International Medical Graduates: Learning for Practice in Alberta, Canada
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Lockyer, Jocelyn; Hofmeister, Marianna; Crutcher, Rodney; Klein, Douglas; Fidler, Herta
2007-01-01
Introduction: There is little known about the learning that is undertaken by physicians who graduate from a World Health Organization-listed medical school outside Canada and who migrate to Canada to practice. What do physicians learn and what resources do they access in adapting to practice in Alberta, a province of Canada? Methods: Telephone…
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Majorowicz, J.; Šafanda, J.; Gosnold, W.; Unsworth, M.
2012-04-01
Recent results from a 2.3km deep temperature log in northern Alberta, Canada acquired as part of the University of Alberta Helmholtz-Alberta Initiative (HAI) geothermal energy project in 2010-2011shows that there is a significant increase in thermal gradient in the granites. Inversion of the measured T-z profile between 550 - 2320 m indicates a temperature increase of 9.6 ± 0.3 °C, at 13.0 ± 0.6 ka and that the glacial base surface temperature was - 4.4± 0.3 °C. This inversion computation accounted for granite heat production of 3 µW/m3. This is the largest amplitude of Pleistocene - Holocene surface warming in Canada inferred from borehole temperature logs, and is compatible with the results of similar studies in Eurasia (KTB, Outokumpu, Torun-1 etc.) reported previously. Reference: Majorowicz, J., Unsworth, M., Chacko, T., Gray, A., Heaman L., Potter, D., Schmitt, D., and Babadagli, T., 2011. Geothermal energy as a source of heat for oilsands processing in northern Alberta, Canada, in: Hein, F. J., Leckie, D., Suter , J., and Larter, S., (Eds), Heavy Oil/Bitumen Petroleum Systems in Alberta and beyond, AAPG Mem., in press.
Millennium Open Pit Mine, Alberta, Canada
2007-11-26
Near Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, on the east bank of the Athabasca River, are found the Steepbank and Millennium open pit mines. These images were acquired by NASA Terra satellite on September 22, 2000 and July 31, 2007.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Carson, Valerie; Clark, Dawne; Ogden, Nancy; Harber, Vicki; Kuzik, Nicholas
2015-01-01
In December, 2013, revised Alberta child care accreditation standards were released by the Alberta Government in Canada that included a new standard for physical activity and sedentary behavior in accredited child care settings. The main purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the new accreditation standard in increasing physical…
Engineering design for a large scale renewable energy network installation in an urban environment
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Mansouri Kouhestani, F.; Byrne, J. M.; Hazendonk, P.; Spencer, L.; Brown, M. B.
2016-12-01
Humanity's current avid consumption of resources cannot be maintained and the use of renewable energy is a significant approach towards sustainable energy future. Alberta is the largest greenhouse gas-producing province in Canada (per capita) and Climate change is expected to impact Alberta with warmer temperatures, intense floods, and earlier snow melting. However, as one of the sunniest and windiest places in Canada, Alberta is poised to become one of Canada's leader provinces in utilizing renewable energies. This research has four main objectives. First, to determine the feasibility of implementing solar and wind energy systems at the University of Lethbridge campus. Second, to quantify rooftop and parking lot solar photovoltaic potential for the city of Lethbridge. Third, to determine the available rooftop area for PV deployment in a large scale region (Province of Alberta). Forth, to investigate different strategies for correlating solar PV array production with electricity demand in the province of Alberta. The proposed work addresses the need for Alberta reductions to fossil fuel pollution that drives climate change, and degrades our air, water and land resources.
Diet History Questionnaire: Canadian Version
The Diet History Questionnaire (DHQ) and the DHQ nutrient database were modified for use in Canada through the collaborative efforts of Dr. Amy Subar and staff at the Risk Factor Monitoring and Methods Branch, and Dr. Ilona Csizmadi and colleagues in the Division of Population Health and Information at the Alberta Cancer Board in Canada.
2001. Detailed Endocrine Assessments in Wild Fish Downstream of Pulp and Paper Mills in Northern Alberta, Canada (Abstract). In: Environmental Sciences in the 21st Century: Paradigms, Opportunities, and Challenges: Abstract Book: SETAC 21st Annual Meeting, 12-16 November 2000, N...
USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database
Malignant catarrhal fever (MCF)-like clinical disease was diagnosed in a free-ranging bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) in Alberta, Canada. Ante-mortem observations and gross pathology included muscle atrophy, marked weight loss and focally extensive alopecia with chronic crusting hyperkeratotosis and...
Higley, Debra K.
2013-01-01
The U.S. Geological Survey recently completed a geoscience-based assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of provinces within the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. The Western Canada Sedimentary Basin primarily comprises the (1) Alberta Basin Province of Alberta, eastern British Columbia, and the southwestern Northwest Territories; (2) the Williston Basin Province of Saskatchewan, southeastern Alberta, and southern Manitoba; and (3) the Rocky Mountain Deformed Belt Province of western Alberta and eastern British Columbia. This report is part of the U.S. Geological Survey World Petroleum Resources Project assessment of priority geologic provinces of the world. The assessment was based on geoscience elements that define a total petroleum system (TPS) and associated assessment unit(s). These elements include petroleum source rocks (geochemical properties and petroleum generation, migration, and accumulation), reservoir description (reservoir presence, type, and quality), and petroleum traps (trap and seal types, and timing of trap and seal formation relative to petroleum migration). Using this framework, the Elk Point-Woodbend Composite TPS, Exshaw-Fernie-Mannville Composite TPS, and Middle through Upper Cretaceous Composite TPS were defined, and four conventional assessment units within the total petroleum systems were quantitatively assessed for undiscovered resources in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin.
J. John Stadt; Jim Schieck; Harry Stelfox
2006-01-01
The Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Program is a rigorous science-based initiative that is being developed to monitor and report on biodiversity status and trends throughout the province of Alberta, Canada. Forest management plans in Alberta are required to monitor and report on the achievement of stated sustainable forest management objectives; however, the...
Alberta Learning Results Report, 1999/2000.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton.
Alberta Learning was created in May 1999 to enhance the focus of the government of Alberta, Canada, on lifelong learning and equipping all Albertans with the information and skills needed to live and work in the information age. During its first year of operation, Alberta Learning focused on its core businesses of basic learning, adult learning,…
Prairie Conservation in Canada: The Prairie Conservation Action Plan Experience
Dean Nernberg; David Ingstrup
2005-01-01
In Canada, grassland conservation has been mobilized and directed through the development of Prairie Conservation Action Plans and Action Plan Committees in the three prairie provinces of Alberta (45 partner agencies and organizations), Saskatchewan (26 partners), and Manitoba (26 partners). In Alberta, 43 percent of the native prairie remains; in Saskatchewan and...
Gender and professional identity in psychiatric nursing practice in Alberta, Canada, 1930-75.
Boschma, Geertje; Yonge, Olive; Mychajlunow, Lorraine
2005-12-01
This paper examines gender-specific transformations of nursing practice in institutional mental health-care in Alberta, Canada, based on archival records on two psychiatric hospitals, Alberta Hospital Ponoka and Alberta Hospital Edmonton, and on oral histories with psychiatric mental health nurses in Alberta. The paper explores class and gender as interrelated influences shaping the work and professional identity of psychiatric mental health nurses from the 1930s until the mid-1970s. Training schools for nurses in psychiatric hospitals emerged in Alberta in the 1930s under the influence of the mental hygiene movement, evolving quite differently for female nurses compared to untrained aides and male attendants. The latter group resisted their exclusion from the title 'nurse' and successfully helped to organize a separate association of psychiatric nurses in the 1950s. Post-World War II, reconstruction of health-care and a de-institutionalization policy further transformed nurses' practice in the institutions. Using social history methods of analysis, the paper demonstrates how nurses responded to their circumstances in complex ways, actively participating in the reconstruction of their practice and finding new ways of professional organization that fit the local context. After the Second World War more sophisticated therapeutic roles emerged and nurses engaged in new rehabilitative practices and group therapies, reconstructing their professional identities and transgressing gender boundaries. Nurses' own stories help us to understand the striving toward psychiatric nursing professionalism in the broader context of changing gender identities and work relationships, as well as shifting perspectives on psychiatric care.
The History of Post-Secondary Finance in Alberta - An Analysis
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Hauserman, Calvin P.; Stick, Sheldon L.
2005-01-01
Post-secondary systems throughout Canada and the United States have struggled with funding issues during most of the last decade of the 20th Century, and the new millennium did not open with great enthusiasm for change. This article examines the impact of post-secondary education funding changes in Alberta, Canada, by tracing the historical…
Bernadette C. Proemse; Bernhard Mayer; Mark E. Fenn; Christopher S. Ross
2013-01-01
Industrial nitrogen (N) emissions in the Athabasca oil sands region (AOSR), Alberta, Canada, affect nitrate (NO3) and ammonium (NH4) deposition rates in close vicinity of industrial emitters. NO3-N and NH4-N open field and throughfall deposition rates were determined at various...
Atmospheric dry deposition of sulfur and nitrogen in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region, Alberta, Canada
Yu-Mei Hsu; Andrzej Bytnerowicz; Mark E. Fenn; Kevin E. Percy
2016-01-01
Due to the potential ecological effects on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems from atmospheric deposition in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AOSR), Alberta, Canada, this study was implemented to estimate atmospheric nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) inputs. Passive samplers were used to measure ambient concentrations of ammonia (NH3), nitrogen dioxide...
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Fink, Dale Borman
This study of integrated day care in the province of Alberta, Canada, involved observations and interviews at preschool sites in Calgary and Edmonton. The discussion resulting from the Calgary visits considers: combining funding from a provincial agency with the availability of hospital-sponsored mobile clinical services to support integration in…
Needs Assessment for a Provincial Literacy Hotline Service.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Bell, Jim
A study was conducted to determine the need for a provincewide literacy hotline in Alberta, Canada, and if needed, the configuration of services for establishing the hotline. Data were gathered through two surveys. In order to find out what an Alberta literacy hotline service might look like, a cross-Canada telephone and mail survey was conducted.…
Hazardous Alcohol Use in 2 Countries: A Comparison Between Alberta, Canada and Queensland, Australia
Voaklander, Donald
2017-01-01
Objectives This article aimed to compare alcohol consumption between the populations of Queensland in Australia and Alberta in Canada. Furthermore, the associations between greater alcohol consumption and socio-demographic characteristics were explored in each population. Methods Data from 2500 participants of the 2013 Alberta Survey and the 2013 Queensland Social Survey were analyzed. Regression analyses were used to explore the associations between alcohol risk and socio-demographic characteristics. Results A higher rate of hazardous alcohol use was found in Queenslanders than in Albertans. In both Albertans and Queenslanders, hazardous alcohol use was associated with being between 18 and 24 years of age. Higher income, having no religion, living alone, and being born in Canada were also associated with alcohol risk in Albertans; while in Queenslanders, hazardous alcohol use was also associated with common-law marital status. In addition, hazardous alcohol use was lower among respondents with a non-Catholic or Protestant religious affiliation. Conclusions Younger age was associated with greater hazardous alcohol use in both populations. In addition, different socio-demographic factors were associated with hazardous alcohol use in each of the populations studied. Our results allowed us to identify the socio-demographic profiles associated with hazardous alcohol use in Alberta and Queensland. These profiles constitute valuable sources of information for local health authorities and policymakers when designing suitable preventive strategies targeting hazardous alcohol use. Overall, the present study highlights the importance of analyzing the socio-demographic factors associated with alcohol consumption in population-specific contexts. PMID:29020759
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Demezhko, Dmitry; Gornostaeva, Anastasia; Majorowicz, Jacek; Šafanda, Jan
2018-01-01
Using a previously published temperature log of the 2363-m-deep borehole Hunt well (Alberta, Canada) and the results of its previous interpretation, the new reconstructions of ground surface temperature and surface heat flux histories for the last 30 ka have been obtained. Two ways to adjust the timescale of geothermal reconstructions are discussed, namely the traditional method based on the a priori data on thermal diffusivity value, and the alternative one including the orbital tuning of the surface heat flux and the Earth's insolation changes. It is shown that the second approach provides better agreement between geothermal reconstructions and proxy evidences of deglaciation chronology in the studied region.
Public health preparedness in Alberta: a systems-level study.
Moore, Douglas; Shiell, Alan; Noseworthy, Tom; Russell, Margaret; Predy, Gerald
2006-12-28
Recent international and national events have brought critical attention to the Canadian public health system and how prepared the system is to respond to various types of contemporary public health threats. This article describes the study design and methods being used to conduct a systems-level analysis of public health preparedness in the province of Alberta, Canada. The project is being funded under the Health Research Fund, Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research. We use an embedded, multiple-case study design, integrating qualitative and quantitative methods to measure empirically the degree of inter-organizational coordination existing among public health agencies in Alberta, Canada. We situate our measures of inter-organizational network ties within a systems-level framework to assess the relative influence of inter-organizational ties, individual organizational attributes, and institutional environmental features on public health preparedness. The relative contribution of each component is examined for two potential public health threats: pandemic influenza and West Nile virus. The organizational dimensions of public health preparedness depend on a complex mix of individual organizational characteristics, inter-agency relationships, and institutional environmental factors. Our study is designed to discriminate among these different system components and assess the independent influence of each on the other, as well as the overall level of public health preparedness in Alberta. While all agree that competent organizations and functioning networks are important components of public health preparedness, this study is one of the first to use formal network analysis to study the role of inter-agency networks in the development of prepared public health systems.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Tough, Suzanne; Rikhy, Shivani; Benzies, Karen; Vekved, Monica; Kehler, Heather; Johnston, David W.
2013-01-01
Research Findings: This study assessed public perceptions of child care and its providers in a Canadian province where government funding for child care includes subsidies and a voluntary accreditation process. In 2007-2008, 1,443 randomly selected adults in Alberta, Canada, completed a telephone survey. Individuals were eligible to participate if…
Alberta Education's Computer Technology Project.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Thiessen, Jim
This description of activities initiated through the Computer Technology Project of the provincial education ministry in Alberta, Canada, covers the 2-year period beginning with establishment of the project by the Alberta Department of Education in October 1981. Activities described include: (1) the establishment of the Office of Educational…
Curriculum Handbook for Parents, 2003-2004: Grade 6.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton.
Noting that parents are vital partners in the educational system, this handbook provides parents with information about the Grade 6 curriculum in Alberta, Canada. Based on the Alberta Learning "Programs of Study: Elementary Schools," the handbook describes the knowledge, skills, and attitudes students in Alberta are expected to…
Curriculum Handbook for Parents, 2003-2004: Grade 1.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton.
Noting that parents are vital partners in the educational system, this handbook provides parents with information about the Grade 1 curriculum in Alberta, Canada. Based on the Alberta Learning "Programs of Study: Elementary Schools," the handbook describes the knowledge, skills, and attitudes students in Alberta are expected to…
Curriculum Handbook for Parents, 2002-2003: Grade 4.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton.
Noting that parents are vital partners in the educational system, this handbook provides parents with information about the Grade 4 curriculum in Alberta, Canada. Based on the Alberta Learning "Programs of Study: Elementary Schools," the handbook describes the knowledge, skills, and attitudes students in Alberta are expected to…
Curriculum Handbook for Parents, 2003-2004: Grade 3.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton.
Noting that parents are vital partners in the educational system, this handbook provides parents with information about the Grade 3 curriculum in Alberta, Canada. Based on the Alberta Learning "Programs of Study: Elementary Schools," the handbook describes the knowledge, skills, and attitudes students in Alberta are expected to…
Curriculum Handbook for Parents, 2003-2004: Grade 5.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton.
Noting that parents are vital partners in the educational system, this handbook provides parents with information about the Grade 5 curriculum in Alberta, Canada. Based on the Alberta Learning "Programs of Study: Elementary Schools," the handbook describes the knowledge, skills, and attitudes students in Alberta are expected to…
Curriculum Handbook for Parents, 2003-2004: Grade 2.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton.
Noting that parents are vital partners in the educational system, this handbook provides parents with information about the Grade 2 curriculum in Alberta, Canada. Based on the Alberta Learning "Programs of Study: Elementary Schools," the handbook describes the knowledge, skills, and attitudes students in Alberta are expected to…
Curriculum Handbook for Parents, 2002-2003: Grade 6.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton.
Noting that parents are vital partners in the educational system, this handbook provides parents with information about the Grade 6 curriculum in Alberta, Canada. Based on the Alberta Learning "Programs of Study: Elementary Schools," the handbook describes the knowledge, skills, and attitudes students in Alberta are expected to…
Curriculum Handbook for Parents, 2003-2004: Grade 4.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton.
Noting that parents are vital partners in the educational system, this handbook provides parents with information about the Grade 4 curriculum in Alberta, Canada. Based on the Alberta Learning "Programs of Study: Elementary Schools," the handbook describes the knowledge, skills, and attitudes students in Alberta are expected to…
Curriculum Handbook for Parents, 2002-2003: Grade 5.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton.
Noting that parents are vital partners in the educational system, this handbook provides parents with information about the Grade 5 curriculum in Alberta, Canada. Based on the Alberta Learning "Programs of Study: Elementary Schools," the handbook describes the knowledge, skills, and attitudes students in Alberta are expected to…
Curriculum Handbook for Parents, 2002-2003: Grade 1.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton.
Noting that parents are vital partners in the educational system, this handbook provides parents with information about the Grade 1 curriculum in Alberta, Canada. Based on the Alberta Learning "Programs of Study: Elementary Schools," the handbook describes the knowledge, skills, and attitudes students in Alberta are expected to…
Curriculum Handbook for Parents, 2002-2003: Grade 2.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton.
Noting that parents are vital partners in the educational system, this handbook provides parents with information about the Grade 2 curriculum in Alberta, Canada. Based on the Alberta Learning "Programs of Study: Elementary Schools," the handbook describes the knowledge, skills, and attitudes students in Alberta are expected to…
Curriculum Handbook for Parents, 2002-2003: Grade 3.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton.
Noting that parents are vital partners in the educational system, this handbook provides parents with information about the Grade 3 curriculum in Alberta, Canada. Based on the Alberta Learning "Programs of Study: Elementary Schools," the handbook describes the knowledge, skills, and attitudes students in Alberta are expected to…
Research Funding at Alberta Universities, 2000-2001 Report.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Innovation and Science, Edmonton. University Research and Strategic Investments Branch.
This report presents facts related to the funding of research at Alberta, Canada, universities. Data are provided by the universities, derived from audited financial schedules. Research at Alberta universities is supported in part by the provincial government through a number of programs. Sponsored research funding, funding received outside of…
Assessment in Alberta: Dimensions of Authenticity.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Horvath, Frank G.
The assessment programs of Alberta Education (Canada) are described, and the principles that guide these programs are reviewed. Alberta is committed to authentic assessment in its three major assessment programs: (1) the Diploma Examinations Program for certification in specific courses at the end of high school; (2) the Achievement Testing…
Education in Alberta: Some Major Societal Trends. Revised.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. Planning and Policy Secretariat.
The major societal trends happening in Alberta, Canada, have an impact on educational effectiveness in the region. Statistics are provided in the areas of demographics, family and society, Alberta's youth, labor force, and advances in science and technology. The section on demographics includes data on population growth, births, fertility rates,…
Inclusion's Confusion in Alberta
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Gilham, Chris; Williamson, W. John
2014-01-01
This hermeneutic paper interprets a recent series of reforms to inclusive education policy undertaken by the ministry of education in the province of Alberta, Canada. A 2007 Alberta Education review of the 16,000 student files in the province that school boards had claimed met the criteria for severe disability codification status -- the level of…
Aggregating Case Study Data in Customer Service Training.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Barrington, Gail V.
An evaluation was conducted to determine the outcomes and impacts of participation in the ALBERTA BEST training program in terms of participant attitudes toward service excellence and business profitability. ALBERTA BEST is a customer service program offered by the Alberta (Canada) government. The evaluation involved a series of case studies…
Owl broadcast surveys in the Foothills Model Forest, Alberta, Canada
D. Lisa Takats; Geoffrey L. Holroyd
1997-01-01
Broadcast surveys are used to determine the presence and relative abundance of nocturnal owls, but there has been little effort to standardize such surveys. This paper examines broadcast survey data collected in 1995 and 1996 in the Foothills Model Forest, Alberta, Canada. Three hundred calls from six species of owls were recorded at 893 stops for a call rate of 0.34...
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Calgary Univ. (Alberta). Centre for Gifted Education.
This document presents the conference proceedings of the primary stakeholders in gifted education in Alberta (Canada): "Activities in Math for the Gifted Student" (Ballheim); "The Self Awareness Growth Experiences Approach" (Balogun); "Computer Simulations: An Integrating Tool" (Bilan); "The Portrayal of Gifted…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Jahnukainen, Markku
2011-01-01
This study compares the strategies and delivery of education for students with special educational needs in the province of Alberta, Canada, and in the country of Finland, in the European Union. The rationale for comparing these two jurisdictions is grounded by the idea that both of these areas have high general standards of living, a…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Society for the Advancement of Gifted Education, Calgary (Alberta).
This conference proceedings focuses on structuring classrooms to optimize learning among Alberta (Canada) gifted students. The first paper, "Optimizing Parent Potential" (Trudy A. Harrold), describes a model and a process for helping parents acquire knowledge, organize their thinking, and act from a realistic base when dealing with their gifted…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Plotnikoff, Ronald C.; Lubans, David R.; Costigan, Sarah A.; McCargar, Linda
2013-01-01
Purpose: To examine the utility of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) for explaining physical activity (PA) intention and behavior among a large population sample of overweight and obese adolescents (Alberta, Canada), using a web-based survey. Secondary objectives were to examine the mediating effects of the TPB constructs and moderating effects…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Cujec, Bibiana; Quan, Hude; Jin, Yan; Johnson, David
2004-01-01
We describe the age-specific outcomes for patients hospitalized with newly diagnosed congestive heart failure using administrative hospital abstracts from Alberta, Canada, from April 1, 1994, to March 31, 2000. Seniors (aged 65 years and older) constituted about 85 per cent of the 16,162 patients. Both co-morbidity and severity of illness tended…
Teacher Perceptions of Principals' Leadership Qualities: A Mixed Methods Study
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Hauserman, Cal P.; Ivankova, Nataliya V.; Stick, Sheldon L.
2013-01-01
This mixed methods sequential explanatory study utilized the Multi-factor Leadership Questionnaire, responses to open-ended questions, and in-depth interviews to identify transformational leadership qualities that were present among principals in Alberta, Canada. The first quantitative phase consisted of a random sample of 135 schools (with…
Nurse practitioner LEADERSHIP in face of OPIOID CRISIS.
Denhartog, Lauren
2017-01-01
Opioid misuse has been a growing problem in Alberta and throughout Canada and the U.S. in recent years. According to Alberta Health, the number of fentanyl-related overdose deaths in Alberta rose from six in 2011 to over 300 in 2016. This alarming increase in substance abuse is a national health crisis.
Student Perspectives on Inclusive Education: A Survey of Grade 3-6 Children in Rural Alberta, Canada
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Loreman, Tim; McGhie-Richmond, Donna; Barber, Jennifer; Lupart, Judy
2009-01-01
This paper, one of a series, reports the results of a survey of 413 children in Grades Three to Six on inclusive education in a school district in rural Alberta, Canada. The aims of the study were to examine the views of children regarding their experience in schools claiming to be inclusive, situated within a jurisdiction which also claims to be…
Lung cancer incidence attributable to residential radon exposure in Alberta in 2012
Grundy, Anne; Brand, Kevin; Khandwala, Farah; Poirier, Abbey; Tamminen, Sierra; Friedenreich, Christine M.; Brenner, Darren R.
2017-01-01
Background: Radon is carcinogenic, and exposure to radon has been shown to increase the risk of lung cancer. The objective of this study was to quantify the proportion and number of lung cancer cases in Alberta in 2012 that could be attributed to residential radon exposure. Methods: We estimated the population attributable risk of lung cancer for residential radon using radon exposure data from the Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes from 2009-2011 and data on all-cause and lung cancer mortality from Statistics Canada from 2008-2012. We used cancer incidence data from the Alberta Cancer Registry for 2012 to estimate the total number of lung cancers attributable to residential radon exposure. Estimates were also stratified by sex and smoking status. Results: The mean geometric residential radon level in Alberta in 2011 was 71.0 Bq/m3 (geometric standard deviation 2.14). Overall, an estimated 16.6% (95% confidence interval 9.4%-29.8%) of lung cancers were attributable to radon exposure, corresponding to 324 excess attributable cancer cases. The estimated population attributable risk of lung cancer due to radon exposure was higher among those who had never smoked (24.8%) than among ever smokers (15.6%). However, since only about 10% of cases of lung cancer occur in nonsmokers, the estimated total number of excess cases was higher for ever smokers (274) than for never smokers (48). Interpretation: With about 17% of lung cancer cases in Alberta in 2012 attributable to residential radon exposure, exposure reduction has the potential to substantially reduce Alberta's lung cancer burden. As such, home radon testing and remediation techniques represent important cancer prevention strategies. PMID:28663187
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Jefferson, Anne L.
1996-01-01
Addresses litigation launched by a wealthy school district against the Alberta (Canada) Ministry of Education, regarding legislation to increase fiscal equity among school systems. Reviews the concept of fiscal equality, financial plans to achieve this goal, and the Alberta funding structure. Describes proposed changes to the School Act. The…
Bernadette C. Proemse; Bernhard Mayer; Mark E. Fenn
2012-01-01
Anthropogenic S emissions in the Athabasca oil sands region (AOSR) in Alberta, Canada, affect SO4 deposition in close vicinity of industrial emitters. Between May 2008 and May 2009, SO4-S deposition was monitored using open field bulk collectors at 15 sites and throughfall collectors at 14 sites at distances between 3 and 113 km from one of the major emission stacks in...
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Marsh, D. T.
This paper, written as the result of a two-month study visit to Alberta during May and June, 1984, attempts to describe the broad provision for education and vocational training in the postsecondary system. The paper is organized in five sections. It begins with an overview of the educational system of Canada as a whole, including the role of the…
Improving Access to Eye Care: Teleophthalmology in Alberta, Canada
Ng, ManCho; Nathoo, Nawaaz; Rudnisky, Chris J.; Tennant, Matthew T. S.
2009-01-01
Backround Diabetic retinopathy in Alberta and throughout Canada is common, with a prevalence up to 40% in people with diabetes. Unfortunately, due to travel distance, time, and expense, a third of patients with diabetes do not receive annual dilated eye examinations by ophthalmologists, despite universal health care access. In an effort to improve access, a teleophthalmology program was developed to overcome barriers to eye care. Prior to clinical implementation, teleophthalmology technology was clinically validated for the identification of treatable levels of diabetic retinopathy. Method Patients undergoing a teleophthalmology assessment underwent stereoscopic digital retinal photographs following pupillary dilation. Digital images were then packaged into an encrypted password-protected compressed file for uploading onto a secure server. Images were digitally unpackaged for review as a stereoscopic digital slide show and graded with a modified Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study algorithm. Reports were then generated automatically as a PDF file and sent back to the referring physician. Results Teleophthalmology programs in Alberta have assessed more than 5500 patients (9016 visits) to date. Nine hundred thirty patients have been referred for additional testing or treatment. Approximately 2% of teleophthalmology assessments have required referral for in-person examination due to ungradable image sets, most commonly due to cataract, corneal drying, or asteroid hyalosis. Conclusions In Alberta and throughout Canada, many patients with diabetes do not receive an annual dilated eye examination. Teleophthalmology is beneficial because patients can be assessed within their own communities. This decreases the time to treatment, allows treated patients to be followed remotely, and prevents unnecessary referrals. Health care costs may be reduced by the introduction of comprehensive teleophthalmology examinations by enabling testing and treatment to be planned prior to the patient's first visit. PMID:20144360
Alberta Education's Clearinghouse: Functions and Findings.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Wighton, David
1984-01-01
Discusses functions of the Alberta (Canada) Computer Technology Project's courseware clearinghouse, reviews findings on instructional software quality, identifies software development trends, and discusses need for support systems to facilitate the incorporation of computer assisted instruction in Canadian schools. (MBR)
The Politics of Educational Reform: The Alberta Charter School Experiment 20 Years Later
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Bosetti, Lynn; Butterfield, Phil
2016-01-01
In this paper we examine the public charter school movement in the Province of Alberta, Canada over the past 20 years to determine how charter school policy and regulations have limited and controlled the impact of charter schools on public education. Specifically we focus on the extent to which charter schools in Alberta fulfilled the aims and…
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
McArthur, D.; Salaff, S.
1997-06-01
New initiatives favoring green power and wind energy are under way in Alberta, Quebec and Ontario. The Canadian government made a major commitment to green power in April when Anne McLellan, the federal minister of natural resources (NRCan), announced in Ottawa that the Canadian government has selected the City of Calgary Electric System (CCES) to acquire and distribute green power to certain federal buildings in Alberta. This will be the first federal procurement of its kind in Canada and the first supply of green power. NRCan will acquire up to 10 GWh per year of electricity generated by renewable sourcesmore » for NRCan buildings, while up to 3.1 GWh per year will go to Environment Canada buildings in Alberta. The announcement was made jointly by McLellan and Sergio Marchi, federal environment minister. CCES is a municipally owned distribution utility which supplies power to about 295,000 customer accounts in Calgary, whose population exceeds 750,000. While no details of the actual types of green power supply were available in late April, sources indicated that windpower was among the supply options under consideration. The Alberta Power Pool began on January 1, 1996, as a competitive wholesale pool providing the lowest cost power from competing suppliers. The pool is the most progressive and deregulated system in Canada, and now with an apparent mechanism to deliver green power, the pool could be a model for green power procurement in Canada.« less
Long Term, Operational Monitoring Of Enhanced Oil Recovery In Harsh Environments With INSAR
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Sato, S.; Henschel, M. D.
2012-01-01
Since 2004, MDA GSI has provided ground deformation measurements for an oil field in northern Alberta, Canada using InSAR technology. During this period, the monitoring has reliably shown the slow rise of the oil field due to enhanced oil recovery operations. The InSAR monitoring solution is essentially based on the observation of point and point-like targets in the field. Ground conditions in the area are almost continuously changing (in their reflectivity characteristics) making it difficult to ob- serve coherent patterns from the ground. The extended duration of the oil operations has allowed us to continue InSAR monitoring and transition from RADARSAT-1 to RADARSAT-2. With RADARSAT-2 and the enhancement of the satellite resolution capability has provided more targets of opportunity as identified by a differential coherence method. This poster provides an overview of the long term monitoring of the oil field in northern Alberta, Canada.
1993-06-20
La Roche, Inc. Vydac/The SEP/A/RA/IIONS Group, Inc. DONORS BioChem Pharma , Inc. Biomeasure Incorporated Boehringer Mannheim GmbH Bristol-Myers Squibb...Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation Astra Pharma , Inc. Bio-Mega, Inc. Ciba-Geigy Canada, Inc. CSPS Cytogen Edmonton Convention and Tourist Authority...Van der Walle, C. Toomey and L Toth Design and synthesis of poly-tricosapeptides to enhance hydrophobic- induced pKa shifts 940 D.C. Gowda, T.M
Apprenticeship Training: Gasfitter Program.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton. Apprenticeship and Industry Training.
This document presents information about the apprenticeship training program of Alberta, Canada, in general and the gasfitter program in particular. The first part of the document discusses the following items: Alberta's apprenticeship and industry training system; the apprenticeship and industry training committee structure; local apprenticeship…
Hairstylist Program. Apprenticeship Training.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton. Apprenticeship and Industry Training.
This document presents information about the apprenticeship training program of Alberta, Canada, in general and the hairstylist program in particular. The first part of the document discusses the following items: Alberta's apprenticeship and industry training system; the apprenticeship and industry training committee structure; local…
Warehousing Competency Profile. Apprenticeship Training.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton. Apprenticeship and Industry Training.
This document presents information about the apprenticeship training program of Alberta, Canada, in general and the warehousing program in particular. The first part of the document discusses the following items: Alberta's apprenticeship and industry training system; the apprenticeship and industry training committee structure; local…
Cabinetmaker Program. Apprenticeship Training.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton. Apprenticeship and Industry Training.
This document presents information about the apprenticeship training program of Alberta, Canada, in general and the cabinetmaking program in particular. The first part of the document discusses the following items: Alberta's apprenticeship and industry training system; the apprenticeship and industry training committee structure; local…
Apprenticeship Training: Communication Technician Program.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton. Apprenticeship and Industry Training.
This document presents information about the apprenticeship training program of Alberta, Canada, in general and the communication technician program in particular. The first part of the document discusses the following items: Alberta's apprenticeship and industry training system; the apprenticeship and industry training committee structure; local…
Alberta's Performance-Based Funding Mechanism.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Barnetson, Bob
This paper provides an overview of the performance indicator-based accountability and funding mechanism implemented in the higher education system of Alberta, Canada. The paper defines the terms accountability and regulation, examines the use of performance indicators to demonstrate accountability, and explains how performance indicator-based…
Occupation Competency Profile: Steel Detailer Program.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton. Apprenticeship and Industry Training.
This document presents information about the apprenticeship training program of Alberta, Canada, in general and the steel detailer program in particular. The first part of the document discusses the following items: Alberta's apprenticeship and industry training system; the apprenticeship and industry training committee structure; local…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Pickard, Brent W.; Richards, Donald M.
1976-01-01
Summarizes the rationale for educational voucher systems, outlines model voucher systems, discusses implications of voucher systems, and suggests a generalized plan for applying voucher systems in continuing education. (Available from the Department of Educational Administration, The University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6G 2G5;…
Concrete Finisher Program. Apprenticeship Training.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton. Apprenticeship and Industry Training.
This document presents information about the apprenticeship training program of Alberta, Canada, in general and the concrete finishing program in particular. The first part of the document discusses the following items: Alberta's apprenticeship and industry training system; the apprenticeship and industry training committee structure; local…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Christophersen, Kjell A.; Robison, M. Henry
This document contains an executive summary and main report that examine the ways in which the Alberta, Canada, economy benefits from the presence of the 16 community and technical colleges in the province. The colleges served an unduplicated headcount of 241,992 students in fiscal year 2001. The Alberta community colleges employed 8,374 full-time…
Herpes zoster vaccine (HZV): utilization and coverage 2009 - 2013, Alberta, Canada.
Liu, Xianfang C; Simmonds, Kimberley A; Russell, Margaret L; Svenson, Lawrence W
2014-10-23
Herpes zoster vaccine (HZV) is not publicly funded in the province of Alberta, Canada. We estimated vaccine coverage among those aged 60 years or older for 2013, as well as vaccine utilization rates per hundred thousand population over the period 2009 - 2013. We explored for factors associated with HZV dispensing rates. We used administrative data from the Alberta Pharmaceutical Information Network (PIN) database to identify unique persons for whom HZV had been dispensed from community pharmacies over 2009 - 2013. PIN data were also used to estimate the pharmacy/population ratios for rural and urban Alberta over the period. Denominators for rates were estimated using mid-year population estimates from the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan Registry. Income quintile data were estimated from the 2006 Census of Canada. Crude, age, sex, geographic (rural vs. urban), income-quintile and year specific rates of HZV vaccine dispensing were estimated per 100,000 population. Rates were adjusted for pharmacy/population ratio. Vaccine coverage for persons aged 60 years or older was estimated using counts of all unique persons for whom the vaccine was dispensed over the period in the numerator and a 2013 mid- year population denominator. HZV dispensing rates rose annually from 2009 - 2013. Vaccine coverage was estimated to be 8.4% among persons aged 60 years or older. Rates of dispensing were highest for persons aged 60-69 years and were higher for females than males and for persons from higher compared to lower income quintiles. Dispensing rates were lower for rural than for urban residents. About 2% of vaccine was dispensed for persons aged less than 50 years. Rates of HZV dispensing are increasing rapidly in Alberta despite a lack of public funding. A small proportion of the vaccine may be dispensed off-label.
Athabasca University Fact Book 1981-1982.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Smyrnew, John
Comprehensive information on Athabasca University, Alberta, Canada, is provided for 1981-1982. The univeristy collaborates with other institutions, notably the Universities of Alberta and Calgary, the Native Education Council, and North Island College in British Columbia. To promote understanding of the statistical data, a narrative description of…
Lather-Interior Systems Mechanic Program. Apprenticeship Training.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton. Apprenticeship and Industry Training.
This document presents information about the apprenticeship training program of Alberta, Canada, in general and the lather-interior systems mechanic program in particular. The first part of the document discusses the following items: Alberta's apprenticeship and industry training system; the apprenticeship and industry training committee…
Apprenticeship Training: Auto Body Technician Program.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton. Apprenticeship and Industry Training.
This document presents information about the apprenticeship training program of Alberta, Canada, in general and the auto body technician program in particular. The first part of the document discusses the following items: Alberta's apprenticeship and industry training system; the apprenticeship and industry training committee structure; local…
Administrators' Perceptions of Institutional Marketing.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Michael, Steve O.; And Others
1993-01-01
Interviews with 96 higher education administrators in Alberta (Canada) revealed that most view marketing to be activities used in attracting resources. Only a few Alberta institutions engage in marketing research or comprehensive marketing planning. Funding was considered a major constraint, but respondents predicted more institutions would adopt…
Outdoor Power Equipment Technician Program. Apprenticeship Training.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton. Apprenticeship and Industry Training.
This document presents information about the apprenticeship training program of Alberta, Canada, in general and the outdoor power equipment technician program in particular. The first part of the document discusses the following items: Alberta's apprenticeship and industry training system; the apprenticeship and industry training committee…
Pang, Xiaoli L; Lee, Bonita E; Tyrrell, Gregory J; Preiksaitis, Jutta K
2009-02-15
This study describes the epidemiology and circulating strains of sapovirus associated with gastroenteritis outbreaks in Alberta, Canada, from 2004 to 2007. Sapovirus was an important cause of gastroenteritis outbreaks, accounting for 43 (17.6%) of 244 outbreaks in which all samples tested were negative for norovirus. All 4 human sapovirus genotypes, GI, GII, GIV, and GV, were found in samples during these outbreaks. The greatest amount of sapovirus-associated outbreak activity occurred in 2007, after the emergence of genotype GIV in December 2006. The majority of sapovirus-associated outbreaks in Alberta during this period (27 [62.8%] of 43) occurred in hospitals, community long-term care facilities, and senior lodges. Adults>65 years of age were the age group most commonly affected.
Utilization of hospital services by cardiovascular patients, Alberta, Canada.
Bay, K S; Maher, M; Lee, S J
1989-01-01
Using hospital discharge records, and United States DRG (diagnosis related groups) data, we studied hospital utilization by cardiovascular patients, associated hospital expenditures, and the per capita cost of treating cardiovascular diseases in Alberta, Canada between 1971 and 1986. Expressed in constant 1984 Canadian dollars, the estimated total hospital cost increased from $84 million in 1971 to $131 million in 1986; during this period the Province of Alberta spent about $51 Canadian per resident each year for cardiovascular hospital services. It was noted that rural residents consumed a higher volume of resources per capita than their urban counterparts. A patient origin-destination analysis indicated an increasing dependence of rural patients on urban hospitals for secondary or tertiary care, underscoring the effects of medical technology on referral patterns. PMID:2499201
Bhatia, Surya; Simpson, Scot H; Bungard, Tammy
2017-01-01
Background In the past decade, pharmacist practice has evolved tremendously in Canada, but the scope of practice varies substantially from one province to another. Objective To describe pharmacists’ scopes of practice relevant to prescribing within various jurisdictions of Canada, using the prescribing model in Alberta (authors’ province) as the reference point. Methods This cross-sectional survey consisted of clinical scenarios for emergency prescribing, adapting or renewing a prescription, and initial-access prescribing for a chronic disease. Pharmacists were asked about their ability to administer injections and to order or access the results of laboratory tests, as well as certification and training requirements and reimbursement models. Results Thirteen pharmacists representing Canadian provinces other than Alberta were surveyed in late 2015, for comparison with Alberta. With specific reference to the scenarios presented, pharmacists were able to prescribe in an emergency in 9 of the 10 provinces, renew prescriptions in all provinces, and adapt prescriptions in 6 provinces. Three provinces required that pharmacists have collaborative practice agreements identifying a specific practice area in order to initiate a prescription for a chronic disease (with 6–12 pharmacists per province having such agreements). Alberta required pharmacists to have authorization, based on a detailed application, in order to initiate any provincially regulated drug (with about 1150 pharmacists having this authorization). Pharmacists were allowed to administer vaccines in 9 provinces, and 5 provinces allowed pharmacists to administer drugs by injection. Three provinces had systems in place for pharmacists to access laboratory test results, and 2 allowed pharmacists to order laboratory tests. Five provinces had government-reimbursed programs in place for select prescribing services; however, all 9 provinces with public vaccination programs reimbursed pharmacists for this service. Conclusions Pharmacist prescribing differs among Canadian provinces. Although most provinces allow emergency prescribing and renewal or adaptation of prescriptions by pharmacists, only 4 provinces allow prescription initiation, with variable criteria and scope. Despite some progress to enhance patient flow through the health care system (e.g., by allowing pharmacists to extend prescriptions), further work should be pursued to harmonize clinical practices across Canada and to enable pharmacists to initiate and manage drug therapy. PMID:29109578
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton.
Noting that parents are vital partners in the educational system, this French-language handbook provides parents with information about the Grade 4 curriculum in Alberta, Canada. Based on the Alberta Learning "Programs of Study: Elementary Schools," the handbook describes the knowledge, skills, and attitudes students in Alberta are…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton.
