Ontario Universities Research Articles

Discursive Power and the Internationalization of Universities in British Columbia and Ontario

Universities rationalize internationalization according to paradigms that emerge from different contexts. With the advent of internationalization strategies by federal and provincial governments, what effect do government ideas have on Canadian universities? This article evaluates the discursive power of government, and its role in discourse communities pertaining to higher education internationalization. Employing a discursive institutionalist framework and qualitative research design, I evaluated discursive content at 16 Tier 1 and 2 universities in British Columbia and Ontario. The findings indicate that governments have had weak ideational influence over the past decade, especially at universities with a global or nationalorientation. Many of these universities have been undergoing a subtle shift in their internationalization rationales—although not all, and not at the same pace. Yet some Canadian universities have increasingly “looked within” to rationalize internationalization, because their discourse communities are dominated by internal voices more concerned with organizational context than global competitiveness.

Engendering inequities: precariously employed academic women’s experiences of student evaluations of teaching

ABSTRACT Grounded in intersectional feminist approaches, this study explores the equity impacts of student evaluations of teaching (SETs) on precariously employed women in the academy. Despite their overrepresentation in the academic teaching workforce, precariously employed women are a demographic group that remains underrepresented in research on SETs. Thirty-four qualitative interviews with precariously employed academic women at a university in Ontario, Canada, were conducted to explore their experiences of SETs. The participants critiqued SETs’ role in perpetuating feminized and racialized labour market precarity, and undermining their professional autonomy and professionalization. They also described how SETs subject them to discriminatory evaluations based on their gender, race and age, and the impacts thereof on their workload and mental health. This study’s findings reveal the importance of recognizing SETs’ impact on equity and the need to change teaching evaluation policy in higher education.

EDUCATIONAL AND PEDAGOGICAL PARADIGM SHIFT IN THEORY AND PRACTICE

The Program “Educational and pedagogical paradigm shift in theory and practice” is implemented in Applied Research Implementation of Transformative Digital Learning in the Doctoral Study Program “Pedagogy” in Latvia (DocTDLL). This program is developed in cooperation with University of Ontario, Institute of Technology, Canada (EILAB) which is appropriate for implementation in higher education of Latvia and help to develop theoretical basis and practices of tertiary pedagogy. Transformative Digital Learning (TDL) transforms higher educational practices from: authoritarian instruction to democratized learning, individualistic learning to socially distributed and tool-mediated, knowledge building, a mechanism of the status quo to a catalyst for social progress, offer a truly novel approach to the theory of teaching and education, introduce new methodology and practical techniques to learners of all ages. The discourse changes concepts of education because technologies change the learner, ‘what how’ of this process, democratizes learning, communication, cooperation, interpersonal relationships and emphasizes the presence of moral values in education (Mykhailenko, Blayone, Žogla Ļubkina, 2019); Žogla, Prudņikova Mykhailenko,2019; Žogla, Ušča, Kijaško,2019).The purpose of the article is to analyse main results of approbation for the Program “Educational and pedagogical paradigm shift in theory and practice” for further investigation by the above mentioned project.

Internationalization in Ontario Colleges

Internationalization of Ontario colleges is a strategic mandate from both the federal and provincial governments to address declining domestic enrollment, labour market shortages, and the evolving needs of 21st century post-secondary students. The growth in numbers of international students in Ontario colleges has been particularly rapid over the past five years, and existing literature on internationalization and Ontario colleges was limited. Therefore, a careful review and analysis of policy at both the federal and provincial level can help Ontario colleges understand what policy has done to create the current environment for internationalization, anticipate how policy will impact the future of internationalization, and support decision making as colleges try to find success in this continuously changing landscape. The results of this review and analysis of policy surrounding internationalization in the Ontario College system indicate a probable need for additional research, funding, training, and policy changes to ensure a sustainable future.
 Keywords: internationalization, international students, Ontario colleges, higher education policy

