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Preparing globally competent professionals and leaders for innovation and sustainability
No full textThe personal and organizational struggles and accomplishments revealed by the COVID-19 pandemic highlight that innovation is the defining trait of individuals and organizations that thrive in the 21st century. The global health crisis not only accelerated the global geopolitical tensions and disrupted organizations in all sectors, but confirmed the importance of preparing globally competent citizens, professionals, and learners who can effectively respond to the economic, environmental, and digital transformations in the 21st century through lifelong learning and professional development. Leaders today need to not only understand the financial, operational, sociocultural, and historical contexts of regional, national, and global systems, but also to build effective partnerships and trusting relationships with all stakeholders in effective policymaking, fostering an organizational culture that supports innovation and managing risks.
Preparing Globally Competent Professionals and Leaders for Innovation and Sustainability is centered on international higher education’s role for the global common good. It critically examines the need for globally competent citizens, professionals, and leaders in the 21st century and higher education’s role in the global common good for a sustainable world. The book presents an evidence-based interdisciplinary framework and promising strategies to allow all learners to develop global citizenship and global leadership while addressing the need to prepare human capital for the global knowledge economy and digital transformation of the 21st century. Covering topics such as accessible education, international higher education, and organizational innovation, this premier reference source is an excellent resource for organizational leaders, executives, faculty and administration of higher education, government officials, human resource managers, industry professionals, researchers, academicians, and students
Not an emergency: Discovering the narratives of emergency department nurses who care for women experiencing an early miscarriage
No full textEarly miscarriage presents a conundrum for women, their support people, society, and
healthcare providers. Early miscarriage has been the topic of a plethora of research since the
early 1980s. The early research focused on women’s experience and sought to illuminate the
challenges they faced accessing care and support. While research is abundant about early
miscarriage and women’s experiences of this in the decades that have followed, solutions to the
challenges women face when they access care have not been found. Finding potential solutions
to these challenges requires an examination of those who provide care. The 24-hour character of
the emergency department (ED) and the urgent and often unpredictable nature of the symptoms
associated with an early miscarriage make it a frequent point of care for women. ED nurses thus
provide a significant amount of this care to women. However, the research describing ED nurses’
experiences of caring for women with an early miscarriage has not substantively revealed the
unique experience of the ED nurse in providing this care.
RNs who worked or had worked in the ED were invited to participate in this study, by
engaging in a semi-structured interview. The stories of eight ED nurses who have cared for
women experiencing an early miscarriage were examined and analyzed using narrative inquiry—
specifically, Dr. A Frank’s methodology of dialogical narrative analysis. The ED nurses’ stories
revealed four narrative resources common to all of the stories: the reality of the ED, the
medicalization of miscarriage, the lack of a plan, and nothing I can do. The stories also revealed
two underlying narrative plot types that tied the narrative resources together: You’re not an
emergency and Seeing the fetus.
The ED nurses in this study described a conundrum they face with miscarriage in the ED.
This arises from the fact that they perceived miscarriage to be out of place in their practice in the
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ED. Specific challenges they revealed include lack of education, lack of policy and procedure,
the medicalization of birth and death, the perception that miscarriage is a not an emergency, and
the impact of seeing the fetus. The work of the ED nurses was another notable finding from the
stories. On the surface, the ED nurses’ stories focused on their psychomotor skills, medical
interventions, and what they could not do for these patients. This trivializes the ED nurses’ vital
role in facilitating care for these women. However, woven throughout these stories was how
much the ED nurses were indeed doing for their female patients. This incongruence lies in the
fact that the ED nurses themselves did not appreciate the “work” they were doing with women
patients and speaks to challenges that other nurses may face in their practice. The ED nurses’
work and how they value their work is fundamental to answering these questions and extending
our understanding.
