Knowledge In Canada Research Articles

Mobilizing pain care knowledge in Canada

Mobilizing pain care knowledge in Canada Norm Buckley and Jason Busse from the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Pain Research & Care discuss the mobilization of knowledge about the pain environment in Canada, focusing on the role of an ad hoc community-based organization. Approximately every quarter, we bring together a wide variety of individuals involved in aspects of pain care, research, education, healthcare delivery, policymaking, and healthcare regulation. An ad hoc group comprised of individuals who see the understanding of pain as important to their work, the CPCF has had a significant impact on the course of pain policy in Canada. It demonstrates the value that can be created by even a small financial and administrative investment in pain-related knowledge mobilization.

Population-Based Differences in Cancer Incidence between Immigrants and Non-Immigrants in Canada from 1992-2015

The purpose of this study was to investigate if there are differences in cancer incidence between immigrants and non-immigrants in Canada. We hypothesized that immigrants have lower cancer incidence compared to non-immigrants. In this retrospective study, a linked-database approach was employed using Statistics Canada data. The Canadian Cancer Registry and Canadian Vital Statistics Database were linked with the 1991 Census cohort and the cohort was followed from 1992-2015 for cancer incidence. Excluded persons included Census non-respondents, institutional residents, those living on reserves and those less than 25 years of age. Sampling and bootstrap weights were used to ensure the sample represented the Canadian population and for statistical analyses. Total unweighted and weighted sample was 2,585,160 and 17,002,560, respectively which provided adequate power to answer the research question. Multivariate logistic regression and cox regression models included age, sex, household income, marital status, highest degree of education, knowledge of Canada's official languages (English or French), immigrant status and region of birth. Subcategories of immigrants were created based on time spent in Canada (0-4, 5-9, 10-19, 20+ years). Raw data showed that 16.8% of immigrants and 15.9% of non-immigrants had cancer. After adjusting, logistic regression analyses showed that immigrants had lower odds of any cancer diagnoses in comparison with non-immigrants (OR = 0.92, 95% CI [0.92,0.93], p<.001), as well as lung (OR = 0.74, 95% CI [0.72-0.75], p<.001); breast (OR = 0.96, 95% CI [0.94-0.98], p = .001); colorectal (OR = 0.93, 95% CI [0.91-0.95], p<.001) and head and neck cancer (OR = 0.85, 95% CI [0.81-0.90], p<.001). However, immigrants had higher odds of stomach cancer and non-cervix gynecological cancers (OR = 1.39, 95% CI [1.32-1.46]; OR = 1.06, 95% CI [1.02-1.10]), respectively. Hazard ratios were lower for immigrants in comparison to the Canadian-born but increased based on time spent in Canada (0-4 years: 0.77, 95% CI [0.71-0.84], p<.001; 5-9 years: 0.82, 95% CI [0.75-0.89], p<.001; 10-19 years: 0.90, 95% CI [0.82-0.98], p = .011). This study demonstrates a significant difference in cancer incidence between immigrants and non-immigrants. These results support current research in the observation of a 'healthy immigrant effect' (HIE) which convey that immigrants have better health outcomes than their native-born counterparts, with the effect decreasing over time spent in the host country. Since we controlled for demographic and socio-economic factors, we propose other factors to be contributing to the HIE such as individual-level health behaviors including smoking, diet and access to screening services. While it points to a HIE, we propose this phenomenon to be more complex due to the possibility of under-reporting of cases or differences in health behaviors, warranting further studies in this area.

