Promoting First Nations, Metis, and Inuit Youth Wellbeing through Culturally-Relevant Programming: The Role of Cultural Connectedness and Identity

Objectives: Although culturally relevant programming has been identified as a promising practice for promoting resiliency among First Nations, Métis, and Inuit (FNMI) youth, the specific ways in which these programs contribute to wellbeing are unclear. The Fourth R: Uniting Our Nations programs include an array of strengths-based culturally relevant programs for FNMI youth that have been found to increase wellbeing. The purpose of this study was to explore how culturally relevant programming provides a forum for intrapersonal and interpersonal growth. Methods: In-depth interviews were conducted with 12 adult FNMI community and education stakeholders who have had extensive involvement with the programs. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed with an inductive approach through the use of open-coding. Results: Two themes emerged to clarify the relationships between culturally relevant programming and youth wellbeing. The two interconnected themes were the importance of identity and belonging, and the role of cultural connectedness in promoting wellbeing among FNMI youth. Conclusion: Culturally relevant programming provides a powerful opportunity for youth to develop their personal sense of positive cultural identity and feelings of belonging. In addition, the sense of connection to culture was seen to have a direct positive impact on youth, partly through combatting shame

Honouring the Kaswenta (Two Row Wampum): A Framework For Consultation With Indigenous Communities In Canada and Australia

Meaningful and ongoing consultations are critical to Indigenous selfdetermination in Canada and Australia. Consultations are the processes by which organizations and Indigenous communities meet to discuss actions that could potentially affect Indigenous rights or interests. This education thesis is about a community-based partnership study that applies the Aterihwihsón:sera Kaswénta (Two Row Wampum) as a relational framework to investigate how two Indigenous communities across the world— the Carcross/Tagish First Nation (C/TFN) in Yukon, Canada and the Narungga Community of Point Pearce (NCPP) in South Australia—can create and implement online tools to support consultation processes compatible with Indigenous legal traditions, and facilitate more meaningful, equitable, and effective consultations. In total, 64 participants from the two aforementioned communities/countries took part in this study. Thematic content analysis of this data, along with literature, participant observation, and digital ethnography revealed that there is an overall lack of consultation with the C/TFN, NCPP, and other Indigenous communities. Moreover, it found that existing consultations tend to be ambiguous, fraught with process breakdowns, tokenistic, colonizing, oppressive, ineffective, and lacking community engagement. While the study suggests that technology can be an important tool (in addition to in-person meetings) in consultations, and several leading practices were identified, the key finding is that the most significant determining factor of the meaningfulness of consultations is relationships. Within the Kaswénta framework, a relationship-based approach is characterized by three interconnected principles: 1) equality, 2) distinction and self-determination, and 3) harmonious, and interdependent co-existence. Time was also shown to be an important element. This education thesis research has helped to build Information Communication Technology (ICT), consultation, and research capacity among the C/TFN and NCPP participants. It has also helped to build a relationship among these communities and the University of Wollongong that stands to foster future projects of importance. Moreover, it contributes to the body of Indigenous, academic, and practical knowledge on Indigenous consultations and e learning in Canada and Australia, including in a comparative context. Perhaps most significantly, it honours the Kaswénta and introduces it as a relational framework for meaningful consultations with Indigenous communities

Employing the EPEC hierarchy of conditions (Version II) to evaluate the effectiveness of using synchronous technologies with multi-location student cohorts in the tertiary education setting

As e-learning maintains its popularity worldwide, and university enrolments continue to rise, online tertiary level coursework is increasingly being designed for groups of distributed learners, as opposed to individual students. Many institutions struggle with incorporating all facets of online learning and teaching capabilities with the range and variety of software tools available to them. This study used the EPEC Hierarchy of Conditions (ease of use, psychologically safe environment, e-learning self-efficacy, and competence) for E-Learning/E-Teaching Competence (Version II) to investigate the effectiveness of an online synchronous platform to train pre-service teachers studying in groups at multiple distance locations called satellite campuses. The study included 58 pre-service teachers: 14 who were online using individual computers and 44 joining online, sitting physically together in groups, at various locations. Students completed a survey at the conclusion of the coursework and data were analyzed using a mixed methods approach. This study\u27s findings support the EPEC model applied in this context, which holds that success with e-learning and e-teaching is dependent on four preconditions: 1) ease of use, 2) psychologically safe environment, 3) e-learning self-efficacy, and 4) competency. However, the results also suggest two other factors that impact the success of the online learning experience when working with various sized groups. The study demonstrates that the effectiveness of a multi-location group model may not be dependent only on the EPEC preconditions but also the effectiveness of the instructor support present and the appropriateness of the tool being implemented. This has led to the revised EPEC Hierarchy of Conditions for E-Learning/E-Teaching Competence (Version III)