Noting that parents are vital partners in the educational system, this French-language handbook provides parents with information about the Grade 6 curriculum in Alberta, Canada. Based on the Alberta Learning"Programs of Study: Elementary Schools," the handbook describes the knowledge, skills, and attitudes students in Alberta are…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton.
Noting that parents are vital partners in the educational system, this French-language handbook provides parents with information about the Grade 5 curriculum in Alberta, Canada. Based on the Alberta Learning "Programs of Study: Elementary Schools," the handbook describes the knowledge, skills, and attitudes students in Alberta are…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton.
Noting that parents are vital partners in the educational system, this French-language handbook provides parents with information about the Grade 2 curriculum in Alberta, Canada. Based on the Alberta Learning "Programs of Study: Elementary Schools," the handbook describes the knowledge, skills, and attitudes students in Alberta are…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton.
Noting that parents are vital partners in the educational system, this French-language handbook provides parents with information about the Grade 3 curriculum in Alberta, Canada. Based on the Alberta Learning "Programs of Study: Elementary Schools," the handbook describes the knowledge, skills, and attitudes students in Alberta are…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton.
Noting that parents are vital partners in the educational system, this French-language handbook provides parents with information about the Grade 1 curriculum in Alberta, Canada. Based on the Alberta Learning "Programs of Study: Elementary Schools," the handbook describes the knowledge, skills, and attitudes students in Alberta are…
Klimaszewski, Jan; Langor, David W; Hammond, H E James; Bourdon, Caroline
2016-01-01
A new species, Anomognathus athabascensis Klimaszewski, Hammond & Langor, sp. n., and nine new provincial records including one new country record of aleocharine beetles are presented for the province of Alberta. Diagnostics, images of habitus and genital structures, distribution, natural history information and new locality data are provided for the newly recorded species. A checklist for all recorded aleocharines from Alberta is updated.
Occupation Competency Profile: Gas Utility Operator Certificate Program.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton. Apprenticeship and Industry Training.
This document presents information about the apprenticeship training program of Alberta, Canada, in general and the gas utility operator certificate program in particular. The first part of the document discusses the following items: Alberta's apprenticeship and industry training system; the occupation committee and its members; the Alberta…
Administering the Open-Area Elementary School
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Small, J. M.
1975-01-01
Examines the outcome of a study of the operation of open area schools in the Separate School System of Edmonton. (Available from C. A. Business Manager, Department of Educational Administration, The University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2G5; $0.50, single copy.) (Author/IRT)
Militancy and Accommodativeness in Teachers' Negotiations: Two Ontario Surveys
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Fris, J.
1976-01-01
Reports findings of two surveys of Ontario elementary and secondary teachers that measured teachers' attitudes regarding collective bargaining tactics and classified teachers' responses according to their militancy or accomodativeness. Available from Department of Educational Administration, The University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G…
Industrial Education Ventilation Study. Volume 1: Final Report.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Stanley Associates, Edmonton (Alberta).
A study assessed aspects of ventilation in industrial education facilities in selected junior and senior highs schools in Alberta (Canada). This report describes the purpose of the study and the four test methods used to acquire school specific information. Also discussed are (1) the results of the instructors' perception survey, the ventilation…
Montemurro, Genevieve R; Raine, Kim D; Nykiforuk, Candace I J; Mayan, Maria
2014-09-01
Community capacity-building is a central element to health promotion. While capacity-building features, domains and relationships to program sustainability have been well examined, information on the process of capacity-building as experienced by practitioners is needed. This study examined this process as experienced by coordinators working within a community-based chronic disease prevention project implemented in four communities in Alberta (Canada) from 2005-2010 using a case study approach with a mixed-method design. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews, a focus group and program documents tracking coordinator activity. Qualitative analysis followed the constant comparative method using open, axial and selective coding. Quantitative data were analyzed for frequency of major activity distribution. Capacity-building process involves distinct stages of networking, information exchange, partnering, prioritizing, planning/implementing and supporting/ sustaining. Stages are incremental though not always linear. Contextual factors exert a great influence on the process. Implications for research, practice and policy are discussed. © The Author (2013). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.
Braid, Andrew C R; Nielsen, Scott E
2015-01-01
As the influence of human activities on natural systems continues to expand, there is a growing need to prioritize not only pristine sites for protection, but also degraded sites for restoration. We present an approach for simultaneously prioritizing sites for protection and restoration that considers landscape patterns for a threatened population of grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) in southwestern Alberta, Canada. We considered tradeoffs between bottom-up (food resource supply) and top-down (mortality risk from roads) factors affecting seasonal habitat quality for bears. Simulated annealing was used to prioritize source-like sites (high habitat productivity, low mortality risk) for protection, as well as sink-like sites (high habitat productivity, high mortality risk) for restoration. Priority source-like habitats identified key conservation areas where future developments should be limited, whereas priority sink-like habitats identified key areas for mitigating road-related mortality risk with access management. Systematic conservation planning methods can be used to complement traditional habitat-based methods for individual focal species by identifying habitats where conservation actions (both protection and restoration) have the highest potential utility.
Screening with Papanicolaou tests in Alberta
Symonds, Christopher J.; Chen, Wenxin; Rose, Marianne Sarah; Cooke, Lara J.
2018-01-01
Abstract Objective To describe the prevalence and geographic distribution of cervical cancer screening, as well as the age groups of those undergoing screening, in Alberta, and to determine if screening practices conform to current guidelines and follow Choosing Wisely Canada recommendations. Design Descriptive study using data from the Alberta Ministry of Health Analytics and Performance Reporting Branch. Setting Alberta. Participants Women who had 1 or more Papanicolaou tests between 2011 and 2013. Main outcome measures Number of women aged 15 to 20 and those aged 70 and older who had 1 or more Pap tests in a 3-year period; year-to-year trends in screening rates for women in these 2 age groups; trends in screening rates in various geographic regions (ie, cities and zones) in Alberta; and the discipline of clinicians who ordered the Pap tests. Results Between 2011 and 2013, 805 632 women in the province of Alberta had 1 or more Pap tests for cervical cancer screening. Overall, 25 511 (17.5%) women aged 15 to 20 and 16 818 (10.3%) aged 70 and older were screened contrary to most existing guidelines. Screening rates varied markedly in different geographic regions of the province. Most Pap tests were ordered by family physicians or general practitioners. Conclusion Within the geographic regions of Alberta, provincial, national, and international guidelines for screening with Pap tests are inconsistently followed. This strongly echoes the need for clinicians and patients to consider the Choosing Wisely Canada recommendations and current guidelines for cervical cancer screening. PMID:29358254
Curriculum Handbook for Parents, 2003-2004: Catholic School Version, Grade 3.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton.
Noting that parents are vital partners in the educational system, this handbook provides parents with information about the Grade 3 curriculum in Catholic schools in Alberta, Canada. Based on the Alberta Learning "Programs of Study: Elementary Schools," the handbook describes the knowledge, skills, and attitudes Catholic school students…
Curriculum Handbook for Parents, 2003-2004: Catholic School Version, Grade 4.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton.
Noting that parents are vital partners in the educational system, this handbook provides parents with information about the Grade 4 curriculum in Catholic schools in Alberta, Canada. Based on the Alberta Learning "Programs of Study: Elementary Schools," the handbook describes the knowledge, skills, and attitudes Catholic school students…
Curriculum Handbook for Parents, 2002-2003: Catholic School Version, Grade 3.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton.
Noting that parents are vital partners in the educational system, this handbook provides parents with information about the Grade 3 curriculum in Catholic schools in Alberta, Canada. Based on the Alberta Learning "Programs of Study: Elementary Schools," the handbook describes the knowledge, skills, and attitudes Catholic school students…
Curriculum Handbook for Parents, 2002-2003: Catholic School Version, Grade 4.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton.
Noting that parents are vital partners in the educational system, this handbook provides parents with information about the Grade 4 curriculum in Catholic schools in Alberta, Canada. Based on the Alberta Learning "Programs of Study: Elementary Schools," the handbook describes the knowledge, skills, and attitudes Catholic school students…
Curriculum Handbook for Parents, 2002-2003: Catholic School Version, Grade 2.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton.
Noting that parents are vital partners in the educational system, this handbook provides parents with information about the Grade 2 curriculum in Catholic schools in Alberta, Canada. Based on the Alberta Learning "Programs of Study: Elementary Schools," the handbook describes the knowledge, skills, and attitudes Catholic school students…
Curriculum Handbook for Parents, 2003-2004. Catholic School Version, Grade 1.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton.
Noting that parents are vital partners in the educational system, this handbook provides parents with information about the Grade 1 curriculum in Catholic schools in Alberta, Canada. Based on the Alberta Learning "Programs of Study: Elementary Schools," the handbook describes the knowledge, skills, and attitudes Catholic school students…
Curriculum Handbook for Parents, 2002-2003: Catholic School Version, Grade 6.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton.
Noting that parents are vital partners in the educational system, this handbook provides parents with information about the Grade 6 curriculum in Catholic schools in Alberta, Canada. Based on the Alberta Learning "Programs of Study: Elementary Schools," the handbook describes the knowledge, skills, and attitudes Catholic school students…
Curriculum Handbook for Parents, 2003-2004: Catholic School Version, Grade 6.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton.
Noting that parents are vital partners in the educational system, this handbook provides parents with information about the Grade 6 curriculum in Catholic schools in Alberta, Canada. Based on the Alberta Learning "Programs of Study: Elementary Schools," the handbook describes the knowledge, skills, and attitudes Catholic school students…
Curriculum Handbook for Parents, 2002-2003: Catholic School Version, Grade 5.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton.
Noting that parents are vital partners in the educational system, this handbook provides parents with information about the Grade 5 curriculum in Catholic schools in Alberta, Canada. Based on the Alberta Learning "Programs of Study: Elementary Schools," the handbook describes the knowledge, skills, and attitudes Catholic school students…
Curriculum Handbook for Parents, 2003-2004: Catholic School Version, Grade 5.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton.
Noting that parents are vital partners in the educational system, this handbook provides parents with information about the Grade 5 curriculum in Catholic schools in Alberta, Canada. Based on the Alberta Learning "Programs of Study: Elementary Schools," the handbook describes the knowledge, skills, and attitudes Catholic school students…
Curriculum Handbook for Parents, 2003-2004: Catholic School Version, Grade 2.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton.
Noting that parents are vital partners in the educational system, this handbook provides parents with information about the Grade 2 curriculum in Catholic schools in Alberta, Canada. Based on the Alberta Learning "Programs of Study: Elementary Schools," the handbook describes the knowledge, skills, and attitudes Catholic school students…
Curriculum Handbook for Parents, 2002-2003: Catholic School Version, Grade 1.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton.
Noting that parents are vital partners in the educational system, this handbook provides parents with information about the Grade 1 curriculum in Catholic schools in Alberta, Canada. Based on the Alberta Learning "Programs of Study: Elementary Schools," the handbook describes the knowledge, skills, and attitudes Catholic school students…
Consumer Education Materials: An Annotated List. Revised Edition.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Consumer and Corporate Affairs, Edmonton. Resource Centre.
This annotated list is intended to help K-12 librarians and teachers identify consumer education materials. All materials listed are in the Alberta Consumer and Corporate Affairs Resource Centre, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The materials treat a wide variety of topics including advertising, purchasing, budgets, business education, conservation of…
Locating Leadership: The Blind Spot in Alberta's Technology Policy Discourse
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Brooks, Charmaine
2011-01-01
Over the last 20 years, technology and education policy discourse in Alberta, Canada has been philosophically polarized and dominated by value-neutral ways of thinking about technology (Brooks, 2011). While technology policy implementation has significant ramifications for schools and systems, for much of this time, system leaders, specifically…
Evaluation of the Alberta School for the Deaf.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Clarke, S. C. T.; Nyberg, V. R.
The report summarized a formative evaluation of the Alberta (Canada) School for the Deaf (ASD). Data were collected via observations by 12 consultants; interviews; and questionnaires completed by parents, teachers, students, and administrators. The evaluation was designed to focus on such aspects as instruction (including curriculum) and total…
Alberta Catholic Schools...A Social History.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Tkach, Nicholas
The purposes of this book are to trace the influence of major social forces on the Alberta, Canada, public and Catholic school systems and to detail the evolution of these two systems. Beginning with a review of "The First People" of the Northwest Territories, chapter I examines political, economic, and sociocultural developments and…
Manufacturing (Il)Literacy in Alberta's Classrooms: The Case of an Oil-Dependent State
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Hodgkins, Andrew
2010-01-01
This paper examines involvement of education-business "partnerships" presently occurring in the province of Alberta, Canada. Specific attention is paid to the promotion and sponsorship by oil multinational corporations (MNCs) of corporate propaganda masquerading as energy and environmental literacy programs targeted for the K-12 school…
Literacy Proposal for the Community of Nose Creek, Alberta.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Larsen, Pat
This paper overviews a proposal for implementing an adult literacy program in a small tribal community in northern Alberta (Canada). The program would enhance participants' ability to manage change affecting the community's economic, social, and educational circumstances. Recent data indicate that 24 percent of Native Americans in northern Alberta…
Tourism and recreation system planning in Alberta provincial parks
Paul F.J. Eagles; Angela M. Gilmore; Luis X. Huang; Denise A. Keltie; Kimberley Rae; Hong Sun; Amy K. Thede; Meagan L. Wilson; Jennifer A. Woronuk; Ge Yujin
2007-01-01
Traditionally, system planning in parks and protected areas concentrated on biogeographical concepts, while neglecting tourism and recreation. The existing system plan for parks and protected areas in Alberta, Canada, divides the province into six natural regions based on a geographic classifi cation system (Grassland, Parkland, Foothills, Rocky Mountains, Boreal...
Achievement Test Provincial Report, June 1987 Administration.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. Student Evaluation and Records Branch.
This document summarizes results of province-wide achievement tests given in Alberta, Canada in June 1987. These tests evaluated student achievement in third grade science, sixth grade mathematics, and ninth grade social studies. The test questions for each subject area reflected Alberta's curriculum specifications for that subject. The grade 3…
From Paper to Practice: Barriers to Adopting Nutrition Guidelines in Schools
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Downs, Shauna M.; Farmer, Anna; Quintanilha, Maira; Berry, Tanya R.; Mager, Diana R.; Willows, Noreen D.; McCargar, Linda J.
2012-01-01
Objective: To explore the barriers associated with the adoption of the Alberta Nutrition Guidelines for Children and Youth in schools according to characteristics of the innovation (guidelines) and the organization (schools). Design: Cross-sectional telephone survey. Setting and Participants: Schools in Alberta, Canada. Principals from 357…
A Guide to Native Organizations in Alberta.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Native Affairs, Edmonton.
Names, addresses, names of directors, and telephone numbers for 182 organizations formed by or serving Canada Natives in Alberta are presented, grouped by their area of interest. Listed are 17 arts and crafts organizations, 10 business and employment development services, 8 radio stations and newspapers, 12 cultural groups, 19 educational…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Ratsoy, Eugene W.; Bumbarger, Chester S.
1976-01-01
Despite the trend toward consolidation of schools, many small schools continue to exist. The challenge is to identify and implement the changes that will improve these schools. (Available from Canadian Administrator Business Manager, Department of Educational Administration, The University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2G5; $0.50…
Tourism Standards: Western Canada. Certification Field Test. Final Report. Formative Evaluation.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Tourism Education Council, Edmonton.
The Tourism Standards Consortium (TSC) is a partnership of the governments of Canada's western provinces (Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia), the provinces' tourism industries, and the Pacific Rim Institute of Tourism in British Columbia. In an effort to increase professionalism in Western Canada's tourism industry, the TSC…
Employer of Choice? Workplace Innovation in Government: A Synthesis Report.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Lowe, Graham S.
The Human Resources in Government project examined the impact of extensive downsizing and restructuring in Canada's public service sector and sought innovative ways of making Canada's governments "employers of choice." The project focused on Canada's federal government and the governments of Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, and Nova Scotia.…
Cameron, Colin; Bell-Rogers, Patricia; McDowall, Rebeccah; Rebelo, Ana R.; Cai, Hugh Y.
2014-01-01
This study analyzed sheep prion protein (PrP) genotypes of samples submitted from Ontario and other provinces of Canada to the Animal Health Laboratory at the University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, between 2005 and 2012. In Ontario, the proportion of scrapie-resistant sheep increased from 2005 to 2012 as evidenced by an increase in the ARR haplotype. When Canadian provinces (Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia) were compared from 2008 to 2012, a high proportion of scrapie-resistant sheep was found in all the provinces. The proportions of resistant sheep were lower in Alberta and Quebec than in Ontario and Nova Scotia. Alberta had higher proportions of susceptible sheep and a higher frequency of VRQ alleles, and Quebec had a higher frequency of the ARQ allele. PMID:25355994
Bei, Wang; Harrington, Rebecca M.; Liu, Yajing; Yu, Hongyu; Carey, Alex; van der Elst, Nicholas
2015-01-01
Here we search for dynamically triggered earthquakes in Canada following global main shocks between 2004 and 2014 with MS > 6, depth < 100 km, and estimated peak ground velocity > 0.2 cm/s. We use the Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) earthquake catalog to calculate β statistical values in 1° × 1° bins in 10 day windows before and after the main shocks. The statistical analysis suggests that triggering may occur near Vancouver Island, along the border of the Yukon and Northwest Territories, in western Alberta, western Ontario, and the Charlevoix seismic zone. We also search for triggering in Alberta where denser seismic station coverage renders regional earthquake catalogs with lower completeness thresholds. We find remote triggering in Alberta associated with three main shocks using a matched-filter approach on continuous waveform data. The increased number of local earthquakes following the passage of main shock surface waves suggests local faults may be in a critically stressed state.
Digital Health Services and Digital Identity in Alberta.
McEachern, Aiden; Cholewa, David
2017-01-01
The Government of Alberta continues to improve delivery of healthcare by allowing Albertans to access their health information online. Alberta is the only province in Canada with provincial electronic health records for all its citizens. These records are currently made available to medical practitioners, but Alberta Health believes that providing Albertans access to their health records will transform the delivery of healthcare in Alberta. It is important to have a high level of assurance that the health records are provided to the correct Albertan. Alberta Health requires a way for Albertans to obtain a digital identity with a high level of identity assurance prior to releasing health records via the Personal Health Portal. Service Alberta developed the MyAlberta Digital ID program to provide a digital identity verification service. The Ministry of Health is leveraging MyAlberta Digital ID to enable Albertans to access their personal health records through the Personal Health Portal. The Government of Alberta is advancing its vision of patient-centred healthcare by enabling Albertans to access a trusted source for health information and their electronic health records using a secure digital identity.
Axial inlet conversion to a centrifugal compressor with magnetic bearings
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Novecosky, T.
1994-01-01
NOVA's Alberta Gas Transmission Division transports natural gas via pipeline throughout the province of Alberta, Canada, exporting it to eastern Canada, US, and British Columbia. There is a continuing effort to operate the facilities and pipeline at the highest possible efficiency. One area being addressed to improve efficiency is compression of the gas. By improving compressor efficiency, fuel consumption and hence operating costs can be reduced. One method of improving compressor efficiency is by converting the compressor to an axial inlet configuration, a conversion that has been carried out more frequently in the past years. Concurrently, conventional hydrodynamic bearings havemore » been replaced with magnetic bearings on many centrifugal compressors. This paper discusses the design and installation for converting a radial overhung unit to an axial inlet configuration, having both magnetic bearings and a thrust reducer. The thrust reducer is required to reduce axial compressor shaft loads, to a level that allows the practical installation of magnetic bearings within the space limitations of the compressor (Bear and Gibson, 1992).« less
Energy [R]Evolution: Opportunities for Decarbonizing Canada
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Byrne, J. M.
2016-12-01
The future of conventional energy in Canada is uncertain. World oil prices have suffered steep declines recently and there are no strong arguments for recovery in the foreseeable future. The country is now engaged in serious debates and discussions over the value of GHG emissions, pipelines, oil and gas operations, and renewable energy. Oilsands deposits in northern Alberta require long-term investment and decades of consistent sales to repay those investments. The election of more progressive governments in Alberta and Canada may provide the national and global credibility and opportunity to address the environmental problems caused by Oilsands and other fossil fuel developments. The discussion will focus on the possible ways forward for Canada to diversify the regional and national economy with renewable energy networks, thereby meeting our Paris GHG emission reduction commitments. The end goal of this work is to see the Canadian economy decarbonized within two decades.
Wind turbine sound pressure level calculations at dwellings.
Keith, Stephen E; Feder, Katya; Voicescu, Sonia A; Soukhovtsev, Victor; Denning, Allison; Tsang, Jason; Broner, Norm; Leroux, Tony; Richarz, Werner; van den Berg, Frits
2016-03-01
This paper provides calculations of outdoor sound pressure levels (SPLs) at dwellings for 10 wind turbine models, to support Health Canada's Community Noise and Health Study. Manufacturer supplied and measured wind turbine sound power levels were used to calculate outdoor SPL at 1238 dwellings using ISO [(1996). ISO 9613-2-Acoustics] and a Swedish noise propagation method. Both methods yielded statistically equivalent results. The A- and C-weighted results were highly correlated over the 1238 dwellings (Pearson's linear correlation coefficient r > 0.8). Calculated wind turbine SPLs were compared to ambient SPLs from other sources, estimated using guidance documents from the United States and Alberta, Canada.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Teachers Association, Edmonton.
This publication, launched by the French Council of the Alberta Teachers' Association and prepared under the Millennium Partnership Program in Canada, presents a collection of essays written by French language immersion students in the elementary and secondary grades. Essay topics touch on the following themes: remembering, dreaming, celebrating,…
Provision of Coordinated Care for Individuals with Down Syndrome: The Calgary Perspective
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Heerensperger, Donna
2006-01-01
In Calgary, Alberta, Canada, cooperation between families, agencies and health care providers has resulted in services that improve the health and quality of life for individuals with Down syndrome. One of these is the multidisciplinary Down syndrome team at the Alberta Children's Hospital, which provides assessment, treatment and support based on…
A Healthy Communities Initiative in Rural Alberta: Building Rural Capacity for Health.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
GermAnn, Kathy; Smith, Neale; Littlejohns, Lori Baugh
Efforts of health professionals are shifting away from programs that "deliver health" toward those that build the capacity of communities to work together to create healthy places. The Healthy Communities Initiative (HCI) is a community development model in central Alberta (Canada) that involves the creation of a widely shared vision of…
Imagine There's No Carnegie Unit
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Klevgaard, Janine
2013-01-01
This article describes how the Alberta Education High School Flexibility Enhancement Pilot Project allowed 16 high schools in Alberta, Canada, to remove the restrictions of the Carnegie unit, the seat time per credit requirement that has been widely used since 1906. The two purposes of the project were to determine whether the Carnegie unit should…
Access and Funding for International Students in Alberta: Frequently Asked Questions
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Education, 2009
2009-01-01
Alberta classrooms are a microcosm of the world, with students representing a diversity of language and cultural groups. Some students are Canadian born or have adopted Canadian citizenship, while others are permanent residents, children of temporary foreign workers, refugees or students who have come to Canada specifically to study. Given this…
Computing Services Planning, Downsizing, and Organization at the University of Alberta.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Beltrametti, Monica
1993-01-01
In a six-month period, the University of Alberta (Canada) campus computing services department formulated a strategic plan, and downsized and reorganized to meet financial constraints and respond to changing technology, especially distributed computing. The new department is organized to react more effectively to trends in technology and user…
A Report on the Survey of Foreign Students.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Otto, David
The University of Alberta conducted this survey of foreign students to determine (1) the need for an International Center; (2) the kinds of academic experiences foreign students have; (3) the students' perception of the Foreign Student Office; and (4) how foreign students adjusted to life in Canada and at the University of Alberta. The group…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Jacobsen, D. Michele
The human and organizational infrastructure that is required to support the efficacious use of technology by teachers in the classroom was studied in three elementary schools in Alberta, Canada. The resulting impacts on engaged student learning were also studied, and the usefulness of Alberta's Galileo Educational Network Association initiative…
Teachers' Aides: Tasks and Concerns
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Balderson, James H.; Nixon, Mary
1976-01-01
Addresses three questions: (1) What tasks do aides perform? (2) Does training make a difference in the type of tasks aides perform? (3) What are the concerns of aides? (Available from the Department of Educational Administration, The University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2G5; $0.50, single copy.) (Author/IRT)
Forest gene conservation programs in Alberta, Canada
Jodie Krakowski
2017-01-01
Provincial tree improvement programs in Alberta began in 1976. Early gene conservation focused on ex situ measures such as seed and clone banking, and research trials of commercial species with tree improvement programs. The gene conservation program now encompasses representative and unique populations of all native tree species in situ. The ex situ program aims to...
Changing Definitions and Off-loading Responsibility in Alberta's Post-Secondary System.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Barnetson, Robert J.
1997-01-01
Outlines the process by which the government of Alberta (Canada) has compelled educational institutions to accept the introduction of a performance-based funding mechanism in spite of the substantial loss of autonomy the new process entails. Implications of the change are explored, and reasons for it are suggested. (Author/SLD)
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Maurya, S. P.; Singh, K. H.; Singh, N. P.
2018-05-01
In present study, three recently developed geostatistical methods, single attribute analysis, multi-attribute analysis and probabilistic neural network algorithm have been used to predict porosity in inter well region for Blackfoot field, Alberta, Canada, an offshore oil field. These techniques make use of seismic attributes, generated by model based inversion and colored inversion techniques. The principle objective of the study is to find the suitable combination of seismic inversion and geostatistical techniques to predict porosity and identification of prospective zones in 3D seismic volume. The porosity estimated from these geostatistical approaches is corroborated with the well log porosity. The results suggest that all the three implemented geostatistical methods are efficient and reliable to predict the porosity but the multi-attribute and probabilistic neural network analysis provide more accurate and high resolution porosity sections. A low impedance (6000-8000 m/s g/cc) and high porosity (> 15%) zone is interpreted from inverted impedance and porosity sections respectively between 1060 and 1075 ms time interval and is characterized as reservoir. The qualitative and quantitative results demonstrate that of all the employed geostatistical methods, the probabilistic neural network along with model based inversion is the most efficient method for predicting porosity in inter well region.
Hughes, Christine A; Breault, Rene R; Hicks, Deborah; Schindel, Theresa J
2017-11-23
A comprehensive Compensation Plan for pharmacy services delivered by community pharmacists was implemented in Alberta, Canada in July 2012. Services covered by the Compensation Plan include care planning services, prescribing services such as adapting prescriptions, and administering a drug or publicly-funded vaccine by injection. Understanding how the Compensation Plan was framed and communicated provides insight into the roles of pharmacists and the potential influence of language on the implementation of services covered by the Compensation Plan by Albertan pharmacists. The objective of this study is to examine the positioning of pharmacists' roles in documents used to communicate the Compensation Plan to Albertan pharmacists and other audiences. Publicly available documents related to the Compensation Plan, such as news releases or reports, published between January 2012 and December 2015 were obtained from websites such as the Government of Alberta, Alberta Blue Cross, the Alberta College of Pharmacists, the Alberta Pharmacists' Association, and the Blueprint for Pharmacy. Searches of the Canadian Newsstand database and Google identified additional documents. Discourse analysis was performed using social positioning theory to explore how pharmacists' roles were constructed in communications about the Compensation Plan. In total, 65 publicly available documents were included in the analysis. The Compensation Plan was put forward as a framework for payment for professional services and formal legitimization of pharmacists' changing professional roles. The discourse associated with the Compensation Plan positioned pharmacists' roles as: (1) expanding to include services such as medication management for chronic diseases, (2) contributing to primary health care by providing access to services such as prescription renewals and immunizations, and (3) collaborating with other health care team members. Pharmacists' changing roles were positioned in alignment with the aims of primary health care. Social positioning theory provides a useful lens to examine the dynamic and evolving roles of pharmacists. This study provides insight into how communications regarding the Compensation Plan in Alberta, Canada positioned pharmacists' changing roles in the broader context of changes to primary health care delivery. Our findings may be useful for other jurisdictions considering implementation of remunerated clinical services provided by pharmacists.
Potential role of soil properties in the spread of CWD in western Canada.
Kuznetsova, Alsu; McKenzie, Debbie; Banser, Pamela; Siddique, Tariq; Aiken, Judd M
2014-01-01
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a horizontally transmissible prion disease of free ranging deer, elk and moose. Recent experimental transmission studies indicate caribou are also susceptible to the disease. CWD is present in southeast Alberta and southern Saskatchewan. This CWD-endemic region is expanding, threatening Manitoba and areas of northern Alberta and Saskatchewan, home to caribou. Soil can serve as a stable reservoir for infectious prion proteins; prions bound to soil particles remain infectious in the soils for many years. Soils of western Canada are very diverse and the ability of CWD prions to bind different soils and the impact of this interaction on infectivity is not known. In general, clay-rich soils may bind prions avidly and enhance their infectivity comparable to pure clay mineral montmorillonite. Organic components of soils are also diverse and not well characterized, yet can impact prion-soil interaction. Other important contributing factors include soil pH, composition of soil solution and amount of metals (metal oxides). In this review, properties of soils of the CWD-endemic region in western Canada with its surrounding terrestrial environment are described and used to predict bioavailability and, thus, potential spread of CWD. The major soils in the CWD-endemic region of Alberta and Saskatchewan are Chernozems, present in 60% of the total area; they are generally similar in texture, clay mineralogy and soil organic matter content, and can be characterized as clay loamy, montmorillonite (smectite) soils with 6-10% organic carbon. The greatest risk of CWD spread in western Canada relates to clay loamy, montmorillonite soils with humus horizon. Such soils are predominant in the southern region of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, but are less common in northern regions of the provinces where quartz-illite sandy soils with low amount of humus prevail.
Timoney, K; Lee, P
2001-12-01
Economic growth is frequently touted as a cure for environmental ills, particularly for those in Third World countries. Here we examine that paradigm in a case study of Alberta, Canada, a wealthy, resource-rich province within a wealthy nation. Through provincial-scale datasets, we examine the increasing pressures of the forest, petroleum, and agricultural industries upon the ecosystems of Alberta within management, economic, and political contexts. We advance the thesis that economic activity leads to environmental degradation unless ecosystem-based management is integrated into economic decision making. Agricultural lands cover 31.7%, and forest management areas leased to industry cover 33.4% of Alberta; both continue to increase in extent. The rate of logging (focused on old-growth by government policy) continues a decades-long exponential rise. Current Alberta annual petroleum production is 52.5 million m3 crude oil and 117 billion m3 of gas. As of early 1999, there were approximately 199,025 oil and gas wells and a conservative total of approximately 1.5-1.8 million km of seismic lines in Alberta. Fire occurrence data indicate no downward trends in annual area burned by wildfire, which may be characterized as driven by climate and inherently variable. When logging and wildfire are combined, the annual allowable cut in Alberta is unsustainable, even when only timber supply is considered and the effects of expanding agriculture and oil and gas activities are ignored. Ecosystem degradation in Alberta is pervasive and contrasts prominently with a high standard of living. A wealth of ecological data exists that indicates current resource-based economic activities are non-sustainable and destructive of ecosystem health yet these data are not considered within the economic decision making process. Given the complex, compounded, and increasing ecosystem perturbations, a future of unpleasant ecological surprises is likely. We conclude with tentative predictions as to where current trends in Alberta may lead if decisions biased against ecosystems continue.
Multicultural Parent Education.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Strom, Robert; And Others
1992-01-01
Discusses findings from interviews with immigrant and refugee parents from Vietnam and Central and South America in Alberta, Canada, regarding concerns and educational needs. Reports concerns about children not speaking their native language and greater independence for children in Canada. Describes a multicultural parent education program…
An unprecedented wildfire impacted the northern Alberta city of Fort McMurray in May 2016 causing a mandatory city wide evacuation and the loss of 2,400 homes and commercial structures. A comprehensive air monitoring network operated by the Wood Buffalo Environmental Association ...
Whose Heartland? The Politics of Place in a Rural-Urban Interface
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Masuda, Jeffrey R.; Garvin, Theresa
2008-01-01
This article advances a conceptualization of the rural-urban interface that is centred on a historically and spatially informed politics of place situated within local-global connections. The research is a case study of an inter-municipal development plan called Alberta's Industrial Heartland. Located near the City of Edmonton, in Alberta, Canada,…
A study was conducted that coupled use of element concentrations and lead (Pb) isotope ratios in the lichen Hypogymnia physodes collected during 2002 and 2008, to assess the impacts of air emissions from the Alberta Oil Sands Region (AOSR, Canada) mining and processing operations...
Corporate Competencies for Executive Women in Alberta: Oh, the Places You'll Go!
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Cocchio, Kathy L.
2009-01-01
The study sought to develop consensus opinion on the core competencies required to succeed as a female executive in the C-Suites of Alberta, Canada. The study was prompted by the significant under-representation of women in Canadian corporate executive positions and by a post-secondary institution's interest in determining whether a market exists…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Rutland Consulting Group Ltd.
The report presents summaries of evaluations of the Coordinated Assessment and Program Planning for Education (CAPE) Program and the Coordinated Rehabilitation and Education (CORE) program for multi-handicapped sensory impaired and/or communication and behavior disordered children and their families in Alberta, Canada. Each program is evaluated…
The Required School Physical Education Program in Alberta. Planning and Research Study 1.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Glassford, R. G.; And Others
Data obtained from a province-wide survey of compulsory physical education programs in Alberta, Canada, is presented (1) describing current parent and student perceptions of required physical education, (2) identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the program as it exists, (3) assessing areas of expressed or implied concerns, and (4) making…
Trade Up! Careers in Construction: What's in the Construction Industry for Me? Teacher Guide.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton. Learning and Teaching Resources Branch.
This teacher guide is designed to help Alberta, Canada, youth discover, explore, and more fully understand careers and career paths in the four sectors of the construction industry--commercial, industrial, residential, and road building. An introduction discusses potential uses of the materials and explains why Alberta students need to know more…
An unprecedented wildfire impacted the northern Alberta city of Fort McMurray in May 2016 causing a mandatory evacuation of all residents and resulted in the loss of over 2,400 homes and businesses. An estimated two hectare wildfire was first discovered on May 1 by a fire patrol...
A. Bytnerowicz; W. Fraczek; S. Schilling; D. Alexander
2010-01-01
Monthly average ambient concentrations of gaseous nitric acid (HNO3) and ammonia (NH3) were monitored at the Athabasca Oils Sands Region (AOSR), Alberta, Canada, between May 2005 and September 2008. Generally, concentrations of both pollutants were elevated and highly variable in space and time. The highest atmospheric...
The Role of the Native Woman in a Native Society.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Swampy, Grace Marie
1982-01-01
Eighteen Plains Cree-speaking women, aged 15-93, were interviewed to determine the persistence of traditional beliefs as they affect the role of women. "The major implication is that the culture is alive." Available: Department of Educational Foundations, 5-109 Education North, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6G 2G5.…
Report on the National Learning Roundtable (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, March 19-20, 2001).
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Lowe, Graham S.
Forty-five individuals from a wide range of organizations and backgrounds participated in a national roundtable on learning in Canada. Working in small groups and plenaries, participants proposed a vision for learning as a way to address the widely expressed concern that Canada is not moving fast enough to increase learning opportunities and to…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
George, Darren; Dixon, Sinikka; Stansal, Emory; Gelb, Shannon Lund; Pheri, Tabitha
2008-01-01
Objective and Participants: A sample of 231 students attending a private liberal arts university in central Alberta, Canada, completed a 5-day time diary and a 71-item questionnaire assessing the influence of personal, cognitive, and attitudinal factors on success. Methods: The authors used 3 success measures: cumulative grade point average (GPA),…
Millennium Open Pit Mine, Alberta, Canada
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2007-01-01
Near Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, on the east bank of the Athabasca River, are found the Steepbank and Millennium mines. These open pit mines produce oil sands that are processed to recover bitumen, and then upgrade it to refinery-ready raw crude oil, and diesel fuel. The ASTER images were acquired September 22, 2000 and July 31, 2007, cover an area of 22.5 x 25.5 km, and are located near 57 degrees north latitude, 111.5 degrees west longitude. The U.S. science team is located at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. The Terra mission is part of NASA's Science Mission Directorate.Advancing Indigenous primary health care policy in Alberta, Canada.
Henderson, Rita; Montesanti, Stephanie; Crowshoe, Lindsay; Leduc, Charles
2018-06-01
For Indigenous people worldwide, accessing Primary Health Care (PHC) services responsive to socio-cultural realities is challenging, with institutional inequities in healthcare and jurisdictional barriers encumbering patients, providers, and decision-makers. In the Canadian province of Alberta, appropriate Indigenous health promotion, disease prevention, and primary care health services are needed, though policy reform is hindered by complex networks and competing interests between: federal/provincial funders; reserve/urban contexts; medical/allied health professional priorities; and three Treaty territories each structuring fiduciary responsibilities of the Canadian government. In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Canada released a final report from over six years spent considering impacts of the country's history of Indian residential schools, which for more than a century forcibly removed thousands of children from their families and communities. The TRC directed 94 calls to action to all levels of society, including health systems, to address an historical legacy of cultural assimilationism against Indigenous peoples. To address TRC calls that Indigenous health disparities be recognized as resulting from previous government policies, and to integrate Indigenous leadership and perspectives into health systems, PHC decision-makers, practitioners, and scholars in the province of Alberta brought together stakeholders from across Canada. The gathering detailed here explored Indigenous PHC models from other Canadian provinces to collaboratively build relationships for policy reform and identify opportunities for PHC innovations within Alberta. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Oesterle, Susan, Ed.; Allan, Darien, Ed.
2015-01-01
This submission contains the Proceedings of the 2014 Annual Meeting of the Canadian Mathematics Education Study Group (CMESG), held at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta. The CMESG is a group of mathematicians and mathematics educators who meet annually to discuss mathematics education issues at all levels of learning. The aims of the…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Gunn, Thelma M.; Pomahac, Guy; Striker, Evelyn Good; Tailfeathers, Johnel
2011-01-01
The education of minority students is of considerable interest within the literature. Ensuring that all children receive quality programming and that they successfully graduate from school is of concern for parents, educational stakeholders, and society alike. In Canada, the indigenous populations of First Nations, Metis, and Inuit (FNMI) students…
Using Cognitive Coaching to Build School Leadership Capacity: A Case Study in Alberta
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Rogers, W. Todd; Hauserman, Cal P.; Skytt, Jacqueline
2016-01-01
The impact of Cognitive Coaching? included as part of the Leader2Leader (L2L) Leadership Pilot Program for beginning principals in Alberta, Canada, was evaluated in the present study. Fifteen qualified principals (coaches) and 23 new principals completed the L2L Pilot Program that took place over 18 months. Questionnaires for coaches and new…
RACOL Project Delivers Distance Education to Rural Alberta Schools through Videoconferencing
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
T.H.E. Journal, 2005
2005-01-01
The Fort Vermilion School Division (FVSD) covers an area twice the size of Vermont, yet the school system only has 3,600 students. This region of northwestern Alberta, Canada, is a mixture of agriculture and oil exploration, with most towns having fewer than 5,000 people. The mandate of the school district is to provide the best possible education…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Wishart, Diane; Jahnukainen, Markku
2010-01-01
In Canada, there is a recent trend toward non-categorization of services of students with emotional and behavioural disabilities (EBD). Yet in Alberta, the coding of students with EBD provides opportunities to diagnose students' learning difficulties but is hindered in this process, in large part, by being tied into special needs funding. Current…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Romaniuk, Gene, Ed.
This report of a symposium for educators in the province of Alberta provides background information on the symposium, a set of six major recommendations made by the participants, reports from the working groups to which participants were assigned; and the text of 12 papers presented at the meeting. The nine chapters of the report document the…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton.
This manual is intended for use by the Alberta, Canada, school boards, administrators, consultants, education staff, and other individuals involved in school building projects. The purpose of the School Capital Plan, funding, and Alberta Education's funding framework are detailed. The school building project components of the School Capital Plan…
AY 2007-2008 Achieving U.S. Energy Security: Energy Industry Sector Report Seminar 8
2008-01-01
de Desenvolvimento Economico e Social, Rio de Janeiro , Brazil Brazilian Petroleum, Gas, and Biofuels...Institute, Rio de Janeiro , Brazil Brazilian School of Public and Business Administration, Rio de Janeiro , Brazil Canada Energy Pipeline Association...Colombia, Canada Enbridge Inc., Calgary, Alberta, Canada Federation of Industries of the State of Rio de Janeiro , Rio , Brazil Point Lisas
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Gibson, J. J.; Birks, S. J.; Stadnyk, T.; Delavau, C. J.
