Practices In Canada Research Articles

A Brief Review of Young Children’s Home Digital Literacy Practices

COVID-19 has created significant changes in the everyday lives of teachers, children and parents. Due to school lockdowns in the spring semester of 2020, teachers shifted from in-person classroom teaching into “emergent remote teaching” (Hodges et al. 2020, para. 5), where digital tools and software were used for instruction and teacher-student communications. Many children have also shifted their social lives from face-to-face to virtual interactions (Hutchins 2020); for example, engaging in online family story reading, social media participation, and joining after school activities digitally. This pandemic has highlighted the importance of being literate in digital environments for children. Digital literacy, that is, literacy practices undertaken across multi-media, involving “accessing, using and analysing digital texts and artefacts in addition to their production and dissemination” (Sefton-Green et al. 2016, p. 15). The importance of the digital world and digital tools for the post-COVID future where digital literacy could become more prominently featured for teachers, children, and parents must not be underemphasized.
 
 In this presentation, I reviewed the literature on young children’s digital literacy practices at home. Many studies have illustrated the benefits and various kinds of learning that children get from their digital play at home, including emergent literacy learning (Neumann 2016), digital citizenship (Bennett et al. 2016), etc. Moreover, I presented the complex trajectories of children playing with their digital devices and toys at home (Marsh 2017). In the 21st century children’s home play, the boundaries between the virtual and physical worlds are blurring (Marsh 2010; O’Mara and Laidlaw 2011; Carrington 2017).
 
 More importantly, this literature review suggests a gap and an opportunity for future researchers to explore home digital literacy of children, who are from minority backgrounds in Canada, as literacy practices are socially and culturally situated. This presentation illustrates the importance of my proposed doctoral research, as my research aims to explore Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) children’s digital home literacy practices in Canada.

A Survey on Variation in Diagnosis and Treatment of Chorioamnionitis in Tertiary Centres in Canada

Clinical detection and management of chorioamnionitis is challenging given the gold-standard for diagnosis remains placental pathology, the results of which are only available after delivery. Moreover, recommended diagnostic criteria for clinical chorioamnionitis have evolved over time. The goal of this study was to describe trends and differences in chorioamnionitis diagnostic and management practices in Canada. We surveyed obstetric care providers participating in the Canadian Preterm Birth Network. Questionnaires were distributed electronically to all 29 sites and completed by 1 maternal-fetal medicine investigator at each site. The response rate was 82.8% (n=24). There was considerable variation in the clinical criteria used to diagnose chorioamnionitis with 9 of 22 sites stating this occurs "frequently" or "very frequently." Isolated fever was "always" or "most of the time" used as an indication to start empiric antibiotic therapy in 14 of 24 sites, and 21 of 23 sites used the same diagnostic criteria for term and preterm deliveries. Placental histology (15 sites) and white blood cell count (14 sites) were the most common clinical tests performed to confirm chorioamnionitis. A combination of ampicillin and aminoglycoside antibiotics was used at 12 sites. Another frequently used antibiotic therapy was cefazolin and metronidazole (4 sites). There is a wide variation in practices for the diagnosis and management of chorioamnionitis across Canada. The results of this study will guide efforts to improve and standardize the management of this condition.

Generative Learning and the Making of Ethical Space: Indigenizing Forest School Teacher Training in Wabanakik


 This reflection on community-driven research in process is written from the perspective of graduate student co-researchers collaborating with Wabanaki community co-researchers on a pilot project involving a Wabanaki and a non-Indigenous organization. Three Nations Education Group Inc. (TNEGI) represents three Wabanaki schools and communities in Northeast Turtle Island. The Child and Nature Alliance of Canada (CNAC) offers a Forest and Nature School Practitioner Course (FNSPC) for educators seeking to operate forest schools. These diverse organizations have developed a pilot FNSPC training for a group of TNEGI educators, with the purpose of Indigenizing the FNSPC. This is necessary to address the Eurocentric forest and nature school practices in Canada, which often fail to recognize the herstories, presence, rights, and diversity of Indigenous Peoples and places. TNEGI educators envision a land-based pedagogy that centers Wabanaki perspectives and merges Indigenous and Western knowledges. In the FNSPC pilot, the co-researchers generated course changes as they progressed through the pilot, decolonizing the content and format as they went. Developing this Indigenized version of the FNSPC will have far-reaching implications for the CNAC Forest School ethos and teacher training delivery. This essay maps our collaborative efforts thus far in creating an ethical research space within this Indigenous/non-Indigenous research initiative and lays out intentions for the road ahead.

