Attention In Canada Research Articles

A perspective and survey on the implementation and uptake of tools to support decision-making in Canadian wildland fire management

The level of implementation and uptake of specific tools used to support wildland fire management decision-making has received little attention in Canada. Our aim is to aid the fire research-to-practice discourse in Canada by describing key terms and concepts for characterizing implementation, uptake, and capacity. We also designed and conducted a survey to assess the implementation and uptake of some of the available tools used by Canadian provincial and territorial fire management agencies. We assessed nine tools and found distinct differences in their implementation and uptake, with differing results at national versus provincial and territorial scale. The Canadian Fire Weather Index and Fire Behaviour Prediction Systems had the highest level of both implementation and uptake nationally. The other tools have substantially lower but varying degrees of implementation and uptake across the country. The results encourage further investigation into the factors affecting implementation and uptake of fire management tools, both nationally and in provinces and territories.

Spatiotemporal trends in temperature and precipitation for Prince Edward Island over 1971–2020

Climate change has been attracting significant attention in Canada lately. This study investigates spatiotemporal air temperature and precipitation changes by developing high-resolution (i.e., 1 m × 1 km grid) climate maps from 1971 to 2020. The climate monitoring data are collected and synthesized from various sources, and then used to develop high-resolution climate maps with state-of-the-art spatial interpolation methods. The error metrics results show that the inverse distance weighting method performs the best for air temperature and precipitation and thus is used in this study. Significant temporal trends show that the annual mean temperature increased by 0.03 °C/year in western and eastern Prince Edward Island (PEI), covering 62.75% of PEI area. Similarly, the annual precipitation has decreased by around 4.8 mm/year in Prince County and eastern parts of Queens and Kings Counties, covering 62.81% of PEI area. In growing season, temperature has increased by 0.05 °C/year and precipitation is decreased by 2.1 mm/year in Prince County. This information illustrates the dynamics of temperature and precipitation toward the changing climate.

Trends in self-reported cost barriers to dental care in Ontario.

The affordability of dental care continues to receive attention in Canada. Since most dental care is privately financed, the use of dental care is largely influenced by insurance coverage and the ability to pay-out-of pocket. i) to explore trends in self-reported cost barriers to dental care in Ontario; ii) to assess trends in the socio-demographic characteristics of Ontarians reporting cost barriers to dental care; and iii) to identify the trend in what attributes predicts reporting cost barriers to dental care in Ontario. A secondary data analysis of five cycles (2003, 2005, 2009-10, 2013-14 and 2017-18) of the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) was undertaken. The CCHS is a cross-sectional survey that collects information related to health status, health care utilization, and health determinants for the Canadian population. Univariate and bivariate analyses were conducted to determine the characteristics of Ontarians who reported cost barriers to dental care. Poisson regression was used to calculate unadjusted and adjusted prevalence ratios to determine the predictors of reporting a cost barrier to dental care. In 2014, 34% of Ontarians avoided visiting a dental professional in the past three years due to cost, up from 22% in 2003. Having no insurance was the strongest predictor for reporting cost barriers to dental care, followed by being 20-39 years of age and having a lower income. Self-reported cost barriers to dental care have generally increased in Ontario but more so for those with no insurance, low income, and aged 20-39 years.

Public perceptions of police officers who wear pins or patches on their uniform

ABSTRACT Questions surrounding the display of pins and patches by police officers are receiving tremendous attention in Canada. However, no known research has explored how such accessories may impact public perceptions. To inform this discussion, we examined how 524 Canadians perceived an officer wearing various pins and patches. Participants rated eight photographs of the officer, once without any pins or patches and once when wearing each of the seven different pins or patches, on nine items (e.g., approachable, calm, competent). The results suggest that, compared to when wearing no pin or patch, the officer was perceived more positively when wearing the Breast Cancer Awareness pin, a Poppy, or the Gay Pride patch, but more negatively when wearing the Black Lives Matter or Punisher patch. We observed no significant effect for the Fallen Officer pin or the Thin Blue Line patch. We discuss our results with respect to research, policy, and practice.

The role of police in conducting wellness checks: Insight from a study of police data

ABSTRACT The role of police in conducting wellness checks has received considerable public attention in Canada in recent years. Drawing upon data from both the computer-aided dispatch and records management systems of a mid-size police agency in Western Canada, we identify and then descriptively assess all wellness checks conducted in 2020 (N = 1,114 events). As part of our exploration, we explore the nature of these events, the characteristics of those involved, and the responses of the police. Our results reveal a series of patterns regarding the characteristics and outcomes of these events, including by ‘official’ versus ‘unofficial’ status. Our results also shed insight into the challenges of using police data for these kinds of research questions. By providing researchers, practitioners, and policymakers with an empirical analysis of wellness checks, we hope to contribute to evidence-based decision-making about these events moving forward.

