Recherche uO, le dépôt numérique de l'Université d'Ottawa, réunit le matériel de recherche et d'enseignement créé par notre communauté universitaire et nos partenaires. Le savoir de l'Université est ainsi disponible à long terme et en accès libre, ce qui lui procure de la visibilité et facilite sa diffusion.

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    Lexical-semantic processing costs are not inherent to intra-sentential code-switching: The role of switching habits
    (Elsevier BV, 2021-07-04) Gosselin, Leah; Sabourin, Laura
    A bank of past electrophysiological research suggests that code-switching (i.e., the use of multiple languages during a single conversational event) is characterized by increased processing costs. However, the majority of these studies tested bilinguals who did not necessarily code-switch on a regular basis. In order to investigate the impact of switching habits on language processing, two groups of French-English bilinguals (habitual code-switchers and non-habitual code-switchers) read sentences containing unilingual and switched determiner phrases while their EEG was recorded. The findings indicate important processing differences between the groups. Notably, switched trials (particularly those with a French determiner) generated an increased negativity from 300 to 500 ms for non-habitual code-switchers, but not for habitual code-switchers. The veritable impact of switching habits were also supported by a correlation analysis. This finding suggests that code-switching is not inherently effortful to process, but rather, that comprehension costs are related to idiosyncratic factors, such as the extent of prior exposure to code-switched input. An LPC was also observed from 500 to 900 for habitual code-switchers; for non-habitual switchers, this effect may have been attenuated by the long-lasting N400 effect. We advance several possible interpretations for the late positivity. Altogether, the results from the current study support the claim that the code-switching cost observed in previous literature may be linked to the bilingual samples tested in those studies: habitual code-switchers may not find switches effortful to process, but not all bilinguals code-switch. We highlight the importance of experience and individual differences in the study of bilingual cognition.
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    Traffic Assignment for Urban Evacuation
    (Université d'Ottawa | University of Ottawa, 2026-11-05) Emamzadeh, Seyed Hassanali; Pirani, Mohammad
    Urban emergency evacuations impose sudden and extreme demands on road networks that differ fundamentally from normal operating conditions. When a large population must leave a defined area within a short time window, traffic demand surges abruptly, evacuation corridors are stressed toward their capacity, and the consequences of poor traffic management extend beyond inconvenience to a direct threat to public safety. Conventional traffic planning tools, which assume steady state demand, time invariant network conditions, and independently optimised intersections, are inadequate in this context. This thesis develops and evaluates a two-stage procedure for traffic assignment and signal control under emergency evacuation conditions, in which a static assignment calibrates the signal plans and a microsimulation evaluates them. Macroscopic traffic flow theory, static and dynamic assignment methodologies, and signal timing design are systematically addressed, culminating in a microsimulation case study of the Sandy Hill neighbourhood in Ottawa, modelled in Aimsun Next. Evacuation demand is derived from 2021 Census data, with a documented extrapolation from the 2011 Census counts, through a chain of population, household, vehicle ownership, and compliance parameters, yielding 3,530 evacuating vehicles loaded over a two hour horizon by a Rayleigh departure time distribution. The network comprises 17 signalized intersections organised around a two branch evacuation corridor serving the two principal egress destinations, Highway 417 and the Macdonald–Cartier Bridge. Two fixed time signal control strategies are designed from the assigned peak interval flows and evaluated: a Webster baseline plan with pedestrian governed minimum greens, and a Coordinated Green Wave plan with a common corridor cycle and progressive offsets calibrated to the loaded corridor platoon speed of 25 km/h. The comparison shows that the value of coordination depends on how heavily the corridor is loaded. While the network is lightly loaded the two plans are indistinguishable; through the peak of the Rayleigh loading profile the coordinated plan reduces average travel time per vehicle by 21.4 %, and as demand falls the two converge again. Over the whole run, across ten replications per plan with common random seeds, coordination reduces total system travel time by 9.5 %, stopped time by 15.8 % and mean queue by 33.5 %, every measure significant at the 0.1 % level. The experiment is then repeated at three higher demand levels to test whether the benefit grows with load. It does, up to a point. At 1.25 times the base demand the reduction in total travel time is 34.9 %, at 1.5 times 63.9 %, and at twice the demand it falls back to 37.9 %. The reason is visible in the two plans separately: under coordination the travel time per vehicle is 96, 95 and 103 s across the first three levels, essentially unchanged while the demand rises by half, whereas under isolated timing it is 107, 145 and 285 s. At twice the demand both plans are beyond the corridor's capacity and the gap narrows because both are failing. At 1.5 times the difference is qualitative rather than quantitative: every coordinated run cleared the network within the horizon and no isolated run did. Coordination also makes the outcome between six and twenty times more repeatable, and the margin widens with load. The saving arises not from added capacity but from the alignment of green times between junctions, and it is concentrated on the southbound route to Highway 417, where isolated timing is liable to break down altogether. The results indicate that an evacuation signal plan should be judged by its performance at the crest of the demand surge, by how reliably it performs there, and by whether the network clears, rather than by its average delay over the evacuation period, which a steady-state assessment cannot provide.
