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The article offers information on a paper of the Society of Rural Physicians of Canada, focusing on the issue of the rural health service closures. It explores the main causes behind the hospital closures including quality concerns, economic matters and highlights the impact of the step. After studying different aspects of the topic, it concludes that the decision of closing rural hospitals is not backed by proper reasons.

Presents a call for papers for the 27th NATO/CCMS International Technical Meeting on Air Pollution Modelling and Its Application on October 25-29, 2004 in Canada.

The fifty-sixth annual conference of the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) was held at the Hilton Montreal Bonaventure in Montreal, Quebec on May 17 to 20, 2001. The conference theme was Making Connections. Some eight hundred public opinion researchers accepted the invitation to meet colleagues and friends and to participate in the interdisciplinary program. The special character of the annual conference clearly distinguishes it from other professional meetings. Despite steady growth in attendance over recent years, it is a relatively small conference. Its limited duration, its submission review process and its carefully variegated slate of paper session topics constrain the number of opportunities for being on the program. With the traditional meals and social events, the AAPOR conference presents a higher quality, more intimate and more interdisciplinary experience than can be found at many academic, governmental, or commercial meetings. The structure of the meeting limits, among other things, opportunities to attract new AAPOR members, the willingness of exhibitors and publishers to display their wares, the range of topics covered in the program and the conference revenue that AAPOR could employ for worthwhile purposes.

The article offers information on the editorial policy implemented by the "Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering." The journal, which is intended to reflect and stimulate the practice of civil engineering in Canada, is said to be recognized as the official technical journal of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering and is published monthly by the National Research Council. It is not claimed to publish papers that are clearly in the domain of the "Canadian Geotechnical Journal" or the "Canadian Surveyor."

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the association between employees' perceptions of diversity training (DT) existence and effectiveness with organizational commitment (OC), and career satisfaction (CS). Design/methodology/approach - The analyses in this paper utilize survey data collected between 2006 and 2007 from over 11,000 managers, professionals, and executives working in nine large organizations in corporate Canada. The survey included questions about employees' perceptions of their work experiences and outcomes and their organizations' diversity practices. Comparisons of means as well as multivariate regression analyses were undertaken. Findings - The paper shows that employees who perceived DT to be effective were significantly more committed to their organizations and more satisfied with their careers than employees who perceived DT to be ineffective or non-existent. Research limitations/implications - The paper examines the linkages between DT, OS, and CS based on survey responses from managers, professionals, and executives. Findings may therefore not be applicable to entry level employees. Practical implications - DT, and in particular when viewed by employees to be effective, increases employees' OC and CS, which are associated with loyalty, lower turnover and higher employee engagement. Originality/value - The paper found that employees' OC and CS are highest when they perceived DT to be effective. Factors associated with OC and CS are explored based on employees' perceptions of the availability and effectiveness of DT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering is the property of Canadian Science Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Whereas social accounting has been strong in its critique of conventional accounting, to date it has not been as effective in developing accounting frameworks consistent with its principles. This is particularly true for nonprofit organizations. The costs of nonprofits can be easily measured; however, not captured by conventional accounting is the value of their nonmonetized resources such as volunteers. This paper argues that social accounting for nonprofits would benefit by creating accounting statements that combine the economic and social impact of an organization (referred to as an integrated approach). After discussing some historic examples of integrated social accounting, the paper presents a Canadian case study in which the value added by volunteers of a nonprofit organization is combined with its financial statements in an Expanded Value Added Statement. By combining social and economic information, a very different performance story of the organization emerges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article comments on the paper "Convergence in International Unionism, etc.: The Case of Canada and the USA," by Leo Troy in the March 1992 issue which argues that the commonly held belief that employer opposition to unionism and collective bargaining is more intense in the U.S. than in Canada, is erroneous. Troy criticizes the paper by Anil Verma and Mark Thomson entitled "Managerial strategies in Canada and the US in the 1980s," which was published in 1989 and focused on interviews with senior managers in seven industries in four provinces and declared that the respondents did not want to displace existing labor unions. Troy's argument that the respondents are not willing to state their true feelings regarding unions, is not true.

