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UNB Scholar is an institutional repository initiative of UNB Libraries intended to collect, preserve, showcase, and promote the open access scholarly output of the UNB community. Use UNB Scholar to explore specific collections, or search all content in the repository. Material submitted to the repository will also be freely discoverable online through Google and other major search engines.
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Recent Submissions
A qualitative exploration of EMG activity visual feedback for spinal cord injury hand function rehabilitation
(University of New Brunswick, 2025-03) Aikens, Janelle; Englehart, Kevin; Scheme, Erik
Spinal cord injuries (SCI) often lead to impaired hand function, reducing independence and requiring sustained motivation for rehabilitation, particularly when movement feedback is compromised. Augmented feedback, such as electromyography (EMG)-based visual feedback, may support motor learning and motivation, but its impact on SCI rehabilitation remains underexplored. This study investigates how EMG-based visual feedback influences motivation and its’ suitability for hand function rehabilitation. Using a qualitative approach informed by Self-Determination Theory, we conducted semi-structured interviews with five individuals with tetraplegia and a focus group with seven occupational therapists. Findings indicate that EMG feedback serves as an extrinsic motivator by providing tangible progress indicators and may enhance intrinsic motivation fostering enjoyment and aligning with personal interests. Themes highlight its potential across rehabilitation contexts, from pre-functional muscle awareness to improved patient-therapist communication. This research underscores EMG visual feedback’s role in bridging subfunctional and functional movement, offering a promising tool for advancing SCI rehabilitation.
Understanding teachers’ and school leaders’ perceptions of the teacher assessment process: Implications for teaching practices and ongoing professional development and learning
(University of New Brunswick, 2025-03) Adeniyi, Ruth Oluwafunke; Brien, Ken
Since the early 19th century, there has been a significant emphasis on regulating teachers’ practices and improving schools through rigorous teacher assessment. Teachers and school leaders continue to face ongoing criticism for their struggles to adapt to evolving assessment policies, especially given the limited evidence of improved performance resulting from these changes.
This qualitative case study investigates the perceptions and practices surrounding the teacher assessment system within three middle schools in the Anglophone West School District (ASD-W) in New Brunswick. The primary objectives are to examine the understanding of the New Brunswick teacher assessment system among teachers and school leaders, assess their perceptions of autonomy in the assessment process, identify the impact of self-assessments and reflection on instructional practices, and determine how reflective feedback influences ongoing professional learning.
Situated within an interpretative paradigm and informed by Weick’s (1995) organizational sensemaking theory, this research aims to understand how teachers and school leaders continuously interpret and navigate assessment processes to make decisions that enhance professional practices. Purposeful sampling was employed to select research sites within the Anglophone West school district (ASD-W). Data collection methods included semi-structured interviews and document reviews to gain comprehensive insights into participants’ perspectives on the assessment system.
This study’s findings highlight the importance of educational policies that balance holding teachers accountable while supporting their professional development while fostering an environment of trust and collaboration. Additionally, it emphasizes the need for comprehensive self-assessment frameworks, reflective teaching methods, and personalized ongoing professional development and learning (OPDL) opportunities. These elements are crucial for enhancing teacher empowerment and improving instructional outcomes.
Overall, these findings contribute to the broader discourse on teacher assessment and OPDL, offering valuable insights for policymakers, teachers, and school leaders aiming to navigate and enhance the complexities of teacher assessment systems.
Estimating the vertical offsets of a crowd-sourced bathymetry system using Kalman Filter solution
(University of New Brunswick, 2025-03) Ibekwute, Samuel Izuchukwu; Church, Ian
Crowd-sourced Bathymetry (CSB), recognized for its potential in mapping uncharted waters, is faced with credibility and useability concerns, which makes Hydrographic Offices (HOs) hesitant to consider them for use in
official nautical charts. This research implemented a Kalman Filter (KF) algorithm to estimate the vertical offsets between theGNSS receiver and the sonar and the GNSS receiver and the waterline, two quantities which are often not measured in a CSB system. The algorithm uses Ellipsoid Reference Survey (ERS) principles, estimated uncertainties, and hydrodynamic models for tidal adjustments. The solution was tested with six datasets collected from the Gulf of St. Lawrence where the difference between the previously estimated GNSS to sonar offset and the KF solution results ranged between -1.286m and 1.168m. The results showed the technique's ability to significantly improve CSB data quality by resolving these offsets, paving the way for wider adoption in official charts.
The Falls Island Collection: A report on a collection of late Maritime Archaic through Protohistoric period artifacts from Falls Island in Cobscook Bay, Maine.
(University of New Brunswick, 2025-02) Cummings, Joshua A.; Hrynick, M. Gabriel; Anderson, Arthur
Falls Island is located in Cobscook Bay, Maine, in the western Quoddy Region. Between the 1930s and 1950s, local avocational archaeologists John and Douglas Knapton visited the island and collected artifacts from eroding shell middens and intertidal zones. Their collection was donated to the Robert S Peabody Institute, where they are currently curated. I analyzed the artifacts using a culture-historical approach. The collection suggests an extensive period of occupation from the Late Maritime Archaic through Late Maritime Woodland periods (ca. 5500-550 cal BP). In this thesis I place the artifacts chronologically using typology from the Quoddy Region, the Atlantic Northeast, and New England. I also conducted a pedestrian survey of Falls Island, which revealed two remaining archaeological sites, and two eroded sites. This thesis uses collections research and pedestrian survey to analyze coastal archaeological sites in the Quoddy Region.
DGSim: A scalable and configurable framework for simulating energy consumption of household appliances
(University of New Brunswick, 2025-02) Addala, Bhavani Sai Prasad; Kent, Kenneth B.
We introduce DGSim, a flexible and scalable framework for simulating household energy consumption. Traditional energy simulation tools often struggle with configurability across diverse household types and scalability to urban and regional scales. First, we explore DGSim’s ability to adapt to different appliance configurations and household structures, allowing precise modeling of varied consumption patterns. Second, we implement a multi-faceted configurability approach, enabling detailed customization for appliances, usage patterns, and community demographics. Third, we enhance scalability with optimizations that support large-scale simulations involving millions of instances, allowing DGSim to model energy use across residential communities. Our evaluation demonstrates DGSim’s capability to provide insights for demand-side management, highlighting its benefits over existing simulation frameworks for both detailed and large-scale residential energy analysis.