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This paper discusses the barriers encountered in undertaking an oral history project with survivors of a total institution for ‘mental defectives’ in the province of Alberta, Canada. Powerful social actors were able to bar access to survivors through legal guardianship orders, and to make access to the institution and its grounds and to publicly archived materials quite prohibitive to the researcher. In addition to overt efforts on the part of powerful social actors to block the project, concerns about the potential to discredit survivor narratives led to changes in the research design. Specifically, research and literature about the ‘acquiescence’ of intellectuals with intellectual impairments led the researcher to broaden the sources for this history as a preemptive strategy. Despite these barriers, survivors of the institution provided a rich and powerful testimony to the brutality of institutionalization, and provide us with an emancipatory history from the perspectives of those most oppressed by disability policies and practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropogenic activities have resulted in the intensified use of water resources. For example, open pit bitumen extraction by Canada’s oil sands operations uses an estimated volume of three barrels of water for every barrel of oil produced. The waste tailings–oil sands process water (OSPW)–are stored in holding ponds, and present an environmental concern as they are comprised of residual hydrocarbons and metals. Following the hypothesis that endogenous OSPW microbial communities have an enhanced tolerance to heavy metals, we tested the capacity of planktonic and biofilm populations from OSPW to withstand metal ion challenges, using Cupriavidus metallidurans, a known metal-resistant organism, for comparison. The toxicity of the metals toward biofilm and planktonic bacterial populations was determined by measuring the minimum biofilm inhibitory concentrations (MBICs) and planktonic minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) using the MBEC ™ assay. We observed that the OSPW community and C. metallidurans had similar tolerances to 22 different metals. While thiophillic elements (Te, Ag, Cd, Ni) were found to be most toxic, the OSPW consortia demonstrated higher tolerance to metals reported in tailings ponds (Al, Fe, Mo, Pb). Metal toxicity correlated with a number of physicochemical characteristics of the metals. Parameters reflecting metal-ligand affinities showed fewer and weaker correlations for the community compared to C. metallidurans, suggesting that the OSPW consortia may have developed tolerance mechanisms toward metals present in their environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the graduate program in sociology at the University of Alberta. The university does not offer an exclusive degree in population studies or demography. Several courses pertaining to demography/population studies are offered in the departments of Economics, Geography, Genetics, Health Services Administration, Sociology and Zoology. The Population Research Laboratory, established in 1966, is the demographic and urban research unit of the Department of Sociology. The major objective of this unit is the development and dissemination of knowledge in the field of population studies. The Population Research Laboratory brings out regularly publications like, Reprint Series, Discussion Paper Series, Alberta Series and Western Canada Series. The major research project undertaken is a fertility and family planning study of Edmonton entitled "Growth of Alberta Families Study." This study focuses largely on ethnic variability in family formation patterns, contraceptive habits and other reproductive characteristics.

Introduction: Compliance with the recommendation that all tuberculosis (TB) patients be tested for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has not yet been achieved in Canada or globally. Methods: The experience of “opt-out” HIV testing of TB patients in the Province of Alberta, Canada is described over a 10-year period, 2003–2012. Testing rates are reported before and after the introduction of the “opt-out” approach. Risk factors for HIV seropositivity are described and demographic, clinical and laboratory characteristics of TB patients who were newly diagnosed versus previously diagnosed with HIV are compared. Genotypic clusters, defined as groups of two or more cases whose isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis had identical DNA fingerprints over the 10-year period or within 2 years of one another, were analyzed for their ability to predict HIV co-infection. Results: HIV testing rates were 26% before and 90% after the introduction of “opt-out” testing. During the “opt-out” testing years those <15 or >64 years of age at diagnosis were less likely to have been tested. In those tested the prevalence of HIV was 5.6%. In the age group 15–64 years, risk factors for HIV were: age (35–64 years), Canadian-born Aboriginal or foreign-born sub-Saharan African origin, and combined respiratory and non-respiratory disease. Compared to TB patients previously known to be HIV positive, TB patients newly discovered to be HIV positive had more advanced HIV disease (lower CD4 counts; higher viral loads) at diagnosis. Large cluster size was associated with Aboriginal ancestry. Cluster size predicted HIV co-infection in Aboriginal peoples when clusters included all cases reported over 10 years but not when clusters included cases reported within 2 years of one another. Conclusion: “Opt-out” HIV testing of TB patients is effective and well received. Universal HIV testing of TB patients (>80% of patients tested) has immediate (patients) and longer-term (TB/HIV program planning) benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent commitment to investment in continuing care services demands a sound grasp of workforce utilization in continuing care facilities. This article examines workforce utilization in continuing care as a key component of effective service delivery. We used a case study design with three continuing care facilities in Alberta, Canada. Data were collected over one year through interviews, group discussions and observations. The data revealed workforce issues around staff mix, responsibilities and role clarity that negatively affect staff and residents. Using an ecological framework, we developed 'upstream' workforce strategies targeting barriers that can be influenced by the three facilities. Limited research exists on how regulated and unregulated healthcare providers are organized and deployed in different continuing care environments. In our sociological analysis of workforce utilization at three continuing care facilities, we illuminated the relations between staff and the contextual elements surrounding them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on the political sociology of ideas, this article considers a crucial crime control policy: increasing levels of policing. This policy is particularly interesting, given the scarcity of research indicating that increased levels of policing lead to reductions in crime. An examination of the ideas used to guide understandings of criminal events and crises shows how political actors understand crime as the consequence of a lack of control. In light of this understanding of crime, increasing the level of control through a heightened police presence becomes a logical solution. To illustrate this process, the article presents a case study of a 'gang war' occurring in Calgary since 2007. Through an analysis of newspaper articles, the article shows how this event was framed by political actors in a way that legitimized policies that increase the number of police. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Albertans representing five age cohorts (13-15, 18-20, 23-25, 43-45 and 63-65) were surveyed (n = 1809) to assess their attitudes toward gambling in general, gambling in Alberta and legal gambling's impacts in the province. Age, gender and problem gambling status were found to be reliable predictors of gambling attitudes in that younger male, non-problem gamblers were most approving of the activity. Results also indicate that Albertans are ambivalent about gambling and that gambling and public policy are mis-aligned to the extent that gambling's harms are thought to outweigh its benefits. Likely reasons for the gap between gambling policy and public opinion are that gambling issues lack the salience of ongoing high-profile topics such as the economy, health care, education and the environment, and gambling dependent special interest groups can exert considerable influence on gambling policy in ways that may not harmonise with the public interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]