Accreditation in Ontario, Canada, requires that licensed clinical laboratories participate in external quality assessment (also known as proficiency testing) and perform competency evaluation of their staff. To assess the extent of ongoing competency assessment practices, the Quality Management Program—Laboratory Services (QMP-LS) Microbiology Committee surveyed all 112 licensed Ontario microbiology laboratories. The questionnaire consisted of a total of 21 questions that included yes/no, multiple-choice, and short-answer formats. Participants were asked to provide information about existing programs, the frequency of testing, what areas are evaluated, and how results are communicated to the staff. Of the 111 responding laboratories, 6 indicated they did not have a formal evaluation program since they perform only limited bacteriology testing. Of the remaining 105 respondents, 87% perform evaluations at least annually or every 2 years, and 61% include any test or task performed, whereas 16% and 10% focus only on problem areas and high-volume complex tasks, respectively. The most common methods of evaluation were review of external quality assessment (EQA) challenges, direct observation, and worksheet review. With the exception of one participant...

Invasive meningococcal disease is a rapidly progressing infection that can lead to death within 24 h of onset or cause serious life-threatening disabilities. Serogroup B is now the most common form in Canada. In Ontario, the Pediatrics Section of the Ontario Medical Asso ciation and the Pediatricians Alliance of Ontario have developed five recommendations regarding immunization policy with a primary focus on providing the vaccine for children. The recommendations presented by the authors are intended to assist practicing clinicians in advocating for the benefits of the new serogroup B vaccine and to spark discussion and build consensus regarding vaccination policies.

Cette recherche consiste en un examen du rôle du festival dans une communauté linguistique en contexte minoritaire confrontée à des enjeux spécifiques tels que l’assimilation, l’exogamie, la diglossie, l’inégal accès aux services dans sa langue, de même que l’accès limité aux produits culturels de son groupe linguistique. Le cas des festivals francophones en milieu minoritaire sert à interroger concrètement et empiriquement les possibilités, les conditions, les limites et les contraintes de cette forme particulière d’événement en tant que vecteur de la vitalité culturelle d’une communauté minoritaire. Le festival est aussi exploré en lien aux grandes finalités de développement culturel et de démocratie culturelle, soit des mécanismes culturels à la source des politiques culturelles modernes, ainsi qu’en lien à son rôle aux niveaux de l’affirmation et de la consolidation identitaires. Une étude de cas multiples a été menée afin de comparer et d’analyser trois festivals francophones en milieu minoritaire ontarien qui sont mis sur pied dans différentes régions, et ont des objectifs à la fois similaires et différenciés : 1) La Nuit sur l’étang (Sudbury) ; 2) le Festival franco-ontarien (Ottawa) ; et 3) le Festival du Loup (Lafontaine-Penetanguishene). En focalisant sur chaque cas étudié...

Radiotherapy, in combination with breast-conserving surgery, is an effective treatment option for early stage breast cancer; however previous studies have shown that Ontario residents do not have equitable access to radiotherapy services in Ontario. The objective of this study is to determine the association between residential distance to the nearest cancer centre (km), and radiotherapy following breast-conserving surgery for women diagnosed with breast cancer in Ontario between 1990 and 2002. The effect of age at diagnosis, socioeconomic status, and level of radiotherapy services at the hospital of diagnosis on the relationship between the main exposure and outcome were also examined. It was found that women who resided 160 to <325 km to the nearest cancer centre were significantly less likely to receive radiotherapy after breast-conserving surgery than individuals living close to cancer centres (Odds Ratio (OR): 0.72, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.63-0.83). Women who lived ≥ 325 km from a cancer centre were also significantly less likely to receive radiotherapy after breast-conserving surgery (OR: 0.67, 95% CI: 0.50-0.91). Similar associations were found for overall radiotherapy utilization within one year of diagnosis. Age at diagnosis...

Traits that converge in appearance under similar environmental conditions among phylogenetically-independent lineages are thought to represent adaptations to local environments. I tested for similar patterns of geographic variation in nest morphology and composition of birds breeding in two locations in Canada that experience different environmental conditions: northern Manitoba and southeastern Ontario. I examined nests from four families of passerine birds (Turdidae: Turdus, Parulidae: Dendroica, Emberizidae: Passerculus and Fringillidae: Carduelis) where closely-related populations or species breed in both locations. Nests of American Robins (Turdus migratorius), Yellow Warblers (Dendroica petechia), and Carduelis finches had heavier nest masses, and thicker nest walls in northern Manitoba compared with conspecifics or congenerics breeding in southeastern Ontario. Ground-nesting Savannah Sparrows showed no differences in nest morphology or composition between locations. American Robins, Yellow Warblers, and Carduelis finches in northern Manitoba achieved heavier nest masses and thicker nest walls in different ways. American Robins in northern Manitoba increased all materials in similar proportions. In contrast, both Yellow Warblers and Common Redpolls in northern Manitoba used greater amounts of select materials. While changes in nest composition vary uniquely for each species...

