Defences of the Niagara Frontier (1764-1870) : An Historical Survey of Fort George, Fort Erie & Fort Mississauga

The intention of the Niagara Parks Commission to undertake restorations of Fort George, Fort Mississauga and Fort Erie has inspired this survey. The aim has not been to create an historical narrative - so many already exist - but rather to present an accurate description of the original appearance, structure and design of each of the Niagara Forts. This it is hoped may be of some practical assistance to those in charge of the actual work of restoration. In the case of Fort Mississauga which was maintained as a military post until 1857, vary complete information has been available. Fort George and Fort Erie were abandoned for military purposes after the War of 1812 and fewer plans and contemporary accounts have survived. While the work of research, involving the collection of every possible plan of the works and every drawing of their appearance as well as the piecing together of material, has been more difficult in the case of the latter forts, it is felt that the essential information has been secured. The use of a number of military terms in the description of the fortifications has been unavoidable and a glossary of these is included on page 66. The list of plans and illustrations is as complete as possible.

Essays on Firm Heterogeneity with Empirical Applications in Economic History and Agricultural Economics

This thesis uses models of firm-heterogeneity to complete empirical analyses in economic history and agricultural economics. In Chapter 2, a theoretical model of firm heterogeneity is used to derive a statistic that summarizes the welfare gains from the introduction of a new technology. The empirical application considers the use of mechanical steam power in the Canadian manufacturing sector during the late nineteenth century. I exploit exogenous variation in geography to estimate several parameters of the model. My results indicate that the use of steam power resulted in a 15.1 percent increase in firm-level productivity and a 3.0-5.2 percent increase in aggregate welfare. Chapter 3 considers various policy alternatives to price ceiling legislation in the market for production quotas in the dairy farming sector in Quebec. I develop a dynamic model of the demand for quotas with farmers that are heterogeneous in their marginal cost of milk production. The econometric analysis uses farm-level data and estimates a parameter of the theoretical model that is required for the counterfactual experiments. The results indicate that the price of quotas could be reduced to the ceiling price through a 4.16 percent expansion of the aggregate supply of quotas, or through moderate trade liberalization of Canadian dairy products. In Chapter 4, I study the relationship between farm-level productivity and participation in the Commercial Export Milk (CEM) program. I use a difference-in-difference research design with inverse propensity weights to test for causality between participation in the CEM program and total factor productivity (TFP). I find a positive correlation between participation in the CEM program and TFP, however I find no statistically significant evidence that the CEM program affected TFP.

DIGITAL HISTORY: DESIGNING VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS THAT SUPPORT CRITICAL THINKING AND IDEA EXCHANGE, MOTIVATE AND ENGAGE USERS

In my thesis I argue for the use of system designs that: a) open access to a variety of users and allow for collaboration and idea exchange, while at the same time, b) are designed to motivate and engage users. To exemplify my proposed systems design, I created an interactive and open digital history project focused on Romanian culture and identity during Communism, from 1947, when the Communist Party took power by forcing the King to abdicate, until the revolution in 1989, which marked the end of Communism in Romania (Gilberg, 1990, Boia, 2014). In my project, I present the possibility to recreate Habermas’ notion of public sphere and “the unforced force of the better argument” (Habermas, 1989) and Dewey’s (2004) understanding of democracy as a mode of associated living imbued of the spirit of inquiry within contemporary digital history projects. Second, I outline system designs that motivate and engage users, by satisfying the basic psychological needs outlined in Ryan and Deci’s (2000) self-determination theory: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Two more concepts are included to complete the proposed digital history project design: presence (Ryan, Rigby, & Przybylski, 2006) and learner hero (Rigby & Przybylski, 2009).

Fear of Falling and Balance Confidence in Older Adults with Diabetes Mellitus

Several determinants of fear of falling (FoF) and low balance confidence overlap with the consequences/complications of diabetes mellitus (DM). FoF is strongly associated with low balance confidence, and balance confidence mediates the relationship between FoF and balance and physical function. The purpose of this thesis was two-fold: (1) to examine the prevalence, severity and determinants of FoF in older adults (aged≥65) with DM, and (2) to evaluate the validity of the short version of the Activities-specific Balance Confidence scale (ABC-6) and its association with balance and postural control in older adults with DM. Three separate studies were conducted of older adults with DM (DM-group) and without DM (noDM-group). Study I revealed that although FoF prevalence adjusted for age and sex was not different between-groups, the DM-group had 8.8% fewer participants in the low and 8.4% more in the high Falls-Efficacy Scale International categories when compared to the noDM-group. Higher FoF severity in the DM-group was associated with poor physical performance, being female, fall history and clinical depressive symptoms. Study II provided evidence of convergent, discriminant and concurrent validity of the ABC-6 for use in older adults with DM with and without diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN). Notably, the ABC-6 was more sensitive in detecting subtle differences in balance confidence between the DM-group and noDM-group when compared to the original ABC scale (ABC-16), and can be administered in less time. Study III explored balance confidence (ABC-6) and its association with balance and postural control in older adults with DM. Subtle differences in axial segmental control (i.e., lower trunk roll velocity and higher head-trunk correlations) while walking and lower balance confidence were apparent in the DM-group, even in the absence of DPN, when compared to the noDM-group. Balance confidence partially explained the variance in head-trunk stiffening between-groups, and consequently low balance confidence in older adults with DM may contribute to the dependence on postural control strategies that are normally only utilized in high-risk situations. Findings from this thesis will help to guide the development of protocols for screening and intervention recommendations of patient education and targeted rehabilitation programs for older adults with DM.