When politics trump argumentation: Financial literacy education policy

This paper analyzes a corpus of political rhetoric to identify the rationale for Ontario’s financial literacy education (FLE) policy decisions that came about in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis. The complex politics of FLE were shaped and legitimized by special-interest coalitions’ mobilization of power, characterized by unsubstantiated claims about its efficacy. The rhetoric amounted to ‘truthiness’ over argumentation through the neglect of empirical evidence

Social Justice and the Gender Politics of Financial Literacy Education

In the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis, financial literacy education received increased political attention worldwide as an important policy solution to achieve a variety of ends. Cloaked in the neo-liberal language of value-neutrality, financial literacy education presumes that individuals on a level playing field become "responsible" and "empowered,” motivated and competent to make financial decisions if given certain tacit knowledge. Through its naïveté, this type of financial literacy discourse perpetuates the false impression that choices, decisions and outcomes are the same for all. In this article, we describe the gender politics of contemporary financial literacy discourse, and analyze how it fails to explore women’s experiences in financial arenas by analyzing three popular Canadian financial literacy education curriculum resources designed for use in K-12 classrooms. We describe how these resources fail to acknowledge gender injustice by presenting content through discourses of “choice” and “value neutrality” that fail to critically examine the underlying assumptions crucial to social justice. By ignoring equity issues, these resources perpetuate inequity and marginalization.

Risks Worth Taking? Social Risks and the Mathematics Teacher

In this article, we explore notions of risk as perceived or experienced by individuals involved in mathematical education. We present this exploration in the form of vignettes, each illustrating a form of risk: a parent’s reaction to classroom “propaganda”; a teacher trying to do justice by her students; a teacher confronted by his administration; and a college professor who believes university policy to be unjust. Each vignette sheds light on areas in which teacher education may offer additional support in fostering the mathematical knowledge, pedagogical sensitivity, and social awareness required to foster, what are in our view, much needed risks in the mathematical (and otherwise) education of pupils. Following the vignettes, we offer a discussion of factors that contributed to the risks perceived or experienced by teachers: neoliberal discourses, and the powerful cultural scripts that leave teachers feeling that they must hold all control, authority, and knowledge

La littératie financière : vers une éducation financière féministe autochtone

In this article, we demonstrate how current approaches to financial literacy education might benefit from the inclusion of Indigenous feminist perspectives. We argue that Indigenous feminisms can add a unique critical view of financial literacy education that may help to address shortcomings in ongoing conversations and practices in the field. In consideration of this, we offer a framework to change the mindset of educators from one of financial literacy to one of financial consciousness.Dans cet article, nous démontrons comment les approches actuelles en matière d’éducation financière pourraient bénéficier de l’inclusion des perspectives féministes autochtones. Nous soutenons que les féminismes autochtones peuvent ajouter une vision critique unique de l’éducation en littératie financière, ce qui pourrait aider à combler les lacunes des conversations et des pratiques en cours dans ce domaine. En tenant compte de cela, nous proposons un cadre pour changer la mentalité des éducateurs d’une mentalité de littératie financière à une mentalité de conscience financière

Marketing acceptance levels and practices of Ontario school board continuing education institutions.

This study examined and described the levels of marketing acceptance and the marketing techniques and practices used by Ontario school board continuing education institutions. Much of the study was based on the Four Stage Model Reflecting the Acceptance of Marketing in Higher Education Institutions developed by Simmons and Laczniak (1992). The research instrument used was validated in a similar study performed by Narkawicz (1994) and modified by Pinto. The primary purpose of the study was to identify the levels of marketing acceptance that Ontario school board continuing education institutions had achieved and in what marketing techniques they were engaging. A secondary purpose was to determine if levels of marketing acceptance and practices used differed as a result of various institutional characteristics. The characteristics examined were: enrolment size; regional location; and urbanity. Responses from twenty-four of the fifty-seven institutions in the population were used for data analysis. (Abstract shortened by UMI.) Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis1998 .P56. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 39-02, page: 0320. Adviser: Noel Hurley. Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 1998

Mortality among over 6 million internal and international migrants in Brazil: a study using the 100 Million Brazilian Cohort