Considerations toward a vision and strategy for permafrost knowledge in Canada

Considerations toward a vision and strategy for permafrost knowledge in Canada

Creating and promoting Geriatric Addictions Knowledge in Canada

AbstractIn this session we will discuss three successful programs featuring innovative education for geriatric psychiatry residents including Geriatric Addiction Guidelines, Geriatric Addiction needs assessment for ECHO rounds and curriculum development and evaluation for geriatric psychiatry residents. These the ability increase participants capacity to support Older Adults with Substance Use disorders.The New Canadian Guidelines for Substance Use Disorders in Older adultsIn this session participants will become familiar with the key recommendations for four the newly launched Canadian Guidelines for Substance Use disorders in Older Adults. The guidelines include Alcohol, Benzodiazepine/ BZRA's, Cannabis and Opiate Use Disorders. The guidelines were developed by a panel of Canadian Interdisciplinary experts. We will discuss the development of the guidelines as well as the key recommendations.Creating a comprehensive addictions curriculum in a geriatric psychiatrysubspecialitytraining program BackgroundSubstance use disorders (SUDs) in older adults, arising from both prescription medications and recreational substances, are often underdiagnosed and undertreated. Barriers to detection of SUDs in this age group include non-specific signs, ageism, lack of research and age-appropriate screening tools, and limited education to health care practitioners and trainees. While Canadian treatment guidelines have recently emerged to aid assessment and management of SUDs in older adults, formal training on this subject in residency programs is minimal. MethodsWe created a first-of-its-kind comprehensive geriatric addictions curriculum in a geriatric psychiatry subspeciality training program in Canada. Informed by a needs assessment, and powered by a multidisciplinary expert faculty, we created a curriculum using a combination of didactic and case-based learning. Course content incudes common substances of misuse, concurrent disorders, medical withdrawal, pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic treatments, and capacity and legal issues. We will conduct pre- and post-intervention assessments of knowledge, skills, and confidence. ResultsFeedback from the September 2022 inaugural curriculum will be presentedLearning Needs Assessment for Project ECHO Ontario Mental Health at CAMH for Geriatric Addiction Rounds an interdisciplinary collaborative approach BackgroundGeriatric Addictions rounds is a collaboration 4 agencies throughout Ontario and supported through Behavioral supports Ontario, CAMH, Baycrest, CMHAWW, & St Joseph's Health Care Guelph. The rounds are held monthly via Zoom and cover a variety of topics related to older adults and substance use disorders. The attendance at rounds has become increasingly popular with representation from multiple disciplines with expressions of interest in case-based learning. MethodsAn online survey of participants from the province was conducted. The survey participants identified the need to learn more about this at-risk population. Education sessions with a case-based learning is a need in the province of Ontario was identified as a learning need for all participants. ResultsA community of practice to help inform geriatric addictions with expressed interest in understanding diversity issues with Older Adult Indigenous, 2SLGTBQ+ and Black with Substance Use Disorders; and ways to support caregivers of Older Adults was identified. This information will be used to move forward with an application for ECHO Geriatric Addition Rounds.

Canada’s maritime frontier: the science legacy of Canada’s extended continental shelf mapping for UNCLOS

Canada ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in 2003. With that ratification is an obligation to submit data and information to the U.N. pertaining to the limits of the country’s extended continental shelf (ECS); the portion of the juridical continental shelf that extends beyond 200 nautical miles. A team of Canadian scientists, managers, and legal experts that included representation from three Federal Departments (Natural Resources Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and Global Affairs Canada) with additional support from other departments, spent 13 years compiling and acquiring data to provide the scientific evidence to support delineation of Canada’s seaward most maritime limit. The submission has the potential to provide Canada with 2.4 million km2of additional submarine landmass in the Atlantic and the Arctic oceans over which Canada exercises sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring and exploiting its natural resources. Specific information such as the tectonic framework of the continental margin, the geomorphology of the margin and in particular the continental slope, the geologic nature of adjoined ridges, rises, and plateaux, and sediment thickness within adjacent basins are examples of fundamental pieces of geoscientific information needed to substantiate Canada’s outermost maritime limits. This paper highlights a number of segments of Canada’s continental margins to showcase this scientific evidence and how it is applied in the UNCLOS context. In doing so, the paper demonstrates the geologic complexity of Canada’s margins as illustrated in scientific publications that have resulted from these new data collections, while at the same time presenting new scientific evidence and interpretations. This collection of data and information provides a wealth of new knowledge in Canada’s offshore regions. The massive data compilation in the Atlantic led to conception of continental margins, in a source-to-sink scenario, as having an equilibrium base level or graded form, comparable to river systems. Departures from this shape relate to the interplay of sedimentary processes and in particular to those processes that do not fit the source-to-sink paradigm. For example, a significant part of the Atlantic margin is shown to be heavily influenced by along-slope geostrophic currents that generated massive contourite drift deposits. These deposits reflect lateral transport of sediment that had a significant impact on the morphology of the margin. The role of mass transport processes in shaping continental margins is also highlighted, and in particular the collapses of entire segments of the margin were observed. The prominent role mass failure processes play in delivering sediment to the adjacent abyssal plain is also critical in the ECS context. These observations challenge the entrenched notion of a continental margin comprising a shelf, slope, and rise and in particular the concept of the “continental rise”. Prior to 2006, regions of the Arctic Ocean seaward of the Canadian landmass had fewer than 5000 km of seismic reflection data. The massive efforts of Arctic coastal States to map their margins for ECS purposes have led to a leap in technological advances to acquire data in ice-covered seas and have led to a wealth of new geoscientific knowledge. Perhaps foremost amongst this knowledge is demonstration that Canada Basin is indeed a fully developed ocean basin, albeit significantly infilled with sediment. Based on this knowledge and identification of related structures, new realistic tectonic scenarios for opening of the Amerasia Basin are proposed that include a significant component of transform or strike-slip motions. With seismic velocity and rock sample information, the continental nature of Alpha and Mendeleev ridges has been substantiated. Even bathymetric data were lacking in the Arctic and new editions of seafloor maps now support grids of 500 m spacing; although some regions remain sparse. Once thought to be relatively stagnant, sedimentary processes such as found in many ocean basins were discovered in the Arctic Ocean. Evidence of geostrophic currents, sediment mass failures, and deep-sea turbidity current channels were found to be ubiquitous, even in the deepest parts of the Arctic’s basins.

