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The article offers information about the documents, papers and reports related to law. The report titled "Criminal Jury Trials: Challenges for Cause Procedures," discusses the final policy positions of the criminal rules in Canada. The paper "Keeping the Right People on the DNA Database," published in Great Britain, reports the benefits of DNA and fingerprints in bringing out justice against the criminals. A consultation paper from Australia, "Model Spent Convictions Bill," is also presented.

This paper considers how three jurisdictions, Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, have sought to reconcile freedom of religion with equality rights, particularly in the commercial context, and particularly in relation to sexual orientation. The recent decisions of the United Kingdom Supreme Court and United States Supreme Court form the backdrop for that discussion. It is argued that the former made piecemeal, and misleading, use of American case law, and a fuller consideration of that jurisdiction's position was warranted, and would have led to a different view of the recent American decision. It argues that the United Kingdom Supreme Court was in error in viewing a message on a cake ordered from a baker as an example of the baker's expression, leading it to an incorrect conclusion at odds with statutory mandates in the commercial sphere around refusals of service. Both high court decisions risk undermining progress on the equality front. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The prescribing of opioids has increased internationally in developed countries in recent decades within primary and secondary care. The majority of patients with chronic non-malignant pain (CNMP) are managed by their general practitioner (GP). Recent qualitative studies have examined the issue of opioid prescribing for CNMP from a GP viewpoint. The aim of this study is to identify and synthesise the qualitative literature describing the factors influencing the nature and extent of opioid prescribing by GPs for patients with CNMP in primary care. Methods: MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, Cochrane Database, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects, CINAHL and Web of Science were systematically searched from January 1986 to February 2018. The full text of included articles was reviewed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) tool for qualitative research. The papers were coded by two researchers and themes organised using Thematic Network Analysis. Themes were constructed in a hierarchical manner, basic themes informed organising themes which informed global themes. A theoretical model was derived using global themes to explain the interplay between factors influencing opioid prescribing decisions. Results: From 7020 records, 21 full text papers were assessed, and 13 studies included in the synthesis; 9 were from the United States, 3 from the United Kingdom and 1 from Canada. Four global themes emerged: suspicion, risk, agreement and encompassing systems level factors. These global themes are inter-related and capture the complex decision-making processes underlying opioid prescribing whereby the physician both consciously and unconsciously quantifies the risk–benefit relationship associated with initiating or continuing an opioid prescription. Conclusion: Recognising the inherent complexity of opioid prescribing and the limitations of healthcare systems is crucial to developing opioid stewardship strategies to combat the rise in opioid prescription morbidity and mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a research paper that examines effects of intervention of supermarkets on fruit and vegetable consumption in areas of limited retail access with reference to the findings of Intervention Study for Seacroft, Great Britain. The topics discussed include analysis of the findings of quantile regression, factors for low intake of food that include attitude towards healthy eating, relative cost of fruit and vegetables, and deprivation, and accessibility of food.

Objective: Clarifying the distinctions between art-based creative activities in the domains of occupational therapy and art therapy in the context of stroke rehabilitation, while also describing the effects of art-based creative activities on stroke rehabilitation. Design: Scoping review. Data source: A systematic search was performed in nine databases (Web of Science, PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, CINAHL and four Chinese database) from their inception to December 2023. Review methods: The study included randomized and non-randomized controlled trials involving art-based creative activities, as well as qualitative research providing detailed intervention measures. The study focused on stroke patients, with primary outcomes related to patients' physiological recovery, psychological well-being, ADL, etc. Data extraction included information on intervention strategies and study results. Results: Seventeen studies were included, extracting six similarities and differences in creative activity between two domains. Creative activities were observed to have positive impacts on daily living activities, limb motor function, fine motor ability, and emotional well-being in stroke patients. Conclusion: Creative activities, whether in occupational therapy or art therapy, involve providing participants with tangible crafting materials for the creation of artistic works. Future stroke rehabilitation practices should tailor activities and intervention focus based on patients' rehabilitation needs, preferences, and cultural background. The current comprehensive analysis provides initial support for the potential positive role of creative activities in stroke rehabilitation, but further in-depth research is needed to confirm their effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Speech and language therapists can improve the quality of life of people receiving palliative care through the management of communication and swallowing difficulties (dysphagia). However, their role in this domain is poorly defined and little is understood about the current international professional practice in this field. Aims: To examine how speech and language therapists perceive their role in the delivery of palliative care to clients, to discover current international speech and language therapist practices and to explore the similarities and differences in speech and language therapists’ practice in palliative care internationally. This will inform professional clinical guidelines and practice in this area.Design:Anonymous, non-experimental, cross-sectional survey design.Participants:Speech and language therapists working with adult and paediatric palliative care populations in Republic of Ireland, United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand where the speech and language therapist profession is well established. Method: Purposive and snowball sampling were used to recruit participants internationally using gatekeepers. An online survey was disseminated using Survey Monkey (http://www.surveymonkey.com). Results: A total of 322 speech and language therapists responded to the survey. Speech and language therapist practices in palliative care were similar across continents. Current speech and language therapist practices along with barriers and facilitators to practice were identified. The need for a speech and language therapist professional