This article presents the text of a paper about origins and perspectives of the international representative read at the Nineteenth Annual Convention of the American Catholic Sociological Society at the Trinity College in Washington, D. C., on December 28-30, 1957. This paper is a discussion of a conceptual framework which has developed in connection with a study of the role of international representatives as a significant role in the American labor movement. The focus of the present discussion is on the role of international representatives as a non-professional role which is nevertheless capable of professionalization. This paper will further attempt to show that both short-run and long-run conditions affecting the trade union movement generally, and the role of international representatives in particular, require that this role become fully professionalized. The term "international representative" is employed in this discussion to signify the role of those officials who represent the international or national office at the local level. By an international office is meant the central office of a union having locals both in the U.S. and Canada.

Copyright of Canadian Political Science Review is the property of Canadian Political Science Review and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Canadian Public Policy is the property of University of Toronto Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Lien Social et Politiques is the property of Institut National de Recherche Scientifique (INRS) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article examines policy issues related to information literacy in Canada. It provides some background on the information literacy concept, reflecting on popular definitions offered by American, British, and Australian library associations, before advocating for a broader definition that views information literacy as a human right. Information literacy is also considered in relationship to the proliferation of other "literacies," such as digital, web, media, and information technology, that are the subject of increased advocacy and attention from interest groups and educators. The ongoing need for improved information literacy levels is analyzed not only in the context of inputs (the increasing complexity of the information environment) but also in terms of potential personal, social, and economic outcomes that can be realized through widespread information literacy education efforts. The paper argues that information literacy must become a priority not only among academic librarians but also school, public, and special librarians, as well as others outside of the library sector, if significant improvements in information literacy levels are to be realized. Such a coordinated approach can only be achieved in the context of policies that require, and adequately support, widespread efforts at improving information literacy levels. After a review of the ad-hoc state of information literacy education in Canada today, this paper analyzes information literacy-related policy development efforts in Canada to date in the four arenas where one would expect to see such activity: the Government of Canada, provincial governments, library associations, and other stakeholder groups. This article aims to start a wide-reaching discussion about information literacy and associated policy issues in Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On April 1, 1983, thirteen "enthusiastic, daring, creative and resourceful" (Landstrom, 1993, p. 113) Canadian distance educators who were attending an international conference on telecourses gathered in a hotel room in Washington DC to socialize. They left that evening with a dream: a Canadian distance education association. Now, after the memberships of both CADE and the Association for Media and Technology in Education in Canada (AMTEC) have voted to create a new national bilingual organization based on a reformulated vision, CADE is once again moving forward into a new and exciting future. And so, it seems timely to reflect upon where we have been as we envision where we might go. In February 2006, the Board of Directors commissioned a paper celebrating and documenting CADE's past using a combination of interview and document research techniques. The paper describes CADE's evolution in five sections: (1) mandate and services, (2) organization and finances, (3) Francophone perspectives, (4) CADE internationally, and (5) The future. In one sense, CADE has succeeded beyond the wildest dreams of that visionary band who met in a hotel room in Washington DC in 1983. Blended learning is now seen as conventional, accepted practice by many stakeholders. In another sense, blended and flexible learning are perceived as becoming so dominant that the need for, and values of, distance educators are being lost. We join many quoted in this paper in cautioning that adopting DE practice in an a historical context can mean failure not success, especially if values and practice are not aligned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports exploratory data from a broader study that examines media representations of the voluntary sector in Canada. It specifically identifies the resources and organizational attributes of Canadian voluntary groups that appear to be important for receiving mainstream news coverage. The data identifies four sets of characteristics of more than 500 voluntary organizations: demographic variables, association type, noneconomic resources, and economic expenditures. These characteristics are examined in terms of their relationship to news coverage. The data suggest that area of activity is significantly related to the amount of media attention that organizations receive. However, the amount of media attention that an organization receives is most strongly influenced by its yearly budget. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to both current debates about advocacy in the voluntary sector and important contextual developments that are transforming the communication environment in which charities and nonprofit organizations in Canada operate. We also draw comparisons to news coverage of the voluntary sector in other liberal democratic countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This section discusses articles and issues which reflect the attempt to assess and evaluate important aspects of the publishing record in Canadian sociology during the last millennium as important reflections of the evolution of the discipline in Canada during the last century. In one of the classic documents of Canadian sociology, Everett Hughes suggested that sociology in this country should be framed by what he called the more-so principle, that is, what are the features of Canadian life from which we would learn more about as an aspect of society that we would not learn about as much elsewhere. He suggested that sociology in Canada had to be rooted in and must begin with its own societal context. Thus it can be concluded that as the societal context changes, Canadian sociology itself should reflect both the unique aspects of the society's character as well as the evolution of the society. The occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Association provided a significant opportunity for sociologists in Canada to reflect on their organizational history and the practice of their craft in Canada. The results of this work is contained in an article by William K. Carroll, Linda Christensen-Ruffman, Raymond F. Currie, and Deborah Harrison.