Position Statement: Indigenous Knowledge in Canada's Copyright Act

Position Statement: Indigenous Knowledge in Canada's Copyright Act

Urban Land-Based Healing: A Northern Intervention Strategy

&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; Urban Indigenous populations face significant health and social disparities across Canada. With high rates of homelessness and substance use, there are often few options for urban Indigenous Peoples to access land-based healing programs despite the increasingly known and appreciated benefits. In May 2018, the first urban land-based healing camp opened in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada, one of the first to our knowledge in Canada or the United States. This camp may serve as a potential model for an Indigenous-led and Indigenous-based healing camp in an urban setting. We present preliminary outcome data from the healing camp in a setting with a high-risk population struggling with substance use and homelessness. Reflections are presented for challenging logistical and methodological considerations for applications elsewhere. This northern effort affords us ample opportunity for expanding the existing knowledge base for land- based healing applied to an urban Indigenous high-risk setting.&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D;

The Effectiveness of the Foodbot Factory Mobile Serious Game on Increasing Nutrition Knowledge in Children.

The interactive and engaging nature of serious games (i.e., video games designed for educational purposes) enables deeper learning and facilitates behavior change; however, most do not specifically support the dissemination of national dietary guidelines, and there are limited data on their impact on child nutrition knowledge. The Foodbot Factory serious game mobile application was developed to support school children in learning about Canada’s Food Guide; however, its impacts on nutrition knowledge have not been evaluated. The objective of this study was to determine if Foodbot Factory effectively improves children’s knowledge of Canada’s Food Guide, compared to a control group (control app). This study was a single-blinded, parallel, randomized controlled pilot study conducted among children ages 8–10 years attending Ontario Tech University day camps. Compared to the control group (n = 34), children who used Foodbot Factory (n = 39) had significant increases in overall nutrition knowledge (10.3 ± 2.9 to 13.5 ± 3.8 versus 10.2 ± 3.1 to 10.4 ± 3.2, p < 0.001), and in Vegetables and Fruits (p < 0.001), Protein Foods (p < 0.001), and Whole Grain Foods (p = 0.040) sub-scores. No significant difference in knowledge was observed in the Drinks sub-score. Foodbot Factory has the potential to be an effective educational tool to support children in learning about nutrition.

‘Rehabilitation aids for the blind’: disability and technological knowledge in Canada, 1947-1985

ABSTRACT Contrary to stereotypes that portray people with disabilities as passive recipients of technological innovation, individuals with sensory and mobility impairments have played key roles in the invention, design and use of adaptive or assistive devices over the course of the twentieth century. This article interrogates this history through a case study focusing on the research program of James Swail, an engineer with the National Research Council (NRC) of Canada from 1947 until 1985. As someone who was himself blind, Swail’s predicated his design work on an asset-based understanding of disability. He strived to disrupt conceptions of both the technological functionality and economic rationality of technologies produced for and by disabled people in mid-twentieth century Canada. Framed within a medical model, however, the overall fate of these machines mirrored back the imagined inability of people with disabilities to become fully participating members of the society in which they lived.