The Need for Telemedicine Integration Into Adult Cardiology Training Curricula in Canada

COVID-19 brought telemedicine to the forefront of clinical cardiology. We aimed to examine the extent of trainees’ involvement in and comfort with telemedicine practices in Canada with the use of a web-based self-administered survey. Eighty-six trainees from 12 training programs completed the survey (65% response rate). Results showed that before COVID-19, 39 trainees (45%) had telemedicine exposure, compared with 67 (78%) after COVID-19 (P < 0.001). However, only 44 trainees (51%) reported being comfortable or very comfortable with the use of telemedicine. Of the 67 trainees who were involved in telemedicine, 4 (6%) had full supervision during virtual visits, 13 (19%) had partial supervision, and 50 (75%) had minimal or no supervision. Importantly, 67 trainees (78%) expressed the need for telemedicine-specific training and 64 (74%) were willing to have their virtual visits recorded for the purpose of evaluation and feedback. Furthermore, 47 (55%) felt strongly or very strongly positive about incorporating telemedicine into their future practice. The main perceived barriers to telemedicine use were concerns about patients’ engagement, fear of weakening the patient-physician relationship, and unfamiliarity with telemedicine technology. These barriers, together with training in virtual physical examination skills and medicolegal aspects of telemedicine, are addressed in several established internal medicine telemedicine curricula that could be adapted by cardiology programs. In conclusion, while the degree of telemedicine involvement since COVID-19 was high, the trainees’ comfort level with telemedicine practice remains suboptimal likely due to lack of training and inadequate staff supervision. Therefore, a cardiology telemedicine curriculum is needed to ensure that trainees are equipped to embrace telemedicine in cardiovascular clinical care.

Determining overall heat transfer coefficient (U-Value) of wood-framed wall assemblies in Canada using external infrared thermography

Quantitative thermography is considered as a reliable method to measure the thermal transmittance U-values of opaque building envelopes. Previously developed external infrared thermography (IRT) methodologies mainly focused on comparison of measured U-values with nominal U-values of wall assemblies in European construction. This study attempted to develop an external IRT method to determine clear wall U-values, where the impacts of repeating members (studs) were considered. The proposed method was compared with two established practices in Canada, namely the parallel path method and 3D thermal simulations. The IRT measurements were conducted on a conditioned at-scale insulated wood-framed wall structure. Besides the importance of environmental conditions on the thermal images, two thermal imaging artefacts were assessed and discussed, including nonlinear characteristics of infrared (IR) camera focal array, a.k.a. non-uniformity corrections (NUC) and vignetting. The results demonstrated that the location of the region of interest (ROI) plays a key role in U-value measurement due to the vignetting effect and colder thermal bridges at corners. It was also found that NUC should be considered during the survey. Furthermore, U-value measurement with IRT in the best-case scenario (depending on the location of ROI) deviated from nominal U-values by 6.25%–25.00%. The clear wall U-value results with IRT were validated with three-dimensional (3D) finite element analysis software, Siemens NX, which differed by −11.53%–10.00% (in the best case scenario). Additionally, the clear wall U-values obtained with parallel path method were comparable with simulation values for walls without highly conductive materials such as metal.

Canadian Colorectal Cancer Screening Guidelines: Do They Need an Update Given Changing Incidence and Global Practice Patterns?