position paper on this topic was emphasised by respondents. Conclusion: Internationally, speech and language therapists believe they have a role in palliative care. The speech and language therapist respondents highlighted that this area of practice is under-resourced, under-acknowledged and poorly developed. They highlighted the need for additional research as well as specialist training and education for speech and language therapists and other multidisciplinary team members in the area of palliative care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The financial sustainability of publicly funded health care systems is a challenge to policymakers in many countries as health care absorbs an ever increasing share of both national wealth and government spending. New technology, aging populations and increasing public expectations of the health care system are often cited as reasons why health care systems need ever increasing funding as well as reasons why universal and comprehensive public systems are unsustainable. However, increases in health care spending are not usually linked to corresponding increases in need for care within populations. Attempts to promote financial sustainability of systems such as limiting the range of services is covered or the groups of population covered may compromise their political sustainability as some groups are left to seek private cover for some or all services. In this paper, an alternative view of financial sustainability is presented which identifies the failure of planning and management of health care to reflect needs for care in populations and to integrate planning and management functions for health care expenditure, health care services and the health care workforce. We present a Health Care Sustainability Framework based on disaggregating the health care expenditure into separate planning components. Unlike other approaches to planning health care expenditure, this framework explicitly incorporates population health needs as a determinant of health care requirements, and provides a diagnostic tool for understanding the sources of expenditure increase. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The vast majority of research and efforts towards greater care coordination have taken place at the level of single, sovereign organizations, or at the level of networks formed to address the need for cross-organizational collaboration. The recently emerging ecosystem level of analysis and intervention is still under-researched, with few if any available innovation practices that match the complexity experienced at the level of care ecosystems. Beginning with the challenge of care coordination, we discuss what care ecosystems are and how they can be defined and describe the possibilities and opportunities that come when viewing care coordination through an ecosystem lens. We underpin our plea for an ecosystem approach to health and social care coordination with seven lessons, which we draw from an extensive study of 15 care ecosystem cases from seven different countries. We end the paper with an appeal for further research in this promising field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rule that ignorance or mistake of law is no excuse is one of the pillars of the criminal law. However, it can prove problematic in some cases including those where an individual commits an offence in reliance on incorrect official advice. This paper argues that the orthodox judicial approach to such claims fails to address the concern that the defendant is held responsible for what is essentially the state's own mistake. Rather than advocating a full defence of officially induced error of law, a more appropriate solution is for the court to exercise its inherent jurisdiction to prevent an abuse of process by staying the proceedings. This ‘procedural’ approach, which identifies the state's role in the commission of the offence, has recently been adopted by the Supreme Court of Canada, and has the potential to be applied in other common law jurisdictions including Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large scale, open immigration of unaccompanied dependent children to Canada did not commence until 1869, but it had been advocated for decades and some such immigration to the British North American colonies took place earlier in the century. The first systematic emigration of destitute British children was organized in the 1830s by the Children's Friend Society, which sent about 141 children to the Canadas from 1833 to 1836, at least 70 of whom went to Upper Canada. While the emigration scheme was short lived, it established that such children would be welcomed and that homes and work would be available for them, and it probably helped pave the way for a new wave of older juvenile immigrants in the 1850s, and for the high profile, large scale immigration of young dependent children that began in 1869 and continued for more than half a century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the process of elite sport policy change in two sports (swimming and track and field athletics) and their respective national sport organizations (NSOs) in Canada and national governing bodies of sport (NGBs) in the United Kingdom (UK). The nature of policy change is a complex and multifaceted process and a primary aim is to identify and analyse key sources of policy change through insights provided by the advocacy coalition framework (ACF). In Canada, it is evident that the preoccupation with high performance sport over the past 30 years, at federal government level, has perceptibly altered over the past two to three years. In contrast, in the UK, from the mid-1990s onwards, there has been a noticeable shift towards supporting elite sport objectives from both Conservative and Labour administrations. Most notably, the ACF throws into sharp relief the part played by the state in using its resource control to shape the context within which debates on beliefs and values within NSOs/NGBs takes place. While the ACF has proved useful in drawing attention to the notion of changing values and belief systems as a key source of policy change, as well as highlighting the need to take into account factors external to the policy subsystem under investigation, potential additions to the framework's logic are suggested for future applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A remarkable study was carried out during the Second World War on the feasibility of building large ships from ice. It received support at the highest political level because of the need for floating platforms to support aircraft operations. Extensive investigations were carried out on the mechanical properties of plain and reinforced ice and on the structural and operational characteristics of the proposed vessels. Investigations on methods for reinforcing ice led to the development of 'pykrete', a frozen mixture of water and wood pulp that was appreciably stronger and tougher than plain ice. The studies on the structural and operational characteristics of the vessels showed that the work required to design, construct and demonstrate the effectiveness and safety of the ships would be far greater than originally thought. This paper gives an abbreviated description of the work that was done, based on project files in Great Britain and Canada, which led to the conclusion that it was technically possible to build ships from ice, but that during wartime it would be too costly in terms of manpower and strategic materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hemophilia is a bleeding disorder caused by a single absent/defective gene and characterized by a lack of functional clotting factors. People with hemophilia may experience joint damage, pain, and psychological impairments, all of which could contribute to reduced health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The current standard of care is clotting factor replacement, which is associated with regular infusions; therefore, alternative treatments such as gene therapy (GT) are in development. GT involves the delivery of a functional copy of the clotting factor 8/9 gene by a single infusion into the patient's cells, enabling them to produce their own clotting factor VIII/IX. The impact of treatment on patients' HRQoL can be assessed using hemophilia-specific patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures. Since these measures were designed before the advent of GT, there is a need for updated individualized PRO measures. Patient groups and regulatory authorities emphasize the need for increased patient engagement when considering clinical trial design. Here, we provide patients' perspective on undergoing GT and discuss how to capture the patient voice when measuring the therapy's transformative impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relationships between siblings have been described as the longest lasting an individual can have, yet siblings both can and do become estranged from one another in adulthood. An online survey was disseminated to individuals who had sought support from the charity Stand Alone, which supports individuals who are experiencing family estrangement. Individuals estranged from one full genetic sister and/or brother were asked to describe the relationship in their own words. Open-text responses were thematically analysed from 291 respondents. Family systems were described as being characterised by estrangements, alliances and conflicts; there was variation in the participant's preferences regarding reconciliation; and most respondents focused on describing their sibling's challenging or disappointing characteristics and behaviour. The fact that siblings both can and do become estranged challenges commonly held assumptions about family relationships, confirming that they are not necessarily or always life-long, significant or supportive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A content analysis of values in dominant culture magazines in the United States, Canada and Great Britain during 1957-59, 1967-69 and 1970-72 indicated a priority on instrumentalism and little shifting in overall value preference over time. This appears to be contrary to predictions made by counterculture observers that Western society was changing rapidly toward a countercultural ideology. A similar analysis of the underground press in the same countries during 1967-69 and 1970-72 revealed a marked shift from expressive priorities during the earlier period to political priorities during the later period. These findings and their implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People affected by rarer forms of dementia often have a long and difficult experience obtaining a diagnosis and appropriate support, impacting family, employment and social relationships, quality of life and wellbeing. For this population progressive cognitive symptoms affect skills other than memory and disproportionately occur under the age of 65 years, often resulting in misdiagnosis and lack of appropriate care pathways. The objective of this study will be to better understand the subjective experience of the time period from first noticing symptoms to obtaining a formal diagnosis, through to accessing support, and onward to the present time. Through the concurrent use of line drawings and video-recorded interviews we will collect the stories of people living with different rarer dementias and/or family members who are care partners in Canada and the United Kingdom. Narrative and visual analysis will be used in parallel to methodologically explore how line drawing and verbal discourse interact and inform each other to construct knowledge, and how the use of drawing lines might enrich research interviews and increase accessibility of research participation. This novel research approach may also have implications for clinical interviewing, support services, and public engagement. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to retrospectively explore over time the experiences of people affected by rarer forms of dementia from initial symptoms—to diagnosis—to accessing support—to the present, using visual and verbal methodologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: People who use drugs with life-limiting illnesses experience substantial barriers to accessing palliative care. Demand for palliative care is expected to increase during communicable disease epidemics and pandemics. Understanding how epidemics and pandemics affect palliative care for people who use drugs is important from a service delivery perspective and for reducing population health inequities. Aim: To explore what is known about communicable disease epidemics and pandemics, palliative care, and people who use drugs. Design: Scoping review. Data sources: We searched six bibliographic databases from inception to April 2021 as well as the grey literature. We included English and French records about palliative care access, programs, and policies and guidelines for people ⩾18 years old who use drugs during communicable disease epidemics and pandemics. Results: Forty-four articles were included in our analysis. We identified limited knowledge about palliative care for people who use drugs during epidemics and pandemics other than HIV/AIDS. Through our thematic synthesis of the records, we generated the following themes: enablers and barriers to access, organizational barriers, structural inequity, access to opioids and other psychoactive substances, and stigma. Conclusions: Our findings underscore the need for further research about how best to provide palliative care for people who use drugs during epidemics and pandemics. We suggest four ways that health systems can be better prepared to help alleviate the structural barriers that limit access as well as support the provision of high-quality palliative care during future epidemics and pandemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brivudin, ((E)-5-(2-bromovinyl)-2'-deoxyuridine (BVDU) can be considered the gold standard for the treatment of varicella-zoster virus (VZV) infections, such as herpes zoster (shingles). It is available for clinical use in most European countries (except for the UK) and over the whole world (except for the US and Canada). Besides VZV its activity spectrum also includes various other herpesviruses, such as herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1). Its activity against VZV and HSV-1 depends on phosphorylation by the virus-encoded thymidine kinase (TK). In its active form (BVDU TP or BVDU 5'-triphosphate), it can act as both substrate and inhibitor of the viral (i.e., HSV-1) DNA polymerase. It has proven to be effective against herpes zoster, including post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN). It is contra-indicated in patients concomitantly treated by 5-fluorouracil (FU), since its degradation product, (E)-5-(2-bromovinyl)uracil, is inhibitory to the catabolism of FU, which may enhance the toxicity of the latter. A new compound, the