VIURRSpace (Royal Roads University and Vancouver Island University)
Not a member yet
25170 research outputs found
Sort by
Trauma dump: a self-study of the use and impacts of trauma-informed practices in the classroom
No full textTeachers often envision ideal classrooms, but the reality often demands creating inclusive environments accommodating students with diverse neuro-developmental needs. This research explores the pivotal role of trauma-informed practices in shaping classroom dynamics and supporting students affected by Adverse Childhood Experiences. The study delves into the development and significance of trauma informed practices, tracing its origins from war veterans' experiences to its contemporary applications in education. It underscores the understanding that behavior is communicative, often signaling unmet needs rather than mere defiance. The research adopts a self-study methodology to address the primary question: In what ways can I, as a classroom teacher, reflect on, learn from, and improve my practice to be more trauma informed? Data collection involved weekly reflective journaling, drawing connections between practice and available research. Findings highlight the importance of creating meaningful student-teacher relationships, taking care of oneself as an educator, and managing negative emotions. While offering valuable insights into the efficacy of trauma-informed strategies in a single classroom context, this study acknowledges its limitations, emphasizing the need for broader research and collaboration. It calls for a culture of empathy, continuous learning, and professional development to better support students impacted by trauma, fostering resilience and empowerment
Resting the Case: A Grounded Theory Exploration of the Phenomenon of Rest Neglect in Practicing Lawyers
No full text2025This qualitative research study investigates the pervasive issue of rest neglect among practicing lawyers, a phenomenon that contributes to the well-documented wellbeing crisis in the legal profession. Employing constructivist grounded theory methodology, the research is comprised of a dual-phase literature review and in-depth interviews with lawyers to uncover the complex interplay between professional demands, organizational culture, and individual health. The research aims to understand the unique factors affecting lawyers' ability to achieve a balanced lifestyle, given the profession's demanding nature and the prevalence of high stress levels, mental health issues, and substance abuse among practitioners. Using a constructivist grounded theory approach, interviews with lawyers were designed to explore their experiences and perceptions of balance and wellbeing. The study identifies key factors influencing lawyer wellbeing, including workplace structures, professional identity, mentorship, personal relationships, and resource availability. Through memo writing and iterative analysis, the research reveals a culture that prioritizes work over rest, leading to the emergent theory of rest neglect. The findings emphasize the need for a fundamental shift in the profession's approach to wellbeing, advocating for a recognition of rest as a critical component of lawyer resilience and mental health. The study concludes with recommendations for future research and a call for a fundamental shift in the legal profession's approach to wellbeing. It emphasizes the importance of rest as a core theme and suggests that addressing rest neglect could lead to improvements in lawyer wellbeing
Covid-19 in the Developing World: Managing One of The Gambia's Most Fatal Public Health Crisis
No full text2024The purpose of this case study is to explore how the developing world managed the Coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak, while highlighting a case study on The Gambia’s public health response between March 2020 to March 2021. The Gambia government missed an opportunity during a crucial grace period between December 2019 and March 17, 2020 (when the West African country confirmed its first case), to plan and implement basic public health safeguards and border security measures. Though response efforts were initiated by public health officials promptly after the March 17 timeline - by primarily declaring and administering public health policy directives - practical measures that were considered effective in the months following initial policy roll-out were deemed lackluster and unsustainable due to ad hoc decision-making that were not guided by robust pre-existing public health emergency plans. The response was further exacerbated by limited resources, inconsistent public health risk awareness strategies that were rarely adhered to and poor government leadership. Examining how the state navigated its public health response identifies gaps between government policy and implementation, thereby, affirming the main hypothesis. The research further analyzes socio-economic disparities faced by Gambians, geopolitical issues encountered beyond the state’s control, fragile social infrastructures, and threats to livelihoods and the well-being of vulnerable groups using a qualitative methodology approach. This study comprised of 10 semi-structured interview questions that targeted 15 government health officials to assess underlying barriers that adversely contributed to unenforced measures. Data results from this case study aim to inform areas of improvement for The Gambia’s future pandemic mitigation and response plans
Strategies to Increase Andean Potato Cultivation and Preservation in Ecuador
Get PDF2024Andean potato cultivars, a staple crop for diets and agriculture in the Andes, are declining largely due to lack of public interest and consumer demand, posing socio-economic and environmental challenges. Potato is native to the South American Andes, where farmers have, for millennia, selected thousands of cultivars for specific traits. This study aimed to explore and identify potential strategy options to increase the cultivation and preservation of Andean potato cultivars in Ecuador. This qualitative research consisted of semi-structured interviews with Andean farmers in the province of Chimborazo to identify farmers’ key challenges, and a document analysis co-developed with local experts to identify key strategies that target public interest in Andean potato cultivars. Twelve strategy options were preliminarily identified and narrowed down to the six most applicable options, having added socio-economic and environmental benefits, and that could be implemented in Ecuador to incentivize cultivation and preservation Andean potato cultivars
