University of Guelph hosted OJS journals
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The Living Room of Rural Communities: Rural Economic Development in New Tecumseth
No full textThe landscape of rural southern Ontario is evolving as local governments are adjusting to accelerating rates of affordability, shifting demographics, and access to resources and labour. Paired with the COVID-19 pandemic, local governments have adapted to the shifts by re-evaluating plans and curating sustainable strategies to combat the unprecedented challenges. The support in downtown renewal strategies and business parks to revive the economic core of communities is reflective of increasing pressures to assist commercial spaces following the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Regarding economic development following the COVID-19 pandemic, the pressures for communities to provide competitive, employable and attractive commercial spaces are being potentially reduced with a minimal pool of resources. The purpose of this project is to identify the role downtowns and business parks have within rural economic development and the post-pandemic environment. Specifically, this project highlights how the town of New Tecumseth and other southern Ontario communities have navigated the accelerating shifts in the responsibilities through policy, planning, and economic development. The town of New Tecumseth provides a unique case study that links rural, urban and agricultural heritage while building on literature provided about other communities in the region. The findings from the project can provide further insight in fulfilling a research gap in rural economic development in southern Ontario. 
La première année: évolution des perceptions et des comportements des étudiants de premier cycle en sciences de la santé dans leur processus de recherche en ligne
No full textThis study investigates the perceptions and behaviours of novice academic researchers in their first year of post-secondary education when conducting online research. Because this study was undertaken immediately following the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns of 2020-2022 it provides a unique window into how this experience impacted our youth, their choices and behaviours when conducting online research at the point of entering university and then further along in the first year. Conducting online research in this context describes what students anticipate they will do during an information search process and the strategies and tools they use in practice to locate information. Using data from semi-structured interviews and cognitive maps, thematic analysis was used to identify themes of the students’ perceptions and behaviours. This exploratory research can serve to inform and provide insights into improving our science and health sciences libraries’ user experience, instruction, marketing, and e-resource collections, as well as students’ preparation for academic research in their secondary school years, particularly in the Canadian context. Findings indicate that the experience of secondary students conducting research for school is one of frustration. Credible information is highly valued but difficult to obtain without the proper resources and skills. The early perceptions of students were ones of hope that these frustrations would be appeased when having access to superior quality tools and learning the proper techniques of academic research. In today’s changing online world, library workers must continue the work of understanding how our students perceive and behave when conducting research.Cette étude porte sur les perceptions et les comportements des chercheurs universitaires novices au cours de leur première année d’études postsecondaires lorsqu’ils effectuent des recherches en ligne. Dans ce contexte, effectuer des recherches en ligne décrit ce que les étudiants anticipent faire lorsqu’ils cherchent des informations ainsi que les stratégies et les outils qu’ils utilisent en pratique pour trouver de l’information. Les données d’entrevues semi-dirigées et de schémas de processus ont été analysées pour identifier des thèmes relatifs aux perceptions et aux comportements des étudiants. Quoique les étudiants soient à l’université, ils fournissaient un retour sur leurs expériences antérieures. Les résultats montrent que l’expérience des élèves du secondaire menant des recherches pour l’école est frustrante. L’information crédible est hautement valorisée mais difficile à obtenir sans avoir les bonnes ressources et compétences. Les étudiants étaient initialement optimistes que ces frustrations seraient apaisées grâce à un accès à de meilleurs outils et à l’apprentissage des bonnes techniques pour la recherche universitaire. Cette étude a été faite immédiatement après le confinement en raison de la pandémie de la COVID-19 en 2020-2022. Elle fournit donc un portrait unique expliquant comment cette expérience a eu un impact sur les étudiants ainsi que leurs choix et leurs comportements en effectuant de la recherche en ligne lors du début de leurs études postsecondaires et plus tard au cours de leur première année. Cette recherche exploratoire peut servir à informer et à fournir des perspectives pour améliorer l’expérience des usagers des bibliothèques de la santé et des sciences de la santé, la formation, le marketing et les collections électroniques ainsi que la préparation des étudiants à la recherche universitaire lors de leurs années au secondaire, surtout dans un contexte canadien
The effectiveness of miRNAs as potential non-invasive liquid biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of prostate cancer: A systematic review
No full textBackground: Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most prominent cancers worldwide. However, many limitations in its diagnostic and prognostic protocols lead to severe unreliability. This research aims to evaluate the current literature to better understand the effectiveness of miRNAs as potential diagnostic and prognostic non-invasive liquid biomarkers of prostate cancer.