The research question of this report is, how can Belleville, Ontario develop a role in the knowledge economy? A thorough review of Belleville’s city planning documents found no evidence that Belleville’s role is defined for the knowledge economy, highlighting the rationale for this report. It is debated that capitalism goes through distinct phases, and the ascendancy of the knowledge economy implicates a transformation of the structures, principles and mechanisms that underpin capitalist development (Amin, 1995; Macleod & Goodwin, 1999). What is truly defining capitalism of today is how knowledge and learning create economic wealth (Gertler, 2001). Inherently, just as Fordism required Americanism to spur the post-war boom, there is the need to embed the knowledge economy in a knowledge society or a society with a reciprocal institutional ensemble (laws, rules), cultural norms and social relationships (Harvey, 1989; Amin, 1995). In the industrial age, the corporation was the organizing unit of economic growth (Florida, Mellander, & Adler, 2010). In the knowledge economy, the knowledge worker owns the means of production and it is on the urban scale “that the productive capacities of territorial organizations are mobilized” (Brenner...

The Regan Lab at Queen’s University works to optimize hybrid poplar for biofuel production. One clone, fuzzy, is of particular interest as it exhibited accelerated growth due to the upregulation of the PtaMYB186 gene. The specific research question asks, what is the potential effect of the increased growth rate associated with the fuzzy phenotype on ethanol production capacity in Ontario and how significant is this to the transportation fuel mix? A detailed literature review was conducted before any modeling could be performed. Using data from fuzzy growth trials and existing Ontario hybrid poplar plantations, a typology of three different growth scenarios was created. The area of land suitable and available for establishing a high-yield hybrid poplar plantation was described. The three growth scenarios were applied to the determined area to predict the availability of lignocellulosic biomass from fuzzy and a wildtype clone. Considering that ethanol conversion efficiencies vary, this paper illustrates the affect that a moderate increase in growth has on potential biofuel production in Ontario. The typological model demonstrates how ethanol production from fuzzy, under different growth scenarios, could substitute anywhere from 12% to a surprising 99% of Ontario’s transport fuel demand. These conclusions...

Diatom assemblages in modern sediments were compared with pre-industrial assemblages in a “top-bottom” paleolimnological analysis of 15 south-central Ontario lakes to determine if lakewater acidity (pH) has changed since the pre-industrial era (i.e. prior to ~1850). This region of Ontario, although far removed from any industrial point source of pollution, has been exposed to regional anthropogenic influences, such as acidification. These lakes are located on the Canadian Shield, an acid-sensitive landscape due to the catchments having relatively low base-cation content and because prior paleolimnological analyses have identified these lakes as having low aqueous calcium concentrations. In addition to anthropogenic influences, the increasing presence of climate change leads to multiple stressors acting on these lakes, the complexities of which often evoke unpredictable limnological changes. Significant (p < 0.05) directional changes occurred in the relative abundances of five diatom taxa across the 15 study lakes. There were significantly (p < 0.05) increased relative abundances of planktonic Asterionella formosa and decreased relative abundances of heavily silicified Aulacoseria lirata in the modern sediments. In many of the study lakes...

Each year over 50% of all immigrants to Canada choose Ontario as their home (Goldberg, 2001). Although the federal government retains the responsibility for recruitment and selection of immigrants, the provincial government oversees education, and the regulation of professions. While some statistics report low economic integration for Internationally Educated Professionals (IEPs) overall, as of 2012 half of all Internationally Educated Nurses (IENs) in Canada were employed in Ontario. In the spirit of Au’s comment that curriculum studies requires us to critically question and engage with different conceptions of what counts as curriculum, this paper will examine one contemporary representation of scientific curriculum: the bridging program. This paper aims to address the following questions: 1) What is included in the planned curriculum of bridging programs in Ontario today? 2) How does this planning affect the experienced curriculum of the very students these programs aim to serve? In order to address these questions this paper will provide a brief overview of the literature relevant to the topic of bridging education. It will provide context for one bridging education case site and conclude with a discussion of further curricular questioning in need of research and analysis.

Atmospheric nitrogen deposition has continuously increased since the industrial revolution 200 years ago and is expected to double from its current rate (~10 kg N ha-1 yr-1) by the year 2050. Soil texture is locally heterogeneous throughout the Ontario landscape and can strongly influences nutrient availability. The small particle size of clay soils increases their water holding capacity and therefore nutrient availability. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between atmospheric N deposition and soil texture with regard to how they will affect the productivity and forage quality of Eastern Ontario hay fields. A chronic low-level nitrogen supplementation experiment was used to simulate atmospheric N deposition by supplementing experimental plots with 25 kg N ha-1 yr-1since 2005. Half of the plots were on clay-based soils and half were on sand-based soils. In the summer of 2014 above-ground plant material was harvested from the experimental replicate plots (n=6) for analysis at both the species level and at the community level. It was found that soil texture had a significant effect on productivity at both the species and community level, and on the diversity of the communities. These effects were most likely caused by the increased volumetric water content in clay soils compared to sandy soils. Surprisingly...

