17876 research outputs found
Sort by
Adopting a Culturally Responsive Approach to Ontario Grade 9 Health Education: The Health Educator’s Culturally Responsive Checklist
Full text linkThis major research project explored the potential of implementing a culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) in Grade 9 health education in Ontario. CRP emphasizes the value of representation and the integration of students’ diverse backgrounds, identities, and lived experiences into the learning process to foster an inclusive classroom environment. This study focused on how health educators are uniquely positioned to impact the social, emotional, and physical health outcomes of students through the use of CRP. The outcome of this major research project is a resource – The Health Educator’s Culturally Responsive Checklist – which can support Ontario HPE teachers in educating from a culturally responsive lens by providing a research-informed checklist to reference during the health education lesson planning process. This major research project highlights how integrating CRP in health education can not only support the Ontario Ministry of Education’s (OME) commitment to diversity and inclusion, but can also promote health literacy that respects the diversity of students, contributing to more effective and impactful health education outcomes. This study provides recommendations for policy, curriculum development, and teacher professional development (PD) to support the potential adoption of CRP in Ontario health classrooms
Lewiston Court records, 1835-1856
Full text linkTwo volumes of a chronological record of court proceedings in the Town of Lewiston, Niagara County, New York. Entries include the names of the plaintiffs and defendants, as well as details of each case including the nature of the complaint, judgements, appeals, fines and penalties. Some of the entries may involve citizens across the border in Canada. Cases include theft, financial and property disputes; assault and battery; vagrancy; and selling liquor contrary to the statute
All animals are equal? Cutting across the bias--librarians and union service work
No full textPresentation material for session held at CAPAL 2025 Conference, held at George Brown College in Toronto, Ontario.Like traditional faculty, the workload of academic librarians typically contains some obligation of service. Service is represented through different mechanisms including committee work, involvement with professional organizations, and union participation. This last category is important: only through engaged participation by members do unions flourish. Service to one’s union can be demanding--what is asked is a high threshold but is there a commensurate reward? For traditional faculty members there exists an algebra known as release time that usually equates components of work to an equivalent of time in the classroom. When the burden of service work needs to be mitigated, release time is there to provide relief. All well and good, but what about librarians, or archivists, for that matter? Do they have mechanisms like release time to allow them to create the space in their schedules to do this service work? How can unions support librarians when librarians do not deliver classes in the same way as faculty thereby any attempts in establishing a one-to-one comparison of time is not just challenging but near impossible.
This paper will present the results of an investigation that looked at every union contract in English speaking Canada to see how, if at all, release time is articulated for librarians in contrast to what is made available for traditional faculty
Children as an Oppressed Group: An Analysis of Childism in a Brazilian Childfree Facebook Page
Full text linkThis study investigates the occurrence of childist discourses in the Facebook page “Childfree Brasil”, which gathers together Brazilian people who have chosen not to have children. Although being childfree does not mean being oppressive towards children, my recent visits to this page and other social media platforms have shown that it is not uncommon to find childist discourses in discussions within the childfree community. As one step towards understanding childism (Young-Bruehl, 2012) and its underpinnings, this study seeks to analyze some discussions in the aforementioned Facebook page in order to identify common childist discourses and their sociological foundations, and analyze how they may produce and simultaneously reflect childism. This is a qualitative study that looks into posts from 2022 that appear when searching the word “odeio” (“[I] hate” in Portuguese) in the public Facebook page “Childfree Brasil”, as well as the comments under those posts. Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) was used in the analysis of data. The results show that children were frequently perceived as not-yet human, inherently bad and as their parents’ possessions. Consequently, children were not seen as active members of society and the care for children was mostly perceived to be solely the parents’ responsibility. I argue that there is a strong connection between the childist discourses shown in these posts and other forms of oppression, as well as an individualistic perception of adults as independent and children as dependent, with latter viewed as negative. In response, I also argue for the perception of all humans as interdependent, with the belief that such a perception is necessarily connected to abolishing oppressions
Characterizing Zika and West Nile virus infection in mast cells and the antibody-dependent enhancement potential mediated by dengue virus antibodies