“Architects’ mistakes should be covered with ivy and doctors’ with sod”: Medical Malpractice, Morton Shulman, and the “Conspiracy of Silence”

Every year thousands of Canadians are killed or injured because of medical mistakes. Plaintiffs, however, face several challenges to suing doctors successfully for malpractice. One challenge is the reluctance of some doctors to criticize other medical professionals, sometimes referred to as the “conspiracy of silence.” This article focuses on the attention given to the conspiracy of silence in Ontario in the 1960s when Dr. Morton Shulman, the pugnacious and flamboyant Chief Coroner of Toronto, alleged that doctors routinely covered up medical errors. Shulman drew media attention to irresponsible doctors, poor practice, and negligent treatment. He demanded more accountability and better care, and deplored efforts to silence him to protect the reputation of doctors. A decline in public trust of experts and of the professions created conditions that lent credence to Shulman’s claims. However, many medical professionals chafed at the questioning of their professionalism, expertise, and ethics. The provincial government’s responses, which included coroner system reforms, expanding the powers of the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons, and attempting to silence Shulman, primarily aimed to meet the concerns of the state and medical professionals, rather than those of patients and the public.

Private higher education and programmatic differentiation: examining the institutional positioning of private universities in Ontario

ABSTRACT This article explores programmatic and institutional differentiation among private universities in Ontario since the enactment of the Postsecondary Education Choice and Excellence Act of 2000. Findings suggest that there has been a small increase in both programmatic diversity through specialized graduate-level programs offered by out-of-province institutions and institutional differentiation through private for-profit institutions. While these new institutions and programs enroll only small numbers of students, we argue that institutions are pursuing various positioning strategies that reflect their differential resources and mandates. Our findings advance theories of institutional positioning by highlighting at least two additional dimensions of niche-seeking prevalent in the North American context: the campus experience and the modality of instruction. We argue that programmatic differentiation occurs only when private universities seek academic niches.

Young Adults' Perspectives on the Use of Symptom Checkers for Self-Triage and Self-Diagnosis: Qualitative Study.

BackgroundYoung adults often browse the internet for self-triage and diagnosis. More sophisticated digital platforms such as symptom checkers have recently become pervasive; however, little is known about their use.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to understand young adults’ (18-34 years old) perspectives on the use of the Google search engine versus a symptom checker, as well as to identify the barriers and enablers for using a symptom checker for self-triage and self-diagnosis.MethodsA qualitative descriptive case study research design was used. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 24 young adults enrolled in a university in Ontario, Canada. All participants were given a clinical vignette and were asked to use a symptom checker (WebMD Symptom Checker or Babylon Health) while thinking out loud, and were asked questions regarding their experience. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and imported into the NVivo software program. Inductive thematic analysis was conducted independently by two researchers.ResultsUsing the Google search engine was perceived to be faster and more customizable (ie, ability to enter symptoms freely in the search engine) than a symptom checker; however, a symptom checker was perceived to be useful for a more personalized assessment. After having used a symptom checker, most of the participants believed that the platform needed improvement in the areas of accuracy, security and privacy, and medical jargon used. Given these limitations, most participants believed that symptom checkers could be more useful for self-triage than for self-diagnosis. Interestingly, more than half of the participants were not aware of symptom checkers prior to this study and most believed that this lack of awareness about the existence of symptom checkers hindered their use.ConclusionsAwareness related to the existence of symptom checkers and their integration into the health care system are required to maximize benefits related to these platforms. Addressing the barriers identified in this study is likely to increase the acceptance and use of symptom checkers by young adults.

Towards sustainable internationalization in post-COVID higher education: Voices from non-native English-speaking international students in Canada

International students have been a dominant topic in Canadian government and institutional strategies in recent years (Tamtik, 2017; Trilokekar & El Masri, 2020). As of 2019, the Canadian Bureau of International Education (CBIE) reports over 600,000 international students in Canada across all levels of study. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the complexities around student engagement, learning and community building are complicated by remote learning. International students, in particular, face increasing challenges due to isolation from home countries and a reduction of in-person support services. We must now, more than ever, identify and address the lack of supports available to international students. This qualitative study provides voices from non-native English-speaking international students in Ontario universities speaking about the institutional support systems they have experienced in Canada. The findings are reported in a narrative format.