While there is some support of these findings in recent publications, this research project
does not mitigate the few studies that currently amplify the ED nurse’s voice. Hearing accounts
of this work and giving it a voice opens the possibility of a new narrative for ED nurses, one
through which they can find redemption and agency as they navigate the experience of caring for
women having a miscarriage in their ED practice
Analytic order-isomorphisms of countable dense subsets of the unit circle
No full textFor functions in Ck(R) which commute with a translation, we prove a theorem on approximation by entire functions which commute with the same translation, with a requirement that the values of the entire function and its derivatives on a specified countable set belong to specified dense sets. Using this theorem, we show that if A and B are countable dense subsets of the unit circle T⊆C with 1∉A , 1∉B , then there is an analytic function h:C∖{0}→C that restricts to an order isomorphism of the arc T∖{1} onto itself and satisfies h(A)=B and h′(z)≠0 when z∈T . This answers a question of P. M. Gauthier
Assessing design ability through a quantitative analysis of the design process
No full textCurrent educational practices presume engineering students develop design skills through dedicated design courses and projects. There are many variations in how the courses and projects are implemented, causing disagreement between educators on the most effective methods. Few assessment tools exist to evaluate these claims, and no quantitative tools were found that provide students with an immediate formative evaluation of their design ability. We created an online, quantitative design ability assessment tool to compare the design approaches of students to experienced engineers. This article explores whether design ability can be assessed quantitatively through this tool. Significant findings include the following. Experienced engineers use fewer steps than students and estimate the project would require more time than both student groups. First-year students use extraneous steps, produce the wrong product, are least likely to iterate, and exceed the target number of hours. Second- through fourth-year students utilized the most time in developing alternative solutions and demonstrated design knowledge gained from previous experience. Because these findings align with the literature, we conclude that aspects of design ability can be assessed using a quantitative tool, which provides students with formative design development and educators with quantitative feedback on variations in their project or course
Coupled multiphysics modelling of sensors for chemical, biomedical, and environmental applications with focus on smart materials and low-dimensional nanostructures
No full textLow-dimensional nanostructures have many advantages when used in sensors compared to the traditional bulk materials, in particular in their sensitivity and specificity. In such nanostructures, the motion of carriers can be confined from one, two, or all three spatial dimensions, leading to their unique properties. New advancements in nanosensors, based on low-dimensional nanostructures, permit their functioning at scales comparable with biological processes and natural systems, allowing their efficient functionalization with chemical and biological molecules. In this article, we provide details of such sensors, focusing on their several important classes, as well as the issues of their designs based on mathematical and computational models covering a range of scales. Such multiscale models require state-of-the-art techniques for their solutions, and we provide an overview of the associated numerical methodologies and approaches in this context. We emphasize the importance of accounting for coupling between different physical fields such as thermal, electromechanical, and magnetic, as well as of additional nonlinear and nonlocal effects which can be salient features of new applications and sensor designs. Our special attention is given to nanowires and nanotubes which are well suited for nanosensor designs and applications, being able to carry a double functionality, as transducers and the media to transmit the signal. One of the key properties of these nanostructures is an enhancement in sensitivity resulting from their high surface-to-volume ratio, which leads to their geometry-dependant properties. This dependency requires careful consideration at the modelling stage, and we provide further details on this issue. Another important class of sensors analyzed here is pertinent to sensor and actuator technologies based on smart materials. The modelling of such materials in their dynamics-enabled applications represents a significant challenge as we have to deal with strongly nonlinear coupled problems, accounting for dynamic interactions between different physical fields and microstructure evolution. Among other classes, important in novel sensor applications, we have given our special attention to heterostructures and nucleic acid based nanostructures. In terms of the application areas, we have focused on chemical and biomedical fields, as well as on green energy and environmentally-friendly technologies where the efficient designs and opportune deployments of sensors are both urgent and compelling.Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of CanadaCanada Research Chairs (CRC) Progra
Tactile sensor-based distributed control for swarm navigation
No full textSwarm robotics is the study of the coordination of multi-robot systems composed of a large number of simple robots [1], in which swarm navigation is one of the possible collective behaviours that such a system can possess [2]. Collective swarm navigation considers scenarios where a robot or a group of robots with limited sensing and localization capabilities is able to reach its target in an unknown location with the help of other robots [2, 3]. In this research, we focused on addressing problems that a robot swarm may encounter during the navigation process. Specifically, we dealt with a robot swarm encountering unknown large-sized obstacles in two different scenarios: (1) an obstacle partially blocks its path to the destination, and (2) an obstacle blocks the path entirely, and the swarm has no way to get around it. The general objective of this research was to design distributed behaviour-based controls using the novel approach of wall-following strategies. To accomplish this, we proposed three distributed behaviour-based controls