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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
Multilingual Phishing Email Detection Using Lightweight Federated Learning
(IEEE, 2025-08-26) Staples, Dakota; Cao, Hung; Hakak, Saqib; Cook, Paul
Given the escalating global threat of phishing emails, it is imperative to develop effective solutions to mitigate their potentially devastating impacts on society. This study endeavours to construct a federated multilingual spam detection system employing logistic regression, specifically targeting English, French, and Russian emails. This is the first work to the best of our knowledge which considers a non-deep learning setting for federated learning, and combines federated learning with multilingual phishing detection. Evaluation of the models is based on accuracy metrics which are compared with a most frequent class baseline. Our findings indicate that an optimal configuration comprises 10 clients undergoing 100 epochs of training with 100 rounds of federated learning, resulting in superior performance. Notably, this approach significantly outperforms the baseline, achieving an accuracy of 89.46% compared to 70%
Growth, survival, and physiological responses of diploid and triploid rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in variable-temperature seawater
(University of New Brunswick, 2025-10) Concannon, Abigail; Benfey, Tillmann; Garber, Amber
Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) are among the most economically and culturally important aquaculture species in Canada and globally. Climate change, characterized by warming seas and fluctuating salinity, poses challenges to farm sustainability. This thesis investigates physiological and genetic responses of diploid and triploid trout to temperature and salinity stress, focusing on interlamellar cell mass (ILCM), osmoregulatory capacity, and electrolyte balance. Controlled trials and linear mixed-effects models quantified growth and mortality heritability. Warm seawater increased ILCM development, while plasma osmolality and ion concentrations rose after transfer from freshwater to seawater and during thermal exposure, with comparable trends across ploidy groups (all p < 0.001). Moderate heritability estimates for growth and survival indicate potential for selective breeding to enhance resilience. Overall, these findings clarify how ploidy, environment, and physiology interact, informing breeding and rearing strategies that support trout health and productivity under changing climate conditions.
A hybrid load forecasting framework for future grid planning: NB Power case study
(University of New Brunswick, 2025-10) Das, Bishal; Cardenas Barrera, Julian L.
Accurate long-term load forecasting (LTLF) is vital for strategic planning, infrastructure investment, and resilient grid operations, especially amid rising Behind-the-Meter (BTM) generation, Electric Vehicles (EVs), and Demand Side Management (DSM). This study develops a hybrid framework that integrates a Random Forest (RF) for trend extraction and an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) for residual modeling to forecast provincial electricity demand over a 20-year horizon. The approach includes a robust data preprocessing pipeline that harmonizes multi-resolution datasets and constructs scenario-based projections. Deterministic and probabilistic forecasts are generated, with the latter employing Monte Carlo simulations and time-varying noise injection to capture long-term uncertainty. Using NB Power as a case study, the model achieved an RMSE of 162.80 MW, an MAE of 112.70 MW, and a near-zero mean error of −5.36 MW. Results outperform traditional methods and enhance understanding of future load trajectories, supporting data-driven utility planning and risk management.
A dendroecological comparison of drought sensitivity between white spruce stands in northern New Brunswick
(University of New Brunswick, 2025-10) Tripp, Katherine; Taylor, Anthony R.; D’Orangeville, Loïc
White spruce is an important tree species to Atlantic Canada’s forestry industry, and its reported high sensitivity to drought raises significant concerns for wood supply in the region. In this study, we take advantage of the recent drought that occurred during 2017-2021, to assess variations in drought sensitivity with a dendrochronology approach across 32 planted white spruce stands in an intensively managed landscape of northern New Brunswick. The analysis of long-term climate-growth coupling over the 1978-2023 period revealed a general trend for reduced growth during hot, dry summers. In line with this finding, we observed growth reductions up to 75% during the studied drought period. Linear mixed-effect regression models showed that these growth declines were proportional to tree size, while individual tree competition had no significant effect. With the intensive competition management already applied in the region, our results suggest that additional thinning will not reduce future drought stress.
Understanding South Asian immigrant parents' perspectives on their children's mental health and barriers to accessing help
(University of New Brunswick, 2025-10) Rani, Veena; Taylor, Petrea
South Asian (SA) immigrant children in Canada face unique mental health stressors, including intergenerational conflict, academic pressure, and language barriers, yet they access mental health services at lower rates. Parents’ perceptions strongly influence how children’s mental health is recognized, managed, and treated. However, limited research has explored SA immigrant parents’ experiences. This qualitative study aimed to understand SA parents’ perspectives on their children’s mental health to improve access to timely and culturally responsive care. Using an interpretive description approach, 8–10 in-depth interviews were conducted with SA parents whose children receive care at William Osler Health System’s Mental Health Program. Thematic analysis was used to identify recurring patterns and generate insights from participants’ experiences. The findings informed trauma- and violence-informed, culturally safe strategies to strengthen the capacity of SA immigrant parents to support their children’s mental health and well-being.