Pathways for Refugees’ Descent into Homelessness in Edmonton, Alberta: the Urgent Need for Policy and Procedural Change

This constructivist grounded theory study investigated pathways for refugees’ descent into homelessness in Edmonton, Alberta, one of Canada’s five largest urban municipalities. Interviews with a mixed sample of 19 adult refugees from Afghanistan, Congo, Ethiopia, Iraq, Pakistan, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, and Syria who experienced homelessness after their arrival, as well as focus groups with housing support workers, identified several types of critical incidents that can lead refugees to become displaced after migration, such as (a) abandonment by or conflict with one’s sponsor, (b) abandonment by settlement counsellors/housing case workers, (c) sudden rent increases, (d) discrimination by landlords or neighbors, and (e) property infestations. When critical incidents are paired with long waiting lists for subsidized housing and a lack of knowledge of Canada’s official languages and housing system, refugees are most likely to become homeless. The study highlighted critical loopholes in immigration policy implementation that urgently need to be addressed to improve refugee housing outcomes.

Learning communities and new farmer knowledge in Canada

This research examines the agroecological learning processes of new farmers in Canada in order to understand the role of learning communities in transforming food systems. We consider how these learning communities represent new farmer engagement with agroecology and community-based economies as part of a global movement building alternatives to dominant capitalist and productivist food systems. In particular, we examine how the lack of formal education in agroecological alternatives in Canada is being overcome by these new farmers. Our results arise from interviews conducted in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba with new and aspiring farmers, mentors, and farmer trainers. Farmer learning networks were described and compared according to factors that include region, gender, years of experience, and production practices. These networks showed remarkable similarities across these categories, indicating the importance of informal networks and the relevance of relationships that support farmers on their learning journeys. Farmers placed the greatest value on social learning, followed by independent learning, whereas institutional learning had much less value. Farmers who did not know each other were learning in similar ways, indicating that they may be part of a broader agroecological movement which relies on global assemblages of neighbours, peers, online tools, and mentors. Farming knowledge, as a component of a reimagined, sustainable, and just food sovereignty movement, has the potential to change the way farming is practiced and to facilitate the emergence of alternative food systems in Canada and indeed the world.

Sharing and preparing: cross-institutional, food security-based knowledge in Canada

This study proposes a framework for the collection and management of knowledge related to food security in Canada. This paper has several goals. First, the paper summarizes the current state of food security knowledge in Canada. Second, the paper presents data from an experiment where food security issues were discussed by stakeholders at two fora, the first of which was held in western Canada and the second held in eastern Canada. Finally, based on the notes taken during and feedback received after the fora, this paper suggests a framework for organizing and managing the multiple perspectives and complex types of knowledge about food security and sustainable development from a Canadian context. Two fora were held in Canada where food security issues were presented and discussed by multiple stakeholders. Most provinces in Canada were represented in at least one of the two sessions. Sessions were designed to be informative and interactive; agenda were designed to take advantage of the needs and experiences of multiple stakeholders in both western and eastern regions of Canada. To develop the framework, the sessions were also designed to assess the types of issues and knowledge about food security in Canada. Evidence presented from this experiment supports arguments that food security work must be approached in a collaborative manner, no matter the approach or discipline. Data from fora held in western and eastern regions of Canada indicate a number of specific ways in which those along the food continuum have the desire to share knowledge and enter into partnerships to work toward secure and sustainable food systems. Data also indicate how academia and institutions of higher learning might play a key role in sharing food security-based knowledge. The data from this study suggest that academia could play a leadership role in collecting and sharing information about food security-based knowledge from all disciplinary approaches that could help collaborative in addressing the complexity of food security challenges. The framework developed in this paper could provide the guide for organizing knowledge about food security and sustainable development. The framework could be used as a map to guide understanding about the different ways in which food security can be approached and understood; this could help reduce tensions among partners in projects where a wide variety of experiences are attempting to work collaboratively. The two food security fora brought together stakeholders with specialized knowledge about food security in a Canadian context. The analysis of data arising from the fora permitted unique insights to arise about the nature of knowledge by region. The data in this study also allowed us to build a framework for food security knowledge from these regional knowledge bases. This paper suggests that academia actively take a leadership role and openly share knowledge about food security. Open sharing of knowledge will help collaborates in dealing with complex food security issues understand in-depth other approaches; this sharing may help to make explicit the tensions that arise during collaborative work.

Growing pains: Edward Partington and the early wood pulp industry in New Brunswick, 1890–1910

The story of the dramatic rise of pulp and paper as the most important manufacturing industry in Canada by the end of the 1920s is well known. Less well known are the difficulties of the industry in its early years of development (1890–1910). The pool of technical and mechanical knowledge in Canada to run a pulp and paper mill was shallow. In addition, markets tended to be unstable and access to sufficient quantities of capital and wood was precarious in some places. There were notable successes but also enough errors to doom a large number of enterprises. New Brunswick mills experienced all the pitfalls of pulp production during this era, none more so than the Cushing Sulphite Fibre Company, despite the fact that the main financier and the mill manager were prominent figures in the early history of the industry.