2017-12-01
Stable isotopes of water have been measured since the 1990's as part of hydrometric monitoring programs within Canada's Water Survey of Canada gauging network and Alberta's Long-Term River Network. These datasets are being applied for hydrograph separation of streamflow sources, including rain, snow, groundwater, and surface water, as well as for estimation of watershed evaporation losses and evaporation/transpiration partitioning. Here we describe an innovative isotope mass balance approach, discuss benefits and limitations of the method, and present selected results that illustrate important regional trends in the contemporary hydrology of Canada. Overall, isotopes are shown to be useful for constraining water balance variations across regions with low monitoring density. Recommendations for future activities are identified, including regional comparisons with outputs from isotope-capable distributed hydrologic models.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Burger, John M.; Nadirova, Anna
2013-01-01
In this paper, we report on the design and implementation of a state of the art Student Information System (SIS) being developed in a moderate size Alberta, Canada school jurisdiction. The SIS design is premised upon transparency, balanced, comprehensive, and multi-method assessments that links qualitative and quantitative data in support of…
Pearl, D L; Louie, M; Chui, L; Doré, K; Grimsrud, K M; Martin, S W; Michel, P; Svenson, L W; McEwen, S A
2009-10-01
Using negative binomial and multi-level Poisson models, the authors determined the statistical significance of agricultural and socio-economic risk factors for rates of reported disease associated with Escherichia coli O157 in census subdivisions (CSDs) in Alberta, Canada, 2000-2002. Variables relating to population stability, aboriginal composition of the CSDs, and the economic relationship between CSDs and urban centres were significant risk factors. The percentage of individuals living in low-income households was not a statistically significant risk factor for rates of disease. The statistical significance of cattle density, recorded at a higher geographical level, depended on the method used to correct for overdispersion, the number of levels included in the multi-level models, and the choice of using all reported cases or only sporadic cases. Our results highlight the importance of local socio-economic risk factors in determining rates of disease associated with E. coli O157, but their relationship with individual risk factors requires further evaluation.
The ineffable disease: exploring young people's discourses about HIV/AIDS in Alberta, Canada.
Graffigna, Guendalina; Olson, Kärin
2009-06-01
The ongoing epidemic of HIV/AIDS in Western societies (in particular in North America), where most of the population knows about the disease and how it is transmitted, suggests that providing information is not enough to change unsafe conduct. More complex psychosocial processes, mainly still unexplored, seem to underlie the translation of health knowledge about the disease and the infection into safe practices. In this article we explore the discourse of young people in Alberta about HIV/AIDS and discuss ways in which this information might be used to shape preventive strategies. We conducted eight focus groups with young people 18 to 25 years of age living in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and analyzed the data using psychosocial discourse analysis. The results confirm the role of young people's interpersonal exchanges in determining HIV/AIDS preventive conduct and show the importance of social discourses about HIV/AIDS in mediating the impact of preventive campaigns on young people's attitudes and beliefs.
Reforming Long-Term Care Funding in Alberta.
Crump, R Trafford; Repin, Nadya; Sutherland, Jason M
2015-01-01
Like many provinces across Canada, Alberta is facing growing demand for long-term care. Issues with the mixed funding model used to pay long-term care providers had Alberta Health Services concerned that it was not efficiently meeting the demand for long-term care. Consequently, in 2010, Alberta Health Services introduced the patient/care-based funding (PCBF) model. PCBF is similar to activity-based funding in that it directly ties the complexity and care needs of long-term care residents to the payment received by long-term care providers. This review describes PCBF and discusses some of its strengths and weaknesses. In doing so, this review is intended to inform other provinces faced with similar long-term care challenges and contemplating their own funding reforms.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Townsend, David
This monograph focuses on the implementation process that has been a concern of school jurisdictions since the teacher evaluation policy became mandatory in Alberta, Canada, in 1985. Research has shown that school systems are adept at developing written policy but much less successful at putting that policy into effective operation. This overview…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Calgary Univ. (Alberta). Centre for Gifted Education.
This monograph contains the conference proceedings of the 1991 conference of the Society for the Advancement of Gifted Education, held in Calgary, Alberta. The papers have the following titles and authors: "Experiencing Creativity in Music" (Loretta Baker); "Students Who are Hearing Impaired and Gifted: Teachers' Perspectives" (Mary Ann Bibby);…
An unprecedented wildfire impacted the northern Alberta city of Fort McMurray in May 2016 causing a mandatory city wide evacuation and the loss of 2,400 homes and commercial structures. A two-hectare wildfire was discovered on May 1, grew to ~ 157,000 ha by May 5, and continued t...
The Atlee School Question: The Effects of School Consolidation in Rural Alberta
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Boddington, Steven
2010-01-01
In the mid-1960s, a bitter dispute broke out between parents in the Atlee-Jenner School District in Southern Alberta Canada, and the Medicine Hat School Board over the bussing of children for the first time to a new school a long distance away. The move was precipitated by the consolidation of several smaller school districts and the subsequent…
Allocation of Property Taxes for Religious Schools in Canada.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Lawton, S. B.
Five of Canada's ten provinces--Newfoundland, Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Alberta--maintain systems of publicly supported religious schools, variously referred to as denominational, dissentient, or separate schools. In each of these, funding is shared between the province and the local communities, with the latter depending, for the most…
"CanCore": In Canada and around the World
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Friesen, Norm
2005-01-01
In this article, the author discusses "CanCore," a learning resource metadata initiative funded by Industry Canada and supported by Athabasca University, Alberta, and TeleUniversite du Quebec, and describes the increasing range of international uses of the "CanCore" metadata for the indexing of learning objects.…
Special Education in Canada: Past, Present and Future.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Hodder, Clive
The paper reviews the history and present status of special education in Canada (with particular emphasis on the province of Ontario) and identifies recommended future directions. The legislative authority for special education and current policies are summarized in sections on the following provinces: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan,…
A bibliometric analysis of digestive health research in Canada.
Tuitt, Desiree; Knight, Frank; Lipman, Tara
2011-11-01
Measurement of the impact and influence of medical⁄scientific journals, and of individual researchers has become more widely practiced in recent decades. This is driven, in part, by the increased availability of data regarding citations of research articles, and by increased competition for research funding. Digestive disease research has been identified as a particularly strong discipline in Canada. The authors collected quantitative data on the impact and influence of Canadian digestive health research. The present study involved an analysis of the research impact (Hirsch factor) and research influence (Influence factor) of 106 digestive health researchers in Canada. Rankings of the top 25 researchers on the basis of the two metrics were dominated by the larger research groups at the University of Toronto (Toronto, Ontario), McMaster University (Hamilton, Ontario), and the Universities of Calgary (Calgary, Alberta) and Alberta (Edmonton, Alberta), but with representation by other research groups at the Universities of Manitoba (Winnipeg, Manitoba), Western Ontario (London, Ontario) and McGill University (Montreal, Quebec). Female and male researchers had similar scores for the two metrics, as did basic scientists versus clinical investigators. Strategic recruitment, particularly of established investigators, can have a major impact on the ranking of research groups. Comparing these metrics over different time frames can provide insights into the vulnerabilities and strengths of research groups.
Moore, Suzanne P; Antoni, Sébastien; Colquhoun, Amy; Healy, Bonnie; Ellison-Loschmann, Lis; Potter, John D; Garvey, Gail; Bray, Freddie
2015-11-01
Indigenous people have disproportionally worse health and lower life expectancy than their non-indigenous counterparts in high-income countries. Cancer data for indigenous people are scarce and incidence has not previously been collectively reported in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the USA. We aimed to investigate and compare, for the first time, the cancer burden in indigenous populations in these countries. We derived incidence data from population-based cancer registries in three states of Australia (Queensland, Western Australia, and the Northern Territory), New Zealand, the province of Alberta in Canada, and the Contract Health Service Delivery Areas of the USA. Summary rates for First Nations and Inuit in Alberta, Canada, were provided directly by Alberta Health Services. We compared age-standardised rates by registry, sex, cancer site, and ethnicity for all incident cancer cases, excluding non-melanoma skin cancers, diagnosed between 2002 and 2006. Standardised rate ratios (SRRs) and 95% CIs were computed to compare the indigenous and non-indigenous populations of each jurisdiction, except for the Alaska Native population, which was compared with the white population from the USA. We included 24 815 cases of cancer in indigenous people and 5 685 264 in non-indigenous people from all jurisdictions, not including Alberta, Canada. The overall cancer burden in indigenous populations was substantially lower in the USA except in Alaska, similar or slightly lower in Australia and Canada, and higher in New Zealand compared with their non-indigenous counterparts. Among the most commonly occurring cancers in indigenous men were lung, prostate, and colorectal cancer. In most jurisdictions, breast cancer was the most common cancer in women followed by lung and colorectal cancer. The incidence of lung cancer was higher in indigenous men in all Australian regions, in Alberta, and in US Alaska Natives than in their non-indigenous counterparts. For breast cancer, rates in women were lower in all indigenous populations except in New Zealand (SRR 1·23, CI 95% 1·16-1·32) and Alaska (1·14, 1·01-1·30). Incidence of cervical cancer was higher in indigenous women than in non-indigenous women in most jurisdictions, although the difference was not always statistically significant. There are clear differences in the scale and profile of cancer in indigenous and non-indigenous populations in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the USA. Our findings highlight the need for much-improved, targeted programmes of screening, vaccination, and smoking cessation, among other prevention strategies. Governments and researchers need to work in partnership with indigenous communities to improve cancer surveillance in all jurisdictions and facilitate access to cancer data. International Agency for Research on Cancer-Australia Fellowship. Copyright © 2015 International Agency for Research on Cancer. Published by Elsevier Ltd/Inc/BV. All rights reserved. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.
Emergy accounting for regional studies: case study of Canada and its provinces.
Hossaini, Navid; Hewage, Kasun
2013-03-30
Sustainable regional management (development) requires an understanding of interactions between the social, economic, and ecological systems within the boundaries of a region. In this paper, application of emergy (an environmental accounting method) for regional planning is discussed through a case study. Emergy (spelled with an "m") methodology is an environmental accounting technique that evaluates the energy system for the thermodynamics of an open system. Major renewable and non-renewable resource fluxes to a region, including energy, matter, human activities, and money can be converted to emergy by using corresponding transformity functions. As a case study, this paper discusses the emergy accounting of Canada and its provinces with various emergy-based indicators. Moreover, emergy maps were generated in a form of emergy geography. These maps are multi-dimensional illustrations that show resource consumption, emergy per person, and emergy density across Canada under two parameters: (1) the quantities of resources consumed and (2) the location of consumption. Emergy analysis also highlights concentrations of renewable and natural resources in Canada and distinguishes the provinces with the highest resource consumption. Analysis of emergy indicator for Canadian provinces shows that Alberta with the highest EYR (7.35) provides energy to the economy of Canada. However, ELR value of Alberta (8.5) indicates that the province's current economic approach is not sustainable as it relies mainly on non-renewable emergy inputs (mainly from fossil fuels). ELR of British Columbia and Manitoba indicates that these two provinces created a firm balance between emergy use of renewable and non-renewable resources. The characterizations of regions provided in this paper can be used for future land planning and management both in federal and provincial levels. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Pujadas Botey, Anna; Vinturache, Angela; Bayrampour, Hamideh; Breitkreuz, Rhonda; Bukutu, Cecilia; Gibbard, Ben; Tough, Suzanne
2017-01-01
Parents and non-parental adults who interact with children influence child development. This study evaluates the knowledge of child development in two large and diverse samples of adults from Alberta in 2007 and 2013. Telephone interviews were completed by two random samples (1,443 in 2007; 1,451 in 2013). Participants were asked when specific…
Evolving 50–50% bilingual pedagogy in Alberta: what does the research say?
Naqvi, Rahat; Schmidt, Elaine; Krickhan, Marlene
2014-01-01
This paper outlines the provincial frameworks that define the Spanish bilingual program in Alberta, Canada, provides an historical overview of its pedagogic constraints and evolution, and proposes a framework for bilingual pedagogy. The framework is conceptualized from the research evidence of three local case studies, and is based on the centrality of cross-linguistic transfer, in relation to linguistic interdependence and bilingual learning. PMID:24987378
2013-07-19
During October 2010-February 2011, an outbreak of 91 Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) infections in Alberta, Canada, was investigated by a local public health department (Alberta Health Services, Calgary Zone). Index cases initially were linked through a common history of consumption of food purchased from mobile food-vending vehicles (lunch trucks) operating at worksites in Alberta. Further investigation implicated one catering company that supplied items for the lunch trucks and other vendors. In 85 cases, patients reported consumption of food prepared by the catering company in the 7 days before illness. Six patients were employees of the catering company, and two food samples collected from the catering company were positive for SE. Foods likely were contaminated directly or indirectly through the use of illegally sourced, SE-contaminated eggs at the implicated catering facility and by catering employees who were infected with SE. Public health interventions put into place to control the outbreak included screening employees for Salmonella, excluding those infected from food-handling duties, and training employees in safe food-handling procedures. No further outbreak cases were identified after full implementation of the interventions. This investigation highlights the potential for lunch trucks to be a source of foodborne illness and the need for robust regulatory compliance monitoring of lunch trucks and their food suppliers.
Jiang, Rengui; Xie, Jiancang; He, Hailong; Kuo, Chun-Chao; Zhu, Jiwei; Yang, Mingxiang
2016-09-01
As one of the most popular vegetation indices to monitor terrestrial vegetation productivity, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) has been widely used to study the plant growth and vegetation productivity around the world, especially the dynamic response of vegetation to climate change in terms of precipitation and temperature. Alberta is the most important agricultural and forestry province and with the best climatic observation systems in Canada. However, few studies pertaining to climate change and vegetation productivity are found. The objectives of this paper therefore were to better understand impacts of climate change on vegetation productivity in Alberta using the NDVI and provide reference for policy makers and stakeholders. We investigated the following: (1) the variations of Alberta's smoothed NDVI (sNDVI, eliminated noise compared to NDVI) and two climatic variables (precipitation and temperature) using non-parametric Mann-Kendall monotonic test and Thiel-Sen's slope; (2) the relationships between sNDVI and climatic variables, and the potential predictability of sNDVI using climatic variables as predictors based on two predicted models; and (3) the use of a linear regression model and an artificial neural network calibrated by the genetic algorithm (ANN-GA) to estimate Alberta's sNDVI using precipitation and temperature as predictors. The results showed that (1) the monthly sNDVI has increased during the past 30 years and a lengthened growing season was detected; (2) vegetation productivity in northern Alberta was mainly temperature driven and the vegetation in southern Alberta was predominantly precipitation driven for the period of 1982-2011; and (3) better performances of the sNDVI-climate relationships were obtained by nonlinear model (ANN-GA) than using linear (regression) model. Similar results detected in both monthly and summer sNDVI prediction using climatic variables as predictors revealed the applicability of two models for different period of year ecologists might focus on.
Loitz, Christina C; Stearns, Jodie A; Fraser, Shawn N; Storey, Kate; Spence, John C
2017-08-09
Coordinated partnerships and collaborations can optimize the efficiency and effectiveness of service and program delivery in organizational networks. However, the extent to which organizations are working together to promote physical activity, and use physical activity policies in Canada, is unknown. This project sought to provide a snapshot of the funding, coordination and partnership relationships among provincial active living organizations (ALOs) in Alberta, Canada. Additionally, the awareness, and use of the provincial policy and national strategy by the organizations was examined. Provincial ALOs (N = 27) answered questions regarding their funding, coordination and partnership connections with other ALOs in the network. Social network analysis was employed to examine network structure and position of each ALO. Discriminant function analysis determined the extent to which degree centrality was associated with the use of the Active Alberta (AA) policy and Active Canada 20/20 (AC 20/20) strategy. The funding network had a low density level (density = .20) and was centralized around Alberta Tourism Parks and Recreation (ATPR; degree centralization = 48.77%, betweenness centralization = 32.43%). The coordination network had a moderate density level (density = .31), and was low-to-moderately centralized around a few organizations (degree centralization = 45.37%, betweenness centrality = 19.92%). The partnership network had a low density level (density = .15), and was moderate-to-highly centralized around ATPR. Most organizations were aware of AA (89%) and AC 20/20 (78%), however more were using AA (67%) compared to AC 20/20 (33%). Central ALOs in the funding network were more likely to use AA and AC 20/20. Central ALOs in the coordination network were more likely to use AC 20/20, but not AA. Increasing formal and informal relationships between organizations and integrating disconnected or peripheral organizations could increase the capacity of the network to promote active living across Alberta. Uptake of the AA policy within the network is high and appears to be facilitated by the most central ALO. Promoting policy use through a central organization appeared to be an effective strategy for disseminating the province-level physical activity policy and could be considered as a policy-uptake strategy by other regions.
Improving access to eye care: teleophthalmology in Alberta, Canada.
Ng, Mancho; Nathoo, Nawaaz; Rudnisky, Chris J; Tennant, Matthew T S
2009-03-01
Diabetic retinopathy in Alberta and throughout Canada is common, with a prevalence up to 40% in people with diabetes. Unfortunately, due to travel distance, time, and expense, a third of patients with diabetes do not receive annual dilated eye examinations by ophthalmologists, despite universal health care access. In an effort to improve access, a teleophthalmology program was developed to overcome barriers to eye care. Prior to clinical implementation, teleophthalmology technology was clinically validated for the identification of treatable levels of diabetic retinopathy. Patients undergoing a teleophthalmology assessment underwent stereoscopic digital retinal photographs following pupillary dilation. Digital images were then packaged into an encrypted password-protected compressed file for uploading onto a secure server. Images were digitally unpackaged for review as a stereoscopic digital slide show and graded with a modified Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study algorithm. Reports were then generated automatically as a PDF file and sent back to the referring physician. Teleophthalmology programs in Alberta have assessed more than 5500 patients (9016 visits) to date. Nine hundred thirty patients have been referred for additional testing or treatment. Approximately 2% of teleophthalmology assessments have required referral for in-person examination due to ungradable image sets, most commonly due to cataract, corneal drying, or asteroid hyalosis. In Alberta and throughout Canada, many patients with diabetes do not receive an annual dilated eye examination. Teleophthalmology is beneficial because patients can be assessed within their own communities. This decreases the time to treatment, allows treated patients to be followed remotely, and prevents unnecessary referrals. Health care costs may be reduced by the introduction of comprehensive teleophthalmology examinations by enabling testing and treatment to be planned prior to the patient's first visit. (c) 2009 Diabetes Technology Society.
R. Kelman Wieder; Melanie A. Vile; Kimberli D. Scott; Cara M. Albright; Kelly J. McMillen; Dale H. Vitt; Mark E. Fenn
2016-01-01
Oil extraction and development activities in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region of northern Alberta, Canada, release NOx, SOx, and NHy to the atmosphere, ultimately resulting in increasing N and S inputs to surrounding ecosystems through atmospheric deposition. Peatlands are a major feature of the northern Alberta landscape, with bogs covering 6-10% of the land area, and...
Healthcare Costs Attributable to Hypertension: Canadian Population-Based Cohort Study.
Weaver, Colin G; Clement, Fiona M; Campbell, Norm R C; James, Matthew T; Klarenbach, Scott W; Hemmelgarn, Brenda R; Tonelli, Marcello; McBrien, Kerry A
2015-09-01
Accurately documenting the current and future costs of hypertension is required to fully understand the potential economic impact of currently available and future interventions to prevent and treat hypertension. The objective of this work was to calculate the healthcare costs attributable to hypertension in Canada and to project these costs to 2020. Using population-based administrative data for the province of Alberta, Canada (>3 million residents) from 2002 to 2010, we identified individuals with and without diagnosed hypertension. We calculated their total healthcare costs and estimated costs attributable to hypertension using a regression model adjusting for comorbidities and sociodemographic factors. We then extrapolated hypertension-attributable costs to the rest of Canada and projected costs to the year 2020. Twenty-one percent of adults in Alberta had diagnosed hypertension in 2010, with a projected increase to 27% by 2020. The average individual with hypertension had annual healthcare costs of $5768, of which $2341 (41%) were attributed to hypertension. In Alberta, the healthcare costs attributable to hypertension were $1.4 billion in 2010. In Canada, the hypertension-attributable costs were estimated to be $13.9 billion in 2010, rising to $20.5 billion by 2020. The increase was ascribed to demographic changes (52%), increasing prevalence (16%), and increasing per-patient costs (32%). Hypertension accounts for a significant proportion of healthcare spending (10.2% of the Canadian healthcare budget) and is projected to rise even further. Interventions to prevent and treat hypertension may play a role in limiting this cost growth. © 2015 American Heart Association, Inc.
Oster, Richard T; Grier, Angela; Lightning, Rick; Mayan, Maria J; Toth, Ellen L
2014-10-19
We used an exploratory sequential mixed methods approach to study the association between cultural continuity, self-determination, and diabetes prevalence in First Nations in Alberta, Canada. We conducted a qualitative description where we interviewed 10 Cree and Blackfoot leaders (members of Chief and Council) from across the province to understand cultural continuity, self-determination, and their relationship to health and diabetes, in the Alberta First Nations context. Based on the qualitative findings, we then conducted a cross-sectional analysis using provincial administrative data and publically available data for 31 First Nations communities to quantitatively examine any relationship between cultural continuity and diabetes prevalence. Cultural continuity, or "being who we are", is foundational to health in successful First Nations. Self-determination, or "being a self-sufficient Nation", stems from cultural continuity and is seriously compromised in today's Alberta Cree and Blackfoot Nations. Unfortunately, First Nations are in a continuous struggle with government policy. The intergenerational effects of colonization continue to impact the culture, which undermines the sense of self-determination, and contributes to diabetes and ill health. Crude diabetes prevalence varied dramatically among First Nations with values as low as 1.2% and as high as 18.3%. Those First Nations that appeared to have more cultural continuity (measured by traditional Indigenous language knowledge) had significantly lower diabetes prevalence after adjustment for socio-economic factors (p =0.007). First Nations that have been better able to preserve their culture may be relatively protected from diabetes.
Evaluation of air quality indicators in Alberta, Canada - An international perspective.
Bari, Md Aynul; Kindzierski, Warren B
2016-01-01
There has been an increase in oil sands development in northern Alberta, Canada and an overall increase in economic activity in the province in recent years. An evaluation of the state of air quality was conducted in four Alberta locations - urban centers of Calgary and Edmonton, and smaller communities of Fort McKay and Fort McMurray in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AOSR). Concentration trends, diurnal hourly and monthly average concentration profiles, and exceedances of provincial, national and international air quality guidelines were assessed for several criteria air pollutants over the period 1998 to 2014. Two methods were used to evaluate trends. Parametric analysis of annual median 1h concentrations and non-parametric analysis of annual geometric mean 1h concentrations showed consistent decreasing trends for NO2 and SO2 (<1ppb per year), CO (<0.1ppm per year) at all stations, decreasing for THC (<0.1ppm per year) and increasing for O3 (≤0.52ppb per year) at most stations and unchanged for PM2.5 at all stations in Edmonton and Calgary over a 17-year period. Little consistency in trends was observed among the methods for the same air pollutants other than for THC (increasing in Fort McKay <0.1ppm per year and no trend in Fort McMurray), PM2.5 in Fort McKay and Fort McMurray (no trend) and CO (decreasing <0.1ppm per year in Fort McMurray) over the same period. Levels of air quality indicators at the four locations were compared with other Canadian and international urban areas to judge the current state of air quality. Median and annual average concentrations for Alberta locations tended to be the smallest in Fort McKay and Fort McMurray. Other than for PM2.5, Calgary and Edmonton tended to have median and annual average concentrations comparable to and/or below that of larger populated Canadian and U.S. cities, depending upon the air pollutant. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
The Epidemiology of Childhood Salmonella Infections in Alberta, Canada.
Faulder, Kate E; Simmonds, Kimberley; Robinson, Joan L
2017-06-01
The objectives were to describe the incidence, demographics, laboratory findings, and suspected sources of childhood Salmonella infections in Alberta, Canada, with a focus on preventable cases. Data from Notifiable Disease Reports for children with nontyphoidal salmonellosis (NTS) or typhoid/paratyphoid fever from 2007 through 2015 were analyzed. NTS was detected from 2285 children. Bacteremia was documented in 55 cases (2.4%), whereas a single infant had NTS meningitis. The suspected source was food (N = 577; 25.3%) followed by animal or animal manure contact (N = 426; 18.6%), of which a reptile was the suspected source in 264 cases (11.5%). There were 44 outbreaks with none sharing the same food source. Ninety-five children were diagnosed with typhoid/paratyphoid fever, of which 48 cases (51%) were typhoid cases in unimmunized children 2 years or older. There are still ∼275 pediatric cases of Salmonella infection in Alberta annually, the bulk of which are preventable. Public education about reptile exposure, food safety, and pretravel immunizations could potentially prevent many cases of Salmonella infection.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Forbes, K. A.; Kienzle, S. W.; Coburn, C. A.; Byrne, J. M.
2006-12-01
Multiple threats, including intensification of agricultural production, non-renewable resource extraction and climate change, are threatening Southern Alberta's water supply. The objective of this research is to calibrate/evaluate the Agricultural Catchments Research Unit (ACRU) agrohydrological model; with the end goal of forecasting the impacts of a changing environment on water quantity. The strength of this model is the intensive multi-layered soil water budgeting routine that integrates water movement between the surface and atmosphere. The ACRU model was parameterized using data from Environment Canada's climate database for a twenty year period (1984-2004) and was used to simulate streamflow for Beaver Creek. The simulated streamflow was compared to Environment Canada's historical streamflow database to validate the model output. The Beaver Creek Watershed, located in the Porcupine Hills southwestern Alberta, Canada contains a heterogeneous cover of deciduous, coniferous, native prairie grasslands and forage crops. In a catchment with highly diversified land cover, canopy architecture cannot be overlooked in rainfall interception parameterization. Preliminary testing of ACRU suggests that streamflows were sensitive to varied levels of leaf area index (LAI), a representative fraction of canopy foliage. Further testing using remotely sensed LAI's will provide a more accurate representation of canopy foliage and ultimately best represent this important element of the hydrological cycle and the associated processes which govern the natural hydrology of the Beaver Creek watershed.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Grekul, Jana; Sanderson, Kim
2011-01-01
Hobbema, Alberta, Canada is a community comprised of four First Nations. As with many of Canada's Aboriginal communities, Hobbema's population is young. High rates of socio-economic disadvantage, violence, family dysfunction, and substance abuse are linked to colonization, residential school policies, and discrimination. Crime rates, including…
Partnerships in Sustainable Tourism Development: The Case of Canmore, Alberta, Canada
Dianne Draper
1992-01-01
A variety of formal and informal "partnerships" have evolved in the course of planning for the first two of several large-scale, multi-million dollar private sector tourism development projects proposed for the small town of Canmore, adjacent to Banff National Park, Canada. This paper briefly identifies the major impetuses for and the nature of these...
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Heffernan, Peter J.
1991-01-01
Discusses teacher shortages in French language instruction areas in Canada, both core and immersion; the rationalization of programs; staffing and financial support among Alberta's tertiary education; language teacher preparation; and continuing professional development. Suggestions are made as to how a smaller university can better fulfill its…
Thanh, Nguyen X; Ezekowitz, Justin A; Tran, Dat T; Kaul, Padma
2016-10-01
Eplerenone has been demonstrated as being cost effective for the treatment of patients with systolic heart failure (HF) and mild symptoms in several jurisdictions; however, its cost effectiveness is unknown in the context of Alberta, Canada. We used a discrete-event simulation model to compare costs and outcomes between standard care and standard care plus eplerenone for the treatment of HF with mild symptoms. We used Alberta data (whenever possible) together with a healthcare perspective, a lifetime horizon, and 3 % annual discount rate for analyses. Clinically, eplerenone prevented HF hospitalizations, atrial fibrillations, and cardiovascular (CV) deaths, but incurred more adverse events and device implantations than standard care. The remaining life of patients receiving eplerenone was 7.08 versus 5.83 years for those receiving standard care. Eplerenone gained 1.25 life-years and 1.18 quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), with an incremental cost of $Can7200. Therefore, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was $Can5700 per life-year gained and $Can6100 per QALY gained. Given the most cited ICER threshold is $Can50,000, the use of eplerenone as an adjunct to standard care for treating patients with systolic HF and mild symptoms is cost effective in the context of Alberta. Eplerenone would cost the Alberta health system about $Can4.6 million a year in drug costs. Incorporating reductions in health services utilization associated with eplerenone, the budget impact is smaller. For the first year, the use of eplerenone is cost saving and for 5 years the cost is approximately $Can6 million.
Full genome analysis of enterovirus D-68 strains circulating in Alberta, Canada.
Pabbaraju, Kanti; Wong, Sallene; Drews, Steven J; Tipples, Graham; Tellier, Raymond
2016-07-01
A widespread outbreak of enterovirus (EV)-D68 that started in the summer of 2014 has been reported in the USA and Canada. During the course of this outbreak, EV-D68 was identified as a possible cause of acute, unexplained severe respiratory illness and a temporal association was observed between acute flaccid paralysis with anterior myelitis and EV-D68 detection in the upper respiratory tract. In this study, four nasopharyngeal samples collected from patients in Alberta, Canada with a laboratory diagnosis of EV-D68 were used to determine the near full-length genome sequence directly from the specimens. Phylogenetic analysis was performed to study the genotypes and pathogenesis of the circulating strains. Our results support the contention that mutations in the VP1 gene and other regions of the genome causing altered antigenicity, as well as lack of immunity in the younger population, may be responsible for the increased severe respiratory disease outbreaks of EV-D68 worldwide. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
2013-01-01
Background An unusually high incidence of aseptic meningitis caused by enteroviruses was noted in Alberta, Canada between March and October 2010. Sequence based typing was performed on the enterovirus positive samples to gain a better understanding of the molecular characteristics of the Coxsackie A9 (CVA-9) strain responsible for most cases in this outbreak. Methods Molecular typing was performed by amplification and sequencing of the VP2 region. The genomic sequence of one of the 2010 outbreak isolates was compared to a CVA-9 isolate from 2003 and the prototype sequence to study genetic drift and recombination. Results Of the 4323 samples tested, 213 were positive for enteroviruses (4.93%). The majority of the positives were detected in CSF samples (n = 157, 73.71%) and 81.94% of the sequenced isolates were typed as CVA-9. The sequenced CVA-9 positives were predominantly (94.16%) detected in patients ranging in age from 15 to 29 years and the peak months for detection were between March and October. Full genome sequence comparisons revealed that the CVA-9 viruses isolated in Alberta in 2003 and 2010 were highly homologous to the prototype CVA-9 in the structural VP1, VP2 and VP3 regions but divergent in the VP4, non-structural and non-coding regions. Conclusion The increase in cases of aseptic meningitis was associated with enterovirus CVA-9. Sequence divergence between the prototype strain of CVA-9 and the Alberta isolates suggests genetic drifting and/or recombination events, however the sequence was conserved in the antigenic regions determined by the VP1, VP2 and VP3 genes. These results suggest that the increase in CVA-9 cases likely did not result from the emergence of a radically different immune escape mutant. PMID:23521862
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Simmt, Elaine, Ed.; Davis, Brent, Ed.
2001-01-01
This document contains the proceedings of the 2001 annual meeting of the Canadian Mathematics Education Study Group (CMESG) held at the University of Alberta, May 25-39, 2000. The proceedings consist of two plenary lectures, four working groups, five topic sessions, new Ph.D. reports, an AD Hoc Session, and panel discussions. Papers include: (1)…
M. Nyborg; J. Crepin; D. Hocking; J. Baker
1976-01-01
Rain and snow in Alberta are seldom acid. The S content of snow is so low that the snow pack gives a deposition of less than 1 kg S/ha, even downwind from large SO2 emission sources. Rainfall contributes at the most 4 kg S/ha yearly near SO2 sources, and only about 1 kg S/ha in clean areas. However, rain intercepted by...
A Survey of Mental Health Services at Post-Secondary Institutions in Alberta
Heck, Emma; Jaworska, Natalia; DeSomma, Elisea; Dhoopar, Arjun Sunny; MacMaster, Frank P; Dewey, Deborah; MacQueen, Glenda
2014-01-01
Objectives: The relatively high prevalence of mental health problems among students at post-secondary institutions in Canada is well documented; in contrast, less is known about the adequacy of mental health services available to Canadian post-secondary students on campuses. Our study sought to examine the current state of campus mental health initiatives and services in Alberta as well as the extent to which resources identified in mental health literature as being key in mental health problem prevention and promotion appear to be available. Methods: A 60-question, online survey was sent to staff (primarily front-line workers; n = 45) at Alberta’s 26 publicly funded post-secondary institutions. Responses were organized according to small (less than 2000 students), medium (2000 to 10 000 students), and large (10 000 or more students) institutions. Results: All of Alberta’s post-secondary institutions were represented in the responses. Mental health initiatives and services are available, to varying extent, at all of Alberta’s post-secondary institutions. However, many institutions do not have initiatives and (or) services aimed at identifying students with mental health problems or policies for monitoring their mental health services. Additionally, smaller institutions are less likely to offer certain services (for example, gatekeeper training and campus medical services), compared with larger ones. Finally, a systematic review or an evaluation of services appears to be infrequently conducted. Conclusions: These findings highlight the need for post-secondary institutions in Alberta, and by extension in Canada, to develop and institute a comprehensive strategy to evaluate and optimize the delivery of mental health initiatives and services. PMID:25007278
Impact of Drug Policy on Regional Trends in Ezetimibe Use
Lu, Lingyun; Krumholz, Harlan M.; Tu, Jack V.; Ross, Joseph S.; Ko, Dennis T.; Jackevicius, Cynthia A.
2014-01-01
Background Ezetimibe use has steadily increased in Canada during the past decade even in the absence of evidence demonstrating a beneficial effect on clinical outcomes. Among the 4 most populated provinces in Canada, there is a gradient in the restrictiveness of ezetimibe in public-funded formularies (most to least strict: British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec and Ontario). The impact of formulary policy on the utilization of ezetimibe over time is unknown. Methods and Results We conducted a population-level cohort study using IMS Health Canada’s data from June 2003 to December 2012 to examine ezetimibe use in these 4 provinces to better understand the association between use and formulary restrictiveness. We found regional variations in the patterns of ezetimibe use. From June 2003 to December 2012, British Columbia(most restrictive) had the lowest monthly increasing rate from $261 to $21,926 ($190/100,000 population/month), whereas Ontario (least restrictive) had the most rapid monthly increase from $223 to $74,030 ($ 647/100,000 population/month); Quebec from $130 to $59,690 ($522/100,000 population/month) and Alberta from $356 to $ 37604 ($327/100,000 population/month) were intermediate. (P<0.001) Conclusions Ezetimibe use remains common, increasing over the past decade. Use steadily increased in provinces with the most lenient formularies. In contrast, use was lower, plateauing since 2008 in British Columbia and Alberta, which have more restrictive formularies. The gradient in ezetimibe use was related to variability in restrictiveness of the provincial formularies, illustrating the potential of a policy-response gradient that may be used to more effectively manage medication use. PMID:24895451
Shaun A. Watmough; Colin J. Whitfield; Mark E. Fenn
2014-01-01
Industrial activities in the oil sands region of Alberta, Canada have resulted in greatly elevated emissions of SO2 and N (NOx and NH3) and there are concerns over possible widespread ecosystem acidification. Acid sensitive soils in the region are common and have very low base cation weathering rates...
Shifting the lens: the introduction of population-based funding in Alberta.
Smith, Neale; Church, John
2008-01-01
This paper offers a detailed historical description of the development of Alberta's population-based funding model for Regional Health Authorities (RHAs). It focuses on key political factors that may have facilitated this transition--in particular, the role of institutions, organized interests, and ideas and values. Understanding the politics of policy change as exemplified in this case can be useful in assessing future prospects for health system reform in Canada and laying the groundwork for further comparative study.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Liljedahl, Peter, Ed.
2007-01-01
This submission contains the Proceedings of the 2006 Annual Meeting of the Canadian Mathematics Education Study Group (CMESG), held at the University of Calgary in Calgary, Alberta. The CMESG is a group of mathematicians and mathematics educators who meet annually to discuss mathematics education issues at all levels of learning. The aims of the…
Airborne vs. Inventory Measurements of Methane Emissions in the Alberta Upstream Oil and Gas Sector
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Johnson, M.; Tyner, D. R.; Conley, S.; Schwietzke, S.; Zavala Araiza, D.
2017-12-01
Airborne measurements of methane emission rates were directly compared with detailed, spatially-resolved inventory estimates for different oil and gas production regions in Alberta, Canada. For a 50 km × 50 km region near Red Deer, Alberta, containing 2700 older gas and oil wells, measured methane emissions were 16 times higher than reported venting and flaring volumes would suggest, but consistent with regional inventory estimates (which include estimates for additional emissions from pneumatic equipment, fugitive leaks, gas migration, etc.). This result highlights how 94% of methane emissions in this region are attributable to sources missing from current reporting requirements. The comparison was even more stark for a 60 km × 60 km region near Lloydminster, dominated by 2300 cold heavy oil with sand (CHOPS) production sites. Aircraft measured methane emissions in this region were 5 times larger than that expected from reported venting and flaring volumes, and more than 3 times greater than regional inventory estimates. This significant discrepancy is most likely attributable to underreported intentional venting of casing gas at CHOPS sites, which is generally estimated based on the product of the measured produced oil volume and an assumed gas to oil ratio (GOR). GOR values at CHOPS sites can be difficult to measure and can be notoriously variable in time. Considering the implications for other CHOPS sites across Alberta only, the present results suggest that total reported venting in Alberta is low by a factor of 2.4 (range of 2.0-2.7) and total methane emissions from the conventional oil and gas sector (excluding mined oil sands) are likely at least 25-41% greater than currently estimated. This work reveals critical gaps in current measurement and reporting, while strongly supporting the need for urgent mitigation efforts in the context of newly proposed federal methane regulations in Canada, and separate regulatory development efforts in the province of Alberta.
Anna, Lawrence O.
2011-01-01
Parts of the northern Great Plains in eastern Montana and western North Dakota and southeastern Alberta and southwestern Saskatchewan, Canada, were studied as part of an assessment of shallow biogenic gas in Upper Cretaceous rocks.Parts of the northern Great Plains in eastern Montana and western North Dakota and southeastern Alberta and southwestern Saskatchewan, Canada, were studied as part of an assessment of shallow biogenic gas in Upper Cretaceous rocks. Large quantities of shallow biogenic gas are produced from low-permeability, Upper Cretaceous reservoirs in southeastern Alberta and southwestern Saskatchewan, Canada. Rocks of similar types and age produce sparingly in the United States except on large structures, such as Bowdoin dome and Cedar Creek anticline. Significant production also occurs in the Tiger Ridge area, where uplift of the Bearpaw Mountains created stratigraphic traps. The resource in Canada is thought to be a continuous, biogenic-gas-type accumulation with economic production in a variety of subtle structures and stratigraphic settings. The United States northern Great Plains area has similar conditions but only broad structural closures or stratigraphic traps associated with local structure have produced economically to date. Numerical flow modeling was used to help determine that biogenic gas in low-permeability reservoirs is held in place by high hydraulic head that overrides buoyancy forces of the gas. Modeling also showed where hydraulic head is greater under Tertiary capped topographic remnants rather than near adjacent topographic lows. The high head can override the capillary pressure of the rock and force gas to migrate to low head in topographically low areas. Most current biogenic gas production is confined to areas between mapped lineaments in the northern Great Plains. The lineaments may reflect structural zones in the Upper Cretaceous that help compartmentalize reservoirs and confine gas accumulations.
Hasing, Maria E.; Preiksaitis, Jutta K.; Tellier, Raymond; Honish, Lance; Senthilselvan, Ambikaipakan; Pang, Xiaoli L.
2013-01-01
The public health impact of the emergence of new norovirus (NoV) strains is uncertain. A biennial pattern of alternating quiescent and epidemic levels of NoV outbreak activity associated with the emergence of new GII.4 variants was observed in Alberta, Canada, between July 2000 and June 2008. In this study, NoV genogroup I (GI) and GII strains isolated from 710 outbreak specimens in Alberta between July 2008 and January 2013 were characterized to update historical data. The seasonality and annual variation in NoV outbreak burden were analyzed over a 10-year period (July 2002 to June 2012). We found that GII.4-2006b had persisted as the predominant variant over three observation periods (July 2006 to June 2009) during which the biennial NoV outbreak pattern continued. The emergence of GII.4-2010 (winter 2009) was not associated with increased outbreak activity, and outbreak activity between July 2009 and June 2012 when GII.4-2010 predominated (67.5 to 97.7%) did not follow a biennial pattern. GII.4-2012 first emerged in Alberta in September 2011 and became predominant in observation period July 2012 to June 2013. NoV GI, relatively rare in past years, had a higher activity level (37.3%) as represented by GI.6 and GI.7 in the winter of 2012 to 2013. A higher proportion of GI outbreaks occurred in non-health care facility settings compared to GII. Our study suggests that factors other than new variants emergence contribute to the levels of NoV outbreak activity in Alberta. PMID:23637302
Arbour, Victoria M.; Currie, Philip J.
2013-01-01
Few ankylosaurs are known from more than a single specimen, but the ankylosaurid Euoplocephalus tutus (from the Late Cretaceous of Alberta, Canada and Montana, USA) is represented by dozens of skulls and partial skeletons, and is therefore an important taxon for understanding intraspecific variation in ankylosaurs. Euoplocephalus is unusual compared to other dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous of Alberta because it is recognized from the Dinosaur Park, Horseshoe Canyon, and Two Medicine formations. A comprehensive review of material attributed to Euoplocephalus finds support for the resurrection of its purported synonyms Anodontosaurus lambei and Scolosaurus cutleri, and the previously resurrected Dyoplosaurus acutosquameus. Anodontosaurus is found primarily in the Horseshoe Canyon Formation of Alberta and is characterized by ornamentation posterior to the orbits and on the first cervical half ring, and wide, triangular knob osteoderms. Euoplocephalus is primarily found in Megaherbivore Assemblage Zone 1 in the Dinosaur Park Formation of Alberta and is characterized by the absence of ornamentation posterior to the orbits and on the first cervical half ring, and keeled medial osteoderms on the first cervical half ring. Scolosaurus is found primarily in the Two Medicine Formation of Montana (although the holotype is from Dinosaur Provincial Park), and is characterized by long, back-swept squamosal horns, ornamentation posterior to the orbit, and low medial osteoderms on the first cervical half ring; Oohkotokia horneri is morphologically indistinguishable from Scolosaurus cutleri. Dyoplosaurus was previously differentiated from Euoplocephalus sensu lato by the morphology of the pelvis and pes, and these features also differentiate Dyoplosaurus from Anodontosaurus and Scolosaurus; a narrow tail club knob is probably also characteristic for Dyoplosaurus. PMID:23690940
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Barendregt, R. W.; Andriashek, L. D.; Jackson, L. E.
