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Despite self-congratulatory rhetoric, Canada compromised COVID-19 vaccine equity with policies impeding a proposed global waiver of vaccine intellectual property (IP) rules. To learn from Canada’s vaccine nationalism we explore the worldview – a coherent textual picture of the world – in a sample of Government of Canada communications regarding global COVID-19 vaccine sharing. Analysed documents portray risks and disparities as unrelated to the dynamics and power relations of the Canadian and international economies. Against this depoliticised backdrop, economic growth fueled by strict IP rules and free trade is advanced as the solution to inequities. Global vaccine access and distribution are pursued via a charity-focused public-private-partnership approach, with proposals to relax international IP rules dismissed as unhelpful. Rather than a puzzling lapse by a good faith ‘middle power’, Canada’s obstruction of global COVID-19 vaccine equity is a logical and deliberate extension of dominant neoliberal economic policy models. Health sector challenges to such models must prioritise equity in global pandemic governance via politically assertive and less conciliatory stances towards national governments and multilateral organisations. Mobilisation for health equity should transform the overall health-damaging macroeconomic model, complementing efforts based on specific individual health determinants or medical technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patient photographs published in medical journals have been found on Google Images in two studies, raising concerns about informed consent and patient privacy. It is unlikely that patient informed consent includes consideration of these circumstances, as there are no uniform guidelines for obtaining consent for the publishing of clinical photographs across online medical journals. Health data privacy legislation in the EU, US, and Canada is only concerned with identifiable patient photographs, and their guidelines for deidentification are inconsistent. Patients have limited legal recourse in such cases, as the liability of search engines, publishers, and clinicians is unclear under law. Better informed consent and publication practices, as well as ethical dissemination of sensitive information online by tech companies, are necessary to address these issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the differences between international medical graduates (IMG) and canadian medical graduates (CMG) in the medical learning environment (MLE) as there is progression from matching to residency and beyond. Method: A narrative literature review was done using the search engines pubmed, medline and embase on publications from 2000 to 2021 comparing IMG to CMG and those that compared IMG to non IMG in international publications were also considered. Results: The IMGs are offered less residency program positions compared to CMGs during the CaRMS selection process and specifically less in specialty programs. Amongst the article, 66% of IMGs compared to 90% of CMG were successful in the certification examination of the college of family physicians of Canada. A US article on the other hand found similarities in performance of USMGs and IMGs in a surgical residency program. Conclusion: A lot of IMG face several challenges including perceived systemic and individual discrimination, lack of mentorship and poor ability to navigate after immigration even after they are matched into a Canadian residency program. These are significant issues that should be dealt with to enable increase success and survival of IMGs in the MLE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) is the leading cause of death and disability in children, yet educators report a lack of knowledge about ABI and supporting students with ABI. With no formal learning about ABI, education professionals may turn to the internet for information. To find online resources about supporting students with ABI, in any format, available freely and publicly, aimed toward elementary educators and that could be applied in a Canadian context. We performed an environmental scan using keyword Google searches, key websites, and expert recommendations. The search was performed twice: 2018 and 2021. 96 resources were included after screening. The resources were published by organizations in the United States (n = 57), Canada (n = 19), United Kingdom (n = 16), Australia (n = 3) and New Zealand (n = 1). Traumatic brain injury and concussion were the most commonly addressed type of ABI, and Short Fact/Information sheets were the most common resource format. Between 2018 and 2021, 13 previously included resource links were no longer accessible. This scan suggests that there are many online resources available to educators in a variety of formats, and that information online can be transient. Future studies should evaluate the accuracy and quality of the resources available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective was to conduct an environmental scan of existing Canadian childcare resources targeting nutrition, physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and/or sleep. A comprehensive search plan was conducted that involved four search strategies: (1) grey literature databases, (2) customized Google search engines, (3) targeted websites, and (4) consultation with content experts. A resource (i.e., information, materials) must have been created by government or an organization/agency within Canada, available in English, intended for childcare educators or directors working with children ≤ 5 years of age, and focused on targeting improvements in nutrition, physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and/or sleep. The quality of each included resource was assessed using a modified version of the