Democracy, Decolonization and the Politics of Reconciliation in Canada

Using Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Indian Residential Schools (IRS TRC) as an occasion and a lens, this dissertation aims to critically assess the capacity of the Canadian state to make good on the promise of transformation that the politics of reconciliation harbours. Canada’s IRS TRC is an opportunity to renew reflection on the sort of transformations that might bring about post-settler-colonial forms of commonality that do not presuppose the impossibility of decolonization and Indigenous self-determination. Using the topic of collective memory and methods drawn from emergent anti-imperialist sub-traditions in Western political thought, this dissertation forwards the claim that the realization of political reconciliation’s transformative potential entails both democratic and decolonial elements. This, in turn, grounds an attempt to bring radical democratic thought (with a focus on Sheldon S. Wolin) and Indigenous resurgence theory (with an emphasis on Glen S. Coulthard) into a conversation based on the assumption that not only are these two traditions of political thought not mutually exclusive but can be brought together in ways that can contribute towards the realization of political reconciliation’s transformative potential. This, however, entails a systematic decolonization of those elements of the foundations of Western democratic thought that render it amenable to imperial projects as a condition for freeing it up as a resource in the struggle for decolonization. This approach resulted in a twofold conclusion. First, the politics of reconciliation in liberal-democratic, settler-colonial contexts can be broadly divided into two contrasting and diametrically opposed models of political reconciliation: reconciliation ‘from above’ and reconciliation ‘from below.’ The second conclusion is that the form that the politics of reconciliation assumed in Canada is a form of reconciliation ‘from above,’ which, amongst other things, might be characterized by its selective social amnesia, its non-participatory and elitist decision-making processes and an incapacity to make good on the promise of change that the politics of reconciliation harbours. The liberal-democratic settler state’s inability to facilitate political reconciliation’s transformative potential is due to an enduring structural predisposition to promote the opposite of a decolonizing transformation in Indigenous-state relations in settler-colonial contexts such as Canada

Examining Factors of Success for Aboriginal Students in K-12 Educational Systems in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Yukon

Aboriginal education is a complex system of governance compromises, overlapping jurisdictions and multi-party agreements. The future of Aboriginal education is a dim one at present. Evidence from research has shown educational systems, for the most part, are failing Aboriginal students and creating education disparities between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students. To narrow these disparities, the following goals need to be a top priority: increasing academic performance, meeting cultural goals, and improving the management of reserve schools. A review of the literature on Aboriginal education, expert interviews with practitioners working with Aboriginal students in B.C., Saskatchewan and Yukon, were undertaken for this research. The research examines successful innovations, and barriers identified in the literature and noted by interview participants. From this, two policy approaches were identified that could be adopted to mitigate disparities—tripartite agreements and a voluntary incentive-based approach pursued by the federal Aboriginal Affairs ministry where tripartite agreements are inappropriate

MDA5 and a type 1 interferon signature in the development of type 1 diabetes

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a debilitating disease involving the autoimmune destruction of insulin-producing pancreatic β-cells. The personal and economic burden of this disease is enormous, therefore simpler and more cost effective therapeutic approaches than those currently available must be explored. In children at risk for T1D, a unique type 1 interferon (IFN-I) transcriptional signature precedes islet autoimmunity. Recent onset of T1D strongly associates with infection by RNA viruses like coxsackievirus that induce IFN-I. Importantly, genetic variants in the T1D risk locus IFIH1 are linked to protection from T1D and result in reduced expression of the RNA virus sensor melanoma differentiation-associated protein 5 (MDA5), which is also a critical component in establishing the IFN-I signature. In chapter 2 we describe a novel model where we have translated the reduced MDA5 expression phenotype observed in patients onto the non-obese diabetic (NOD) mouse and established its importance in T1D. We describe the first observations that a reduction in MDA5 in the NOD mouse protects from spontaneous and coxsackievirus B4 (CB4)-induced T1D. We also establish the importance of a specific IFN-I signature in the development of T1D as a result of reduced (not eliminated) MDA5 sensing of CB4 that allows for regulatory T cells (Tregs) at the site of autoimmunity and protects from CB4 induced T1D. In chapter 3 we show that this unique IFN-I signature is limited to MDA5 and disease pathogenesis is linked to the specific IFN-I response induced by the virus as a strain of CB3 failed to modify the IFN-I signature associated with disease. Further RNA sequencing discussed in Chapter 4 demonstrates unique tissue-specific differential gene profiles associated with a reduction in MDA5 following CB4 infection. Our results support our hypothesis that there is a direct correlation between the IFN-I signature induced following environmental challenge with the induction of a strong effector T cell and a matched Treg response. This work demonstrates the essential role of MDA5 signaling in regulating the IFN-I signature, implicates MDA5 in T1D susceptibility and in protection against IFN-I and T1D-inducing agents like CB4 and suggests restricting MDA5 function as a potential T1D therapeutic.Science, Faculty ofMicrobiology and Immunology, Department ofGraduat