bicyclic nucleoside analogue (BCNA) Cf-1743, has been described, which is a more potent inhibitor of VZV replication than BVDU and which does not interfere with the catabolism of FU. It is applicable orally, as its 5'-valine ester FV-100 (Fermavir), but has not (yet) been marketed for clinical use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social participation in out-of-home activities is important for people living with dementia, yet little is known about such participation. The aim of this study was to explore and compare out-of-home participation among people living with dementia in four countries by assessing different types of places of participation visited or no longer visited. A cross-sectional design was used to gather self-reported experiences concerning out-of-home participation among people with mild stage dementia living in Canada (n = 29), Sweden (n = 35), Switzerland (n = 35) and the UK (n = 64). Interviews were conducted using the Participation in ACTivities and places OUTside the Home for older adults (ACT-OUT) instrument. Participants still visited 16 (Median) places out of a possible total of 24, and they had abandoned 5 (Median) places. Neighbourhood was the place most participants still visited, whereas 50% of them had stopped going to a Sports facility, with no significant differences between country samples regarding how many participants had abandoned that place (Fisher's exact test, p > 0.01). There were significant differences between country samples in the frequency of present participation and abandonment of the Hospital, Dentist's office, Cemetery, Garden, and Forest (Fisher's exact test, all p < 0.01). Although the participants still visited a variety of places, they had stopped going to places previously visited, which indicates reductions in participation, posing an inherent risk to well-being. The similarities and differences across samples from the four countries suggest that healthcare services and access to public transport may contribute to the complex interactional process of out-of-home participation for people living with dementia. The findings highlight the need for initiatives targeting specific types of places to support continued participation in society, especially places at a higher risk of abandonment such as places for recreation and physical activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Family caregivers provide the majority of palliative care. The impact of family caregiving on employment and finances has received little research attention in the field of palliative care. Aim: The aim of this study was to explore perspectives and experiences of combining paid employment with palliative care family caregiving, and to assess the availability and suitability of employment support across three countries – the United Kingdom (UK), Aotearoa New Zealand and Canada. Design: A qualitative descriptive study design was used. Semi-structured interviews were held with 30 key informants with professional or personal experience in palliative care from the UK (n = 15), Aotearoa New Zealand (n = 6) and Canada (n = 9). Interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed using the principles of thematic analysis. Results: Four main themes were identified: (1) significant changes to working practices are required to enable end of life family carers to remain in work; (2) the negative consequences of combining caregiving and employment are significant, for both patient and carer; (3) employer support for working end of life caregivers is crucial but variable and; (4) national, federal and government benefits for working end of life family carers are necessary. Conclusion: Supporting carers to retain employment whilst providing care has potential benefits for the patient at end of life, the caregiver, and the wider economy and labour market. Employers, policymakers and governments have a role to play in developing and implementing policies to support working carers to remain in employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The racial demographic shift occurring in many Western countries provides a unique context to study the reactions of a high-power group (White people) to the potential loss of their privileged position in society. Three experiments (N = 77, N = 302, N = 555) conducted in Canada, the US, and the UK showed that White people who are reminded about the ongoing demographic changes and who see race relations as a zero-sum game whereby any gains by minorities must come at the expense of the majority, experience stronger collective angst and, to a lesser extent, fear (but not anger). In turn, collective angst, but not the other negative group-based emotions, fuels their motivation to protect the existing intergroup hierarchy by withdrawing support for progressive social movements and increases anti-immigration sentiments. Downregulating the existential threat experienced by White majorities in the face of a racial demographic shift may be one way to reduce acrimonious behavioral intentions aimed at preserving their place in the social hierarchy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Context: On January 29, 2008 the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) approved a city-wide Africentric elementary school under their Alternative School policy, sparking a contentious debate. Calls for Black-focused schools also arose in 2008 in London in response to the disengagement of African Caribbean youth. The historical record indicates, however, that community campaigns for Black educational programs stretch back over 40 years in both cities. Focus of the Study: This paper analyzes the development of Black-focused education in Toronto and London from 1968 to 2008 through the responses of Black parents and community activists to the historic underachievement of African Caribbean students (particularly males) in the public schools of both cities. Black-focused education is situated within the larger social, political, and national contexts and the critical incidents that fueled the development of race equality policy. The article explores how the "politics of place" influenced the trajectory of Black-focused education in each city. Research Methodology: Two parallel historical case studies were conducted using primary source material from community-based archives, secondary sources on the history of African Caribbean immigration and the development of Black community organizations, and oral history interviews with 10 Black education activists in Toronto and 7 activists in London. Conclusions: This comparative study conceptualizes this transnational phenomena as "resistance to racism" and examines how Black-focused curriculum and ideology was adapted to local conditions in Canada and Britain. Parents and community activists aimed to develop the citizenship rights of African Caribbean students, establish a diasporic sensibility, and promote the right of children of African descent to a quality education wherever they may reside. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on several legal notices from countries including Canada and Great Britain. It informs that lawyer Anthony Campbell has been appointed for public inquiry related to court case HM Advocate v McKie in 1999 for fingerprints identification and verification in Scotland. It highlights the publication of update related to the report entitled "Prevention of Miscarriages of Justice" in Canada to protection against future miscarriages in law and justice.

