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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the convergent validity of the PLAYfun tool, a physical literacy-based measure of movement competence, by examining its association with objectively measured physical activity in a sample of children and youth. Method: Participants included 110 children between the ages of seven to 14 years attending a stratified random sample of 27 afterschool programs across the province of Ontario, Canada. The PLAYfun tool was administered to the participants on one occasion at their afterschool program and then they were asked to wear a pedometer for seven consecutive days to measure their physical activity levels. A series of multiple linear regression models were used to examine the association between PLAYfun scores and physical activity, while controlling for age, sex, and time of year (season) in which the data were collected. Results: On its own, the PLAYfun average score accounted for close to 13% of the variance in physical activity, R = 0.36, R[superscript 2] = 0.13, p < 0.001. The PLAYfun average score was also a significant independent predictor of physical activity, b (SE) = 145.98 (53.46), p < 0.01, when controlling for age, sex, and season in which the data were collected, R[superscript 2] = 0.30, F (4, 105) = 11.04, p < 0.001. Conclusion: Results from the present study indicate that the PLAYfun tool is a significant predictor of objectively measured physical activity, supporting the convergent validity of the tool.

Open online courses (OOC) with a massive number of students have represented an important development for online education in the past years. A course on artificial intelligence, CS221, at the University of Stanford was offered in the fall of 2011 free and online which attracted 160,000 registered students. It was one of three offered as an experiment by the Stanford computer science department to extend technology knowledge and skills to the entire world. The instructors were two of the best known experts in the subject of artificial intelligence. Although students would not get Stanford University grades or credit, 20,000 from 190 countries finished the course successfully receiving a "statement of accomplishment" from the tutors Sebastian Thrun and Peter Norvig. Udacity is a start-up from the authors of CS221 delivering similar massive free online courses. EdX, a joint partnership between The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University to offer online learning to millions of people around the world, is one of the most recent proposals in this realm. Massive open online courses known as connectivist MOOCs (c MOOCs) on the other hand have been delivered since 2008. They are based on the explicit principles of connectivism (autonomy, diversity, openness and interactivity) and on the activities of aggregation, remixing, repurposing and feeding forward the resources and learning. In the research literature, newspaper and magazine articles both types of OOCs, AI Stanford like courses (AI) and c-MOOCs, have been identified in many occasions as equivalent. Distance education (DE) pedagogy can be classified through the evolution of three categories: cognitive-behaviourist, social constructivist, and connectivist. These three current and future generations of DE pedagogy have an important place in a well-rounded educational experience. To a large extent, the generations have evolved in tandem with the technologies and all three models are very much in existence today and are categorized by a set of conditions. In this paper we study in detail representative courses from AI and c MOOC formats. We establish that although they share the use of distributed networks the format associated with c-MOOCs, which are defined by a participative pedagogical model, are unique and different from AI. We further assign to the AI to a cognitive-behaviourist (with some small contribution of social constructivist) and MOOCs to connectivist pedagogy. (Contains 2 tables and 4 figures.)

Rapport has been recognized as important in learning in general but little is known about its importance in distance education (DE). The study we report on in this paper provides insights into the importance of rapport in DE as well as challenges to and indicators of rapport-building in DE. The study relied on interviews with 42 Canadian high-school DE teachers. Findings revealed that rapport is necessary in DE because of the absence of face-to-face communication. Challenges to building rapport relate to the geographic dispersion of students, the asynchronous nature of DE, teacher workload, limits of the software, teachers and students not seeing the need for rapport, and DE traditions. We identified six categories of rapport-building in DE as follows: "Recognizing the person/individual; Supporting and monitoring; Availability, accessibility, and responsiveness; Non text-based interactions; Tone of interactions; Non-academic conversation/interactions." We break the categories into subcategories and provide indicators for each one. The indicators might also be used in contexts of DE teacher professional development as a springboard for discussion, or, more prescriptively, as guides to DE teacher behaviour. A follow-up study using a more fine-grained focus on specific indicators might provide insights into specific rapport-related behaviours. (Contains 8 tables and 1 figure.)

This paper reports on a study that uses cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) to make sense of e-teachers' activity in a context of high-school distance education. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews with 13 e-teachers as well as seven management and support personnel in an organization responsible for the design and delivery of high-school distance education in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. As well, the authors conducted a second round of interviews with 12 of the 13 teachers. Findings revealed that the traditional metaphor of teacher as "sage on the stage" ceased to have a reference point in the distributed online classroom. The e-teachers were widening the object of their activity to include less teacher-centered forms of learning that involved more student independence. (Contains 2 figures.)

