Social Entrepreneurship Education within Post-Secondary Institutions

Promoting health and wellness is a focus of social entrepreneurs within the health care professions. With the educational offerings of social entrepreneurship expanding within the health care programs of post-secondary institutions, assessing its current knowledge state is essential. Decisions about how and what to teach should be grounded in the best available evidence. The purpose of this preliminary scoping review was to provide an overview of best practices in curriculum content and methods of teaching social entrepreneurship for students in the health care professions

University of the 3rd Age (U3A): Coming to Calgary

The purpose of this descriptive case study is to promote understanding of the University of the Third Age (U3A) as an approach to facilitating lifelong learning opportunities for and with older adults.  This case study is specific to the development of a University of the Third Age in Calgary (U3A Calgary).  The benefits of lifelong learning for older adults and communities are described.  The benefits are followed by the articulation of the work done by the project team in moving the U3A Calgary from an idea to reality

Starting Conversations that Matter

Introduction to the second volume of Papers on Postsecondary Learning and Teaching, Proceedings of the University of Calgary Conference on Learning and Teaching

The Evolution of a Refereed Journal: The International Journal of Nursing Student Scholarship

The majority of students, both undergraduate and graduate, at post-secondary institutions find themselves having to write academic papers. They often ask what happens to the paper? Who reads it except for the marker, usually a faculty member? We hear that the paper gets filed in the “round bin”, never to be read again. Sometimes the faculty member might suggest publication, but students are often unsure of how or where to begin the publishing process, and perhaps do feel comfortable asking for advice from faculty members or fellow students. Several academic faculty members addressed these concerns by developing a journal designed to support students to move their course papers from ‘a who reads it approach to publishing’. The authors describe the evolution of The International Journal of Nursing Student Scholarship

Using Grounded Theory as a Method of Inquiry: Advantages and Disadvantages

There are many challenges and criticisms attached to the conduct of research, none the least of which is a notion that much of the research undertaken in professional disciplines such as nursing may not have clinical and/or practical relevance. While there are a plethora of qualitative research methods that individuals must consider when designing research studies, one method stands out - Grounded Theory (GT). Grounded theory was developed in the early 1960’s by Glaser and Strauss. With its theoretical orientation based in sociology, GT strives to understand and explain human behavior through inductive reasoning processes (Elliott & Lazenbatt, 2005). Because of its emphasis on the utilization of a variety of data sources that are grounded in particular contexts, GT provides a natural theoretical fit when designing nursing research studies. In this article, the authors provide an overview of GT and then describe the appropriateness, advantages, and disadvantages of applying it as part of the research design process. Additionally, the authors highlight the importance of taking a reflexive position to stay engaged while interacting with the data, and explore how to apply GT theory to particular research questions and studies. Finally, the strengths and limitations of this method of inquiry as applied to nursing research using a brief case study approach is presented

An Open Letter to Student Authors: Addressing the Challenges

In this article, we examine the challenges post-secondary students face as they transition from writing as an academic requirement to its use as a strategy for their life-long learning and professional development. We offer strategies to address these challenges. We make several assumptions. The first is that students hold a set of personal beliefs about academic writing, which influence their motivation and engagement in the writing process. The second is that writing is a strategy to promote competency in professional practice. The third is that the barriers and challenges to successful and sustainable writing can be overcome.  &nbsp

Something to Say: Writing for Publication

Publication, if successful, is exhilarating! Aspiring academic scholars recognize the contribution that peer-reviewed publications make to their careers. It identifies their engagement with their discipline. For students, the benefits of publishing a paper include bolstering their levels of confidence and knowledge and demonstrating to them how they can contribute to their chosen profession. However, inexperience can cause trepidations of the unknown or negative emotions when the writing and publication process goes amiss (Devitt, Coad, & Hardicre, 2007; Rew, 2012). Described in this paper is the background, structure, and limitations of a writing workshop the authors initiated during a recent conference. The purpose of the workshop was to aid both academic colleagues and students in publishing articles in peer-reviewed journals. Participants shared their experiences of writing and identified challenges with the writing for publication process. Finally, strategies that could help participants successfully meet their publications goals were identifie

Biophysical characterization of DNA origami nanostructures reveals inaccessibility to intercalation binding sites

Intercalation of drug molecules into synthetic DNA nanostructures formed through self-assembled origami has been postulated as a valuable future method for targeted drug delivery. This is due to the excellent biocompatibility of synthetic DNA nanostructures, and high potential for flexible programmability including facile drug release into or near to target cells. Such favourable properties may enable high initial loading and efficient release for a predictable number of drug molecules per nanostructure carrier, important for efficient delivery of safe and effective drug doses to minimise non-specific release away from target cells. However, basic questions remain as to how intercalation-mediated loading depends on the DNA carrier structure. Here we use the interaction of dyes YOYO-1 and acridine orange with a tightly-packed 2D DNA origami tile as a simple model system to investigate intercalation-mediated loading. We employed multiple biophysical techniques including single-molecule fluorescence microscopy, atomic force microscopy, gel electrophoresis and controllable damage using low temperature plasma on synthetic DNA origami samples. Our results indicate that not all potential DNA binding sites are accessible for dye intercalation, which has implications for future DNA nanostructures designed for targeted drug delivery

Effectiveness of a Community Program for Older Adults with Type 2 Diabetes and Multimorbidity: A Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trial

Background Type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM) affects upwards of 25% of Canadian older adults and is associated with high comorbidity and burden. Studies show that lifestyle factors and self-management are associated with improved health outcomes, but many studies lack rigour or exclude older adults, particularly those with multimorbidity. More evidence is needed on the effectiveness of community-based self-management programs in older adults with T2DM and multimorbidity. The study purpose is to evaluate the effect of a community-based intervention versus usual care on physical functioning, mental health, depressive symptoms, anxiety, self-efficacy, self-management, and healthcare costs in older adults with T2DM and 2 or more comorbidities. Methods Community-living older adults with T2DM and two or more chronic conditions were recruited from three Primary Care Networks (PCNs) in Alberta, Canada. Participants were randomly allocated to the intervention or control group in this pragmatic randomized controlled trial comparing the intervention to usual care. The intervention involved up to three in-home visits, a monthly group wellness program, monthly case conferencing, and care coordination. The primary outcome was physical functioning. Secondary outcomes included mental functioning, anxiety, depressive symptoms, self-efficacy, self-management, and the cost of healthcare service use. Intention-to-treat analysis was performed using ANCOVA modeling. Results Of 132 enrolled participants (70-Intervention, 62-Control), 42% were 75 years or older, 55% were female, and over 75% had at least six chronic conditions (in addition to T2DM). No significant group differences were seen for the baseline to six-month change in physical functioning (mean difference: -0.74; 95% CI: − 3.22, 1.74; p-value: 0.56), mental functioning (mean difference: 1.24; 95% CI: − 1.12, 3.60; p-value: 0.30), or other secondary outcomes.. Conclusion No significant group differences were seen for the primary outcome, physical functioning (PCS). Program implementation, baseline differences between study arms and chronic disease management services that are part of usual care may have contributed to the modest study results. Fruitful areas for future research include capturing clinical outcome measures and exploring the impact of varying the type and intensity of key intervention components such as exercise and diet