2014-12-01
Borecores collected from the east-central region of Alberta, Canada have recently been sub-sampled and studied for paleomagnetic remanence characteristics. A preliminary magnetostratigraphy has been established for sediments previously assumed to represent multiple continental (Laurentide) glaciations, but for which no geochronology was available for the pre-late Wisconsin units. Comprised primarily of tills and lesser thicknesses of interbedded glacio-lacustrine and outwash sediments, the record is extensive, reaching to thicknesses of 300 metres within buried valleys. Most of the sampled units are not accessible from outcrop, and their sedimentology and stratigraphy is derived from core data only. The lowermost tills are reversely magnetized in the majority of borecores sampled to date. These tills are underlain by Empress Formation sediments and/or Colorado Group shales, and overlain by normally magnetized sediments. Both tills contain substantial weathering horizons at their surface, suggesting that interglacial or nonglacial conditions persisted for some time after each period of till deposition. Whether these tills represent a single Early Pleistocene glaciation, or perhaps two, will require additional borecore measurements. This new record of Early Pleistocene glaciation(s) in east-central Alberta places the westernmost extent of earliest Laurentide ice some 300 km farther westward from its previously established limit in the Saskatoon to Regina region of the western Canadian prairies, but still well short of the all-time limit and elevation reached during the Late Wisconsin (Late Pleistocene) in the foothills of the Alberta and Montana Rocky Mountains. Key Words: East-Central Alberta glacial history, Early Pleistocene (Laurentide) glaciation, till magnetostratigraphy, Quaternary history of Western Canadian Prairies, continental glaciations of North America.
Nurullah, Abu Sadat; Northcott, Herbert C; Harvey, Michael D
2014-01-15
This study explores the effect of age and chronic conditions on public perceptions of the health system, as measured by the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of healthcare, in the province of Alberta in Canada. Drawing from data collected by Government of Alberta's Department of Health and Wellness, this research examines two key questions: (1) Do people in the 65+ age group rate the KPIs of healthcare (i.e., availability, accessibility, quality, outcome, and satisfaction) more favorably compared to people in younger age groups in Alberta? (2) Does the rating of KPIs of healthcare in Alberta vary with different chronic conditions (i.e., no chronic problem, chronic illnesses without pain, and chronic pain)? The findings indicate that people in the older age group tend to rate the KPIs of healthcare more favorably compared to younger age groups in Alberta, net of socio-demographic factors, self-reported health status, and knowledge and utilization of health services. However, people experiencing chronic pain are less likely to rate the KPIs of healthcare favorably compared to people with no chronic health problem in Alberta. Discussion includes implications of the findings for the healthcare system in the province.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Crain, Cheryl
1994-01-01
Presents six teaching ideas from teachers in Foothills Schools, Alberta, Canada. Includes suggested activities on local government, computer uses in social studies, Canadian history, current events, and world studies. Provides models of a passport application, passports, and visas. (CFR)
Diet History Questionnaire: International Applications
ARP staff adapted the Diet History Questionnaire (DHQ) for use by Canadian populations in collaboration with the Alberta Cancer Board. This questionnaire takes into account the different food fortification polices of the U.S. and Canada.
Anholt, R Michele; Russell, Margaret; Inglis, Tom; Mitevski, Darko; Hall, David
2017-05-01
Understanding the sources and use of information from hatching egg and broiler chicken producers, their constraints, and unmet information needs can help define future research agendas. This report presents the results from a qualitative study using interviews of 11 hatching egg producers and 12 broiler producers in Alberta, Canada. Patterns were reported and described using thematic analysis. Producers recognized that there were numerous sources of information available to them for managing disease in their flocks. Complex disease issues such as early mortality were discussed, but many producers did not believe they had any influence over the outcomes and did not see a benefit from additional information to improve outcomes. Producers described their experience, trust in the information source, and the usefulness of the information for decision-making as necessary for information uptake.
The need for economic evaluation of telemedicine to evolve: the experience in Alberta, Canada.
Hailey, David; Jennett, Penny
2004-01-01
Economic evaluation of telemedicine applications is required to provide decision makers in health care with appropriate information on costs and benefits of this information and communications technology. The level of economic evaluation should evolve as telemedicine applications mature. At the basic level, economic evaluation may include basic cost analysis and primarily observational data on nonmonetary benefits. The focus will change as telemedicine programs develop. At this intermediate level, practice patterns and workforce issues are addressed as they affect utilization and costs of telemedicine services. Longer-term economic evaluation, thus far not achieved in telemedicine assessment, should focus on assessment of health outcomes and economic impact. Alberta, Canada has made progress assessing telemedicine applications in psychiatry, radiology, rheumatology, and rehabilitation. Data availability and analytic resources continue to present challenges to economic assessment of telemedicine.
Salma, Jordana; Hegadoren, Kathleen M; Ogilvie, Linda
2012-01-01
The number of internationally educated nurses is increasing in the Canadian workforce. Recruitment of internationally educated nurses is often seen as a solution to ongoing nursing shortages. However, international recruitment needs to be accompanied by strategies to ensure long-term retention. One of the criteria for successful retention is the availability and accessibility of career advancement and educational opportunities. Little research exists on the opportunities for career advancement and education for internationally educated nurses in Canada. This interpretive descriptive study was conducted to look at the perceptions of internationally educated nurses regarding career advancement and educational opportunities in Alberta, Canada. Eleven internationally educated nurses, working as registered nurses in Alberta, were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. Five themes were identified: motherhood as a priority, communication and cultural challenges, process of skill recognition, perceptions of opportunity and need for mentorship.
Wadson, Kelley; Phillips, Leah Adeline
2018-06-01
Although information literacy skills are recognized as important to the curriculum and professional outcomes of two-year nursing programs, there is a lack of research on the information literacy skills and support needed by graduates. To identify the information literacy skills and consequent training and support required of Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) in Alberta, Canada. An online survey using a random sample of new graduates (graduated within 5 years) from the registration database of the College of Practical Nurses of Alberta (CLPNA). There was a 43% response rate. Approximately 25-38% of LPNs felt they were only moderately or to a small extent prepared to use evidence effectively in their professional practice. LPNs use the internet and websites most frequently, in contrast to library resources that are used least frequently. Developing lifelong learning skills, using information collaboratively, and locating and retrieving information are areas where LPNs desire more effective or increased training. The results suggest there are significant gaps in the preparedness and ability of LPNs to access and apply research evidence effectively in the workplace. There are several areas in which the training provided by Librarians appears either misaligned or ineffective. © 2018 Health Libraries Group.
Cha, DongHwan; Wang, Xin; Kim, Jeong Woo
2017-01-01
Hotspot analysis was implemented to find regions in the province of Alberta (Canada) with high frequency Cloud to Ground (CG) lightning strikes clustered together. Generally, hotspot regions are located in the central, central east, and south central regions of the study region. About 94% of annual lightning occurred during warm months (June to August) and the daily lightning frequency was influenced by the diurnal heating cycle. The association rule mining technique was used to investigate frequent CG lightning patterns, which were verified by similarity measurement to check the patterns’ consistency. The similarity coefficient values indicated that there were high correlations throughout the entire study period. Most wildfires (about 93%) in Alberta occurred in forests, wetland forests, and wetland shrub areas. It was also found that lightning and wildfires occur in two distinct areas: frequent wildfire regions with a high frequency of lightning, and frequent wild-fire regions with a low frequency of lightning. Further, the preference index (PI) revealed locations where the wildfires occurred more frequently than in other class regions. The wildfire hazard area was estimated with the CG lightning hazard map and specific land use types. PMID:29065564
Cha, DongHwan; Wang, Xin; Kim, Jeong Woo
2017-10-23
Hotspot analysis was implemented to find regions in the province of Alberta (Canada) with high frequency Cloud to Ground (CG) lightning strikes clustered together. Generally, hotspot regions are located in the central, central east, and south central regions of the study region. About 94% of annual lightning occurred during warm months (June to August) and the daily lightning frequency was influenced by the diurnal heating cycle. The association rule mining technique was used to investigate frequent CG lightning patterns, which were verified by similarity measurement to check the patterns' consistency. The similarity coefficient values indicated that there were high correlations throughout the entire study period. Most wildfires (about 93%) in Alberta occurred in forests, wetland forests, and wetland shrub areas. It was also found that lightning and wildfires occur in two distinct areas: frequent wildfire regions with a high frequency of lightning, and frequent wild-fire regions with a low frequency of lightning. Further, the preference index (PI) revealed locations where the wildfires occurred more frequently than in other class regions. The wildfire hazard area was estimated with the CG lightning hazard map and specific land use types.
Mallon, Jordan C; Anderson, Jason S
2013-01-01
Megaherbivorous dinosaur coexistence on the Late Cretaceous island continent of Laramidia has long puzzled researchers, owing to the mystery of how so many large herbivores (6-8 sympatric species, in many instances) could coexist on such a small (4-7 million km(2)) landmass. Various explanations have been put forth, one of which-dietary niche partitioning-forms the focus of this study. Here, we apply traditional morphometric methods to the skulls of megaherbivorous dinosaurs from the Dinosaur Park Formation (upper Campanian) of Alberta to infer the ecomorphology of these animals and to test the niche partitioning hypothesis. We find evidence for niche partitioning not only among contemporaneous ankylosaurs, ceratopsids, and hadrosaurids, but also within these clades at the family and subfamily levels. Consubfamilial ceratopsids and hadrosaurids differ insignificantly in their inferred ecomorphologies, which may explain why they rarely overlap stratigraphically: interspecific competition prevented their coexistence.
Mallon, Jordan C.; Anderson, Jason S.
2013-01-01
Megaherbivorous dinosaur coexistence on the Late Cretaceous island continent of Laramidia has long puzzled researchers, owing to the mystery of how so many large herbivores (6–8 sympatric species, in many instances) could coexist on such a small (4–7 million km2) landmass. Various explanations have been put forth, one of which–dietary niche partitioning–forms the focus of this study. Here, we apply traditional morphometric methods to the skulls of megaherbivorous dinosaurs from the Dinosaur Park Formation (upper Campanian) of Alberta to infer the ecomorphology of these animals and to test the niche partitioning hypothesis. We find evidence for niche partitioning not only among contemporaneous ankylosaurs, ceratopsids, and hadrosaurids, but also within these clades at the family and subfamily levels. Consubfamilial ceratopsids and hadrosaurids differ insignificantly in their inferred ecomorphologies, which may explain why they rarely overlap stratigraphically: interspecific competition prevented their coexistence. PMID:23874409
Botz, C K; Bestard, S; Demaray, M; Molloy, G
1993-01-01
The two major purposes of this study were: (1) to evaluate Resource Utilization Groups (RUGs III) as a unified method for classifying all residential, chronic care and rehabilitation patients at the St. Joseph's Health Centre, London, and (2) to compare the potential funding implications of RUGs and other patient/resident classification systems. RUGs were used to classify a total of 336 patients/residents in residential, extended care, chronic care and rehabilitation beds at the Health Centre. Patients were also concurrently classified according to the Alberta Long Term Care Classification System and the Medicus Long Term Care System. Results show that RUGs provide relatively more credit for higher acuity patients than do the Alberta or Medicus systems. If used as a basis for funding, chronic care and rehabilitation hospitals would be entitled to more funding (relative to residential/nursing homes) under RUGs than under the other two patient classification mechanisms.
Large Smoke Plumes, Alberta Canada
Atmospheric Science Data Center
2016-12-30
... has adverse impacts on human health. These data were acquired during Terra orbit 87148. The stereoscopic analysis was ... software tool, which is publicly available through the Open Channel Foundation at: https://www.openchannelsoftware.com/projects/MINX ...
Retransmission of hydrometric data in Canada. [Bow River below Carseland Dam in Calgary, Alberta
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Halliday, R. A. (Principal Investigator); Reid, I. A.
1975-01-01
The author has identified the following significant results. The feasibility of transmitting hydrometric data to polar orbiting spacecraft and using these data for quasi-operational purposes was demonstrated.
Atmospheric Science Data Center
2014-05-15
... Terrain Elevation Model from the United States Geological Survey. The image area includes much of British Columbia, Alberta and ... MD. The MISR data were obtained from the NASA Langley Research Center Atmospheric Science Data Center in Hampton, VA. Image ...
Unruh, D. H. A.; King, J. E.; Allen, J. R.; Eaton, R. D. P.
1973-01-01
A total of 959 faecal samples were obtained from dogs in 12 native communities in Northern Saskatchewan, Central and Northern Alberta and the Northwest Territories. All samples were examined using a flotation technique. Samples from an area of endemic human amoebic infections were also examined by a formol-ether sedimentation method. Eighteen necropsies were performed. Entamoeba histolytica cysts were recovered from dog faeces at Loon Lake, Saskatchewan. Toxocara canis had low incidence in Saskatchewan and Central Alberta, and appeared to be almost non-existent further North. Toxascaris leonina was found in all areas surveyed. Canine hookworm infections were plentiful in all areas, the highest incidence being recorded from Northern Alberta and Northwest Territories. Many Taenia (or Echinococcus) infections were found consistently in all areas. Only one infection with Dipylidium caninum was discovered. Metorchis conjunctus infections were found to be common in the Saskatchewan reserves. Infections with Diphyllobothrium sp. were found in all communities with access to good fishing. One specimen of Dioctophyma renale was recovered at necropsy. Infections with parasites of no known zoonotic importance such as Trichuris, Alaria and Isospora species were also recorded. PMID:4265550
Unruh, D H; King, J E; Eaton, R D; Allen, J R
1973-01-01
A total of 959 faecal samples were obtained from dogs in 12 native communities in Northern Saskatchewan, Central and Northern Alberta and the Northwest Territories. All samples were examined using a flotation technique. Samples from an area of endemic human amoebic infections were also examined by a formol-ether sedimentation method. Eighteen necropsies were performed. Entamoeba histolytica cysts were recovered from dog faeces at Loon Lake, Saskatchewan. Toxocara canis had low incidence in Saskatchewan and Central Alberta, and appeared to be almost non-existent further North. Toxascaris leonina was found in all areas surveyed. Canine hookworm infections were plentiful in all areas, the highest incidence being recorded from Northern Alberta and Northwest Territories. Many Taenia (or Echinococcus) infections were found consistently in all areas. Only one infection with Dipylidium caninum was discovered.Metorchis conjunctus infections were found to be common in the Saskatchewan reserves. Infections with Diphyllobothrium sp. were found in all communities with access to good fishing. One specimen of Dioctophyma renale was recovered at necropsy. Infections with parasites of no known zoonotic importance such as Trichuris, Alaria and Isospora species were also recorded.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Hayley, Kevin; Schumacher, J.; MacMillan, G. J.; Boutin, L. C.
2014-05-01
Expanding groundwater datasets collected by automated sensors, and improved groundwater databases, have caused a rapid increase in calibration data available for groundwater modeling projects. Improved methods of subsurface characterization have increased the need for model complexity to represent geological and hydrogeological interpretations. The larger calibration datasets and the need for meaningful predictive uncertainty analysis have both increased the degree of parameterization necessary during model calibration. Due to these competing demands, modern groundwater modeling efforts require a massive degree of parallelization in order to remain computationally tractable. A methodology for the calibration of highly parameterized, computationally expensive models using the Amazon EC2 cloud computing service is presented. The calibration of a regional-scale model of groundwater flow in Alberta, Canada, is provided as an example. The model covers a 30,865-km2 domain and includes 28 hydrostratigraphic units. Aquifer properties were calibrated to more than 1,500 static hydraulic head measurements and 10 years of measurements during industrial groundwater use. Three regionally extensive aquifers were parameterized (with spatially variable hydraulic conductivity fields), as was the aerial recharge boundary condition, leading to 450 adjustable parameters in total. The PEST-based model calibration was parallelized on up to 250 computing nodes located on Amazon's EC2 servers.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Dimitrov, D. D.; Wang, J.
2016-12-01
A Geographic Information Framework (GiF) has been created to estimate and map agricultural N2O and CH4 emissions of the province of Alberta, Canada. The GiF consists of a modelling component, a GIS component, and application software to communicate between the model, database and census data. For compatibility, GiF follows the IPCC Tier 1 method and contains census data for animal populations, crop areas, and farms for the main IPCC animal and plant types (dairy cows, cattle cows, pigs, sheep, poultry, other animals, grasses, legumes, other crops), and estimated N2O and CH4 emissions from manure management, enteric fermentation, direct soil emissions (with applied manure, synthetic fertilizer, crop residue degradation, biological fixation) and indirect soil emissions (with atmospheric deposition and leaching). Methane emissions from enteric fermentation (609.24 Gg) prevailed over those from manure (44.99 Gg), and nitrous oxide emission from manure (22.01 Gg) prevailed over those from soil (17.73 Gg), with cattle cows emitting most N2O and CH4, followed by plant N2O emissions, and pigs and dairy cows CH4 emissions. The GIS maps showed discernible pattern of N2O and CH4 emissions increasing from North and West to the central Alberta and then slightly declining to South and East, which could be useful to address various mitigation strategies. The framework allows easy replacement of Tier 1 emission factors by Tire 2 or 3 ones from process-based models. Future applying of the latter will allow accounting for CO2 source/sink strength of agricultural ecosystems, hence their complete GHG balance affected by soil, water, and climate.
Modeling an exhumed basin: A method for estimating eroded overburden
Poelchau, H.S.
2001-01-01
The Alberta Deep Basin in western Canada has undergone a large amount of erosion following deep burial in the Eocene. Basin modeling and simulation of burial and temperature history require estimates of maximum overburden for each gridpoint in the basin model. Erosion can be estimated using shale compaction trends. For instance, the widely used Magara method attempts to establish a sonic log gradient for shales and uses the extrapolation to a theoretical uncompacted shale value as a first indication of overcompaction and estimation of the amount of erosion. Because such gradients are difficult to establish in many wells, an extension of this method was devised to help map erosion over a large area. Sonic A; values of one suitable shale formation are calibrated with maximum depth of burial estimates from sonic log extrapolation for several wells. This resulting regression equation then can be used to estimate and map maximum depth of burial or amount of erosion for all wells in which this formation has been logged. The example from the Alberta Deep Basin shows that the magnitude of erosion calculated by this method is conservative and comparable to independent estimates using vitrinite reflectance gradient methods. ?? 2001 International Association for Mathematical Geology.
A Sociological Examination of the Child Care Auspice Debate. Occasional Paper No. 6.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Friesen, Bruce
This report examines issues related to whether child care services are operated on a non-profit or for-profit basis, focusing on the use of public funds and child care quality in Canada. The report also presents the results of a study of child care quality at 14 non-profit and 36 for-profit child care centers in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The study…
Jacobs, Jenna M; Bergeron, J A Colin
2017-01-01
Quedius (Raphirus) spencei Jacobs and Bergeron, new species, (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae), is described based on specimens from two localities (type locality: 35 km. E Dixonville, Alberta, Canada) in the Boreal Forest. Male genitalia are illustrated, compared with congeners ( Q. rusticus Smetana and Q. simulator Smetana) in the Aenescens species group, and included in a slightly modified key to the species of Quedius .
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Chicago Univ., IL.
This directory is a descriptive list of residential continuing education centers in the United States, Canada, and abroad which were known to be operating in 1968. They are distributed as follows: 117 in 37 states and the District of Columbia; 33 in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebic, and Saskatchewan; one each in…
Klimaszewski, Jan; Webster, Reginald P; Langor, David W; Bourdon, Caroline; Hammond, H E James; Pohl, Greg R; Godin, Benoit
2014-01-01
Four species of Gnathusa Fenyes (G. alfacaribou Klimaszewski & Langor, G. caribou Lohse, G. eva Fenyes, and G. tenuicornis Fenyes) occur in the Nearctic and in Canada. Three species of Ocyusa Kraatz (O. asperula Casey, O. californica Bernhauer, O. canadensis Lohse), and three species of Mniusa Mulsant and Ray (M. minutissima (Klimaszewski & Langor), M. yukonensis (Klimaszewski & Godin), and M. odelli Klimaszewski & Webster, sp. n.), are known from the Nearctic and all but O. californica occur in Canada. The recently described Gnathusa minutissima Klimaszewski and Langor and Ocyusa yukonensis Klimaszewski and Godin, are transferred here to the genus Mniusa Mulsant & Rey. New provincial and state records are reported for: G. eva (Alberta), G. tenuicornis (Alberta, Oregon, and New Brunswick), O. canadensis (New Brunswick and Newfoundland), M. minutissima (New Brunswick), and M. yukonensis (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, and British Columbia). The female of M. yukonensis was discovered and is illustrated for the first time. The genus Mniusa is reported for the first time from Canada and represents the first confirmed generic record for North America. Keys for identification of all Canadian species, images of body and genital structures, maps showing distribution mainly in Canada, and new bionomics data are provided.
Klimaszewski, Jan; Webster, Reginald P.; Langor, David W.; Bourdon, Caroline; Hammond, H.E. James; Pohl, Greg R.; Godin, Benoit
2014-01-01
Abstract Four species of Gnathusa Fenyes (G. alfacaribou Klimaszewski & Langor, G. caribou Lohse, G. eva Fenyes, and G. tenuicornis Fenyes) occur in the Nearctic and in Canada. Three species of Ocyusa Kraatz (O. asperula Casey, O. californica Bernhauer, O. canadensis Lohse), and three species of Mniusa Mulsant and Ray (M. minutissima (Klimaszewski & Langor), M. yukonensis (Klimaszewski & Godin), and M. odelli Klimaszewski & Webster, sp. n.), are known from the Nearctic and all but O. californica occur in Canada. The recently described Gnathusa minutissima Klimaszewski and Langor and Ocyusa yukonensis Klimaszewski and Godin, are transferred here to the genus Mniusa Mulsant & Rey. New provincial and state records are reported for: G. eva (Alberta), G. tenuicornis (Alberta, Oregon, and New Brunswick), O. canadensis (New Brunswick and Newfoundland), M. minutissima (New Brunswick), and M. yukonensis (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, and British Columbia). The female of M. yukonensis was discovered and is illustrated for the first time. The genus Mniusa is reported for the first time from Canada and represents the first confirmed generic record for North America. Keys for identification of all Canadian species, images of body and genital structures, maps showing distribution mainly in Canada, and new bionomics data are provided. PMID:24899860
Anholt, R. Michele; Russell, Margaret; Inglis, Tom; Mitevski, Darko; Hall, David
2017-01-01
Understanding the sources and use of information from hatching egg and broiler chicken producers, their constraints, and unmet information needs can help define future research agendas. This report presents the results from a qualitative study using interviews of 11 hatching egg producers and 12 broiler producers in Alberta, Canada. Patterns were reported and described using thematic analysis. Producers recognized that there were numerous sources of information available to them for managing disease in their flocks. Complex disease issues such as early mortality were discussed, but many producers did not believe they had any influence over the outcomes and did not see a benefit from additional information to improve outcomes. Producers described their experience, trust in the information source, and the usefulness of the information for decision-making as necessary for information uptake. PMID:28487592
Ruan, Xiaofeng; Qiu, Feng; Dyck, Miles
2016-08-01
Various environmental and socioeconomic issues have been attributed to land-use changes, and therefore, the underlying mechanisms merit investigation and quantification. This study assesses a comprehensive series of land-use conversions that were implemented over a recent 12-year period in the province of Alberta, Canada, where rapid economic and population growth has occurred. Spatial autocorrelation models are applied to identify the comprehensive effects of environmental and socioeconomic factors in each conversion case. The empirical results show that the impacts of key environmental and socioeconomic factors varied in intensity depending on the type of land-use conversion involved. Overall, land suitability for agricultural uses, road density, elevation, and population growth were found to be significant predictors of land-use changes. High land suitability, low elevation, and moderate road density were associated with land conversion for agricultural purposes.
Badri, Parvaneh; Wolfe, Ruth; Farmer, Anna; Amin, Maryam
2018-06-01
Barriers to accessing oral healthcare are public health concerns faced by minorities and immigrants due to socioeconomic marginalization. Therefore, we explored how immigrant parents in Alberta-Edmonton's Filipino community experience adherence to preventive dental attendance (PDA) for their preschool children and the psychosocial factors influencing parental adherence. We employed a qualitative focused ethnography design. Data were collected through interviews and focus groups. Audiotapes of sessions were transcribed verbatim and concurrent thematic data analysis was performed. Stressors, resources, paradox and structural barriers comprised emergent psychosocial themes. Upon arriving in Canada, most Filipino parents held low-priority attitudes and perceptions toward PDA. After migration, however, they embraced new knowledge about the importance of PDA for their children. Filipino parents were open to the Western model of preventive oral healthcare, with the duration of their time in Canada playing a key role in promoting regular dental visits for their children.
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Stephen, Jamie; Sokhansanj, Shahabaddine; Bi, X.T.
2009-11-01
Biorefineries or other biomass-dependent facilities require a predictable, dependable feedstock supplied over many years to justify capital investments. Determining inter-year variability in biomass availability is essential to quantifying the feedstock supply risk. Using a geographic information system (GIS) and historic crop yield data, average production was estimated for 10 sites in the Peace River region of Alberta, Canada. Four high-yielding potential sites were investigated for variability over a 20 year time-frame (1980 2000). The range of availability was large, from double the average in maximum years to nothing in minimum years. Biomass availability is a function of grain yield, themore » biomass to grain ratio, the cropping frequency, and residue retention rate to ensure future crop productivity. Storage strategies must be implemented and alternate feedstock sources identified to supply biomass processing facilities in low-yield years.« less
Using spatial mark-recapture for conservation monitoring of grizzly bear populations in Alberta.
Boulanger, John; Nielsen, Scott E; Stenhouse, Gordon B
2018-03-26
One of the challenges in conservation is determining patterns and responses in population density and distribution as it relates to habitat and changes in anthropogenic activities. We applied spatially explicit capture recapture (SECR) methods, combined with density surface modelling from five grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) management areas (BMAs) in Alberta, Canada, to assess SECR methods and to explore factors influencing bear distribution. Here we used models of grizzly bear habitat and mortality risk to test local density associations using density surface modelling. Results demonstrated BMA-specific factors influenced density, as well as the effects of habitat and topography on detections and movements of bears. Estimates from SECR were similar to those from closed population models and telemetry data, but with similar or higher levels of precision. Habitat was most associated with areas of higher bear density in the north, whereas mortality risk was most associated (negatively) with density of bears in the south. Comparisons of the distribution of mortality risk and habitat revealed differences by BMA that in turn influenced local abundance of bears. Combining SECR methods with density surface modelling increases the resolution of mark-recapture methods by directly inferring the effect of spatial factors on regulating local densities of animals.
Yarema, Mark C.; Jones, Graham R.; Martz, Walter; Purssell, Roy A.; MacDonald, Judy C.; Wishart, Ian; Durigon, Monica; Tzemis, Despina; Buxton, Jane A.
2015-01-01
Background Paramethoxymethamphetamine (PMMA) is a ring-substituted amphetamine similar in structure to 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA or “ecstasy”), but substantially more toxic. We describe the clinical features of fatal exposures in the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, Canada. Methods We conducted a retrospective case series on deaths in Alberta and BC between June 2011 and April 2012 for which forensic toxicologic analysis was positive for PMMA and the drug was implicated as the primary toxic agent. Data collected included patient demographics, exposure history, clinical features, investigations, therapy provided and postmortem toxicologic findings. Results A total of 27 PMMA-associated deaths (20 in Alberta, 7 in BC) were reported in the 11-month period. The median age was 24 (range 14–52) years, and 22 (81%) were male. Ten patients were pronounced dead at the scene, and 17 died in hospital. The median time from exposure to death was 17 (range 5–264) hours. The median first-recorded vital signs (and ranges) were: heart rate 160 (86–201) beats/min, blood pressure 89/43 (69/30–162/83) mm Hg, respiratory rate 40 (26–48) breaths/min, oxygen saturation 81% (68%–100%) and temperature 39.4°C (34–43.8°C). Sixteen of the 17 people who died in hospital presented with clinical features consistent with serotonin syndrome. End-organ dysfunction included hepatic (30%) and acute kidney injury (85%), rhabdomyolysis (54%), coagulopathy (61%) and cardiac ischemia (15%). Other drugs identified on toxicologic analysis were MDMA (n = 27), cocaine or its metabolite benzoylecgonine (n = 14) and methamphetamine (n = 12). Interpretation Exposure to PMMA was characterized by multiorgan dysfunction and serotonin syndrome, followed by cardiovascular collapse. In addition to PMMA, multiple synthetic amphetamines were present on toxicologic analysis. When evaluating patients suspected of exposure to sympathomimetic drugs of abuse, clinicians must anticipate multiple clinical effects from the increased release of dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine and other neurotransmitters. PMID:25844375
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Patterson, Tyler
By employing interpretive policy analysis this thesis aims to assess, measure, and explain policy capacity for government and non-government organizations involved in reclaiming Alberta's oil sands. Using this type of analysis to assess policy capacity is a novel approach for understanding reclamation policy; and therefore, this research will provide a unique contribution to the literature surrounding reclamation policy. The oil sands region in northeast Alberta, Canada is an area of interest for a few reasons; primarily because of the vast reserves of bitumen and the environmental cost associated with developing this resource. An increase in global oil demand has established incentive for industry to seek out and develop new reserves. Alberta's oil sands are one of the largest remaining reserves in the world, and there is significant interest in increasing production in this region. Furthermore, tensions in several oil exporting nations in the Middle East remain unresolved, and this has garnered additional support for a supply side solution to North American oil demands. This solution relies upon the development of reserves in both the United States and Canada. These compounding factors have contributed to the increased development in the oil sands of northeastern Alberta. Essentially, a rapid expansion of oil sands operations is ongoing, and is the source of significant disturbance across the region. This disturbance, and the promises of reclamation, is a source of contentious debates amongst stakeholders and continues to be highly visible in the media. If oil sands operations are to retain their social license to operate, it is critical that reclamation efforts be effective. One concern non-governmental organizations (NGOs) expressed criticizes the current monitoring and enforcement of regulatory programs in the oil sands. Alberta's NGOs have suggested the data made available to them originates from industrial sources, and is generally unchecked by government. In an effort to discern the overall status of reclamation in the oil sands this study explores several factors essential to policy capacity: work environment, training, employee attitudes, perceived capacity, policy tools, evidence based work, and networking. Data was collected through key informant interviews with senior policy professionals in government and non-government agencies in Alberta. The following are agencies of interest in this research: Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP); Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development (AESRD); Alberta Energy Regulator (AER); Cumulative Environmental Management Association (CEMA); Alberta Environment Monitoring, Evaluation, and Reporting Agency (AEMERA); Wood Buffalo Environmental Association (WBEA). The aim of this research is to explain how and why reclamation policy is conducted in Alberta's oil sands. This will illuminate government capacity, NGO capacity, and the interaction of these two agency typologies. In addition to answering research questions, another goal of this project is to show interpretive analysis of policy capacity can be used to measure and predict policy effectiveness. The oil sands of Alberta will be the focus of this project, however, future projects could focus on any government policy scenario utilizing evidence-based approaches.
Nikolopoulos, Hara; Farmer, Anna; Berry, Tanya R; McCargar, Linda J; Mager, Diana R
2015-04-01
In 2008, the Alberta government released the Alberta Nutrition Guidelines for Children and Youth (ANGCY) as a resource for child care facilities to translate nutrition recommendations into practical food choices. Using a multiple case study method, early adoption of the guidelines was examined in two child care centres in Alberta, Canada. Key constructs from the Diffusion of Innovations framework were used to develop an interview protocol based on the perceived characteristics of the guidelines (relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability and observability) by child care providers. Analysis of the ANGCY was conducted by a trained qualitative researcher and validated by an external qualitative researcher. This entailed reviewing guideline content, layout, organisation, presentation, format, comprehensiveness and dissemination to understand whether characteristics of the guidelines affect the adoption process. Data were collected through direct observation, key informant interviews and documentation of field notes. Qualitative data were analysed using content analysis. Overall, the guidelines were perceived positively by child care providers. Child care providers found the guidelines to have a high relative advantage, be compatible with current practice, have a low level of complexity, easy to try and easy to observe changes. It is valuable to understand how child care providers perceive characteristics of guidelines as this is the first step in identifying the needs of child care providers with respect to early adoption and identifying potential educational strategies important for dissemination. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Grundy, Anne; Poirier, Abbey E.; Khandwala, Farah; Grevers, Xin; Friedenreich, Christine M.; Brenner, Darren R.
2017-01-01
Background: Estimates of the proportion of cancer cases that can be attributed to modifiable risk factors are not available for Canada and, more specifically, Alberta. The purpose of this study was to estimate the total proportion of cancer cases in Alberta in 2012 that could be attributed to a set of 24 modifiable lifestyle and environmental risk factors. Methods: We estimated summary population attributable risk estimates for 24 risk factors (smoking [both passive and active], overweight and obesity, inadequate physical activity, diet [inadequate fruit and vegetable consumption, inadequate fibre intake, excess red and processed meat consumption, salt consumption, inadequate calcium and vitamin D intake], alcohol, hormones [oral contraceptives and hormone therapy], infections [Epstein-Barr virus, hepatitis B and C viruses, human papillomavirus, Helicobacter pylori], air pollution, natural and artificial ultraviolet radiation, radon and water disinfection by-products) by combining population attributable risk estimates for each of the 24 factors that had been previously estimated. To account for the possibility that individual cancer cases were the result of a combination of multiple risk factors, we subtracted the population attributable risk for the first factor from 100% and then applied the population attributable risk for the second factor to the remaining proportion that was not attributable to the first factor. We repeated this process in sequential order for all relevant exposures. Results: Overall, an estimated 40.8% of cancer cases in Alberta in 2012 were attributable to modifiable lifestyle and environmental risk factors. The largest proportion of cancers were estimated to be attributable to tobacco smoking, physical inactivity and excess body weight. The summary population attributable risk estimate was slightly higher among women (42.4%) than among men (38.7%). Interpretation: About 41% of cancer cases in Alberta may be attributable to known modifiable lifestyle and environmental risk factors. Reducing the prevalence of these factors in the Alberta population has the potential to substantially reduce the provincial cancer burden. PMID:28687643
Strategies for reforestation under uncertain future climates: guidelines for Alberta, Canada.
Gray, Laura K; Hamann, Andreas
2011-01-01
Commercial forestry programs normally use locally collected seed for reforestation under the assumption that tree populations are optimally adapted to local environments. However, in western Canada this assumption is no longer valid because of climate trends that have occurred over the last several decades. The objective of this study is to show how we can arrive at reforestation recommendations with alternative species and genotypes that are viable under a majority of climate change scenarios. In a case study for commercially important tree species of Alberta, we use an ecosystem-based bioclimate envelope modeling approach for western North America to project habitat for locally adapted populations of tree species using multi-model climate projections for the 2020s, 2050s and 2080s. We find that genotypes of species that are adapted to drier climatic conditions will be the preferred planting stock over much of the boreal forest that is commercially managed. Interestingly, no alternative species that are currently not present in Alberta can be recommended with any confidence. Finally, we observe large uncertainties in projections of suitable habitat that make reforestation planning beyond the 2050s difficult for most species. More than 50,000 hectares of forests are commercially planted every year in Alberta. Choosing alternative planting stock, suitable for expected future climates, could therefore offer an effective climate change adaptation strategy at little additional cost. Habitat projections for locally adapted tree populations under observed climate change conform well to projections for the 2020s, which suggests that it is a safe strategy to change current reforestation practices and adapt to new climatic realities through assisted migration prescriptions.
Jacobs, Jenna M.; Bergeron, J. A. Colin
2017-01-01
Abstract Quedius (Raphirus) spencei Jacobs and Bergeron, new species, (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae), is described based on specimens from two localities (type locality: 35 km. E Dixonville, Alberta, Canada) in the Boreal Forest. Male genitalia are illustrated, compared with congeners (Q. rusticus Smetana and Q. simulator Smetana) in the Aenescens species group, and included in a slightly modified key to the species of Quedius. PMID:28769643
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
McGinnis, Barbara
1980-01-01
Describes the philosophy, history, financial and administrative arrangements, curriculum, and pupil population of the Enoch Indian Band's unusual integrated Kitaskinaw School, opened in 1977 on the Stony Plain Indian Reserve No. 135 in Alberta, Canada. (Journal availability: Department of Educational Foundations, 5-109 Education North, University…
Koper, Nicola
2017-01-01
Grassland songbird populations across North America have experienced dramatic population declines due to habitat loss and degradation. In Canada, energy development continues to fragment and disturb prairie habitat, but effects of oil and gas development on reproductive success of songbirds in North American mixed-grass prairies remains largely unknown. From 2010–2012, in southeastern Alberta, Canada, we monitored 257 nests of two ground-nesting grassland songbird species, Savannah sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) and chestnut-collared longspur (Calcarius ornatus). Nest locations varied with proximity to and density of conventional shallow gas well structures and associated roads in forty-two 258-ha mixed-grass prairie sites. We estimated the probabilities of nest success and clutch size relative to gas well structures and roads. There was little effect of distance to or density of gas well structure on nest success; however, Savannah sparrow experienced lower nest success near roads. Clutch sizes were lower near gas well structures and cattle water sources. Minimizing habitat disturbance surrounding gas well structures, and reducing abundance of roads and trails, would help minimize impacts on reproductive success for some grassland songbirds. PMID:28355241
Wild Horse 69-kV transmission line environmental assessment
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
NONE
1996-12-01
Hill County Electric Cooperative Inc. (Hill County) proposes to construct and operate a 69-kV transmission line from its North Gildford Substation in Montana north to the Canadian border. A vicinity project area map is enclosed as a figure. TransCanada Power Corporation (TCP), a Canadian power-marketing company, will own and construct the connecting 69-kV line from the international border to Express Pipeline`s pump station at Wild Horse, Alberta. This Environmental Assessment is prepared for the Department of Energy (DOE) as lead federal agency to comply with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), as part of DOE`s review andmore » approval process of the applications filed by Hill County for a DOE Presidential Permit and License to Export Electricity to a foreign country. The purpose of the proposed line is to supply electric energy to a crude oil pump station in Canada, owned by Express Pipeline Ltd. (Express). The pipeline would transport Canadian-produced oil from Hardisty, Alberta, Canada, to Caster, Wyoming. The Express Pipeline is scheduled to be constructed in 1996--97 and will supply crude oil to refineries in Wyoming and the midwest.« less
Yoo, Jenny; Koper, Nicola
2017-01-01
Grassland songbird populations across North America have experienced dramatic population declines due to habitat loss and degradation. In Canada, energy development continues to fragment and disturb prairie habitat, but effects of oil and gas development on reproductive success of songbirds in North American mixed-grass prairies remains largely unknown. From 2010-2012, in southeastern Alberta, Canada, we monitored 257 nests of two ground-nesting grassland songbird species, Savannah sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) and chestnut-collared longspur (Calcarius ornatus). Nest locations varied with proximity to and density of conventional shallow gas well structures and associated roads in forty-two 258-ha mixed-grass prairie sites. We estimated the probabilities of nest success and clutch size relative to gas well structures and roads. There was little effect of distance to or density of gas well structure on nest success; however, Savannah sparrow experienced lower nest success near roads. Clutch sizes were lower near gas well structures and cattle water sources. Minimizing habitat disturbance surrounding gas well structures, and reducing abundance of roads and trails, would help minimize impacts on reproductive success for some grassland songbirds.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Communique, 1983
1983-01-01
Delegations from Canada, Finland, Greenland, Norway, Sweden, and the United States agreed to the establishment of a network for cooperation among individuals engaged in problems peculiar to the circumpolar North. The Northern Science Network, established within the Unesco Man and the Biosphere Program, consists of three themes: studies on the…
Heron, Jennifer
2018-01-01
Abstract Background Epeoloides pilosulus, one of the rarest bees in North America, is a cleptoparasite of Macropis bees which themselves are uncommon oligoleges of oil-producing Lysimachia flowers. Only two specimens of the cleptoparasite have been reported from Canada since the 1960s, both from Nova Scotia. New information A recently collected specimen of Epeoloides pilosulus from Alberta, Canada confirms this species from that province and greatly increases its known range in western North America. This record and additional specimens from southern Ontario (one collected in 1978) have implications for the conservation status of this COSEWIC assessed species in Canada, which are discussed. PMID:29686501
Saccani, Raquel; Valentini, Nadia Cristina
2013-01-01
OBJECTIVE: To compare the motor development of infants from three population samples (Brazil, Canada and Greece), to investigate differences in the percentile curves of motor development in these samples, and to investigate the prevalence of motor delays in Brazilian children. METHODS: Observational, descriptive and cross-sectional study with 795 Brazilian infants from zero to 18 months of age, assessed by the Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS) at day care centers, nurseries, basic health units and at home. The Brazilian infants' motor scores were compared to the results of two population samples from Greece (424 infants) and Canada (2,400 infants). Descriptive statistics was used, with one-sample t-test and binomial tests, being significant p≤0.05. RESULTS: 65.4% of Brazilian children showed typical motor development, although with lower mean scores. In the beginning of the second year of life, the differences in the motor development among Brazilian, Canadian and Greek infants were milder; at 15 months of age, the motor development became similar in the three groups. A non-linear motor development trend was observed. CONCLUSIONS: The lowest motor percentiles of the Brazilian sample emphasized the need for national norms in order to correctly categorize the infant motor development. The different ways of motor development may be a consequence of cultural differences in infant care. PMID:24142318
Educational Projects, 1986-87.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. Planning Services Branch.
