The Development and History of the Rural Futures Institute’s Fellows Program

Rural Futures Institute (RFI) served to mobilize the resources and talents of the University of Nebraska and its partners, to create knowledge and action that support rural people and places to achieve unique paths to their desired futures. The Fellows Program was one method that RFI used to fulfil their vision by connecting college students with rural communities to create tangible results on community-defined projects and goals. As the program continues to evolve and find new leadership under Rural Prosperity Nebraska, it is important to document these changes and understand its history. The purpose of this historical research study is to describe the development and history of the Fellows Program by uncovering how the Fellows Program evolved from its inception as Serviceship and understanding the current and potential impact of the Fellows Program. This will create less ambiguity for future Fellows Program staff and partners as to why and how the program has changed

Case 8 : “I Know You Want It”: Preventing Sexual Aggression in Bars

Brian Patterson is the owner of The Judge & Jester Tavern (JJ’s), a fictitious bar in London’s downtown entertainment district. JJ’s is popular with students from Western University, but a viral Facebook post describing an experience of assault at the bar has generated negative publicity. Coordinators at Western University, Christine Bellis and Maria Lopez, reached out to ask Patterson if he would be interested in partnering with them and the London Police Service to develop a strategy to prevent sexual violence in London’s bars and clubs. Patterson has a deep sense of ownership over JJ’s and is interested in making his bar safer but is also concerned about the response from his bar staff and the success of his business. He begins to brainstorm a list of ideas, drawing from programs that have been implemented around the world. How should they approach this problem within the London community? What will their intervention look like? What resources do they have? What do they need to know in order to proceed

PsrA controls the synthesis of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa quinolone signal via repression of the FadE homolog, PA0506

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a ubiquitous, Gram-negative opportunistic pathogen that can cause disease in various sites within the human body. This bacterium is a major source of nosocomial infections that are often difficult to treat due to high intrinsic antibiotic resistance and coordinated virulence factor production. P. aeruginosa utilizes three cell-to-cell signal- ing systems to regulate numerous genes in response to cell density. One of these systems utilizes the small molecule 2-heptyl-3-hydroxy-4-quinolone (Pseudomonas quinolone signal [PQS]) as a signal that acts as a co-inducer for the transcriptional regulator PqsR. Quinolone signaling is required for virulence in multiple infection models, and PQS is produced during human infections, making this system an attractive target for potential drug development. In this study we have examined the role of a TetR-type transcriptional regulator, PsrA, in the regulation of PQS production by P. aeruginosa. Previous studies showed that PsrA regu- lates genes of the fatty acid β-oxidation pathway, including PA0506, which encodes a FadE homolog. In this report, we show that deletion of psrA resulted in a large decrease in PQS production and that co-deletion of PA0506 allowed PQS production to be restored to a wild type level. We also found that PQS production could be restored to the psrA mutant by the addition of oleic or octanoic acid. Taken together, our data suggest that psrA positively affects PQS production by repressing the transcription of PA0506, which leads to a decrease in the conversion of acyl-CoA compounds to enoyl-CoA compounds, thereby allowing some octanoyl-CoA to escape the ß-oxidation pathway and serve as a PQS precursor

Do Individual and Situational Factors Explain the Link Between Predrinking and Heavier Alcohol Consumption? An Event-Level Study of Types of Beverage Consumed and Social Context

Aim: Predrinking (drinking in private settings before going to licensed premises) has been shown to be positively associated with amount of alcohol consumed. The present study assesses whether this association is explained by general drinking patterns or situational factors, including drinking duration, beverage type and drinking companions. Methods: In a sample of 183 young adults from French-speaking Switzerland, data on alcohol consumption, whereabouts and drinking companions were collected using questionnaires sent to participants' cell phones at five time points from 5 p.m. to midnight every Thursday, Friday and Saturday over five consecutive weeks. Means and proportion tests and multilevel models were conducted based on 6650 assessments recorded on 1441 evenings. Results: Over the study period, predrinkers drank more frequently than did non-predrinkers and, among males, predrinkers drank more heavily. Predrinking was related to increased drinking duration and thus total consumption in the evenings. Larger groups of people were reported for predrinking compared with off-premise only drinking situations. Among women, the consumption of straight spirits (i.e. not mixed with soft drinks) while predrinking was associated with higher total evening alcohol consumption. Among men, drinking with exclusively male friends or female friends while predrinking was associated with higher consumption. Conclusion: Heavier drinking on predrinking evenings mainly results from longer drinking duration, with individual and situational factors playing a smaller role. Prevention efforts on reducing the time that young adults spend drinking and harm reduction measures such as restriction of access to on-premise establishments once intoxicated are recommende

Case 6 : “I know there is hope, even in a world of loss”: A Local Community-Based Intervention to Address Mental Health Challenges Among First Nations Men and Boys

Kieran, a young man from River Rock First Nation (RRFN), is frustrated that there are no evidence-based, culturally-safe, and male-specific mental health resources available at any of the treatment centres he has attended. Kieran and his friend Jake partner with Jade, a recent PhD graduate, to initiate a boys’ and men’s mental health program in the community. Using the information Jade gathered for her PhD as a foundation, as well as drawing on applied research at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), the team uses a participatory action research approach, including photovoice, to address mental health challenges of boys and men in RRFN. The goal of this case is to provide a platform for the reader to think critically about how mental health concerns can be addressed in Indigenous communities and have meaningful impact using the resources available to the community. This case will also allow students to explore methods that can be employed to build community capacity to develop evidence-based and culturally appropriate programming within a resource-scarce environment. After reading the case, students will start low on the Bloom\u27s cognitive taxonomy pyramid; through class discussions and instructor guidance the learners will advance to a higher cognitive domain

