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The Ethics of Exploitation: How Social Media Profits from Attention, Addiction, and Data Manipulation
No full textThe pervasive influence of social media platforms extends far beyond digital interaction, shaping human behavior, manipulating democratic processes, and exploiting user data with minimal oversight. Through the attention economy, these platforms employ algorithms designed to maximize engagement at the expense of users’ autonomy, fostering addiction and cognitive dependency. Manipulative terms and conditions further entrench corporate control, binding users to contracts with the very companies that obscure the extent of data collection and limit legal recourse. The Cambridge Analytica scandal laid bare the dangers of unregulated data harvesting, demonstrating how personal information can be weaponized for political and economic gain.
Beyond individual harm, the unchecked power of social media corporations presents an existential threat to democratic integrity. The prioritization of engagement over truth accelerates the spread of misinformation and disinformation, while profit-driven algorithms amplify political polarization. Despite their immense societal impact, these platforms remain largely unregulated, evading meaningful accountability through strategic lobbying and the minimization of associated risks.
Addressing these concerns necessitates a multifaceted approach, including the implementation of stricter consumer protections, enhanced transparency in data practices, and legislative intervention to curtail corporate overreach. Strengthening digital literacy is equally critical in empowering users to navigate the online landscape with greater awareness. As the influence of social media deepens, legal and regulatory frameworks must evolve to safeguard fundamental rights, ensuring that these platforms serve the public interest rather than perpetuating corporate exploitation
A Teacher, a Supervisor, an Undefined Self
No full textThis article follows the experiences and reflections of an American high school English teacher while evolving a single tenth grade memoir and grammar unit into a published student-led research project over the span of 3 years. As a partner piece, this article supplements my students’ published project, titled “A Teacher, a Tutor, a Friend,” that explores ChatGPT and student perspectives through a thematic discourse analysis under the framework of Figured Worlds (Holland et al., 1998); as their teacher-turned-supervisor, I found that preparing 10th grade students—now called the Lexington Student Research and Publication Collaborative—to grapple with such complex material was a purposeful and standards-oriented process, documented here. This partner text functions threefold: as a step-by-step process guide for other teachers, a reflection of the teacher-supervisor role, and a moment of gratitude for my students
Autism Spectrum Disorder and Employment Outcomes: Examining the Role of Self-Efficacy Among Employers
No full textThis applied dissertation was designed to examine the impact of autism awareness and workforce training on employer self-efficacy and attitudes toward hiring individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). A quasi-experimental one-group pretest-posttest design was employed involving a sample of 62 employers who completed the Employer Self-Efficacy Scale (ESES) and the Scale Attitudes Towards Workers with Disabilities (SATWD) pre- and post-intervention. A barriers checklist and self-reported experience with autistic individuals were also analyzed.
The results revealed a statistically significant improvement in both employer self-efficacy and attitudes toward workers with disabilities following the training intervention. However, prior experience with autistic individuals, either within or outside of employment settings, was not significantly associated with post-training self-efficacy outcomes. The most frequently reported barriers, pre-intervention, included a lack of ASD knowledge, symptomatology, and understanding.
These findings suggest that structured training programs are effective at improving employer confidence and attitudes toward hiring autistic individuals, whereas prior exposure alone is insufficient. Limitations include a lack of a control group, potential for selection bias, and reliance on self-reported measures. Future research should incorporate randomized control trials, longitudinal follow-up, and exploration of additional factors that contribute to increased self-efficacy among stakeholders working with or supporting youth and adults with ASD. The study highlighted the potential of autism specific knowledge-based interventions to foster greater confidence among employers and positively impact the employment outcomes for this population
Impact of Shift Length on Burnout and Job or Life Satisfaction among Allied Healthcare Professionals
No full textAbstract: Background/Objectives: Healthcare professionals are critical to community well-being, but the 12-versus 8-hour shifts on their stress and burnout are unclear. This study examines the effects of work patterns on the quality of life, job satisfaction, and burnout among allied healthcare professionals. Method: a validated questionnaire was used. A descriptive analysis, independent samples t-test and Mann–Whitney U test were used, and the significance level was p \u3c 0.05. Results: Among the 340 participants, the mean age was 28 years, and most were women (63.5%), single (58%), and worked 8-hour shifts (54.4%). Most (78%) of the participants reported their job satisfaction as moderate, with 20% reporting great satisfaction and 90% reporting at least moderate levels of burnout. In addition, a majority of the participants (73%) reported moderate levels of secondary traumatic stress. Individuals who worked 12-hour shifts reported lower job satisfaction than those who worked 8-hour shifts (p = 0.01), while those who worked 8-hour shifts reported lower burnout (p = 0.011) and stress or trauma levels (p =0.012). The participants desiring to change their workplace reported lower job satisfaction and higher burnout or stress (p = 0.002). Finally, the desire to change specialty influenced job satisfaction and burnout, but it did not significantly impact stress (p = 0.146). Conclusion: Employees working 8-hour shifts have higher life satisfaction and lower burnout/stress levels than those working 12-hour shifts. Burnout influences the need for change in one’s career or workplace. Shorter shifts may improve individuals’ well-being and work-life balance
