Preventing Domestic Violence in Alberta: A Cost Savings Perspective

Recent studies show that Alberta has the fifth highest rate of police reported intimate partner violence and the second highest rate of self reported spousal violence in Canada, and despite a 2.3 percent decline over the last decade, the province’s rate of self-reported domestic violence has stubbornly remained among the highest in Canada; rates of violence against women alone are 2.3 percentage points higher than the national average. In fact, every hour of every day, a woman in Alberta will undergo some form of interpersonal violence from an ex-partner or ex-spouse. Besides the devastating toll that domestic violence has on victims and their families, the ongoing cost to Albertans is significant. In the past five years alone it is estimated that over $600 million will have been spent on the provision of a few basic health and non health supports and that the majority of this cost ($521 million) is coming out of the pockets of Albertans in the form of tax dollars directed at the provision of services. Fortunately, investment in quality prevention and intervention initiatives can be very cost effective, returning as much as $20 for every dollar invested. Recent research on preventative programming in the context of domestic violence shows promising results in reducing incidents of self-reported domestic violence. The economic analysis of this preventative programming suggests that the benefits of providing the various types of programming outweighed the costs by as much as 6:1. The potential cost savings for the Alberta context are significant; the implementation of these preventative programs has been estimated to be approximately$9.6 million while generating net cost-benefits of over $54 million. Domestic violence is a persistent blight, and continues to have a significant impact on individuals and families in Alberta, but potent tools exist to fight it. This brief paper offers a cogent summary of its costs, and the benefits that could be reaped by investing in quality prevention and intervention programs, making it essential reading for policymakers and anyone else prepared to use them

The Connection between Professional Sporting Events, Holidays and Domestic Violence in Calgary, Alberta

There are some days in Calgary, Alta when domestic violence is more likely to happen than other days. There is a statistically significant connection between higher rates of domestic violence and certain Calgary Stampeders’ football games as well as the arrival of the Calgary Stampede. During the 10-day-long Calgary Stampede, domestic violence calls on the seventh, ninth and tenth day of Stampede, were up 15 per cent compared to an average day. Weekends and summer months were also generally associated with the highest rates of domestic violence reports in Calgary. When it came to Calgary Stampeders’ football games, calls were higher only when the Stampeders faced off against the rival Edmonton Eskimos – with a 15 per cent increase in domestic violence reports. Grey Cup games in which Calgary played were associated with a 40 per cent increase in reports of domestic violence. However, games played by the Calgary Flames seemed to have no relationship to domestic violence calls, even those against the rival Edmonton team. Also, New Year’s Day appears to be associated with a significant spike in domestic violence, going by a four-year count of phone calls reporting domestic violence to both police and a local help line for those experiencing domestic and sexual abuse. There are also increases in calls associated with Good Friday, Easter, Canada Day, Labour Day, Valentine’s Day and Halloween. Meanwhile, the 2013 catastrophic floods in Calgary resulted in an increase in reports of domestic violence to police and the Connect help line, averaging an additional 6.6 reported incidents of domestic violence per day during the flood, 14 per cent higher than average. A correlation was also found in Calgary between the fall in oil prices and the rise in calls, with every US$10 fall in the price of West Texas Intermediate resulting in an extra call for help every two days. Since reducing domestic violence requires recognizing possible contributing factors and finding ways to counteract their effect, identifying these correlates is the first step to prevention. New places to look, based on these results, are highly charged Stampeder football games, the Calgary Stampede, weekends, summer months and certain holidays. Based on the study results, the authors recommend increasing publically funded childcare and affordable family outings; working with sporting organizations to better educate and support gender equity, healthy relationship skills and bystander skills; increasing training in social and emotional learning for parents and families; and conducting further research on the role of alcohol in domestic violence

Estimating Costs and Benefits Associated with Evidence-Based Violence Prevention: Four case studies based on the Fourth R program