Motivation in distance education (DE) has been studied mostly at the postsecondary level with few studies having been conducted at the high-school level. This paper breaks with this tradition by reporting on the perspectives on motivation of 42 Canadian high-school DE teachers. Data collection involved one-hour long, semi-structured telephone interviews across the eastern, central, and western areas of the country. Data analysis of transcribed interviews resulted in the identification of 16 sub-categories which were further grouped under three main categories as follows: 1. Communication, Interaction, and Social Presence; 2. Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivators; and 3. Learner-Centered Designs. Findings are presented according to the 16 sub-categories and discussed in relation to the three categories and in relation to the theoretical and empirical literature. (Contains 4 tables.)

The purpose of this paper is to report on a study that provided an opportunity to consider Transactional Distance Theory (TDT) in a current technology context of web-based learning in distance education (DE), high-school classrooms. Data collection relied on semi-structured interviews conducted with 22 e-teachers and managers in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. In our context of DE at the high-school level using web-based asynchronous and synchronous technologies, transactional distance (TD) may be described, not only as a separation between the teacher and student, but in the entire community of teachers and learners. Findings are presented in three categories labeled as follows: rapport and community-building; curriculum and teacher-centered tools as barriers; and the role of real-time interaction and engagement. We relate these categories respectively to the TDT concepts of dialogue, structure and learner autonomy.

Teachers play an important role in promoting a positive school climate, which in turns supports academic achievement and positive mental health among students. This study evaluated the impact of a pre-service teacher education course addressing a range of contributors to school climate. Participants included a cohort of 212 pre-service teachers (75.2% female) who were surveyed during the first week of their teacher preparation program. A second cohort of pre-service students (n = 199, 60.8% female) was used as a comparison group. Pre- and post-tests demonstrated positive gains in the knowledge about bullying and self-efficacy in responding and reporting to incidents of students' exposure to violence. Changes in moral disengagement were associated with improvements in knowledge, whereas personal experience with violence predicted changes in self-efficacy. Findings underscore the need for specific instruction in the area of promoting school climate.

This study tested societal effects on caregiver/teacher ratings of behavioral/emotional problems for 10,521 preschoolers from 15 societies. Many societies had problem scale scores within a relatively narrow range, despite differences in language, culture, and other characteristics. The small age and gender effects were quite similar across societies. The rank orders of mean item ratings were similar across diverse societies. For 7,380 children from 13 societies, ratings were also obtained from a parent. In all 13 societies, mean Total Problems scores derived from parent ratings were significantly higher than mean Total Problems scores derived from caregiver/teacher ratings, although the size of the difference varied somewhat across societies. Mean cross-informant agreement for problem scale scores varied across societies. Societies were very similar with respect to which problem items, on average, received high versus low ratings from parents and caregivers/teachers. Within every society, cross-informant agreement for item ratings varied widely across children. In most respects, results were quite similar across 15 very diverse societies. (Contains 5 tables and 1 figure.)

This paper presents the results of an inductive, interpretive analysis of the perspectives of 42 Canadian high school distance education (DE) teachers on asynchronous and synchronous online teaching. The paper includes a conceptual overview of the affordances and constraints of each form of teaching. Findings provided insight into the following aspects of asynchronous and synchronous online teaching: degree of use; the tools used; the contexts in which each occur; students' preferences; and limitations. Pedagogy emerged as more important than media for both asynchronous and synchronous online teaching. Synchronous online teaching relied on teacher- rather than student-centred approaches. Asynchronous online teaching provided support for self-paced, highly independent forms of secondary DE supplemented by synchronous online teaching for answering questions and troubleshooting.

This paper reports on a study that examined teachers' perspectives on learner centredness in a distance learning context. Data collection relied on semi-structured interviews conducted with 42 Canadian high school teachers. Teachers' perspectives were analysed then categorized according to the four dimensions of a research validated framework of learner centred principles. The perspectives grouped into the cognitive and metacognitive dimension emphasized the goal oriented, student directed, personalized, and independent nature of distance learning. Those grouped into the dimension of motivational and affective factors emphasized course design driven, not by content, but by student interest, relevance, choice, and input. Perspectives in the dimension of developmental and social factors highlighted the role of discussion forums and chat for communication between students. In the dimension of individual differences, perspectives highlighted the asynchronous nature of distance learning that supports a flexible pace, respects individual needs, caters to different learning styles, allows diversity in assessment, one-on-one attention, support, and personalized attention. (Contains 1 table.)