Methods: A systematic review was conducted by thorough searches on the Omni and PubMed database for articles in the past five year, that met specific eligibility criteria. Characteristics of the 18 chosen studies varied, as the goal was to include diverse populations and methodologies to encompass all the current literature. Key differentially expressed miRNAs were extracted from the research, including their dysregulation signatures and associated statistical values.
Results: MiRNA panels, in conjunction with current diagnostic protocols and clinicopathological factors, display the most promise as a future diagnostic tool for PCa. More specifically, a 2-miRNA and 5-cs-miRPs panel show remarkable potential for future use in prostate cancer screening and diagnosis. Some limitations of the supporting evidence include heterogeneity between studies’ methodology and analysis, lack of standardization in the current protocols of miRNA collection and quantification, and the influence of genetic and environmental factors on the expression of these biomarkers.
Conclusion: Future research should validate which miRNAs to include in a panel, how to standardize their storage, collection, and quantification, and how to incorporate them into the current protocols. Clinical applications of miRNAs as non-invasive liquid biomarkers can contribute to early cancer detection and prevention, thus improving outcomes for prostate cancer patients
The Economic and Environmental Outcomes of Applying Polymer-Coated Nitrogen to Cool-Season Perennial Pastures in Southern Ontario
No full textPerennial cool-season pasture plays a crucial role in the economic viability of beef production in rural Ontario, particularly for farms with extensive grazing systems. Enhancing pasture yield can extend the grazing season and reduce reliance on supplemental feed, minimizing production expenses. Applying nitrogen (N) fertilizer to perennial pasture has the potential to increase forage yield and optimize land use, by allowing for increased stocking rates. However, concerns remain about the potential environmental impacts, which are essential for reducing long-term input costs. Currently, N fertilizer recommendations for pastures in Ontario are grouped with hay, creating uncertainty for producers about optimal application rates. In a study on a 64-acre pasture in Elora, Ontario, four N application rates of polymer-coated urea applied in spring were evaluated (0, 30, 60, and 90 kg/ha). A total of eight fields were rotationally grazed by cow/calf pairs with stocking rates adjusted to match forage biomass. Results indicated that in each of the two study years, increasing N allowed for increased stocking rates and therefore increased calf production. Crude protein levels also increased with increasing N rates in the first grazing cycle, though this quality boost was temporary. By incorporating N fertilizer into pasture management strategies, rural producers could increase productivity per acre, enabling them to produce more beef with less land, provided that the environmental impacts can remain minimal. This approach could enhance economic returns and support rural communities, making it a valuable tool for addressing rising input costs and land-use pressures in Ontario\u27s agricultural sector
Perception on Community Gardens Across the World: What Literatures Say
No full textCommunity gardens are collaborative spaces where individuals work together to cultivate fresh, healthy, and affordable produce. Rooted in the broader practice of urban agriculture, which encompasses traditional farming, allotment gardens, and rooftop agriculture, community gardens are increasingly recognized for their role in addressing food security challenges, fostering social cohesion, and promoting ecological balance. Community gardening has become popular worldwide and received the attention of the scholars on its application to alleviate global food insecurity. Literature from across the world underscores their potential to alleviate food deserts in urban environments, as well as highlights significant disparities in the spatial distribution and accessibility of community gardens, raising concerns about equitable access to their benefits. Moreover, studies challenge their effectiveness as a standalone solution to food insecurity, emphasizing the need to align community garden programs with the specific needs and circumstances of low-income populations. Participation motivations, land-use planning, and long-term sustainability are additional critical factors shaping the success of these initiatives. To address these gaps, future research must focus on the design, governance, and stakeholder relationships that influence the overall effectiveness of community gardens in achieving food security and broader community goals
Risk Interpretation of Chemical Contamination: Policy Decisions vs Scientific Conclusions
No full textAbstract: Understanding the risks of chemical pollution has emerged as an urgent and indisputable concern of the 21st century, laden with insurmountable knowledge gaps. Rural areas are often disproportionately burdened by chemical contamination with insufficient resources to mitigate it. Given the exponential growth of synthetic compounds since Industrial Revolution, the rate of their environmental loading and the complexity of their intra- and inter-actions within the ecosystems, it is impossible to fully identify, categorise and aggregate all individual risks from all combinations of hazards, their pathways and targets. At best, it is possible to create approximations which are inherently encumbered with uncertainty. Risk and uncertainty are the fundamental themes of contamination discourses, and they standardize diverse environmental assessments which predicate all environmental intervention and management practices. As culture significantly influences scientific thought, likewise, risk as an ontological reality is largely understood through epistemic interpretive frames which emerge through multiple social processes. Decisions related to risk are not about risk alone, they pertain to choices among options which are made within social settings and express the values of those who decide the relative importance of different possible adverse consequences of a particular decision. Here we investigate the extent to which the value judgements of political decisions and scientific conclusions shape risk management outcomes in modern contamination contexts. We demonstrate that modern contamination risk management frameworks must be re-evaluated with respect to the value judgements and social processes within which they interpret scientific conclusions towards more robust and equitable pollution control