Building information modeling (BIM) is emerging as a potential solution for facility owners to address the challenges of poor information fidelity, interoperability, and usability in project delivery to support the lifecycle of their assets' information. Despite the many benefits offered by BIM, its use for facility operations remains significantly limited. The reality is that implementing BIM in large owner organisations is a complex challenge. In particular, a significant barrier to BIM adoption for owners is the challenge of identifying and formalizing the information requirements needed to support model-based project delivery and asset management. This paper presents the results of a longitudinal research project that investigated two large owner organisations in Canada to better understand the process of developing and formulating BIM requirements to support the lifecycle of their assets. Specifically, the objectives were to formalize an iterative approach to the identification and characterization of owner requirements and to develop a conceptual framework that would relate digital and physical products to owner requirements and organisational constructs, to underpin the formalization process. As part of this research an array of requirements documentation were analysed, interviews were performed with numerous facility management personnel, and BIMs from four projects were analysed. A methodology is introduced to support a rigorous and detailed analysis of BIM requirements. The investigation of the owner requirements helped to develop an understanding of the required information content, and its alignment with BIM. Finally the relationships between organisational constructs, owner requirements, and BIM were mapped. As the construction industry shifts towards model-based project delivery, this research will inform owners about how to think about handover of digital facility models, and what to require in models based on their specific needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article comments on the paper "Convergence in International Unionism, etc.: The Case of Canada and the USA," by Leo Troy in the March 1992 issue which argues that differences in industrial relations systems have resulted in convergent union trends, rather than divergent trends as claimed by most researchers. However, the existence of convergence is not supported by Troy's disaggregated data. Union membership information cannot be as accurate and consistent over time as Troy assumes it to be. Moreover, Troy fails to consider the difference between the effect on union density of the growth of the workforce, net membership increases through new organizing, and reduction in membership due to declining employment in companies with unions.

It is important for firms to be able to adopt technologies that offer them competitive advantage. Before adoption can occur, knowledge about new technologies needs to be diffused so that firms can decide what is relevant to their needs. Professional associations see themselves as key agents in this diffusion of knowledge. Members of professional associations working in industry may act as boundary spanners who, through their involvement in these interorganizational networks, are able to learn about new technological developments. This paper examines the relevance of a professional association for this diffusion process, using the example of a specific technological domain - production and inventory control (PlC). The research investigated a professional PlC association in Canada. A survey of members revealed that this association was perceived to be an important network for learning about new developments in PlC. Predictors of technological innovation in PlC included involvement in the professional development activities of this professional association, as well as firm size and members' communication within their firm. The findings support the idea that professional associations impart knowledge that is important for the diffusion of technology. However, the influence of this professional association was limited by its rather small size and its lack of penetration into small firms. The results from the Canadian association are compared with earlier work conducted with similar associations in Britain and the United States and suggest that there are national differences in the roles of these associations in the knowledge diffusion process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents updates concerning the field of operations research as of 1960. The Seventh International Meeting of the Institute of Management Sciences will be held in New York City from October 19 to 22. The Argentine Operations Research Society had elected officers of its directing council. The Operations Research Association of Bangalore held its Third Annual General Meeting in Bangalore, India in February 27. The Canadian Operations Research Society has elected D. B. DeLury as president.

In 1978 the Canadian Chiropractic Association recognized the need to establish an organization that would prepare chiropractors to treat athletic injuries and promote these services to sports organizations. Dr. Adrian Grice approached three chiropractors to establish such an organization. The Canadian Chiropractic Sports Academy (CCSA) was established in 1978. This was the start of the chiropractic sports movement which has seen chiropractors playing prominent roles as team doctors to professional and amateur teams and athletes and in the delivery of care at major national and international competitions. This paper will show the work done by the original founders of the CCS A which has helped to pave the way to the present level of acceptance of chiropractic sports injury management and performance enhancement and as the progenitor of the Royal College of Chiropractic Sports Sciences Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the key issues regarding the Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) policies on increasing the economic well-being of Canadians that was presented through four papers. The first paper examines the impact of universities on the living standards in Canada. Labor and well-being are discussed in the second paper. The third paper tackles on the new social policy, based on the importance of human capital. The last paper focuses on adult benefits.