This handbook: (1) describes the educational research program of the Planning Services Branch of Alberta (Canada) Education; (2) outlines projects underway for 1986-87; and (3) describes projects completed between April 1985 and July 1986. Section 1, "The Educational Research Program," describes priorities, guidelines, and procedures for…
Editors' Preface to Special Issue on Drinking Water Safety, Security, and Sustainability
Recognizing these needs, researchers from Zhejiang University (China), the US EPA and the University of Alberta (Canada) organized the “International Conference on Drinking Water Safety, Security and Sustainability” in October 2011 in Hangzhou, China. The conference was attended...
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. Special Educational Services Branch.
This annotated bibliography contains approximately 90 selected print and media resources to help Alberta (Canada) teachers implement special education programs. Items were selected to ensure that content fits the curriculum, the content is current, the conceptual level is appropriate, there is Canadian content, and controversial issues are treated…
Hearing Impaired: Curriculum Guide.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton.
The curriculum guide is intended to assist families, school administrators, and teachers providing educational services to hearing impaired (HI) children in regular and special classes in Alberta, Canada. Explained in the introduction are such curriculum aspects as goals and purpose, population to be served, eligibility criteria, three…
Professional Role Orientation of Women Administrators and Women Teachers
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Nixon, Mary; Gue, L. R.
1975-01-01
The professional role orientation of women teachers and women administrators is compared with a limited number of variables. (Available from the Department of Educational Administration, The University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada T6G 2G5; $4.00 annually.) (MLF)
Global change and rampant land and water resource development a case study in western Canada
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Byrne, J.; Kienzle, S.; Schindler, D.
2006-12-01
This paper reviews the impacts of global and regional change on the land and water resources in Alberta, Canada. Alberta contains most of Canada's fossil fuel energy resources, including: extensive conventional crude oil and natural gas fields; widespread coal deposits over the southern half of the province with potential for mining and coal bed methane extraction (CBM); and the Athabasca oil sands a crude oil supply of at least several hundred billion barrels entangled in extensive sand deposits lying along the Athabasca River. The province is also a focal point for intensive agriculture in the form of irrigation that has led to over allocated rivers in the south, and a booming economy associated with rapid population growth and associated urban sprawl in support of rapid resource development. All this development is occurring in a region where global climate change is expected to have substantial impacts on land and water in the next few decades. This work outlines the potential impacts of a range of human activities associated with some of the most intensive and extensive resource development plans in North America focused on one region - Alberta. Oil sands investments alone in the next few decades are forecast to exceed one hundred billion dollars! There are plans to double and triple primary and secondary agricultural production; expand coal mining in support of conventional coal fired power plants; and establish CBM well networks over much of the southern half of the province, including extensive development of CBM on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, the principal source of water for most of the semi-arid Canadian plains. The development pace and direction will likely result in widespread environmental contamination of regional and global consequence.
Ye, Ming; Jacobs, Angela; Khan, Muhammad Naeem; Jaipaul, Joy; Oda, Joanna; Johnson, Marcia; Doroshenko, Alexander
2016-01-01
Objectives To evaluate the impact of oseltamivir prophylaxis in the management and control of influenza outbreaks in long-term care facilities in Alberta, Canada. Setting and participants Long-term care facilities where 127 influenza outbreaks were reported to public health authorities in Alberta, Canada, during two influenza seasons from 2013 to 2015. Design and outcome measures Using routinely collected surveillance and administrative data, we examined the association between decision-making time for oseltamivir recommendation as prophylaxis strategy for influenza outbreaks in long-term care facilities (explanatory variable) and the duration of an influenza outbreak, the postprophylaxis risk of influenza-like illness and hospitalisation among residents of long-term care facilities in Alberta (outcome variables) using multivariable linear and Poisson regression models. Results Oseltamivir prophylaxis decision-making time was positively associated with the postintervention duration of an outbreak, with a 1-day delay in making decision on oseltamivir prophylaxis associated with 2.22 (95% CI 1.37 to 3.06) more days of the duration of an outbreak after controlling for potential confounding effect of the number of residents at risk at intervention, outbreak progression time, prevalence of influenza-like illness during outbreak progression, facility location, presence of mixed strain and based on optimal timing of oseltamivir prophylaxis. Although not statistically significant, a 1-day delay in making decision on oseltamivir prophylaxis was associated with a 5% (95% CI −1% to 11%) increase in the postintervention risk of influenza-like illness, and a 6% (95% CI −8% to 22%) increase in the postintervention risk of hospitalisation after controlling for the same potential confounders. Conclusions Our study demonstrated benefits of using oseltamivir prophylaxis to shorten the duration of influenza outbreaks; however, there were no significant differences in the influenza-like illness and hospitalisation risk occurring after the intervention. Surveillance data may offer means of rapid evaluation of oseltamivir prophylaxis in long-term care facilities as a public health measure. PMID:27381211
Ye, Ming; Jacobs, Angela; Khan, Muhammad Naeem; Jaipaul, Joy; Oda, Joanna; Johnson, Marcia; Doroshenko, Alexander
2016-07-05
To evaluate the impact of oseltamivir prophylaxis in the management and control of influenza outbreaks in long-term care facilities in Alberta, Canada. Long-term care facilities where 127 influenza outbreaks were reported to public health authorities in Alberta, Canada, during two influenza seasons from 2013 to 2015. Using routinely collected surveillance and administrative data, we examined the association between decision-making time for oseltamivir recommendation as prophylaxis strategy for influenza outbreaks in long-term care facilities (explanatory variable) and the duration of an influenza outbreak, the postprophylaxis risk of influenza-like illness and hospitalisation among residents of long-term care facilities in Alberta (outcome variables) using multivariable linear and Poisson regression models. Oseltamivir prophylaxis decision-making time was positively associated with the postintervention duration of an outbreak, with a 1-day delay in making decision on oseltamivir prophylaxis associated with 2.22 (95% CI 1.37 to 3.06) more days of the duration of an outbreak after controlling for potential confounding effect of the number of residents at risk at intervention, outbreak progression time, prevalence of influenza-like illness during outbreak progression, facility location, presence of mixed strain and based on optimal timing of oseltamivir prophylaxis. Although not statistically significant, a 1-day delay in making decision on oseltamivir prophylaxis was associated with a 5% (95% CI -1% to 11%) increase in the postintervention risk of influenza-like illness, and a 6% (95% CI -8% to 22%) increase in the postintervention risk of hospitalisation after controlling for the same potential confounders. Our study demonstrated benefits of using oseltamivir prophylaxis to shorten the duration of influenza outbreaks; however, there were no significant differences in the influenza-like illness and hospitalisation risk occurring after the intervention. Surveillance data may offer means of rapid evaluation of oseltamivir prophylaxis in long-term care facilities as a public health measure. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/
2011-01-01
Background Patients with hypertension continue to have less than optimal blood pressure control, with nearly one in five Canadian adults having hypertension. Pharmacist prescribing is gaining favor as a potential clinically efficacious and cost-effective means to improve both access and quality of care. With Alberta being the first province in Canada to have independent prescribing by pharmacists, it offers a unique opportunity to evaluate outcomes in patients who are prescribed antihypertensive therapy by pharmacists. Methods The study is a randomized controlled trial of enhanced pharmacist care, with the unit of randomization being the patient. Participants will be randomized to enhanced pharmacist care (patient identification, assessment, education, close follow-up, and prescribing/titration of antihypertensive medications) or usual care. Participants are patients in rural Alberta with undiagnosed/uncontrolled blood pressure, as defined by the Canadian Hypertension Education Program. The primary outcome is the change in systolic blood pressure between baseline and 24 weeks in the enhanced-care versus usual-care arms. There are also three substudies running in conjunction with the project examining different remuneration models, investigating patient knowledge, and assessing health-resource utilization amongst patients in each group. Discussion To date, one-third of the required sample size has been recruited. There are 15 communities and 17 pharmacists actively screening, recruiting, and following patients. This study will provide high-level evidence regarding pharmacist prescribing. Trial Registration Clinicaltrials.gov NCT00878566. PMID:21834970
Resources for health promotion: rhetoric, research and reality.
Minke, Sharlene Wolbeck; Raine, Kim D; Plotnikoff, Ronald C; Anderson, Donna; Khalema, Ernest; Smith, Cynthia
2007-01-01
Canadian political discourse supports the importance of health promotion and advocates the allocation of health resources to health promotion. Furthermore, the current literature frequently identifies financial and human resources as important elements of organizational capacity for health promotion. In the Alberta Heart Health Project (AHHP), we sought to learn if the allocation of health resources in a regionalized health system was congruent with the espoused support for health promotion in Alberta, Canada. The AHHP used a mixed method approach in a time series design. Participants were drawn from multiple organizational levels (i.e., service providers, managers, board members) across all Regional Health Authorities (RHAs). Data were triangulated through multiple collection methods, primarily an organizational capacity survey, analysis of organizational documents, focus groups, and personal interviews. Analysis techniques were drawn from quantitative (i.e., frequency distributions, ANOVAs) and qualitative (i.e., content and thematic analysis) approaches. In most cases, small amounts (<5%) of financial resources were allocated to health promotion in RHAs' core budgets. Respondents reported seeking multiple sources of public health financing to support their health promotion initiatives. Human resources for health promotion were characterized by fragmented responsibilities and short-term work. Furthermore, valuable human resources were consumed in ongoing searches for funding that typically covered short time periods. Resource allocations to health promotion in Alberta RHAs are inconsistent with the current emphasis on health promotion as an organizational priority. Inadequate and unstable funding erodes the RHAs' capacity for health promotion. Sustainable health promotion calls for the assured allocation of adequate, sustainable financial resources.
Long, Richard; Hoeppner, Vernon; Orr, Pamela; Ainslie, Martha; King, Malcolm; Abonyi, Sylvia; Mayan, Maria; Kunimoto, Dennis; Langlois-Klassen, Deanne; Heffernan, Courtney; Lau, Angela; Menzies, Dick
2013-01-01
BACKGROUND: While it is established that Aboriginal peoples in the prairie provinces of Canada are disproportionately affected by tuberculosis (TB), little is known about the epidemiology of TB either within or across provincial borders. METHODS: Provincial reporting systems for TB, Statistics Canada censuses and population estimates of Registered Indians provided by Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada were used to estimate the overall (2004 to 2008) and pulmonary (2007 to 2008) TB rates in the prairie provinces. The place of residence at diagnosis of pulmonary TB cases in 2007 to 2008 was also documented. RESULTS: The age- and sex-adjusted incidence of TB in Registered Indians was 52.6 per 100,000 person-years, 38 times higher than in Canadian-born ‘others’. Incidence rates in Registered Indians were highest in Manitoba and lowest in Alberta. In Alberta and Saskatchewan, on-reserve rates were more than twice that of off-reserve rates. Rates in the Métis and Registered Indians were similar in Saskatchewan (50.0 and 52.2 per 100,000 person-years, respectively). In 2007 to 2008, approximately 90% of Canadian-born pulmonary TB cases in the prairie provinces were Aboriginal. Outside of one metropolitan area (Winnipeg, Manitoba), most Registered Indian and Métis pulmonary TB cases were concentrated in a relatively small number of communities north of the 53rd parallel. Rates of pulmonary TB in 11 of these communities were >300 per 100,000 person-years. In Manitoba, 49% of off-reserve Registered Indian pulmonary cases were linked to high-incidence reserve communities. INTERPRETATION: The epidemiology of TB among Aboriginal peoples on the Canadian prairies is markedly disparate. Pulmonary TB is highly focal, which is both a concern and an opportunity. PMID:23717818
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Liggio, J.; Li, S. M.; Staebler, R. M.; Hayden, K. L.; Mittermeier, R. L.; McLaren, R.; Baray, S.; Darlington, A.; Worthy, D.; O'Brien, J.
2017-12-01
The oil sands (OS) region of Alberta contributes approximately 10% to Canada's overall anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Such emissions have traditionally been estimated through "bottom-up" methods which seek to account for all individual sources of GHGs within a given facility. However, it is recognized that bottom-up approaches for complex industrial facilities can be subject to uncertainties associated with incomplete or inaccurate emission factor and/or activity data. In order to quantify air pollutant emissions from oil sands activities an aircraft-based measurement campaign was performed in the summer of 2013. The aircraft measurements could also be used to quantify GHG emissions for comparison to the bottom up emissions estimates. Utilizing specific flight patterns, together with an emissions estimation algorithm and measurements of CO2 and methane, a "top-down" estimate of GHG intensities for several large surface mining operations was obtained. The results demonstrate that there is a wide variation in emissions intensities (≈80 - 220 kg CO2/barrel oil) across OS facilities, which in some cases agree with calculated intensities, and in other cases are larger than that estimated using industry reported GHG emission and oil production data. When translated to annual GHG emissions, the "top-down" approach results in a CO2 emission of approximately 41 Mega Tonnes (MT) CO2/year for the 4 OS facilities investigated, in contrast to the ≈26 MT CO2/year reported by industry. The results presented here highlight the importance of using "top-down" approaches as a complimentary method in evaluating GHG emissions from large industrial sources.
Strategies for Reforestation under Uncertain Future Climates: Guidelines for Alberta, Canada
Gray, Laura K.; Hamann, Andreas
2011-01-01
Background Commercial forestry programs normally use locally collected seed for reforestation under the assumption that tree populations are optimally adapted to local environments. However, in western Canada this assumption is no longer valid because of climate trends that have occurred over the last several decades. The objective of this study is to show how we can arrive at reforestation recommendations with alternative species and genotypes that are viable under a majority of climate change scenarios. Methodology/Principal Findings In a case study for commercially important tree species of Alberta, we use an ecosystem-based bioclimate envelope modeling approach for western North America to project habitat for locally adapted populations of tree species using multi-model climate projections for the 2020s, 2050s and 2080s. We find that genotypes of species that are adapted to drier climatic conditions will be the preferred planting stock over much of the boreal forest that is commercially managed. Interestingly, no alternative species that are currently not present in Alberta can be recommended with any confidence. Finally, we observe large uncertainties in projections of suitable habitat that make reforestation planning beyond the 2050s difficult for most species. Conclusion/Significance More than 50,000 hectares of forests are commercially planted every year in Alberta. Choosing alternative planting stock, suitable for expected future climates, could therefore offer an effective climate change adaptation strategy at little additional cost. Habitat projections for locally adapted tree populations under observed climate change conform well to projections for the 2020s, which suggests that it is a safe strategy to change current reforestation practices and adapt to new climatic realities through assisted migration prescriptions. PMID:21853061
Development and implementation of the compensation plan for pharmacy services in Alberta, Canada.
Breault, Rene R; Whissell, Jeff G; Hughes, Christine A; Schindel, Theresa J
To describe experiences with development and implementation of a compensation plan for pharmacy services delivered by pharmacists in community pharmacies. Community pharmacy practice in Alberta, Canada. Pharmacists in Alberta have one of the most progressive scopes of practice in North America. They have authority to prescribe drugs independently, administer drugs by injection, access electronic health records, and order laboratory tests. A publicly funded compensation plan for pharmacy services was implemented in 2012. Principles that guided development of the compensation plan aimed to 1) ensure payment for pharmacy services, 2) support pharmacists in using their full scope of practice, 3) enable the development of long-term relationships with patients, 4) facilitate expansion of services delivered by pharmacists, and 5) provide access to pharmacy services for all eligible Albertans. Services covered by the compensation plan include care planning, prescribing, and administering drugs by injection. The guiding principles were used to evaluate experiences with the compensation plan. Claims for pharmacy services covered by the compensation plan increased from 30,000 per month in July 2012 to 170,000 per month in March 2016. From September 2015 to August 2016, 1226 pharmacies submitted claims for services provided by 3901 pharmacists. The number of pharmacists with authorization to prescribe and administer injections continued to increase following implementation of the plan. Alberta's experiences with the development and implementation of the compensation plan will be of interest to jurisdictions considering implementation of remunerated pharmacy services. The potential impact of the plan on health and economic outcomes, in addition to the value of the services as perceived by the public, patients, pharmacists, and other health care providers, should also be explored. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Friesen, Abram J. D.; And Others
1985-01-01
A survey of pharmacists revealed that most pharmacists exceeded the number of required credits, and most credits were acquired by correspondence study. Some differences in preference were found according to sex, age group, and professional position type. (MSE)
International Collaboration on Genomics of Economically Relevant Traits
USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database
An international collaboration is attempting to make better use of high density SNP information by combining each contributor’s results. The initial group of collaborators are from Australia (CRC for Beef Genetic Technologies), Canada (a joint contribution from the Universities of Alberta and Guelp...
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. Curriculum Standards Branch.
This document contains 85 articles taken from previously published issues of the "CTS Communication Network Update," a publication about the career and technology studies (CTS) program of career education designed for Alberta, Canada, high school juniors and seniors. Following an introductory section and a section on general CTS, the…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Berry, John N., III
2007-01-01
This article profiles Toni Samek, associate professor at the School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS), University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada, who has been chosen as the recipient of the first annual "Library Journal" Teaching Award, sponsored by ProQuest. Samek's work goes far beyond the three standard measures of academic…
Institutional Variables and Perceived Environmental Concerns in Higher Education.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Michael, Steve O.
1995-01-01
Discusses the effects of worsening financial constraints evident in all aspects of higher education institutions. Examines differences and similarities in institutional leaders' opinions regarding environmental concerns. All Alberta, Canada, higher education institutions are experiencing similar problems. There is no deliberate shift in government…
Bloody Lucky: the careless worker myth in Alberta, Canada.
Barnetson, Bob; Foster, Jason
2012-01-01
As the Canadian province of Alberta has adopted neoliberal prescriptions for government, it has increasingly attributed workplace injuries to worker carelessness. Blaming workers for their injuries appears to be part of a broader strategy (which includes under-reporting injury levels and masking ineffective state enforcement with public condemnation of injurious work) to contain the potential political consequences associated with unsafe workplaces. This reflects the state's sometimes conflicting goals of maintaining the production process and the political legitimacy of the government and the capitalist social formation. This case study considers the political dynamics of occupational health and safety in Alberta to understand the escalating use of the careless worker myth over time. Alberta's emphasis on employer self-regulation has resulted in a large number of annual workplace injuries. The 2008 "Bloody Lucky" safety awareness campaign intensified this attribution of blame via gory videos aimed at young workers. This case study examines the validity of this attribution to reveal that this campaign provides workers, particularly young workers, with inaccurate information about injury causation, which may impede their ability and motivation to mitigate workplace risks.
Improving access in gastroenterology: The single point of entry model for referrals
Novak, Kerri L; Van Zanten, Sander Veldhuyzen; Pendharkar, Sachin R
2013-01-01
In 2005, a group of academic gastroenterologists in Calgary (Alberta) adopted a centralized referral intake system known as central triage. This system provided a single point of entry model (SEM) for referrals rather than the traditional system of individual practitioners managing their own referrals and queues. The goal of central triage was to improve wait times and referral management. In 2008, a similar system was developed in Edmonton at the University of Alberta Hospital (Edmonton, Alberta). SEMs have subsequently been adopted by numerous subspecialties throughout Alberta. There are many benefits of SEMs including improved access and reduced wait times. Understanding and measuring complex patient flow systems is key to improving access, and centralized intake systems provide an opportunity to better understand total demand and system bottlenecks. This knowledge is particularly important for specialties such as gastroenterology (GI), in which demand exceeds supply. While it is anticipated that SEMs will reduce wait times for GI care in Canada, the lack of sufficient resources to meet the demand for GI care necessitates additional strategies. PMID:24040629
Improving access in gastroenterology: the single point of entry model for referrals.
Novak, Kerri; Veldhuyzen Van Zanten, Sander; Pendharkar, Sachin R
2013-11-01
In 2005, a group of academic gastroenterologists in Calgary (Alberta) adopted a centralized referral intake system known as central triage. This system provided a single point of entry model (SEM) for referrals rather than the traditional system of individual practitioners managing their own referrals and queues. The goal of central triage was to improve wait times and referral management. In 2008, a similar system was developed in Edmonton at the University of Alberta Hospital (Edmonton, Alberta). SEMs have subsequently been adopted by numerous subspecialties throughout Alberta. There are many benefits of SEMs including improved access and reduced wait times. Understanding and measuring complex patient flow systems is key to improving access, and centralized intake systems provide an opportunity to better understand total demand and system bottlenecks. This knowledge is particularly important for specialties such as gastroenterology (GI), in which demand exceeds supply. While it is anticipated that SEMs will reduce wait times for GI care in Canada, the lack of sufficient resources to meet the demand for GI care necessitates additional strategies.
Papenfuss, Jason T.; Phelps, Nicholas; Fulton, David C.; Venturelli, Paul A.
2015-01-01
Successfully managing fisheries and controlling the spread of invasive species depends on the ability to describe and predict angler behavior. However, finite resources restrict conventional survey approaches and tend to produce retrospective data that are limited in time or space and rely on intentions or attitudes rather than actual behavior. In this study, we used three years of angler data from a popular mobile fishing application in Alberta, Canada, to determine province-wide, seasonal patterns of (1) lake popularity that were consistent with conventional data and (2) anthropogenic lake connectivity that has not been widely described in North America. Our proof-of-concept analyses showed that mobile apps can be an inexpensive source of high-resolution, real-time data for managing fisheries and invasive species. We also identified key challenges that underscore the need for further research and development in this new frontier that combines big data with increased stakeholder interaction and cooperation.
Falder, A B; Stockey, R A; Rothwell, G W
1999-06-01
Fossil seeds and seedlings of a Metasequoia-like taxodiaceous conifer occur in Paleocene deposits at the Munce's Hill and Gao Mine localities of central Alberta, Canada. Compression/impression specimens are preserved in upright growth positions among seedlings of the cercidiphyllaceous dicot Joffrea speirsii Crane & Stockey. There are a large number of seeds, a few of which were buried while germinating and show a radicle or short primary root. More than 500 Metasequoia-like seedlings have been identified that have two linear cotyledons with parallel margins and rounded tips. Three specimens have been found that display three cotyledons. Slightly older seedlings show decussate pairs of leaves attached to the stem distal to the cotyledons. Still older seedlings have axillary branches that show varying sizes and numbers of opposite leaves arranged in a single plane distal to the opposite pairs. These specimens reveal that both Joffrea and this extinct taxodiaceous conifer were early colonizers of North American floodplain communities at the beginning of the Tertiary.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Walaszczyk, Ireneusz; Plint, A. Guy; Kennedy, William J.
2016-12-01
The biostratigraphy of the uppermost Cenomanian - Lower Turonian succession in the lower part of the Blackstone Formation exposed in the Ram River (Alberta, Canada), is interpreted in terms of the standard inoceramid/ammonite zonation of the interval. Four successive inoceramid zones are recognized, those of Inoceramus pictus, Mytiloides puebloensis, M. kossmati, and M. mytiloides, as established in the stratotype section at Pueblo, Colorado. Their correlation to Pueblo is confirmed by ammonite data. The mid-Early Turonian zone of M. kossmati yielded an assemblage of Inoceramus, with species showing close affinity to the latest Cenomanian lineages. This multi-species sample proves the survival of Inoceramus lineages into the otherwise Mytiloides-dominated Early Turonian, and indicates that their disappearance from the record of the North American Western Interior was not because of their extinction. It is suggested that the apparent lack of Inoceramus in Lower Turonian strata is due to an extremely low population abundance in the Early Turonian sea.
Methanol injection and recovery in a large turboexpander plant. [Canada
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Nelson, K.; Wolfe, L.
1981-01-01
Methanol is used to prevent hydrate formation in Petro-Canada's 2000 MMSCFD Empress expander plant. Injection and recovery facilities have operated essentially trouble-free since start-up late in 1979. A portion of the methanol recovery section has been modified to provide removal of the H/sub 2/S and most of the COS from the propane product stream, concurrent with methanol recovery. The Empress straddle plant strips natural gas liquids from pipeline gas leaving Alberta for eastern Canadian and U.S. markets. The original cold oil absorption plant, started up in 1964 and expanded in 1967, recovered over 90% of the propane and virtually allmore » of the heavier components. In 1976, a market for ethane was secured as feedstock for the world-scale ethylene complex under construction in Alberta, and it was decided to replace the cold oil plant with a turboexpander facility. The plant and its operations are described in some detail. 2 refs.« less
Mid-Wisconsinan vertebrates and their environment from January Cave, Alberta, Canada
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Burns, James A.
1991-01-01
January Cave, in the Rocky Mountains of southwestern Alberta, has yielded vertebrate remains from a coprocenosis of mid-Wisconsinan-age. Taphonomic analysis indicates accumulation by raptors, mostly owls, and mammalian carnivores. The vertebrate record, together with pollen analysis, indicates that cool, dry conditions prevailed in an extensive tundra-like environment, with prairie elements in the valleys below. Thirty-four mammalian taxa have been recovered from January Cave. Today, some of these species (e.g., Lemmus sibiricus and Dicrostonyx torquatus) do not coexist with others (e.g., Cynomys sp., Mustela nigripes, Vulpes velox, and Lagurus curtatus). Therefore, the January Cave local fauna represents a "nonanalog" mammalian community characteristic of the late Pleistocene. It suggests that the region enjoyed an equable climate, with reduced climatic extremes but still cool, further supporting a mid-Wisconsinan age estimate for the fauna. It is the first major, small vertebrate fauna of its age to be reported from Alberta.
Reserve Growth of Alberta Oil Pools
Verma, Mahendra K.; Cook, Troy
2008-01-01
This Open-File Report is based on a presentation delivered at the Fourth U.S. Geological Survey Workshop on Reserve Growth on March 10-11, 2008. It summarizes the results of a study of reserve growth of oil pools in Alberta Province, Canada. The study is part of a larger effort involving similar studies of fields in other important petroleum provinces around the world, with the overall objective of gaining a better understanding of reserve growth in fields with different geologic/reservoir parameters and different operating environments. The goals of the study were to: 1. Evaluate historical oil reserve data and assess reserve growth. 2. Develop reserve growth models/functions to help forecast hydrocarbon volumes. 3. Study reserve growth sensitivity to various parameters ? for example, pool size, porosity, oil gravity, and lithology. 4. Compare reserve growth in oil pools/fields of Alberta provinces with those from other large petroleum provinces.
Elementary Health: Authorized Resources Annotated List.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. Curriculum Standards Branch.
This comprehensive, annotated resource list is designed to assist in selecting resources authorized by the Alberta (Canada) Education Department for the elementary health classroom (Grades 1-6). Within each grade and topic, annotated entries for basic learning resources are listed, followed by support learning resources and authorized teaching…
Restructuring the Historical Framework
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Smith, Michelle Emi
2012-01-01
The current Alberta Social Studies curriculum places a strong emphasis on recognizing the importance of multiple perspectives in the interpretation of Canada's past. The three drawings that the author has created represent the progression from the overall arching grand narrative of Canadian history to the introduction and embedding of the multiple…
M. E. LaZerte: Pioneer Educational Innovator.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Buck, George H.
1989-01-01
Reviews the life and work of Milton Ezra LaZerte (1885-1975), rural educator and administrator at the University of Alberta (Canada). Describes LaZerte's learning theories and innovative instructional devices and compares them to those of other contributors, including B. F. Skinner. Contains 24 references. (SV)
Biodiversity: past, present and future
Rubidge, Emily M.; Burton, A. Cole; Vamosi, Steven M.
2012-01-01
On 12–15 May 2011, a diverse group of students, researchers and practitioners from across Canada and around the world met in Banff, Alberta, to discuss the many facets of biodiversity science at the 6th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution. PMID:21733869
Biological Systems and Career Analysis.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Thiemann, Francis C.
Neither a review of the literature nor three data displays (showing career paths, general influence patterns, and predecessor and successor influence patterns) yield a generative or explanatory theory by which to understand data collected on the professional career paths of Alberta (Canada) educational administrators. The data came from a survey…
Law 20-30: Teacher Resource Manual.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
King, John; Jackson, Landis
Law 20, in the Alberta (Canada) educational system, is an introductory course with three core modules: (1) "Nature of Law and Civil Law System," (2) "Contract Law," and (3) "Family Law." Law 30 consists of (1) "Basic Rights and Responsibilities," (2) "Labour Law," and (3) "Property Law."…
Proulx, Gilbert; Rodtka, Dwight
2015-01-01
Although predation bounty programs (rewards offered for capturing or killing an animal) ended more than 40 years ago in Canada, they were reintroduced in Alberta in 2007 by hunting, trapping, and farming organizations, municipalities and counties, and in 2009 in Saskatchewan, by municipal and provincial governments and the Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association. Bounty hunters use inhumane and non-selective killing methods such as shooting animals in non-vital regions, and killing neck snares and strychnine poisoning, which cause suffering and delayed deaths. They are unselective, and kill many non-target species, some of them at risk. Predator bounty programs have been found to be ineffective by wildlife professionals, and they use killing methods that cause needless suffering and jeopardize wildlife conservation programs. Our analysis therefore indicates that government agencies should not permit the implementation of bounty programs. Accordingly, they must develop conservation programs that will minimize wildlife-human conflicts, prevent the unnecessary and inhumane killing of animals, and ensure the persistence of all wildlife species. PMID:26479482
Proulx, Gilbert; Rodtka, Dwight
2015-10-19
Although predation bounty programs (rewards offered for capturing or killing an animal) ended more than 40 years ago in Canada, they were reintroduced in Alberta in 2007 by hunting, trapping, and farming organizations, municipalities and counties, and in 2009 in Saskatchewan, by municipal and provincial governments and the Saskatchewan Cattlemen's Association. Bounty hunters use inhumane and non-selective killing methods such as shooting animals in non-vital regions, and killing neck snares and strychnine poisoning, which cause suffering and delayed deaths. They are unselective, and kill many non-target species, some of them at risk. Predator bounty programs have been found to be ineffective by wildlife professionals, and they use killing methods that cause needless suffering and jeopardize wildlife conservation programs. Our analysis therefore indicates that government agencies should not permit the implementation of bounty programs. Accordingly, they must develop conservation programs that will minimize wildlife-human conflicts, prevent the unnecessary and inhumane killing of animals, and ensure the persistence of all wildlife species.
Bari, Md Aynul; Kindzierski, Warren B; Spink, David
2016-05-01
Environmental exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in ambient air is one of a number of concerns that the First Nation Community of Fort McKay, Alberta has related to development of Canada's oil sands. An in-depth investigation of trends in ambient air VOC levels in Fort McKay was undertaken to better understand the role and possible significance of emissions from Alberta's oil sands development. A non-parametric trend detection method was used to investigate trends in emissions and ambient VOC concentrations over a 12-year (2001-2012) period. Relationships between ambient VOC concentrations and production indicators of oil sands operations around Fort McKay were also examined. A weak upward trend (significant at 90% confidence level) was found for ambient concentrations of total VOCs based on sixteen detected species with an annual increase of 0.64μg/m(3) (7.2%) per year (7.7μg/m(3) increase per decade). Indicators of production (i.e., annual bitumen production and mined oil sands quantities) were correlated with ambient total VOC concentrations. Only one of 29 VOC species evaluated (1-butene) showed a statistically significant upward trend (p=0.05). Observed geometric (arithmetic) mean and maximum ambient concentrations of selected VOCs of public health concern for most recent three years of the study period (2010-2012) were below chronic and acute health risk screening criteria of the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Thirty-two VOCs are recommended for tracking in future air quality investigations in the community to better understand whether changes are occurring over time in relation to oil sands development activities and to inform policy makers about whether or not these changes warrant additional attention. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Fleury, Manon; Charron, Dominique F.; Holt, John D.; Allen, O. Brian; Maarouf, Abdel R.
2006-07-01
The incidence of enteric infections in the Canadian population varies seasonally, and may be expected to be change in response to global climate changes. To better understand any potential impact of warmer temperature on enteric infections in Canada, we investigated the relationship between ambient temperature and weekly reports of confirmed cases of three pathogens in Canada: Salmonella, pathogenic Escherichia coli and Campylobacter, between 1992 and 2000 in two Canadian provinces. We used generalized linear models (GLMs) and generalized additive models (GAMs) to estimate the effect of seasonal adjustments on the estimated models. We found a strong non-linear association between ambient temperature and the occurrence of all three enteric pathogens in Alberta, Canada, and of Campylobacter in Newfoundland-Labrador. Threshold models were used to quantify the relationship of disease and temperature with thresholds chosen from 0 to -10°C depending on the pathogen modeled. For Alberta, the log relative risk of Salmonella weekly case counts increased by 1.2%, Campylobacter weekly case counts increased by 2.2%, and E. coli weekly case counts increased by 6.0% for every degree increase in weekly mean temperature. For Newfoundland-Labrador the log relative risk increased by 4.5% for Campylobacter for every degree increase in weekly mean temperature.
Integrating Computing Resources: A Shared Distributed Architecture for Academics and Administrators.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Beltrametti, Monica; English, Will
1994-01-01
Development and implementation of a shared distributed computing architecture at the University of Alberta (Canada) are described. Aspects discussed include design of the architecture, users' views of the electronic environment, technical and managerial challenges, and the campuswide human infrastructures needed to manage such an integrated…
Can Canada Avoid Arctic Militarization?
2014-05-20
William Barr. Calgary, AB: University of Alberta Press, 2004. Dolata-Kreutzkamp, Petra . “Canada’s Arctic Policy: Transcending the Middle Power Model?” In... Martin . “Due North”, Canadian Military Journal, 8, no. 1 (Spring 2007): 103-4. http://www.journal.forces.gc.ca/vo8/no1/doc/shadwick-eng.pdf
The Cultural Preparation of Teachers.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Goddard, J. Tim
This paper describes an ongoing doctoral study on the preparation of teachers to work in a variety of student cultural populations. It will examine teachers from three distinctly different geographical and sociocultural areas. The three areas are urban, suburban/rural, and rural isolated school jurisdictions in Alberta and Saskatchewan (Canada).…
Computer Courseware Evaluations. January 1988 to December 1988. Volume VIII.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Riome, Carol-Anne, Comp.
The eighth in a series, this report reviews microcomputer software authorized by the Alberta (Canada) Department of Education from January 1988 through December 1988. This edition provides detailed evaluations of 40 authorized programs for teaching business education, computer literacy, databases, file management, French, information retrieval,…
Policies and Practices Involved in the Evaluation of School Principals.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Thomas, David W.; Holdaway, Edward A.; Ward, Kenneth L.
2000-01-01
Studied the policies and practices used by school systems in Alberta, Canada, to evaluate principals. Responses from nearly all superintendents and a sample of recently appointed principals and interviews with 10 superintendents and 10 principals show substantial diversity in evaluation practices and some constraints on the evaluation function.…
Adult Education Research Conference Proceedings (29th, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, May 6-8, 1988).
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Warren, Catharine E., Ed.
The following are among the 55 papers in this volume: "Implications of Person-Environment Congruence in Adult Learning Environments" (Agee); "Reliability and Validity of the Alternate Form of the Education Participation Scale" (Boshier); "Research and Developments in the Neurosciences" (Boucouvalas); "Professional Writing Activity among Professors…
NAIT CPD. Competency Profile Development: A Systems Approach for Program Review Projects.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Dhariwal, Mave
The Engineering Technologies Division of the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) in Canada has developed a systems approach to program review called Competency Profile Development (CPD). This approach utilizes a combination of organizational communication, project management, management-by-objectives, a modified Developing A Curriculum…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Education Response Centre, Edmonton.
This resource guide provides an annotated bibliography of 101 articles and newsletters of interest to parents and teachers of children in preschool through grade 3. The bibliography contains the titles and short descriptions of materials, selected with the assistance of parents and teachers from across Alberta (Canada), on a wide range of topics…
Science 20-30: Program of Studies.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. Curriculum Branch.
Presented in both English and French, Science 20-30 is an integrated academic program in Alberta, Canada that helps students better understand and apply fundamental concepts and skills common to biology, chemistry, physics, and the Earth sciences. The major goals of the program are: (1) to develop in students an understanding of the…
Science 10: Course of Studies.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. Curriculum Branch.
Presented in both English and French, Science 10 is an integrated academic course that helps students in Alberta, Canada better understand and apply fundamental concepts and skills common to biology, chemistry, physics, and the Earth sciences. The major goals of the program are: (1) to develop in students an understanding of the interconnecting…
Chemistry 20-30: Program of Studies.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. Curriculum Branch.
Presented in English and French, Chemistry 20-30 is an academic program that helps students in Alberta, Canada, better understand and apply fundamental concepts and skills. The major goals of the program are: (1) to develop in students an understanding of the interconnecting ideas and principles that transcend and unify the natural science…
Orientations to Action: A Study of Attendance Area Policies. A Report.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Ingram, E. J.; And Others
Intended to help a rural Alberta (Canada) school district improve its policies on school attendance areas, this report delineates (1) current policies and procedures; (2) the institutional, social, and environmental context of these policies; (3) parents' concerns; (4) alternatives for improving the district's policies; and (5) recommendations.…
Occupational Component. 36-Level Courses. Teacher Resource Manual. Integrated Occupational Program.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. Curriculum Branch.
This 36-level occupational component of Integrated Occupational Program (IOP) consists of 8 occupational clusters composed of 20 occupational courses. Each course contains learning activities so that students in Alberta (Canada) may develop occupational concepts, skills, and attitudes. This teacher's manual consists of the following sections:…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Taylor, Alison
In 2000, a government-supported foundation called Careers the Next Generation (CNG) in Alberta, Canada, began coordinating summer internships for high school students in information and computer technology (ICT). The participating firms represented a mix of large and small private and public organizations in high-tech and other industries in the…
Canada's New Generic Pricing Policy: A Reasoned Approach to a Challenging Problem.
Hollis, Aidan; Grootendorst, Paul
2015-08-01
Alberta, quickly followed by other Canadian provinces, has introduced a new pricing model for generic drugs, in which prices are inversely related to the number of generic manufacturers of the drug. This paper examines the rationale for the new policy. Copyright © 2015 Longwoods Publishing.
The Effect of Material Strength on Segment Penetration Behavior
1993-04-01
Muenchen GERMANY Royal Armament R&D Establishment ATTN: I. Cullis Fort Halstead Sevenoaks, Kent TN14 7BJ ENGLAND Centre d’Etudes de Gramat ATTN...SOLVE Gerald 46500 Gramat FRANCE 2 Defense Research Establishment Suffield ATTN: C. Weickert D. Mackay Ralston, Alberta, TOJ 2N0 Ralston CANADA Defense
Biology 20-30: Program of Studies.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. Curriculum Branch.
Presented in English and French, Biology 20-30 is an academic program that helps students in Alberta, Canada, better understand and apply fundamental concepts and skills. The major goals of the program are: (1) to develop in students an understanding of the interconnecting ideas and principles that transcend and unify the natural science…
Collaborative Care: Infant Mental Health Consultation in a Child Welfare Setting
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Wotherspoon, Evelyn; O'Neill-Laberge, Marlene; Rafaat, Susan; Pirie, June; Hammel, David; MacDonald, Liane
2008-01-01
The Collaborative Mental Health Care program offers infant mental health consultations to case managers in child protection offices throughout the city of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Through case examples, the authors demonstrate why clinicians working with maltreated infants should expand the scope of their practice to include multidisciplinary…
Alternative Locations for School Buildings.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Earthman, Glen I.
1999-01-01
School systems in urbanized or built-up areas have difficulties locating suitable sites for new buildings. Examples of the use of space in alternative locations include the Parkway Program in Philadelphia; the Work Place School in Alberta, Canada; the Metropolitan Learning Alliance in Minnesota; and the Schoolhouse Boat in Vienna, Austria. (MLF)
Differential Effects of Science Study Questions.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Holliday, William G.; And Others
The purpose of this study was to investigate the differential effects on low and high verbal students of verbatim study questions adjunct to a text describing science concepts. The sample consisted of 217 eighth grade students enrolled in twelve Calgary (Alberta, Canada) schools. Materials developed for the study included an introduction to the…
Is History Repeating Itself at Lubicon Lake?
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Cloutier, Joe
1988-01-01
Shows impact of industrial development and public policies since 1899 upon Cree Indians at Lubicon Lake, Alberta, Canada. Details development-related destruction of Indian culture and economic base, creating welfare society. Reports Crees' 1987 protest of Calgary Olympics. Calls for educators to broaden and deepen approach to history and cultural…
Teacher Perspectives on Inclusive Education in Rural Alberta, Canada
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
McGhie-Richmond, Donna; Irvine, Angela; Loreman, Tim; Cizman, Juna Lea; Lupart, Judy
2013-01-01
The results of 123 elementary-to-secondary teacher surveys and 14 in-depth qualitative interviews examining teachers' perspectives regarding inclusion in a rural school district are reported. Four features of inclusive education from the perspective of teachers are elaborated: (1) attitudes toward inclusion; (2) supportive communication and…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. Language Services Branch.
