eScholar
eScholar stores, preserves and disseminates digital copies of the research and scholarly output of eScholar faculty, researchers and students. These can include the following items:
- Monographs
- Pre- and post-prints of academic journal articles
- Theses and dissertations
- Major projects and papers
- Reports/working papers and conference proceedings
Materials in eScholar are openly available to the world and discoverable through search engines such as Google Scholar. This high visibility, discoverability, and exposure can lead to increased citation. Contact Library Publishing for more information.
Communities in eScholar
Select a community to browse its collections.
- Ontario Tech Campus Libraries
- Faculty of Business & Information Technology (FBIT)
- Faculty of Education (FEDU)
- Faculty of Energy Systems & Nuclear Science (FESNS)
- Faculty of Engineering & Applied Science (FEAS)
Recent Submissions
Polymorphic attack feature validation: bridging the gap between intrusion detection and evolving threats
(2024-08-01) Begwani, Raksha; Heydari, Shahram S.
This project focuses on enhancing the detection of polymorphic attacks, which can evade traditional Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) by changing their form with each attack. While IDS are crucial for network security, their effectiveness diminishes against such dynamic threats. The project aims to identify key features exploited by polymorphic attacks, enabling the creation of a feature list to improve detection. Using the SlowHTTP tool for generating attack profiles and the LycoStand tool for essential feature extraction, this research seeks to develop effective mechanisms to analyze polymorphic attacks and its features, addressing the limitations of IDS in identifying these attacks.
Signal and power integrity analysis of bidirectional DC-DC converters for hybrid energy storage systems with EMI/EMC optimization
(2024-09-01) Ladhar, Manraj Singh; Williamson, Sheldon
Hybrid Energy Storage System (HESS) utilizes multiple energy storage architectures to achieve a broader range of characteristics in terms of power density, energy density and calendar life. A 500W bidirectional synchronous DC-DC converter design is implemented for the active topology of HESS. This thesis examines optimal design principles and practices essential for the printed circuit board (PCB) layout of switching regulators with fast dv/dt and di/dt edge rates to achieve electromagnetic interference (EMI) compliance standards. Furthermore, it focuses on comparative analysis and investigation of near-field noise emissions measured from three PCB designs each sharing the same schematic but different layout design rules and stackup configurations. Reflections, crosstalk, and transmission line management techniques along with power delivery network/system (PDN/PDS) design are implemented for enhanced signal and power integrity. 4-layer board designed with embedded interplane capacitance, controlled impedance traces, proper signal termination and crosstalk management exhibits lowest noise emissions. The experimental results show good consistency with electromagnetic field theory and simulations.
Design of a power, communications, and cable system for use with a robotic crawler for CANDU fuel channel inspection
(2024-09-01) Elvin, Bryce C.; Nokleby, Scott
Canadian Deuterium-Uranium Reactors (CANDU) are currently the only kind of power reactor used in Canada. These reactors supply a large quantity of the energy consumed in Canada. CANDU reactors require regular fuel channel inspection to ensure safety and performance. Fuel channel inspection is currently done one channel at a time which results in significant reactor downtime. The proposed system is a robotic crawler inspection system which can inspect the fuel channels while sealed inside the reactor. This allows for simultaneous inspection of multiple fuel channels using multiple copies of the system. The work in this thesis describes improvements to an existing inspection system. New hardware and software was created for the robotic crawler to improve the performance of different subsystems, as well as facilitate the complete separation of the system from the outside of the reactor. A new cable system was also designed to allow the crawler to have its power and communications system located inside the end-fitting of the fuel channel. The crawler was modified to function wirelessly from the operator, removing the need for wires to be led from the fuel channel to the operator’s device. A proof of concept prototype was created which demonstrates that the system can be operated remotely and that all subsystems can be placed inside of the fuel channel during inspection.
