The Impact of St Catherine\u27s Milling

St Catherine’s Milling may seem like a peculiar choice as one of the three constitutional cases that helped to define Canada as a nation, given that most of the legal principles affirmed by Lord Watson, writing for the Privy Council, have been overruled. This paper identifies the principles from St Catherine’s Milling which are still good law, and argues that the logic that underlies and shapes those principles is the logic of the doctrine of discovery and the principle of terra nullius. Jurists have articulated different versions of the doctrine of discovery and disagreed about its precise requirements. At its essence, the doctrine allows a nation to acquire sovereignty over foreign territory by being the first to discover it; on some versions, it was necessary to not only discover but also effectively occupy the territory. Traditionally, this mode of acquiring sovereignty applied only to terra nullius, that is, territory not yet possessed by a socially and politically organized community. Some European nations, however, deemed Indigenous territories to be terrae nullius for the sake of asserting sovereignty over them by means of discovery. Their rationale was the supposed inferiority of Indigenous peoples

Acknowledgements

DURING THE SUMMER OF 2018, the then Executive Editor of the Osgoode Hall Law Journal, Ari Zuckerbrot, approached me about producing a special issue focused on an Indigenous/Aboriginal law topic. I was delighted to agree to serve as the guest editor, and even more delighted when the Osgoode Indigenous Students’ Association (OISA) agreed to partner with the Journal to make the project a collaborative effort. This special issue is the result

Indigenous Constitutionalism and Dispute Resolution Outside the Courts: An Invitation

The Supreme Court of Canada\u27s jurisprudence on constitutionally protected Aboriginal rights filters Indigenous laws through the lens of liberal constitutionalism, resulting in distortions of Indigenous law. To overcome this constitutional capture, this article advocates for an institution that facilitates dispute resolution between Canadian governments and Indigenous peoples grounded in Indigenous constitutionalism. To avoid a pan-Indigenous approach, this article focuses on Anishinaabe constitutionalism as one example of Indigenous constitutionalism. It highlights points of contrast between Anishinaabe constitutionalism\u27s and liberalism\u27s foundational norms and dispute resolution procedures. This article argues that a hybrid institution—combining features of both liberalism and Indigenous constitutionalism—would merely reproduce the constitutional capture of Aboriginal rights jurisprudence. It also illustrates how the procedures of talking circles—which are one means of giving effect to persuasive compliance—promote the voice of all involved. Finally, this paper argues that from the perspective of Anishinaabe constitutionalism, the non-binding nature of the processes offered by the new institution would be a strength, not a drawback

Hysteresis and competition between disorder and crystallization in sheared and vibrated granular flow

Experiments on spherical particles in a 3D Couette cell vibrated from below and sheared from above show a hysteretic freezing/melting transition. Under sufficient vibration a crystallized state is observed, which can be melted by sufficient shear. The critical line for this transition coincides with equal kinetic energies for vibration and shear. The force distribution is double-peaked in the crystalline state and single-peaked with an approximately exponential tail in the disordered state. A linear relation between pressure and volume ($dP/dV > 0$) exists for a continuum of partially and/or intermittently melted states over a range of parameters

The lived experience of families with a mentally ill family member

The study of the lived experience of families with a mentally ill family member involved seven family members who had come to visit their mentally ill relatives in the mental Hospital. The major objective was to explore the lived experience of families with a persistent1 mentally ill family member. The study adopted a qualitative descriptive-phenomenological design, participants were purposively sampled and data was collected using a tape recorder. Colaizzi’s phenomenological approach for data management was then employed. The study revealed that family members held misconceptions about mental illnessand described care as a contractual obligation. They lived in misery as the patients’ behavior was intolerable, sadistic, exasperated, and embarrassing. Although medication proved helpful, they had to plead with the patient to take it. Their homes were discriminated2 which made them desperate and disappointed. Patients had bizarre complaints, could vanish, which forced family members to be vigilant all the time and made them feel guilty if anything happened to the patient. Family revenue was devastated and admission of the patients was considered a liberty to the family members and a breakfrom the monotonous, tiresome and costly collection of medication from the hospital. Family members were pessimistic, and always in dilemma. Living with a mentally ill family member was considered a prime issue in the affected families. The study recommended health education to the community,institute programs to screen patients, counseling, and community patients’ follow up. There was need to initiate home based income generation through micro financing

Factors that influence transition to advanced roles by RN to BSN nurses, in three selected hospitals of Central-Uganda