This annotated bibliography of instructional resources for Alberta (Canada) introductory French second language teaching in early childhood, elementary, and secondary education consists of citations in 10 categories: audio/video recordings; communicative activity resources (primarily texts and workbooks); dictionaries and vocabulary handbooks;…
Grade 3 Science Curriculum Specifications.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. Curriculum Branch.
The specific content areas and objectives from which the Alberta, Canada, Grade 3 Science Achievement Test questions were derived are outlined in this bulletin. The document contains: (1) curriculum summary (providing a general listing of the process skills, psychomotor skills, attitudes, and subject matter covered at the grade 3 level); (2) a…
Workplace Literacy: Business, Government, and Academic Perspectives. Panel Discussion.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Malicky, Grace, Comp.; Dieleman, Carolyn; Campbell, Lloyd; Wong, Bill; Krahn, Harvey
1998-01-01
Presents highlights of a panel discussion on workplace literacy at the Literacy in the 21st Century Research Conference (Edmonton, Alberta, October 1997). Participants from business, government, and university discussed Syncrude Canada's Workplace Literacy Program, implications of the International Adult Literacy Survey for the labor market, and…
Business Planning as Pedagogy: Language and Control in a Changing Institutional Field.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Oakes, Leslie S.; Townley, Barbara; Cooper, David J.
1998-01-01
Based on Pierre Bourdieu's work on power as symbolic violence, examines business planning's pedagogical function in Alberta, Canada's museum and cultural heritage sites. Control involves redirecting work and changing producers' identity and work understandings via construction of markets, consumers, and products. Control was achieved by pedagogic…
USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database
Maize is a remarkably diverse species, adapted to a wide range of climatic conditions and farming practices. The latitudinal range of maize is immense, ranging from 54°N in Alberta, Canada, to 45°S in the province of Chubut, Argentina. In terms of altitude, maize is cultivated from sea level to 4000...
Enterprise & Innovation. Teacher Resource Manual. Interim.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. Curriculum Branch.
This teacher resource manual is a support document developed to assist teachers responsible for Enterprise and Innovation courses; it is intended to be used in conjunction with the corresponding program of studies in the curriculum for Alberta, Canada. The manual has been developed to assist classroom teachers by providing the following: (1)…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Wicke, Rainer E., Comp.
A guide to the use of radio and telecommunications to promote international student communication describes a project in which teenagers from Cologne (West Germany) and Edmonton (Alberta) discuss their concerns via radio as well as provide descriptions of life in West Germany and Canada. Transcripts from two radio programs--one in English and one…
Junior High Computer Studies: Teacher Resource Manual.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. Curriculum Branch.
This manual is designed to help classroom teachers in Alberta, Canada implement the Junior High Computer Studies Program. The first eight sections cover the following material: (1) introduction to the teacher resource manual; (2) program rationale and philosophy; (3) general learner expectations; (4) program framework and flexibility; (5) program…
Principals and Teachers as Partners in Critical, Participatory Action Research
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Nixon, Rhonda
2016-01-01
This article reports on a two-year study of one principal's professional learning practices in "Transform," a professional learning program in Edmonton Catholic Schools, Alberta, Canada. Transform was designed to be a bottom-up, morally-oriented professional learning approach in which principals and teachers worked as partners on…
Weeding the School Library Media Collection.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
School Library Media Quarterly, 1984
1984-01-01
This document prepared by Calgary Board of Education, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, discusses a systematic approach to strengthening the library media collection. A statement of principle, what to weed, specific guides to weeding (by Dewey Decimal classification and type of material), what not to weed, procedures, and weeding follow-up are…
The Quality Assurance of Degree Education in Canada
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Baker, Donald N.; Miosi, Terry
2010-01-01
Under the Canadian constitution, responsibility for education is assigned to the provinces. In some provinces, universities are based in institution-specific statutes, in others, in system-wide legislation. Except for the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, the provinces leave the quality assurance of academic activities to the…
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Ge, C.; Stenhouse, K. J.; Du, K.; Xing, Z.; Norman, A. L.
2016-12-01
Carbonaceous matter is often the dominant contributor to Particulate Matter (PM) which has a significant influence on climate, air quality and human health. The measurement of particulate carbon in rainfall in Calgary, Alberta has not been studied. This study reports the sulfate and the first concentrations of particulate carbon (PC) in rainfall in Calgary. It traces seasonal carbonaceous sources for the purpose of understanding sources for air quality control. Precipitation samples are collected twice a day at the University of Calgary. Thermo-optical methods are used to analyze concentrations of PC, including elemental carbon (EC), primary organic carbon (POC) and secondary organic carbon (SOC). Sulfate concentrations are measured using ion chromatography. In this study, sources from long range transport and local emissions are examined. We emphasized the apportionment of OC/EC in oil and gas emissions and diurnal variations in transportation emissions. Weekly average data for dry deposition were calculated to estimate the scavenging ratio of EC/POC/SOC and ions in precipitation. The results of this study will be presented with an emphasis on the relationship of carbonaceous material and sulfate. A range of apportionment methods have been applied to examine limitations in quantifying SOC in fall.
The Alberta smoke plume observation study
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Anderson, Kerry; Pankratz, Al; Mooney, Curtis; Fleetham, Kelly
2018-02-01
A field project was conducted to observe and measure smoke plumes from wildland fires in Alberta. This study used handheld inclinometer measurements and photos taken at lookout towers in the province. Observations of 222 plumes were collected from 21 lookout towers over a 6-year period from 2010 to 2015. Observers reported the equilibrium and maximum plume heights based on the plumes' final levelling heights and the maximum lofting heights, respectively. Observations were tabulated at the end of each year and matched to reported fires. Fire sizes at assessment times and forest fuel types were reported by the province. Fire weather conditions were obtained from the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System (CWFIS). Assessed fire sizes were adjusted to the appropriate size at plume observation time using elliptical fire-growth projections. Though a logical method to collect plume observations in principle, many unanticipated issues were uncovered as the project developed. Instrument limitations and environmental conditions presented challenges to the investigators, whereas human error and the subjectivity of observations affected data quality. Despite these problems, the data set showed that responses to fire behaviour conditions were consistent with the physical processes leading to plume rise. The Alberta smoke plume observation study data can be found on the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System datamart (Natural Resources Canada, 2018) at http://cwfis.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/datamart.
Managing large energy and mineral resources (EMR) projects in challenging environments
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Chanmeka, Arpamart
The viability of energy mineral resources (EMR) construction projects is contingent upon the state of the world economic climate. Oil sands projects in Alberta, Canada exemplify large EMR projects that are highly sensitive to fluctuations in the world market. Alberta EMR projects are constrained by high fixed production costs and are also widely recognized as one of the most challenging construction projects to successfully deliver due to impacts from extreme weather conditions, remote locations and issues with labor availability amongst others. As indicated in many studies, these hardships strain the industry's ability to execute work efficiently, resulting in declining productivity and mounting cost and schedule overruns. Therefore, to enhance the competitiveness of Alberta EMR projects, project teams are targeting effective management strategies to enhance project performance and productivity by countering the uniquely challenging environment in Alberta. The main purpose of this research is to develop industry wide benchmarking tailored to the specific constraints and challenges of Alberta. Results support quantitative assessments and identify the root causes of project performance and ineffective field productivity problems in the heavy industry sector capital projects. Customized metrics produced from the data collected through a web-based survey instrument were used to quantitatively assess project performance in the following dimensions: cost, schedule, change, rework, safety, engineering and construction productivity and construction practices. The system enables the industry to measure project performance more accurately, get meaningful comparisons, while establishing credible norms specific to Alberta projects. Data analysis to identify the root cause of performance problems was conducted. The analysis of Alberta projects substantiated lessons of previous studies to create an improved awareness of the abilities of Alberta-based companies to manage their unique projects. This investigation also compared Alberta-based projects with U.S. projects to point out the differences in project process and management strategies under different environments. The relative impact of factors affecting construction productivity were identified and validated by the input from industry experts. The findings help improve the work processes used by companies developing projects in Alberta.
A process-based agricultural model for the irrigated agriculture sector in Alberta, Canada
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Ammar, M. E.; Davies, E. G.
2015-12-01
Connections between land and water, irrigation, agricultural productivity and profitability, policy alternatives, and climate change and variability are complex, poorly understood, and unpredictable. Policy assessment for agriculture presents a large potential for development of broad-based simulation models that can aid assessment and quantification of policy alternatives over longer temporal scales. The Canadian irrigated agriculture sector is concentrated in Alberta, where it represents two thirds of the irrigated land-base in Canada and is the largest consumer of surface water. Despite interest in irrigation expansion, its potential in Alberta is uncertain given a constrained water supply, significant social and economic development and increasing demands for both land and water, and climate change. This paper therefore introduces a system dynamics model as a decision support tool to provide insights into irrigation expansion in Alberta, and into trade-offs and risks associated with that expansion. It is intended to be used by a wide variety of users including researchers, policy analysts and planners, and irrigation managers. A process-based cropping system approach is at the core of the model and uses a water-driven crop growth mechanism described by AquaCrop. The tool goes beyond a representation of crop phenology and cropping systems by permitting assessment and quantification of the broader, long-term consequences of agricultural policies for Alberta's irrigation sector. It also encourages collaboration and provides a degree of transparency that gives confidence in simulation results. The paper focuses on the agricultural component of the systems model, describing the process involved; soil water and nutrients balance, crop growth, and water, temperature, salinity, and nutrients stresses, and how other disciplines can be integrated to account for the effects of interactions and feedbacks in the whole system. In later stages, other components such as livestock production systems and agricultural production economics will be integrated to the agricultural model to make the systems tool. It will capture feedback loops, time delays, and the nonlinearities of the system. Moreover, the model is designed for quick reconfiguration to different regions given parametrized crop data.
Generation of Hot Water from Hot-Dry for Heavy-Oil Recovery in Northern Alberta, Canada
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Pathak, V.; Babadagli, T.; Majorowicz, J. A.; Unsworth, M. J.
2011-12-01
The focus of prior applications of hot-dry-rock (HDR) technology was mostly aimed at generating electricity. In northern Alberta, the thermal gradient is low and, therefore, this technology is not suitable for electricity generation. On the other hand, the cost of steam and hot water, and environmental impacts, are becoming critical issues in heavy-oil and bitumen recovery in Alberta. Surface generation of steam or hot-water accounts for six percent of Canada's natural gas consumption and about 50 million tons of CO2 emission. Lowered cost and environmental impacts are critical in the widespread use of steam (for in-situ recovery) and hot-water (for surface extraction of bitumen) in this region. This paper provides an extensive analysis of hot-water generation to be used in heavy-oil/bitumen recovery. We tested different modeling approaches used to determine the amount of energy produced during HDR by history matching to example field data. The most suitable numerical and analytical models were used to apply the data obtained from different regions containing heavy-oil/bitumen deposits in northern Alberta. The heat generation capacity of different regions was determined and the use of this energy (in the form of hot-water) for surface extraction processes was evaluated. Original temperature gradients were applied as well as realistic basement formation characteristics through an extensive hydro thermal analysis in the region including an experimental well drilled to the depth of 2,500m. Existing natural fractures and possible hydraulic fracturing scenarios were evaluated from the heat generation capacity and the economics points of view. The main problem was modeling difficulties, especially determination and representation of fracture network characteristics. A sensitivity analysis was performed for the selected high temperature gradient regions in Alberta. In this practice, the characteristics of hydraulic fractures, injection rate, depth, the distance between injection and production wells and formation thickness were used as variables and an optimization study was carried out based on these variables. The results showed that the hot water (50 C at surface) needed in Fort McMurray for extraction could be obtained at lower costs than the generation of it using natural gas.
The High Prevalence of Vitamin D Insufficiency in Cord Blood in Calgary, Alberta (APrON-D Study).
Aghajafari, Fariba; Field, Catherine J; Kaplan, Bonnie J; Maggiore, Jack A; O'Beirne, Maeve; Hanley, David A; Eliasziw, Misha; Dewey, Deborah; Ross, Sue; Rabi, Doreen
2017-05-01
Vitamin D is important in promoting healthy pregnancy and fetal development. We undertook this study to measure 25-hydroxyvitamin D in maternal and cord blood and to identify maternal factors related to vitamin D status in Calgary. Blood samples collected at the time of delivery from the Alberta Pregnancy Outcomes and Nutrition study cohort (ApronStudy.ca) participants were processed for plasma and assayed using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry methodology for 25(OH)D 3 . Ninety-two pairs of maternal and cord blood samples were obtained. The prevalence of 25(OH)D 3 insufficiency-25(OH)D 3 <75 nmol/L-was 38% and 80% in women and neonates, respectively. Vitamin D supplementation was the only clinical factor associated with 25(OH)D 3 sufficiency, and the odds of sufficiency were 3.75 (95% CI 1.00 to 14.07) higher for women and 5.27 (95% CI 1.37 to 20.27) when over 2000 IU/day were used. Using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry, we demonstrated a very high prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency in cord blood and that the use of high dose vitamin D was associated with greater odds of sufficiency in pregnant women and cord blood in Alberta. Copyright © 2017 The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada/La Société des obstétriciens et gynécologues du Canada. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Gillespie, Janice M.; Heller, Paul L.
1995-08-01
Subsidence analysis and geometry of Jurassic-Cretaceous foreland strata in northwestern Montana and southern Alberta and British Columbia suggest that loading by the fold-thrust belt in Canada began as much as 40 m.y. earlier than in Montana. In Canada, early foreland basin deposits are Late Jurassic age, thicken rapidly westward, and are restricted to a narrow belt within 30 km of the thrust belt. In western Montana, contemporaneous deposits are widespread and do not increase markedly in thickness toward the thrust belt. The unconformity overlying these deposits also changes from Canada, where it is angular, to a disconformity in western Montana near Great Falls. Between these two areas, foreland geometry is transitional over a distance of <250 km. Beyond the transition zone, early foreland basin geometries are broadly consistent, showing Late Jurassic foreland subsidence in southern Canada and Early Cretaceous initial subsidence in the United States.
Freeman, Lisa K; Bourque, Stacey; Etches, Nick; Goodison, Karin; O'Gorman, Claire; Rittenbach, Kay; Sikora, Christopher A; Yarema, Mark
2017-11-09
Alberta is a prairie province located in western Canada, with a population of approximately 4.3 million. In 2016, 363 Albertans died from apparent drug overdoses related to fentanyl, an opioid 50-100 times more toxic than morphine. This surpassed the number of deaths from motor vehicle collisions and homicides combined. Naloxone is a safe, effective, opioid antagonist that may quickly reverse an opioid overdose. In July 2015, a committee of community-based harm reduction programs in Alberta implemented a geographically restricted take-home naloxone (THN) program. The successes and limitations of this program demonstrated the need for an expanded, multi-sectoral, multi-jurisdictional response. The provincial health authority, Alberta Health Services (AHS), used previously established incident command system processes to coordinate implementation of a provincial THN program. Alberta's provincial THN program was implemented on December 23, 2015. This collaborative program resulted in a coordinated response across jurisdictional levels with wide geographical reach. Between December 2015 and December 2016, 953 locations, including many community pharmacies, registered to dispense THN kits, 9572 kits were distributed, and 472 reversals were reported. The provincial supply of THN kits more than tripled from 3000 to 10 000. Alberta was uniquely poised to deliver a large, province-wide, multi-sectoral and multi-jurisdictional THN program as part of a comprehensive response to increasing opioid-related morbidity and mortality. The speed at which AHS was able to roll out the program was made possible by work done previously and the willingness of multiple jurisdictions to work together to build on and expand the program.
Grade 12 Diploma Examination, English 33. Part B: Reading (Multiple Choice). Readings Booklet.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton.
Intended for students taking the Grade 12 Examination in English 33 in Alberta, Canada, this reading test (to be administered along with the questions booklet) contains short reading selections taken from fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama, including the following: an excerpt from "Catch-22" (Joseph Heller); "School Thief"…
Handbook for the Identification and Review of Students with Severe Disabilities. Revised.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton. Special Education Branch.
Designed to assist school authorities in identifying students with disabilities who are eligible for funding in Alberta, Canada, this manual provides information on the identification and review of students with severe disabilities. The first section provides information and case studies of students with severe cognitive or emotional/behavioral…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
McLellan, James L., Ed.; Taylor, William H., Ed.
Among the 61 papers in this volume (some in French) are the following: "Problems and Pitfalls in a Naturalistic Inquiry into the Relationship between Environmental Remembrance and Life Satisfaction among the Elderly" (Barrick); "Educating the Adult Educator" (Baskett); "Socio-Psychological Factors in Electronic…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton.
This report reviews Apple computer courseware in business education, library skills, mathematics, science, special education, and word processing based on the curricular requirements of Alberta, Canada. It provides detailed evaluations of 23 authorized titles in business education (2), mathematics (20), and science (1); 3 of the math titles are…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Taylor, William H.
The System for Program Information in Continuing Education (SPICE), an information system being implemented at The University of Calgary (Alberta, Canada), was designed to facilitate the collection, manipulation, and reporting of evaluative data from continuing education program participants. The objectives of the system include the following: to…
Career and Life Management 20: Prescribed Course of Studies.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. Curriculum Branch.
The Career and Life Management 20 course is required of Alberta, Canada senior high school students. Through the course students are to be given the opportunity to realistically set and plan for personal goals; assess and consider their own abilities; determine how their personal characteristics affect their learning and decision-making processes;…
Student Achievement Testing Program: Grade 3 Social Studies.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Student Evaluation Branch Bulletin, 1983
1983-01-01
The purpose of this bulletin is to provide information about the Alberta (Canada) Grade 3 Social Studies Achievement Test. The Bulletin includes a general description of the Achievement Testing Program, a description of the Grade 3 Social Studies Achievement Test, an outline of the objectives to be tested, and the test blueprint. Student…
Speaking Personally--With Robert G. Holmberg
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
American Journal of Distance Education, 2009
2009-01-01
This article presents an interview with Robert G. Holmberg, professor emeritus at Athabasca University (AU). He retired at the end of 2007 following a thirty-three-year academic career at AU in Edmonton and Athabasca, Alberta, Canada. During that time he oversaw the development and delivery of several of the university's first courses. He helped…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. Curriculum Branch.
The Integrated Occupational Program (IOP) enables students in Alberta (Canada) who have experienced difficulty in learning to develop essential concepts, skills, and attitudes in the context of one or more occupational clusters. The IOP has four levels: occupational awareness (grades 8-9), career exploration (level 16), occupational orientation…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Samuels, Marilyn T.
This manual, intended to help administrators, specialists, and teachers in Alberta, Canada, understand a problem-solving, process-based approach to assessment of special needs students using multiple sources of information. Assessment outcomes are viewed as describing needs and influencing education programs, rather than being used to provide…
Ethical Leadership in Canadian School Organizations: Tensions and Possibilities
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Langlois, Lyse; Lapointe, Claire
2007-01-01
This study, which was sponsored by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, was conducted in French-language minority schools in seven Canadian provinces: British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. Using an open-ended interview guide, 47 principals were asked about the…
From Teachers to Teacher-Leaders: A Case Study
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Riveros, Augusto; Newton, Paul; da Costa, José
2013-01-01
This paper reports on a study of teacher leadership conducted in Alberta, Canada. Twenty-one school teachers and administrators were interviewed about their experiences with a provincial teacher-leader program in which they participated from 1997 to 2007. The participants were asked questions related to their experience in the program and how…
Promising Practices in Career and Technology Studies (CTS).
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton. Learning and Teaching Resources Branch.
This document contains profiles of 130 successful programs and partnerships in Career and Technology Studies (CTS) in Alberta, Canada. Following an introduction to the CTS program and its implementation, the profiles are organized into 23 sections that follow the strands of the program. The sections cover the following topics: CTS general;…
Sexual Abuse Prevention Project for Deaf/Hard of Hearing Children.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
ACEHI Journal, 1990
1990-01-01
The Sexual Abuse Prevention Program for Deaf Children, a program of the Greater Vancouver Association of the Deaf in British Columbia (Canada), plans to conduct a needs assessment of children ages 8-15 in the Alberta, British Columbia, and Yukon regions; develop prevention resources; and develop a comprehensive national distribution plan for the…
(PRESENTED IN ALBERTA, CANADA) A PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF THE 2004 RELEASE OF MODELS-3 CMAQ
The Clean Air Act and its Amendments require that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) establish National Ambient Air Quality Standards for O3 and particulate matter and to assess current and future air quality regulations designed to protect human health and...
Chromosome races of fourwing saltbush (Atriplex canescens), Chenopodiaceae
Stewart C. Sanderson; Howard C. Stutz
2001-01-01
Atriplex canescens (Pursh.) Nutt. is the most widespread species of perennial Atriplex in North America, distributed from southern San Luis Potosi, Mexico, to southern Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada, and from the Pacific Coast of California and Baja California to Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas, and the Dakotas. Throughout its distributional range, A. canescens...
Junior High Instrumental Music: Wind-Percussion Strings. [Curriculum Guide.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. Curriculum Design Branch.
This curriculum guide outlines a secondary music program for Alberta, Canada, that aims: (1) to develop skills in listening, performing, and using notation; (2) to encourage students to strive for musical excellence; (3) to enable students to appreciate music; (4) to foster self-expression and creativity; and (5) to make students aware of the…
Burrowing (Speotyto cunicularia) Owl survival in prairie Canada
Kort M. Clayton; Josef K. Schmutz
1997-01-01
We studied survival of the endangered Burrowing Owl (Speotyto cunicularia) using radio-telemetry in both Alberta and Saskatchewan. Adult females exhibited the highest mean survival (0.83) whereas adult male (0.46) and juvenile (0.48) rates were similar. Most mortality occurred during the post-fledging period when there was a peak of activity around...
Decay and Discoloration of Aspen
Gerald W. Anderson; Thomas E. Hinds; Donald M. Knutson
1977-01-01
Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) is the most widely distributed tree species in North America. It has a transcontinental range and grows under a wide variety of climatic and edaphic conditions. The commercial range includes the Lake States as well as parts of New England; it also includes Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, Canada. Although many stands in...
The Grant Administration and the Northern Plains Indians: A Failed Attempt at Peace and Cohabitation
2012-03-23
the only question considered is, “how best to get his lands.” When they are obtained the Indian is lost sight of. While our missionary societies...United States and Canada. These are located in the Dakotas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Montana, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. The Pine Ridge
Measuring Inclusive Education Outcomes in Alberta, Canada
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Loreman, Tim
2014-01-01
This study details the results of a review of the academic and public sector literature on measuring inclusive education in large systems. It highlights some outcomes drawn from the international literature on inclusion that might be indicative of the presence and quality of inclusive education in an effort to develop a set of outcomes for…
Schools and the Community: A Necessary Partnership: A Guide to Interagency Collaboration.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. Education Response Centre.
The problems facing students and families in Alberta, Canada, have been recognized as community problems that require community solutions. Interagency collaboration has become a necessity indicative of the changing times and the global focus on integration rather than isolation. Interagency collaboration is an arrangement in which agencies work…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton.
Intended for students taking the Grade 12 Examination in English 30 in Alberta, Canada, this reading test (to be administered along with a questions booklet) includes the following eight short selections taken from fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama: "Loyalties" (Roo Borson); "Clever Animals" (Lewis Thomas); "Death of…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton.
Intended for students taking the Grade 12 Examinations in English 30 in Alberta, Canada, this reading test (to be administered along with a questions booklet) includes the following nine short selections taken from fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama: "The Biggest Liar in the World" (Harry Mark Petrakis); "Victorian…
Accounting 10-20-30. Senior High School Teacher Resource Manual.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. Curriculum Branch.
This manual is intended to help teachers meet the objectives of the 1985 Alberta, Canada, Accounting 10-20-30 curriculum. The manual is organized in nine sections. The first section introduces the curriculum and lists the course objectives, and the following section provides a flowchart of the accounting modules. Information on planning the…
Yes, You Can Help! Information and Inspiration for French Immersion Parents. National Edition.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. Language Services Branch.
The guide for parents of French immersion students in Alberta (Canada) public schools is designed to answer frequently asked questions and encourage parent participation in the student's immersion experience. Chapters address these topics: terminology (program types, school types offering immersion programs, other terms); reasons for learning a…
Career Education at the Elementary School Level: Student and Intern Teacher Perspectives
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Welde, Annelise M. J.; Bernes, Kerry B.; Gunn, Thelma M.; Ross, Stanley A.
2016-01-01
A teacher-training program was introduced in Southern Alberta, Canada, to enable intern teachers to integrate career education projects into their mainstream elementary school courses. This non-experimental, descriptive evaluation used content analysis to examine the effectiveness of 25 career education projects and their corresponding 56 types of…
Physical Education Resource Guide: Kindergarten to Grade 12. ABCD's of Physical Education.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Glassford, Jeanine; Jordan, Dave
This guide identifies resources that can support program planning for implementation of the Physical Education Program of Studies, Kindergarten to Grade 12, Alberta, Canada. The program is indented to enable individuals to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to lead an active, healthy lifestyle. The program emphasizes active…
The contribution of inorganic air pollutant emissions to atmospheric deposition in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AOSR) of Alberta, Canada was investigated in the surrounding boreal forests, using a common epiphytic lichen bio-indicator species (Hypogymnia physodes) and applyi...
Grade 12 Diploma Examination, English 30. Part B: Reading (Multiple Choice). Readings Booklet.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton.
Intended for students taking the Grade 12 Examination in English 30 in Alberta, Canada, this reading test (to be administered along with the questions booklet) contains 10 short reading selections taken from fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama, including the following: an excerpt from "Where Did You Go?""Out." (Robert Paul…
Indian Government and Indian Education.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Starblanket, Noel V.
1981-01-01
Accountability for Indian education must be shared among the chiefs and their councils, the Indian leaders at all levels, parents and students. This may be accomplished by Indian control of Indian education. Available from: Department of Educational Foundations, 5-109 Education North, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada, T6G 2G5. (ERB)
Science 26: Teacher Resource Manual. Integrated Occupational Program. Interim 1991.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. Curriculum Branch.
The Integrated Occupation Science 26 Program is an optional program designed to allow students in Alberta, Canada to meet the credit requirements of the Certificate of Achievement and facilitate transfer to the General High School Diploma Program. This Teacher Resource Manual is provided to assist classroom teachers to implement the Science 26…
Ground-level air pollution changes during a boreal wildland mega-fire
Andrzej Bytnerowicz; Yu-Mei Hsu; Kevin Percy; Allan Legge; Mark E. Fenn; Susan Schilling; Witold Frączek; Diane Alexander
2016-01-01
The 2011 Richardson wildland mega-fire in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AOSR) in northern Alberta, Canada had large effects on air quality. At a receptor site in the center of the AOSR ambient PM2.5, O3, NO, NO2, SO2, NH3, HONO, HNO3...
Marketing 20-30. Senior High School Teacher Resource Manual.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. Curriculum Branch.
This manual is intended to help teachers meet the objectives of the 1985 Alberta, Canada, Marketing 20-30 curriculum. The manual is organized in six sections. The first section contains introductory information on the Marketing 20-30 curriculum, including course objectives and a flowchart of the modules in the marketing course. Planning the course…
Between Discomfort and Comfort: Towards Language That Creates Space for Social Change
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Schultz, Christie
2017-01-01
This paper examines the potential of the term "settler ally" to create productive discomfort alongside productive comfort, thereby creating space for positive social change. The setting in which the term is examined is Canada--Alberta in particular--following the release of the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Plotnikoff, Ronald C.; Anderson, Donna; Raine, Kim; Cook, Kay; Barrett, Linda; Prodaniuk, Tricia R.
2005-01-01
Objective: The purpose of this study was to validate measures of individual and organisational infrastructure for health promotion within Alberta's (Canada) 17 Regional Health Authorities (RHAs). Design: A series of phases were conducted to develop individual and organisational scales to measure health promotion infrastructure. Instruments were…
Community Living and the Denormalization of the Family.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Pivato, Emma
1986-01-01
A parent of a severely handicapped daughter living at home in Alberta, Canada, discusses the need for family support systems such as respite care, reduced rent for needed equipment or vehicles, and financial aid to allow normal family living. Government and family are seen to share responsibility for the handicapped individual. (DB)
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton.
Intended for students taking the Grade 12 Examination in English 30 in Alberta, Canada, this reading test (to be administered along with the questions booklet) contains 10 short reading selections taken from fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama, including the following: "My Magical Metronome" (Lewis Thomas); "Queen Street…
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Stephen, Jamie; Sokhansanj, Shahabaddine; Bi, X.T.
2010-01-01
Agricultural residue feedstock availability in a given region can vary significantly over the 20 25 year lifetime of a biorefinery. Since delivered price of biomass feedstock to a biorefinery is related to the distance travelled and equipment optimization, and transportation distance increases as productivity decreases, productivity is a primary determinant of feedstock price. Using the Integrated Biomass Supply Analysis and Logistics (IBSAL) modeling environment and a standard round bale harvest and delivery scenario, harvest and delivery price were modelled for minimum, average, and maximum yields at four potential biorefinery sites in the Peace River region of Alberta, Canada. Biorefinery capacitiesmore » ranged from 50,000 to 500,000 tonnes per year. Delivery cost is a linear function of transportation distance and can be combined with a polynomial harvest function to create a generalized delivered cost function for agricultural residues. The range in delivered cost is substantial and is an important consideration for the operating costs of a biorefinery.« less
Reserve growth in oil pools of Alberta: Model and forecast
Verma, M.; Cook, T.
2010-01-01
Reserve growth is recognized as a major component of additions to reserves in most oil provinces around the world, particularly in mature provinces. It takes place as a result of the discovery of new pools/reservoirs and extensions of known pools within existing fields, improved knowledge of reservoirs over time leading to a change in estimates of original oil-in-place, and improvement in recovery factor through the application of new technology, such as enhanced oil recovery methods, horizontal/multilateral drilling, and 4D seismic. A reserve growth study was conducted on oil pools in Alberta, Canada, with the following objectives: 1) evaluate historical oil reserve data in order to assess the potential for future reserve growth; 2) develop reserve growth models/ functions to help forecast hydrocarbon volumes; 3) study reserve growth sensitivity to various parameters (for example, pool size, porosity, and oil gravity); and 4) compare reserve growth in oil pools and fields in Alberta with those from other large petroleum provinces around the world. The reported known recoverable oil exclusive of Athabasca oil sands in Alberta increased from 4.5 billion barrels of oil (BBO) in 1960 to 17 BBO in 2005. Some of the pools that were included in the existing database were excluded from the present study for lack of adequate data. Therefore, the known recoverable oil increased from 4.2 to 13.9 BBO over the period from 1960 through 2005, with new discoveries contributing 3.7 BBO and reserve growth adding 6 BBO. This reserve growth took place mostly in pools with more than 125,000 barrels of known recoverable oil. Pools with light oil accounted for most of the total known oil volume, therefore reflecting the overall pool growth. Smaller pools, in contrast, shrank in their total recoverable volumes over the years. Pools with heavy oil (gravity less than 20o API) make up only a small share (3.8 percent) of the total recoverable oil; they showed a 23-fold growth compared to about 3.5-fold growth in pools with medium oil and 2.2-fold growth in pools with light oil over a fifty-year period. The analysis indicates that pools with high porosity reservoirs (greater than 30 percent porosity) grew more than pools with lower porosity reservoirs which could possibly be attributed to permeability differences between the two types. Reserve growth models for Alberta, Canada, show the growth at field level is almost twice as much as at pool level, possibly because the analysis has evaluated fields with two or more pools with different discovery years. Based on the models, the growth in oil volumes in Alberta pools over the next five-year period (2006-2010) is expected to be about 454 million barrels of oil. Over a twenty-five year period, the cumulative reserve growth in Alberta oil pools has been only 2-fold compared to a 4- to- 5-fold increase in other petroleum producing areas such as Saskatchewan, Volga-Ural, U.S. onshore fields, and U.S. Gulf of Mexico. However, the growth at the field level compares well with that of U.S. onshore fields. In other petroleum provinces, the reserves are reported at field levels rather than at pool levels, the latter basically being the equivalent of individual reservoirs. ?? 2010 by the Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists.
Alberta Northern Field Work, 1966
Greenhill, S.; Mulholland, D.; Mundy, D.; Nobert, L.
1967-01-01
A sociologic and medical study was undertaken of the incidence of rheumatic heart disease in an isolated Mennonite colony in Northern Alberta, Canada. A group of Métis in a nearby settlement was used as a control. A total of 1294 individuals were examined, and evidence of carditis was found in 42 Mennonites. This project is one of a series of student summer research programs sponsored by the Department of Community Medicine, University of Alberta, and supported by grants from the Provincial Department of Health during the past three summers. The students - medical and dental - receive in Edmonton a seven- to 10-day orientation and indoctrination course dealing with the sociological, anthropological and medical problems likely to be met with in the North. Research protocol and methodological techniques are prepared and devised with student participation. A minimum of supervision is given in the field to encourage the undergraduates to adapt and adjust to a changed environment. Student response to this type of learning experience has been most encouraging. PMID:6020554
Pipeline enhances Norman Wells potential
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Not Available
Approval of an oil pipeline from halfway down Canada's MacKenzie River Valley at Norman Wells to N. Alberta has raised the potential for development of large reserves along with controversy over native claims. The project involves 2 closely related proposals. One, by Esso Resources, the exploration and production unit of Imperial Oil, will increase oil production from the Norman Wells field from 3000 bpd currently to 25,000 bpd. The other proposal, by Interprovincial Pipeline (N.W) Ltd., calls for construction of an underground pipeline to transport the additional production from Norman Wells to Alberta. The 560-mile, 12-in. pipeline will extend frommore » Norman Wells, which is 90 miles south of the Arctic Circle on the north shore of the Mackenzie River, south to the end of an existing line at Zama in N. Alberta. There will be 3 pumping stations en route. This work also discusses recovery, potential, drilling limitations, the processing plant, positive impact, and further development of the Norman Wells project.« less
The stable isotopes of site wide waters at an oil sands mine in northern Alberta, Canada
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Baer, Thomas; Barbour, S. Lee; Gibson, John J.
2016-10-01
Oil sands mines have large disturbance footprints and contain a range of new landforms constructed from mine waste such as shale overburden and the byproducts of bitumen extraction such as sand and fluid fine tailings. Each of these landforms are a potential source of water and chemical release to adjacent surface and groundwater, and consequently, the development of methods to track water migration through these landforms is of importance. The stable isotopes of water (i.e. 2H and 18O) have been widely used in hydrology and hydrogeology to characterize surface water/groundwater interactions but have not been extensively applied in mining applications, or specifically to oil sands mining in northern Alberta. A prerequisite for applying these techniques is the establishment of a Local Meteoric Water Line (LMWL) to characterize precipitation at the mine sites as well as the development of a 'catalogue' of the stable water isotope signatures of various mine site waters. This study was undertaken at the Mildred Lake Mine Site, owned and operated by Syncrude Canada Ltd. The LMWL developed from 2 years (2009/2012) of sample collection is shown to be consistent with other LMWLs in western Canada. The results of the study highlight the unique stable water isotope signatures associated with hydraulically placed tailings (sand or fluid fine tailings) and overburden shale dumps relative to natural surface water and groundwater. The signature associated with the snow melt water on reclaimed landscapes was found to be similar to ground water recharge in the region. The isotopic composition of the shale overburden deposits are also distinct and consistent with observations made by other researchers in western Canada on undisturbed shales. The process water associated with the fine and coarse tailings streams has highly enriched 2H and 18O signatures. These signatures are developed through the non-equilibrium fractionation of imported fresh river water during evaporation from cooling towers used within the raw water process circuit. This highly fractionated surface water eventually becomes part of the recycled tailings water circuit, and as a consequence it undergoes further non-equilibrium fractionation as a result of surface evaporation, leading to additional enrichment along local evaporation lines.
Nicol, Jennifer J E; Yarema, Mark C; Jones, Graham R; Martz, Walter; Purssell, Roy A; MacDonald, Judy C; Wishart, Ian; Durigon, Monica; Tzemis, Despina; Buxton, Jane A
2015-01-01
Paramethoxymethamphetamine (PMMA) is a ring-substituted amphetamine similar in structure to 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA or "ecstasy"), but substantially more toxic. We describe the clinical features of fatal exposures in the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, Canada. We conducted a retrospective case series on deaths in Alberta and BC between June 2011 and April 2012 for which forensic toxicologic analysis was positive for PMMA and the drug was implicated as the primary toxic agent. Data collected included patient demographics, exposure history, clinical features, investigations, therapy provided and postmortem toxicologic findings. A total of 27 PMMA-associated deaths (20 in Alberta, 7 in BC) were reported in the 11-month period. The median age was 24 (range 14-52) years, and 22 (81%) were male. Ten patients were pronounced dead at the scene, and 17 died in hospital. The median time from exposure to death was 17 (range 5-264) hours. The median first-recorded vital signs (and ranges) were: heart rate 160 (86-201) beats/min, blood pressure 89/43 (69/30-162/83) mm Hg, respiratory rate 40 (26-48) breaths/min, oxygen saturation 81% (68%-100%) and temperature 39.4°C (34-43.8°C). Sixteen of the 17 people who died in hospital presented with clinical features consistent with serotonin syndrome. End-organ dysfunction included hepatic (30%) and acute kidney injury (85%), rhabdomyolysis (54%), coagulopathy (61%) and cardiac ischemia (15%). Other drugs identified on toxicologic analysis were MDMA (n = 27), cocaine or its metabolite benzoylecgonine (n = 14) and methamphetamine (n = 12). Exposure to PMMA was characterized by multiorgan dysfunction and serotonin syndrome, followed by cardiovascular collapse. In addition to PMMA, multiple synthetic amphetamines were present on toxicologic analysis. When evaluating patients suspected of exposure to sympathomimetic drugs of abuse, clinicians must anticipate multiple clinical effects from the increased release of dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine and other neurotransmitters.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Majorowicz, J. A.; Unsworth, M.; Gray, A.; Nieuwenhuis, G.; Babadagli, T.; Walsh, N.; Weides, S.; Verveda, R.
2012-12-01
The extraction and processing of bitumen from the oilsands of Northern Alberta requires very large amounts of heat that is obtained by burning natural gas. At current levels, the gas used represents 6% of Canada's natural gas production. Geothermal energy could potentially provide this heat, thereby reducing both the financial costs and environmental impact of the oilsands industry. The Helmholtz Alberta Initiative is evaluating this application of geothermal energy through an integrated program of geology, geophysics, reservoir simulation and calculations of the cost benefit. A first stage in this evaluation is refining estimates of subsurface temperature beneath Northern Alberta. This has involved three stages: (1) Corrected industrial thermal data have been used to revise estimates of the upper crustal temperatures beneath the oilsands regions in Alberta. The geothermal gradient map produced using heat flow and thermal conductivity for the entire Phanerozoic column suggests that the overall gradient of the entire column is less than the gradients calculated directly from industry measurements. (2) Paleoclimatic corrections must be applied , since this region has experienced a significant increase in surface temperatures since the end of the last ice age causing a perturbation of shallow heat flow. For this reason, estimates of geothermal gradient based on shallow data are not necessarily characteristic of the whole sedimentary column and can lead to errors in temperature prediction at depth. (3) Improved measurements have been made of the thermal conductivity of the crystalline basement rocks (average = 2.9±0.8 W/m K). Thermal conductivity exhibits significant spatial variability and to a large degree controls the temperature conditions in the Precambrian crystalline basement rocks and its heat content at given heat flow-heat generation. When these steps are used to calculate subsurface temperatures, it can be shown that the temperatures required for geothermal energy to provide usable heat for oil sands processing can only be found within the crystalline basement rocks beneath the WCSB. Lower temperature geothermal resources can be found in the 2 km thick layer of sedimentary rocks in the Peace River area and beneath urban centres in Northern Alberta. Modeling shows that heat extraction for oilsands processing with a doublet or triplet of 5km wells, operated for 15 years, could be marginally economic when compared to the currently low gas prices. This type of heat extraction would be economically competitive if the system had a life span greater than 20 years or with higher natural gas prices.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Pashby, Karen
2015-01-01
This paper presents a critical framework applied to findings from a critical discourse analysis of curriculum and lesson plans in Alberta to examine the assumption that Canada is an ideal place for global citizenship education. The analysis draws on a framework that presents a critique of modernity to recognize a conflation within calls for new…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton.
Intended for students taking Grade 12 Diploma Examinations in English 33 in Alberta, Canada, this reading test is designed to be administered with a questions booklet. The following short selections taken from fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, and day-to-day functional materials are included: (1) "M is for Mother" (Marjorie Riddle);…
USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database
Fusarium graminearum Schwabe of the ‘3ADON’ chemotype is now displacing ‘15ADON’ isolates in Canada. One concern regarding this shift in chemotypes is related to potential differences in fungicide sensitivity. This could have significant implications as fungicide application is an important strate...
The Community Perinatal Care Study: Home Visiting and Nursing Support for Pregnant Women
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Johnston, David; Tough, Suzanne; Siever, Jodi
2006-01-01
This article describes The Community Perinatal Care Study, a community-based study of pregnancy support that was conducted in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, between 2001 and 2004. The study was conducted to learn how to improve community-based pregnancy care and to improve prenatal care and healthy births, particularly for women with increased…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. Curriculum Standards Branch.
The purposes of the Integrated Occupational Program developed for special needs students in grades 8-12 in Alberta (Canada) are to have students become responsible members of society, develop entry-level vocational abilities, and become aware of the need and opportunities for lifelong learning. The focus is on the development of knowledge, skills,…
Typewriting 10-20-30. Senior High School Teacher Resource Manual.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. Curriculum Branch.