Understanding and defining threats to national security and public safety: a thematic analysis and grounded theory approach
(2024-09-01) Mulyk, Garon; Perry, Barbara
Threats to national security and public safety occupy the minds of many following the 9/11 attacks in the U.S. However, the Canadian national security and public safety mandate is at risk of irrelevance if it fails to adequately address and understand the complex threats Canadians face. Through semi-structured interviews with Canadian law enforcement and intelligence personnel, I use a grounded theory approach to thematically analyze how national security, public safety, terrorism, and hate-motivated incidences are understood and defined by those on the front lines. Hate-motivated incidences are often categorized as a risk to public safety, whereas terrorism is seen as an issue of national security. Currently, there is little literature or definitional analysis on public safety to adequately make this distinction. As such, I argue that national security and public safety should not be considered disparate entities. Rather, a continuum exists where national security occupies one end and public safety lies on the other. Threats such as Severe and Intentionally I/P/R Motivated instances, I/P/R Motivated Violent Extremism, and hate-motivated incidences occupy points along the National Security – Public Safety Continuum (NS-PS Continuum).
Three essays on pricing, quality, and advertising decisions while anticipating a product recall
(2024-08-01) Jafarzadeh Ghazi, Amirhossein; Karray, Salma; Azad, Nader
Product recalls have been rising significantly in both numbers and severity across various industries. The consequences of recalls can be substantial, leading to direct and indirect financial losses for the entire supply chain. Using a game theoretic modelling approach, this thesis examines pricing, quality, and advertising decisions to manage product recalls and mitigate associated risks and losses. The core chapters of the thesis consider three relevant topics on product recall management. In the second chapter, we analyze quality and pricing strategies for two competing firms facing the risk of a severe quality-related recall, which makes the product hazardous and leads to its removal from the market. We develop a two-stage Nash game where the probability of recall depends on the firms’ chosen quality investments, and either firm can experience a recall. Our results indicate that the competitor of the affected firm by the recall should lower its price after the recall if consumers’ price sensitivity changes enough and may increase or keep its price the same otherwise. Surprisingly, considering the risk of a recall does not always lead firms to enhance their product quality.
The third chapter considers a monopoly supply chain wherein a manufacturer sells a product through a retailer while anticipating a moderate or minor product recall and subsequent recovery process. Developing a manufacturer-Stackelberg game-theoretic model, we investigate how cost-sharing and revenue-sharing contracts serve as a retailer’s strategies to encourage the manufacturer to enhance product quality, thereby preventing the potential product recall and its associated costs, while also boosting demand. Our results reveal that revenue sharing through bargaining stands out as the most effective contract in driving product quality, diminishing recall probability, and generating higher profits for the manufacturer and the whole supply chain. Nevertheless, the retailer favours typical revenue sharing over the other contracts.
In the fourth chapter, we investigate the optimal cooperative advertising and pricing strategies in a bilateral monopolistic marketing channel, including a manufacturer and a retailer, when anticipating a moderate or minor product recall and recovery afterwards. We develop a two-period cooperative advertising game model in which the manufacturer is the leader, and the retailer is the follower. We find that the manufacturer sets a higher wholesale price for its product when there is a recall risk compared to when uncertainties regarding the recall are resolved. Moreover, the retailer’s advertising initiatives and pricing strategies may increase or decrease following the recall, depending on the recall probability and the damage to baseline demand or advertising effectiveness. Finally, the manufacturer consistently favours cooperative advertising pre- and post-recall.
This thesis offers several important managerial insights. First, pricing and quality, as well as pricing and advertising decisions, should be managed in an integrated manner to effectively mitigate product recall risks, as independent strategies are less effective. Furthermore, this thesis suggests that managers should adjust their pre- and post-recall strategies in response to changes in the market and consumer behaviour following recalls, such as lost sales and shifts in consumer sensitivity to price, quality, and advertising. Additionally, collaborative contracts between manufacturers and retailers focusing on quality efforts or advertising efforts can significantly enhance supply chain effectiveness when facing product recall risks.