2013 Canadian Historical Association Presidential Address: On Local History and Local Historical Knowledge

This article considers two undervalued aspects of historical production — local history and local historical knowledge. It distinguishes between microhistory as carried out by professionals and local history as practised by vernacular historians, sometimes in collaboration with professionals. Relating his own experience with the genre of local history, the author highlights the importance of local historical knowledge as held and transmitted by community elders. His collaboration with the Elders of the Inuit community of Grise Fiord, Nunavut, is discussed as an illustration of its potential. The collaborative and dialogical character of local historical knowledge is further exemplified by folklorist Henry Glassie’s work with a small Northern Irish community. Noting current challenges of changing demographics, uprootedness and diaspora, the article considers how emerging communities and minorities are recreating new opportunities for local historical knowledge in Canada’s cities. Heeding the advice of senior Elders such as the late William Commanda of the Algonquin First Nation at Maniwaki, Quebec, the author asserts the importance of local historical knowledge to Canadians’ identities as members of communities with a common history, strengthening connections between people, past and present, and positioning us to better face the future.

Think Tanks, Funding, and the Politics of Policy Knowledge in Canada

Les relations entre les centres de recherche ou groupes de réflexion et leurs bailleurs de fonds sont importantes dans les théories et les discours publics abordant la question de l'orientation politique de la recherche sur les politiques publiques. Pourtant, très peu d'études examinent systématiquement ces relations à travers un ensemble de cas. Cet article, avec des méthodes comparatives et relationnelles, teste les théories élitiste, pluraliste et de terrain, en analysant des données portant sur le financement et l'orientation politique de 30 groupes de réflexion de 2000 à 2011. Les résultats démontrent que les dons provenant de l'étranger contribuent à soutenir certains groupes de réflexions conservateurs, mais ce financement demeure tout de même marginal dans l'ensemble. Au niveau national, les groupes de réflexion sont financés de manière contrastée: les groupes conservateurs sont financés principalement par des donateurs privés, alors que les groupes de réflexion centristes sont financés principalement par l'état. Depuis 2005, les liens entre l'ensemble des groupes de réflexion conservateurs, financés par des donateurs privés, sont devenus plus serrés. En revanche, les liens entre l'ensemble des groupes de réflexion centristes se sont relâchés et leur financement dépend de plus en plus de leurs propres revenus et des intérêts de leurs investissements. Ces résultats laissent planer un certain doute sur les prédictions qui découlent des théories élitiste et pluraliste et confirment en partie les suppositions de la théorie de terrain.The relationships between think tanks and their funders are central to theory and public discourse about the politics of policy knowledge, yet very little research systematically examines these relationships across cases. This article evaluates elite, pluralist, and field theories by analyzing original data on funding and politics for 30 think tanks from 2000 to 2011 with comparative and relational methods. I find that foreign donations help support some conservative think tanks, but that it is a small amount of money relative to other funding sources. Domestically, think tank funding is structured by an opposition between donor‐funded conservatives and state‐funded centrists. Since 2005, the cluster of conservative think tanks funded by private donors has become tighter, while the cluster of think tanks supported by the state has become looser and more reliant on self‐generated revenue and interest and investments. These findings cast doubt on predictions derived from elite and pluralist theories, and offer some support for field theory.

Mythical Canada in Polish Minds: the Image of Canada in Polish Literature

In Poland, although in‑depth knowledge of Canada is rather meager, the country of the maple leaf invariably carries positive connotations. In the popular imagination, Canada is typically perceived as a land of plenty, offering practically unlimited possibilities of development for its citizens. It is also seen through the prism of its natural environment and Aboriginal Peoples, and this is why the country is enveloped in an aura of mystery and adventure. Such a perception of Canada stems not so much from broad media coverage and ever‑present cultural as well as political influence, as is the case of the USA, but largely from a few popular literary works published throughout the 20th century. Among them there are translations of a few Canadian books which are popular in Poland, as well as a few books on the subject of Canada written by Polish authors.

