Adolescent mother and child experiences in a parent-child music program

Adolescent mothers are unique; they are both teenagers and parents. Some are students. Many have difficulty with these multiple roles. Secondary schools that support adolescent mothers by providing parenting classes and daycare present an ideal environment to introduce and investigate parent-child music programs. In the present study, the experiences of adolescent mothers and their children in a modified music program based on Kindermusik (2010) curriculum are explored. This research is part of a growing movement to work with youth from a perspective of their interests, assets and resilience. The guiding research question is: What are the experiences of adolescent mothers and their infants in a culturally responsive parent-child music program? I worked with a local parent-child music instructor to implement a program in a Saskatoon school, and received support from a Cree Elder and a Métis singer-songwriter to develop a cultural component of the program. Thirteen young women and their infants participated in the study; one adolescent mother was Aboriginal and five infants had paternal Aboriginal heritage. Other participant ethnicities mirrored the diversity in Saskatoon where much of the population is of multi-ethnic origin from British, German, French, and Ukrainian ancestry (Thraves, 2006). A case study of the eight-week music program was used, emphasizing experiential knowledge, continuous compilation of data, extended researcher observation, and the development of relationship and participant empowerment (Stake, 2010). Primary sources of data included participant-observations and focus group interviews. Secondary sources comprised individual interviews with the parent-child music instructor, an Elder, and school staff; short check-in interviews with most of the adolescent mothers; and video footage and photographs taken during the parent-child music program. The Listening Guide (Gilligan, Spencer, Weinberg, & Bertsch, 2003)—a feminist analysis consistent with the epistemology—was used to interpret the focus group interviews. Thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) was utilized to elucidate the other sources of data. The qualitative findings provide an in-depth understanding of the experiences of adolescent mothers and their infants in a parent-child music program using practical interactions that model and reinforce parenting skills through welcoming, informal, positive and culturally responsive activities. Key findings are strengthened mother-infant connections, enhanced maternal wellbeing, and the development of children’s social skills. Limitations and recommendations for further research are discussed

Characters With Exceptionalities Portrayed in Contemporary Canadian Children’s Books

This article examines the ways in which exceptionality is addressed in Canadian children’s literature, offering critical literacy as an avenue toward social justice. A content analysis (Berg, 2009) of 134 Canadian children’s books offers a wide scope of contemporary titles to include in classrooms. We developed conceptual categories to explore patterns and trends through a qualitative interpretive stance (Seidman, 2006). Our findings include the following results:• ethnically diverse characters with exceptionalities,• authentic characters with real-world challenges,• fantasy blended with other genres.As narratives that include exceptionalities become more authentic and abundant, we can become more appreciative of diversity, further affecting inclusive schools and communities

The effects of music training on dyslexia: A selected literature review

Abstract This article reviews research on the neurological bases of dyslexia, examines the effects of music training on dyslexia, and investigates interrelationships between music, the brain, and dyslexia. Recent results in studies on the neurobiology of dyslexia lend credence to the effects of music training on dyslexia. This article may be of interest to teachers and researchers in the areas of Special Education and Music, and those who wish to better understand dyslexia

Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children Restorative Inquiry: Council of Parties Second Public Report

The Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children Restorative Inquiry was established following a 17-year journey for justice by former residents of the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children (NSHCC, or the Home). It was established under the authority of the Public Inquiries Act following a collaborative design process involving former residents, Government, and community members. This public inquiry was the first of its kind in Canada to take a restorative approach. The Inquiry was a part of the Government of Nova Scotia’s commitment to respond to the institutional abuse and other failures of care experienced by former residents of the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children. In establishing the Restorative Inquiry, the Government of Nova Scotia recognized that the history, experience, and legacy of the Home reflects the systemic and institutionalized racism that has shaped Nova Scotia’s history and continues to impact the lives and experiences of African Nova Scotians to this day. This public report is issued by the Council of Parties of the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children Restorative Inquiry (RI). It is one of many public reporting opportunities that will be part of the work of the RI during its mandate. The Council of Parties is the collaborative commission that leads the Restorative Inquiry, appointed as “commissioners” under the Public Inquiries Act. The council is mandated to include representation from the groups most affected by and involved in the work of the Restorative Inquiry, including former residents, the Home for Colored Children, the African Nova Scotian community, and government

Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children Restorative Inquiry: Council of Parties Third Public Report

The Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children Restorative Inquiry was established following a 17-year journey for justice by former residents of the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children (NSHCC, or the Home). It was established under the authority of the Public Inquiries Act following a collaborative design process involving former residents, Government, and community members. This public inquiry was the first of its kind in Canada to take a restorative approach. The Inquiry was a part of the Government of Nova Scotia’s commitment to respond to the institutional abuse and other failures of care experienced by former residents of the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children. In establishing the Restorative Inquiry, the Government of Nova Scotia recognized that the history, experience, and legacy of the Home reflects the systemic and institutionalized racism that has shaped Nova Scotia’s history and continues to impact the lives and experiences of African Nova Scotians to this day. This public report is issued by the Council of Parties of the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children Restorative Inquiry (RI). It is one of many public reporting opportunities that have been part of the work of the RI during its mandate. The Council of Parties is the collaborative commission that leads the Restorative Inquiry, appointed as “commissioners” under the Public Inquiries Act. The council is mandated to include representation from the groups most affected by and involved in the work of the Restorative Inquiry, including former residents, the Home for Colored Children, the African Nova Scotian community, and government

‘Through Collaboration to Sharawadji: Immediacy, Mediation and the Voice.’