Quantifying the prevalence of energy poverty across Canada: Estimating domestic energy burden using an expenditures approach

AbstractEnergy poverty is gaining public attention in Canada. Based on statistical analysis of Statistics Canada's 2016 Survey of Household Spending, we estimate that 7–9% of households spent more than 10% of their income on energy expenditures. Households in the Atlantic provinces faced the most energy poverty and highest energy expenditures. Low income, geography, and dwelling conditions were the main predictors of energy poverty. Households in energy poverty also spent approximately five times more on energy expenditures as a proportion of their total expenditures compared to households not in energy poverty. Our study fills a key research gap as a limited number of studies exist on the extent and drivers of energy poverty in Canada. Further, our study's robust quantitative estimates allow benchmarking and comparative research. These estimates lay the groundwork for evidence‐based solutions—and our findings highlight the need to reconsider current policies. Considering the challenge of the ratio of energy costs to income is vital, especially in the aftermath of events such as COVID‐19 or the 2021 heatwave in western Canada, which result in different energy behaviours and needs. More broadly, in the regular day‐to‐day, energy services should be seen as necessary and decision makers ought to consider the energy burden of Canadians.

Understanding the overrepresentation of Black children in Ontario's child welfare system: Perspectives from child welfare workers and community service providers

BackgroundThe overrepresentation of Black children in the child welfare system is a social problem that has received longstanding attention in the United States, but has recently received increasing attention in Canada. ObjectiveThis qualitative study explores the findings of two quantitative studies (Antwi-Boasiako et al., 2020, 2021) in order to interpret them through the perspectives of child welfare workers and community service providers. The aim is to gain a deeper understanding on the potential factors that contribute to the overrepresentation of Black children in Ontario's child welfare system. Participants and settingThe study involved twenty-one child welfare workers from two child welfare organizations in Ontario serving lots of Black families and thirteen community service providers in Toronto. MethodsSix focus groups were completed with thirty-four participants. Each of the focus groups was audio recorded and manually transcribed verbatim. Constant comparison analysis was used to analyze the transcribed data. ResultsThemes that emerged from the study include the following concerns: racism and bias from referral sources; racism and bias from child welfare workers; lack of cultural sensitivity; lack of workforce diversity/training; lack of culturally appropriate resources; assessment tools; duty to report; fear of liability; lack of collaboration; and poverty. ConclusionsThe results from this study reinforce the need to shift practice that acknowledges Black families as valuable stakeholders and experts of their own lives and involves them in the development and implementation of policies and practices that affect them.

Ontario as a case study for modernizing Home Child Care licensing and support

AbstractIn this study we demonstrate why oversight and monitoring of the home child care (HCC) sector deserves more scrutiny and policy attention in Canada. Focusing on Ontario as a key case given its population and particular licensing model, we propose a model of licensing which would bring HCC in line with requirements in child care centres and ensure all HCC providers are licensed and monitored. Recognizing that licensing alone does not guarantee quality child care, we propose a system of program supports to accompany licensing. Finally, we estimate the costs associated with implementing our proposal and demonstrate that on a per provider/child basis our model is much more cost effective and equitable than the current system.

From sandbox to pandemic: Agile reform of Canadian drug regulation

Public health urgency for emerging COVID-19 treatments and vaccines challenges regulators worldwide to ensure safety and efficacy while expediting approval. In Canada, legislative amendments by 2019 Omnibus Bill C-97 created a new "agile" licensing framework known as the "Advanced Therapeutic Pathway" (ATPathway) and modernized the regulation of clinical trials of drugs, vaccines, and medical devices. Bill C-97′s amendments are worthy of attention in Canada and globally, as health product regulation bends to COVID-19. The amendments follow reforms elsewhere to accommodate health product innovation, however, the Canadian ATPathway is broader and more flexible than its counterparts in other jurisdictions. In addition, Bill C-97 informed Canada's COVID-19 response in important ways, particularly in relation to clinical trials. The measures adopted by the drug regulatory authority, Health Canada (HC) during COVID-19 may become the new norm in Canadian regulatory practice insofar as they help achieve the amendments introduced by Bill C-97. Finally, despite government rhetoric of transparency, the agenda-setting, formulation, and implementation of the amendments have occurred with little opportunity for scrutiny or public engagement.

