handle them. The present series of investigations was undertaken to determine the role of the differences in the physical rearing environment of laboratory- and wild-born gerbils in the development of their response to the visual stimuli provided by humans. A testing procedure was developed to quantify the response of gerbils to the sudden presentation of a human-like visual stimulus and the behaviour of gerbils reared under a variety of conditions assessed in this test situation. It was found that gerbils reared in the laboratory, in gerbil-constructed tunnel systems, responded to the sudden presentation of human-like visual stimulus by fleeing to shelter, footthumping and remaining concealed for long periods, while many gerbils reared in open-cages responded to presentation of the stimulus by approaching and visually fixating it. Analysis of the features of the tunnel environment responsible for the potentiation of the flight and concealment response in tunnel-reared animals revealed that the critical factor in tunnel-rearing was the provision of shelter during maturation. Neither the isolation from illumination nor the isolation from stimuli associated with human handlers, resulting from rearing in a tunnel, was responsible for the observed effects of tunnel-rearing. The experience of moving in and out of cover, provided by rearing in environments having shelter available, appeared to potentiate the flight and concealment response. Observation of behaviour in a second situation measuring reactivity, that is willingness to descend from the centerboard of a visual-cliff, revealed that the effects of rearing with shelter available were not restricted to situations involving flight to shelter in response to sudden visual stimulation. Willingness to descend from the centerboard was markedly increased by rearing in environments providing shelter. It was further found that even a relatively brief exposure to an environment providing opportunity for flight and concealment was sufficient to potentiate the entire behavioural syndrome in open-reared gerbils. Gerbils reared in normal laboratory cages would exhibit the pattern of flight and concealment in response to sudden stimulation, normally observed in tunnel-reared gerbils, if they were places in a tunnel system for 24 hours. However, behaviour of tunnel-reared gerbils was not affected by 24-hour exposure in an open-cage. Taken together, the results of the present experiments suggest that the syndrome of reactive behaviour exhibited by wild, as compared with laboratory-reared, gerbils is the result of differences in the physical environment in which they are reared. Experience of a sheltered area early in life, for either brief or extended periods, is sufficient to potentiate reactive behaviour in gerbils at maturity. Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The “Three Squares Lemma” (Crochemore and Rytter 1995) famously explored the consequences of supposing that three squares occur at the same position in a string. Essentially, it showed that this phenomenon could not occur unless the longest of the three squares was at least the sum of the lengths of the other two. More recently, several papers (Fan et al. 2006; Franek, Fuller, et al. 2012; Kopylova and Smyth 2012; Simpson 2007) have greatly extended this result to a “New Periodicity Lemma” (NPL) by supposing that only two of the squares occur at the same position, with a third occurring in a neighbourhood to the right. The proof of the NPL involves fourteen subcases, twelve of which have been proven over the last seven years. In this thesis, we prove the final two remaining. Master of Science (MSc)

Critical scholarship contends that psychology has provided ways of thinking about our selves that are consistent with the Enlightenment notion of persons as autonomous and self-governing. Utilizing this framework, I examined the interrelationships between psychological conceptions and practices of the self, and the education of persons. I conducted a critical review of self, children and schooling in PSYCINFO from 1850 to 2008, and an analysis of self measures in educational psychology. Psychology’s scientific measurements and classifications have produced an increasingly fragmented self, the various aspects of which are presented as amenable to research-based educational interventions. I also conducted an exhaustive review of elementary school curricula in British Columbia, Canada from 1872 to 2008, to understand the ways that public education has contributed to the production of children as selves. Conceptions of the self in school curricula, derived from psychological theory and research, have resulted in an elevation of goals and strategies of self-fulfillment and individual freedom over citizenship and civic virtue. I then examined how psychological theorizing and research on the self translates into B.C. elementary school and classroom practices and policies. Psycho-educational kits, programs and initiatives adopted at school and classroom levels emphasize personal expression and self-responsibility at the expense of social commitment and curricular content. I contend that psychological theories, research, and practices have produced an empirical self that has contributed much to educators' understandings of the selves of children as discrete, calculable sets of competencies that can be developed and enhanced through instructional procedures. Whether the measured self is packaged as scores on self-concept scales, steps in self-esteem programs, or self-regulated skills and strategies, this self encourages judgements, comparisons, and reshaping of students’ selves in accordance with psychological conceptions and practices of self-fulfillment and self-management. Disciplinary psychology has played a critical role in advancing the notion of the radically free individual that is at odds with the notion of the active, responsible citizen. A shift to an ontology of persons contingently positioned as sociohistorically situated agents is necessary. On this view, individual freedom and civic duty are virtues that can co-exist in a community-oriented liberal democratic society.

Missing page 305 As the title of this thesis indicates, this work is a study of key psychoanalytic issues deemed to be central to a proper appreciation of the work of the contemporary American writer, Donald Barthelme. Much has been written about Barthelme's fiction in recent years (he has, for example, been the subject of four full-length studies in the last five years), but the approach taken by criticism in general to his work misinterprets what seems to me to be one of the most interesting and relevant issues raised by his work. Conventional wisdom assumes that Barthelme's short stories represent a uniquely successful challenge to the notion that fiction need embody meanings which originate in the author. It is asserted, in other words, that Barthelme's fiction has for all intents and purposes utterly subverted potential criticism which might attempt to establish a relationship between text and author. In the effective absence of an "author," Barthelme's prose is taken to represent a radically innovative form of discourse, a form of discourse which has influenced an entire generation of experimental writing. The context in which Barthelme's fiction is appreciated by criticism is informed by distinctively postmodern aesthetics. In particular, what critics identify as postmodernism's emphasis on "an aesthetic of process" (Hutcheon 1985, 2) has served to throw the entire concept of the artist or the author as the source of meaning in a text open to serious question. Postmodern fiction presents itself as a form of situation, a variety of experience in which author and reader are free to recreate meaning and recreate themselves in a dynamic gestalt through the process of text. What is most repugnant to postmodernism is the rule of definitions of the self that are anterior to the text, definitions that limit the existential freedom of the self to recreate itself in situation. Barthelme's fiction is widely proclaimed to be exemplary postmodern writing in the sense that it has created a form of discourse in which the author--a potentially limiting source of prefigured meanings--is effectively absent from the text, and can therefore be discounted as a factor in any interpretation of the meaning of the text. This study will show that the voice of the author in Barthelme's short fiction is neither absent nor as irrelevant as criticism would have us believe. Indeed, this study will show that Barthelme's fiction says essentially the opposite of what has hitherto been assumed with regard to the relevance of the authorial voice to the meaning of the fiction. This study is psychoanalytic in the sense that it will isolate the latent features of Barthelme's prose based on readings of patterns of association as they occur in the manifest content of the stories. To this point no criticism has considered the relevance of these patterns of association in Barthelme because it has been assumed that, in the absence of a legitimate authorial voice in his work, such patterns either do not exist, or if they do exist, they were deliberately woven into the fabric of the prose by an ironic author familiar with Freud. With a careful and comparative analysis of his earliest stories to serve as a reference point, this study proposes to demonstrate basically two things: first, that Barthelme's fictions have from the beginning implicitly affirmed the notion that an understanding of the psychoanalytic issues attached to the voice behind the fiction has been crucial to an appreciation of the full meaning of any given story; and second, that the psychoanalytic issues of concern to the authorial voice in Barthelme have not changed to any significant degree over the twenty years Barthelme has been publishing fiction. The implications of the latter point are especially worth noting: proof of the presence of a consistent authorial voice would require a radical readjustment to the popular view of the meaning of Barthelme's fiction. Thesis Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)