Authority, Accuracy, Coverage, Objectivity, Date, Significance checklist. A total of 192 eligible resources were included. Most resources targeted only nutrition (n = 101) or physical activity (n = 60), and few resources targeted only sedentary behaviour (n = 2) or sleep (n = 1). The remaining 28 resources targeted more than one health behaviour. The 4 most common topics of resources were menu/meal planning (n = 55), healthy nutrition practices/environment (n = 37), physical activities/games (n = 33), and nutrition/food literacy (n = 20). Only 52 included resources cited evidence. One-third of the included resources (n = 64) were rated as high quality, including 55 that received a point for the significance criterion. Therefore, numerous high quality Canadian childcare resources exist for nutrition and physical activity. Future resource development is needed for sedentary behaviour and sleep. Findings can assist future intervention work and the database of resources can be utilized by relevant stakeholders to support other childcare initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last decade, Sci-Hub has become prevalent among academic information users across the world. Providing thousands of users with millions of uncopyrighted electronic academic resources, this information pirate website has become a significant threat to copyrights in cyberspace. Information scholars have examined the unequal distribution of IP addresses of Sci-Hub users' nationality and emphasized the high proportion taken by users from the developed countries. This study finds new evidence from Google Scholar. Searching "Sci-Hub.tw" in the academic search engine, the author finds 531 results containing the keyword. Considering the result, the author argues that academic users in South American countries may use Sci-Hub more frequently than their counterparts in the rest of the world. Moreover, users in the Global North also rely on Sci-Hub to complete their research as well. The new evidence on Google Scholar proves the universal use of Sci-Hub across the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural, cold climate communities, such as those in coastal and northern Newfoundland and Labrador, face documented challenges pertaining to financial and infrastructure constraints and changing personnel considerations. Fire service delivery must adapt to these realities. The aim of this paper is to understand the scope of the scholarly and grey literature addressing challenges and solutions for fire service delivery and firefighting in rural and cold climate contexts, particularly as they pertain to Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The review was conducted using an academic search engine, topic-specific search engines, grey literature databases, and a review of relevant websites to produce information sources. Peerreviewed articles, professional reports, theses and dissertations, and other article types indicated several challenges and solutions. The challenges identified were represented in scholarly and grey literature. These included challenges related to resources, the environment, firefighting tasks, and community. Likewise, solutions centred around resources, firefighting tasks, and community were represented in both scholarly and grey literature. Specific identification of future research needs was limited in the research reviewed. Further investigation and evaluation of the efficacy of solutions for specific cold climate, rural regions are advised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patron privacy, as articulated in the American Library Association (ALA) Code of Ethics, is a longstanding concern for librarians. In online environments, the possibility of tracking by third parties, usage of HTTPS/TLS to provide secure connections, and easy disclosure of a site's privacy policies all have implications for user privacy. This paper presents new empirical evidence about these issues and discusses their ethical implications. Data about the incidence of third-party tracking, usage of HTTPS by default, and easy discoverability of a privacy policy or terms of service (TOS) were collected for public libraries across Canada and the United States. The sample consisted of 178 public libraries; members of the Canadian Urban Libraries Council and Urban Libraries Council. Several common commercial databases (e.g. OverDrive) were also examined using the same criteria. Results show that only 12% of libraries were devoid of third-party tracking, with Google Analytics being the most common third-party tracker. While libraries may support HTTPS under certain circumstances, it was found that a majority of libraries serve neither their websites nor their online catalogs (OPACs) HTTPS by default. Regarding disclosure of possible tracking, it was found that 58% of libraries did not link to a TOS or privacy policy from their homepage. Together with previous research on the usage of privacy-enhancing tools in public libraries, these results suggest that public libraries are accessories to third-party tracking on a large scale. Implications of this fact in light of library professional ethics are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To limit the risk of transmitting the COVID-19 virus during in person interactions, modes of telemedicine, such as teleoncology, have been on the rise more than ever. This narrative review examines the effectiveness of current Canadian teleoncology services in providing adequate services to the residents of Canadian rural areas. This paper also seeks to analyze current international research and models of teleoncology and how they may be applicable in a Canadian rural context. The paper additionally provides well-supported and appropriate suggestions for future developments of Canadian rural teleoncology and future research directions within the field. Methods: Through a literature search on platforms