Pre-service perspectives on e-teaching: Assessing e-teaching using the EPEC hierarchy of conditions for e-learning/teaching competence

This article examines pre-service teacher perspectives of teaching with an online synchronous (live-time) platform as a part of their training. Fifty-three students who participated in a blended learning (including both face-to-face and online lectures) course were assessed in a teaching simulation through an online presentation, and participated in questionnaires and interviews about their experiences as e-learners using the platform. The EPEC hierarchy of conditions (Ease of use, Psychologically safe environment, e-learning/e-teaching Efficacy, and e-learning Competence) for e-learning competency, developed based on an analysis of pre-service teachers\u27 experience as e-learners in this same study, was used as a framework to assess teacher perspectives as e-teachers using this technology. Qualitative interview data were collected about students\u27 experiences using the platform, and analyzed via thematic content analysis. The findings showed that students generally favoured the online e-teaching synchronous platform over in-person presentations, and the quality of online presentations was considered at least as good as in person

The learning experience: Training teachers using online synchronous environments

This study examined the effectiveness of an online synchronous platform used for training preservice teachers. A blended learning approach was implemented. Fifty-three students participated in the course. Qualitative interview data and quantitative survey data were collected about students\u27 experiences using the platform, and analyzed via thematic content analysis and statistical analysis, respectively. The findings show that e-learning synchronous technology is an effective learning tool in enhancing preservice teachers\u27 e-learning competency in subject matter and information communication technology skills. However, preservice teachers\u27 competency to learn and implement e-learning for students is dependent on four hierarchal conditions (a) ease of use, (b) psychologically safe environment, (c) e-learning self-efficacy, and, (d) competency. Implications from the findings and future research recommendations are also presented

Investigating the relationship between multi-scale perfusion and white matter microstructural integrity in patients with relapsing-remitting MS

Background: Multiple sclerosis is characterized by the formation of central nervous system demyelinating lesions with microvasculature inflammation. Objective: Evaluate how lesion cerebral perfusion relates to white matter microstructural integrity in patients with RRMS using perfusion MRI and myelin-related T1-weighted to T2-weighted (T1w/T2w) ratios. Methods: Forty-eight patients with RRMS were imaged with dynamic susceptibility contrast imaging using SAGE (spin- and gradient-echo) to calculate global and capillary-sized perfusion parameters, including cerebral blood flow (CBF), volume (CBV), and mean transit time (MTT). T1w/T2w ratios were used to indirectly assess white matter microstructural integrity. Results: For global perfusion metrics, CBF was reduced 28.4% in lesion regions of interest (ROIs) compared to normal appearing white matter (NAWM), CBV was reduced 25.9% in lesion ROIs compared to NAWM, and MTT increased 12.9%. For capillary perfusion metrics (via spin-echo (SE)), CBF-SE was reduced 35.7% in lesion ROIs compared to NAWM, CBV-SE was reduced 35.2% in lesion ROIs compared to NAWM, and MTT-SE increased 9.1%. Capillary-level CBF was correlated (ρ = 0.34, p = 0.024) with white matter microstructural integrity in lesion ROIs. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that lesion perfusion is reduced at both the global and capillary level and capillary-associated hypoperfusion is associated with reduced white matter microstructural integrity in RRMS

Rapid parameter estimation for selective inversion recovery myelin imaging using an open-source Julia toolkit

