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Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETD) Repository This section preserves Master's theses and doctoral dissertations accepted at Laurentian University and is a mechanism for making this form of scholarly work widely accessible.

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Access status: Open Access ,
Contribution à la compréhension du deuil chez les immigrants camerounais au Canada. Une étude interdisciplinaire sur la santé mentale et les besoins liés au deuil
(Laurentian University Library & Archives, 2026-02-23) Tsobgni Zebaze, Vivette Yannick; Pre. Sara Torres, Pr. Simon Laflamme, Pr. Pascal Djiadeu
Le deuil, bien que phénomène universel, revêt des formes diverses selon les contextes culturels et les appartenances communautaires. Les rites et rituels qui l’accompagnent s’ancrent dans les traditions collectives et jouent un rôle essentiel dans l’élaboration du sens et la régulation de la douleur psychique. En contexte migratoire, ces repères sont souvent bouleversés. La pandémie de Covid-19, en exacerbant les situations de deuil sans rituels, a mis en lumière l’importance de mieux comprendre les besoins spécifiques des immigrants face à la perte. Or, les recherches sur le deuil demeurent largement centrées sur des populations majoritaires, avec une sous-représentation marquée des communautés noires, souvent absentes des protocoles scientifiques en raison de barrières culturelles, religieuses et structurelles. Dans ce contexte, cette thèse s’intéresse à l’expérience du deuil chez les immigrants camerounais au Canada, une population en croissance encore peu étudiée. L’étude repose sur une méthodologie mixte. Une collecte de données quantitatives a été réalisée auprès de 72 endeuillés ayant répondu à un questionnaire en ligne. En complément, des entretiens semi-dirigés ont été menés avec 15 informateurs clés et 14 participants issus du questionnaire. Les résultats mettent en évidence une forte détresse émotionnelle, souvent associée à une perte de sens, un isolement social, et un sentiment d’inachevé en raison de l’impossibilité de réaliser les rites traditionnels. Toutefois, des ressources de résilience émergent, telles que la foi religieuse, le soutien communautaire, et la réinterprétation symbolique des rites. L’analyse s’inscrit dans le cadre théorique de la thérapie africaine du deuil développée par Nwoye (2005), qui valorise les dynamiques communautaires, les pratiques culturelles et la spiritualité comme leviers de guérison. Elle mobilise également le modèle tripartite de la santé mentale proposé par Kovess-Masféty (2007, 2018), articulé autour de la détresse psychologique, des troubles mentaux et de la santé mentale positive. Les résultats démontrent également que dans le contexte migratoire contemporain, d’autres dimensions du deuil émergent, notamment des besoins administratifs liés à la complexité des démarches, des contraintes temporelles limitant l’expérience du deuil, ainsi que des besoins émotionnels individualisés nécessitant un accompagnement adapté. Ces éléments soulignent l’importance de dimensions institutionnelles et intrapsychiques du deuil, relativement absentes du modèle de Nwoye (2005).
Access status: Open Access ,
Towards sustainable ammonia synthesis: a critical review of alternative methods to the Haber-Bosch process
(Laurentian University Library & Archives, 2025-12-18) Balakumar, Raahavy; Dr. Stefan Siemann, Dr. Jeffrey Sheppard
Ammonia is indispensable for global agriculture, industry and its emerging role as an energy carrier. However, its production remains dominated by the century-old Haber-Bosch process which consumes 1-2% of the world’s total energy and contributes to 1.5-2% of global CO2 emissions. This review analyses the current industrial standard and its limitations, and assesses the technical feasibility and potential of alternative pathways. These include electrocatalytic nitrate reduction, direct electrochemical nitrogen reduction, a renewable-powered Haber-Bosch process, photocatalytic nitrogen reduction and biological nitrogen fixation. Such approaches operate under milder conditions, utilizing renewable energy to reduce the reliance on fossil fuels. Although no single technology can yet fully replace the conventional Haber-Bosch process, advancements in catalyst designs, process engineering and renewable energy integration could enable large-scale green ammonia production in the future. Such developments would enhance global food security, reduce the environmental impact of carbon emission and energy consumption, and would contribute significantly to achieving climate targets.
