Board Of Canada Research Articles

Vertical interlocking and decision making in national and provincial/territorial non-profit sport organization boards

ABSTRACT This study explains the impact of vertical interlocking on national (NSO) and provincial/territorial (P/TSOs) non-profit sport organization board decision making in a federated sport model. Data were collected from six boards in Canada (two NSOs, four P/TSOs) via 36 meeting observations, 18 semi-structured interviews, and over 900 documents. Sixty-six decisions were categorized based on vertically interlocked and non-interlocked boards (three per group). Data were analyzed via an independent sample t-test (derived from a structured observation sheet to score decisions quantitatively) and a codebook thematic analysis. Results demonstrated interlocked boards differed from their non-interlocked counterparts when making decisions regarding the length, delays, interactions, and information sources (i.e., acquisition and use). Theoretically, results provide insights into vertical interlocking’s multi-dimensional impact on decision-making constructs. Practically, NSO and P/TSO boards should perceive vertical interlocking positively, given the ability to access and use information sources not available in non-interlocked boards.

Obtaining Consent for Research on Risky Behaviours Among Adolescents in Canada: A Scoping Review.

This scoping review explores current practices for obtaining consent in research on risky behaviours among adolescents in Canada. The JBI methodology for scoping reviews was used. The database search was conducted in August 2021 and updated in November 2022. Papers published in 2010 or later were included. Extracted data included study characteristics, sample characteristics, and consent procedures. The review included 83 reports covering 57 studies. Nearly 60% of studies relied on adolescent self-consent for participation. Adolescent self-consent was more common than parental/guardian consent for studies using in-person research methods, older adolescent groups, and particularly vulnerable populations. Parental/guardian consent was more common for studies using younger age groups and general population samples. Adolescent self-consent was more common than parental/guardian consent for most risky behaviours covered by this review. These results provide insight into current consent practices in this area and offer guidance to researchers and institutional review boards in Canada.

The Pain of Experiencing Anti-Asian Racism and Discrimination

The poem addresses various forms of oppression and discrimination experienced by individuals of Asian heritage in Canada. It is a summary of a report for one of the largest school boards in Canada. The poem humanizes the experiences of the research participants. It reflects the voices of 1,300+ research participants which included Grades 7 to 12 students, educators, and administrators.

Comprehensiveness and Context of Psychiatric Reports Submitted to Review Boards in Cases of People Found Not Criminally Responsible on Account of Mental Disorder

Recent research suggests that empirically validated risk factors for persons found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder (NCRMD) are rarely mentioned by clinicians in reports for Review Boards in Canada. This study aims to better understand this observation by examining the styles of clinical reports (i.e., types of report according to their comprehensiveness and their content) and the contextual factors associated with them. To identify styles of reports, mentions of risk factors within reports were subjected to a series of latent class analyses. Regression analyses were then carried out to identify which contextual factors (characteristics related to the person found NCRMD, the timing of the report, and the clinical team/care setting) were significantly associated with the styles of reports. Findings revealed four styles of reports which were also correlated to contextual factors, some unrelated to the risk of violence and/or reoffending for the person found NCRMD. These results reinforce the need to implement evidence-based practices in forensic risk assessment and management.

The administrative state in food policymaking: a fait accompli

PurposeThis paper analyzes scholarly literature and the development of a nonstate food strategy in Canada, the Conference Board of Canada's Canadian Food Strategy, to explore the role of the administrative state in food policymaking.Design/methodology/approachThis research is based on an exploratory case study drawing data from 38 semistructured interviews, including elite interviews. It also draws on policy documents from the nonstate food strategy.FindingsThis paper shows that various nonstate actors, including large food industry players, identify a role for the state in food policy in two ways: as a “conductor,” playing a managing role in the food policy process, and as a “commander,” taking control of policy development and involving nonstate actors when necessary. The complex and wicked aspects of food policy require the administrative state's involvement in food policymaking, while tamer aspects of food policy may be less state-centric.Originality/valueThis paper fills gaps in studies exploring food policymaking processes as well as the administrative state's role in food policymaking in a governance era. It contributes to a better understanding of the state's role in complex and wicked policy domains.