The article offers information on the formation of the Canadian Association for Information Science/L'Association Canadienne des Sciences de L'Information (CAIS-ACSI) and its activities. It states that CAIS-ACSI was established in 1971 to foster the enhancement of information science in Canada and to facilitate information exchange concerning the use, access, retrieval, management and dissemination of information. CAIS-ACSI communicates with its members through the "Canadian Journal of Information and Library Science" (CJILS). The association conducts its conference every year in late May or early June.

This article presents information about the journal "Revue Canadienne des Sciences de l'Administration/Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences," published quarterly by the Administrative Sciences Association of Canada. This journal presents articles in French and English that represent significant contributions to knowledge in all areas of administrative sciences. The four English-language papers examine the relationship between strategic planning and performance, corporate financial decision-making in Canada, and other related topics.

The Sikhs have been living in the North America since the beginning of the twentieth century. The Sikh diasporic organisations could be classified on basis of pre and post independence. Further in the post-independence phase, they can be divided into pre and post 1984. In the immediate aftermath of the Operation Bluestar, most of the separatist Khalistani organisations were born. The present crop of diasporic organisations is mainly concerned with the Sikh identity issues and the separatist Khalistani organisations that exist have eschewed the violent means. The paper presents an overview of some of the Sikh diasporic organisations in the USA and Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Firearm-related injury and death continue to be a significant problem in Canada. Since the 1990s Canadian emergency physicians (EPs) have played an active role in advocating for gun control. This paper updates the Canadian Association of Emergency Physician's (CAEP's) position on gun control. Despite a media focus on homicide, the majority of firearm-related deaths are a result of suicide. Less than 40% of firearm-related injuries are intentionally inflicted by another person. Since the implementation of Canada's gun registry in 1995, there has been a significant reduction in firearm-related suicides and intimate partner homicides. Proposed weakening of gun laws in Canada will have a significant impact on firearm-related mortality and injury. There must be instead an expansion of programs focused on prevention of suicide, intimate partner violence and gang-related violence. The majority of intentional or unintentional firearm-related injuries involve a violation of safe storage or handling practice. The potential for future harm because of unsafe storage or handling or through gang conflict retribution supports our position that health care facilities report gunshot wounds (GSWs). Moreover, a nationwide surveillance system is necessary to support research and to guide future public policy development and legislation. As EPs we must advocate for injury control. All firearm injuries and deaths are preventable, and we must advocate for a multifaceted approach in order to minimize this risk to our patients. CAEP POSITION The Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians recommends the following measures: 1. Continued support for the original provisions of Bill C-68 and the gun control law, and active opposition to any attempt at repealing the national firearms registry (including the long gun registry). 2. Advocacy for the implementation by the government of a nationwide surveillance system for firearm-related injury and mortality. 3. Expansion of programs focused on the prevention of suicide, intimate partner violence and gang-related violence. 4. Support for legislation mandating that health care facilities report GSWs, but not knife injuries or other violent injuries. 5. Continued support for research into firearm-related injury and death in order to guide further public policy development and future legislation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses various research projects by the Association of Canadian University Teachers of English (ACUTE) in Canada. It indicates that the society was founded in 1882 with the intention that it should serve as a focus for the intellectual life of the nation in both the arts and the sciences. It suggests that the primary role of the organization is to organize annual conference and giving of papers.

This paper presents the first multivariate analysis of the combined effects of region and language on voluntary association membership in Canada. National survey data from 2000 indicate that Quebecers have the lowest average number of memberships, with Western Canadians highest and Atlantic and Ontario residents in between. Preliminary results also confirm that francophones report fewer memberships than anglophones. Findings from Poisson regression models, however, indicate a significant interaction between region and language: francophones have lower membership levels only in Quebec, and in Western Canada have higher levels than anglophones or allophones. These results hold even with controls for a number of possible explanatory factors suggested in the literature, including religious and socioeconomic differences across the regions and language groups. The implications for understanding patterns of voluntary association activity in Canada are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents news about the Canadian Economics Association. The minutes of the 39th Annual General Meeting of the association is presented. The meeting was held at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario on May 29, 2005, and was chaired by association president Gregor Smith. The report of the secretary-treasurer is also presented. Also, the revenue, expense and surplus of the association for the year ended December 31, 2004 is also presented. Lastly, the report of the managing director of the "Canadian Journal of Economics" is also discussed.