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    Reliability of Perineal Complex Stiffness Assessed Using Ultrasound Shear Wave Elastography
    (Université d'Ottawa | University of Ottawa, 2026-11-05) Martins, Talita; McLean, Linda
    The perineal complex (PC) transmits loads across the pelvic floor, stabilizing pelvic organs. Its mechanical properties may inform pelvic floor disorders yet remain unquantified in vivo. This study aimed to determine the analysis-stage intra- and inter-rater reliability of ultrasound-derived shear wave velocity (SWV) across three postures (supine, standing, deep squat) and two imaging planes (sagittal, subdivided into superficial and deep zones; and transverse) in 27 nulliparous females. SWV was extracted offline. Intra-rater reliability was excellent across all postures and images (ICC 0.968-0.995). Inter-rater reliability was excellent in the superficial zone and transverse plane (ICC 0.951–0.989) and good in the deep zone (ICC 0.864–0.882). Deep-zone signal dropout reduced usable trials in standing. Posture modulated stiffness, with deep squat increasing SWV and optimizing deep-zone image quality. Offline SWV analysis of the PC is highly reproducible and potentially sensitive to posture-related differences, though deep-zone acoustic attenuation remains a primary feasibility constraint.
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    THE REFORM OF INSTITUTED MINISTRIES IN LIGHT OF SPIRITUS DOMINI AND ANTIQUUM MINISTERIUM: CANONICAL DEVELOPMENTS AND SYNODAL IMPLICATIONS
    (2026-11-05) Bawanthade, Anthoni; Glendinning, Chad
    The 2021 motu proprios Spiritus Domini and Antiquum ministerium, promulgated by Pope Francis, mark a decisive moment in the Church’s reception of Vatican II’s ecclesiology by reshaping the theological and canonical understanding of instituted ministries. These reforms ground instituted ministries explicitly in baptism and recognise the catechist as a stable form of ecclesial service. In light of these developments, this thesis offers a comprehensive historical, theological, and canonical study of instituted ministries, beginning with the fluid and charismatic roles of the early Christian communities and tracing their gradual incorporation into the clerical cursus honorum, their codification as minor orders, and their consolidation within the Tridentine framework. The reform initiated by Ministeria quaedam (1972) abolished the minor orders and established the instituted lay ministries of lector and acolyte; however, the subsequent formulation of c. 230 in the 1983 Code of Canon Law left unresolved tensions concerning baptismal foundations, women’s participation, and the distinction between instituted, temporary, and extraordinary ministries. Through a critical analysis of these historical trajectories and recent papal reforms, the thesis argues that instituted ministries must be understood within a synodal framework that emphasises co-responsibility, discernment, and the recognition of charisms. It evaluates the adequacy of the current canonical structure, identifies limitations in the existing terminology and categorisation, and proposes a more flexible continuum of ministries capable of responding to diverse pastoral realities. Drawing on historical precedent, theological reflection, and contemporary pastoral practice, the study also considers the possible institution of a ministry of deaconess, clearly distinguished from the sacramental diaconate yet expressive of baptismal participation. Overall, the thesis contributes to the ongoing theology and canon law of ministry by articulating a coherent model in which instituted ministries function as an authentic expression of synodality and the shared mission of the People of God.
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    Understanding Resilience and Well-Being Among Community Health Workers in Ghana: Meanings, Contextual Processes, and Seasonal Dynamics
    (Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2026-11-04) Sakeah, James Kotuah; Krentel, Alison; Colman, Ian
    Community health workers (CHWs) are central to the delivery of primary health care interventions in many low- and middle-income countries. In Ghana, CHWs play an important role within the Community-based Health Planning and Services programme, supporting household follow-up, health promotion, referrals, community mobilization, disease prevention, and public health campaigns. Despite their importance to community-based primary health care, CHWs often work under difficult social, material, programmatic, and environmental conditions. Many also combine their health-related responsibilities with household, livelihood, and community obligations. These realities raise important questions about how CHWs experience resilience and well-being, what conditions shape these experiences, and whether they change across seasonal contexts. This article-based thesis examines resilience and well-being among CHWs in Ghana through three connected studies conducted in the Upper East Region. The first study explored how CHWs understand and describe resilience and well-being in their own terms. The second examined the contextual processes and factors that shape these experiences across individual, relational, community, structural, and seasonal domains. The third used a prospective longitudinal cohort design to examine seasonal variation in resilience and well-being across dry, rainy, and transition/harvest seasons, and to assess the relationship between resilience and well-being over time. The qualitative studies used phenomenological inquiry and interpretative phenomenological analysis, while the longitudinal study used repeated seasonal surveys and linear mixed-effects models. The findings show that CHWs understood resilience not as a single personal trait, but as a dynamic process involving cognitive and adaptive strategies, emotional regulation, communal support, and spiritual coping. Well-being was similarly described as broad and interconnected, encompassing environmental, financial, mental and emotional, physical, social, and spiritual dimensions. Across the studies, resilience and well-being were shaped by personal motivation, family support, peer relationships, community recognition, supervision, incentives, gendered expectations, resource constraints, and seasonal pressures. The longitudinal findings showed clear seasonal patterns in both outcomes, with important differences by district and incentive frequency. Higher resilience was consistently associated with higher well-being, although this relationship varied across seasons and was strongest during the rainy season. Overall, the findings show that CHW resilience and well-being are dynamic, social-ecological, and seasonally shaped experiences. Supporting CHWs therefore requires more than expecting them to remain committed and resilient. It requires attention to the relationships, resources, recognition, supervision, incentives, and seasonal realities that make resilience and well-being possible. This thesis contributes to a context-sensitive and programme-relevant understanding of how CHWs sustain themselves while supporting primary health care in Ghana.