The Labyrinth as immersive multimedia environment: Marshall McLuhan at Expo 67

This article examines the Labyrinth, a multi-screen pavilion created by the National Film Board of Canada for the Montréal World Exposition in 1967. Within the Labyrinth, audiences were corralled through three chambers, each containing immersive multimedia environments that were designed to represent the chapters of an essential human life. The National Film Board envisaged the Labyrinth as a ‘new kind of instrument for communication […] created by the marriage of two ordinarily unrelated fields — the art of cinema and the art of architecture’. The purpose of this article is to evaluate the exact nature of this marriage of mediums. We will specifically focus on assessing the ways by which architectural space curated the phenomenological and epistemological relation that the audience had with the cinematic presentations in each chamber. Based on archival and primary sources, our research traces the design development of the Labyrinth and interprets its significance by employing Marshall McLuhan’s concepts of visual and acoustic space. As such, the article demonstrates how the Labyrinth modulated the balance between meaningful and affective modes of communication within its telling of the human story.

The Development of Social Media Guidelines for Psychologists and for Regulatory Use.

The Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards, the national organization representing psychology regulatory/licensing boards in Canada and the USA, recently developed social media guidelines that are being recommended for use by its member boards. The purposes of the guidelines were to provide guidance to psychology regulatory boards both countries in identifying and communicating what are considered appropriate and inappropriate uses of social media and to promote consistency and clarity about this across jurisdictions. The process involved reviewing the professional literature, relevant guidelines, standards, current laws, and regulations. The guidelines developed include guidelines about confidentiality, informed consent, risk management, competence, multiple relationships, professional conduct, security of information, personal use of social media, and regulatory board use of social media. Major challenges and limitations in accomplishing this task are identified and discussed.

Changing the narrative: shaping legislation to advance diversity on boards in Canada

PurposeThis paper examines actors and discourses shaping new Canadian legislation designed to advance diversity in corporate governance.Design/methodology/approachThis paper performs a stakeholder and discourse analysis drawing on texts of parliamentary debates.FindingsThe paper illuminates tensions regarding definitions of diversity, its importance for boards of directors and the mechanisms favoured for implementation. Official discourses examined show that, unlike for other political issues, opposition was largely muted, and most stakeholders engaged in the process supported legislation advancing diversity. Nonetheless areas of debate and positioning by actors and suggest important differences, with outcomes linked to non-traditional power bases.Research limitations/implicationsThis study provides insights into the discursive environments of organizations and processes relating to promoting diversity and equality in the political decision-making domain, a critical venue for understanding advancement of equity, often neglected in organizational studies.Practical implicationsBy understanding the complex and competing discourses surrounding diversity and inclusion at the macro level this paper provides a context for understanding organizational (meso) and individual (micro) beliefs and behaviours.Social implicationsThis study shows how advocacy shapes how policy and legislation are framed and the ways mainstream organizations, including women's groups, may advance gender equality without regard to other dimensions of diversity or intersectionality.Originality/valueThis study maps the political discourse around recent Canadian legislation designed to improve diversity on boards that must, in the Canadian context, address more than gender.

The Trajectory of Three Marketing Boards in Canada: Gone, Going… and Curiously Persistent

The Trajectory of Three Marketing Boards in Canada: Gone, Going… and Curiously Persistent

Guideline No. 404: Initial Investigation and Management of Benign Ovarian Masses.