Access status: Open Access ,
Predicting serious diagnoses in vertigo patients using clinical data and machine learning techniques
(Laurentian University Library & Archives, 2025-03-06) Patel, Shrey Alpeshkumar; Dr. Kalpdrum Passi, Dr. Robert Ohle,
Vertigo is a condition that results in a sensation of rotating or dizziness, and can arise from one of the following causes – from inflammation of the inner ear to life-threatening conditions like brain stroke, brain tumor, etc. Therefore, Accurate and timely diagnosis are critical to effectively manage and treat patients, preventing potential complications. However, conventional diagnostic procedures depend basically on clinical orientation and may involve numerous tests, which can delay the process of identification of serious conditions. The development of machine learning in recent years provides potential methods for risk assessment in individual vertigo patients during the initial stages. Machine learning models can use extensive data and high-quality algorithms to detect tendencies and factors that can lead to severe diseases by analyzing patients’ symptoms, history, and test results. In their current form, these clinical models offer considerable benefits: they support experienced and skilled clinicians in making better decisions and addressing patients’ needs that require prompt attention. In order to build a robust risk prediction model for this study, we proposed and examined various machine learning models along with a combination of feature selection approaches. When analyzing the results of all considered models, such as boosting and ensemble methods, the best performance was observed by Logistic Regression. Combined with the correlation-based feature selection and splitting ratio of 75:15:10, this model yielded 97% sensitivity with data imbalance being maintained by the SMOTE method. The sensitivity of the model suggested in this study could contribute to upgrade the diagnostic abilities, reducing the load on health resources due to the minimization of ineffective tests, and spotlight the risky cases. This machine learning-driven approach holds the potential to transform the management of vertigo, improving patient outcomes and ensuring timely intervention for those with serious underlying conditions.
Access status: Open Access ,
Contributions in nearly non-diffracting beams' propagation
(Laurentian University Library & Archives, 2025-02-21) Haouas, Mouna; Dr. Brahim Chebbi
Due to their unique properties, non-diffracting beams, such as Bessel beams, are increasingly used in various biomedical, imaging, research, and industrial applications. In this thesis, I present designs for two types of optical systems that generate nearly non-diffracting beams. The first system produces a quasi-nondiffracting light sheet, while the second explores different methods for generating constant intensity, constant DOF, tunable range, Bessel beams. The motivations behind this work, potential applications of the developed systems, and a review of the relevant literature and background theory are discussed. The main proposed ideas to achieve these goals are also presented and analyzed. The research includes mathematical descriptions and numerical simulations of the developed systems. An experimental realization of the light sheet system is described, with the results presented and discussed. To generate the light sheet, we propose a setup comprising a laser, a telescope to expand and collimate the laser beam, a Powell lens to expand the beam in the spanwise direction, and a mask on a cylindrical lens. The mask, formed by a pair of double slits, works with the cylindrical lens to produce a thin, nearly non-diffracting light sheet. For generating constant intensity, constant DOF, tunable range, Bessel beams, we propose three optical systems. The first system consists of three refractive axicons: the first two axicons create a nearly constant-diameter annular beam, and the third, a logarithmic axicon, generates a nearly constant intensity segment of light. The tunability is achieved by adjusting the distance between the first two axicons. The second system employs a newly designed optical lens to transform an annular beam into a Bessel beam with a constant intensity, constant DOF, and tunable range. The third system involves placing a ring aperture in front of a logarithmic axicon. The tunability is achieved by varying the mean radius of the ring aperture.
Access status: Open Access ,
Experiences of Anishinaabe kweok (Anishinaabe momen) accessing health care and dreams for the future
(Laurentian University Library & Archives, 2025) O’Donnell, Ophelia; Dr. Levin
The experiences that Indigenous people have with health are impacted by their cultures and the consequences of colonization. The thesis project aims to communicate the experiences that Northern Anishinaabe kweok (Anishinaabe women) are having accessing health care, what health means to them and their dreams for the future of health. The study took place in Sudbury, Ontario. Through storytelling sessions, seven Northern Anishinaabe kweok shared their experiences. Rooted in an Anishinaabe paradigm, hermeneutic phenomenology and thematic analysis were used to understand the stories shared during the storytelling sessions. Storytellers described their conceptions of health, their experiences accessing health care, and their dreams for the future of health care. Experiences accessing health care were defined by interactions with health care providers, outcomes and the environment in which in the interactions took place. The conceptions of health described by the storytellers were influenced by the examples of health they had around them, such as observing their parents. Health was defined by cultural factors, including holism. The storytellers shared two major ways the health care system can be improved; how health care is approached and more education about culturally safe health care for providers and policy makers, as well as more education about the health and the health care system for Indigenous people and community members. The stories support the need to improve health care access and treatment for not only Anishinaabe kweok, but Indigenous people in general.