In 1938 Sir Gerald Campbell arrived in Ottawa to take up the position as the United Kingdom’s high commissioner. Not much has been written about the man or his period in office (1938—41). Indeed, the sketchy and simplistic assessments of Campbell, which historians on both sides of the Atlantic have relied on for more than four decades, are seriously flawed and out of date. Using the fraught negotiations of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan as a backcloth, and in the light of the rich archival material now available, the article seeks to redress and revise the hitherto poor assessment of Campbell’s performance as Britain’s third high commissioner in Canada. Far from being a weak or second-rate official who was constantly being manipulated by the wily and politically savvy dominion premier W.L. Mackenzie King, Campbell proved more than equal to the challenge. However, this analysis is not simply an examination of the personal and professional relationships between Campbell and Mackenzie King. An examination of Campbell’s career in Canada provides an important insight into the ever-changing relationship between Britain and its increasingly restless dominion partners, which overlapped with a critical period of the Second World War when Britain and its empire stood virtually alone against the Axis powers. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article reports on events and changes related to the judicial system of several countries including Australia, Canada and Great Britain. It states that Victoria and New South Wales released publications that recommend changes to the complex trial system of Australia on criminal cases. It adds that the Law Society published reports regarding evidence presentation in England and the European Union (EU). Moreover, it offers information on the Coroners and Justice Act of 2009 of Great Britain.

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At the outset of the Thatcher/Reagan era, the employment and labor law systems across six Anglo- American countries could be divided into three pairings: the Wagner Act model of the United States and Canada; the Voluntarist system of collective bargaining and strong unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland; and the highly centralized, legalistic Award systems of Australia and New Zealand. The authors argue that there has been growing convergence in two major areas: First, of labor law toward a private ordering of employment relations in which terms and conditions of work and employment are primarily determined at the level of the enterprise; and second, of individual employment rights, toward a basket of minimum standards that can then be improved upon by the parties. The greatest similarity is found in Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia. Ireland retains a greater degree of public ordering, while the United States diverges in favoring the interests of employers over those of employees and organized labor. The authors explore reasons for the convergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The clinical symptoms of dementia include difficulty with speech, poor short-term memory, and changes in behavior. These symptoms can affect how the person with dementia understands and performs in social interactions. This qualitative review investigated how people with mild to moderate dementia managed social connections. A systematic search of social science databases retrieved 13 articles; data were synthesized using thematic analysis. Results established the work undertaken by people with dementia to maintain and present a social persona seen as socially acceptable. Interpretations are contextualized within Goffman and Sabat's theories on "self." People with dementia were agentic in impression management: undertaking work to maintain recognized social roles, while being aware of when their illness led to others discrediting them. Wider recognition of strategies used to maintain a social self could inform interventions designed to increase capability and confidence in co-managing social connections following dementia diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is frequently of interest to estimate the time that individuals survive with a disease, that is, to estimate the time between disease onset and occurrence of a clinical endpoint such as death. Epidemiologic survival data are commonly collected from either an incident cohort, whose members' disease onset occurs after the study baseline date, or from a cohort with prevalent disease that is followed forward in time. Incident cohort survival data are limited by study termination, while prevalent cohort data provide biased (left-truncated) survival data. In this article, we investigate the advantages of a study design featuring simultaneous follow-up of prevalent and incident cohorts to the estimation of the survivor function. Our analyses are supported by simulations and illustrated using data on survival after myotonic dystrophy diagnosis from the United Kingdom Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD). We demonstrate that the NPMLE using combined incident and prevalent cohort data estimates the true survivor function very well, even for moderate sample sizes, and ameliorates the disadvantages of using a purely incident or prevalent cohort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Family caregivers of people at the end of life can face significant financial burden. While appropriate financial support can reduce the burden for family caregivers, little is known about the range and adequacy of financial support, welfare and benefits for family caregivers across countries with similarly developed health care systems. Aim: The aim is o identify and compare sources of financial support for family caregivers of people approaching the end of life, across six countries with similarly performing health care systems (Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States). Design: A survey of financial support, welfare and benefits for end of life family caregivers was completed by 99 palliative care experts from the six countries. Grey literature searches and academic database searches were also conducted. Comparative analyses of all data sources documented financial support within and between each country. Results: Some form of financial support for family caregivers is available in all six countries; however the