To provide recommendations for a systematic approach to the initial investigation and management of a benign ovarian mass and facilitate patient referral to a gynaecologic oncologist for management. Obstetricians, gynaecologists, family physicians, internists, nurse practitioners, radiologists, general surgeons, medical students, medical residents, fellows, and other health care providers. Women ≥18 years of age presenting for evaluation of an ovarian mass (including simple and unilocular cystic masses, endometriomas, dermoids, fibromas, and hemorrhagic cysts) who are not acutely symptomatic and without known genetic predisposition to ovarian cancer. This guideline aims to encourage conservative management and help reduce unnecessary surgery and long-term health complications, maintain fertility, and decrease operative costs and improve overall patient care and outcomes by providing criteria for referral of patients with ultrasound imaging findings suggestive of a malignant mass to a gynaecologic oncologist. Databases searched: Medline, Cochrane, and PubMed. Medical terms used: benign asymptomatic and symptomatic ovarian cysts, adnexal masses, oophorectomy, ultrasound diagnosis of cysts, simple ultrasound rules, surgical and medical therapies for cysts, screening for ovarian cancer, ovarian torsion, and menopause. Initial search was completed by 2017 and updated in 2018. Exclusion criteria were malignant ovarian cystic masses, endometriosis therapies, and other adnexal pathologies unrelated to the ovary. The content and recommendations were drafted and agreed upon by the authors. The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada's Board of Directors approved the final draft for publication. The quality of evidence was rated using the criteria described in the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation methodology framework. Implementation of the recommendations could reduce costs due to unnecessary surgeries and hospitalizations and reduce lost work days and the risk of loss of fertility, early menopause, and surgical complications. RECOMMENDATIONS (GRADE RATINGS IN PARENTHESES).

‘Some nice Latin American music will be played by a tape player’: anti-racist critique and the multicultural state

ABSTRACT This article explores multicultural politics of ‘anti-racism’ through a detailed and contextualized study of the 1993 March 21 campaign in Canada’s largest federal administrative tribunal, the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB). I argue that multicultural state politics thwart serious engagement with anti-racist critique, and drastically reconfigure the meanings and consequences of anti-racism. Within multicultural state politics, anti-racism quickly devolves to apolitical recycling of diversity discourses, and benign celebrations of cultural festivities. As I will show, state multiculturalism is a cheap institutional production that heavily relies on the unpaid labour of racialized civil servants, and leaves the status quo largely intact. Ironically, multicultural celebrations of diversity produce novel opportunities for racialization and racial exploitation. While the celebrations go on, relations of racial dominance are reproduced and protected from critique.

Policing Canada’s Refugee System: A Critical Analysis of the Canada Border Services Agency

Abstract The officers of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) play pivotal roles at various stages in Canada’s refugee system, making decisions that are life-changing for asylum seekers. This article examines the evolving institutional setting and processes that define the CBSA’s enforcement policy and its consequences for asylum seekers in Canada. Drawing on the findings of field-research, conducted between October 2015 and May 2018 in three Canadian provinces (Ontario, British Columbia, and Quebec), it argues that the Agency operates in a specific social universe heavily shaped by the post-9/11 geopolitical context of the criminalization of migration. This situation has been exacerbated by the major overhaul of Canada’s refugee system, undertaken by the previous Conservative government in 2012. The article further contends that the way the CBSA has been involved in refugee status determination turns Canada’s refugee system into an adversarial and unfair process for some groups of asylum seekers. To that end, it highlights the CBSA’s policies in three areas: eligibility determination, front-end security screening of refugee claimants, and ministerial interventions at the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada.

Impact of a Free Health Care Policy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo During an Ebola Outbreak: An Interrupted Time-Series Analysis

Background: During past outbreaks of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) and other infectious diseases, health service utilization declined among the general public, delaying health seeking behavior and affecting population health. In 2018, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) announced a free health care policy during an EVD outbreak in affected and neighboring areas. We evaluated the impact of this policy on health service utilization. Methods: Using monthly data from the national Health Management Information System from January 2017 to January 2019, we examined rates of the use of nine health services at primary health facilities: total visits; first and fourth antenatal care visits; institutional deliveries; postnatal care visits; DTP vaccinations; and visits for uncomplicated malaria, pneumonia, and diarrhea. We used controlled interrupted time series analysis with a mixed effects model to estimate changes in the rates of services use during the policy (June -September 2018) and afterward. Findings: Use of most services increased, including EVD affected zones. Total visits and visits for pneumonia and diarrhea increased more than two-fold relative to the control areas (p<0·001), while institutional deliveries and first antenatal care increased between 20-50% (p<0·01). Visits for DTP, fourth antenatal care visits and postnatal care visits were not significantly affected. Most increases did not persist after the policy ended. Interpretation: The free care policy was effective at rapidly increasing the use of health services, but this effect was not sustained post-FCP. Such policies may mitigate the impact of infectious disease outbreaks on health service utilization. Funding Statement: This project received funding from the Rapid Research Fund for Ebola supported by the International Development Research Centre, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and AXA Research Fund. Dr. Law received salary support through a Canada Research Chair and a Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar Award. Dr. Grepin also received salary support through a Canada Research Chair. Declaration of Interests: Dr. Law has consulted for Health Canada, the Health Employees’ Union, the Conference Board of Canada, and provided expert witness testimony for the Attorney General of Canada. All other authors report no potential conflicts of interest. Ethics Approval Statement: The research protocol was approved by the Ethics Committees at Wilfrid Laurier University and Kinshasa School of Public Health.