Full text linkIn the dermis, long-lived resident mast cells are well-situated to respond to mosquito-borne pathogens. Within the Flavivirus genus, dengue virus (DENV), Zika virus (ZIKV), and West Nile virus (WNV) are evolutionarily related mosquito-borne viruses with antigenic similarities. The antigenic similarities present between 4 circulating DENV serotypes create an immunological paradox called antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) whereby previously generated DENV antibodies can augment a heterotypic DENV infection. Although antibodies are typically recognized as correlates for immunity, this idiosyncrasy is mechanistically mediated through FcγR-antibody interactions responsible for pathogen neutralization. Human DENV monoclonal antibodies (HmAbs) (1.6D and D11C) isolated from 2 different individuals have been characterized as neutralizing towards all DENV serotypes yet enhancing at sub-neutralizing concentrations in vitro. However, there is no data to suggest DENV antibodies facilitate WNV infection and whether mast cells are permissive to ZIKV or WNV in any context remains unexplored. Here we used KU812 cells to expand the resolution in which we understand viral-host interactions in the context of ZIKV and WNV infection. Both D11C and 1.6D HmAbs augmented ZIKV 72 hours post-infection (hpi). Across time (4, 48, 72, and 96 hpi), ADE of ZIKV by D11C was coupled to CCL5, IL-1b, and CXCL10 mediator release. Surface FcγRII was essential for both ZIKV and WNV ADE in mast cells since blocking the receptor-antigen interaction diminished both viral replication and immune mediator release. KU812 cells were exceptionally permissive to WNV infection (106-108 pfu/ml) across multiple timepoints (24, 48, and 72 hpi) independent of an ADE mechanism, although DENV HmAbs significantly
augmented WNV replication kinetics. Increases in TNF, IL-1b, CCL5, CCL4, CCL3, CXCL8, CXCL10 were detected in cell-free supernatants 72 hpi for both canonical and ADE replication pathways, albeit ADE significantly increased mediator secretion kinetics as early as 48 hpi. This is the first work characterizing ZIKV infection in a mast cell model and illustrates FcγRII as the mechanistic contributor to ADE. Furthermore, this is the first time WNV infection has been described in a mast cell model and the first report of WNV ADE by DENV antibodies in any cell model
Leading with openness: A report on the capacity of British Columbia's public post-secondary institutions to support open educational practices
Full text linkThe report begins with a brief overview of open education and the educational benefits of using open educational practices (OEP). It emphasizes Canada’s leadership in open educational resources (OER), particularly within British Columbia and Ontario, as well as the national collaborations that are working to support open education across provincial lines. It describes the growth and maturation of OEP initiatives in B.C., undergirded by supports, infrastructure, and resources provided by BCcampus, and demonstrated
by increasing references to OEP in institutional guidelines, policies, and strategic documents, and more inter- and intra-institutional collaboration on open education initiatives. The report describes the Institutional Self-Assessment Tool, Version 2 (ISAT2), the research instrument used in this study, including an overview of its 23 dimensions
organized into the following six groupings:
1. Vision and implementation
2. Partnerships
3. Policies, incentives, and professional development
4. Institutional supports
5. Leadership and advocacy
6. Culture change
Detailed results are presented from the online survey of British Columbia’s universities, colleges, and institutes. To account for the diversity of the B.C. post-secondary system, the report breaks down results based on institution type and looks at how geography influences the results. The overall response rate was 77%, with variations based on type of institution. Dimensions of support for OEP where institutions demonstrate stronger capacity include awareness, partnerships (especially with libraries), technology and other infrastructure, and institutional communications. Conversely, dimensions of support for OEP where institutions demonstrate weaker capacity include student partnerships, policies, incentives, resources/funding, leadership structure, curriculum integrations, and research support.
The report closes with a set of 11 practical recommendations for institutions seeking to advance their capacity to support OEP. This includes specific steps concerning strategic planning, leadership, partnerships, encouragement of educators, investment in staff, funding, system integration, communication, research, and collaboration
Linda Crabtree fonds, 1905-2024, n.d.
Full text linkLinda Crabtree (1924-2025) was a writer, artist, and disability rights advocate. Much of her work centred around creating a community to support those with Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease (which she was afflicted with), and making Niagara accessible to people with disabilities. Linda was born in St. Catharines to Floyd and Dorothy Crabtree in 1942. When she was 16 months old, her parents became aware that there was something wrong with her. Her feet were flat, although she was born with high arches. After numerous trips to various doctors, Linda was erroneously diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy and polio. She was prescribed exercises to help strengthen her feet and ankles, but she continued to get weaker. Soon after she was prescribed lace-up leather boots with metal braces to help her walk. At the age of 12, it was suspected by a doctor and family friend that Linda had Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a genetic, progressively debilitating neuromuscular disease that often begins by affecting a person’s ability to walk.
At 17, Linda was hired to work in the library of the local community newspaper, the St. Catharines Standard. At 21, she moved to Montreal to study at the Sir George Williams University School of Art and graduated in 1966. She eventually returned to St. Catharines and worked once again at the St. Catharines Standard, this time in the editorial department. She became the art columnist and assistant family editor for the newspaper for 15 years. In 1982 she was forced to retire because of her disability. With her husband Ron Book, Linda founded and operated CMT International for 18 years. This charitable organized provided information and support for people with Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease. During this time, she wrote a monthly column for the St. Catharines Standard on disability issues, known as "Access Niagara”. Linda also became a student at Brock University and studied Psychology, graduating with her degree in 1987. In addition to these activities, she helped create a website that directed disabled tourists to accessible attractions throughout Niagara. She also wrote an autobiography in 2017, titled CMT and Me: an intimate 75-year journey of love, loss and refusal to surrender to a disabling disease.