This paper uses a third-generation Activity Theory perspective to gain insight into the contradictions between the activity systems of the physical and virtual high school classroom from the perspective of teachers who had transitioned from one system to the other. Data collection relied on semi-structured interviews conducted with e-teachers as well as management/support personnel of an organisation charged with delivering web-based high school courses in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Contradictions related to time and workload, physical presence, interaction and rapport building, and use of direct messaging and email. The contradictions can be explained by a difference between the mediating tools in each activity system. The absence in the virtual classroom of body language and visual presence as mediators requires e-teachers to find new ways of interacting and building rapport and necessitates a shift from a practice of controlling to engaging students' attention.

This article reports on a case study of Instant Messaging (IM) in a context of high-school virtual schooling. Data collection relied on interviews conducted with 20 participants in a context of high-school web-based instruction in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The participants included e-teachers as well as other distance education personnel. Inductive analysis of the interview transcripts resulted in the identification of six categories of findings that we have labeled as follows: IM instructional affordances; IM comfort and preference; IM and classroom management; IM and social presence; IM and private versus public conversations; and IM and multitasking. The findings illustrate some of the challenges that can arise when a tool that typically serves solely a social purpose is appropriated into an educational context. Implications include the need for a knowledge base and professional development related to instructional strategies and techniques for managing IM and for capitalizing on the affordances offered by the tool. (Contains 2 figures and 1 table.)

This article reports on a study conducted to gain insight into teachers' beliefs about e-learning. Data collection relied on discussions conducted with 16 teachers from six high schools in two adjacent municipalities of one Canadian province. Data collection and analysis were guided by a framework of research-validated, learner-centred principles. Teachers' beliefs portrayed learners as digital natives who actively consume information and knowledge, engage emotionally with technology, and devote themselves to it. Beliefs about teaching referred to teachers as guides and mediators in the knowledge process who can give creative control of the technology, engage learners, and promote higher-order thinking skills. Beliefs about the Internet highlighted its potential to provide unlimited, authentic, purposeful, relevant, participatory, and individualized learning that can take place outside the classroom.

Reports on a survey of Native Canadian adults (with limited reading skills but not currently in adult programs) about their perceptions of literacy. Discusses (1) purposes and values of literacy; (2) types of goals; (3) past barriers; (4) preferred learning environment (they preferred "watch then do" learning); and (5) current barriers. (SR)

• Two interventions (in the US and Canada) reduced household food waste by up to 46%. • Interventions focused on being resourceful with unused foods. • The intervention was to set a specific day to use up food with flexible recipes. • Flexible recipes - based on a 3 + 1 heuristic - made using up food easy. • Change in perceived behavioral control mediated food waste reduction in the US. In two 5-week randomized-controlled field studies, Canadian and US households were invited to make one meal per week from food that might otherwise be discarded, using flexible recipes. In the first study (Canada), tools to increase the salience of unused food (storage basket, clips to tag, or whiteboard) were also explored. A second study (US) examined a shorter program and the addition of follow-up reminders. Food waste was assessed with a self-reported food waste measure. Intervention groups reduced their food waste significantly versus baseline by 33% (Canada) and 46% (US) and versus control by 27% (Canada) and 33% (US). The salience tools (study 1) or duration (study 2) had no impact. Eight weeks after the intervention food saving continued although the intervention conditions no longer differed significantly from control. In the US, change in Perceived Behavioral Control partially mediated the impact of the intervention on food waste reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the moment, the phrases “big data” and “analytics” are often being used as if they were magic incantations that will solve all an organization's problems at a stroke. The reality is that data on its own, even with the application of analytics, will not solve any problems. The resources that analytics and big data can consume represent a significant strategic risk if applied ineffectively. Any analysis of data needs to be guided, and to lead to action. So while analytics may lead to knowledge and intelligence (in the military sense of that term), it also needs the input of knowledge and intelligence (in the human sense of that term). And somebody then has to do something new or different as a result of the new insights, or it won’t have been done to any purpose. Using an analytics example concerning accounts payable in the public sector in Canada, this paper reviews thinking from the domains of analytics, risk management and knowledge management, to show some of the pitfalls, and to present a holistic picture of how knowledge management might help tackle the challenges of big data and analytics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article compares the crime and immigration connection as documented in the U.S. and Canada and the possibility of using the U Visa as a model. It reviews the immigration policies of the U.S. and Canada, describes the similarities and differences and analyzes the legislation in the two countries to aid undocumented immigrants who present information about crimes. It notes the U Visa as a practical solution to victimization of undocumented population in the U.S., the situational crime prevention and the Strain model.