like Google Scholar, 14 Canadian and international pieces of literature have been selected and reviewed. Common trends of teleoncology strengths and weaknesses have been retrieved, analyzed and summarized. Results: Upon analysis of advantages and disadvantages, it can be stated that teleoncology is a relevant mode of healthcare delivery in the current Canadian context. Despite its limitations, teleoncology can enhance and diversify the quality and types of services delivered to Canadians, especially those in rural areas. Conclusion: Overall, it can be safely deduced that teleoncology has the potential of becoming a prominent aspect of the future of healthcare especially in Canadian rural contexts. The next step towards enhancing the Canadian rural teleoncology system is to gain a better understanding of this system through more recent, standardized research. This can be followed by careful examination of the international status of teleoncology for potential inspirations for change and areas of research. In its analysis, the paper at hand provides a series of suggestions for future areas of research in this topic and potential methodologies for enhancing current Canadian rural teleoncology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Companies often defending their products when there are concerns about their safety and/or effectiveness. OBJECTIVE: This study looks at drugs removed from the Canadian market from 1990 onward and examines how companies responded. METHODS: This descriptive analysis used a previously published article and a hand search of a Government of Canada website to generate a list of drugs withdrawn from Canada from 1990 onwards. For each product the following information was extracted: brand name, generic name, company, date of withdrawal and evidence base for withdrawal. Google and Factiva searches were used to identify sources containing statements from the company about the withdrawal. Statements were independently graded by two people into the following categories: company agrees with the withdrawal; drug could be used safely with certain precautions; company may reintroduce the drug; company disagrees with the withdrawal. Searches were carried out between September 15–20, 2020. RESULTS: There were 22 drugs for which there were company statements. In 10 statements, the companies disagreed with the decision to withdraw the drug and in 7 they agreed with the decision. In the other 5 cases they felt that the drug could have been kept on the market with restrictions (2 cases) or they might reintroduce the drug (3 cases). The level of evidence for the withdrawal did not seem to influence the companies' position. CONCLUSION: In 15 out of 22 cases, the company either disagreed with the decision to withdraw the drug or felt that the drug should continue to be available to Canadian patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The majority of currently availablewebpages are dynamic in nature and are changing frequently. New content gets added to webpages, and existing content gets updated or deleted. Hence, people find it useful to be alert for changes in webpages that contain information that is of value to them. In the current context, keeping track of these webpages and getting alerts about different changes have become significantly challenging. Change Detection and Notification (CDN) systems were introduced to automate this monitoring process and to notify users when changes occur in webpages. This survey classifies and analyzes different aspects of CDN systems and different techniques used for each aspect. Furthermore, the survey highlights the current challenges and areas of improvement present within the field of research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current metadata schema, internet search engines and databases of scientific literature have an Anglo-American language and cultural bias. While it is possible to catalogue or index non-English, non-Latin script publications and achieve some degree of success in the retrieval of such information, librarians and researchers are often disappointed by inconsistencies in the accuracy of search results for this type of publication and frustrated by the limitations created by the biases embedded in the technology and schema. This paper is the result of a two-year dialog between a Farsi-speaking medical librarian in Iran and an English-speaking metadata librarian in Canada. They present the argument that a metadata schema which incorporates graphical images such as Emoji along with keyword indexing or a controlled vocabulary and new search engines which can make use of the new schema for Boolean searching is a robust potential solution for the difficulties they discussed. While this new information seeking environment that requires both the edition of a graphical facet to metadata schema and new search engines presents the potential to break down significant intercultural barriers, the authors recognize that this undertaking is more than a simple technological or procedural change but would require significant agreement between and work from librarians, standards bodies and researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In October 2018, Canada became the second country in the world to legalize cannabis. However, at this stage in the implementation process, it can be challenging to get a sense of the outcomes of this policy shift – hence why we turned to media. Purpose/objectives: We present the results of a qualitative content analysis conducted on the media coverage between October 2018 and April 2019. Methods: We used Google News and ProQuest database to complete our search. We included online media articles published between October 2018 and April 2019 in English. This left us with 81 eligible articles. These articles were analyzed by blending deductive and inductive approaches. Results: The