This article reports on developments within the Canadian Economics Association as of June 7, 2004. The results of the 2004 election are presented, as well as the nominations for the 2005 elections. Curtis Eaton turned over the chair to incoming association president Barbara Spencer. Reports of the 2003 officers are presented.

The article focuses on the 37th annual general meeting of Canadian Economics Association (CEA), held on June 1, 2003. The financial results of CEA for 2002 were very good. Net income was positive for the second year in a row after the deficit in 2000. The financial results for 2003 would be weaker. Institutional revenues were lost when one of the subscription agents went bankrupt in late 2002. The bankruptcy will also effect the net income of CPP in 2003.

The North American Agreement on Free Trade (NAFTA) has stirred passionate debates in Canada. Proponents predicted that increased trade liberalization would create more jobs, greater multinational investment, and an overall better standard of living. Opponents, however argued that NAFTA would lead to wage cuts, job losses, the erosion of labor standards, and the ha harmonization of labor laws to the lowest common denominator. I systematically examined the evidence and found that with some exceptions, the predicted negative effects have not materialized. Furthermore, the NAFTA labor side agreement has enjoyed moderate success in bringing labor concerns to the fore. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Outlines the vision of the Northwest Territories Registered Nurses Association and the Northwest Territories Medical Association concerning health care reform in the provinces. Role of the primary health care nurse practitioner and the physician in a collaborative practice model; Facilitating the development of a collaborative practice model.

Copyright of Canadian Public Policy is the property of University of Toronto Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article presents information on the journal "The international Newsletter on Migration" which is a publication of the Research Committee on Migration, International Sociological Association, Canada. Some of the organizational news presented was related to the conference on return migration, announced in the previous issue of the Newsletter that is being moved to the Fall 1981. The program remains the same. The Committee will be in a better financial position to meet the costs of the conference. A preliminary program will be published in June, 1981. The anticipated time of the conference is toward the end of October, again in Rome. The Committee is issuing additional details on the conference to its members in its Bulletin. The World Congress of Sociology will be held in Mexico City at the end of August, 1982. The Research Committee on Migration is organizing eight sessions dealing with questions of internal and international migration. Some of the sessions will be devoted to the issues of migration in Latin America. Members of the Committee will be eligible for presenting papers subject to selection by the individual session organizers.

In August 1974, the International Sociological Association (ISA) will hold its Eighth World Congress of Sociology in Toronto in Ontario, Canada, and thereby afford an accessible opportunity for many North American sociologists to participate. The reorganization of the International Sociological Association by its Council in 1970 at Varna, Bulgaria, during sessions of the Seventh World Congress of Sociology was desired to strengthen the autonomy and effectiveness of its thirty research committees. This should provide opportunity for greater involvement for individual sociologists, both in the periodic international meetings and in the ongoing work of the ISA. These organizational changes come at an appropriate period in that North American sociologists are now demonstrating a stronger interest in cross-national sociology. This article is designed to describe to the membership of the American Sociological Association the implications of the new format of the International Sociological Association for international intellectual cooperation.

Announces the 95th annual meeting of the Poultry Science Association, Inc. slated in July 16 to 19, 2006 at Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. Program chairmen; Papers and Presentation; Participants.