In Ontario, land planning decisions are delegated primarily to local decision makers. In cases where a decision is disputed, parties may appeal the outcome to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB). The Board is provincially legislated to hear land planning cases in a quasi-judicial format and has the power to make binding decisions. These decisions are often contentious, as they are perceived as over-ruling local elected decision makers, as supporting a pro-development stance or as confirming the belief that appointed members of the board may make decisions that are outside their areas of expertise. Local land planning decisions that approve or refuse development in areas affected by natural hazard constraints are one type of appeal that the OMB may hear. This report examines the written decisions of OMB members on appeals made under the 1997 Provincial Policy Statement between 2000 and 2005 which have a significant natural hazard component. Specifically, the decisions are subjected to a content analysis to understand the general character of the appeals, what the outcome is and what rationale is provided for the final decision. The rationale, or reasons, provided in the written decisions make specific references to the evidence that guided the OMB member final decision.

The role of the hospital-employed nurse educator is evolving. Factors influencing this change include the introduction of standards for nurse educators by the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO), a change in the way nurses are educated, the emergence of nursing as a profession, and hospital restructuring as a result of budgetary constraints. Two of these influencing factors: the introduction of the updated Standards of Practice for Registered Nurses and Registered Practical Nurses (1996) and hospital restructuring occurred over the last 7 years at several hospitals in southern Ontario. Current literature as well as the Standards of Practice (1996) were utilized to examine the current roles and responsibilities of nurse educators and subsequently develop a questionnaire to study the impact of these influencing factors on the role of the nurse educator. This questionnaire was piloted and revised before its distribution at 4 hospitals in southern Ontario. Twenty-five of the 41 surveys (61%) distributed were returned for analysis. The data reflected that the Standards of Practice had a positive influence on the role of the nurse educator, while hospital restructuring had a negative impact. In addition, many of the roles and responsibilities identified in the literature were indeed part of the current role of nurse educators...

The objective of this study was to determine whether clearwater and brownwater lakes differed in their rate of acidification as inferred by subfossil diatoms analyzed in recent downcore sediments. Differences between associations of diatom populations in brownwater and clearwater environments were characterized. Sediment cores were taken from four lakes located north and east of Lake Superior, near Wawa, Ontario. Two of these lakes were humicrich, brownwater lakes ( lakes U1 and CB2). The two other lakes were clearwater lakes ( lakes Xl and CF). The regression of Nygaard log index-alpha for surficial diatom sediments on observed pH ( Inferred pH = 6.57 - 0.82 log index-alpha ), was utilized to infer lake pH in recent sediments of these lakes. Upon analyzing the downcore diatoms, it was discovered that no significant change, in downcore diatom inferred pH, could be detected in the two brownwater lakes. In contrast, the two clearwater lakes showed significant shifts in downcore diatom inferred pH. In one of these lakes, pH had dropped from 5.3 to 4.5, in the top 9.0 cm of the core, while in the second lake, pH had dropped from 5.4 to 5.0 in the top 1.5 cm of the core. These findings suggested that humic substances...

Caseflow Management is a public sector program designed to promote effective management of cases through the resolution process in the public court system. Given its public nature caseflow management policy is ultimately an exercise in political will. To date that political will has been dominated by the legal profession which has influenced the Ministry of the Attorney General to limit the term~ of reference for caseflow management and its application to a narrow range of alternatives which are primarily in the interest of the legal profession. This thesis will explain the nature and extent of the politics within the legal profession that impact on caseflow management and demonstrate the potential for better serving the public interest by eXl~anding its terms of reference to incorporate independent paralegals and public / private sector partnerships in the Ontario Provincial Court System for highway traffic offences and other matters of a summary conviction nature.

Regional structural analysis of the Timmins area indicates four major periods of tectonic deformation. The DI deformation is characterized by a series of isoclinal FI folds which are outlined in the study area by bedding, pillow tops and variolitic flows. The D2 deformation developed the Porcupine Syncline and refolded the Fl folds about a NE. axis. A pervasive S2 foliation developed during low grade (greenschist) regional metamorphism associated with the D2 deformation. The S2 foliation developed south of the Destor-Porcupine Break. The third phase of tectonic D3 deformation is recognized by the development of a S3 sub-horizontal crenulation cleavage which developed on the plane of the S2 foliation. No meso scopic folds are associated with this deformation. The 8 3 crenulation cleavage is observed south of the Destor-Porcupine Break. The D4 tectonic deformation is recorded as a subvertical S4 crenulation cleavage which developed on the plane of the S2 foliation and also offsets the S3 crenulation cleavage. Macroscopic F4 folds have refolded the F2 axial plane. No metamorphic recrystallization is associated with this deformation. The S4 crenulation cleavage is observed south of the Destor-Porcupine Break. Petrographic evidence indicates that the Timmins area has been subjected to pervasive regional low grade (greenschist) metamorphism which has recrystallized the original mineralogy. South of the study are~ the Donut Lake ultramafic lavas have been subjected to contact medium grade (amphibolite facies) metamorphism associated with the intrusion of the Peterlong Lake Complex. The Archean volcanic rocks of the Timmins area have been subdivided into komatiitic...