articles were grouped into 5 categories: 1) housing, 2) access, 3) workplace, 4) driving, and 5) public consumption. Each category was then analyzed to identify emerging themes across news stories. Overall, we found that non-governmental actors such as landlords and employers were given a great deal of flexibility to introduce overly broad and restrictive regulations that disproportionately impact various communities. We also found that emphasis was placed on banning cannabis in various spheres of life as opposed to adapting to the new reality that cannabis is now legal. Conclusion: Real-time observations are critically needed to better understand the impact of policy implementation across the three levels of government: federal, provincial and territorial, and municipal. Our findings suggest that media coverage analysis can help us understand and track issues as they arise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aim of this study was to identify published evidence to inform the development of expanded practice services in rural community pharmacies. Data sources: The search strategy was applied to the following electronic databases: MEDLINE, CINAHL, Emcare, Cochrane and Google Scholar. Study selection: In all, 508 studies were evaluated against inclusion and exclusion criteria, with 29 eligible studies finally included in the review. Services provided needed to meet the described definition of 'expanded practice' and be applied in a rural community pharmacy setting. Expanded services were evaluated against at least one of the following: effectiveness, enablers, barriers and feasibility. Results: The studies included in this review were conducted in the US (n = 15), Australia (n = 8), Canada (n = 2), New Zealand (n = 1), England (n = 1), Croatia (n = 1) and Ghana (n = 1). All studies were conducted within the past 22 years, with 11 published since 2015. Cardiovascular disease (n = 7), diabetes/metabolic syndrome (n = 4), respiratory disease (n = 6) and vaccinations (n = 5) were the most common diseases or health service targeted in the interventions. Study design varied, reflected in the methodological quality, which included experimental studies (n = 27) and retrospective observational cohort studies (n = 2). Expanded pharmacy services identified included delivery of immunisations and the screening and management of chronic and infectious diseases, such as osteoporosis, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, malaria, diabetes and cardiovascular and kidney disease. Conclusions: Pharmacists providing these services have an opportunity to improve health outcomes for rural populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This study sought to estimate the number of illicit retailers and the average price of cannabis in the largest municipality in each province and territory in Canada by obtaining information from retailers.Methods: Online search engines were used to identify retailers in each municipality. The advertised prices for various volumes of the least expensive, most expensive, and most popular dry herb were determined using the retailer's website, Weedmaps, or Leafly. Data was collected between October 2017 and May 2018, including two waves in Toronto to examine changes over a five-month period.Results: Across the 13 municipalities, 997 cannabis retailers were identified, including 215 physical storefronts. The average price per gram of cannabis was $10.02, $7.80, and $12.30 for the most popular, least expensive, and most expensive strains, respectively. The price-per-gram decreased as purchase volume increased: purchasing one-eighth of an ounce and one ounce of cannabis led to savings of up to 9% and 27%, respectively. Prices were consistent across municipalities, although the number of outlets varied greatly. Prices were similar between storefronts and delivery-only services; however, delivery services offered larger discounts for cannabis purchased by the ounce. The five-month comparison in Toronto revealed modest changes in the number of retailers and more pronounced changes in the price of the most popular and least expensive strains.Conclusion: The findings depict a well-established retail cannabis market in Canada in the year prior to legalization. The average advertised price of the most popular cannabis varieties was approximately $10, which aligns with the projected retail price of cannabis from licensed sources following legalization in Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Open Access publishing continues to grow, and it has profound implications for librarians in a variety of contexts. This report serves two functions. It provides background on Open Access publication of scholarly journals and the role of academic libraries in this movement. In particular, it examines the University of Lethbridge Journal Incubator as an example of library involvement in Open Access publication. The report also examines how hybrid journals, in an attempt to provide Open Access publication options in traditional subscription journals, have introduced a new discovery and access problem for libraries. While standards bodies have begun to address the problem, there are still many challenges when accessing open content in hybrid journals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim This article reports the results of an analysis of the content of national and international professional guidance on social media for the nursing profession. The aim was to consolidate good practice examples of social media guidelines, and inform the development of comprehensive guidance. Method A scoping search of professional nursing bodies' and organisations' social media guidance documents was undertaken using google search. Results 34 guidance documents were located, and a content analysis of these was conducted. Conclusion The results, combined with a review of competency