BACKGROUND: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is used extensively to quantify myelin content, however computational bottlenecks remain challenging for advanced imaging techniques in clinical settings. We present a fast, open-source toolkit for processing quantitative magnetization transfer derived from selective inversion recovery (SIR) acquisitions that allows parameter map estimation, including the myelin-sensitive macromolecular pool size ratio (). Significant progress has been made in reducing SIR acquisition times to improve clinically feasibility. However, parameter map estimation from the resulting data remains computationally expensive. To overcome this computational limitation, we developed a computationally efficient, open-source toolkit implemented in the Julia language. METHODS: To test the accuracy of this toolkit, we simulated SIR images with varying and spin-lattice relaxation time of the free water pool ( ) over a physiologically meaningful scale from 5% to 20% and 0.5 to 1.5 s, respectively. Rician noise was then added, and the parameter maps were estimated using our Julia toolkit. Probability density histogram plots and Lin\u27s concordance correlation coefficients (LCCC) were used to assess accuracy and precision of the fits to our known simulation data. To further mimic biological tissue, we generated five cross-linked bovine serum albumin (BSA) phantoms with concentrations that ranged from 1.25% to 20%. The phantoms were imaged at 3T using SIR, and data were fit to estimate and . Similarly, a healthy volunteer was imaged at 3T, and SIR parameter maps were estimated to demonstrate the reduced computational time for a real-world clinical example. RESULTS: Estimated SIR parameter maps from our Julia toolkit agreed with simulated values (LCCC \u3e 0.98). This toolkit was further validated using BSA phantoms and a whole brain scan at 3T. In both cases, SIR parameter estimates were consistent with published values using MATLAB. However, compared to earlier work using MATLAB, our Julia toolkit provided an approximate 20-fold reduction in computational time. CONCLUSIONS: Presented here, we developed a fast, open-source, toolkit for rapid and accurate SIR MRI using Julia. The reduction in computational cost should allow SIR parameters to be accessible in clinical settings

Rapid simultaneous estimation of relaxation rates using multi-echo, multi-contrast MRI.

PURPOSE: Multi-echo, multi-contrast methods are increasingly used in dynamic imaging studies to simultaneously quantify R METHODS: Spin- and gradient-echo (SAGE) data were simulated across T RESULTS: Across all fitting methods, T CONCLUSIONS: LLSQ reliably fit for

Sex Differences in Alzheimer\u27s Disease Revealed by Free-Water Diffusion Tensor Imaging and Voxel-Based Morphometry

Background: Imaging biomarkers are increasingly used in Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD), and the identification of sex differences using neuroimaging may provide insight into disease heterogeneity, progression, and therapeutic targets. Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in grey matter (GM) volume and white matter (WM) microstructural disorganization between males and females with AD using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and free-water-corrected diffusion tensor imaging (FW-DTI). Methods: Data were downloaded from the OASIS-3 database, including 158 healthy control (HC; 86 females) and 46 mild AD subjects (24 females). VBM and FW-DTI metrics (fractional anisotropy (FA), axial and radial diffusivities (AxD and RD, respectively), and FW index) were compared using effect size for the main effects of group, sex, and their interaction. Results: Significant group and sex differences were observed, with no significant interaction. Post-hoc comparisons showed that AD is associated with reduced GM volume, reduced FW-FA, and higher FW-RD/FW-index, consistent with neurodegeneration. Females in both groups exhibited higher GM volume than males, while FW-DTI metrics showed sex differences only in the AD group. Lower FW, lower FW-FA and higher FW-RD were observed in females relative to males in the AD group. Conclusion: The combination of VBM and DTI may reveal complementary sex-specific changes in GM and WM associated with AD and aging. Sex differences in GM volume were observed for both groups, while FW-DTI metrics only showed significant sex differences in the AD group, suggesting that WM tract disorganization may play a differential role in AD pathophysiology between females and males

The ISMRM Open Science Initiative for Perfusion Imaging (OSIPI): Results from the OSIPI-Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced challenge

PURPOSE: has often been proposed as a quantitative imaging biomarker for diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment response assessment for various tumors. None of the many software tools for quantification are standardized. The ISMRM Open Science Initiative for Perfusion Imaging-Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced (OSIPI-DCE) challenge was designed to benchmark methods to better help the efforts to standardize measurement. METHODS: A framework was created to evaluate values produced by DCE-MRI analysis pipelines to enable benchmarking. The perfusion MRI community was invited to apply their pipelines for quantification in glioblastoma from clinical and synthetic patients. Submissions were required to include the entrants\u27 values, the applied software, and a standard operating procedure. These were evaluated using the proposed score defined with accuracy, repeatability, and reproducibility components. RESULTS: Across the 10 received submissions, the score ranged from 28% to 78% with a 59% median. The accuracy, repeatability, and reproducibility scores ranged from 0.54 to 0.92, 0.64 to 0.86, and 0.65 to 1.00, respectively (0-1 = lowest-highest). Manual arterial input function selection markedly affected the reproducibility and showed greater variability in analysis than automated methods. Furthermore, provision of a detailed standard operating procedure was critical for higher reproducibility. CONCLUSIONS: This study reports results from the OSIPI-DCE challenge and highlights the high inter-software variability within estimation, providing a framework for ongoing benchmarking against the scores presented. Through this challenge, the participating teams were ranked based on the performance of their software tools in the particular setting of this challenge. In a real-world clinical setting, many of these tools may perform differently with different benchmarking methodology