Copyright of Industrial Relations / Relations Industrielles is the property of Universite Laval, Department of Industrial Relations and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: The Eat Well Campaign (EWC) was a social marketing campaign developed by Health Canada and disseminated to the public with the help of cross-sector partners. The purpose of this study was to describe factors that influenced cross-sector partners' decision to adopt the EWC.Methods: Thematic content analysis, based primarily on an a priori codebook of constructs from Roger's diffusion of innovations decision process model, was conducted on hour-long semi-structured telephone interviews with Health Canada's cross-sector partners (n = 18).Results: Dominant themes influencing cross-sector partners' decision to adopt the EWC were: high compatibility with the organization's values; being associated with Health Canada; and low perceived complexity of activities. Several adopters indicated that social norms (e.g., knowing that other organizations in their network were involved in the collaboration) played a strong role in their decision to participate, particularly for food retailers and small organizations. The opportunity itself to work in partnership with Health Canada and other organizations was seen as a prominent relative advantage by many organizations. Adopters were characterized as having high social participation and positive attitudes towards health, new ideas and Health Canada. The lack of exposure to the mass media channels used to diffuse the campaign and reserved attitudes towards Health Canada were prominent obstacles identified by a minority of health organizations, which challenged the decision to adopt the EWC. Most other barriers were considered as minor challenges and did not appear to impede the adoption process.Conclusions: Understanding factors that influence cross-sector adoption of nutrition initiatives can help decision makers target the most appropriate partners to advance public health objectives. Government health agencies are likely to find strong partners in organizations that share the same values as the initiative, have positive attitudes towards health, are extremely implicated in social causes and value the notion of partnership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Health systems globally promote appropriate prescribing by healthcare providers and safe and effective medicine use by consumers. Rx for Change, a publicly available database, provides access to systematic reviews regarding best practices for prescribing and using medicines. Despite the value of the database for improving prescribing and medicine use, its use remains suboptimal. This study aimed to develop a training program for five medicine-focused organisations in Canada and Australia to facilitate the use and understanding of the Rx for Change database.Methods: Four steps were undertaken: 1) key informant interviews were completed across all organisations to understand the knowledge user perspective; 2) a directed content analysis was completed of the interview transcripts and proposed training was developed; 3) a second round of feedback on the proposed training by knowledge users was gathered; and 4) feedback was integrated to develop the final training.Results: Sixteen key informant interviews with knowledge users were conducted. Themes for training content included the scope of, navigation and strategies for using Rx for Change (generic content) and practical examples on incorporating evidence within their workplace context (tailored content). The final training consisted of an informational video, a 60-minute face-to-face workshop and two post-training reminders.Conclusions: A method of engaging knowledge users in the development of a training program to improve the use of an on-line database of systematic reviews was established and used to design training. Next steps include the delivery and evaluation of the training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a commentary on a paper by Robert A. Stebbins in a previous issue of The American Sociologist which provided an account of professional and amateur sociology in the U.S. The British organization, Mass Observation existed in a relatively nonintrusive society with (as compared to the U.S.) greater concern for one's own and other people's privacy. Canada and Great Britain may in this respect have more built-in defenses against the risks of some kinds of amateur sociology that the U.S. would have. However, according to the commenter, Stebbins already anticipates this objection by requiring amateurs to be supervised and to start with a certain amount of instruction and proper cautionary comments. By engaging primarily in the use of unobtrusive measures and observations, the amateur will avoid the risks of harm to which Stebbins is already sensitive. The commenter relates that one of the public areas in which he has encouraged such unobtrusive observations is in churches, where the observer in outward appearance is similar to the congregation and hence not seen as an intruder. According to him, he has had a fair amount of experience with undergraduate amateurs of the sort described.

Introduction: Youth Excel was a 3-year pan-Canadian initiative to advance youth health through improving knowledge development and exchange (KDE) capacity. KDE capacity refers to an improvement cycle linking evidence and action. Capacities include local surveillance of youth behaviours; knowledge exchange; skills, resources and a supportive environment to use knowledge; and evaluation. Methods: Interviews were conducted with Youth Excel members, including 7 provincial teams and 2 national organizations. Interviews explored participant experiences with building KDE capacity. Results: Local surveillance systems were considered the backbone to KDE capacity, strengthened by co-ordinating surveys within and across jurisdictions and using common indicators and measures. The most effective knowledge exchange included tailored products and opportunities for dialogue and action planning. Evaluation is the least developed KDE component. Building KDE capacity requires frequent dialogue, mutually beneficial partnerships and trust. It also requires attention to language, vision, strategic leadership and funding. Conclusions: Youth Excel reinforces the need for a KDE system to improve youth health that will require new perspectives and sustained commitment from individual champions and relevant organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation is the property of University of Toronto Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary & Nonprofit Organizations is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article comments on a previously published article in the "Journal of Public Health Policy" which emphasizes on the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. The International Joint Commission, the U.S.-Canadian body that advises both governments on issues around the boundary waters is also an important organization. The article frames the central question around whether water quality is of primary importance, or alternatively whether the agreement should focus on "ecosystem integrity", defined as a much broader approach to Great Lakes issues.