Question of Participation

Background. Recent studies indicate that physical activity levels among Ontario university students are about 35% to 42%. Furthermore, there is a sparsity of evidence on effective interventions to support increased physical activity among university students. The current study uses the Comprehensive School Health (CSH) framework for the analysis of current physical activity interventions at York University and provides four observations of an effective program. Methods. 249 York University undergraduate students (n = 153 women, n = 96 men) ages 18 – 42 (M = 19.92 years, SD = 2.99 for men; M = 19.96 years, SD = 2.61 for women) were recruited from the school of Kinesiology and Health Sciences. Participants were measured for their physical activity status and physical activity factors pertaining to the CSH framework via an online survey. Results. 67.9% of the participants were considered physically active, and 80.3% declared they would not “travel to the university only to engage in physical activity”. Additionally, 74.7% of the participants reported that they believed that they had enough information regarding physical activity, with 44.2% having been exposed to signs and posters about physical activity on campus. 49.4% of participants reported engaging in the school’s mandatory practicums (PKINs) with a resulting 125 minutes of average weekly physical activity. 16.9% of participants reported having received physical activity counseling and 83.1% did not. Conclusions. Based on the results of this study, an effective intervention to support increased physical activity among university students, in the case of York University, was one that fit well with the students’ academic schedule, did not rely on signs or posters for physical activity promotion, integrated itself into the curriculum, and would benefit from incorporating partnerships with healthcare professionals.

Addressing Sexual Violence at Ontario Universities in the Context of Rising Anti-Feminist Backlash

In this paper, I argue that anti-feminist backlash at Canadian universities is fuelled by, and has a significant impact on, anti-violence efforts on campus and, in particular, whether and how they engage with male students and normative constructions of masculinity.

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Combined With Meditation for Older Adults With Knee Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee is one of the most common causes of pain in older adults. Recent evidence suggests that knee OA pain is characterized by alterations in central pain processing in the brain. Two nonpharmacological pain treatments, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and mindfulness-based meditation (MBM), have been shown to improve pain-related brain function in older adults with knee OA. Because tDCS promotes neuroplasticity, it may potentiate the effect of MBM that also stimulates adaptive changes in the brain. However, no studies have examined whether tDCS combined with MBM can reduce OA symptoms in older adults with knee OA. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the preliminary efficacy of tDCS combined with MBM in older adults with knee OA. Thirty participants with knee OA were randomly assigned to receive 10 daily sessions of home-based 2 mA tDCS combined with active MBM for 20 minutes (n=15) or sham tDCS combined with sham MBM (n=15). We measured OA-related clinical symptoms using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC). Participants (60% female) had a mean age of 59 years. Active tDCS combined with active MBM significantly reduced scores on the WOAMC (Cohen’s d = 0.83, P = 0.02). Participants tolerated tDCS combined with MBM well without serious adverse effects. Our findings demonstrate promising clinical efficacy of home-based tDCS combined with MBM for older adults with knee OA. Future studies with larger-scale randomized controlled trials with follow-up assessments are needed to validate our findings.

Speaking Freely and Freedom of Speech: Why is Black Feminist Thought Left Out of Ontario University Sexual Violence Policies?