Nanotechnology framing in the Canadian national news media

News media remains one of the foremost communication portals for information regarding the risks and benefits of new technologies. News media content provides information which helps to shape public attitudes toward emerging technologies. An analysis of national news media content from May 2008 to May 2012 was conducted for nanotechnology content in Canada using three different frames. The results show that the framing has been “nano-optimistic” and narrowly focused on university research, scientific innovations, near term applications, and university-business collaborative research efforts, all which are dominated by subject-matter experts. There has been negligible media coverage of public discussions surrounding nanotechnology developments, scant reporting of non-governmental organization activities, and few reports of international nanotechnology developments. In Canada, it is still relatively early in the nanotechnology development cycle. To increase public knowledge in Canada the news media content should go beyond its current narrow framing of scientific innovation and near term research applications. Media content in other countries has provided more information on broader societal, ethical, legal, policy, regulatory and international issues over time. Regulators and stakeholders should follow the Council of Canadian Academies 2008 expert panel advice to incorporate early risk communication, public outreach and include the pubic in nanotechnology policy development.

The Second Canadian Symposium on hepatitis C virus: a call to action.

In Canada, hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection results in considerable morbidity, mortality and health-related costs. Within the next three to 10 years, it is expected that tolerable, short-duration (12 to 24 weeks) therapies capable of curing >90% of those who undergo treatment will be approved. Given that most of those already infected are aging and at risk for progressive liver disease, building research-based interdisciplinary prevention, care and treatment capacity is an urgent priority. In an effort to increase the dissemination of knowledge in Canada in this rapidly advancing field, the National CIHR Research Training Program in Hepatitis C (NCRTP-HepC) established an annual interdisciplinary Canadian Symposium on Hepatitis C Virus. The first symposium was held in Montreal, Quebec, in 2012, and the second symposium was held in Victoria, British Columbia, in 2013. The current article presents highlights from the 2013 meeting. It summarizes recent advances in HCV research in Canada and internationally, and presents the consensus of the meeting participants that Canada would benefit from having its own national HCV strategy to identify critical gaps in policies and programs to more effectively address the challenges of expanding HCV screening and treatment.

Luo Di Sheng Gen (落地生根): Early Taiwanese-Chinese Immigrants in Canada and Guam

Abstract Recent literature on new Taiwanese-Chinese immigrants to Western countries has focussed on those who have arrived since the late 1980s — but may not be staying permanently in their host countries — and have adopted a transnational residence pattern which requires them to engage in two or more social fields. Using autobiographical interviews, the author reconstructs the lives of early Taiwanese-Chinese immigrants in three different cities in Canada, and in Guam, an Unincorporated Territory of the US located in the insular western Pacific region. The three major research themes in this study pertain to reasons for and processes of migration, lived experiences, and self-identity. For this study, 46 Taiwanese-Chinese immigrants (24 in Canada and 22 in Guam) were selected from the available samples in the two respective regions where the author conducted extensive fieldwork in 2008-2011. Arriving mainly in the 1960s and 1970s, the early Taiwanese-Chinese immigrants to Canada and Guam survived various hardships, worked or established businesses from which they earned a steady income. Diligence, ingenuity and perseverance, as well as skills in entrepreneurship and social capital brought from Taiwan, served them well in their achievements in their new home countries in Canada and Guam. As young, well-educated university graduates or professionals at the time of immigration, sometimes re-migrating from another country, they developed significant language competency, social skills, and local knowledge in Canada and Guam. Having a strong sense of belonging, and identifying with the countries they have moved to, most of the Taiwanese-Chinese of Canada and Guam who took part in this study have become “permanent settlers” and some have even retired and remained in their host regions enjoying the multi-cultural environment. The current inquiry provides a timely case study of the meaningful diversity that is present among Taiwanese-Chinese permanent settlers, who are different from the transnational or circular migrants commonly found in the last three decades.

Measuring Whether Canadian Studies Courses Make a Difference in Knowledge of Canada

In this research, we compare the results for a 2009 survey of Iowa State University students (our non-Canadian Studies sample) with the 2010 survey of Loyola University, Chicago, the University of Missouri, and Université Laval students (our Canadian Studies sample) on their knowledge of Canada. In general, we find significant differences between these two groups on the overall survey results, but we also find differences between the two groups on two subscales within the survey (one on geography, politics, and economic items, the other on Québec culture). We also report the difference among the three groups of students with exposure to Canadian Studies. Not unexpectedly, we find that the Laval students to be more knowledgeable about Québec, but we also find some differences among students at these institutions on their knowledge of political, geographical, and economic knowledge of Canada. We conclude our analysis by discussing the implications of these results for increasing the knowledge about Canada through Canadian Studies courses.