Democracy, Decolonization and the Politics of Reconciliation in Canada

Using Canadas Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Indian Residential Schools (IRS TRC) as an occasion and a lens, this dissertation aims to critically assess the capacity of the Canadian state to make good on the promise of transformation that the politics of reconciliation harbours. Canadas IRS TRC is an opportunity to renew reflection on the sort of transformations that might bring about post-settler-colonial forms of commonality that do not presuppose the impossibility of decolonization and Indigenous self-determination. Using the topic of collective memory and methods drawn from emergent anti-imperialist sub-traditions in Western political thought, this dissertation forwards the claim that the realization of political reconciliations transformative potential entails both democratic and decolonial elements. This, in turn, grounds an attempt to bring radical democratic thought (with a focus on Sheldon S. Wolin) and Indigenous resurgence theory (with an emphasis on Glen S. Coulthard) into a conversation based on the assumption that not only are these two traditions of political thought not mutually exclusive but can be brought together in ways that can contribute towards the realization of political reconciliations transformative potential. This, however, entails a systematic decolonization of those elements of the foundations of Western democratic thought that render it amenable to imperial projects as a condition for freeing it up as a resource in the struggle for decolonization. This approach resulted in a twofold conclusion. First, the politics of reconciliation in liberal-democratic, settler-colonial contexts can be broadly divided into two contrasting and diametrically opposed models of political reconciliation: reconciliation from above and reconciliation from below. The second conclusion is that the form that the politics of reconciliation assumed in Canada is a form of reconciliation from above, which, amongst other things, might be characterized by its selective social amnesia, its non-participatory and elitist decision-making processes and an incapacity to make good on the promise of change that the politics of reconciliation harbours. The liberal-democratic settler states inability to facilitate political reconciliations transformative potential is due to an enduring structural predisposition to promote the opposite of a decolonizing transformation in Indigenous-state relations in settler-colonial contexts such as Canada

The surge characteristics of electrical insulation operating at cryogenic temperatures

NRC publication: Ye

Association Between Breast Milk Bacterial Communities and Establishment and Development of the Infant Gut Microbiome

ImportanceEstablishment of the infant microbiome has lifelong implications on health and immunity. Gut microbiota of breastfed compared with nonbreastfed individuals differ during infancy as well as into adulthood. Breast milk contains a diverse population of bacteria, but little is known about the vertical transfer of bacteria from mother to infant by breastfeeding.ObjectiveTo determine the association between the maternal breast milk and areolar skin and infant gut bacterial communities.Design, setting, and participantsIn a prospective, longitudinal study, bacterial composition was identified with sequencing of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene in breast milk, areolar skin, and infant stool samples of 107 healthy mother-infant pairs. The study was conducted in Los Angeles, California, and St Petersburg, Florida, between January 1, 2010, and February 28, 2015.ExposuresAmount and duration of daily breastfeeding and timing of solid food introduction.Main outcomes and measuresBacterial composition in maternal breast milk, areolar skin, and infant stool by sequencing of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene.ResultsIn the 107 healthy mother and infant pairs (median age at the time of specimen collection, 40 days; range, 1-331 days), 52 (43.0%) of the infants were male. Bacterial communities were distinct in milk, areolar skin, and stool, differing in both composition and diversity. The infant gut microbial communities were more closely related to an infant's mother's milk and skin compared with a random mother (mean difference in Bray-Curtis distances, 0.012 and 0.014, respectively; P < .001 for both). Source tracking analysis was used to estimate the contribution of the breast milk and areolar skin microbiomes to the infant gut microbiome. During the first 30 days of life, infants who breastfed to obtain 75% or more of their daily milk intake received a mean (SD) of 27.7% (15.2%) of the bacteria from breast milk and 10.3% (6.0%) from areolar skin. Bacterial diversity (Faith phylogenetic diversity, P = .003) and composition changes were associated with the proportion of daily breast milk intake in a dose-dependent manner, even after the introduction of solid foods.Conclusions and relevanceThe results of this study indicate that bacteria in mother's breast milk seed the infant gut, underscoring the importance of breastfeeding in the development of the infant gut microbiome