hearings and literature, indicate that guidance should cover the context of social media, and support nurses to navigate and negotiate the differences between the real and online domains to help them translate awareness into actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a growing interest in English-speaking jurisdictions, including Australia, North America, Canada, the United Kingdom and New Zealand, about the prevention of sexual abuse perpetrated by children against other children. The aim of this review was to identify opportunities for research, policy and practice which could enhance the prevention agenda relating to the perpetration of sexual abuse by children through conducting a Critical Interpretive Synthesis. Eleven electronic databases were searched in the period from 22 April to 23 May 2013 and included: SocINDEX, Social Services Abstracts, Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts, Family and Society Studies Worldwide, Project Muse, PsychINFO, Family and Society Plus, Jstor, Expanded Academic ASAP, Web of Science and Google Scholar. Key individual journals were also searched, including Child Abuse and Neglect and the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, as well as the grey literature. The search was guided by the research question: How could the prevention agenda relating to sexual abuse perpetrated by children be enhanced? The systematic literature search yielded 3323 titles, and 34 of these papers were included in the final synthesis. The authors identified five domains operating in the evidence base: characteristics, causes, communications, interventions and treatments. A synthesising construct emerged from the review: prevention-enhancing interactions. This construct referred to the potential for enhancing the prevention agenda which exists as the evidence domains interact with one another, and with the public health model of prevention. The authors consider this review to be a timely contribution to the current agenda pertaining to sexual abuse perpetrated by children. It provides researchers, policy makers and practitioners in the field with an evidence-informed conceptualisation of opportunities for enhancing prevention work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the challenges presented by search engine visibility for public libraries. The paper outlines the results of a pilot study investigating search engine visibility in two Canadian public libraries.Design/methodology/approach The study consists of semi-structured interviews with librarians from two multi-branch Canadian public library systems, combined with quantitative data provided by each library, as well as data obtained through site-specific searches in Google and Bing. Possible barriers to visibility are identified through thematic analysis of the interviews.Findings The initial findings of this pilot study identify a complex combination of barriers to visibility on search engines, in the form of attitudes, policies, organizational structures, and technological difficulties.Research limitations/implications This paper describes a small, preliminary pilot study. More research is needed before any firm conclusions can be reached.Practical implications A review of the literature shows the increasing importance of search engine visibility for public libraries. By delving into the underlying issues which may be affecting libraries’ progress on the issue, this paper may help inform libraries’ decision-making processes and practices.Originality/value There has been little original research investigating the reasons behind libraries’ lack of visibility in search engine results pages. This paper provides insight into a previously unexplored area by exploring public libraries’ relationships with search engines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on several medical studies published in various journals in 2015. Studies include "Starting the Data Conversation: Informing Data Services at an Academic Health Sciences Library" by Kevin B. Read, Alisa Surkis and colleagues, "Destination Library: Validating the Importance of Physical Space" by Donna S. Gibson and colleagues, and "Evaluating the Impact of an Institution's Research" by Karen L. Hanus and Elizabeth Suelzer.

Objectives Waterpipe tobacco smoking (WTS), a traditional tobacco consumption practice in the Middle East, is gaining popularity worldwide. Estimates of population-level interest in WTS over time are not documented. We assessed the popularity of WTS using World Wide Web search query results across four English-speaking countries. Methods We analysed trends in Google search queries related to WTS, comparing these trends with those for electronic cigarettes between 2004 and 2013 in Australia, Canada, the UK and the USA. Weekly search volumes were reported as percentages relative to the week with the highest volume of searches. Results Web-based searches for WTS have increased steadily since 2004 in all four countries. Search volume for WTS was higher than for e-cigarettes in three of the four nations, with the highest volume in the USA. Online searches were primarily targeted at WTS products for home use, followed by searches for WTS cafés/lounges. Conclusions Online demand for information on WTSrelated products and venues is large and increasing. Given the rise in WTS popularity, increasing evidence of exposure-related harms, and relatively lax government regulation, WTS is a serious public health concern and could reach epidemic levels in Western societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Millions of people surf the Internet every day as a source of health-care information looking for materials about symptoms, diagnosis, treatments and their possible adverse effects, or diagnostic procedures. Google is the most popular search engine and is used by patients and physicians to search for online