Population dynamics of enteric parasites in the endangered Vancouver Island marmot (Marmota vancouverensis)
Get PDFThis article was originally published as: Gourlay, K.P., McAdie, M.L., & Gorrell, J.C. (2024). Population dynamics of enteric parasites in the endangered Vancouver Island marmot (Marmota vancouverensis). Journal of Parasitology, 110(4), 300-310. https://doi.org/10.1645/24-20Enteric parasites can have wide-ranging effects throughout an ecosystem, often driving coevolutionary and ecological processes. Parasites have long been overlooked in conservation efforts because of the negative impact inflicted on their hosts; however, parasites make up a significant component of Earth’s biodiversity and host conservation efforts need to be parasite inclusive. The Vancouver Island marmot (VIM), Marmota vancouverensis, is an endangered alpine rodent endemic to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Captive-bred VIMs are released to augment the wild population, but their susceptibility to parasites is unknown. The objectives of this study were to describe the diversity, prevalence, severity, and temporal variation of VIM enteric parasites. Noninvasive fecal samples were collected from wild and captive marmots and analyzed using a modified McMaster fecal egg floatation technique to indicate parasite prevalence and relative mean abundance. We identified oocysts and ova from 3 parasite taxa including a protozoan coccidium not previously described in the VIM (prevalence 68%), an ascarid nematode Baylisascaris laevis (prevalence 82%), and an anoplocephalid cestode Diandrya vancouverensis (prevalence 8%). Depending on the species, comparisons revealed variation in parasite infection by sex, by colony, and between wild and captive VIMs, but not among age classes or by female reproductive status. Finally, captive VIMs displayed significant monthly variation in parasite prevalence and mean egg abundance, suggesting a seasonal influence on parasite egg shedding. This information is critically important for future research investigating the influences of these trends on the health, ecology, and conservation of VIMs and their parasites.This research was funded by a Discovery Grant from the Natural Sciences and
Engineering Research Council of Canada (#RGPIN-2018-06764) and an Innovation HUB grant from Co-operative Education and Work-Integrated Learning Canada to J.C.G. K.P.G. completed this research as an undergraduate student and was supported by a REACH scholarship from Vancouver Island University
Exploring physical education teachers' intention and perceived constraints in offering online lessons using the theory of planned behavior: A multi-country analysis
Get PDFThis article was originally published as: Konukman, F., Filiz, B., Moghimehfar, F., Maghanoy, M.A., Graber, K., Richards, K.A., Kinder, C.J., Kueh, Y.C., Chin, N.-S., Kuan, G., & Jinyu, G.S. (2024). Exploring physical education teachers’ intention and perceived constraints in offering online lessons using the theory of planned behavior: A multi-country analysis. Behavioral Sciences, 14(4), Article 305. https:// doi.org/10.3390/bs14040305Guided by the theory of planned behavior, this study aimed to determine the influence of Physical Education (PE) teachers’ attitudes, their perceived behavioral control, and the influence of subjective norms on their intention and constraints (intrapersonal, interpersonal, and structural) to offer a high-quality class based on best practices to deliver PE lessons online during the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-sectional, multi-country survey study recruited PE teachers from five countries (China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Turkey, and the United States). A total of 928 online questionnaires were used in the analysis. In terms of the overall intention to teach online, our findings showed that American and Filipino teachers had higher levels of intention to continue teaching online. In contrast, Turkish, Malaysian, and Chinese teachers showed a lower interest. Moreover, Malaysian teachers had more intrapersonal constraints while the teachers in the other four countries were not as restrained intrapersonally. The results highlight the significant influence of perceived behavioral control and attitudes on PE teachers’ intention to deliver online courses. Constraints to online teaching had a considerably large negative impact on attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. Based on the results, the proposed extension to the theory of planned behavior was an appropriate framework for understanding the behavioral intent of PE teachers
Developing and implementing a comprehensive survey tool to understand persistence in engineering education
Get PDFPoster presented at the 2024 Canadian Engineering Education Association Conference. Location: University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta. Conference dates: June 15-19, 2024.Engineering education faces significant challenges related to addressing student persistence and retention within engineering programs. Equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are stated areas of priority for post-secondary institutions (PSIs) in British Columbia (BC) with the goal to ensure that students of all backgrounds, identities, and demographics are provided an opportunity to thrive without compromise. However, there continues to be a lack of appropriate, desegregated demographic data that can inform how well this goal is being achieved by engineering programs at public PSIs in BC.