A Laboratory for Boredom

In 1951, the Defense Research Board of Canada commissioned a group of psychologists from McGill University to investigate the effects of exposure to monotonous environments. To understand why aviat...

Sarcellopolis: virtual cartographies of multicultural living in contemporary i-docs

ABSTRACTThis project explores the graphic interface design of interactive documentaries (i-docs) about housing projects between Canada and France. Against the backdrop of the modernist, utopian fantasies that constructed these large-scale housing developments, contemporary documentarians intervene in the social space of the multicultural city via creative interface design. I-docs like Highrise (Cizek, Katerina. 2010. “Out My Window.” National Film Board of Canada. http://outmywindow.nfb.ca; Cizek, Katerina. 2011. “One Millionth Tower.” NFB Highrise, November 5, 2011. http://highrise.nfb.ca/tag/one-millionth-tower/; Cizek, Katerina. 2015. “The Universe Within: Digital Lives in the Global Highrise.” National Film Board of Canada. http://universewithin.nfb.ca/desktop.html#index), (B4-Windows on the Tower, Jean Christophe Ribot, 2012, http://www.francetv.fr/nouvelles-ecritures/banlieue-b4/), and Sarcellopolis (Sébastien Daycard-Heid and Bertrand Dévé, 2015, http://sarcellopolis.com/en/) employ user interfaces that conjure the vertical and horizontal dimensions of social interaction in the urban built environment. They are most successful when they move beyond narrative to mobilize objects and space, thus enacting the ‘promiscuous relations’ of urban experience and simulating the chance encounters of the urban public sphere.

The Changing Research Data Landscape and the Experiences of Ethics Review Board Chairs: Implications for Library Practice and Partnerships

Academic libraries have to a large extent taken the lead in facilitating new approaches to research data management, but changes to the research data landscape have had an impact on numerous areas of academic work, including ethics review. Using interpretive phenomenological analysis of interviews with chairs of Canadian research ethics boards, this study explores how ethics review boards have experienced changes to data policy and related technologies in order to describe the ethical implications of new approaches to data management and to explore ways in which the library, ethics review boards, and other campus partners might harmonize efforts to support emerging data practices. While ethics review boards in Canada are keenly aware of open data policies, data publishing in practice is still nascent. There is uncertainty about the adoption of changing technologies for research and their impacts on privacy protection. Where responsibility lies for addressing these uncertainties is often unclear. Academic libraries and research ethics boards are well-suited to engage in mutual knowledge transfer and to integrate data management planning and ethics review processes. Institutional-level oversight that includes all campus departments impacted by changes to the research data landscape may facilitate improved communication and reduce role ambiguity.

Doing Research with Vulnerable Populations: The Case of Intravenous Drug Users

This review article considers ethical concerns when doing research on potentially vulnerable people who inject drugs (PWID) in a Canadian context. The Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans broadly addresses many of the traditional ethical principles of research on vulnerable persons, but does so at the cost of clarity and precision. Vulnerability is contextual rather than absolute. When doing research with vulnerable persons, informed consent should be obtained from an independent person, and comprehension should be checked using questioning. Participants can be vulnerable due to many factors, including addiction, chronic disease, socioeconomic and racial status, and lack of education. The ability of PWID to give informed consent can be compromised by undue influence or intoxication, but existing research shows that neither the mode nor the magnitude of compensation has a significant effect on new rates of drug use. Compensation can also help dispel the therapeutic misconception. Intoxication rather than undue influence is the main concern when obtaining informed consent from PWID. The stigmatization of PWID as incapable of consent should be avoided. Paternalistic exclusion from research can harm PWID and exacerbate their vulnerability by reducing our knowledge of and ability to specifically treat them. As such, we must collect better data about the effects of research ethics policies. Studies to this effect should focus on experiences, perspectives and needs of potentially vulnerable research participants. Research ethics boards in Canada should adopt an evidence-based approach when applying discretionary power to proposals for clinical research.

