Colonialism, Resistance and the First Nations Health Liaison Program

In 1988 one Aboriginal woman’s experience with the justice and health care systems in the central interior of British Columbia, Canada ended with her death and an outcry from Aboriginal groups in the region. The incident became a turning point in the area’s history of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal relations, and resulted in the development of the First Nations Health Liaison Program (FNHLP). The paper begins by describing and exploring the events surrounding the woman’s death, and how these provide both the impetus and context for the FNHLP. The implementation and evaluation of the program are then explored within this history. The death and implementation of the subsequent program are examined in light of the underpinnings of institutional racism and in the context of the theory of modern colonialism. While the particular events are specific to this incident and program, broader themes arise which hold relevance for issues of Aboriginal access to health care in other locales

Exploring the Impact of Service Learning in Haiti on the Cultural Competence of OTD Students

As society trends towards increased cultural diversity, the need for cultural competence in the field of occupational therapy (OT) becomes more acute. Immersion in another culture within the curriculum offers the student an opportunity to put their knowledge into practice and recognize the need to competently interact with members of another culture. This study explored the impact of a service learning trip to Haiti, providing seating and mobility services, on all four factors of cultural intelligence (CQ; i.e., metacognitive CQ, cognitive CQ, motivational CQ, behavioral CQ) for occupational therapy doctoral (OTD) students. Using the cultural intelligence scale (CQS), a one-group pretest-posttest design with a paired-samples t-test (α \u3c 0.05) rejected the null hypotheses to support service learning as a pedagogy which enhanced the four factors of CQ for the sample. With increased emphasis on producing culturally sensitive OTD professionals, service learning projects in a cross-cultural setting as a pedagogy extend beyond skill development (e.g., wheelchair fittings) to building coping strategies for interacting with clients (metacognitive CQ), enhancing knowledge of culture (cognitive CQ), persisting to overcome any cultural barriers (motivational CQ), and building the behavioral repertoire (behavioral CQ) of occupational therapists. Contrasting the results from this study with research into the efficacy of short-term study tours, service learning positively impacts behavioral CQ, whereas short-term study tours do not have the same impact. This article details the service learning project and provides recommendations for future research

Developing an Indigenous Measure of Overall Health and Well-Being: the Wicozani Instrument

A Native community developed the Wicozani Instrument, a 9-item self-report measure, to assess overall health and well-being from an Indigenous epistemology. The Wicozani Instrument measures mental, physical, and spiritual health and their importance to an individual\u27s quality of life. The instrument’s validity and reliability was examined through two studies. Study 1 utilized standardized measures from Native (i.e., Awareness of Connectedness Scale) and Western (i.e., Psychological Sense of School Membership and Suicide Ideation Questionnaire) epistemologies with Native and non-Native youth. Study 2 utilized a community created measure (i.e., Indigenous Healing Strategies Scale) with Dakota women. Results suggest the Wicozani Instrument is valid and reliable. The development of an Indigenous measure of overall health and well-being addresses Western atomistic frameworks, which often perpetuate the perception of Native identity as a risk factor for poor health, and works to disrupt the Cycle of Native Health Disparities

Cross-Cultural Service Learning as Pedagogy for Character Development in Occupational Therapy Doctoral Students

Occupational therapists must demonstrate a broad spectrum of knowledge, clinical reasoning skills, and professionalism to be effective practitioners. Development of ethical practice must begin with the educational process to shape character traits as building blocks of moral reasoning. This article puts forth a cross-cultural service learning curricular module as lived experience for development of character traits in occupational therapy students. This mixed methods study investigated lived experience in the form of cross-cultural service learning as a pedagogy for development of character traits, as measured by the CIVIC, necessary to navigate professional ethical standards. Findings suggest a cross-cultural lived experience for occupational therapy doctoral students providing seating and mobility services in Guatemala significantly impacted character traits associated with professional ethical standards. Similar lived experience embedded in an occupational therapy curriculum may contribute to character development to guide ethical practice for the next generation of occupational therapists

Guilty contagions and innocent victims : adult sex workers in Canadian press coverage of Thailand's sex tourism industry

Using a pro-sex workers' rights perspective, this thesis analyzes how and what mainstream, English-language Canadian newspapers contribute to the public, common sense knowledge of the adult, female sex workers in Thailand's sex tourism industry. It also considers the positions, actions, or policies with regard to the industry and its workers that this knowledge promotes or justifies. Through an analysis of newspaper articles about sex tourism published in three major newspapers between 1985 and 2005, I argue that the predominant discourses surrounding these sex workers are structured around ideas of guilt and innocence in ways that silence these women and negate the need to consider their concerns and demands with regard to the industry. Specifically, I demonstrate how the varying ascriptions of guilt or innocence in these newspaper articles intertwine with preexisting discourses and stereotypes so as to limit the portrayals of these women, positioning them as guilty contagions in need of control or, occasionally, childlike and therefore innocent victims in need of rescue. As these portrayals could easily help justify actions and policies that ignore sex workers' voices, I conclude with suggested changes to coverage of sex tourism that might aid the development of a common sense in which these women's demands are at the centre of any debate around the industry

Identification of the Plasticity-Relevant Fucose-α(1−2)-Galactose Proteome from the Mouse Olfactory Bulb

Fucose-α(1−2)-galactose [Fucα(1−2)Gal] sugars have been implicated in the molecular mechanisms that underlie neuronal development, learning, and memory. However, an understanding of their precise roles has been hampered by a lack of information regarding Fucα(1−2)Gal glycoproteins. Here, we report the first proteomic studies of this plasticity-relevant epitope. We identify five classes of putative Fucα(1−2)Gal glycoproteins: cell adhesion molecules, ion channels and solute carriers/transporters, ATP-binding proteins, synaptic vesicle-associated proteins, and mitochondrial proteins. In addition, we show that Fucα(1−2)Gal glycoproteins are enriched in the developing mouse olfactory bulb (OB) and exhibit a distinct spatiotemporal expression that is consistent with the presence of a “glycocode” to help direct olfactory sensory neuron (OSN) axonal pathfinding. We find that expression of Fucα(1−2)Gal sugars in the OB is regulated by the α(1−2)fucosyltransferase FUT1. FUT1-deficient mice exhibit developmental defects, including fewer and smaller glomeruli and a thinner olfactory nerve layer, suggesting that fucosylation contributes to OB development. Our findings significantly expand the number of Fucα(1−2)Gal glycoproteins and provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms by which fucosyl sugars contribute to neuronal processes