As of January 1, 2017, the Province of Ontario has required all post-secondary institutions to create and maintain a stand-alone sexual assault policy that includes clearly stated complaint and response procedures. This paper brings to bear the influence of Black feminist thought as an analytic tool and politic on the outcomes and omissions of the development of these policies. Analyzing the stand-alone sexual violence policy of the University of Ottawa as a case study, the author conducted a critical discourse analysis with an intersectional lens to determine if intersectionality influenced the policy creation. Findings reveal that policymakers conceptualize gender in a one-dimensional manner, without attention to intersections of sexualized violence with racism and other systems of oppression. A policy with an ill-defined focus on gender can result in a colorblind policy that suggests that the institution should treat all students the same, regardless of systemic disadvantages they might face on the basis of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, or ability. This avoidance can create barriers to reporting. Neoliberalism and the changing university culture are discussed.

Students with Disabilities Transitioning from High School to University in Canada: Identifying Changing Accommodations

More students with disabilities are attending university in Canada, bringing increasing expectations for academic accommodations. This study compared accommodations offered in high school and university for 71 first-year undergraduates with disabilities at Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada. More than a third (34%) of the participants presented with a disability label at university different from what they had in high school. Eighty-six percent (86%) of participants received fewer accommodations in university (6.34 fewer on average). The most frequently lost accommodations were individualized instructional supports and extra time on exams. High school students who received human-assisted accommodations, and those who identified as exceptional, lost the highest number of accommodations. Accommodations increased for students who attended private high schools. These findings have practice implications for both high schools and universities. Instead of using disability labels, high school students with disabilities should be taught how to describe their disability-related functional limitations (FLs) within academic activities. High schools should align Grade 12 academic accommodations specifically to disability-related FLs for university-bound students with disabilities. Universities should communicate clear information about its accommodation process. This includes the conditions in which specific accommodations, such as memory aids, are granted. Universities should identify and support students whose accommodations change significantly upon their arrival from high school. Finally, universities ought to adopt Universal Design for Learning principles in teaching wherever possible. This will help create a welcoming learning environment for all students, including high school students experiencing significant changes to their accommodations as they transition to university.

Faculty Perceptions of Teaching Nursing Content Online in Prelicensure Baccalaureate Nursing Programs.

The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of nursing faculty regarding the nature, challenges, and strengths of teaching course content online in prelicensure collaborative baccalaureate nursing programs and the implications for online course delivery. This was an exploratory-descriptive, mixed-methods design based on document analysis, an online survey completed by 32 faculty, and interviews with 16 faculty in a representative sample of 13 English speaking colleges in Ontario. Participants perceived content containing complex cognitive concepts, experiential learning as in relational practice, and psychomotor skill mastery as better suited for traditional classroom delivery. Faculty identified challenges with developing higher level online discussions and having students collaborate. Online teaching took much more time and should be acknowledged in workload assignments. A hybrid teaching environment was preferred. Online education was useful when the content and the semesters/years were appropriate, and necessary supports were in place. [J Nurs Educ. 2020;59(12):683-691.].

Do obese patients with primary knee osteoarthritis benefit from a single bout of moderate intensity aerobic exercise?

BackgroundObesity and osteoarthritis are often concomitant. Both are accompanied by oxidative stress and stimulated inflammatory response. Exercise is considered a substantial treatment in rehabilitation of both conditions. Yet most of literature reported the benefits of regular exercising, while there is paucity about the effects of single low to moderate exercise session. This study aimed to investigate the possible potential effects of a single bout of moderate exercise in obese middle-aged individuals with knee osteoarthritis (KOA).ResultsScore of pain and Western Ontario and Mc-Master University (WOMAC) had been improved 24 h after exercise. Glutathione reductase (GR) activity increased post-exercise but decreased the next 24 h though remained higher than baseline. Blood glucose level was reduced post-exercise whereas blood lipids still uninfluenced by exercise. Markers of inflammation remained unchanged after exercise session.ConclusionA single bout moderate-intensity aerobic exercise is effective in improving pain and antioxidant activity among middle-aged obese patients with primary knee OA. Single bout of mild to moderate exercise may help in treatment of obese patients with KOA.Trial registrationClinical Trials.gov Identifier: NCT03927339

Health Product Promotional Violations During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Return of Snake Oil Medicine