which employ different coordination strategies based on the wall-following behaviour to address the problems that arise during swarm navigation. To perform the wall-following behaviour, each robot is equipped with a tactile sensor, as developed by [4]. We first proposed a novel fully distributed control with the wall-following strategy in a one-chain configuration. This eliminates local minima problems caused by competing potential fields and connectivity maintenance, and helps the swarm to achieve ordered motion using only local sensing and without alignment control. We then developed a new wall-following strategy with a multi-layer configuration. The layered structure enables the swarm to move along the obstacle boundary faster than in the one-chain configuration. Moreover, this strategy allows the swarm to adapt better to surrounding environments. Finally, we proposed a novel Distributed control for obstacle-Clearance and swarm Navigation (DCN) as an alternative solution when obstacles block the path. Instead of constantly avoiding obstacles or following the obstacle boundary to pass through, a sub-group of the swarm is collectively tasked to push the obstacle away from its predefined pathway, allowing the rest of the swarm to continue moving towards its destination. Ultimately, DCN is designed to allow the robot swarm to switch between navigation tasks and obstacle manipulation tasks. In this thesis, I also present the results of simulation and real-world experiments in environments consisting of large-sized obstacles, and then evaluate the performance of the proposed control system
Cross-sectional study of antimicrobial use and treatment decision for preweaning Canadian dairy calves
No full textAntimicrobials should be used prudently in farm animals to prevent the development of resistant bacteria in both humans and animals. The objective of this study was to investigate Canadian dairy producers' practices for antimicrobial use in the treatment of disease in preweaning dairy calves. In-person questionnaires were administered to 144 dairy producers across 5 provinces in Canada between July 2019 and August 2020. Almost all (96%) producers used antimicrobials to treat calves with respiratory disease, but only 27% indicated they had a written treatment protocol for respiratory disease. Most (95%) of these protocols for respiratory disease were developed with input from the herd veterinarian. Seventy-four percent of producers used antimicrobials to treat calf diarrhea, with 37% of producers having a written treatment protocol for calf diarrhea with input from the herd veterinarian. The combinations of signs adopted by the producers for antimicrobial treatment in calf respiratory disease and diarrhea were evaluated based on findings from other studies. More than half (56%) of producers who used antimicrobials for calf respiratory disease decided to use antimicrobials by evaluating multiple clinical signs. Eighty-two percent of producers who used antimicrobials for calf diarrhea made decisions based on systemic signs of disease, presence of bloody stool, no response to previous treatment, or on the recommendation from the herd veterinarian. Producers with a written treatment protocol had 3 to 7 times greater odds of using antimicrobials based on multiple signs or systemic signs of disease compared with those without a protocol. Further research may investigate other calf management practices related to decision-making by producers in using antimicrobials to improve antimicrobial stewardship on dairy farms
Comparison of chlorhexidine and alcohol‐based antisepsis on the paralumbar fossa in cattle
No full textObjective
To determine skin reaction, post-treatment reduction (immediate effect), and 1 hour post-treatment reduction (sustained effect) of aerobic bacterial colony forming units (CFU) following three antiseptic protocols in cattle.
Study design
Prospective, randomized experimental study.
Animals
Eighteen cows.
Methods
Three sites in each paralumbar fossa were clipped and randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups: 5 minute 4% chlorhexidine gluconate scrub (CHG); 90 second 80% ethanol scrub (ET); 90 second 70% isopropyl alcohol scrub (IPA). All sites were monitored at all sampling time points and at 24 hours following treatment for adverse skin reaction. Samples were collected pre-, immediately post-, and 1 hour post-treatment and plated in duplicate. Bacterial counts were shifted to eliminate zeroes, log10 transformed, and averaged. ANOVA was used to compare differences in mean reduction in log10CFU/ml between groups.
Results
Reduction in log10CFU/ml was more pronounced immediately after application of IPA (p = .001) and ET (p = .001) than CHG. This reduction was better sustained after preparation with CHG than ET (p = .005) but not IPA. Immediate and sustained reductions in bacterial loads did not differ after application of IPA or ET. No adverse skin reactions were noted.
Conclusions
Skin preparation with alcohol-based antiseptics was well tolerated and improved immediate bacterial reduction compared to CHG. This reduction was better sustained 1 hour after application of CHG than ET, but no difference was detected between CHG and IPA.
Clinical relevance
Lack of adverse skin reaction and performance provide evidence to support skin preparation with alcohol-based antiseptics in cattle
Canadian foreign politics: is there any chance of making headway in preserving the liberal international order?
No full textThe US has signaled a retreat from its efforts aimed at promoting nation-building and protecting human rights and democracy worldwide, while China has yet to demonstrate any commitment to embracing the human rights and democracy aspects of the liberal international order (LIO). Canada, a traditional American middle power ally, has been navigating its place in the relationships between two competing powers, China and the US, while attempting to preserve the LIO. Canada cannot afford to unilaterally take coercive measures against China toward protecting human rights and democracy: it is too dependent on trade, investment and science-related collaboration with China. Canada can, however, promote a less unilateralist, more globalist attitude toward international politics. It can play a more active role in improving the work of the existing multilateral institutions and emerging partnerships, while also contributing to shifting the US foreign policy priorities toward more collaborative solutions and approaches in international affairs