BACKGROUND: To understand if migrants living in poverty in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) have mortality advantages over the non-migrant population, we investigated mortality risk patterns among internal and international migrants in Brazil over their life course. METHODS: We linked socio-economic and mortality data from 1st January 2011 to 31st December 2018 in the 100 Million Brazilian Cohort and calculated all-cause and cause-specific age-standardised mortality rates according to individuals' migration status for men and women. Using Cox regression models, we estimated the age- and sex-adjusted mortality hazard ratios (HR) for internal migrants (i.e., Brazilian-born individuals living in a different Brazilian state than their birth) compared to Brazilian-born non-migrants; and for international migrants (i.e., people born in another country) compared to Brazilian-born individuals. FINDINGS: The study followed up 45,051,476 individuals, of whom 6,057,814 were internal migrants, and 277,230 were international migrants. Internal migrants had similar all-cause mortality compared to Brazilian non-migrants (aHR = 0.99, 95% CI = 0.98-0.99), marginally higher mortality for ischaemic heart diseases (aHR = 1.04, 95% CI = 1.03-1.05) and higher for stroke (aHR = 1.11, 95% CI = 1.09-1.13). Compared to Brazilian-born individuals, international migrants had 18% lower all-cause mortality (aHR = 0.82, 95% CI = 0.80-0.84), with up to 50% lower mortality from interpersonal violence among men (aHR = 0.50, 95% CI = 0.40-0.64), but higher mortality from avoidable causes related to maternal health (aHR = 2.17, 95% CI = 1.17-4.05). INTERPRETATION: Although internal migrants had similar all-cause mortality, international migrants had lower all-cause mortality compared to non-migrants. Further investigations using intersectional approaches are warranted to understand the marked variations by migration status, age, and sex for specific causes of death, such as elevated maternal mortality and male lower interpersonal violence-related mortality among international migrants. FUNDING: The Wellcome Trust

Cross-species oncogenomics offers insight into human muscle-invasive bladder cancer

Background In humans, muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) is highly aggressive and associated with a poor prognosis. With a high mutation load and large number of altered genes, strategies to delineate key driver events are necessary. Dogs and cats develop urothelial carcinoma (UC) with histological and clinical similarities to human MIBC. Cattle that graze on bracken fern also develop UC, associated with exposure to the carcinogen ptaquiloside. These species may represent relevant animal models of spontaneous and carcinogen-induced UC that can provide insight into human MIBC. Results Whole-exome sequencing of domestic canine (n = 87) and feline (n = 23) UC, and comparative analysis with human MIBC reveals a lower mutation rate in animal cases and the absence of APOBEC mutational signatures. A convergence of driver genes (ARID1A, KDM6A, TP53, FAT1, and NRAS) is discovered, along with common focally amplified and deleted genes involved in regulation of the cell cycle and chromatin remodelling. We identify mismatch repair deficiency in a subset of canine and feline UCs with biallelic inactivation of MSH2. Bovine UC (n = 8) is distinctly different; we identify novel mutational signatures which are recapitulated in vitro in human urinary bladder UC cells treated with bracken fern extracts or purified ptaquiloside. Conclusion Canine and feline urinary bladder UC represent relevant models of MIBC in humans, and cross-species analysis can identify evolutionarily conserved driver genes. We characterize mutational signatures in bovine UC associated with bracken fern and ptaquiloside exposure, a human-linked cancer exposure. Our work demonstrates the relevance of cross-species comparative analysis in understanding both human and animal UC

Content validity of the EORTC quality of life questionnaire QLQ-C30 for use in cancer

Aim The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 (QLQ-C30) is among the most widely used patient-reported outcome measures in cancer research and practice. It was developed prior to guidance that content should be established directly from patients to confirm it measures concepts of interest and is appropriate and comprehensive for the intended population. This study evaluated the content validity of the QLQ-C30 for use with cancer patients. Methods Adults undergoing cancer treatment in Europe and the USA participated in open-ended concept elicitation interviews regarding their functional health, symptoms, side-effects and impacts on health-related quality of life. Thematic analysis was conducted, and similarities across cancer types, disease stages and countries or languages were explored. Results Interviews with 113 patients with cancer (85 European, 28 USA) including breast, lung, prostate, colorectal and other cancers were conducted between 2016 and 2020. Conceptual saturation was achieved. The most frequently reported concepts were included in the QLQ-C30 conceptual framework. QLQ-C30 items were widely understood across language versions and were relevant to patients across cancer types and disease stages. While several new concepts were elicited such as difficulty climbing steps or stairs, weight loss, skin problems and numbness, many were not widely experienced and/or could be considered sub-concepts of existing concepts. Conclusions The QLQ-C30 demonstrates good evidence of content validity for the assessment of functional health, symptom burden and health-related quality of life in patients with localised-to-advanced cancer