Background: Since March 6, 2020, the FDA has continued to monitor, inspect and enforce the promotion of products by companies that claim to mitigate, prevent, treat, diagnose; or cure COVID-19. Herein, we provide a descriptive review of the violative companies and their products in question.Methods: We examined the warning and notice of violation letters to companies posted on the FDA webpage over a 6-month period from March 6-August 31. Of all letters, we identified the product in violation, the venue of promotion, violation type, and country of the violating firm.Findings: A total of 93 letters were reported. Across all letters, USA-based companies had the leading number of warning and violation letters. The most common product category was CBD-containing products, followed by essential oils, and approved drug products for off-label use. While all letters reported the promotion of unapproved product(s) (93/93; 100%), the majority of letters reported misbranding (90/93; 97%), and/or had claims that lacked scientific substantiation (83/93; 89%). Finally, all promotional violations were linked to websites, along with other mainstream venue(s): Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, and/or email.Interpretation: Despite the desperate need of COVID-19 treatments, it remains mandatory for the promotion of products by companies to comply to standard regulatory requirements. As the pandemic persists, the FDA must continue their efforts to monitor, inspect, and enforce violative companies. Improving awareness among the public, healthcare providers, and stakeholders could increase the value of the drug approval process and protect patients and consumers from risks posed by these products.Funding Statement: No funding was received for this study. Declaration of Interests: We declare we have no conflicts of interest. Dr. Witek declares being a member of the Board of Directors of Trudell Medical International and Molecular Sciences Corporation. Dr. Nowak declares receiving consulting fees from TELUS Corporation, Akira by TELUS Health, and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health. Honoraria from the Ontario Medical Association, Ontario College of Family Physicians, Centre for Effective Practice, Canada Health Infoway, University of Toronto, and McMaster University.

Rule Following, Standards of Practice, and Open-mindedness

In this paper, I discuss the Ontario College of Teachers’ most recent versions of the Standards of Practice with William Hare’s counsel on being open-minded regarding open-mindedness in mind. Specifically, I insist that the use of the Standards of Practice as guidelines for working through cases of professional and ethical issues requires yet another rule to indicate when to deviate from this or that standard. In this way, open-mindedness consists of developing and following rules to indicate when and where specific standards should be bypassed. These rules vary, however, one source of these can be found in what Barbara Herman has called, “Rules of Moral Salience”—rules that guide us in our day-to-day moral decision-making and that we draw on when called upon to make moral-ethical judgments. What this means for various ethics (ethics of care; Kantian-type ethics, psychological and/or developmental accounts of ethics) is also broached.

Between Culture and Curricula: Exploring Student and Faculty Experiences of Undergraduate Research and Inquiry

Undergraduate research and inquiry is a growing movement within the teaching and learning nexus, with many institutions developing their practices within this culture of education. This study aimed to identify the perceptions and experiences surrounding undergraduate research and inquiry among students and faculty at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada; assess the extent of research and inquiry in the design of undergraduate courses; and explore the facilitators and obstacles educators encounter when attempting to implement this educational approach. Although differences exist in student and faculty definitions of undergraduate research and inquiry, we found two principal models that characterize its structure and delivery—the scaffold model and bookend model. A third, the abstract model, does not employ the practice of inquiry. Despite numerous benefits unique to undergraduate research and inquiry education identified by stakeholders, notable barriers (such as funding, faculty buy-in, limited student experience, and inherent competition) hinder its progress. Overall, we found a diversity of undergraduate research and inquiry practices across the university, operating within varying cultures and comfort levels, which suggests unequal access for student learners.

Fundraising in Ontario colleges: an emerging profession?

This exploratory/descriptive research study explored whether fundraising is an emerging profession in the context of Ontario’s English language Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology (CAAT). The s...

A case study of teaching styles at One Ontario college

This exploratory descriptive case study focused on the practiced teaching styles as self-reported by participating faculty at Loyalist College, compared to the formally espoused approach to teachin...