Mathematics Curriculum Change: Identifying Parental Expectations

Parents’growing concerns about the current approaches to learning mathematics in elementary schoolhave drawn public attention in Canada. Rather than dismiss such concerns, understanding parent perceptions andgarnering their support is essential to ongoing curriculum transformation and students’ success in mathematicslearning. Using phenomenography, we examined parents’ perceptions of the current mathematics curriculum andtheir children’s experiences as expressed in community-based focus groups and individual interviews. Parentsresponded based on their past experiences, their views of children’s current experiences and their future aspirationsfor their children. Our analysis of parents’ perspectives revealed that their concerns and critiques were grounded inthe expectations they held for their children’s mathematics learning. In particular, parental expectations fell intothree categories: students need the opportunity to reach expected goals of mathematics learning; essential supportsmust be in place to reach expected goals; and, home-school communication is necessary for parent understandingand engagement. We suggest that by understanding the specific expectations that underlie parents’ concerns,teachers can engage in conversations that begin with affirming mutual expectations and respecting parents’personal experiences to lead to partnering with parents as they realize their agency in their children’s learning.

“Did Not Return in Time for Curfew”: A Descriptive Analysis of Homeless Missing Persons Cases

Homeless communities have garnered recent public attention in Canada due to their high rates of violence, victimization, and being reported as missing. There have been several high-profile cases, investigations, and inquiries involving missing homeless persons, yet very little is known about what cases are reported to the police, under what circumstances they go missing, and the outcomes of those cases. As a result, the purpose of this study is to provide some insights into some of these unresolved issues by offering an exploratory, descriptive analysis of 291 closed missing person cases from the records of a municipal police service. What this analysis reveal is a somewhat more mundane picture. Specifically, results indicate that the majority of missing person reports are of those who are female and White, have a drug/alcohol addiction, are residing at homeless shelters/missions, and have a history of being reported as missing. As well, it was revealed that most people are reported as missing due to shelter/mission reporting issues with curfews and that all are located alive. This study extends the minimal existing scholarship on the missing homeless population by providing some preliminary insights on the vulnerabilities and factors that can impact these cases.

Association between media attention and presentation of vaccination information on Canadian chiropractors' websites: a prospective mixed-methods cohort study.

Historically, some chiropractors have been critical of vaccination, and this has been the subject of recent media attention in Canada. We explored the association between media attention and public dissemination of vaccination information on Canadian chiropractors' websites. In 2016, we identified all Canadian chiropractors' websites that provided information on vaccination by extracting details from the regulatory college website for each province using the search engine on their "find a chiropractor" page. We assessed the quality of information using the Web Resource Rating Tool (scores range from 0% [worst] to 100% [best]), determined whether vaccination was portrayed in a positive, neutral or negative manner, and conducted thematic analysis of vaccination content. We revisited all identified websites in 2019 to explore for changes to posted vaccination material. In July 2016, of 3733 chiropractic websites identified, 94 unique websites provided information on vaccination: 59 (63%) gave negative messaging, 19 (20%) were neutral and 16 (17%) were positive. The quality of vaccination content on the websites was generally poor, with a median Web Resource Rating Tool score of 19%. We identified 4 main themes: there are alternatives to vaccination, vaccines are harmful, evidence regarding vaccination and health policy regarding vaccination. From 2012 to 2016, there was 1 Canadian newspaper story concerning antivaccination statements by chiropractors, whereas 51 news articles were published on this topic between 2017 and 2019. In April 2019, 45 (48%) of the 94 websites we had identified in 2016 had removed all vaccination content or had been discontinued. In 2016, a minority of Canadian chiropractors provided vaccination information on their websites, the majority of which portrayed vaccination negatively. After substantial national media attention, about half of all vaccination material on chiropractors' websites was removed within several years.

“Rules … I Want Someone to Make Them Clear”: Japanese Mothers in Montreal Talk about Multilingual Parenting

ABSTRACTThis article examines the development of Japanese as a heritage language (HL) in linguistically mixed families. While families where parents share a mother tongue have been investigated extensively in recent decades, this particular demographic has received minimal attention in Canada. The article, part of a larger study, is based on semi-structured interviews with Japanese-descent mothers living in Montreal, Canada, which sought to investigate their efforts to raise their children through the Japanese language while navigating a linguistically diverse social context. The study found that the families engaged in highly valued metalinguistic discourse for devising and implementing family language policies. This was seen as essential for successful HL development. It was found that their contextual environment had several positive and negative impacts on the mothers’ parenting experiences and generated significant stress, but also provided inspiration for pursuing their HL goals. The article concludes with implications for research and knowledge mobilization.