health-related information. This study aimed to evaluate changes in Google search behavior occurring in English-speaking countries over time for the term “status epilepticus” (SE). Methods Using Google Trends, data on global search queries for the term SE between the 1st of January 2004 and 31st of December 2014 were analyzed. Search volume numbers over time (downloaded as CSV datasets) were analyzed by applying the “health” category filter. Results The research trends for the term SE remained fairly constant over time. The greatest search volume for the term SE was reported in the United States, followed by India, Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands, Thailand, and Germany. Most terms associated with the search queries were related to SE definition, symptoms, subtypes, and treatment. The volume of searches for some queries (nonconvulsive, focal, and refractory SE; SE definition; SE guidelines; SE symptoms; SE management; SE treatment) was enormously increased over time (search popularity has exceeded a 5000% growth since 2004). Conclusions Most people use search engines to look for the term SE to obtain information on its definition, subtypes, and management. The greatest search volume occurred not only in developed countries but also in developing countries where raising awareness about SE still remains a challenging task and where there is reduced public knowledge of epilepsy. Health information seeking (the extent to which people search for health information online) reflects the health-related information needs of Internet users for a specific disease. Google Trends shows that Internet users have a great demand for information concerning some aspects of SE (definition, subtypes, symptoms, treatment, and guidelines). Policy makers and neurological scientific societies have the responsibility to try to meet these information needs and to better target public information campaigns on SE to the general population. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled “Status Epilepticus”. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and objectives This paper aims to investigate the transition experiences of students with previous nursing qualifications (nondegree qualifications) entering a nursing degree program. Background Nurses with professional nursing qualifications (nondegree) are an important pool of professionals to draw on to help address nursing shortages through providing alternative pathways to becoming registered nurses. However, research suggests this cohort need higher levels of support and intervention to be successful. Design An integrative review was conducted, guided by Whittemore and Knafl's framework. A comprehensive search was conducted and 14 studies were included in the review. Methods A five-stage approach was used to conduct the review: problem identification, literature search, data evaluation, data analysis and presentation of results. Constant comparative analysis was used to identify commonalities, differences and themes in the relevant literature. Results Themes emerged that suggested students struggled with academic and institutional challenges, becoming learners, managing conflicting demands of outside life, developing a student identity and experienced threat to their sense of professional identity. Additionally, the cohort did not view themselves as 'the same' as traditional students. Holland's framework provides a useful framework from which to conceptualise these students' experiences. Conclusion There are challenges for this cohort of students as they transition into degree level study. Supportive activities that extend and further develop students' personality orientations may be a useful starting point in addressing some of the challenges and providing a more positive transition to university. Relevance to clinical practice The demand for health care is growing and there remains a shortfall of registered nurses. Nurses with professional qualifications (nondegree) are an important pool of professionals from which to increase registered nurse numbers and address workforce sustainability issues. [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]

Caring for children is a known psychosocial stressor; however, its effects on psychological functioning may have substantial cross-cultural variance. We explored relationships between family size and a variety of psychological outcomes among Orthodox Jews in four separate studies: (1) an international treatment-seeking sample (n = 82), (2) a community sample from Canada (n = 226), (3) an out-patient clinical sample from greater New York (n = 82), and (4) a large dyadic sample of Israeli couples (n = 789). Surprisingly, results suggested that family size wasnotassociated with greater stress, anxiety, depression, global functioning, family functioning, family communication, family satisfaction, or even parenting stress. It is possible that the high religious value placed on family life as well as structural adaptions in families buffer against potential stressors associated with child rearing, and further research on these potential effects is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The number of public health degrees and programmes is growing rapidly. This means that a diverse and multidisciplinary group of students are in need of expert library services to navigate the complicated world of public health information. Objective To better understand the information needs of public health students, a group that has not previously been studied in the information needs literature. Methods An online survey. Results Of the 153 students, 38 responded (25% response rate). Their responses indicated a strong need for more tailored library instruction sessions at the point of need as opposed to general stand-alone sessions offered at the beginning of a term. It was also found that many students were unaware