This manual is designed to assist typewriting teachers in the implementation of the Alberta, Canada, Typewriting 10-20-30 Curriculum (1985). Many ideas contained in the handbook can also be used in curricula that address keyboarding or the skill of typing in computer keyboarding, dictaphone typing, or word processing. The manual is organized in…
Work Experience Program Teacher Resource Manual. Junior and Senior High School. Interim Edition.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Gullekson, Dale
This manual has been prepared to help educators in Alberta, Canada, organize and operate a work experience program that provides meaningful learning experiences for junior and senior high school students in partnership with the community. The manual: (1) outlines the expectations of the work experience program, including benefits to students,…
Steeped in Study: Remote Canadian School District Approaches Professional Learning with a Passion
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Richardson, Joan
2005-01-01
Relationships and leadership, that, in a nutshell, is the vision of professional learning in the remote Northern Lights School Division in Alberta, Canada. This article describes the professional learning provided by Northern Lights, which has been building its capacity for teacher and leadership growth for more than 13 years. The division: (1)…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
McCardle, Elizabeth, Ed.
This unit on human rights designed for secondary students in Alberta, Canada includes both student and teacher manuals. Eleven chapters in the student manual examine what human rights are, the causes and effects of prejudice and discrimination, relevant laws, and social action. Each chapter includes readings followed by discussion questions and…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Collette, Pauline, Comp.; And Others
These proceedings contain 54 papers and an abstract of a panel discussion on women's issues in adult education that were presented at a conference on adult education research. The following are among the papers included: "Reducing Dropout in Distance Education" (Belawati); "Examination of the Validity of the Education Participation…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Brochu, Mireille
This report reviews and compares the impact of university support policies in Ontario to those of Quebec, Alberta, and British Columbia and proposes a framework to regenerate the research infrastructure of Ontario universities. It identifies erosion in Ontario's comparative and competitive position within Canada though Ontario still performs about…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. Curriculum Branch.
This planning and instructional manual is designed to assist teachers in implementing the 20 10-credit-hour courses that make up the 26-level occupational component of the Integrated Occupational Program (IOP) in Alberta, Canada. (The IOP was developed to assist students who experience difficulties in secondary education and to help students make…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. Curriculum Standards Branch.
This document contains materials for teachers to use in presenting the community health strand of the career and technology studies (CTS) program that has been approved for secondary schools in Alberta, Canada. The first three sections outline the philosophy/rationale, organization, and curriculum and assessment standards of the CTS program in…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Calgary Univ. (Alberta). Centre for Gifted Education.
This conference proceedings document on gifted education presents texts of the following papers, among others: "Developing Visual Literacy--Start It Young" (Kay Anderson); "Building Provincial Exams To Challenge the Gifted" (Dennis Belyk); "Advocacy and Lobbying: An Exercise in Persuasion" (Patricia Boyle); "Program Continuity and Curriculum…
Finding Ways to Teach to Students with FASD: A Research Study
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Edmonds, Kelly; Crichton, Susan
2008-01-01
This study examines a unique educational program designed for youth with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder [FASD] in Alberta, Canada. Care was taken to include the participants' voice in this case study resulting in key insights and strategies for working with youth and/or students struggling with FASD. Using observation notes, survey and interview…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. Language Services Branch.
Intended to aid teachers in charge of implementing drama programs, this guide (in French) is to be employed in conjunction with the "1992 Second Cycle Secondary Drama Program of Studies" (Alberta, Canada). The guide's sections are as follows: (1) Introduction; (2) L'Adolescent; (3) Securite (discussing both emotional and physical…
Computer Processing 10-20-30. Teacher's Manual. Senior High School Teacher Resource Manual.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Fisher, Mel; Lautt, Ray
Designed to help teachers meet the program objectives for the computer processing curriculum for senior high schools in the province of Alberta, Canada, this resource manual includes the following sections: (1) program objectives; (2) a flowchart of curriculum modules; (3) suggestions for short- and long-range planning; (4) sample lesson plans;…
You are what you eat: stable isotope ecology of owl diets in Alberta, Canada
James M. Duxbury; Geoffery L. Holroyd
1997-01-01
Stable isotope ratio analysis (SIRA) was used to analyze the trophic level of the diets of three owl species: Barred Owl (Strix varia), Northern Hawk Owl (Surnia ulula) and Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus). Barred Owl and Northern Hawk Owl had diets from a similar trophic level. Both the Barred Owl and...
Training "Expendable" Workers: Temporary Foreign Workers in Nursing
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Taylor, Alison; Foster, Jason; Cambre, Carolina
2012-01-01
The purpose of this article is to explore the experiences of Temporary Foreign Workers in health care in Alberta, Canada. In 2007-2008, one of the regional health authorities in the province responded to a shortage of workers by recruiting 510 health-care workers internationally; most were trained as Registered Nurses (RNs) in the Philippines.…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Gougeon, Thomas D.; Hutton, Susan I.
As part of a larger study of school system communication with second language parents in three Alberta (Canada) urban senior high schools, this study focused on analysis of interview data from teachers responding to questions on intercultural communication barriers and bridges with students and immigrant parents. Data were collected through 30…
Comprehensibility as a Factor in Listener Interaction Preferences: Implications for the Workplace
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Derwing, Tracey M; Munro, Murray J.
2009-01-01
Changing economic realities in Canada are likely to result in increased employment opportunities for immigrant professionals. In Alberta, where these changes have already begun, issues of language in the workplace have surfaced, some relating to oral skills. In this investigation of Canadian-born employees' preferences for 40 L2 accented voices,…
Management of a river recreation resource: the Lower Kananaskis River--a case study
Kimberley Rae; Paul F.J. Eagles
2008-01-01
This study examined recreational use of the Lower Kananaskis River in Southwestern Alberta, Canada. Surveys and participant observations helped develop a better understanding of current use levels and interviews with key policy leaders explored management issues and concerns. Users suggested the need for improvements to river infrastructure both on and off the river....
Seasonal Variation in Physical Activity among Preschool Children in a Northern Canadian City
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Carson, Valerie; Spence, John C.; Cutumisu, Nicoleta; Boule, Normand; Edwards, Joy
2010-01-01
Little research has examined seasonal differences in physical activity (PA) levels among children. Proxy reports of PA were completed by 1,715 parents on their children in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Total PA (TPA) minutes were calculated, and each participant was classified as active, somewhat active, or inactive. Logistic regression models were…
Grade 12 Diploma Examination. Examen en vue du diplome douzieme annee. Complete Set, January 1990.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton.
The Alberta (Canada) Department of Education issues "Grade 12 Diploma Examinations" for various disciplines every six months (dated January and June of each year). Except for the English and Francais examinations (which are issued only in their own language), the examinations are issued in an English edition and a French edition. The…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Univ., Edmonton.
The 33 papers presented at this conference are, as follows: "Child Participation in an Everyday Adult Practice" (Andrew Brent Andressen); "Education for Sustainable Development in Southern Philippines" (Caridad Bernardino); "Distance Education and Instructional Technologies: Cultural Transmission or Cultural Erosion"…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Baskett, H. K. Morris
A study to explore organizational conditions that facilitate workplace learning involved 35 resource development consultants in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and line staff from 22 organizations in a 9-hour participatory research workshop using Appreciative Inquiry--a technology emphasizing the positive or "life-giving" forces which…
Operation Minerva Rocky View: Mentoring Young Girls in Science.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Makosz, Jean; And Others
Operation Minerva is a science conference which originated in Calgary (Alberta, Canada) to provide young girls with positive experiences in math, the sciences, and technology. The program was adopted by a group of Rocky View teachers and parents who revised the program to meet the needs of their rural students. The program involved 40 eighth grade…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. Student Evaluation Branch.
These booklets are intended for students in Alberta, Canada, taking the Grade 12 Diploma Examinations in English 30. The readings booklet presents 7 reading selections from fiction and nonfiction literature. After instructions for students, the booklet presents: (1) Lance Morrow's essay "Metaphors of the World, Unite!"; (2) Carl…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton.
Intended for students taking the Grade 12 Examination in English 30 in Alberta, Canada, this reading test (to be administered along with a questions booklet) includes the following 10 short selections taken from fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama: "Parents as People (with Children)" (Ellen Goodman); "Everybody Knows about the…
Embracing the World: Indigenous Educators Join Hands To Share Gifts
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Ambler, Marjane
2005-01-01
When a dozen education leaders met in Alberta, Canada, in August 2002, they felt the familiar thrill of history being made. They had come to form a worldwide organization for indigenous higher education, and their excitement sustained them for 12-hour days etching the road map for a new organization. Despite differences in language, ethnicity,…
When Tests Dare to Be Progressive: Contradictions in the Classroom.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Willinsky, John; Bobie, Allen
Statewide competency testing as a high school graduation requirement represents a threat to those who encourage broad notions of reading and writing, even when a number of testing innovations in reading and writing mean a step forward in education. In Alberta, Canada, the English exam comes in a non-academic and an academic version, and…
Grade 12 Diploma Examination, English 30. Part B: Reading (Multiple Choice). Readings Booklet.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton.
Intended for students taking the Grade 12 Examination in English 30 in Alberta, Canada, this reading test (to be administered along with the questions booklet) contains 10 short reading selections taken from fiction, nonfiction, poetry and drama, including the following: "At the Age at Which Mozart Was Dead Already" (Ellen Goodman);…
A Rose by Any Other Name: Repressive Tolerance, Burnout, and Hope in the New West
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Lowan-Trudeau, Gregory
2016-01-01
In this article I reflexively explore my recent experiences as a Métis environmental activist, educator, and academic with the historic rise of the New Democratic Party in Alberta, Canada which was quickly followed by the victory of the federal Liberal Party, toppling conservative dynasties at both levels. This autoethnograhic inquiry also…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton.
This report provides a chronological overview of activities of the 1999 Minister's Forum. It summarizes the keynote speech, "Transforming Learning in the Knowledge Age" (Donald Norris), the discussion that occurred among the panelists, and the participants' responses to three topics during small group discussions. The report recaps topic…
The Shock and Vibration Digest. Volume 16, Number 2
1984-02-01
84-365 Forced Nonlinear Oacilationi of an Autoparametric Syitem - Part 1: Periodic Reqwnaes H. Hatwal,A.K. Mallik ,and A. Ghosh Univ. of Calgary...Hatwal, A.K. Mallik , and A. Ghosh Univ. of Calgary, 2500 University Dr., N.W., Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 1N4, J. Appl. Mech., Trans. ASME, 50 (3
De l'enseignement de la grammaire par l'Internet (Grammar Instruction using the Internet).
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Beaudoin, Martin
1998-01-01
Examines pedagogical advantages and limitations of the Internet for teaching French grammar, and shows how these factors were taken into consideration in creating a Web site at the University of Alberta (Canada), with special emphasis on the integration of exchanges between learners, and exchanges between learners and the virtual francophone…
Development and Evaluation of the "Thinking with LOGO" Curriculum.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Missiuna, Cheryl; And Others
This report describes a curriculum for the transfer of problem solving skills from the LOGO computer programming environment to the real world. This curriculum is being developed in the Calgary, Alberta, Canada schools for children in grades 1-6. The completed curriculum will consist of six units, one to be taught at each grade level: (1)…
Yu-Mei Hsu; Andrzej Bytnerowicz
2015-01-01
NO2 and SO2 are the primary pollutants produced by industrial facilities of the Athabasca Oil sand Region (AOSR), Alberta, Canada. The major emission sources are the upgrader stacks for SO2 and stacks, mine fleets and vehicles for NO2. After emitting from the sources, NO
H. M. Tory and the Secular University.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Creet, Mario
Henry Marshall Tory's role in influencing the establishment of provincial universities in Western Canada is traced. The following periods are discussed: Tory and McGill University in the 1890's, the University of Toronto Act in 1906, Tory and University of Alberta from 1906, and Tory in Ottawa in 1928 and 1938. In following the development of…
Teacher Education around the World: What Can We Learn from International Practice?
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Darling-Hammond, Linda
2017-01-01
This article describes teacher education in jurisdictions around the world that have well-developed systems for teacher development. It examines teacher education policies and practices in Australia (with a focus on Victoria and New South Wales), Canada (with a focus on Alberta and Ontario), Finland and Singapore within the context of recruitment,…
Development of Scales on Attitudes towards the World of Work. Technical Manual.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Maguire, Thomas O.; And Others
A study was commissioned to develop and validate a test to assess the attitudes of Alberta (Canada) students toward the world of work. An instrument was needed to examine the following five areas of concern: (1) attitudes toward earning a living; (2) perceptions about employer expectations; (3) perceptions about available opportunities; (4)…
Li, Vincent; Chui, Linda; Louie, Lisa; Simor, Andrew; Golding, George R.; Louie, Marie
2013-01-01
Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) is a valuable molecular typing assay used for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) surveillance and genotyping. However, there are several limitations associated with PFGE. In Alberta, Canada, the significant increase in the number of MRSA isolates submitted to the Provincial Laboratory for Public Health (ProvLab) for PFGE typing led to the need for an alternative genotyping method. In this study, we describe the transition from PFGE to Staphylococcus protein A (spa), Staphylococcal cassette chromosome (SCCmec), and Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) typing. A total of 1915 clinical MRSA isolates collected from 2005 to 2009 were used to develop and validate an algorithm for assigning PFGE epidemic types using spa, SCCmec, and PVL typing and the resulting data was used to populate a new Alberta MRSA typing database. An additional 12620 clinical MRSA isolates collected from 2010 to 2012 as part of ongoing routine molecular testing at ProvLab were characterized using the new typing algorithm and the Alberta MRSA typing database. Switching to spa, SCCmec, and PVL from PFGE typing substantially reduced hands-on and turn-around times while maintaining historical PFGE epidemic type designations. This led to an approximate $77,000 reduction in costs from 2010 to 2012. PFGE typing is still required for a small subset of MRSA isolates that have spa types that are rare, novel, or associated with more than one PFGE epidemic type. PMID:24244440
Provincial Variation of Cochlear Implantation Surgical Volumes and Cost in Canada.
Crowson, Matthew G; Chen, Joseph M; Tucci, Debara
2017-01-01
Objectives To investigate provincial cochlear implantation (CI) annual volume and cost trends. Study Design Database analysis. Setting National surgical volume and cost database. Subjects and Methods Aggregate-level provincial CI volumes and cost data for adult and pediatric CI surgery from 2005 to 2014 were obtained from the Canadian Institute for Health Information. Population-level aging forecast estimates were obtained from the Ontario Ministry of Finance and Statistics Canada. Linear fit, analysis of variance, and Tukey's analyses were utilized to compare variances and means. Results The national volume of annual CI procedures is forecasted to increase by <30 per year ( R 2 = 0.88). Ontario has the highest mean annual CI volume (282; 95% confidence interval, 258-308), followed by Alberta (92.0; 95% confidence interval, 66.3-118), which are significantly higher than all other provinces ( P < .05 for each). Ontario's annual CI procedure volume is forecasted to increase by <11 per year ( R 2 = 0.62). Newfoundland and Nova Scotia have the highest CI procedures per 100,000 residents as compared with all other provinces ( P < .05). Alberta, Newfoundland, and Manitoba have the highest estimated implantation cost of all provinces ( P < .05). Conclusions Historical trends of CI forecast modest national volume growth. Potential bottlenecks include provincial funding and access to surgical expertise. The proportion of older adult patients who may benefit from a CI will rise, and there may be insufficient capacity to meet this need. Delayed access to CI for pediatric patients is also a concern, given recent reports of long wait times for CI surgery.
Young, Rozlyn F; Michel, Lorelei Martínez; Fedorak, Phillip M
2011-05-01
Naphthenic acids, which have a variety of commercial applications, occur naturally in conventional crude oil and in highly biodegraded petroleum such as that found in the Athabasca oil sands in Alberta, Canada. Oil sands extraction is done using a caustic aqueous extraction process. The alkaline pH releases the naphthenic acids from the oil sands and dissolves them into water as their soluble naphthenate forms, which are anionic surfactants. These aqueous extracts contain concentrations of naphthenates that are acutely lethal to fishes and other aquatic organisms. Previous research has shown that naphthenic acids can be taken up by fish, but the distribution of these acids in various tissues of the fish has not been determined. In this study, rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were exposed to commercial (Merichem) naphthenic acids in the laboratory. After a 10-d exposure to approximately 3mg naphthenic acids/L, the fish were dissected and samples of gills, heart, liver, kidney, muscle, and eggs were extracted and analyzed for free (unconjugated) naphthenic acids by a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method. Each of the tissues contained naphthenic acids and non-parametric statistical analyses showed that gills and livers contained higher concentrations than the muscles and that the livers had higher concentrations than the hearts. Four different species of fish (two fish of each species) were collected from the Athabasca River near two oil sands mining and extraction operations. No free naphthenic acids were detected in the muscle or liver of these fish. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Thanh, Nguyen Xuan; Jonsson, Egon
2014-01-01
To estimate the annual health services utilization (HSU) cost per person with FASD by sex and age; the lifetime HSU cost per person with FASD by sex, and the annual HSU cost of FASD for Alberta by sex. The HSU costs of FASD including physician, outpatient, and inpatient services were described by sex and age. The costs per person-year were estimated by multiplying the average number of hospitalizations, outpatient visits, and physician visits per person-year by the average cost of each service. The annual HSU cost of FASD for Alberta was estimated by multiplying the annual HSU cost per person with FASD by the number of people living with FASD in Alberta in 2012. The lifetime HSU cost per person with FASD was estimated by sex for several lifespans ranging from 10 to 70 years. The annual cost of HSU for people with FASD in Alberta was $259 million, of which FAS accounted for 26%. The annual HSU cost per person with FAS and FASD were $6,200 and $5,600, respectively. The incremental annual HSU cost per person with FAS is $4,100 and with FASD is $3,400 as compared to the general population. The lifetime (70 years) HSU cost per person with FAS was $506,000 and with FASD was $245,000. Males had higher HSU costs than females. HSU costs of FAS and FASD varied greatly by age group. The findings suggest that FASD is a public health issue in Alberta and can be used for economic evaluations of FASD intervention and/or prevention in the province.
Quetiapine use in adults in the community: a population-based study in Alberta, Canada.
Duncan, Diane; Cooke, Lara; Symonds, Chris; Gardner, David; Pringsheim, Tamara
2016-03-21
The objective of this study was to evaluate trends in prescribing of the second-generation antipsychotic medication quetiapine to adults in the province of Alberta from 2008 to 2013 through examination of dispensed prescriptions, and diagnoses associated with users of quetiapine in 2013. We analysed administrative data from Alberta Health; the Alberta Pharmaceutical Information Network (PIN) Dispenses health data set, the Practitioner Payments (Fee-For-Service claims) health data set and the Population Registry health data set. These data sets allowed us to identify discrete quetiapine recipients for each calendar year from 2008 to 2013. To evaluate diagnoses associated with users of quetiapine, we evaluated diagnostic codes used by physicians in billings claims in 2013. Quetiapine use increased over the 6-year time period studied. In 2008, there were 16,087 unique quetiapine recipients in Alberta (7.2 per 1000). By 2013, there were 35,314 unique quetiapine recipients (13.3 per 1000). Use by women was higher than men at all time points. Depression was most common diagnosis associated with quetiapine recipients, which was present in 56% of users of quetiapine. Other common diagnoses associated with quetiapine use included neurotic disorders, bipolar disorder and sleep disturbances. The current study of quetiapine use in the province of Alberta provides confirmatory data of the increasing use of quetiapine for the treatment of depression and anxiety disorders. Safe and rational prescribing practices must be encouraged in light of the modest advantages of quetiapine over no treatment as an adjunctive treatment of major depression, and the known harms of this medication. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/
Berenger, Byron M; Berry, Chrystal; Peterson, Trevor; Fach, Patrick; Delannoy, Sabine; Li, Vincent; Tschetter, Lorelee; Nadon, Celine; Honish, Lance; Louie, Marie; Chui, Linda
2015-01-01
A standardised method for determining Escherichia coli O157:H7 strain relatedness using whole genome sequencing or virulence gene profiling is not yet established. We sought to assess the capacity of either high-throughput polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of 49 virulence genes, core-genome single nt variants (SNVs) or k-mer clustering to discriminate between outbreak-associated and sporadic E. coli O157:H7 isolates. Three outbreaks and multiple sporadic isolates from the province of Alberta, Canada were included in the study. Two of the outbreaks occurred concurrently in 2014 and one occurred in 2012. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and multilocus variable-number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA) were employed as comparator typing methods. The virulence gene profiles of isolates from the 2012 and 2014 Alberta outbreak events and contemporary sporadic isolates were mostly identical; therefore the set of virulence genes chosen in this study were not discriminatory enough to distinguish between outbreak clusters. Concordant with PFGE and MLVA results, core genome SNV and k-mer phylogenies clustered isolates from the 2012 and 2014 outbreaks as distinct events. k-mer phylogenies demonstrated increased discriminatory power compared with core SNV phylogenies. Prior to the widespread implementation of whole genome sequencing for routine public health use, issues surrounding cost, technical expertise, software standardisation, and data sharing/comparisons must be addressed.
Topography- and nightlight-based national flood risk assessment in Canada
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Elshorbagy, Amin; Bharath, Raja; Lakhanpal, Anchit; Ceola, Serena; Montanari, Alberto; Lindenschmidt, Karl-Erich
2017-04-01
In Canada, flood analysis and water resource management, in general, are tasks conducted at the provincial level; therefore, unified national-scale approaches to water-related problems are uncommon. In this study, a national-scale flood risk assessment approach is proposed and developed. The study focuses on using global and national datasets available with various resolutions to create flood risk maps. First, a flood hazard map of Canada is developed using topography-based parameters derived from digital elevation models, namely, elevation above nearest drainage (EAND) and distance from nearest drainage (DFND). This flood hazard mapping method is tested on a smaller area around the city of Calgary, Alberta, against a flood inundation map produced by the city using hydraulic modelling. Second, a flood exposure map of Canada is developed using a land-use map and the satellite-based nightlight luminosity data as two exposure parameters. Third, an economic flood risk map is produced, and subsequently overlaid with population density information to produce a socioeconomic flood risk map for Canada. All three maps of hazard, exposure, and risk are classified into five classes, ranging from very low to severe. A simple way to include flood protection measures in hazard estimation is also demonstrated using the example of the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba. This could be done for the entire country if information on flood protection across Canada were available. The evaluation of the flood hazard map shows that the topography-based method adopted in this study is both practical and reliable for large-scale analysis. Sensitivity analysis regarding the resolution of the digital elevation model is needed to identify the resolution that is fine enough for reliable hazard mapping, but coarse enough for computational tractability. The nightlight data are found to be useful for exposure and risk mapping in Canada; however, uncertainty analysis should be conducted to investigate the effect of the overglow phenomenon on flood risk mapping.
Regional drought-induced reduction in the biomass carbon sink of Canada's boreal forests.
Ma, Zhihai; Peng, Changhui; Zhu, Qiuan; Chen, Huai; Yu, Guirui; Li, Weizhong; Zhou, Xiaolu; Wang, Weifeng; Zhang, Wenhua
2012-02-14
The boreal forests, identified as a critical "tipping element" of the Earth's climate system, play a critical role in the global carbon budget. Recent findings have suggested that terrestrial carbon sinks in northern high-latitude regions are weakening, but there has been little observational evidence to support the idea of a reduction of carbon sinks in northern terrestrial ecosystems. Here, we estimated changes in the biomass carbon sink of natural stands throughout Canada's boreal forests using data from long-term forest permanent sampling plots. We found that in recent decades, the rate of biomass change decreased significantly in western Canada (Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba), but there was no significant trend for eastern Canada (Ontario and Quebec). Our results revealed that recent climate change, and especially drought-induced water stress, is the dominant cause of the observed reduction in the biomass carbon sink, suggesting that western Canada's boreal forests may become net carbon sources if the climate change-induced droughts continue to intensify.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton.
Intended for students taking the English 30 Grade 12 Diploma Examinations in Alberta, Canada, this test (to be administered along with a questions booklet) contains the reading selections portion of Part B, the reading component of the June 1988 tests. Representing the genres of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama, the 10 selections consist of:…
Grade 12 Diploma Examination Social Studies 30.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. Student Evaluation and Data Processing Branch.
This grade 12 Diploma Examination for Alberta (Canada) Social Studies 30 booklet is divided in two parts. Part A consists of 70 multiple-choice questions worth 70 percent of the total score. Part B consists of the written response section worth 30 percent of the total. The student must choose one of two topics for the essay. The essay scores are…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Pellerin, Martine
2014-01-01
This article examines how the use of mobile technologies (iPods and tablets) in language classrooms contributes to redesigning task-based approaches for young language learners. The article is based on a collaborative action research (CAR) project in Early French Immersion classrooms in the province of Alberta, Canada. The data collection included…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Jordahl, Ron, Ed.
This document reports a survey instituted to compare the attitudes of students at a Christian college (Prairie Bible College) in Alberta, Canada with those of college students in general concerning the possible use of genetic manipulation. Comparison was made with the findings of a 1990 study by Geremia Veglia, et al., "Public Attitudes…
1977-09-01
Ibrahim , Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA and E.C. Mikulcik, _ 9 The University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada LABORATORY IDENTIFICATION OF...existed for a shaker control application. We only had to write a "GP DAP " program to make it a calculator-type program. S S. ". Voice: What are the
Junior High School Students' Career Plans for the Future: A Canadian Perspective
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Bardick, Angela D.; Bernes, Kerry B.; Magnusson, Kris C.; Witko, Kim D.
2006-01-01
This study uses the Comprehensive Career Needs Survey to assess the career plans of junior high school students in Southern Alberta, Canada. Junior high students are asked (a) what they plan to do after they leave high school; (b) their confidence in finding an occupation they enjoy, obtaining training or education, and finding work in their…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Baskett, H. K., Ed.; Taylor, W. H., Ed.
This publication contains addresses on continuing professional education given at a conference at the University of Calgary (Canada) in October, 1980. Themes of the conference speakers included the need for continuing professional education and the content and delivery of such education. In an opening address, J. Roby Kidd discussed the meaning of…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton.
Intended for students taking the English 33 Grade 12 Diploma Examinations in Alberta, Canada, this test (to be administered along with a questions booklet) contains the reading selections portion of Part B, the reading component of the June 1988 tests. The following short selections taken from fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, and day-to-day…
Long distance movement by a coyote within the Rocky Mountains
Jay A. Kolbe; John R. Squires
2004-01-01
We documented a long distance movement of a juvenile male coyote (Canis latrines) between February 2002 and February 2003. The radiocollared coyote, last located in west central Montana, U.S.A. traveled â¥310 km to southwestern Alberta, Canada where it was trapped. This is the longest documented movement by a coyote in western North America.
Brian Strom; Sheri Smith; D.A. Wakarchuk
2008-01-01
The mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins 1902, is found in pine forests throughout the western U.S., north to northern British Columbia and Alberta, Canada and south to Mexico. It causes high levels of pine mortality throughout its range. Hosts include many species of Pinus (Pinaceae); in northern California,
Problem Solving in Mathematics: Focus for the Future. 1987. Senior High School Monograph.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. Curriculum Branch.
This monograph was developed with the intention of addressing the concerns of high school mathematics teachers in Alberta (Canada) who want to base their programs on problem solving but have questions about effective and efficient ways to do so. Considered are the most basic philosophical questions, and a framework is provided to use in solving…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Society for the Advancement of Gifted Education, Calgary (Alberta).
These conference proceedings consider the unique needs of gifted and talented individuals, focusing on state-of-the-art knowledge regarding school reform initiatives, cooperative learning, creative achievement, social-emotional development, differentiated curriculum, charter schools, and parenting issues. Summaries are provided of the following…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Groen, Janet
2005-01-01
Earl Shorris launched his presentation to 20 potential applicants for his newly developed humanities course directed toward the poor and disenfranchised in New York City. Since this inaugural course in New York, the Clemente Course has been launched in numerous centres across the United States, Canada, Australia, and Mexico. The course is named…
The Ability of Grade 5 Students To Use Radarsat Satellite Images.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Kirman, Joseph M.; Busby, Stephanie
2000-01-01
A study examined the ability of 32 grade-5 students in Alberta (Canada) to interpret Radarsat satellite radar images. The students were able to interpret most elements of the images, but working directly with the CD-ROM proved too difficult for them. The Radarsat images have limited value as a geographic resource at the grade-5 level. (TD)
The development of the ''Sleeping Giant'' deep basin natural gas, Alberta Canada
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Bowman, D.L.
1984-02-01
During the past seven years attention has been focused on ''mega'' projects and the frontier areas for continental energy self sufficiency. However, a giant conventional resource project has been developing without fanfare. This project has potential impact on the well being of Canada and the North American energy scene. This ''Sleeping Giant'', which delivered its initial sales gas on November 1, 1979 is the Alberta (Elmworth) Deep Basin. The project area covers 67,400 square km (26,000 square miles) and contains potentially hydrocarbon bearing sediments over a thickness of 4,572 meters (15,000 feet). This basin is best equated in terms ofmore » size and reserves to the famous San Juan Basin. Since its discovery in 1976 approximately 1,000 multi-zoned gas wells have been drilled and reserves in the order of 140,000 10/sup 6/m/sup 3/ (5 trillion cubic feet) have been recognized by gas purchasers. Ten gas plants have been constructed with capacity of roughly 28,174 10/sup 3/m/sup 3/ (1 billion cubic feet) per day. This paper documents the development of these reserves and the stages in the construction of field facilities.« less
Current and future water issues in the Oldman River Basin of Alberta, Canada.
Byrne, J; Kienzle, S; Johnson, D; Duke, G; Gannon, V; Selinger, B; Thomas, J
2006-01-01
Long-term trends in alpine and prairie snow pack accumulation and melt are affecting streamflow within the Oldman River Basin in southern Alberta, Canada. Unchecked rural and urban development also has contributed to changes in water quality, including enhanced microbial populations and increased waterborne pathogen occurrence. In this study we look at changing environment within the Oldman River Basin and its impact on water quality and quantity. The cumulative effects include a decline in net water supplies, and declining quality resulting in increased risk of disease. Our data indicates that decreases in the rate of flow of water can result in sedimentation of bacterial contaminants within the water column. Water for ecosystems, urban consumption, recreation and distribution through irrigation is often drawn from waterholding facilities such as dams and weirs, and concern must be expressed over the potential for contaminate build-up and disproportionate potential of these structures to pose a risk to human and animal health. With disruption of natural flow rates for water resulting from environmental change such as global warming and/or human intervention, increased attention needs to be paid to use of best management practices to protect source water supplies.
Bohaychuk, Valerie M.; Gensler, Gary E.; Barrios, Pablo Romero
2011-01-01
In 2006 and 2007 beef and pork carcass swabs from provincially inspected abattoirs in Alberta, Canada were tested to determine the levels of total aerobic bacteria, coliform bacteria, and generic Escherichia coli, and the prevalence of Salmonella spp., Campylobacter spp., and Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC). Swabs from beef and pork carcasses from 48 and 34 facilities, respectively, were analyzed. All samples tested were positive for aerobic bacteria with 99.8% of beef and 96.0% of pork samples, having total counts of ≤ 100 000 CFU/cm2. Coliform bacteria were isolated from 22.4% and 42.0% of beef and pork carcass samples, respectively. Generic E. coli were recovered from 14.6% of beef and 33.7% of pork carcass samples. For beef carcasses, positive tests were obtained for 0.1% of 1036 samples tested for Salmonella spp., 1.5% of 1022 samples tested for Campylobacter spp. and 5.4% of 1018 samples tested for STEC. For pork carcasses, positive tests were obtained for 1.6 % of 1076 samples tested for Salmonella spp., 8.8% of 1070 samples tested for Campylobacter spp. and 4.8% of 1067 samples tested for STEC. PMID:22467964
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Tak, Heewon; Choi, Jaewon; Jo, Sohyun; Hwang, Sukyeon
2017-04-01
Stress anisotropy analysis is important for estimating both stress regime and fracture geometry for the efficient development of unconventional resources. Despite being within the same play, different areas can have different stress regimes, which can affect drilling decisions. The Montney play is located in Canada between British Columbia and Alberta. In British Columbia it is known for its ductile shale and high horizontal stress anisotropy because of the Rocky Mountains; however, in Alberta, it has different geological characteristics with some studies finding weak horizontal stress anisotropy. Therefore, we studied the horizontal stress anisotropy using full azimuth seismic and well data in the Kakwa area in order to establish a drilling plan. Minimal horizontal anisotropy was discovered within the area and the direction of maximum horizontal anisotropy corresponded with the regional scale (i.e., NE-SW). The induced fractures were assumed to have a normal stress regime because of the large depth (> 3000 m). Additionally, because of the very high brittleness (Young's modulus > 9) and relatively weak horizontal stress anisotropy, the fracture geometry in the Kakwa area was estimated as complex or complex planar, as opposed to simply planar.
Perceptions of Healthy Eating in Four Alberta Communities: A Photovoice Project
Hammer, Brent A.; Vallianatos, Helen; Nieuwendyk, Laura M.
2016-01-01
Peoples’ perceptions of healthy eating are influenced by the cultural context in which they occur. Despite this general acceptance by health practitioners and social scientists, studies suggest that there remains a relative homogeneity around peoples’ perceptions that informs a hegemonic discourse around healthy eating. People often describe healthy eating in terms of learned information from sources that reflect societies’ norms and values, such as the Canada Food Guide and the ubiquitous phrase “fruits and vegetables”. Past research has examined how built environments shape people’s access to healthy living options, such as distribution of grocers versus convenience stores and fast food restaurants. Often overlooked is an in-depth understanding of how social contexts interact with built environments, molding peoples’ perceptions of healthy eating. This paper reports on perceptions of healthy eating in four communities across Alberta, Canada. A photovoice methodology was employed to elicit perceptions of healthy eating with 35 participants. This study illustrates how participants’ photographs and their stories convey multiple meanings about healthy eating within their own lives and communities. Findings suggest that a ‘local’ context is an important part of the discourse centered around the promotion of healthy eating practices in these and potential other communities. PMID:27390390
Perceptions of Healthy Eating in Four Alberta Communities: A Photovoice Project.
Hammer, Brent A; Vallianatos, Helen; Nykiforuk, Candace; Nieuwendyk, Laura M
2015-01-23
Peoples' perceptions of healthy eating are influenced by the cultural context in which they occur. Despite this general acceptance by health practitioners and social scientists, studies suggest that there remains a relative homogeneity around peoples' perceptions that informs a hegemonic discourse around healthy eating. People often describe healthy eating in terms of learned information from sources that reflect societies' norms and values, such as the Canada Food Guide and the ubiquitous phrase "fruits and vegetables". Past research has examined how built environments shape people's access to healthy living options, such as distribution of grocers versus convenience stores and fast food restaurants. Often overlooked is an in-depth understanding of how social contexts interact with built environments, molding peoples' perceptions of healthy eating. This paper reports on perceptions of healthy eating in four communities across Alberta, Canada. A photovoice methodology was employed to elicit perceptions of healthy eating with 35 participants. This study illustrates how participants' photographs and their stories convey multiple meanings about healthy eating within their own lives and communities. Findings suggest that a 'local' context is an important part of the discourse centered around the promotion of healthy eating practices in these and potential other communities.
Health disparities in chickenpox or shingles in Alberta?
Russell, M L; Schopflocher, D P; Svenson, L W
2008-01-01
Exploring for evidence of socio-economic health disparities in chickenpox and shingles in Alberta, Canada. Chickenpox and shingles cases were identified from administrative data from Alberta's universal health care insurance system for 1994-2002. Incident cases were those with the earliest dated utilization of a health service (chickenpox: ICD9-CM 052/ICD10-CA B01; shingles: ICD9-CM 053/ ICD10-CA B02). Crude and age-specific rates were estimated for each year by an indicator of socio-demographic status based upon the nature of the payer and eligibility for health care premium subsidy (SES-proxy) for the provincial health care insurance system. Among young children there is a gradient of disparity in chickenpox rates prior to the year in which publicly funded vaccination programs were implemented. After this point, disparities decline but less so for First Nations children than for others. There was no evidence of disparity by SES-proxy for shingles. Publicly funded vaccination programs may effectively contribute to reduction in disease disparities for vaccine-preventable diseases. Further study is required to ascertain why disparities continue for First Nations children.
Sage-grouse habitat selection during winter in Alberta
Carpenter, Jennifer L.; Aldridge, Cameron L.; Boyce, Mark S.
2010-01-01
Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) are dependent on sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) for food and shelter during winter, yet few studies have assessed winter habitat selection, particularly at scales applicable to conservation planning. Small changes to availability of winter habitats have caused drastic reductions in some sage-grouse populations. We modeled winter habitat selection by sage-grouse in Alberta, Canada, by using a resource selection function. Our purpose was to 1) generate a robust winter habitat-selection model for Alberta sage-grouse; 2) spatially depict habitat suitability in a Geographic Information System to identify areas with a high probability of selection and thus, conservation importance; and 3) assess the relative influence of human development, including oil and gas wells, in landscape models of winter habitat selection. Terrain and vegetation characteristics, sagebrush cover, anthropogenic landscape features, and energy development were important in top Akaike's Information Criterionselected models. During winter, sage-grouse selected dense sagebrush cover and homogenous less rugged areas, and avoided energy development and 2-track truck trails. Sage-grouse avoidance of energy development highlights the need for comprehensive management strategies that maintain suitable habitats across all seasons. ?? 2010 The Wildlife Society.
Chai, Shauna-Lee; Zhang, Jian; Nixon, Amy; Nielsen, Scott
2016-01-01
Accounting for climate change in invasive species risk assessments improves our understanding of potential future impacts and enhances our preparedness for the arrival of new non-native species. We combined traditional risk assessment for invasive species with habitat suitability modeling to assess risk to biodiversity based on climate change. We demonstrate our method by assessing the risk for 15 potentially new invasive plant species to Alberta, Canada, an area where climate change is expected to facilitate the poleward expansion of invasive species ranges. Of the 15 species assessed, the three terrestrial invasive plant species that could pose the greatest threat to Alberta's biodiversity are giant knotweed (Fallopia sachalinensis), tamarisk (Tamarix chinensis), and alkali swainsonpea (Sphaerophysa salsula). We characterise giant knotweed as 'extremely invasive', with 21 times the suitable habitat between baseline and future projected climate. Tamarisk is 'extremely invasive' with a 64% increase in suitable habitat, and alkali swainsonpea is 'highly invasive' with a 21% increase in suitable habitat. Our methodology can be used to predict and prioritise potentially new invasive species for their impact on biodiversity in the context of climate change.
Suarez-Almazor, M E; Flowerdew, G; Saunders, L D; Soskolne, C L; Russell, A S
1993-01-01
OBJECTIVES. The purpose of this study was to compare hip fracture hospitalization rates between a fluoridated and a non-fluoridated community in Alberta, Canada: Edmonton, which has had fluoridated drinking water since 1967, and Calgary, which considered fluoridation in 1991 but is currently revising this decision. METHODS. Case subjects were all individuals aged 45 years or older residing in Edmonton or Calgary who were admitted to hospitals in Alberta between January 1, 1981, and December 31, 1987, and who had a discharge diagnosis of hip fracture. Edmonton rates were compared with Calgary rates, with adjustment for age and sex using the Edmonton population as a standard. RESULTS. The hip fracture hospitalization rate for Edmonton from 1981 through 1987 was 2.77 per 1000 person-years. The age-sex standardized rate for Calgary was 2.78 per 1000 person-years. No statistically significant difference was observed in the overall rate, and only minor differences were observed within age and sex subgroups, with the Edmonton rates being higher in males. CONCLUSIONS. These findings suggest that fluoridation of drinking water has no impact, neither beneficial nor deleterious, on the risk of hip fracture. PMID:8484450
The Paradox of Excess Nitrogen in Boreal Peatlands: Biogeochemical Gaps in Nitrogen Cycling Revealed
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Vile, M. A.; Prsa, T.; Wieder, R.; Lamers, L. P.
2011-12-01
Globally, peatlands cover 3-4 % of the Earth's land surface (over 4 million km 2, yet they store 25-30 % of the world's soil carbon (C) and 9-16% of the world's soil nitrogen (N, 8-15 Pg) in peat. As in other terrestrial ecosystems, the cycling of C and N is closely linked, especially for ombrotrophic bogs. Bogs receive nutrient and water exclusively from the atmosphere, which ensures an N-limited, nutrient-poor habitat. In Alberta, NW Canada, peatlands have received exceptionally low atmospheric inputs of N (< 1 7 kg/ha/yr) from their first introduction on the landscape ~ 7000 yrs bp, up to the present time. Paradoxically, despite these low inputs of atmospheric N deposition, bases on 210-fixation Pb dating of peat cores, we have shown that over the past 50 years these bogs have accumulated approximately 11-21 times more N in peat than can be explained by inputs of atmospheric N. A likely missing input is N2-fixation from cyanobacteria associated with Sphagnum mosses, however this process has been largely overlooked in boreal peatlands. Here we demonstrate the importance of N2-fixation in explaining the high accumulation rates of N found in unpolluted, boreal bogs of western Canada. Calibrated (using theoretical ratio of 1.5-3:1) rates of N2-fixation for 4 bogs in northern Alberta ranged from 1.6 to 8.0 ± 0.7 kg/ha/yr, indicating that 42-58 % of the N accumulated over in peat, can be attributed to biological N2-fixation. Although most of northern Alberta's peatlands continue to receive exceptionally low atmospheric N deposition rates, over the last 3 decades, rapid development and industrial expansion of Alberta's Oil Sands Mining (OSM) potentially threaten the pristine nature of peatlands through regionally elevated deposition of N-compounds (NOx). Prior to OSM, N inputs to bogs were limited exclusively to (1) biological N fixation, and (2) bulk background deposition. We examined the response of peatlands located in the OSM area to enhanced N deposition. Despite the large accumulation rates of N in peat, mean N:P ratios in Sphagnum moss capitula (11.0 ± 3.4; mean ± stdev) suggest that peat of boreal western Canada is still severely N limited and not limited by phosphorus. Collectively, these data underscore the severity of N-limitation in pristine bogs and their potential sensitivity to increased N inputs from oils sands mining. Additionally, because the majority of the data generated for N stress in peatlands is from eastern Canada and western Europe, we stress the need to encompass the response of bogs to N deposition within the bounds of the low N deposition gradient. We postulate the loss of symbiosis between Sphagnum and N-fixing microorganisms (cyanobacteria, bacteria) in nitrogen-polluted areas, and indicate its consequences at the species level (trade-off) and ecosystem level (including C sequestration).
