Participatory Videoconferencing for Groups

For decades after its introduction, videoconferencing remained a marginal communications medium, used primarily by corporate businesses. However in recent years videoconferencing has been taken up by a wide range of individuals, groups and communities. Videoconferencing occurs when people at geographically dispersed sites communicate with each other by transmitting audio and visual data through videoconferencing systems. Group videoconferencing - or multi-site videoconferencing - refers to linking individuals or groups of people in three or more sites using videoconference systems. This unique method of communicating face-to-face without being there in-person is currently being used for education and learning, health and medicine, meetings and conferences, personal communication and community-building. Group videoconferencing does not necessarily lead to participation and knowledge retention; for this to occur it must be used thoughtfully and strategically. Based on the work of researchers and practitioners in the field and an analysis of participatory videoconferencing literature, this paper suggests potential good practices for increasing participation during group videoconferences.Pendant les d\ue9cennies qui ont suivi son introduction, la vid\ue9oconf\ue9rence est demeur\ue9e un moyen de communication marginal, utilis\ue9 principalement par les entreprises commerciales. Toutefois, au cours des derni\ue8res ann\ue9es, une vaste gamme de personnes, de groupes et de collectivit\ue9s ont commenc\ue9 \ue0 l'utiliser. Les vid\ue9oconf\ue9rences ont lieu dans des conditions o\uf9 des personnes se trouvant \ue0 des lieux dispers\ue9s sur le plan g\ue9ographique communiquent ensemble en s'envoyant des donn\ue9es visuelles et sonores au moyen d'un syst\ue8me de vid\ue9oconf\ue9rence. Les vid\ue9oconf\ue9rences de groupe - ou vid\ue9oconf\ue9rences multisites - relient des personnes ou des groupes de personnes se trouvant \ue0 trois emplacements ou plus en faisant appel \ue0 des syst\ue8mes de vid\ue9oconf\ue9rence. Cette m\ue9thode de communication unique permettant de communiquer en face \ue0 face sans \ueatre au m\ueame emplacement est utilis\ue9e actuellement pour l'\ue9ducation et l'apprentissage, la sant\ue9 et la m\ue9decine, les r\ue9unions et les conf\ue9rences, les communications personnelles et le d\ue9veloppement de l'esprit communautaire. Les vid\ue9oconf\ue9rences de groupe ne m\ue8nent pas n\ue9cessairement \ue0 la participation et \ue0 la conservation du savoir; pour que cela se produise, elles doivent \ueatre utilis\ue9es de mani\ue8re r\ue9fl\ue9chie et strat\ue9gique. Cet expos\ue9 se fonde sur le travail de chercheurs et de praticiens du domaine et une analyse de la litt\ue9rature portant sur les vid\ue9oconf\ue9rences participatives. Cet expos\ue9 sugg\ue8re des pratiques exemplaires visant \ue0 accro\ueetre la participation au cours des vid\ue9oconf\ue9rences de groupe.NRC publication: Ye

Rapid Measles Exposure Assessment in an Urban Emergency Department Using a Syndromic Surveillance System

The Edmonton (Alberta, Canada) Public Health unit was alerted to an individual with measles in the Emergency Department.  To find contacts, Public Health used a manual lookup of hospital records and piloted a time-based automated data query through the syndromic surveillance system, ARTSSN. The completeness and time needed, for both methods were compared. The ARTSSN patient list had 137 contacts compared to 108 from the manual method. Less time was needed for the ARTSSN list. This automated method is valuable in investigating geographic and time-defined Communicable Disease outbreaks as well as potential chemical or radiological exposures

Rapid Measles Exposure Assessment in an Urban Emergency Department Using a Syndromic Surveillance System

The Edmonton (Alberta, Canada) Public Health unit was alerted to an individual with measles in the Emergency Department.  To find contacts, Public Health used a manual lookup of hospital records and piloted a time-based automated data query through the syndromic surveillance system, ARTSSN. The completeness and time needed, for both methods were compared. The ARTSSN patient list had 137 contacts compared to 108 from the manual method. Less time was needed for the ARTSSN list. This automated method is valuable in investigating geographic and time-defined Communicable Disease outbreaks as well as potential chemical or radiological exposures