Background Despite the global rise in the number of nurses upgrading from Registered Nursing (RN) to a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), studies have indicated that successful role transition is difficult once the nurses return to their previous workplaces. Guided by the Transitional Theory, this study investigates the factors that influence the transition from basic to advanced roles among RN to BSN nurses in Uganda, Africa. Methods This study employed a descriptive correlational design. Using convenience sampling, fifty-one (51) RN to BSN nurses completed the semi-structured questionnaires. Results All the study participants (100%) described themselves as having transitioned from RN to BSN role. In bivariate linear regression, personal factors that were found to predict successful role transition included holding a managerial role, being aware and prepared for the role transition, and positive role transition experiences. Role transition motivators that predicted successful role transition included: job promotion, internal desire for self-development, and career development. One community factor – that is the support of doctors/physicians during the RN to BSN transition – predicted unsuccessful role transition. Societal factors deterring successful role transition included lack of support from other colleagues and the perception that BSN learning was not applicable to the RN clinical setting. In multivariate linear regression, only sub-scales of personal factors such as advanced skills mastery and positive personal experiences predicted successful role transition. Conclusion The study suggests that personal factors influence successful role transition more than external factors

Cultural Assessment: A Study of Midwives’ Knowledge, Attitude and Self-reported Practice in Uganda

Background: Cultural assessment is critical due to the increased movement and resettlement of people across the globe, and diverse cultural groups in Uganda. This is putting the health care delivery systems serving the communities under pressure to recognize the different attitudes of people towards health and to develop care systems that are effective in meeting diverse needs. However, despite the importance of cultural assessment in nursing literature, little is known about the cultural assessment competence of Ugandan midwives. This study assessed the knowledge, attitude, and practice of midwives in this assessment process. Methods: A descriptive correlational design was used to generate data for the study from a convenience sample of midwives in three hospitals using a structured questionnaire. Data were analysed using SPSS version 20. Results: Forty-nine midwives participated in the study. Over half of the respondents [57%, n = 28], demonstrated a positive attitude, however, their knowledge level was low. Almost all the midwives 90% (n = 44) had not been trained on transcultural or cross-cultural midwifery during their basic midwifery programmes. The majority of the midwives cared for at least 1 – 5 mothers a month from a culture different from their own and occasionally (once a month) [65%, n = 32] experienced difficulties or problems attributed to cultural differences. Despite the diversity of the midwives’ clients and their experiences, over half of the midwives [55%, n = 27] reported that they did not record cultural data during the assessment of mothers in labour. Where the data were recorded, it was limited to biographic information such as name, age, religion, tribe, and next of kin. These data were used to plan a client’s care. The major barrier to cultural assessment practice cited by the respondents was lack of time. Conclusion: Overall, the midwives knowledge level about cultural assessment was low. With a culturally diverse population living in Uganda, providing culturally congruent care to all women will continue to be a challenge and necessity. It is, therefore, recommended that a culture-based curriculum and in-service training on cultural assessment be developed for midwives

Knowledge and Attitudes of Select Ugandan Nurses towards Documentation of Patient Care

Ideally through documentation, nurses track changes in a patient’s condition, make decisions about needs, and ensure continuity of care. However, nursing documentation has often not met these objectives. In Uganda, the systematic nursing specific approach is not reflected in documentation of nursing care. A mixed methods intervention study was conducted to determine knowledge and attitudes of nurses towards documentation, including an evaluation of nurses’ response to a designed nursing documentation form. Forty participants were selected through convenience sampling from six wards of a Ugandan health institution. The study intervention involved teaching nurses the importance of documentation and using of the trial documentation tool. Pre and post testing and open-ended questionnaires were used in data collection. On both pre and post-tests, most participants strongly agreed that nursing notes were meaningful and necessary for legal protection, as well as a nursing priority. Most participants strongly disagreed that there was familiarity with policies on nursing documentation, and that an uninterrupted environment for care documentation existed. Although participants’ knowledge about documentation improved by 20% following the intervention, there was no significant change in attitudes toward documentation. Participants consistently reflected on documentation as an important practice, but highlighted contextual constraints limiting implementation and quality of documentation. The study findings have implications for pre and post-service training, documentation policies, and organizational supports for nursing documentation

The Nursing Documentation Dilemma in Uganda: Neglected but Necessary. A Case Study at Mulago National Referral Hospital

In Uganda, nursing documentation still remains a challenge, in most of the government hospitals and some private hospitals, it remains at a manual (non-technology driven) level and omissions have been observed. Nurses continue to capture standard elements in their documentation. A mixed methods intervention study was conducted to determine knowledge and attitudes of nurses towards documentation, including an evaluation of nurses’ response to a designed nursing documentation form. Forty participants were selected through convenience sampling from six wards of a Ugandan health institution. The study intervention involved teaching nurses the importance of documentation and using of the trial documentation tool. Pre- and post-testing and open-ended questionnaires were used in data collection. The results from the close-ended questions were presented in the previous publication; the responses from the open-ended questions would then be presented. The open-ended questions regarding comments about the nursing documentation process and suggestions about the process of implementing the nursing documentation system in the ward units were considered. All participants were provided the opportunity to provide personal comments, reflections, or stories of their experiences with documentation in patient care. A thematic analysis approach was used during data analysis. The results showed that the participants had positive attitude towards documentation of patient care, but they had constraints limiting them to document, they reflected issues concerning the perceived pressure from the administrations and support to document. The study findings have implication that there is need for organizational support and to have multisite studies and extension of the documentation tool