Netflix: Canadian (Dis)Content. Competing Sovereignties and the Cultural Politics of Cultural Policy

ABSTRACTNetflix has gained significant attention in Canada because it exemplifies the challenge posed by digital technology to Canada’s long-standing cultural policies. It is increasingly evident that such policies are limited in their ability to encourage foreign investment while safeguarding Canadian cultural expression. Indeed, the policies proposed thus far have generated “Canadian discontent” across the political spectrum, notwithstanding their promised benefits. This article uses Netflix to explore the cultural politics of cultural policy: the historical and political underpinnings that drive ongoing discussions about state intervention in culture. These politics include the debates about the effect of foreign investment on Canadian cultural sovereignty, and the ideological tensions within the notion of sovereignty itself, namely those between state and consumer and between center and periphery. Using a historiographical approach, this article investigates the controversy surrounding recent government responses to the disruptive force of foreign digital multinationals, such as Netflix.

Big Oil U: Canadian Media Coverage of Corporate Obstructionism and Institutional Corruption at the University of Calgary

A 2015 investigation by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) into the involvement of Enbridge Inc. at the University of Calgary drew widespread media attention in Canada on issues of academic integrity and legitimacy as well as renewed attention to the increasing centrality of corporate dollars in public institutions. All of this was further embedded in a public consideration of climate change and the contested legitimacy of carbon corporate interests. A qualitative content media analysis of 70 published stories from Canadian news sources reveals a stark contrast between corporate and non-corporate media frames. Our analysis shows the parallel efforts of the University of Calgary, Enbridge, and corporate media to frame out the central issues of corporate obstructionism in public institutions and, equally, institutional corruption around the mandate, purpose, and intention of those public institutions.

China as janus: the framing of china by british columbia’s alternative public sphere

In recent years, Canada–China relations have drawn extensive public attention in Canada. To better understand this trend, this article examines the coverage of China in the “alternative public sphere” of British Columbia, Canada’s westernmost province. Based on the qualitative critical discourse analysis of China-related online media generated by four alternative media and advocacy sources (the Tyee, the Dogwood Initiative, the David Suzuki Foundation, and the Pembina Institute), we argue that China’s image within British Columbia’s alternative public sphere is characterized by the tension between two conflicting images. On one hand, China has been framed as a powerful, foreign entity that unduly influences Canada’s economic policies and decisions on energy infrastructure. On the other hand, China has been framed positively as a global leader in renewable energy and, increasingly, in global climate negotiations. Although both images of China were found in the data analysis, the negative image was significantly more prominent than the positive one.

Editorial: Academic integrity gaining increased attention in Canada

We introduce the second issue of our first volume, highlighting the lead article from Amanda McKenzie and offering commentary on how academic integrity issues have gained attention in the national media this year.

Academic Libraries and Disabled Students: An Accessible Story?

With a growing disabled population, theaccessibility of higher education institutions is agrowing areaof attention in Canada. This paperexamines how academic libraries in Canada areresponding to create accessible environments,and how students are experiencing theseservices and spaces in practice. This examinationwill help to build a picture of how notions ofdisability and accessibility are constructed inacademic libraries in Ontario, and how theseunderstandings may affect disabled students inpractice.

A cross-cultural examination of selective attention in Canada and Japan: The role of social context

Previous studies have found that East Asian children outperform Western children on executive function tasks; however, cultural differences may depend on the task demands. Particularly, East Asian children may have difficulties in regulating attention within social contexts. Selective attention was tested among four- to seven-year-old Canadian (N = 62) and Japanese (N = 54) children using two Flanker task variants: (a) Social Flanker (i.e., happy/sad faces) and (b) standard Fish Flanker (i.e., right/left) tasks. In the Social Flanker task, Japanese children’s performance was more impaired by flanker interference than that of Canadian children. While the interference effect was similar across cultures in the Fish Flanker task, Japanese children had an overall better performance than Canadian children. In both cultures, the older children (ages 6–7) performed better than the younger children (ages 4–5). These results suggest the importance of social contexts in understanding cultural differences in the development of cognitive control.

Courts and Issue Attention in Canada

Courts and Issue Attention in Canada