Teen violence in dating and peer relationships has huge costs to society in numerous areas including health care, social services, the workforce and the justice system. Physical, psychological, and sexual abuse have long-lasting ramifications for the perpetrators as well as the victims, and for the families involved on both sides of that equation. An effective violence prevention program that is part of a school’s curriculum is beneficial not only for teaching teenagers what is appropriate behaviour in a relationship, but also for helping them break the cycle of violence which may have begun at home with their own maltreatment as children. The Fourth R program is an efficacious violence prevention program that was developed in Ontario and has been implemented in schools throughout Canada and the U.S. Covering relationship dynamics common to dating violence as well as substance abuse, peer violence and unsafe sex, the program can be adapted to different cultures and to same-sex relationships. The program, which gets its name from the traditional 3Rs — reading, ’riting and ’rithmetic — offers schools the opportunity to provide effective programming for teens to reduce the likelihood of them using relationship for violence as they move into adulthood. The federal government has estimated that the societal costs of relationship violence amount to more than $7 billion. These costs can continue to be incurred through the legal and health-care systems as the ripple effects of violence play out over the years, even after a relationship has ended. Other types of violence are also costly to society and not just in terms of dollars, but in young lives diverted into criminal activity. Up to 15 per cent of youth who become involved with the justice system grow into serious adult offenders who develop lengthy criminal careers. Yet, research shows that if prevention programs such as the Fourth R can deter just one 14-year-old high-risk juvenile from a life of crime, up to$5 million can be saved in costs to society

Comprehensive phenotypic analysis of the Dp1Tyb mouse strain reveals a broad range of down syndrome-related phenotypes

Down syndrome (DS), trisomy 21, results in many complex phenotypes including cognitive deficits, heart defects and craniofacial alterations. Phenotypes arise from an extra copy of human chromosome 21 (Hsa21) genes. However, these dosage-sensitive causative genes remain unknown. Animal models enable identification of genes and pathological mechanisms. The Dp1Tyb mouse model of DS has an extra copy of 63% of Hsa21-orthologous mouse genes. In order to establish if this model recapitulates DS phenotypes, we comprehensively phenotyped Dp1Tyb mice using 28 tests of different physiological systems and found that 468 out of 1800 parameters were significantly altered. We show that Dp1Tyb mice have wide-ranging DS-like phenotypes including aberrant erythropoiesis and megakaryopoiesis, reduced bone density, craniofacial changes, altered cardiac function, a pre-diabetic state and deficits in memory, locomotion, hearing and sleep. Thus, Dp1Tyb mice are an excellent model for investigating complex DS phenotype-genotype relationships for this common disorder

Analysis of motor dysfunction in Down Syndrome reveals motor neuron degeneration

Down Syndrome (DS) is caused by trisomy of chromosome 21 (Hsa21) and results in a spectrum of phenotypes including learning and memory deficits, and motor dysfunction. It has been hypothesized that an additional copy of a few Hsa21 dosage-sensitive genes causes these phenotypes, but this has been challenged by observations that aneuploidy can cause phenotypes by the mass action of large numbers of genes, with undetectable contributions from individual sequences. The motor abnormalities in DS are relatively understudied-the identity of causative dosage-sensitive genes and the mechanism underpinning the phenotypes are unknown. Using a panel of mouse strains with duplications of regions of mouse chromosomes orthologous to Hsa21 we show that increased dosage of small numbers of genes causes locomotor dysfunction and, moreover, that the Dyrk1a gene is required in three copies to cause the phenotype. Furthermore, we show for the first time a new DS phenotype: loss of motor neurons both in mouse models and, importantly, in humans with DS, that may contribute to locomotor dysfunction

The Pediatric Cell Atlas:Defining the Growth Phase of Human Development at Single-Cell Resolution

Single-cell gene expression analyses of mammalian tissues have uncovered profound stage-specific molecular regulatory phenomena that have changed the understanding of unique cell types and signaling pathways critical for lineage determination, morphogenesis, and growth. We discuss here the case for a Pediatric Cell Atlas as part of the Human Cell Atlas consortium to provide single-cell profiles and spatial characterization of gene expression across human tissues and organs. Such data will complement adult and developmentally focused HCA projects to provide a rich cytogenomic framework for understanding not only pediatric health and disease but also environmental and genetic impacts across the human lifespan