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer and second leading cause of cancer death in Canada. Organized screening programs targeting Canadians aged 50 to 74 at average risk of developing the disease have contributed to decreased rates of CRC, improved patient outcomes and reduced healthcare costs. However, data shows that recent incidence reductions are unique to the screening-age population, while rates in people under-50 are on the rise. Similar incidence patterns in the United States prompted the American Cancer Society and U.S. Preventive Services Task Force to recommend screening begin at age 45 rather than 50. We conducted a review of screening practices in Canada, framing them in the context of similar global health systems as well as the evidence supporting the recent U.S. recommendations. Epidemiologic changes in Canada suggest earlier screening initiation in average-risk individuals may be reasonable, but the balance of costs to benefits remains unclear.

Dysphagia Identification and Assessment in Adults in Primary Care Settings-A Canadian Study of Dietitians.

Dysphagia affects up to 35% of older adults living in the community and is considered a significant risk factor for malnutrition and aspiration. Early intervention is important, yet dietitian referrals for dysphagia management in primary care are disproportionately low considering the prevalence of dysphagia and its risk factors. As little is known about dietitian's current dysphagia identification and assessment practices in Canada, an online survey was developed. Registered dietitians practicing in primary care were invited to participate. Of the 70 surveys completed, nearly 75% do not have a dysphagia screening process where they practice, and only 8% reported performing noninstrumental, clinical swallowing assessment (CSA). Lack of competency or skills required to complete dysphagia screening and assessment was the most reported barrier. Many respondents were unsure or did not believe CSA fell within their scope of practice, and over 70% reported needing hands-on dysphagia screening and assessment training. Current practices in primary care could be placing individuals with dysphagia, and those at risk, in jeopardy of being overlooked. Initiatives to increase dysphagia awareness, create screening processes, and increase awareness of dietitian's scope of practice are needed to enable primary care dietitians to develop competency in dysphagia screening and assessment.

Land acknowledgements in the academy: Refusing the settler myth

Land acknowledgements have become almost ubiquitous in post-secondary education settings in Canada. However, the origins and widespread popularity of these practices has gone largely unexamined. In this article, the literature on land acknowledgement practices in Canada is reviewed, focusing in particular on the growing criticisms of these acknowledgements. While initially understood as culturally based political statements to resist the erasure of Indigenous presence and colonial violence, these practices have been repurposed in settler institutions. Land acknowledgements have now become deeply embedded in state-sponsored “forgive-and-forget” reconciliation efforts that seek to absorb Indigenous peoples into the body politic of “good Canadians”. This shift in acknowledgement practices has been increasingly criticized for devolving into box-ticking exercises, strictly symbolic gestures, moves to settler innocence, and attempts to rewrite Indigenous and settler colonial history. Analysing the literature using a lens of settler colonial theory, I argue that institutionalized land acknowledgements in Canada do not pertain to actual Indigenous peoples. These statements reference a mythical fabrication of Indigenousness that is consistent with settler dreams of benevolence, innocence, and the end of colonization in Canada. This co-optation of Indigeneity has important implications for recent efforts to “Indigenize the academy” through the inclusion of Indigenous knowledges in curriculum. In response to this subversion of Indigenous knowledges, a stance of refusal on the part of Indigenous members of the academy can be a demonstration of agency in institutions in which we are relatively powerless.

Support, Mentorship and Well-Being in Canadian and Croatian Faculties of Education: Professor and Student Perspectives

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine professors’ and Master of Education (MEd) students’ well-being, support, academic self-efficacy and mentorship in Canada and Croatia. Overall, 118 professors and 98 MEd students from three universities in Canada and three universities in Croatia completed the online surveys in English and Croatian, respectively. The frameworks of self-determination theory and relational cultural theory informed interpretation of our findings. Results suggest that for professors in both countries, personal support, professional support and academic self-efficacy predict professional well-being. Only personal support predicts personal well-being in Canadian professors, while personal support and academic self-efficacy predicts personal well-being in Croatia. Personal and professional support was also associated with positive mentorship practices in Canada. Students in both countries, who felt supported professionally and personally, reported greater professional and personal well-being respectively. Self-efficacy may make a difference for Croatian students but seemed to have little unique impact on Canadian students. Studying part-time in Canada was associated with higher personal and professional well-being but was associated with lower personal well-being in Croatia. Mentorship practices seemed to have little effect on well-being in either country. Overall, professors reported higher well-being and support than M.Ed. students. We conclude with recommendations that would be informative for university administrators, graduate programs, and services interested in the well-being of professors and graduate students.

