Aboriginal perspectives understanding and comparing the lived experiences and resilience of aboriginal men and women attending higher education

Through an in-depth examination and review of the traumatic impact of colonialism and oppression faced by Aboriginal peoples, trends being to appear within the literature. These trends include the intergenerational cycles that foster negative outcomes for Aboriginal Peoples, specifically for those who were forced to endure the physical, emotional, mental, spiritual and sexual abuse within the Residential school system. The survivors of this era experience lifelong trauma which is then passed on through the generations to their children, grand-children, great grand-children etc. The numbers of Aboriginal students attending University level, higher education are increasingly low and the research has indicated that this is, in large part, due to the impact of the residential school system and the outlook that Aboriginal Peoples now have towards the education system. Factors of resiliency both positive and negative are described throughout. Positive resiliency, from a western perspective, include the ability to overcome adversity (Scarpino, 2007). This research project utilizes a qualitative method of open-ended one-on-one interviews with Aboriginal men and women who are students at Laurentian University in order to better understand their lived experiences and the aspects that have fostered positive resiliency for them to pursue higher education.Honours Essa

Gender and the politics of welfare: a study of social assistance policies towards lone mothers in Britain, 1948-1966

The thesis is a study of social assistance policies and practices towards separated wives and divorced and never-married women with children between 1948 and 1966 in Britain. It uses historical analysis of archival documents to address questions regarding gender and welfare state change. In doing so, the thesis builds on and critically examines existing social policy discourse concerned with the historical shift away from assumptions that women would be wives and/or mothers towards an assumption that all adults are, or should be, workers that has been linked to restructuring, the rise of neo-liberalism and social-economic change. The research focuses on policies towards this group of women because they have long been identified as a kind of ‘litmus test’ of women’s more general position within the welfare state. Policy towards this group of women offers a window into the relationship between ideas about gender, class, race, political economy and the state. The research makes three distinct contributions to different areas of scholarly debate. First, it further develops the conceptual analysis of gender and welfare state change. In contrast to much of the existing literature that has emphasized the significance of recent changes in the structural context and principles that shape policies, this research draws attention to important continuities in the interaction between social-economic shifts, political ideas and the position of women in relation to the state. Second, the research brings to light a great deal of previously unexplored archival material that provide new perspectives on the 1950s. While they support and build on recent revisionist histories of the decade, they challenge the conventional wisdom about the postwar welfare state and the idea of postwar ‘consensus’ that social policy scholarship tends to rely on. Finally, the research provides an empirical study of the role of institutions and bureaucratic agents in policy development, and demonstrates the important insights gained from multilayered historical analysis in understanding the complex interactions between actors, ideas and structures that underpin the policy process

“Mother first, student second”: challenging adversity and balancing identity in the pursuit of university-level education as First Nations mothers in Northeastern Ontario

The literature surrounding the educational experiences of Indigenous Peoples is an ever-growing and diverse area of research in Canada. However, within this field, the voices of First Nations mothers attending post-secondary needs further development. Through a decolonizing methodology and the use of autoethnography and Indigenous storytelling, this project was designed to explore and better understand our experiences as First Nations student-mothers during the pursuit of university-level education while caring for our children. I argue that Canada’s oppressive history of colonialism and the resulting intergenerational trauma have had specific implications on the post-secondary experiences of the First Nations mothers who participated in this research. The First Nations student- mothers from Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada who contributed to this research tell diverse stories about their experiences however, our narratives intersect in several ways. Areas of interest that emerged from the collected narratives include: (1) how we, as First Nations student-mothers have overcome obstacles, including what difficulties arose for us in the decision to pursue post-secondary education; what motivators contribute to our ongoing success, and how we experience self-doubt and internalized oppression despite our achievements and (2) how we, as First Nations student-mothers have blended our identities as First Nations women, mothers, and students within the university experience. Ultimately, this project aimed to contribute to continued efforts towards decolonization while furthering Indigenous-led research which hopes to improve the educational outlook for future generations of First Nations mothers.Masters (MIR) of Indigenous Relation