type, extent and reach of support vary. Financial support is administered by multiple agencies, eligibility criteria for receiving support are numerous and complex, and there is considerable inequity in the provision of support. Conclusion: Numerous barriers exist to the receipt of financial support, welfare and benefits. We identified several areas of concern, including a lack of clarity around eligibility, inconsistent implementation, complexity in process and limited support for working carers. Nonetheless, there is significant potential for policymakers to learn from other countries' experiences, particularly with regard to the scope and operationalisation of financial support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This comparative study examines survey data from 464 call centers in the United States, 167 in the United Kingdom, and 387 in Canada to explore two questions: whether institutional differences shape employers' choices of ways to improve work force flexibility, both numerical and functional; and whether strategies for numerical flexibility and functional flexibility are related. The results suggest that institutional differences across these liberal market economies--specifically, in dismissal regulations and union strength--did affect how employers chose to achieve work force flexibility. For example, the use of part-time workers was more common in countries with more stringent rules regulating dismissals. Organizational characteristics also mattered, with outsourced firms being more likely than in-house firms to use part-time workers. Evidence also suggests that managers used numerical flexibility and functional flexibility strategies as substitutes: higher employee job discretion was associated with both lower dismissal rates and a lower likelihood of temporary use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first decade of the new millennium saw the governments of Canada and the United Kingdom enact criminal legislation intended to hold corporations accountable for negligently killing workers and/or members of the public. Drawing empirically from document analyses and semistructured interviews, as well as theoretical insights concerning the crisis-prone tendencies of capital, this article demonstrates how both laws were conceived in ways that spatio-temporally delimited the 'problem' of corporate killing and re-secured the (neoliberal) capitalist status quo. In so doing, we argue that the inability of the state to hold powerful corporations and corporate actors to account for their serious offending presents strategic opportunities for demanding improved accountability measures and changes to a system responsible for so much bloodshed and killing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theater-based interventions are a viable prevention strategy for changing sexual health knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to HIV prevention. However, few studies have explored interventions in English-speaking, high-income countries such as the United States, Canada, or the United Kingdom. This article critically reviews the literature to identify key characteristics of theater-based HIV prevention strategies used for adolescents in school-settings in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Specifically, we identify the theatrical approach used in HIV prevention interventions, the behavioral theories that inform such interventions, and the study design and results of existing evaluation studies conducted in school settings. In the 10 articles reviewed, we found limited grounding in theory and the use of nonrigorous study design. To strengthen the evidence and practical application of theater-based HIV prevention interventions, we highlight three specific recommendations for practitioners and researchers: (1) define and operationalize the theater approach and techniques used, (2) ensure theater-based interventions are grounded in theory, and (3) conduct rigorous evaluation of theater-based interventions. These recommendations are key to strengthening future research on and implementation of theater-based interventions for HIV prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Domestic/Family Violence Death Reviews (D/FVDRs) have been established in a number of high-income countries since 1990 as a mechanism to inform prevention-focused interventions to reduce domestic/family violence. D/FVDRs differ in their structure, governance, case identification processes and inclusion criteria, review measures, and outputs. Outside of the United States, the extent of heterogeneity across and within countries has not been explored. This study comprised an international comparison of D/FVDRs and their core elements to inform the establishment of D/FVDRs in other developed countries, and potentially low- and middle-income countries where violence is a leading cause of death. Such a review is also a necessary foundation for any future evaluation D/FVDRs. The review identified 71 jurisdictions where a D/FVDRs had been established in the past two decades, 25 of which met the inclusion criteria. All D/FVDRs examined stated a reduction in deaths as a goal of the review process; however, none reported an actual reduction. The focus of the D/FVDRs examined was on intimate partner homicides; however, more recently established D/FVDRs include other familial relationships. Almost one third of the D/FVDRs examined reported changes to the domestic/family system that occurred as a result of recommendations made from the review process. While similar in many ways, D/FVDRs differ along a number of important dimensions that make it difficult to identify best practices for jurisdictions considering the establishment of such an initiative. To share knowledge, existing networks should be expanded nationally and internationally to include jurisdictions that may be considering this initiative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study on the perception of nursing students/ educators on the contribution of ethics education to ethical competence of nursing students. It addresses questions including how they look at general contribution of ethics education, contribution of ethics education to ethical competence and features of ethics education needed to promote ethical competence. It suggests that ethics education adds to the ethical awareness and ethical reasoning competencies of nursing students.