Creating Connections Through Rural Networks
No full textHow do we learn from each other for the betterment of our communities? Facilitated by the BC Rural Network (BCRN) as a forum to share the challenges and successes of rural networks within BC and across the country, this session focuses on the role grass-roots networking organizations play in bettering the lives of rural Canadians. CRRF conference participants are invited to take part in a discussion of key questions like: How are the tools, resources and experiences which are important to rural communities identified, coordinated and disseminated? How are linkages between communities, rural organizations, researchers and policy-makers built? How do rural networks operate effectively and evolve to meet changing community needs? This interactive session will be an opportunity for us to learn from each other about how to build and maintain rural networks and communities. The BCRN was established as a community driven non-profit in 2004 with the goal of building stronger rural and remote communities in BC by promoting better understanding of rural issues across all jurisdictions and developing responses to rural issues. Please see www.bcruralnetwork.ca for more information
Dependency at a Distance: Implications of Workforce Mobility for Community Resilience Part
No full textThe development of new transport technologies and infrastructure has facilitated increased mobility across globe, including of goods, finances and people; so much so that, in the present, it has been argued that a new mobilities turn has emerged within social science research (Hannam et al. 2006). Changes in mobility patterns over time are particularly pronounced in the study of mobility for work, also known as employment-related geographical mobility (E-RGM). E-RGM involves the movement of workers across municipal, provincial, or national boundaries to and from their place of employment and place of residence (Temple et al., 2011). For many communities E-RGM contributes to community survival and resilience by providing a important source of local earnings and an alternative to outmigration. E-RGM, particularly long distance commuting, also creates a particular way of life for residents who are ‘gone away’ for work and for others in the communities where they live and/or work. Research on E-RGM has identified both opportunities and challenges for workers, their families, and source (home) and host (work) communities (Vodden and Hall 2016). One implication of increased E-RGM is new forms of dependency on work in distance locations, with employment opportunities shaped by decision-makers, financial flows and market trends that are distant from workers’ source communities (Storey and Hall, forthcoming). Organized in conjunction of the On the Move Partnership, this session will explore the impacts of E-RGM and “dependency at a distance” for rural and urban communities as well as existing and potential responses to associated challenges and opportunities
Nature of Co-management in Community-owned Renewable Energy Project: A Comparison between Canada and EU Countries
No full textCo-management is a governance system which is consisted with the sharing responsibilities, entitlements, decentralized institutional rules and agreements between the state and local community for maintaining certain resources. Community owned renewable energy (CRE) is such kinds of collaborative energy management where both state, regional and others nongovernmental organizations has been involved. However, very few numbers of study focus on the co-management aspects of CRE. This study explores the patterns of co-management including policy regulations, ownership structure, stakeholder’s participations and decisionmaking process of CRE both in Canada and EU by the summative content analysis method. Study found that different EU countries have applied miscellaneous effective policy tools like Feed-in-Tariff, Feed-in-Premium, Community and Renewable energy scheme, Local energy activism. Consequently, manifolds energy cooperative and community based ownerships have been developed and local residence could be engaged in highest level of participation ladder. Where as most of the Canadian renewable energy policies are more technocratic and accelerating “energy developer” oriented commercial ownership. Therefore, public participation of these renewable energy project is like "Decide-announce-Defend”. Strong decentralized governance, awareness rising and policy reformation should be increased for prolific renewable energy co-management. 
Navigating Challenge and Change - The State of Rural Ontario
No full textThe COVID-19 pandemic illuminated many challenges, changes, and opportunities for rural Ontario. It emphasized the significance of major trends and issues for rural Ontario, such as the critical nature of infrastructure, the vulnerabilities presented by increasingly tourism-dependent economies, the barriers rural people face in accessing critical health and social services, and accelerated changes to rural demographics and workforces. This poster showcases two resilience cases from rural Ontario: to Indigenize water governance by the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and re-localization of food systems in northern Ontario. The cases offer insights into the ways different communities are navigating challenges and change, and they share lessons for interrupting the dominant narratives about rural contexts through building local capacity to exercise community agency. In both cases, specific interventions based on community values, needs, goals, and aspirations serve to reclaim control from urban or outside powers, and re-embed both resources and decision-making processes in the hands of the people and places most affected by challenges, changes, and increasingly uncertain futures