The purpose of this poster is to describe the second-stage of the development and delivery of a survey instrument that intends to fill this information void, and more broadly capture the engineering student experience from their entry into first-year through to graduation
Paper spray mass spectrometry combined with machine learning as a rapid diagnostic for chronic kidney disease
No full textThis is an Accepted Manuscript version of an article that was published as: Pereira, I., Sboto, J.N.S., Robinson, J.L., & Gill, C.G. (2024). Paper spray mass spectrometry combined with machine learning as a rapid diagnostic for chronic kidney disease. Analyst, 149(9), 2600-2608. https://doi.org/10.1039/D4AN00099D/A new analytical method for chronic kidney disease (CKD) detection utilizing paper spray mass spectrometry (PS-MS) combined with machine learning is presented. The analytical protocol is rapid and simple, based on metabolic profile alterations in urine. Anonymized raw urine samples were deposited (10 μL each) onto pointed PS-MS sample strips. Without waiting for the sample to dry, 75 μL of acetonitrile and high voltage were applied to the strips, using high resolution mass spectrometry measurement (15 s per sample) with polarity switching to detect a wide range of metabolites. Random forest machine learning was used to classify the resulting data. The diagnostic performance for the potential diagnosis of CKD was evaluated for accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity, achieving results >96% for the training data and >91% for validation and test data sets. Metabolites selected by the classification model as up- or down-regulated in healthy or CKD samples were tentatively identified and in agreement with previously reported literature. The potential utilization of this approach to discriminate albuminuria categories (normo, micro, and macroalbuminuria) was also demonstrated. This study indicates that PS-MS combined with machine learning has the potential to be used as a rapid and simple diagnostic tool for CKD.This work was enabled with infrastructure funded by the Canada Foundation for Innovation/British Columbia Knowledge Development Fund (32238 and 40274), with operational support from the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada Discovery Grants Program (RGPIN-2021-02981)
Walk with me - What it means to care: Activating compassionate quality care for people who use substances against the backdrop of Island Health's harm reduction-substance use policy
No full textSince labelled a provincial emergency in 2016, the toxic drug poisoning crisis in B.C. has claimed over 14,000 lives. Government, health and community service providers alike have struggled to find solutions to the crisis and have developed numerous interventions aimed to reduce deaths, harm and stigma. Despite these efforts, toxic drug deaths continue to climb, with 2023 recording the most fatalities ever and no sign of slowing in 2024.
“Walk With Me” is a research and community action project developed in small B.C. communities, beginning in Comox Valley and Campbell River, B.C. The project began in 2019 as a partnership between Comox Valley Art Gallery, Thompson Rivers University and AVI Health & Community Services, aiming to develop humanistic and systems-based solutions to the toxic drug poisoning crisis.
Beginning in 2021, the Walk With Me team was invited to work with Island Health to engage staff in facilities across Vancouver Island in a multi-tiered research initiative. The research invited staff from these facilities join “Story Walks”—a series of guided listening journeys foregrounding local first-hand testimony of the crisis. Following the walks, staff were invited to sit in-circle, and to share insights and respond to the questions: “What is Island Health doing well to support those at the heart of the toxic drug poisoning crisis?” and “How can Island Health better support people at the heart of the toxic drug poisoning crisis?” In collecting and analyzing staff insights, the project aims to illuminate ways forward for Island Health towards progressive institutional change
Twisted-Internal Charge Transfer (TICT) state mechanisms may be less common than expected
No full textThis is an Accepted Manuscript version of an article that was published as: Joulaei-Zonouz, S., Wiebe, H., Prüfert, C., & Looch, H.-P. (2024). Twisted-Internal Charge Transfer (TICT) state mechanisms may be less common than expected. New Journal of Chemistry, 48(9), 4077-4087. https://doi.org/10.1039/D4NJ00047A/We performed a combined experimental and ab initio study of the excited state dynamics of a carbazole–bromobenzothiadiazole (CBB) fluorophore, a molecule that was designed to exhibit strong solvatochromic shifts due to large charge separation in the minimum of the excited state potential energy surface. While the experimental Stokes shifts – obtained here through Excitation Emission Matrix spectroscopy – showed the expected large solvatochromic shift, we found no evidence that this shift is induced by a twisted-internal charge transfer (TICT) state as had been previously (and reasonably) predicted. Instead, ab initio calculations using TD-DFT and the CAM-B3LYP/6-31G+(d,p) (IEF-PCM) model explained the shift semi-quantitatively using a moderate charge separation in the excited state combined with small contributions of solvent-induced dipole moments in CBB that depend on the solvent polarity. While a TICT state could be identified as a local minimum on the S1 potential energy surface through its large dipole along the donor–acceptor axis and by examination of the natural transition orbitals, the global minimum on the S1 surface is close to the Franck–Condon region of excitation and much more accessible. This study highlights some of the complexities in identifying TICT states from experimental observations and frontier orbitals, alone.The authors thank the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and the University of Victoria for financial support