Breast Cancer in Canada: Medical Response and Attitudes, 1900-1950

Most historiography concerning the treatment of breast cancer focuses on the radical mastectomy as the treatment of choice during the first half of the twentieth century. How frequently this surgery was actually used, however, has not been clearly determined. It was feasible only in cases that had been diagnosed early, and many women did not consult their doctors until their disease had progressed significantly. The debate among Canadian physicians, and others, regarding methods of treatment was accompanied by a similar debate over the best diagnostic method. Evidence is suggestive that Canadian physicians differed from their American counterparts in three areas: in not rigidly enforcing one-step surgery, in their willingness to use radium as an adjunct to surgery, and in their challenge to radical mastectomy. The discourse over treatment, diagnosis, and causes of breast cancer took place in a gendered context that involved the role of women in society as well as the function of their bodies.L’historiographie concernant le traitement du cancer du sein soutient la plupart du temps que les médecins privilégiaient la mastectomie radicale pour traiter ce cancer durant la première moitié du XXe siècle. On connaît cependant mal la fréquence de ce type d’intervention chirurgicale. Elle n’était possible qu’en cas de dépistage précoce et bon nombre de femmes ne consultaient leur médecin que longtemps après le début de la maladie. Le débat chez les médecins canadiens et des autres au sujet des méthodes de traitement se déroulait parallèlement à un débat semblable sur la meilleure méthode de diagnostic à employer. On sait que les médecins canadiens différaient d’opinion avec leurs homologues américains à trois égards : en ne pratiquant pas de manière rigide la chirurgie en une étape, en utilisant volontiers le radium comme traitement d’appoint à la chirurgie et en contestant la pratique de la mastectomie radicale. Ce discours sur le traitement, le diagnostic et les causes du cancer du sein se déroulait sur fond de débat touchant notamment le rôle des femmes dans la société et la fonction de leurs corps

Modelling the Non-equilibrium Electric Double Layer at Oil-pressboard Interface of High Voltage Transformers

In large oil-filled power transformers, cellulose-based pressboard and paper are used throughout for electrical insulation. Microscopic views have shown that pressboard insulation is a fibrous and porous structure with non-homogeneous surface. It has been recognised that the pressboard structure is more porous towards the edge [1]. The pores within the pressboard allow oil absorption during impregnation process and provide paths for oil to penetrate until saturation is reached. The ratio of fibre and oil changes as the material structure changes from a medium of bulk oil-pressboard composite toward the bulk oil medium. The porosity of pressboard can also result in impurities within the oil being drawn into the pressboard. It has also been recognised that physicochemical process of a liquid in contact with solid wall leads to the formation of electric double layer (EDL) in the liquid region [2, 3]. The material properties and geometry of pressboard thus lead to a complex oil-pressboard interface. A 2-D model of oil-pressboard interface has been constructed using Comsol Multiphysics Finite Element Analysis software and this is shown in Figure 1. The mathematical model considers the dissociation of a generic impurity in the oil into positive and negative ions and considers the role of the porous and non-homogeneous wall of pressboard in the formation of the EDL. The pressboard, which is represented by different arrays of fibre, promotes preferential adsorption and desorption processes between ions in the oil and unoccupied fibre surfaces of oil impregnated pressboard. The model studies the non-equilibrium charge density profile in the EDL at the oil-pressboard interface when the oil is in the stationary condition

Moral Development in the Online Context

Past research has found strong evidence that individuals behave differently when they are online compared to when they are in face-to-face interactions. These differences may be caused by factors such as anonymity, remoteness from interactions and reduced empathy. The current study attempts to expand on these past research findings by examining moral development and specifically the relationships between moral emotions, moral identity and antisocial behaviour in the online context. In total, 392 participants were placed into three separate age groups: early adolescence (n = 99, aged 12.42-14.33), late adolescence (n = 180, aged 17.17-22) and early adulthood (n = 113, aged 22.06-35.25). Participants were assessed with a questionnaire measuring moral identity and moral emotions using hypothetical scenarios in both the online and the face-to-face context. It was established that both moral identity and moral emotions were lower in the online context regardless of age group. Cross-context differentiation also increased with age for the two variables. In addition, the relationship between moral identity and both intention to perform and performance of antisocial behaviours was mediated by moral emotions. The findings of the present study confirm more research is needed to investigate how the online context affects moral development

The Impact of Feminism on the Research and Writing of Medical History: A Personal View

Using my own research on the Canadian medical profession and its treatment of women in the first half of the twentieth century, I illustrate four ways in which feminist theory and action has influenced historical scholarship: first, the recognition of women as a socially constructed gender; second, concerns about the increasing medical intervention in women's bodies; third, the recent sensitivity with regards to women's agency; and fourth, the feminist critique of science itself. In turn, I argue that historical research can help nuance our view of the present and where we want to go in the future.En me servant de ma propre recherche sur la profession medicale au Canada et sur la maniere dont elle a traite les femmes dans la premiere moitie du vingtieme siecle, j'illustre quatre facons par lesquelles la theorie et Paction feministe ont influence l'erudite historique : premierement la reconnaissance que les femmes sont un sexe qui est construit socialement, deuxiemement, les inquietudes au sujet de la hausse des interventions medicales sur le corps des femmes; troisiemement, la sensibilite a l'egard de I'agence feminine; et quatriemement, la critique de la science elle meme. A partir de cela, je denote que la recherche historique peut aider a nuancer notre vue du present et ou nous voulons nous diriger dans l'avenir