Good Practice Guidelines for Participatory Multi-Site Videoconferencing

This report analyzes recent literature and contributes expertise from researchers and practitioners in the field to develop good practice guidelines for multi-site videoconferencing - linking people in multiple sites with videoconferencing. Our goal was to develop effective, empowering and contextually-sensitive good practice guidelines that encourage participation in multi-site videoconferencing.Ce rapport, qui pr\ue9sente une analyse de publications r\ue9centes ainsi que les avis de chercheurs et de praticiens travaillant sur le terrain, a pour but de mener \ue0 l'\ue9tablissement de lignes directrices relatives aux bonnes pratiques pour les vid\ue9oconf\ue9rences multisite - la mise en contact de personnes r\ue9parties dans diff\ue9rents sites par des vid\ue9oconf\ue9rences. Nous visons \ue0 \ue9tablir des lignes directrices efficaces, utiles et bien adapt\ue9es qui encourageront la participation aux vid\ue9oconf\ue9rences multisite.NRC publication: Ye

Genomic comparison of multi-drug resistant invasive and colonizing <it>Acinetobacter baumannii </it>isolated from diverse human body sites reveals genomic plasticity

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Acinetobacter baumannii </it>has recently emerged as a significant global pathogen, with a surprisingly rapid acquisition of antibiotic resistance and spread within hospitals and health care institutions. This study examines the genomic content of three <it>A. baumannii </it>strains isolated from distinct body sites. Isolates from blood, peri-anal, and wound sources were examined in an attempt to identify genetic features that could be correlated to each isolation source.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, multi-locus sequence typing and antibiotic resistance profiles demonstrated genotypic and phenotypic variation. Each isolate was sequenced to high-quality draft status, which allowed for comparative genomic analyses with existing <it>A. baumannii </it>genomes. A high resolution, whole genome alignment method detailed the phylogenetic relationships of sequenced <it>A. baumannii </it>and found no correlation between phylogeny and body site of isolation. This method identified genomic regions unique to both those isolates found on the surface of the skin or in wounds, termed colonization isolates, and those identified from body fluids, termed invasive isolates; these regions may play a role in the pathogenesis and spread of this important pathogen. A PCR-based screen of 74 <it>A. baumanii </it>isolates demonstrated that these unique genes are not exclusive to either phenotype or isolation source; however, a conserved genomic region exclusive to all sequenced <it>A. baumannii </it>was identified and verified.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results of the comparative genome analysis and PCR assay show that <it>A. baumannii </it>is a diverse and genomically variable pathogen that appears to have the potential to cause a range of human disease regardless of the isolation source.</p

Defining Terms Used for Animals Working in Support Roles for People with Support Needs.

The nomenclature used to describe animals working in roles supporting people can be confusing. The same term may be used to describe different roles, or two terms may mean the same thing. This confusion is evident among researchers, practitioners, and end users. Because certain animal roles are provided with legal protections and/or government-funding support in some jurisdictions, it is necessary to clearly define the existing terms to avoid confusion. The aim of this paper is to provide operationalized definitions for nine terms, which would be useful in many world regions: "assistance animal", "companion animal", "educational/school support animal", "emotional support animal", "facility animal", "service animal", "skilled companion animal", "therapy animal", and "visiting/visitation animal". At the International Society for Anthrozoology (ISAZ) conferences in 2018 and 2020, over 100 delegates participated in workshops to define these terms, many of whom co-authored this paper. Through an iterative process, we have defined the nine terms and explained how they differ from each other. We recommend phasing out two terms (i.e., "skilled companion animal" and "service animal") due to overlap with other terms that could potentially exacerbate confusion. The implications for several regions of the world are discussed

Defining Terms Used for Animals Working in Support Roles for People with Support Needs

The nomenclature used to describe animals working in roles supporting people can be confusing. The same term may be used to describe different roles, or two terms may mean the same thing. This confusion is evident among researchers, practitioners, and end users. Because certain animal roles are provided with legal protections and/or government-funding support in some jurisdictions, it is necessary to clearly define the existing terms to avoid confusion. The aim of this paper is to provide operationalized definitions for nine terms, which would be useful in many world regions: “assistance animal”, “companion animal”, “educational/school support animal”, “emotional support animal”, “facility animal”, “service animal”, “skilled companion animal”, “therapy animal”, and “visiting/visitation animal”. At the International Society for Anthrozoology (ISAZ) conferences in 2018 and 2020, over 100 delegates participated in workshops to define these terms, many of whom co-authored this paper. Through an iterative process, we have defined the nine terms and explained how they differ from each other. We recommend phasing out two terms (i.e., “skilled companion animal” and “service animal”) due to overlap with other terms that could potentially exacerbate confusion. The implications for several regions of the world are discussed