Comprehensive phenotypic analysis of the Dp1Tyb mouse strain reveals a broad range of Down syndrome-related phenotypes

Down syndrome (DS), trisomy 21, results in many complex phenotypes including cognitive deficits, heart defects and craniofacial alterations. Phenotypes arise from an extra copy of human chromosome 21 (Hsa21) genes. However, these dosage-sensitive causative genes remain unknown. Animal models enable identification of genes and pathological mechanisms. The Dp1Tyb mouse model of DS has an extra copy of 63% of Hsa21-orthologous mouse genes. In order to establish whether this model recapitulates DS phenotypes, we comprehensively phenotyped Dp1Tyb mice using 28 tests of different physiological systems and found that 468 out of 1800 parameters were significantly altered. We show that Dp1Tyb mice have wide-ranging DS-like phenotypes, including aberrant erythropoiesis and megakaryopoiesis, reduced bone density, craniofacial changes, altered cardiac function, a pre-diabetic state, and deficits in memory, locomotion, hearing and sleep. Thus, Dp1Tyb mice are an excellent model for investigating complex DS phenotype-genotype relationships for this common disorder

Diving into the vertical dimension of elasmobranch movement ecology

Knowledge of the three-dimensional movement patterns of elasmobranchs is vital to understand their ecological roles and exposure to anthropogenic pressures. To date, comparative studies among species at global scales have mostly focused on horizontal movements. Our study addresses the knowledge gap of vertical movements by compiling the first global synthesis of vertical habitat use by elasmobranchs from data obtained by deployment of 989 biotelemetry tags on 38 elasmobranch species. Elasmobranchs displayed high intra- and interspecific variability in vertical movement patterns. Substantial vertical overlap was observed for many epipelagic elasmobranchs, indicating an increased likelihood to display spatial overlap, biologically interact, and share similar risk to anthropogenic threats that vary on a vertical gradient. We highlight the critical next steps toward incorporating vertical movement into global management and monitoring strategies for elasmobranchs, emphasizing the need to address geographic and taxonomic biases in deployments and to concurrently consider both horizontal and vertical movements

Diving into the vertical dimension of elasmobranch movement ecology

Knowledge of the three-dimensional movement patterns of elasmobranchs is vital to understand their ecological roles and exposure to anthropogenic pressures. To date, comparative studies among species at global scales have mostly focused on horizontal movements. Our study addresses the knowledge gap of vertical movements by compiling the first global synthesis of vertical habitat use by elasmobranchs from data obtained by deployment of 989 biotelemetry tags on 38 elasmobranch species. Elasmobranchs displayed high intra- and interspecific variability in vertical movement patterns. Substantial vertical overlap was observed for many epipelagic elasmobranchs, indicating an increased likelihood to display spatial overlap, biologically interact, and share similar risk to anthropogenic threats that vary on a vertical gradient. We highlight the critical next steps toward incorporating vertical movement into global management and monitoring strategies for elasmobranchs, emphasizing the need to address geographic and taxonomic biases in deployments and to concurrently consider both horizontal and vertical movements

Diving into the vertical dimension of elasmobranch movement ecology

Knowledge of the three-dimensional movement patterns of elasmobranchs is vital to understand their ecological roles and exposure to anthropogenic pressures. To date, comparative studies among species at global scales have mostly focused on horizontal movements. Our study addresses the knowledge gap of vertical movements by compiling the first global synthesis of vertical habitat use by elasmobranchs from data obtained by deployment of 989 biotelemetry tags on 38 elasmobranch species. Elasmobranchs displayed high intra- and interspecific variability in vertical movement patterns. Substantial vertical overlap was observed for many epipelagic elasmobranchs, indicating an increased likelihood to display spatial overlap, biologically interact, and share similar risk to anthropogenic threats that vary on a vertical gradient. We highlight the critical next steps toward incorporating vertical movement into global management and monitoring strategies for elasmobranchs, emphasizing the need to address geographic and taxonomic biases in deployments and to concurrently consider both horizontal and vertical movements