About MacSphere

MacSphere is McMaster University's Institutional Repository. MacSphere brings together the institution's scholarly works under one umbrella to preserve and provide ongoing open access to them. MacSphere works have been selected and deposited by members of the McMaster community as part of our collective committment to sharing our knowledge with the world.

MacSphere is supported and hosted by the McMaster University Libraries.

To contribute, sign on to MacSphere with your McMaster Account. If you have any questions, refer to the user guide or contact the MacSphere Support Team for assistance.

Students wishing to deposit their PhD or Masters thesis, please follow the instructions outlined by the School of Graduate Studies.

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Recent Submissions

Living evidence synthesis 22.2: Impact of strategies to mitigate health-related misinformation in diverse settings and populations
(2026-02) Velez CM; Wilson MG; Lithopoulos A; Presseau J; Wu N; Patiño-Lugo DF; Cura J; Smith M; Brehaut J; Gretton J; Nicklin W; Lavis JN
An in-depth synthesis of what is known, based on the best available research evidence from around the world (i.e., evidence syntheses) and local research evidence (i.e., single studies), about the impact of strategies to mitigate health-related misinformation in diverse settings and populations.
Rapid evidence synthesis #130: Approaches for improving primary-care access and attachment
(2025-12) Bain T; Goodale G; Whitelaw H; Waddell K; Ciurea P; Sivanesanathan T; Bhuiya AR; Mishra S; Ali A; Moat K; Lavis JN
An in-depth synthesis of what is known based on the best available global research evidence (i.e., evidence syntheses) and local research evidence (i.e., single studies) and may include a scan of experiences from other countries and from Canadian provinces and territories, about approaches for improving primary-care access and attachment in response to a decision-maker's request.
Methodological Contributions to Guideline Development in Oncology
(2026) Ismaila Olorunkemi Nofisat; Thabane, Lehana; Health Research Methodology
Clinical practice guidelines are used to standardize care provided by clinicians and are based on systematic review of available evidence. Due to the rapid advancement in therapies and need for more up to date guidance, living guidelines were developed to provide continuously updated, methodologically robust recommendations that keep pace with rapidly emerging evidence. In oncology, where disease burden is high and new data on therapies, and technologies evolve quickly, the living guideline model offers a promising approach for ensuring that guidance remains current, trustworthy, and implementable. Despite the importance of clinical guidelines and the growing interest in the living guideline model, important methodological questions remain regarding how best to evaluate guideline adherence, address implementation challenges, engage guideline panels, and integrate emerging tools such as artificial intelligence and automation in the development process. This thesis contributes to the methodological foundations of guideline development in oncology through four interconnected studies. The first chapter focuses on examining adherence to oncology clinical practice guidelines and its impact on patient outcomes with the use of a systematic review and meta-analysis. By quantifying adherence patterns and associated health effects, this chapter highlights the need for more evaluation studies on the uptake of guidelines and the importance of improving guideline implementation strategies to improve guideline adherence and patient’s health outcomes. The second chapter evaluates the Panel Subgroup (PSG) method as a structured approach to engaging multidisciplinary panels during guideline development. Findings demonstrate how PSGs can improve efficiency, inclusiveness, and methodological rigor which are elements critical to sustaining guideline processes over time. The third chapter explores barriers and facilitators influencing adoption of the living guideline framework within oncology by employing a mixed-methods design. This work deepens understanding of the contextual and organizational factors that shape successful development of living guidelines. The fourth chapter assessed current frameworks, methods, and applications of artificial intelligence and automation in living guideline development. This chapter maps the emerging methodological landscape and identifies opportunities for integrating AI and automation to support evidence surveillance, workflow optimization, and decision-making. Together, these four studies offer complementary methodological insights that advance the science and practice of guideline development in oncology. This thesis provides evidence, and practical considerations aimed at supporting organizations and guideline developers as they design, implement, and sustain guideline processes in a rapidly evolving clinical environment.
Behaviour Characteristics of Concrete Blocks
(1992-07) Donald Sandys Wunsch; Drysdale, R.G; Civil Engineering
Masonry construction has a reputation for long-term durability and relative freedom from maintenance. This is largely due to the level of quality control possible in a plant manufacturing environment. Current provisions in the material standard for concrete blocks were not felt to be comprehensive enough in describing properties which might be important for the performance of the material. Blocks from participating manufacturers were tested for: compressive strength, tensile strength, absorption, suction, permeability and shrinkage. In addition to specified standard procedures, alternate test methods for obtaining these properties were investigated. It was found that current provisions in the standard do not adequately account for permability and suction behaviour. A revision of the shrinkage requirements was recommended. Alternate procedures were recommended for some tests
FUEL ROD ASSAY
(1976-08) GORDON SHIGEO OKAWARA; Jeffs, Alan T; Engineering Physics
The performance capabilities of a National Nuclear Corporation Rod/Sample assay unit was investigated. In conjunction with this, the existing program for on-line data analysis on a Hewlett-Packard 9821A calculator is improved by the use of a least squares curve fit to a quarter sine wave in order to introduce better end corrections. Calibration curves of various modes are established after which it becomes possible to study the effect of end off-specs and detectability limits. The aim of the optimization process is to achieve the detection of a 20%-cm off-spec with a detection frequency of 95% in the minimum amount of time. The conditions necessary are presented

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