Genetic and metabolic investigations for individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders: A survey of Canadian geneticists' practices

Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) are genetically heterogeneous. There are many possible etiological investigations for NDDs, and a lack of clear and current guidelines for such testing. Here we characterize the practices of genetic and metabolic physicians in Canada as it pertains to etiological investigation of patients with NDDs, by means of an online questionnaire. The survey response rate was 30% (n = 46). The most commonly ordered first-line tests for patients with non-syndromic NDDs are chromosomal microarray (98%) and Fragile X testing (85%). The most commonly ordered second-line test for non-syndromic NDDs is a multi-gene panel (78%) or exome sequencing (29%). Biochemical screening is ordered as a first line test by 33% of respondents, second line by 31%, and rarely or never by 36% of respondents. Those respondents with metabolics fellowship training were more likely to order biochemical screening than those without. The number of years of clinical experience generally did not affect the types of tests ordered. For patients with NDDs, test-ordering practice among Canadian clinical geneticists is highly variable, in particular with respect to biochemical screening and use of next-generation sequencing technologies. Evidence-based guidelines should be developed to facilitate best practices in Canada.

Budget practices in Canada's K‐12 education sector: Incremental, performance, or productivity budgeting?

AbstractThis article reports on a first‐ever survey of budgeting practices regarding the public K‐12 education sector in Canada. We interviewed budget officers in 12 of the 13 Canadian provinces and territories. It finds that most jurisdictions construct budgets using incremental approaches and are not allowing for a potential of $5.4 billion in annual productivity gains. We discuss three budgeting approaches for governments to consider: incremental budgeting, performance‐based budgeting, and productivity budgeting. We argue for productivity budgeting because it improves cost‐efficiency, allows productivity gains to be captured at the centre, and is more feasible than performance‐based budgeting.

The impact of artificial intelligence on journalistic practices in Canada

Journalism is strongly influenced by technological and technical innovations. The increase of GAFAM’s use and popularity forces media outlets to review their business model and find ways to survive. The uses of tools related to artificial intelligence are increasing in media outlets around the globe. This paper presents the technology’s usage in Canada’s top newsrooms.

Environmental Education and Practices in Canada, Turkey &amp; Pakistan at Primary Level: A Content Analysis

The current investigation was directed to analyze environmental education and practices in curriculum adopted in Pakistan, Turkey, and Canada at the primary level. For this purpose, General Science textbooks of the public schools in Ontario (Canada), Istanbul (Turkey), and Rawalpindi (Pakistan) were explored and their practical implementation was studied as primary data for the year 2008-2015. A close content analysis of the inscribed curriculum revealed that over time, Canada has taken significant steps to incorporate the elements of environmental awareness as their curricula and trained the teachers to deal effectively with environmental education, leading to creating awareness in problems and their solution among children regarding concepts of waste management, littering and sustainability. Topics related to awareness about reducing, recycle, reuse, and ecosystems were a vital part of the environmental curriculum and practices in Turkey. Exploring climate change and the environment was found to be part of the Science curriculum in Pakistan. However, the practical activities regarding environmental education were relatively less in Pakistan as the implementation of the curriculum is not in its mature stages. Comparison of the study reveals that incorporating environmental projects benefitting from national and international organizations in Pakistan would help as they have contributed constructively in creating awareness in the education sector in Turkey and Canada.

Investigating implicit biases around race and gender in Canadian counterterrorism

A growing body of research on terrorism and countering violent extremism (CVE) has increasingly questioned the lack of attention to—and myths around—women involved in extremist and political violence, while other research has drawn attention to racial and religious stereotypes that affect national security policies and practices worldwide. While Canada is often heralded as a global leader in multiculturalism and gender equality, the nation’s national security sector still faces significant challenges around implicit biases related to race and gender. This study asks whether gender and racial stereotypes impeding counterterrorism and CVE in other countries are also affecting policies and practices in Canada. Using twenty-six in-depth interviews with practitioners, police officers, academics, and government officials from seven major cities across Canada, this paper argues that persistent gender and racial stereotypes are indeed a key challenge impeding Canada’s efforts to adequately address radicalization into and disengagement from extremist violence.