of public health specific resources available that could greatly aid them in their information needs. Suggestions were made on how to improve the library subject guide, specifically in the areas of more instructions related to locating hard to find resources (e.g. statistics, grey literature), and direct linking to resources (e.g. databases and relevant articles). Conclusion The information needs of public health students are diverse and complex. It is imperative that the library has a solid understanding of their needs and is able to offer them targeted and relevant library services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The numbers of children and young people with chronic conditions are increasing. While their information needs may vary, providing health care information can have considerable benefits, including better emotional health, less distress during treatments, and greater satisfaction with medical care. The Internet is increasingly being used to communicate health-related information to children about a range of chronic conditions. However, the quality of such websites is underexplored. Thus, the objectives of this study were to evaluate the reliability and quality of online information for children about chronic conditions using a standardized evaluation tool, and to explore children’s and young people’s perceptions of quality and trustworthiness regarding online health information. The study consisted of two phases. In Phase 1, websites about common pediatric chronic conditions aimed at children and containing treatment or management options were identified and the quality assessment tool DISCERN was completed. Test–retest and interrater reliability were calculated. In Phase 2, two focus groups with laptop computers were conducted with children and young people with a chronic condition to explore their perceptions of trustworthiness of online health information. In Phase 1, 165 websites were identified and 100 met the criteria and were assessed. The mean DISCERN score of all sites was 48.16 out of 75 (SD = 7.97, range 28–71, min 15 to max 75). Quality scores varied widely across the sample. The internal consistency and interrater reliability scores were both lower than previously reported in studies using the DISCERN to assess information for adults. In Phase 2, two focus groups with a total of six participants aged 11–23 years revealed a relative lack of concern about the quality and trustworthiness of online health information. Older participants reported judging the source and authorship of websites, but other participants did not question the source of the information they found online. Although personal websites were perceived to be less reliable than those from well-known medical institutions, they were still valued by many of the participants. Overall, there were relatively few websites about pediatric chronic conditions aimed at children, with variable quality and reliability. However, DISCERN’s use with pediatric websites across a broad spectrum of developmental stages is limited. Children and young people demonstrated a need for more guidance around assessing trustworthiness of online information. A more appropriate quality assessment tool is warranted, which could usefully be employed by health care professionals, children, and parents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The section offers news briefs on the field of library science of July 2013. Rick Anderson, interim dean and university librarian at the University of Utah's Marriott Library, was chosen as the 2013 recipient of the HARRASSOWITZ Award for Leadership in Library Acquisitions. The Techniques for Electronic Resources (TERMS) project has been converted into a wiki. The 2013 UKSH Conference and Exhibition was held in Bournemouth, England.

Objective Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) has been implemented in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, USA and Israel. We conducted an exploratory summary of available data to estimate whether GDL effects varied with age. Methods We searched MEDLINE and other sources from 1991-2011. GDL evaluation studies with crashes resulting in injuries or deaths were eligible. They had to provide age-specific incidence rate ratios with CI or information for calculating these quantities. We included studies from individual states or provinces, but excluded national studies. We examined rates based on person-years, not license-years. Results Of 1397 papers, 144 were screened by abstract and 47 were reviewed. Twelve studies from 11 US states and one Canadian province were selected for meta-analysis for age 16, eight were selected for age 17, and four for age 18. Adjusted rate ratios were pooled using random effects models. The pooled adjusted rate ratios for the association of GDL presence with crash rates was 0.78 (95% CI 0.72 to 0.84) for age 16 years, 0.94 (95% CI 0.93 to 0.96) for 17 and 1.00 (95% CI 0.95 to 1.04) for 18. The difference between these three rate ratios was statistically significant: p<0.001. Conclusions GDL policies were associated with a 22% reduction in crash rates among 16-year-old drivers, but only a 6% reduction for 17-year-old drivers. GDL showed no association with crashes among 18-year-old drivers. Because we had few studies to summarise, particularly for older adolescents, our findings should be considered exploratory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the study which reviews several facts including the traditional uses of medicinal plants by the Aboriginal people of the entire Canadian boreal forest in order to provide comprehensive documentation, identify research gaps, and suggests perspectives for future research. It mentions that several critical issues are yet to be explored and addressed regarding the legal, ethical and cultural aspects of the conservation of medicinal plant species.