Abstract: Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare patterns of PA and its potential correlates in individuals with BD to the general population using a representative sample of Canadians. Methods: We used data from the 2002 Canadian Community Health Survey 1.2, a national, cross-sectional survey focusing on mental health and addiction (n = 36,984). We compared PA levels among individuals with BD (n = 831) to those diagnosed with major depression (n = 4713) and those with no identified mood disorder (n = 31,834). Using multivariable logistic regression, we then compared independent effects of sociodemographic and clinical factors in active and inactive BD individuals stratified by relative weight status. Results: There were no differences in the proportion of individuals characterized as active, moderately active or inactive among individuals with BD, major depressive disorder or the general population. No sociodemographic or clinical variables were related to PA in individuals with BD, and the relationships between these variables and PA level were not different than those observed in the general population. BD status was independently associated with being overweight (OR = 1.26, p = 0.03). An interaction between BD status and PA was also observed (OR = 1.12, p = 0.005), suggesting a reduced role for PA in reducing the risk of being overweight in person with BD. Conclusions: The results suggest that levels of self-reported PA are not lower among people with BD living in the community than in the general population. Future research should assess levels of PA using objective measures and determine whether PA improves psychosocial outcomes in this population. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The response of freshwater invertebrates following accidental releases of oil is not well understood. This knowledge gap is more substantial for unconventional oils such as diluted bitumen (dilbit). We evaluated the effects of dilbit on insect emergence and benthic invertebrates by conducting experimental spills in limnocorrals (10-m diameter; ~100-m3) deployed in a boreal lake at the IISD-Experimental Lakes Area, Canada. The study included seven dilbit treatments (spill volumes ranged from 1.5 L [1:66,000, oil:water, v/v] to 180 L [1:590, oil:water, v/v]), two controls, and additional lake reference sites, monitored for 11 weeks. Invertebrate emergence declined at the community level following oil addition in a significantly volume-dependent manner, and by 93–100 % over the 11 weeks following the spill in the highest treatment. Dilbit altered community structure of benthic invertebrates, but not abundance. One-year post-spill and following oil removal using traditional skimming and absorption techniques, benthic richness and abundance were greater among all treatments than the previous year. These results indicate that recovery in community composition is possible following oil removal from a lake ecosystem. Research is needed concerning the mechanisms by which surface oil directly affect adult invertebrates, whether through limiting oviposition, limiting emergence, or both. The response of benthic communities to sediment tar mats is also warranted. [Display omitted] • Physical presence of surface oil responsible for emerging insect declines. • Benthic invertebrate abundance not substantially impacted by PACs in lake sediments. • Changes in benthic invertebrate community composition were related to volume of oil. • Benthic community composition similar across treatments one year post-spill. • Physical impacts of diluted bitumen should be considered in oil risk assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a method for forecasting energy prices using artificial intelligence methods, such as neural networks and fuzzy logic, and a combination of the two. The new approach is compared with some of the exiting methods. Various factors affecting the market clearing price are investigated. Results for the Ontario electricity market are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study of small Quebec municipal drinking water utilities (i.e., those serving 10,000 or fewer people) focuses on a portrait of microbiological water quality (based on total and fecal coliform data) and distribution system management strategies. It also addresses relationships between some important water quality and operational parameters and management strategies, as well as total or fecal coliform occurrences. Along with descriptive analyses, statistical means tests (Student t-tests) were performed to identify significant differences between utilities with high coliform occurrence and utilities with low coliform occurrence according to chlorine dose, distribution system flushings, pipe age, main breakage, and some environmental factors. Even though many interesting trends have been noted, only a few resulted in statistically significant differences. For surface water utilities using chlorination alone, the mean difference of annual system flushings proved statistically significant. In addition, some agricultural land-use indicators within the municipal territory appeared significantly correlated with coliform occurrences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies the estimation of bench-scale chlorine decay in drinking water using n[supth]-order kinetic and back propagation neural network models. Simulation of residual chlorine decay in raw and treated waters collected from six utilities of the Quebec City, Quebec area; Evaluation of both models' performances using the database for model development and an independent database for validation.