Angry Inuk. Directed by Alethea Arnaquq-Baril. Angry Inuk Inc. and the National Film Board of Canada, 2016. 82 minutes.

<i>Angry Inuk</i>. Directed by Alethea Arnaquq-Baril. Angry Inuk Inc. and the National Film Board of Canada, 2016. 82 minutes.

My Grandmother Ironed the King's Shirts by T. Kove

Kove, Torill. My Grandmother Ironed the King's Shirts. Firefly Books, 2017.My Grandmother Ironed the King’s Shirts is based on Torill Kove’s Academy Award nominated short film of the same title. The book is Kove’s retelling of one of her grandmother’s stories. This book is a fictional story set in a historical period.It is about Norway’s first king in hundreds of years. Following the introduction of the King, it becomes immediately clear that this is a fictional story. The story explains that the new King’s public reputation was harmed by his inability to iron his own clothing. In reality, the King of Norway would have likely had staff to do this. Fortunately, after his first disastrous public appearance in wrinkled clothes, he found a store that was willing to do his family’s ironing. Kove’s grandmother worked at the store and soon realized that the clothes she was ironing belonged to the King. She proudly told everyone that she ironed the king’s clothes, up until the King was forced to flee Oslo during the Second World War. When the Germans invaded, Kove’s grandmother was tasked with cleaning and pressing their uniforms. She decided to join the Norwegian Resistance by sabotaging their uniforms. All of Norway’s shirt pressers joined the movement and in 1945, when the Germans left, they had to do so without clothes.The illustrations in this book are simple line work filled in with solid colours. They are drawn in a comical cartoonish manner and all were pulled from the original short animated film. Pre-war, the images are dominated with brighter colours and they fill the entire page. During the war, the images are smaller, only occupying parts of the pages, with a white background dominating. The illustrations were all pulled from the original short film, where the images always filled the screen, which makes this change to the small images from full-page illustrations seem like it serves no clear purpose.While this story provides a historical setting, and might encourage an interest in history, it may cause confusion in children because it is presented as historical while in reality it is overwhelmingly fictitious. It also makes use of the term “gypsy” which may have been appropriate in the historical period presented in the story, but is now considered a derogatory term (the preferred term is “Roma” or “Romani”) and therefore I would not recommend it for school libraries. That said, it is a quirky and fun story for elementary aged children that communicates a message of strength in adversity. As a result, I would recommend it for public libraries.Editor’s note: One of three new titles in the Firefly Books-National Film Board of Canada partnership.Recommended: 3 stars out of 4Reviewer: Laura HamonicLaura Hamonic is an Academic Library Resident at the University of Alberta’s Science and Technology Library. She has a passion for all things crafty and spends her days cross stitching, crocheting, and costume making.

Civil engineering heritage: country profile – Canada

This paper is a review of the civil engineering heritage of Canada, one of the series of national profiles being published by Engineering History and Heritage. It is presented under four headings: ‘Canada’s major civil engineering achievements’, ‘National and regional recognition of engineering heritage’, ‘Exemplar conservation of engineering structures’ and ‘Information sources for engineering heritage’. The profile discusses engineering structures of heritage importance, including the Victoria Bridge in Montreal; the Quebec Bridge in Ste-Foy, Quebec; the Canadian Pacific Transcontinental Railway; the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage sites in the Historic District of Quebec City; and the Rideau canal in Ottawa. The profile lists organisations in Canada that are active in helping conserve its engineering heritage, including the Ministry of Canadian Heritage, the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada and many provincial heritage organisations, and concludes with a short list of websites and books giving further information about Canadian civil engineering heritage.