The commercialization of patient data in Canada: ethics, privacy and policy

KEY POINTS In Canada, commercial data brokers collect deidentified patient data from pharmacies, private drug insurers, the federal government and medical clinics without patient consent. Although pharmaceutical companies are the data brokers’ primary customers, academics and nonprofit and public entities also use commercial data sets, given the absence of a coordinated public approach to collecting these data across Canada. Risks of commercialized patient data include loss of anonymity, surveillance and marketing, discrimination and violation of Indigenous data sovereignty. Coordinated infrastructure for the collection and coordination of health data across Canada and updated privacy legislation would protect individuals and communities and enable appropriate data uses

Socioeconomic inequalities in pregnancy outcome associated with Down syndrome: a population-based study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate socioeconomic inequalities in outcome of pregnancy associated with Down syndrome (DS) compared with other congenital anomalies screened for during pregnancy. DESIGN AND SETTING: Retrospective population-based registry study (East Midlands & South Yorkshire in England). PARTICIPANTS: All registered cases of DS and nine selected congenital anomalies with poor prognostic outcome (the UK Fetal Anomaly Screening Programme (FASP)9) with an end of pregnancy date between 1 January 1998 and 31 December 2007. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Poisson regression models were used to explore outcome measures, including socioeconomic variation in rates of anomaly; antenatal detection; pregnancy outcome; live birth incidence and neonatal mortality. Deprivation was measured using the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2004 at super output area level. RESULTS: There were 1151 cases of DS and 1572 cases of the nine severe anomalies combined. The overall rate of antenatal detection was 57% for DS, which decreased with increasing deprivation (rate ratio comparing the most deprived tenth with the least deprived: 0.76 (0.60 to 0.97)). Antenatal detection rates were considerably higher for FASP9 anomalies (86%), with no evidence of a trend with deprivation (0.99 95% CI (0.84 to 1.17)). The termination of pregnancy rate following antenatal diagnosis was higher for DS (86%) than the FASP9 anomalies (70%). Both groups showed wide socioeconomic variation in the termination of pregnancy rate (rate ratio: DS: 0.76 (0.58 to 0.99); FASP9 anomalies: 0.80 (0.65 to 0.97)). Consequently, socioeconomic inequalities in live birth and neonatal mortality rates associated with these anomalies arise that were not observed in utero. CONCLUSIONS: Socioeconomic inequalities exist in the antenatal detection of DS, and subsequent termination rates are much higher for DS than other anomalies. Termination rates for all anomalies are lower in more deprived areas leading to wide socioeconomic inequalities in live born infants with a congenital anomaly, particularly DS, and subsequent neonatal mortality

En Attendant Centiloid

Aims: Test the robustness of a linear regression transformation of semiquantitative values from different Aβ tracers into a single continuous scale. Study Design: Retrospective analysis. Place and Duration of Study: PET imaging data acquired in Melbourne and Perth, Australia, between August 2006 and May 2014. Methodology: Aβ imaging in 633 participants was performed with four different radiotracers: flutemetamol (n=267), florbetapir (n=195), florbetaben (n=126) and NAV4694 (n=45). SUVR were generated with the methods recommended for each tracer, and classified as high (Aβ+) or low (Aβ-) based on their respective thresholds. Linear regression transformation based on reported head-to-head comparisons of each tracer with PiB was applied to each tracer result. Each tracer native classification was compared with the classification derived from the transformed data into PiB-like SUVR units (or BeCKeT: Before the Centiloid Kernel Transformation) using 1.50 as a cut-off. Results: Misclassification after transformation to PiB-like SUVR compared to native classification was extremely low with only 3/267 (1.1%) of flutemetamol, 1/195 (0.5%) of florbetapir, 1/45 (2.2%) of NAV4694, and 1/126 (0.8%) of florbetaben cases assigned into the wrong category. When misclassification occurred (Conclusion: While a definitive transformation into centesimal units is being established, application of linear regression transformations provide an interim, albeit robust, way of converting results from different Aβ imaging tracers into more familiar PiB-like SUVR units