Background: The ability to find and retrieve information efficiently is an important skill for undergraduate nursing students. Yet a number of studies reveal that nursing students are not confident in their library searching skills and encounter barriers to retrieving relevant information for assignments. Objectives: This grounded theory study examined strategies used by students to locate information for class assignments and identified barriers to their success. Methods: Purposive sampling was used to recruit eleven students, who were asked to record their searching processes while completing a class assignment, and semi-structured, open-ended, audiotaped interviews took place to discuss the students' journals and solicit additional data. Methods of information seeking, strategies used to find information, and barriers to searching were identified. Results: Students' main concern was frustration caused by the challenge of choosing appropriate words or phrases to query databases. The central theme that united all categories and explained most of the variation among the data was "discovering vocabulary." Conclusions: Teaching strategies to identify possible words and phrases to use when querying information sources should be emphasized more in the information literacy training of undergraduate nursing students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, the majority of the people find out the required websites information including virtual exhibitions through web search engines. The most commonly used search engines in the market are Google, Yahoo and MSN. This paper basically provides tips to the developers of virtual exhibition websites to make their sites more visible to the public. This is one of the marketing strategies of the web search engines are following to get best returns on their investment. This is a short paper based on the research work done at Canadian Heritage Information Network and their results are communicated in form of short paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author presents the state of metadata schemes today and discusses the idea of a "third way" between free-text searching and full cataloguing. He concludes that there is no such compromise and suggests that metadata schemes will have to incorporate controlled vocabularies and detailed designators if they are to progress, thus leading to a confluence that will be, in essence, a new form of traditional cataloguing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite the substantial amount of epilepsy-related information available on the Internet, little is known about its quality. Epilepsy-related information in English on the Canadian Internet was reviewed. Methods: Popular search engines (google.ca, yahoo.ca, ca.altavista.com, simpatico.msn.ca) were interrogated. Web sites aimed primarily at patient and family education, geared toward human epilepsy, and epilepsy in general as opposed to one specific type or aspect of epilepsy, were included. Web sites were then subdivided in to proprietary (directly sponsored by the industry) and nonproprietary, and evaluated according to compliance with the principles of the Health on the Net (HON) Foundation Code of Conduct. Web sites without comprehensive contents were excluded. Comparison between total scores was done using the rank test. Categorized descriptors were assessed with t tests. Results: Five proprietary and fourteen nonproprietary websites were identified. None of them were compliant with all eight principles of the HON code. The average number of principles with which these sites were in compliance was 3.3 (range: 1–6.5, P =0.4, proprietary vs nonproprietary). Conclusions: The Internet has the potential to be a very powerful educational tool for patients with epilepsy. However, most of the easily accessed epilepsy web sites do not comply with accepted standards for health web sites. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to report an investigation into the ways in which Canadian digital library collections have incorporated knowledge organization systems into their search interfaces. Design/methodology/approach - A combination of data-gathering techniques was used. These were as follows: a review of the literature related to the application of knowledge organization systems, deep scanning of Canadian governmental and academic institutions web sites on the web, identify and contact researchers in the area of knowledge organization, and identify and contact people in the governmental organizations who are involved in knowledge organization and information management. Findings - A total of 33 digital collections were identified that have made use of some type of knowledge organization system. Thesauri, subject heading lists and classification schemes were the widely used knowledge organization systems in the surveyed Canadian digital library collections. Research limitations/implications - The target population for this research was limited to governmental and academic digital library collections. Practical implications - An evaluation of the knowledge organization systems interfaces showed that searching, browsing and navigation facilities as well as bilingual features call for improvements. Originality/value - This research contributes to the following areas: digital libraries, knowledge organization systems and services and search interface design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents the results of a survey conducted at two Canadian universities in an attempt to describe the characteristics of students receiving instruction in web searching. Bibliographic instruction in web searching; Research questions; Conclusions.

This paper explores the influence of an organization's information ecology, or internal information environment, on a firm's electronic commerce initiatives and plans. To investigate this problem area, results are reported from a recent case study investigation on the adoption and use of a specific e-commerce initiative – namely a corporate portal – by 20 participants at a large Canadian company. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews and field observations, while analysis comprised a variant form of grounded theory. Factors of the information ecology influencing portal utilization are identified. From these, implications are drawn to e-commerce solutions in general. Specific recommendations include the need to create a democratic steering committee to oversee the development of e-commerce solutions, gain support of upper management, and market and train organizational workers on the functionality and strategic importance of a company's e-commerce initiatives and plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]