COVID-19 triggers great nonfinancial risk crisis: Nonfinancial risk management best practices in Canada

The spread of viral disease COVID-19 is the most transformative nonfinancial risk (NFR) of this decade triggering the Great Nonfinancial Risk Crisis. The uniting of strategy and risk management has never been more crucial for financial institutions. The interrelationship between the pandemic and the increases in ageing, chronic diseases, interstate conflicts, nationalism, cyber attacks, cyber dependency, asset bubble, and sovereign debt is transforming our reality in previously unimaginable ways. NFR management best practices Canadian Financial Institutions (FIs) prioritised NFR and adopted a NFR framework that enabled them to identify the spread of viral disease (COVID-19). Then they reprioritised COVID-19 risk into their existing enterprise risk management framework to reduce the exposure and impact of the pandemic and re-evaluated their strategic assumptions to reset their business strategy in light of the reprioritised risk matrix. In this paper, the author reviews best practices in managing NFRs and trends from the practitioner’s point of view. Thirteen Canadian FIs are reviewed along with their positioning of NFR pre- and post-COVID-19, and their recent enhancements to their NFR-management process. The author illustrates how the adoption of the Global Risks and Trends Framework by several Canadian FIs has influenced their preparation and resilience in this pandemic. Finally, the author discusses best practice examples, as well as challenges that still exist, how organisations have adjusted their strategy linking risk to their recent experience, and what lessons other FIs can learn about managing these NFRs.

Plant-based dietary practices in Canada: examining definitions, prevalence and correlates of animal source food exclusions using nationally representative data from the 2015 Canadian Community Health Survey-Nutrition.

While plant-based dietary practices (PBDPs) have been recommended to improve both population health and environmental sustainability outcomes, no nationally representative Canadian studies have described the prevalence or correlates of excluding animal source foods. The current study therefore: (1) created operationalised definitions of PBDPs based on animal source food exclusions to estimate the prevalence of Canadians who adhere to PBDPs and (2) examined key correlates of PBDPs. Population representative, cross-sectional data were from the 2015 Canadian Community Health Survey-Nutrition. Respondents' PBDPs were categorised as: (1) vegan (excluded red meat, poultry, fish, eggs and dairy); (2) vegetarian (excluded red meat, poultry and fish); (3) pescatarian (excluded red meat and poultry) and (4) red meat excluder (excluded red meat). Descriptive statistics and multivariable regression analyses were used to examine the prevalence and correlates of these PBDP categories. All ten provinces in Canada. Canadians aged 2 years and above (n 20 477). In 2015, approximately 5 % of Canadians reported adhering to any PBDP (all categories combined) with the majority (2·8 %) categorised as a red meat excluder, 1·3 % as vegetarian, 0·7 % as pescatarian and 0·3 % as vegan. South Asian cultural identity (OR 19·70 (95 % CI 9·53, 40·69)) and higher educational attainment (OR 1·97 (95 % CI 1·02, 3·80)) were significantly associated with reporting a vegetarian/vegan PBDP. Despite growing public discourse around PBDPs, only 5 % of Canadians reported PBDPs in 2015. Understanding the social and cultural factors that influence PBDPs is valuable for informing future strategies to promote environmentally sustainable dietary practices.

Dry Eye Disease in University-based Clinics in Canada: A Retrospective Chart Review.

