THE EDUCATION GAP IN INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES: CANADA’S REALITY

Canada’s history with the indigenous community is a long and complex. History which spills  over to current events in society and impacts the Indigenously community greatly till this day. This country has a concerning Indigenous Education Gap—a disparity in educational achievement between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. The Indigenous Education Gap is widening and rising quickly across Canada. Bridging the education gap is thus a critical component of any plan for enhancing the prosperity, health, and well-being of Canada's indigenous population, as well as eliminating marginalization. Education is one of the many concerns that Indigenous people in Canada must tackle. The acts of previous Canadian administrations, both implicit and explicit, have resulted in a considerable educational disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous pupils.  The western system of education is inherently exclusive, and its fundamental educational process is based on privilege. Resolving the enormous and ongoing inequalities in student educational learning results must be based on Indigenous notions of education, rather than a standard western/colonial approac

CORRUPTION AND EDUCATION: IMPACT ON CHILDREN AND SOCIETY

The Oxford English Dictionary defines corruption as dishonest or illegal behaviour, especially of people in authority. Education is arguably one of the most important aspects of life as with such a lot of doors are opened for individuals, which are not offered to those without. Generation after generation the power and importance of education is only further highlighted, thus more and more children are pursuing higher education. As such, the number of students enrolled in schooling worldwide has been on an upwards trajectory, with an increase of over 150 million students since 2000 for secondary school and around 82 million since 2000 for primary school (Statista, 2022). Furthermore, the completion rate of primary school was close to 90% in 2019 and 76% for secondary school (Statista, 2022). Education can provide individuals with so many options and aid in their life path by increasing the aspects of stability in life, financial stability, equality between individuals worldwide, self-dependence, confidence, provides safety, and helps one reach their goals (Nair, 2022). In Canada itself, more than 1.4 million students are enrolled in a Canadian University, and 2.2 million students are enrolled in some form of postsecondary education (Universities Canada, 2018)

Using Virtual Reality for Long-Duration Space Missions

Many organizations around the world are pursuing space exploration with hopes of going further and further away from Earth. Spaceflight itself has significant implications on humans, meaning that it is important to understand the magnitude of effects that astronauts would feel during these missions. Some pressing concerns are the increased isolation due to social interactions as well as situational factors, which would lead to a decline in mental and physical health. Additionally, the possibility of substance abuse due to stress and access to medications can lead to significant reductions in mental health. To deal with these issues, virtual reality has presented itself as a unique solution that would help provide better overall mental health. The technology is frequently used in various clinical settings to deal with anxiety and depression, through techniques such as exposure therapy and cognitive behavioural therapy. Exposure therapy for anxiety with virtual reality targets anxiety-causing stimulus and works towards changing the patient's response, in a controlled setting. Cognitive behavioural therapy immerses the patient into a simulated world to provide them with experiences that mitigate the depression they are feeling. On the mission, exposure therapy would potentially be available to deal with stimulants of anxiety, while cognitive behavioural therapy would provide a happiness break. With further research in the field, virtual reality thus presents itself as a feasible opportunity to plan longer duration human space missions. This review compiles and investigates sources from literary research done in the respective fields

Role of Antioxidant Vitamins in Neurogenesis

Neurogenesis is vital in the preservation of cognition. Previous studies have reported antioxidant vitamins as a key regulatory factor in neurogenesis. However, current research investigating their role is inconclusive due to the limited number of studies that have been conducted and conflicting results. This review evaluates the scientific evidence behind the potential roles of antioxidant vitamins in neurogenesis. Observations concerned with the mechanistic and functional aspects of how antioxidant vitamins modulate neurogenesis are both assessed. Vitamin A is evidently involved in cell cycle regulation and cell proliferation; vitamin C reportedly promotes neural differentiation and maturation while inhibiting neurite outgrowth; vitamin E is identified to inhibit cell proliferation while improving cell viability. Varying antioxidant vitamin concentrations have been implicated in facilitating cognition in terms of attention, memory, language, and executive function. Moreover, this review suggests a threshold antioxidant vitamin concentration that should be maintained to promote optimal levels of adult neurogenesis

A Review of Panic Buying: The Mediation of Illusory Truth Effect and Persistence due to Herd Mentality and Confirmation Bias

In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, the public has been experiencing severe amounts of stress and feelings of anxiety. Social media in particular has been shown in the literature to be a major contributing medium for the widespread facilitation of misinformation concerning the coronavirus. The rapid development of fake news concerning supply shortages of certain essential items has increased pandemic-related behaviours such as panic buying. Factors that have led to panic buying include perceived threat of an event, perceived product scarcity, fear of the unknown, and coping methods to gain control. Although these factors are prevalent reasons that induce panic buying behaviours, they do not explain the mechanisms in the formation of these perceptions. It is possible that heuristics (i.e. availability, and affect), which are reinforced by social media posts, aid in the development of the illusory truth effect. This psychological phenomenon may be the root cause in the public’s false perceptions of pandemic-related events. This paper reviewed the impact of the illusory truth effect as a mediator in processing misinformation from social media and the news as truths that inevitably encourages panic buying behaviour. Furthermore, this paper examined the persistence of the illusory truth effect due to herd mentality and confirmation bias in the perpetual cycle of irrational decision making. In conclusion, the illusory truth effect has been demonstrated to be a key cognitive bias that strengthens with repetitive exposure to adverse sentiments related to COVID-19, and is likely to be maintained through herd mentality and confirmation bias in social situations. Although more research needs to be done to solidify this theory, the current review aims to serve as a basis for further research on the illusory truth effect and potentiate solutions in the prevention of adherence to this effect

Effectiveness of global rural teleoncology and future routes for teleoncology research in the context of Canadian rural areas: a narrative review of the literature

Background: To limit the risk of transmitting the COVID-19 virus during in person interactions, modes of telemedicine, such as teleoncology, have been on the rise more than ever. This narrative review examines the effectiveness of current Canadian teleoncology services in providing adequate services to the residents of Canadian rural areas. This paper also seeks to analyze current international research and models of teleoncology and how they may be applicable in a Canadian rural context. The paper additionally provides well-supported and appropriate suggestions for future developments of Canadian rural teleoncology and future research directions within the field. Methods: Through a literature search on platforms like Google Scholar, 14 Canadian and international pieces of literature have been selected and reviewed. Common trends of teleoncology strengths and weaknesses have been retrieved, analyzed and summarized. Results: Upon analysis of advantages and disadvantages, it can be stated that teleoncology is a relevant mode of healthcare delivery in the current Canadian context. Despite its limitations, teleoncology can enhance and diversify the quality and types of services delivered to Canadians, especially those in rural areas. Conclusion: Overall, it can be safely deduced that teleoncology has the potential of becoming a prominent aspect of the future of healthcare especially in Canadian rural contexts. The next step towards enhancing the Canadian rural teleoncology system is to gain a better understanding of this system through more recent, standardized research. This can be followed by careful examination of the international status of teleoncology for potential inspirations for change and areas of research. In its analysis, the paper at hand provides a series of suggestions for future areas of research in this topic and potential methodologies for enhancing current Canadian rural teleoncology