The purpose of this article is to provide specific recommendations to enhance physician engagement in health care organizations. It summarizes the evidence on physician engagement, drawing on peer-reviewed articles and reports from the gray literature, and suggests an integrative framework to help health care managers better understand and improve physician engagement. While we examine some other international examples and experiences, we mainly focus on physician engagement in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Physician engagement can be conceptualized as an ongoing two-way social process in which both the individual and organizational/cultural components are considered. Building on several frameworks and examples, we propose a new integrative framework for enhancing physician engagement in health care organizations. We suggest that in order to enhance physician engagement, organizations should focus on the following strategies: developing clear and efficient communication channels with physicians; building trust, understanding, and respect with physicians; and identifying and developing physician leaders. We propose that the time is now for health care managers to set aside traditional differences and historical conflicts and to engage their physicians for the betterment of their organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article develops a rhetorical analysis of how older adults in Canada and the UK engage with civic-moral imperatives of healthy living. The analysis draws on Burke’s concepts of ‘symbolic hierarchies’ and the ‘rhetoric of rebirth’ to explore how participants discursively negotiate the moralizing framework of self-regulation and self-improvement central to healthy eating discourse, in particular. Working from the premise that healthy eating is a ‘principle of perfection’ that citizens are encouraged to strive to achieve, the article traces the vocabularies and logical distinctions of ‘guilt’, ‘purification’ and ‘redemption’ in participants’ accounts of what healthy eating means to them. This analysis reveals some of the complex, situated and often strategic ways in which they rearticulate and reconfigure the normative imperatives of healthy eating in ways suited to their lived experience and their priorities for health and well-being in older age. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article examines how the telephone-hacking scandal involving Rupert Murdoch's media group in Great Britain reflects some of the strengths and weaknesses of the Canadian media industry. It is noted that the controversy reminds of the influence of Murdoch's media on journalism. Also mentioned how the scandal indicates the continued political relevance of the so--called legacy media in the digital era.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a global public health concern with significant physical, emotional, and economic costs. Persuading IPV perpetrators to change their behavior could play an important role in ending violence. This article reviews and analyzes 16 campaigns targeting IPV perpetrators, created in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Two well-known models, the Transtheoretical (Stages of Change) model and Protection Motivation theory (PMT), are combined to create the analytical framework. For each stage of change, the most salient PMT variables are outlined, the people found in that stage are described, and the most effective strategies for persuasion are posited. Together, these two models would suggest that future campaigns targeting IPV perpetrators should place a stronger emphasis on the benefits of changing and place a greater focus on increasing perpetrators’ confidence that they can abstain from violence. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Low employment rates of chronically ill and disabled people are of serious concern. Being out of work increases the risk of poverty and social exclusion, which may further damage the health of these groups, exacerbating health inequalities. Macro-level policies have a potentially tremendous impact on their employment chances, and these influences urgently need to be understood as the current economic crisis intensifies. In Part I of this two-part study, the authors examine employment trends for people who report a chronic illness or disability, by gender and educational level, in Canada, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom in the context of economic booms and busts and deindustrialization. People with the double burden of chronic illness and low education have become increasingly marginalized from the labor market. Deindustrialization may have played a part in this process. In addition, periods of high unemployment have sparked a downward trend in employment for already marginalized groups who did not feel the benefits when the economy improved. Norway and Sweden have been better able to protect the employment of these groups than the United Kingdom and Canada. These contextual differences suggest that other macro-level factors, such as active and passive labor market polices, may be important, as examined in Part II. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between foster children and carers' own offspring has been investigated in many studies within foster care. However, while general patterns and outcomes have been established, the explanations underlying this relationship are more likely to be found in the common themes of smaller studies based on psychological theories published in academic and professional journals. This review by Hayley Thompson and Susan McPherson examines 14 published articles describing 12 different research studies, all exploring the experience of living with foster siblings, as described by the birth children of foster carers. These 12 studies include primarily qualitative evidence, although four also use forced choice and open response questionnaires. Taken together, the studies reviewed reflect the experiences of 1,102 children, aged between three and 32 years. They discuss the positive gains of fostering, the experience of loss, the conflict experienced, the transitions made and ways in which children manage the foster sibling relationship. These findings are discussed in relation to psychological theories, and proposals for future research and clinical practice are outlined. Conclusions are also drawn about the contribution of small-scale studies published in journals in disseminating research findings about fostered children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coverage with evidence development (CED) has been developed as a response to the uncertainty in evidence when new technologies, including pharmaceuticals, are introduced into the market. Rather than deny coverage for these technologies or grant them unlimited coverage, CED attempts to ensure that patients' access to new