Dry eye disease (DED) imposes a substantial burden on patients, which can lead to significant economic consequences for society. We provide insights into the DED patient population and DED diagnostic/management practices in Canada, which to date have been inadequately addressed in the literature. The purpose of this study was to describe DED patient demographic/clinical characteristics alongside DED diagnosis/management in university-based optometry clinics in Canada. This was a retrospective chart review of nonconcurrent non-Sjögren patients with DED at two university-based optometry clinics in Montreal and Waterloo. Waterloo charts with a diagnosis of DED and all charts from the Montreal dry eye clinic were considered for inclusion. Overall, 200 charts were reviewed. Most patients were female (Montreal, 76%; Waterloo, 72%), and the mean age was 57.2 ± 14.9 years at Montreal and 52.6 ± 20.1 years at Waterloo. Patients commonly reported multiple health conditions (e.g., allergies [Montreal, 44%; Waterloo, 36%]), and high use of systemic nonocular medications was observed (Montreal, 76%; Waterloo, 62%). Clinical signs and symptoms of DED were recorded more often in Montreal patients than in Waterloo patients (e.g., dryness symptoms, 100 vs. 72%; tear breakup time, 100 vs. 60%). Warm compresses (Montreal, 63%; Waterloo, 83%) and artificial tears (Montreal, 94%; Waterloo, 96%) were the most frequently recommended nonmedical treatment and ocular lubricant, respectively. Topical steroids were the most frequently prescribed medications (Montreal, 22%; Waterloo, 21%), with typically three to four different interventions recommended per patient at each clinic. No relationship was found between symptoms and clinical signs or recommended interventions. This retrospective chart review provided the demographics, clinical characteristics, diagnosis, and management options for DED patients in Canadian university-based optometry clinics. The more comprehensive assessments conducted at Montreal may be beneficial to better monitor the progression of DED and to determine treatment effects over time.

Acculturation through the lens of language: Syrian refugees in Canada and Germany

AbstractThe objective of our study was to investigate the acculturation experiences of Syrian refugee families in two contexts (Toronto, Canada, and Munich, Germany) 2 years postresettlement. Specifically, using qualitative methodologies, we examined acculturation orientation through the lens of parent and child minority and majority language use and preferences within multiple contexts. The interview data related to parent and child minority and majority language practices in Canada suggested an integration orientation. Those of families living in Germany were less indicative of a clear orientation; contextual factors restricted parents’ participation in the majority culture, while the youngest of their children tended toward assimilation. Our study revealed similarities and differences in the acculturation experiences of Syrian refugees in Canada and Germany and unveiled specific factors that influenced acculturation orientation in each country.

Urgent issues and prospects in reforming interrogation practices in the United States and Canada

The current article presents a series of commentaries on urgent issues and prospects in reforming interrogation practices in Canada and the United States. Researchers and practitioners, who have devoted much of their careers to the field of police and intelligence interrogations, were asked to provide their insights on an area of interrogation research that they believe requires immediate attention. The submitted independent commentaries covered a variety of topics – from police recruitment, interrogation training, use of proper interrogation practices, and the treatment of confession evidence in court. Common concerns from the contributions pertained to the lag between scientific knowledge on interrogations and the application of such knowledge in the justice system, and the glaring disparity between the treatment of similar issues in the interrogation context versus other criminal justice contexts. A primary intent of this collection of commentaries is to serve as a resource pointing researchers in the direction of the fundamental areas that require immediate consideration and encouraging them to simultaneously pursue solutions to the overarching concerns that emerged from this project.

Parenting under pressure: stress is associated with mothers’ and fathers’ media parenting practices in Canada

ABSTRACT Stress may influence the parenting practices employed by parents to manage their children’s screen-time. The objective of this study was to examine cross-sectional associations between family stress and media parenting practices. Using the Guelph Family Health Study Pilot 2 cohort, data was collected from 64 parents from 39 families. Linear regression using generalized estimating equations was used to examine associations between family-based stress and screen parenting practices, stratified by mothers and fathers. Models were adjusted for household income, the number of children in the family, child sex, and age. General stress was positively associated with mothers’ use of screen-based devices in front of their child(ren) and negatively associated with mothers’ monitoring and limit-setting. Fathers’ general stress was positively associated with limit-setting. Parenting distress was positively associated with mothers’ modeling screen use. Fathers’ parenting distress was negatively associated with limit-setting and positively associated with mealtime screen use. Household chaos was positively associated with monitoring screen-time for both mothers and fathers and positively associated with fathers’ limit-setting. These results suggest that associations between family stress and media parenting practices differ among mothers and fathers. Programs aimed to reduce children’s screen-time should consider these differences in their messaging to parents.