This article analyses the composition and experience of Proto-type’s The Good, the God and the Guillotine (2014) from three critical positions central to the making process: Andrew Westerside, from the position of director and performer-singer; Martin Blain, from the position of composer-performer and Jane Turner, from the position of Dramaturge. It addresses an emergent connection between the sharawadji effect and the techno-sublime, made possible in this performance through the disturbances of technology and the ‘technologically uncanny’. The objective of the article is twofold. The first is to demonstrate how both internally (to the performer) and externally (to the spectator) experiences of sharawadji and the sublime might emerge. Secondly, it proposes these experiences – notably sharawadji – as a product of the interdisciplinary process, and suggests in doing so a productive relationship between the often conflicting or unresolved dramaturgies that are created across performance disciplines

Clinical utility of combinatorial pharmacogenomic testing in depression: A Canadian patient- and rater-blinded, randomized, controlled trial

The pharmacological treatment of depression consists of stages of trial and error, with less than 40% of patients achieving remission during first medication trial. However, in a large, randomized-controlled trial (RCT) in the U.S. (“GUIDED”), significant improvements in response and remission rates were observed in patients who received treatment guided by combinatorial pharmacogenomic testing, compared to treatment-as-usual (TAU). Here we present results from the Canadian “GAPP-MDD” RCT. This 52-week, 3-arm, multi-center, participant- and rater-blinded RCT evaluated clinical outcomes among patients with depression whose treatment was guided by combinatorial pharmacogenomic testing compared to TAU. The primary outcome was symptom improvement (change in 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, HAM-D17) at week 8. Secondary outcomes included response (≥50% decrease in HAM-D17) and remission (HAM-D17 ≤ 7) at week 8. Numerically, patients in the guided-care arm had greater symptom improvement (27.6% versus 22.7%), response (30.3% versus 22.7%), and remission rates (15.7% versus 8.3%) compared to TAU, although these differences were not statistically significant. Given that the GAPP-MDD trial was ultimately underpowered to detect statistically significant differences in patient outcomes, it was assessed in parallel with the larger GUIDED RCT. We observed that relative improvements in response and remission rates were consistent between the GAPP-MDD (33.0% response, 89.0% remission) and GUIDED (31.0% response, 51.0% remission) trials. Together with GUIDED, the results from the GAPP-MDD trial indicate that combinatorial pharmacogenomic testing can be an effective tool to help guide depression treatment in the context of the Canadian healthcare setting (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02466477)

The retrospective analysis of Antarctic tracking data project

The Retrospective Analysis of Antarctic Tracking Data (RAATD) is a Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research project led jointly by the Expert Groups on Birds and Marine Mammals and Antarctic Biodiversity Informatics, and endorsed by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources. RAATD consolidated tracking data for multiple species of Antarctic meso- and top-predators to identify Areas of Ecological Significance. These datasets and accompanying syntheses provide a greater understanding of fundamental ecosystem processes in the Southern Ocean, support modelling of predator distributions under future climate scenarios and create inputs that can be incorporated into decision making processes by management authorities. In this data paper, we present the compiled tracking data from research groups that have worked in the Antarctic since the 1990s. The data are publicly available through biodiversity.aq and the Ocean Biogeographic Information System. The archive includes tracking data from over 70 contributors across 12 national Antarctic programs, and includes data from 17 predator species, 4060 individual animals, and over 2.9 million observed locations

Ten-year mortality, disease progression, and treatment-related side effects in men with localised prostate cancer from the ProtecT randomised controlled trial according to treatment received

Background The ProtecT trial reported intention-to-treat analysis of men with localised prostate cancer randomly allocated to active monitoring (AM), radical prostatectomy, and external beam radiotherapy. Objective To report outcomes according to treatment received in men in randomised and treatment choice cohorts. Design, setting, and participants This study focuses on secondary care. Men with clinically localised prostate cancer at one of nine UK centres were invited to participate in the treatment trial comparing AM, radical prostatectomy, and radiotherapy. Intervention Two cohorts included 1643 men who agreed to be randomised and 997 who declined randomisation and chose treatment. Outcome measurements and statistical analysis Analysis was carried out to assess mortality, metastasis and progression and health-related quality of life impacts on urinary, bowel, and sexual function using patient-reported outcome measures. Analysis was based on comparisons between groups defined by treatment received for both randomised and treatment choice cohorts in turn, with pooled estimates of intervention effect obtained using meta-analysis. Differences were estimated with adjustment for known prognostic factors using propensity scores. Results and limitations According to treatment received, more men receiving AM died of PCa (AM 1.85%, surgery 0.67%, radiotherapy 0.73%), whilst this difference remained consistent with chance in the randomised cohort (p = 0.08); stronger evidence was found in the exploratory analyses (randomised plus choice cohort) when AM was compared with the combined radical treatment group (p = 0.003). There was also strong evidence that metastasis (AM 5.6%, surgery 2.4%, radiotherapy 2.7%) and disease progression (AM 20.35%, surgery 5.87%, radiotherapy 6.62%) were more common in the AM group. Compared with AM, there were higher risks of sexual dysfunction (95% at 6 mo) and urinary incontinence (55% at 6 mo) after surgery, and of sexual dysfunction (88% at 6 mo) and bowel dysfunction (5% at 6 mo) after radiotherapy. The key limitations are the potential for bias when comparing groups defined by treatment received and changes in the protocol for AM during the lengthy follow-up required in trials of screen-detected PCa. Conclusions Analyses according to treatment received showed increased rates of disease-related events and lower rates of patient-reported harms in men managed by AM compared with men managed by radical treatment, and stronger evidence of greater PCa mortality in the AM group. Patient summary More than 95 out of every 100 men with low or intermediate risk localised prostate cancer do not die of prostate cancer within 10 yr, irrespective of whether treatment is by means of monitoring, surgery, or radiotherapy. Side effects on sexual and bladder function are better after active monitoring, but the risks of spreading of prostate cancer are more common