Perspectives on Linkage Involving Indigenous data

Topic: Perspectives on Linkage Involving Indigenous data Indigenous populations across the globe are reaffirming their sovereignty rights in the collection and use of Indigenous data. The Indigenous data sovereignty movement has been widely influential and can be unsettling for those who routinely use population-level linked data that include Indigenous identifiers. Ethical policies that stipulate community engagement for access, interpretation and dissemination of Indigenous data create an enabling environment through the critical process of negotiating and navigating data access in partnership with communities. This session will be designed to create space for leading Indigenous voices to set the tone for the discussion around Indigenous population data linkage. Objectives: • To provide participants with an opportunity to build on the themes of Indigenous Data Sovereignty presented in the keynote session as they apply to diverse Indigenous populations. • To explore approaches to the linkage of Indigenous-identified population data across four countries, including First Nations in three Canadian regions. • To share practical applications of Indigenous data sovereignty on data linkage and analysis and discussion. • To center Indigenous-driven data linkage and research. Facilitator: Jennifer Walker. Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Health, Laurentian University and Indigenous Lead, Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences. Collaborators: • Alberta: Bonnie Healy, Tina Apsassin, Chyloe Healy and William Wadsworth (Alberta First Nations Information Governance Centre) • Ontario: Carmen R. Jones (Chiefs of Ontario) and Jennifer Walker (Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences) • British Columbia: Jeff Reading (Providence Health Centre) and Laurel Lemchuk-Favel (First Nations Health Authority) • Australia: Raymond Lovett (Australian National University) • Aotearoa / New Zealand: Donna Cormack (University of Otago) • United States: Stephanie Rainie and Desi Rodriguez-Lonebear (University of Arizona) Session format: 90 minutes Collaborators will participate in a round-table introduction to the work they are doing. Collaborators will discuss the principles underlying their approaches to Indigenous data linkage as well as practical and concrete solutions to challenges. Questions to guide the discussion will be pre-determined by consensus among the collaborators and the themes will include: data governance, community engagement, Indigenous-led linkage and analysis of data, and decision-making regarding access to linked data. Other participants attending the session will be encouraged to listen and will have an opportunity to engage in the discussion and ask questions. Intended output or outcome: The key outcome of the session will be twofold. First, those actively working with Indigenous linked data will have an opportunity for an in-depth and meaningful dialogue about their work, which will promote international collaboration and sharing of ideas. Second, those with less experience and knowledge of the principles of Indigenous data sovereignty and their practical application will have an opportunity to listen to Indigenous people who are advancing the integration of Indigenous ways of knowing into data linkage and analysis. The output of the session will be a summary paper highlighting both the diversity and commonalities of approaches to Indigenous data linkage internationally. Areas where consensus exists, opportunities for collaboration, and challenges will be highlighted

Ruisasi 1 and the earliest evidence of mass-produced ceramics in Caution Bay (Port Moresby region), Papua New Guinea

The history of pottery use along the south coast of Papua New Guinea spans from Lapita times, here dated to 2900–2600 cal BP, through to mass production of pottery associated with a number of ethnographically-known interaction (and exchange) networks. Understanding the antecedents and developmental histories of these interaction networks is of considerable importance to archaeological research from local to western Pacific geographical scales. The archaeological site of Ruisasi 1 located at Caution Bay near Port Moresby provides new insights into scales of pottery production before the development of the regional Motu hiri exchange system within the past 500 years. Here faunal remains indicate occupation by marine specialists who exploited a diverse range of local marine environments. Nearly 20,000 ceramic sherds are present in Square A, mostly from a 26 cm thick ‘pottery midden’. A minimum of 45 red slip/plainware vessels based on conjoined sets of sherds plus two vessels with incised decoration are present; the maximum number of clay vessels based on Fabric Types is 155. The globular red slip/plainware pots have highly standardized shapes and sizes, consistent with mass pottery production. The concentration of sherds from these pots within the pottery midden reflects short-duration depositional events within the period of village life c. 1630–1220 cal BP. Whether or not the pots were made locally or imported is the subject of ongoing research. Whatever the case, Ruisasi 1 raises the possibility of mass pottery production possibly linked to a regional interaction network pre-dating the hiri