For her advocacy work for the rights of the disabled, Linda received numerous awards. She was invested in the Order of Canada (1994), Order of Ontario (1992), and Terry Fox Hall of Fame. She was also the recipient of King Clancy Award from the Canadian Foundation for Physically Disabled Persons (2004), Volunteer of the Year award from the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario, and was awarded an Honorary Degree from Brock University in 1994.Fonds contains material acquired and created by Linda Crabtree. The material reflects her varied activities, including her work as an artist, journalist, disability rights advocate, and founder of CMT (Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease) International. Linda’s “Access Niagara” columns written for the St. Catharines Standard are included, as well as newsletters and magazine articles she authored, and her autobiography, CMT and Me. The fonds also contains genealogical material about the Crabtree family, and material related to her work designing a fully accessible home. Other material related to accessible design is included, such as material about Universal Design, the One Step program, and Trillium Forest (a proposed retreat for people with disabilities). There are also several issues of The McKinnon People, published by the Public Relations department of The McKinnon Industries Ltd., subsidiary of General Motors Corporation, St. Catharines, Ontario. There are some photos, slides, and news clippings related to the carousel in Port Dalhousie. Linda’s mother, Dorothy Crabtree, was instrumental in raising funds to keep the carousel in Lakeside Park.The fonds includes the personal diaries and journals of Linda Crabtree. Some of these diaries are restricted until 2035. The restricted items are noted in the finding aid
The Effects of Psychological Variables on Movement Patterns During Occupation-Style Lifting Tasks
No full textIndividuals living with low back pain (LBP) exhibit differences in postural control, both in standing and during movement. Beyond pain, various factors can influence how an individual interacts with a load when lifting, including mechanical, contextual, and perceptual variables (i.e., load mass, load knowledge, and perceived risk, respectively). The present study sought to explore how these variables interact. It was hypothesized that differences in postural control between participants with high and low perceived risk would be more pronounced when the load was unknown or lighter, and that those with higher perceived risk would present with more conservative anticipatory lifting strategies. 42 participants completed a series of symmetrical sagittal lifting maneuvers from floor to hip height. Analysis was broken up into three phases: preparatory (i.e., descent), pose at load acceptance, and lifting (i.e., ascent). Principal component analysis was used to reduce the dimensionality of 3D pose data at load acceptance. A three-way statistical parametric mapping ANOVA was conducted to assess differences across continuous independent variables throughout descent and ascent. Significant main effects emerged between the PHODA groups for each joint throughout descent and ascent (SPM) and for five retained principal components (PCA). However, no other significant main or interaction effects emerged. Those with greater perceived risk presented with more lumbar and hip flexion throughout the lifts, and with greater knee flexion and dorsiflexion surrounding load acceptance. The present work highlights perception-specific differences in lifting patterns and can offer insights into strategies undertaken by workers in occupational settings
Establishing Reverse Genetics Tools for Cell Fusing Agent Virus: Infectious Clone Assembly and Transfection in Mosquito Cells
Full text linkInsect-specific flaviviruses (ISFs) serve as valuable models for understanding arthropod-borne virus (arbovirus) biology due to their evolutionary relationship to dual-host flaviviruses and their restriction to insects. One such virus: Cell fusing agent virus (CFAV) has been widely used in research for its interactions with arboviruses and host-restricted transmission characteristics holding importance for vector control strategies. However, research progress is limited by the absence of robust reverse genetic systems for CFAV. This thesis aimed to design, construct, and characterize a novel CFAV infectious clone using subgenomic cloning and circular polymerase extension reaction (CPER). Overlapping fragments spanning the full CFAV genome were synthesized to assemble both Galveston (WT) and reporter-tagged (mNG) constructs. Transfection of Aedes albopictus C6/36 and C7/10 cells were performed using three distinct methods. Electroporation was largely ineffective, while chemical transfections with Lipofectamine™-3000 and TransIT®-LT1 delivered and facilitated replication of CFAV and reporter gene expression in vitro, as confirmed by RT-PCR, RT-qPCR and microscopy observations. Comparisons of the transfection reagents indicated cell-dependent differences in transfection efficiencies, with Lipofectamine™-3000 exhibiting optimal efficiency in C7/10 cells and TransIT®-LT1 being superior in C6/36 cells. The variable success of transfection suggests that the biological properties of mosquito cells and the mechanisms of each reagent influence replication outcomes. While successful assembly of the infectious clones was confirmed, the viral growth curves using supernatant from transfected C6/36 cells indicated limited viral infectivity, likely due to secondary structure defects or sequence mutations. Overall, this work demonstrates the first systematic attempt to construct and deliver CFAV infectious clones into mosquito cell lines. These findings establish a foundation for refining reverse genetic systems for ISFs and bridge fundamental virology with translational applications in arbovirus biology
The World Beyond Cloud Models
Full text linkPresentation material for the Lightning Talk session entitled: The World Beyond Cloud Models from the Generative AI in Libraries (GAIL) Virtual Conference, 2025 rendition