medications is not prevented but is managed in a coordinated way, while also generating additional evidence to reduce any uncertainty about the value of the medications. CED projects are currently operating in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. However, decision-making about these projects is haphazard, and basic information about the projects is not publicly available. As a new policy development there are many unanswered policy questions, and no organized comprehensive strategy seems to be in place in any country for resolving these questions. Until these policy issues have been addressed, CED will have difficulty achieving its potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Occupation-focused models are one method of integrating occupation into occupational therapy education programmes. They offer a theoretical basis for practice by providing explanations about the process and practice of the profession. Method: This exploratory study used a quantitative research framework to investigate which occupation-focused models are included in occupational therapy programmes, the rationale for their inclusion and how the models are integrated into curricula. A survey was sent to 193 occupational therapy programmes in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. Results: The response rate was 33.8% (n = 65). The data showed that each programme included between 3 and 10 occupation-focused models. The Canadian Model of Occupational Performance and Engagement and the Model of Human Occupation were included in 98.5% of all curricula surveyed. Conclusion: The educators used a multilayered decision-making process to determine which occupation-focused models to include in a curriculum. The instructional methods varied, but most programmes used practice placement education as a teaching strategy. Further research is required into how curriculum design influences a practitioner's future use of occupation-focused models in practice. A better understanding is needed of how professional practice education affects students' values and attitudes towards the use of occupation-focused models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circles of Support & Accountability (COSA) started 15 years ago in Ontario, Canada, as an alternate means of social support to high-risk sexual offenders released at the end of their sentences without any community supervision. The pilot project in South-Central Ontario has since assisted almost 200 offenders. Projects based on this model are now in place in the United Kingdom, several jurisdictions in the United States, and throughout Canada. Initial research into the efficacy of the COSA pilot project showed that participation reduced sexual recidivism by 70% or more in comparison with both matched controls and actuarial norms. The current study sought to replicate these findings using an independent Canadian national sample. A total of 44 high-risk sexual offenders, released at sentence completion and involved in COSA across Canada, were matched to a group of 44 similar offenders not involved in COSA. The average follow-up time was 35 months. Recidivism was defined as having a charge or conviction for a new offense. Results show that offenders in COSA had an 83% reduction in sexual recidivism, a 73% reduction in all types of violent recidivism, and an overall reduction of 71% in all types of recidivism in comparison to the matched offenders. These findings suggest that participation in COSA is not site-specific and provide further evidence for the position that trained and guided community volunteers can and do assist in markedly improving offenders' chances for successful reintegration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author reflects on the content of Canadian mass-market magazines "Chatelaine," and "Canadian Home Journal," and offers an analysis of the short story "Lady Going West." The author comments of the relation of these literature with the Second World War. The author opines on the role of the literature in constructing femininity during the war and in presenting Canada as national entity within an international community. The author emphasizes Canada's relationship with Great Britain.

This historical research describes the life and work of Thomas Bessell Kidner (1866-1932). The purpose of the article is threefold: to describe Kidner's British heritage, to suggest how Kidner's background may have influenced his contributions to the early development of the profession, and to examine how Kidner's contributions have influenced practice. Using methods appropriate to interpretive biography, primary and secondary source materials have been gathered and analysed relating to Kidner's education and early work experiences in England; his work in Canada, teaching manual training and as Vocational Secretary during the First World War; and his time in the United States, with particular reference to his role with the American Occupational Therapy Association. The analysis suggests that Kidner brought the ideology of educational reform, as manifested in manual training, into occupational therapy and that this work provided a foundation for his approach to the treatment of injured soldiers. Kidner's efforts to help the profession to survive and expand after the war, with the consequent alignment with medicine, are also highlighted. His contact with the profession and with key individuals, such as Elizabeth Casson, in the United Kingdom is also explored. Finally, Kidner's contributions are considered in the light of how the profession might have developed had circumstances been different. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a long-standing argument that in Westminster-style systems parliaments are in decline. The frequency with which the head of government intervenes in parliament is one indicator of this supposed decline. Studies conducted in Britain and Canada show that the frequency of prime ministerial interventions has declined over time, suggesting that the decline of parliament thesis holds true in this regard at least. This article examines the Irish case and shows that the situation is different. As in Britain and Canada, there has been a decline in particular forms of activity. However, the overall level has increased over time. These findings suggest that in the Irish case at least and on the basis of this one indicator the decline of parliament thesis does not hold true. Moreover, when we contextualise the findings, particularly on the basis of a qualitative analysis of the changing nature of the presentation of the Order of Business over the last 30 years, we find that the decline of parliament thesis is weakened further. Thus, this article suggests that the decline of parliament thesis is not applicable to all examples of Westminster-style parliamentary systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]