Canadian Armed Forces Veterans’ Perspectives on the Effects of Exposure to Children in Armed Conflict During Military Service: Protocol for a Qualitative Study

Background: The mental health of military personnel has garnered increased attention over the last few decades; however, the impacts of perpetuating, observing, or failing to prevent acts that transgress deeply held moral standards, referred to as moral injuries, are less understood, particularly in relation to encounters with children during deployment. This paper describes a multiphased research protocol that centers around the lived experiences of Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Veterans to understand how encounters with children during military deployments impact the well-being and mental health of military personnel. Objective: This study has four objectives: (1) highlight the lived experiences of CAF Veterans who encountered children during military deployments; (2) improve understanding of the nature of experiences that military personnel faced that related to observing or engaging with children during military service; (3) improve understanding of the mental health impacts of encountering children during military service; and (4) use participatory action research (PAR) to develop recommendations for improving preparation, training, and support for military personnel deployed to contexts where encounters with children are likely. Methods: The research project has 2 main phases where phase 1 includes qualitative interviews with CAF Veterans who encountered children during military deployments and phase 2 uses PAR to actively engage Canadian Veterans with lived experiences of encountering children during military deployments, as well as health professionals and researchers to identify recommendations to better address the mental health effects of these encounters. Results: As of January 26, 2024, a total of 55 participants and research partners have participated in the 2 phases of the research project. A total of 16 CAF Veterans participated in phase 1 (qualitative interviews), and 39 CAF Veterans, health professionals, and researchers participated in phase 2 (PAR). The results for phase 1 have been finalized and are accepted for publication. Data collection and analysis are ongoing for phase 2. Conclusions: Prioritizing and valuing the experiences of CAF Veterans has deepened our understanding of the intricate nature and impacts of potentially morally injurious events involving children during military deployments. Together with health professionals and researchers, the PAR approach empowers CAF Veterans to articulate important recommendations for developing and improving training and mental health support. This support is crucial not only during the deployment cycle but also throughout the military career, helping lessen the effects of moral injury among military personnel

Alcohol, No Ordinary Commodity: policy implications for Canada

Alcohol is a favorite psychoactive substance of Canadians. It is also a leading risk factor for death and disability, playing a causal role in a broad spectrum of health and social issues. Alcohol: No Ordinary Commodity is a collaborative, integrative review of the scientific literature. This paper describes the epidemiology of alcohol use and current state of alcohol policy in Canada, best practices in policy identified by the third edition of Alcohol: No Ordinary Commodity, and the implications for the development of effective alcohol policy in Canada. Best practices – strongly supported by the evidence, highly effective in reducing harm, and relatively low-cost to implement – have been identified. Measures that control affordability, limit availability, and restrict marketing would reduce population levels of alcohol consumption and the burden of disease attributable to it

An evaluation of the measurement properties of the Mentor Self-Efficacy Scale among participants in Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada Community Mentoring Programs

The measurement properties of a newly developed instrument, Mentor Self-Efficacy Scale, were examined among 249 Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) mentor, child, and parent triads. The unidimensional scale demonstrated acceptable reliability (α = 0.81) and convergent validity, with mentor self-efficacy (MSE) correlating with mentor reported global (r = 0.28, p<0.001) and engagement (r = 0.44, p<0.001) mentoring relationship quality (MRQ). The scale also yielded acceptable predictive validity, with MSE predicting mentor reported engagement MRQ (β = 0.28, p = 0.001). Results will contribute to future research using the scale to augment BBBS policies

The nature and impacts of deployment-related encounters with children among Canadian military Veterans: a qualitative analysis

Background: As armed conflict grows increasingly complex, the involvement of children in armed violence across diverse roles is rising. Consequently, military personnel are more likely to encounter children during deployment. However, little is known about deploymentrelated encounters with children and their impact on the mental health of military personnel and Veterans. Objective: This study qualitatively examines the nature and impacts of deployment-related encounters with children. Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 16 Canadian Armed Forces Veterans, eliciting rich information on the nature of child encounters on deployment, the psycho-socialspiritual impacts of these encounters, and perceptions of support. Interview transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Six primary themes were identified: types of encounters (i.e. factual aspects of deployment-related encounters with children), contextual factors (i.e. aspects of the mission, environment, and personal context relevant to one’s experience of the encounter), appraisals of encounters (i.e. sensory or sense-making experiences relevant to the encounter), impacts of encounters (i.e. psycho-social, existential, and occupational impacts), coping strategies engaged in both during and after deployment, and support experiences, describing both formal and informal sources of support. Conclusions: Encounters with children are diverse and highly stressful, resulting in impacts pertinent to mental health, including psychological and moral distress, and difficulties with identity, spirituality, and relationships. These impacts are prompted by complex interactions among appraisals, expectations of morality, cultural norms, and professional duties and are amplified by various personal factors (e.g. childhood maltreatment history, parenthood), feelings of unpreparedness, and lack of post-deployment support. Implications for prevention, intervention, and policy are discussed with the aim of informing future efforts to safeguard and support military personnel facing a high likelihood of encounters with children