Canadian Adolescent and Young Athletes Knowledge of Pain-relieving medications
No full textPurpose: Adolescent knowledge of pain-relieving medications (PRM) and opioids is scant, particularly from a Canadian perspective. Research indicates that athletes will often resort to PRM and opioids to manage their pain, but it is unknown whether athletes are fully informed as to its use and misuse including adverse events that may occur. The purpose of this study is to understand what elite level male athletes know about use, contraindications, and recommendations of pain-relieving medications; particularly opioids to manage their pain. Methods: Using a qualitative, grounded theory approach, we interviewed male athletes to understand their level of knowledge regarding pain-relieving medications, particularly opioids. Athletes were approached through their coaches/teams and after receiving consent (assent from those under the age of 18) were informed of their rights as a participate. Ethical approval was received from Sheridan College’s REB. Results: Eight male athletes (aged 15-23 years, SD=3.01) who were involved in elite level basketball and lacrosse were interviewed. From the data, 4 themes emerged: 1) Athletes lacked formal education on pain-relieving medication including opioids ; 2) Athletes were influenced by coaches, peers, culture and health care providers on whether to use pain-relieving medications; 3) Athletes trusted guardians, Athletic Therapists affiliated with teams, and coaches to provide advice regarding use of pain-relieving medications; 4) Athletes understood that pain was a “part of the game”. Conclusions: Athletes lacked understanding of the use of pain-relieving medications including opioids and indicated that under certain circumstances, their use would be appropriate. As a result, athletes may engage in misuse of pain-relieving medications without fully understanding their appropriate use or consequences. Their sources of information on PRM and opioids range from coaches, peers, internet, culture, parents/guardians, and Athletic Therapists. The information found in this study is important for health care providers to provide opportunities to educate athletes on the use of pain-relieving medications. Athlete’s misuse of pain-relieving medication without the health care providers knowledge can have implications such as faulty assessment, diagnosis, and management of injuries, potentially creating opportunities for further harm
Interprofessional Wellness Groups: A Model for Success
No full textPurpose Interprofessional learning activities foster critical-thinking and shared decision-making while promoting person-centered and team-based care. These activities promote the development of interprofessional collaboration competencies that prepare health profession students to effectively deliver care. This article describes the Interprofessional Wellness Group (IWG) model, an academically robust, sustainable, and versatile model that successfully addresses the competencies required for interprofessional collaboration in today’s demanding healthcare environment. Method The IWG model is designed using adult learning theories, is student-led, and aims to provide disease-specific wellness education to community-based participants. Results Quantitative and qualitative data from both students and participants was overwhelmingly positive: students reported increased interprofessional collaboration competencies and participants reported satisfaction and support. Conclusion The IWG model is a versatile teaching framework designed for students from various healthcare disciplines to work collaboratively in providing community members with comprehensive health promotion strategies. The IWG model demonstrates a successful integration of andragogical principles to promote the essential competencies required for interprofessional collaborative practice
Assessment of Interprofessional Education Competencies: Evaluation of a New Tool to Assess Sensitivity to Changes Across Training
No full textPurpose: The Interprofessional Education Collaborative introduced specific competencies for interprofessional education to meet the growing need for interprofessional care. These four competencies include teams and teamwork, communication, roles and responsibilities, and values and ethics. With this introduction, a need has emerged for the development of a tool to assess interprofessional proficiency among students in health professions training programs and to evaluate whether such a tool is sensitive to changes in competency as students participate in specific training initiatives. Method: A tool was developed (Interprofessional Education Competency Scale - IPECS) based on the Interprofessional Education Collaborative Competencies and administered to students from five different healthcare professions training programs (graduate psychology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and physician assistant and undergraduate nursing). Students completed the IPECS prior to any of the training events (Baseline) and after the first event designed to focus on the two competencies of teams and teamwork and communication (Post1) and again after a subsequent event designed to focus on the two competencies of roles and responsibilities and values and ethics (Post2). Results: Student IPECS scores significantly increased across each of the measurement periods. All scales except values and ethics increased from Baseline to Post1 to Post2. Values and ethics scores increased from Post1 to Post2. There were no profession-by-event interactions, thereby indicating that all professions increased at the same rate. Conclusions: The IPECS appears to be a potentially valuable tool for assessment of student development of interprofessional education competencies, being sensitive to apparent changes developed when students engaged in interprofessional activities that focus on interprofessional competencies. And it appears to be able to measure specific changes that occur; scores on the ethics subscale only increased after attending the event focused on ethics. Future research needs to continue to examine psychometric properties of the IPECS and to explore if it is a measurement tool that can be useful for assessment of competencies among practicing professionals. In addition, studies also need to examine if ceiling effects for some questions limit the usefulness of the tool or if those questions can be modified to eliminate possible ceiling effects