Page, Stacey A; Grod, Jaroslaw P; McMorland, D Gordon
2011-09-01
The purpose of this study is to describe the practices and perspectives of doctors of chiropractic in Alberta, Canada, regarding the sale of health products. This practice is considered in terms of ethical principles and professional practice standards. Chiropractic Web sites in Alberta were identified using the publically available Web site of the Alberta College and Association of Chiropractors. A random sample of chiropractors was drawn and mailed a brief 4-page survey and return envelope. There was a follow-up mail out to nonrespondents 3 weeks later. Practitioners provided responses regarding their personal and professional characteristics and their perspectives and practices regarding health product sales. A total of 265 responses were received (response rate, 51.2%). Most practitioners endorsed health product sales by chiropractors (95%), and most were engaged in the practice (89%). Orthotics (77%) and pillows (69%) were sold most often, followed by nutritional supplements (68%), hot/cold packs (68%), and vitamins (52%). Some respondents identified areas of potential ethical concern, including product safety and efficacy, professional influence on consumer product purchase, and potential conflict of interest. Codes of ethics and conduct offer some guidance to practitioners, but their awareness of standards varied. The chiropractic profession within Alberta condones product sales, and most of its membership engages in the practice. Individual members differ in their perspectives on this practice and in their awareness of the national code of ethics and conduct. Copyright © 2011 National University of Health Sciences. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.
Some implications of legalized substitution of prescribed pharmaceuticals.
PARKER, J M
1962-12-22
In April 1962 the Alberta Government passed legislation permitting a pharmacist to substitute drugs on a written medical prescription unless the doctor indicated otherwise. The intent was stated to be in the interests of cheaper drugs for the people of Alberta. The legality of this legislature has been questioned in Federal courts of law. The legislation has been formally criticized by the official representatives of medicine and pharmacy on the ground that indiscriminate substitution of drugs is not in the public interest until such time as the quality of all available drugs is assured by governmental or other authoritative agency. It is not within the function of the Food and Drug Directorate to guarantee the quality of drugs sold in Canada, this assurance normally being provided in the trade mark adopted by the manufacturer.
2012-01-01
Background Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of death in Canada and is a priority area for medical research. The research funding landscape in Canada has changed quite a bit over the last few decades, as have funding levels. Our objective was to estimate the magnitude of expenditures on CVD research for the public and charitable (not-for profit) sectors in Canada between 1975 and 2005. Methods To estimate research expenditures for the public and charitable sectors, we compiled a complete list of granting agencies in Canada, contacted each agency and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), and extracted data from the organizations’ annual reports and the Reference Lists of health research in Canada. Two independent reviewers scanned all grant and fellowship/scholarship titles (and summary/key words, when available) of all research projects funded to determine their inclusion in our analysis; only grants and fellowships/scholarships that focused on heart and peripheral vascular diseases were selected. Results Public/charitable sector funding increased 7.5 times, from close to $13 million (in constant dollars) in 1975 to almost $96 million (in constant dollars) in 2005 (base year). The Medical Research Council of Canada (MRCC)/CIHR and the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada have been the main founders of this type of research during our analysis period; the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research and the Fonds de la recherche en santé du Quebec have played major roles at the provincial level. The Indirect Costs Research Program and Canada Foundation for Innovation have played major roles in terms of funding in the last years of our analysis. Conclusion Public/charitable-funded research expenditures devoted to CVD have increased substantially over the last three decades. By international standards, the evidence suggests Canada spends less on health-related research than the UK and the US, at least in absolute terms. However, this may not be too problematic as Canada is likely to free-ride from research undertaken elsewhere. Understanding these past trends in research funding may provide decision makers with important information for planning future research efforts. Future work in this area should include the use of our coding methods to obtain estimates of funded research for other diseases in Canada. PMID:22929001
Canada: irrational energy policies
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Paehlke, R.C.
1982-09-01
Despite energy shortages, recent weeks have seen the collapse or at least postponement of three major energy projects in Canada: the Cold Lake (Alberta) heavy oil plant, the Alsands oil sands plant, and the Alaska Highway natural gas pipeline. All have fallen victim to the combination of high interest rates and increasing doubts that oil prices will continue to rise at an annual rate of five percent in real terms. Current energy problems and policies are discussed including decline of oil reserves, expanded domestic use and export of Canadian natural gas, expansion of the nuclear energy program, demand for electricity,more » and energy conservation. (JMT)« less
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
NONE
1998-09-01
Shell Canada Ltd. applied to the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board for a license to drill a deviated sour gas exploration well from a location in the Kananaskis Country Recreation Area. This report presents the views of Shell, the Board, and various intervenors at a hearing held to consider matters related to the application. Issues discussed include the need for the well, the surface location of the well, access management, environmental impacts, the need for an environmental assessment, and public safety. The report concludes with the Board`s decision and conditions for approval.
Comprehensive survey of household radon gas levels and risk factors in southern Alberta
Stanley, Fintan K.T.; Zarezadeh, Siavash; Dumais, Colin D.; Dumais, Karin; MacQueen, Renata; Clement, Fiona; Goodarzi, Aaron A.
2017-01-01
Background: The inhalation of naturally occurring radon (222Rn) gas from indoor air exposes lung tissue to α-particle bombardment, a highly mutagenic form of ionizing radiation that damages DNA and increases the lifetime risk of lung cancer. We analyzed household radon concentrations and risk factors in southern Alberta, including Calgary, the third-largest Canadian metropolis. Methods: A total of 2382 residential homes (2018 in Calgary and 364 in surrounding townships) from an area encompassing 82% of the southern Alberta population were tested for radon, per Health Canada guidelines, for at least 90 days (median 103 d) between 2013 and 2016. Participants also provided home metrics (construction year, build type, foundation type, and floor and room of deployment of the radon detector) via an online survey. Homes that were subsequently remediated were retested to determine the efficacy of radon reduction techniques in the region. Results: The average indoor air radon level was 126 Bq/m3, which equates to an effective absorbed radiation dose of 3.2 mSv/yr. A total of 1135 homes (47.6%) had levels of 100 Bq/m3 or higher, and 295 homes (12.4%) had levels of 200 Bq/m3 or higher; the range was less than 15 Bq/m3 to 3441 Bq/m3. Homes built in 1992 or later had radon levels 31.5% higher, on average, than older homes (mean 142 Bq/m3 v. 108 Bq/m3). For 90 homes with an average radon level of 575 Bq/m3 before mitigation, radon suppression successfully reduced levels to an average of 32.5 Bq/m3. Interpretation: Our findings show that radon exposure is a genuine public health concern in southern Alberta, suggest that modern building practices are associated with increased indoor air radon accumulation, legitimatize efforts to understand the consequences of radon exposure to the public, and suggest that radon testing and mitigation are likely to be impactful cancer prevention strategies. PMID:28401142
Tyner, David R; Johnson, Matthew R
2014-12-16
A comprehensive technical analysis of available industry-reported well activity and production data for Alberta in 2011 has been used to derive flaring, venting, and diesel combustion greenhouse gas and criteria air contaminant emission factors specifically linked to drilling, completion, and operation of hydraulically fractured natural gas wells. Analysis revealed that in-line ("green") completions were used at approximately 53% of wells completed in 2011, and in other cases the majority (99.5%) of flowback gases were flared rather than vented. Comparisons with limited analogous data available in the literature revealed that reported total flared and vented natural gas volumes attributable to tight gas well-completions were ∼ 6 times larger than Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) estimates for natural gas well-completion based on wells ca. 2000, but 62% less than an equivalent emission factor that can be derived from U.S. EPA data. Newly derived emission factors for diesel combustion during well drilling and completion are thought to be among the first such data available in the open literature, where drilling-related emissions for tight gas wells drilled in Alberta in 2011 were found to have increased by a factor of 2.8 relative to a typical well drilled in Canada in 2000 due to increased drilling lengths. From well-by-well analysis of production phase flared, vented, and fuel usage natural gas volumes reported at 3846 operating tight gas wells in 2011, operational emission factors were developed. Overall results highlight the importance of operational phase GHG emissions at upstream well sites (including on-site natural gas fuel use), and the critical levels of uncertainty in current estimates of liquid unloading emissions.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Pigeon, Karine E.; Anderson, Meghan; MacNearney, Doug; Cranston, Jerome; Stenhouse, Gordon; Finnegan, Laura
2016-11-01
Populations of boreal and southern mountain caribou in Alberta, Canada, are declining, and the ultimate cause of their decline is believed to be anthropogenic disturbance. Linear features are pervasive across the landscape, and of particular importance, seismic lines established in the 1900s (legacy seismic lines) are slow to regenerate. Off-highway vehicles are widely used on these seismic lines and can hamper vegetative re-growth because of ongoing physical damage, compaction, and active clearing. Restoration of seismic lines within caribou range is therefore a priority for the recovery of threatened populations in Alberta, but a triage-type approach is necessary to prioritize restoration and ensure conservation resources are wisely spent. To target restoration efforts, our objective was to determine factors that best explained levels of off-highway vehicles use on seismic lines intersecting roads. We investigated the relative importance of local topography, vegetation attributes of seismic lines, and broad-scale human factors such as the density of infrastructures and the proximity to recreation campsites and towns to explain the observed levels of off-highway vehicles use. We found that off-highway vehicles use was mainly associated with local topography and vegetation attributes of seismic lines that facilitated ease-of-travel. Broad-scale landscape attributes associated with industrial, recreation access, or hunting activities did not explain levels of off-highway vehicles use. Management actions aimed at promoting natural regeneration and reduce ease-of-travel on legacy seismic lines within caribou ranges can be beneficial to caribou recovery in Alberta, Canada, and we therefore recommend restrictions of off-highway vehicles use on low vegetation, dry seismic lines in caribou ranges.
Jayaraman, G C; Lee, B; Singh, A E; Preiksaitis, J K
2007-04-01
Little is currently known about hepatitis C virus (HCV) test seeking behaviours at the population level. Given the centralized nature of testing for HCV infection in the province of Alberta, Canada, we had an opportunity to examine HCV testing behaviour at the population level on all newly diagnosed HCV-positive cases using laboratory data to validate the time and number of prior tests for each case. Record linkage identified 3323, 2937, 2660 and 2703 newly diagnosed cases of HCV infections in Alberta during 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001, respectively, corresponding to age-adjusted rates of 149.8, 129, 114.3 and 113.7 per 100,000 population during these years, respectively. Results from secondary analyses of laboratory data suggest that the majority of HCV cases (95.3%) who were newly diagnosed between 1998 and 2001 were first-time testers for HCV infection. Among repeat testers, analysis of a negative test result within 1 year prior to a first of a positive test report suggests that 211 (38.4%) may be seroconvertors. These findings suggest that 339 or 61.7% of repeat testers may not have discovered their serostatus within 1 year of infection. Among this group, HCV testing was sought infrequently, with a median interval of 2.3 years between the last negative and first positive test. This finding is of concern given the risks for HCV transmission, particularly if risk-taking behaviours are not reduced because of unknown serostatus. These findings also reinforce the need to make the most of each test-seeking event with proper counselling and other appropriate support services.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Hess, N. J.; Tfaily, M. M.; Heredia-Langnar, A.; Rodriguez, L.; Purvine, E.; Todd-Brown, K. E.
2016-12-01
In western Canada, the forest-prairie boundary corresponds to a hydrologically-defined ecosystem "tipping point" where long-term precipitation is barely sufficient to meet the water use requirements of healthy, closed-canopy forests. In the province of Alberta, the severe subcontinental drought of 2001-2002 heralded the beginning of a 15-year dry period, representing a northward incursion of prairie-like climates into boreal and cordilleran forests. This poses a significant concern for ecosystem functioning of these forests, given GCM projections for continued warming and drying under anthropogenic climate change during this century. Through a multi-scale monitoring approach, we have examined the regional-scale impacts of recent droughts and associated climatic drying on the productivity and health of two important boreal tree species: aspen (Populus tremuloides) and white spruce (Picea glauca). For aspen, the 2016 re-measurement of a regional network of 150 ground plots revealed that tree mortality has escalated, especially in stands exposed to the combined impacts of multi-year drought and insect defoliation. On average, mortality losses exceeded growth gains during 2000-2016 for the 54 aspen plots in Alberta, leading to a net multi-year decline in the aboveground biomass of these stands. For white spruce, tree-ring analysis of 40 stands across Alberta revealed that the prolonged dry period led to a 38% decline in average, tree-level growth in aboveground biomass. In both species, stand age was not a significant factor affecting forest sensitivity to drought and climatic drying, suggesting that these forests are at risk if the trend toward more frequent, severe drought continues in the region.
Ahmed, Rashid J; Gafni, Amiram; Hutton, Eileen K
2016-03-01
According to the Early External Cephalic Version (EECV2) Trial, planning external cephalic version (ECV) early in pregnancy results in fewer breech presentations at delivery compared with delayed external cephalic version. A Cochrane review conducted after the EECV2 Trial identified an increase in preterm birth associated with early ECV. We examined whether a policy of routine early ECV (i.e., before 37 weeks' gestation) is more or less costly than a policy of delayed ECV. We undertook this analysis from the perspective of a third-party payer (Ministry of Health). We applied data, using resources reported in the EECV2 Trial, to the Canadian context using 10 hospital unit costs and 17 physician service/procedure unit costs. The data were derived from the provincial health insurance plan schedule of medical benefits in three Canadian provinces (Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia). The difference in mean total costs between study groups was tested for each province separately. We found that planning early ECV results in higher costs than planning delayed ECV. The mean costs of all physician services/procedures and hospital units for planned ECV compared with delayed ECV were $7997.32 versus $7263.04 in Ontario (P < 0.001), $8162.82 versus $7410.55 in Alberta (P < 0.001), and $8178.92 versus $7417.04 in British Columbia (P < 0.001), respectively. From the perspective of overall cost, our analyses do not support a policy of routinely planning ECV before 37 weeks' gestation. Copyright © 2016 The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada/La Société des obstétriciens et gynécologues du Canada. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Hogg, E. H.; Michaelian, M.
2017-12-01
In western Canada, the forest-prairie boundary corresponds to a hydrologically-defined ecosystem "tipping point" where long-term precipitation is barely sufficient to meet the water use requirements of healthy, closed-canopy forests. In the province of Alberta, the severe subcontinental drought of 2001-2002 heralded the beginning of a 15-year dry period, representing a northward incursion of prairie-like climates into boreal and cordilleran forests. This poses a significant concern for ecosystem functioning of these forests, given GCM projections for continued warming and drying under anthropogenic climate change during this century. Through a multi-scale monitoring approach, we have examined the regional-scale impacts of recent droughts and associated climatic drying on the productivity and health of two important boreal tree species: aspen (Populus tremuloides) and white spruce (Picea glauca). For aspen, the 2016 re-measurement of a regional network of 150 ground plots revealed that tree mortality has escalated, especially in stands exposed to the combined impacts of multi-year drought and insect defoliation. On average, mortality losses exceeded growth gains during 2000-2016 for the 54 aspen plots in Alberta, leading to a net multi-year decline in the aboveground biomass of these stands. For white spruce, tree-ring analysis of 40 stands across Alberta revealed that the prolonged dry period led to a 38% decline in average, tree-level growth in aboveground biomass. In both species, stand age was not a significant factor affecting forest sensitivity to drought and climatic drying, suggesting that these forests are at risk if the trend toward more frequent, severe drought continues in the region.
Bowker, S L; Savu, A; Yeung, R O; Johnson, J A; Ryan, E A; Kaul, P
2017-09-01
To examine patterns of use of different glycaemic control agents for treating gestational diabetes mellitus. This was a large, retrospective, population-based cohort study of pregnant women with gestational diabetes from Alberta, Canada. We linked data from the Alberta Vital Statistics - Birth database with administrative claims data. Alberta Vital Statistics - Birth data were used to identify births that occurred between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2014. We used International Classification of Diseases version 9/10 codes to identify women with gestational diabetes, and we excluded women with pre-existing diabetes. Our cohort consisted of 16 857 women with gestational diabetes, with a total of 18 761 birth events between 2009 and 2014. Over the study period, the proportion of women with gestational diabetes who were treated with glycaemic control therapies increased from 25.0% to 31.4% (P<0.0001). The number of pregnancies treated with insulin only increased (from 23.6% to 28.3%; P<0.0001), as did the number treated with metformin, +/- insulin (from 1.4% to 3.2%; P<0.0001). Rates of large-for-gestational-age infants were significantly higher among pregnancies treated with insulin only (17%) or metformin (16.5%) than among pregnancies that did not receive any pharmacological treatment (12.8%). Our findings show increasing use of insulin and metformin in women with gestational diabetes. Rates of large-for-gestational-age infants were similar among pregnant women receiving either pharmacological treatment, and higher than among pregnant women who did not receive any pharmacological treatment. Future research should explore the long-term outcomes and safety of metformin as an alternative for treating gestational diabetes. © 2017 Diabetes UK.
Proportion of adults fasting for lipid testing relative to guideline changes in Alberta.
Ma, Irene; Viczko, Jeannine; Naugler, Christopher
2017-04-01
Guidelines have historically recommended measuring lipid profile tests in a fasting state. However, in April 2011 and 2014, the Canadian city of Calgary and its province of Alberta, respectively, have changed their lipid guidelines to allow testing for individuals in any fasting state; several years prior to the release of the 2016 Canadian Cardiovascular Society and Hypertension Canada guidelines. The purpose of this study was to document the proportion of individuals in Calgary who fasted for a lipid encounter in relation to the change in various guidelines and policies. Counts were collected each month per gender from January 1, 2010 to June 30, 2016 for community-based adults ≥18years old who fasted (≥8h) or did not fast (<8h) for a lipid encounter. During the study period, 793,719 community-based lipid profiles were performed, 590,174 in a fasting state. The proportion of adults who fasted declined from 98.59%±0.379% (mean±SD) in 2010 to 41.65%±1.295% (mean±SD) in 2016. However, a marked decline in the proportion of adults fasting for a lipid encounter was not observed until February 2015, which coincided with the release of Alberta's Toward Optimized Practice Clinical Practice Guidelines. This documentation of individuals fasting for a lipid encounter may assist other jurisdictions in Canada with the new nonfasting lipid guideline changes. We recommend releasing provincial clinical practice guidelines, in addition to laboratory bulletins and continuing medical education presentations, regarding the new nonfasting lipid recommendations in other jurisdictions to ensure community patients are aware of this change. Copyright © 2016 The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Perceptions of pharmacists' roles in the era of expanding scopes of practice.
Schindel, Theresa J; Yuksel, Nese; Breault, Rene; Daniels, Jason; Varnhagen, Stanley; Hughes, Christine A
Alberta was the first province in Canada to enact legislative changes to permit expansion of pharmacists' scope of practice, including allowing pharmacists to prescribe. However, such changes to the scope of practice can blur professional boundaries and obscure the roles of pharmacists. Understanding perceptions about the pharmacist's role may provide insight into recent and historical changes in pharmacy practice. This study clarifies perceptions held by pharmacists and other stakeholders concerning the role of the pharmacist in society. To understand the perceptions of pharmacists, pharmacy students, technicians, other health care professionals, and the public of the pharmacist's role in Alberta. A mixed methods approach was used: focus group sessions (n = 9) and individual interviews (n = 4) of pharmacists and other stakeholders were conducted and analyzed using qualitative-descriptive approach. A web-based survey of Alberta pharmacists (n = 416) explored pharmacists' perceptions of their own roles. Data analysis revealed the following: participants perceived that the pharmacist's role was transitioning to focus more on patient care; consistency in pharmacist uptake of this new role shaped the public's expectations; pharmacists with expanded scopes of practice were assuming greater responsibility; collaboration and relationships with other health care professionals were essential. The survey confirmed that changes in the roles of pharmacists were primarily related to patient care. Following legislative changes and implementation of a compensation framework for pharmacy services, pharmacists and other stakeholders perceived the pharmacist's role to be shifting toward patient care. Periodic revisiting of pharmacists' roles and professional activities is needed to evaluate changes over time. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Increasing rates of diabetes amongst status Aboriginal youth in Alberta, Canada
Oster, Richard T.; Johnson, Jeffrey A.; Balko, Stephanie U.; Svenson, Larry W.; Toth, Ellen L.
2012-01-01
Objectives To track and compare trends in diabetes rates from 1995 to 2007 for Status Aboriginal and general population youth. Study design Longitudinal observational research study (quantitative) using provincial administrative data. Methods De-identified data was obtained from Alberta Health and Wellness administrative databases for Status Aboriginal (First Nations and Inuit people with Treaty status) and general population youth (<20 years). Diabetes cases were identified using the National Diabetes Surveillance System algorithm. Crude annual diabetes prevalence and incidence rates were calculated. The likelihood of being a prevalent case and incident case of diabetes for the 2 populations was compared for the year 2007. Average Annual Percent Changes (AAPC) in prevalence and incidence from 1995 to 2007 were determined and compared between the 2 groups to examine trends over time. Results While the prevalence of diabetes was higher in the general population in 1995, by 2007 there were no between group differences, reflected in the significantly higher AAPC of 6.98 for Status Aboriginal youth. Status Aboriginal males had a lower diabetes risk in 1995 compared with females, and experienced a greater increase in prevalence over the 13 years (AAPC 9.18) so that by 2007 their rates were equivalent to those of the females. Differences in diabetes incidence trends were only observed among male youth, where increases in incidence were greater for Status Aboriginal (AAPC 11.65) compared to general population males (AAPC 4.62) (p = 0.03). Conclusion Youth-onset diabetes is an increasing problem in Alberta, especially among young Status Aboriginal males. PMID:22584517
2000-11-01
Tornadoes rarely hit in areas where there are many hospitals. Two of the worst in recent years caused numerous casualties in a rural area of Canada and in a small city in Ohio, taxing the capabilities of the nearby hospitals involved. This report provides details on how they handled these disasters and what they learned from their experience.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton.
This activity notebook is intended to help French-speaking students in Alberta, Canada, develop reflective reading practices. Following an introduction and information (with graphics) on the notebook's organization, the notebook is divided into three sections of reading strategies: the first section contains three activities, the second section…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Gander, Lois
2009-01-01
Universities in Canada and elsewhere are recognizing the importance of being more engaged with their communities. Indeed, the president of the University of Alberta made engaging with external communities one of the cornerstones of her vision for the institution. So how are universities meeting this challenge? In his book, Managing Civic and…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Blanchard-Boehm, R. Denise; Cook, M. Jeffrey
2004-01-01
In July 1997, on the 10th anniversary of the great "Black Friday" Tornado, city officials of Edmonton, the print and broadcast media, agencies dealing in emergency management, and the national weather organisation recounted stories of the 1987, F5 tornado that struck Edmonton on a holiday weekend. The information campaign also presented…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Schreyer, Christine
2008-01-01
This article examines the parallel development of language planning and land planning within the Loon River Cree First Nation. Loon River Cree territory, located in north-central Alberta, Canada, is an area where major oil and gas industry, as well as logging and mining are constantly encroaching. The community, who still use Cree in their daily…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Eiserman, Jennifer
2009-01-01
This paper explores how Canadian identity remains a white identity through an examination of the ways in which cultural diversity in Canada has been promoted and controlled in law and in practice through Jakeet Singh's (2004) notion of "culture-blind multiculturalism." It then turns to one instance of this kind of myopic cultural…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Pellerin, Martine; Montes, Carlos Soler
2012-01-01
The study explores the effectiveness of the implementation of blended teaching (BT) by combining the Spanish online resource "Aula Virtual de Espanol" (AVE) with the face-to-face (F2F) delivery approach in second language Spanish programs in two high schools in Alberta, Canada. Findings demonstrate the effectiveness of combining the…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Mooney, Laura Rae; Lashewicz, Bonnie
2015-01-01
In this article, we chart developments of inclusive education practice and policy in Alberta, Canada, and conclude that much remains to be done toward achieving an educational system where all students, including those with severe disabilities, feel welcome and valued. We argue a need for deeper understandings of parent and educator beliefs about,…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Barker, Kathryn Chang
The pilot Job Effectiveness Training (JET) workplace basic skills program, developed by Canada's Alberta Vocational College (AVC), Edmonton, for Stelco Steel during 1989-90, was evaluated in terms of impacts or changes from the perspective of the four major stakeholder groups: the students (12 Stelco employees); the employers (Stelco management);…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. Language Services Branch.
The introduction for this Alberta (Canada) music education guide offers reasons for students to study the fine arts at the secondary school level. A philosophy of music education is presented along with 5 key outcomes and 11 music appreciation expectations for secondary students to attain. The volume features wind and percussion instruments. The…
2009-04-01
09 COL Kevin Peterson Principal Deputy Program Manager Joint MRAP Vehicle Program 17 MRAP Variant Overview FP COUGAR CAT I (FPII CAT I) MaxxPro BAE...distribution unlimited 13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES Presented at the TTCP LND TP3 Annual Meeting and Task Workshop Manned and Unmanned Ground Vehicle Systems, 23...28 April 2009, Suffield, Alberta, Canada, The original document contains color images. 14. ABSTRACT 15. SUBJECT TERMS 16. SECURITY
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Bellefeuille, Gerard; McGrath, Jenny
2013-01-01
This qualitative study examines both the process and effects of a relational-centred international education partnership between MacEwan University in Alberta, Canada, and Ireland's Athlone Institute of Technology. It also seeks to capture the meaning of and the transformative effects of the international education partnership on students and…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Pattnaik, Jyotsna
2005-01-01
Ajit Kumar Mohanty is a Professor of Social Psychology of Education at the Zakir Husain Centre for Educational Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. Mohanty received his doctorate from University of Alberta, Canada, in 1978, and was a postdoctoral Fulbright fellow at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, between 1981-1982. He was…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton.
This guide is designed to help students in Alberta, Canada, plan and finance postsecondary education. A student who has made financial plans will have more options when it is time to choose an institution for postsecondary education. How to choose the right school depends on what a student wants from education and what he or she plans for the…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Human Resources Development Canada, Ottawa (Ontario).
This updated guide is designed to help students in Alberta, Canada, plan and finance postsecondary education. A student who has made financial plans will have more options when it is time to choose an institution for postsecondary education. How to choose the right school depends on what a student wants from education and what he or she plans for…
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Pum, Lisa; Reichenauer, Thomas; Germida, Jim
2015-04-01
Anthropogenic activities create a number of significant greenhouse gases and thus potentially contribute to global warming. Methane production is significant in some agricultural production systems and from wetlands. In soil, methane can be oxidised by methanotrophic bacteria. However, little is known about methane production and oxidation in oil sand reclamation covers. The purpose of this study was to investigate methane production and oxidation potential of tailing sands and six different reclamation layers of oil sands mining sites in Alberta, Canada. Methane production and oxidation potential were investigated in laboratory scale microcosms through continuous headspace analysis using gas chromatography. Samples from a reclamation layer were collected at the Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNRL) reclamation site at depths of 0-10 cm, 10-20 cm and 20-40 cm in October 2014. In addition, tailing sands provided by Suncor Energy Inc. and soil from a CNRL wetland were studied for methane production. Samples were dried, crushed and sieved to 4 mm, packed into serum bottle microcosms and monitored for eight weeks. Methane production potential was assessed by providing an anoxic environment and by adjusting the samples to a moisture holding capacity of 100 %. Methane oxidation potential was examined by an initial application of 2 vol % methane to the microcosms and by adjusting the samples to a moisture holding capacity of 50 %. Microcosm headspace gas was analysed for methane, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and oxygen. All experiments were carried out in triplicates, including controls. SF6 and Helium were used as internal standards to detect potential leaks. Our results show differences for methane production potential between the soil depths, tailing sands and wetlands. Moreover, there were differences in the methane oxidation potential of substrate from the three depths investigated and between the reclamation layers. In conclusion, the present study shows that reclamation layers for oil sands mining sites in Alberta, Canada have the potential to oxidize on-site produced methane emissions to the less harmful greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. Such oxidation might mitigate impacts of methane production from these sites.
Alberta CancerBridges development of a care plan evaluation measure
Giese-Davis, J.; Sisler, J.; Zhong, L.; Brandelli, Y.; McCormick, J.L.; Railton, C.; Shirt, L.; Lau, H.; Hao, D.; Chobanuk, J.; Walley, B.; Joy, A.A.; Taylor, A.; Carlson, L.
2018-01-01
Background No standardized measures specifically assess cancer survivors’ and healthcare providers’ experience of Survivor Care Plans (scps). We sought to develop two care plan evaluation (cpe) measures, one for survivors (cpe-s) and one for healthcare providers (cpe-p), examine initial psychometric qualities in Alberta, and assess generalizability in Manitoba, Canada. Methods We developed the initial measures using convenience samples of breast (n = 35) and head and neck (n = 18) survivors who received scps at the end of active cancer-centre treatment. After assessing Alberta’s scp concordance with Institute of Medicine (iom) recommendations using a published coding scheme, we examined psychometric qualities for the cpe-s and cpe-p. We examined generalizability in Manitoba, Canada, with colorectal survivors discharged to primary care providers for follow-up (n = 75). Results We demonstrated acceptable internal consistency for the cpe-s and cpe-p subscales and total score after eliminating one item per subscale for cpe-s, two for cpe-p, resulting in revised scales with four 7-item and 6-item subscales, respectively. Subscale scores correlated highly indicating that for each measure the total score may be the most reliable and valid. We provide initial cpe-s discriminant, convergent, and predictive validity using the total score. Using the Manitoba sample, initial psychometrics similarly indicated good generalizability across differences in tumour groups, scp, and location. Conclusions We recommend the revised cpe-s and cpe-p for further use and development. Studies documenting the creation and standardization of scp evaluations are few, and we recommend further development of patient experience measures to improve both clinical practice and the specificity of research questions. PMID:29507497
Huang, Rongfu; Chen, Yuan; Meshref, Mohamed N A; Chelme-Ayala, Pamela; Dong, Shimiao; Ibrahim, Mohamed D; Wang, Chengjin; Klamerth, Nikolaus; Hughes, Sarah A; Headley, John V; Peru, Kerry M; Brown, Christine; Mahaffey, Ashley; Gamal El-Din, Mohamed
2018-01-01
This work reports the monitoring and assessment of naphthenic acids (NAs) in oil sands process-affected water (OSPW), Pleistocene channel aquifer groundwater (PLCA), and oil sands basal aquifer groundwater (OSBA) from an active oil sands development in Alberta, Canada, using ultra performance liquid chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-TOF-MS) analysis with internal standard (ISTD) and external standard (ESTD) calibration methods and Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR-MS) for compositional analysis. PLCA was collected at 45-51 m depth and OSBA was collected at 67-144 m depth. Results of O x -NA concentrations follow an order as OSPW > OSBA > PLCA, indicating that occurrences of NAs in OSBA were likely related to natural bitumen deposits instead of OSPW. Liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) was applied to avoid the matrix effect for the ESTD method. Reduced LLE efficiency accounted for the divergence of the ISTD and ESTD calibrated results for oxidized NAs. Principle component analysis results of O 2 and O 4 species could be employed for differentiation of water types, while classical NAs with C13-15 and Z (-4)-(-6) and aromatic O 2 -NAs with C16-18 and Z (-14)-(-16) could be measured as marker compounds to characterize water sources and potential temporal variations of samples, respectively. FTICR-MS results revealed that compositions of NA species varied greatly among OSPW, PLCA, and OSBA, because of NA transfer and transformation processes. This work contributed to the understanding of the concentration and composition of NAs in various types of water, and provided a useful combination of analytical and statistical tools for monitoring studies, in support of future safe discharge of treated OSPW. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Majorowicz, Jacek A.; Skinner, Walter R.
1997-10-01
Analysis and modelling of temperature anomalies from 25 selected deep wells in Alberta show that the differences between GST (ground surface temperature) warming for the northern Boreal Forest ecozone and the combined Prairie Grassland ecozone and Aspen Parkland transition region to the south occur during the latter half of this century. This corresponds with recent changes in surface albedo resulting from permanent land development in the northern areas and also to increases in natural forest fires in the past 20 years. Differences between GST and SAT (surface air temperature) warming are much higher in the Boreal Forest ecozone than in the Prairie Grassland ecozone and Aspen Parkland transition region. Various hypotheses which could account for the existing differences between the GST and SAT warming in the different ecozones of Alberta, and western Canada in general, are tested. Analysis of existing data on soil temperature, hydrological piezometric surfaces, snowfall and moisture patterns, and land clearing and forest fires, indicate that large areas of Alberta, characterised by anomalous GST warming, have experienced widespread changes to the surface landscape in this century. It is postulated that this has resulted in a lower surface albedo with a subsequent increase in the absorption of solar energy. Heat flow modelling shows that, after climatic SAT warming, permanent clearing of the land is the most effective and likely cause of the observed changes in the GST warming. The greater GST warming in the Boreal Forest ecozone in the latter half of this century is related to landscape change due to land development and increasing forest fire activity. It appears to account for a portion of the observed SAT warming in this region through a positive feedback loop with the overlying air. The anthropogenic effect on regional climatic warming through 20th century land clearing and landscape alteration requires further study. In future, more accurate quantification of these various forcings will be necessary in order to distinguish between, and to detect, the variety of natural and anthropogenic influences and on climate.
Lang, Raynell; Read, Ron; Krentz, Hartmut B; Ramazani, Soheil; Peng, Mingkai; Gratrix, Jennifer; Gill, M John
2018-03-13
Syphilis is a global health concern disproportionately affecting HIV-infected populations. In Alberta, Canada, the incidence of syphilis in the general population has recently doubled with 25% of these infections occurring in HIV-infected patients. The Southern Alberta HIV Clinic (SAC) and Calgary STI Program (CSTI) analyzed the epidemiologic characteristics of incident syphilis infections in our well-defined, HIV-infected population over 11 years. Since 2006, as routine practice of both the Southern Alberta Clinic (SAC) and Calgary STI Programs (CSTI), syphilis screening has accompanied HIV viral load measures every four months. All records of patients who, while in HIV care, either converted from being syphilis seronegative to a confirmed seropositive or were re-infected as evidenced by a four-fold increase in rapid plasma reagin (RPR) after past successful treatment, were reviewed. Incident syphilis was identified 249 times in 194 HIV-infected individuals. There were 36 individuals with repeated infections (28.5% of episodes). Following a prior decline in annual incident syphilis rates, the rates have tripled from 8.08/1000 patient-years (95% confidence interval (CI): 4.14-14.75) in 2011, to 27.04 per 1000 person-years (95% CI: 19.45-36.76) in 2016. Half of the syphilis episodes were asymptomatic. Patients diagnosed with syphilis were twice as likely not to be taking ART and had a higher likelihood of having plasma HIV RNA viral loads > 1000 copies/mL (19%). Incident syphilis was seen predominantly in Caucasians (72%, P < 0.001), males (94%, P < 0.001) and men who have sex with men (MSM) as their HIV risk activity (75%, P < 0.001). We have highlighted the importance of a regular syphilis screening program in HIV-infected individuals demonstrated by increasing rates of incident syphilis in our region. Targeted preventative strategies should be directed towards HIV-infected populations identified at highest risk, including; MSM, prior alcohol abuse, prior recreational drug use and those with prior syphilis diagnoses.
Fisher, S; Gao, H; Yasui, Y; Dabbs, K; Winget, M
2015-06-01
Recent investigations of breast cancer survival in the United States suggest that patients who receive mastectomy have poorer survival than those who receive breast-conserving surgery (BCS) plus radiotherapy, despite clinically established equivalence. This study investigates breast cancer survival in the publicly funded health care system present in Alberta, Canada. Surgically treated stage I-III breast cancer cases diagnosed in Alberta from 2002 to 2010 were included. Demographic, treatment and mortality information were collected from the Alberta Cancer Registry. Unadjusted overall and breast cancer-specific mortality was assessed using Kaplan-Meier and cumulative incidence curves, respectively. Cox proportional hazards models were used to calculate stage-specific mortality hazard estimates associated with surgical treatment received. A total of 14 939 cases of breast cancer (14 633 patients) were included in this study. The unadjusted 5-year all-cause survival probabilities for patients treated with BCS plus radiotherapy, mastectomy, and BCS alone were 94% (95% CI 93% to 95%), 83% (95% CI 82% to 84%) and 74% (95% CI 70% to 78%), respectively. Stage II and III patients who received mastectomy had a higher all-cause (stage II HR = 1.36, 95% CI 1.13-1.48; stage III HR = 1.74, 95% CI 1.24-2.45) and breast cancer-specific (stage II HR = 1.39, 95% CI 1.09-1.76; stage III HR = 1.79, 95% CI 1.21-2.65) mortality hazard compared with those who received BCS plus radiotherapy, adjusting for patient and clinical characteristics. BCS alone was consistently associated with poor survival. Stage II and III breast cancer patients diagnosed in Alberta, Canada, who received mastectomy had a significantly higher all-cause and breast cancer-specific mortality hazard compared with those who received BCS plus radiotherapy. We suggest greater efforts toward educating and encouraging patients to receive BCS plus radiotherapy rather than mastectomy when it is medically feasible and appropriate. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society for Medical Oncology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.
Treatment gaps for hypertension management in rural Canadian patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Supina, Alison L; Guirguis, Lisa M; Majumdar, Sumit R; Lewanczuk, Richard Z; Lee, T K; Toth, Ellen L; Johnson, Jeffrey A
2004-04-01
There were a reported 2.2 million Canadians living with diabetes mellitus (DM) in 2002, of whom 1.98 million (90.0%) had type 2 DM. In addition, there are approximately 60,000 new cases of type 2 DM diagnosed in Canada each year. However, the research shows that evidence and guidelines for management of hypertension in DM are not always translated into clinical practice. In rural areas, factors affecting implementation of recommendations and/or guidelines are less well understood, although some studies suggest that urban practices provide higher quality of care overall than rural areas. The goal of this study was to describe the patterns of medication use for hypertension for patients with type 2 DM in rural northern Alberta, Canada. We also tried to identify treatment gaps and opportunities for prescribing antihypertensives relative to the Canadian Diabetes Association's 1998 Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Diabetes in Canada and the Canadian Hypertension Society Recommendations Working Group's 2003 Canadian Recommendations for the Management of Hypertension: Therapy. This study was conducted at the Institute of Health Economics and the University of Alberta (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada). We collected information from a cohort of patients aged >or =20 years with type 2 DM living in 2 adjacent rural regions of northern Alberta, Canada, at the time of enrollment in a diabetes care quality-improvement program as part of the Diabetes Outreach Van Enhancement (DOVE) study. Treatment gaps were determined by comparing antihypertensive pharmacotherapy with a blood pressure (BP) target of < or =130/< or =85 mm Hg. We used multivariate regression analyses to determine the associations between sociodemographic and clinical characteristics and treatment gaps. A total of 392 patients (229 women, 164 men; mean [SD] age, 62.3 [12.5] years) with type 2 DM were included in this analysis. Patients had a mean (SD) duration of diabetes of 8.3 (8.5) years. A total of 75.8% (297/392) of the study population had hypertension, and most (236/392[60.2%]) were receiving some pharmacotherapy. Treatment gaps were present; 42.7% (n = 67) of patients not receiving pharmacotherapy for hypertension were above the established BP targets. For patients receiving monotherapy, 70% were not at BP targets. For patients receiving dual, triple, and > or =4 medications, 65%, 66%, and 46%, respectively, were not at BP targets. After controlling for systolic blood pressure, male sex (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 2.17; 95% CI, 1.17-4.03), older age (aOR, 1.80 per decade; 95% CI, 1.51-2.09), lower self-reported physical health (aOR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.41-0.96), higher body mass index (aOR, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.01-1.10), and past/current smoking (aOR, 1.95; 95% CI, 1.01-3.76) were all significantly associated with a lack of treatment for hypertension. Treatment maps in the management of hypertension exist in these rural Canadian patients with type 2 DM. Cardiovascular risk may be underestimated in these patients, particularly among younger patients and women, and those with multiple non-DM risk factors. These are patient subgroups that should be targeted as opportunities to improve hypertension management at the population level.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Hassanzadeh, Elmira; Elshorbagy, Amin; Nazemi, Ali; Wheater, Howard
2014-05-01
The trans-boundary Saskatchewan River Basin supports livelihoods and the economy of the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. Water users include irrigated agriculture, hydropower, potash mining, urban centers, and ecosystem services. Water availability in Saskatchewan is highly dependent on the flows from the upstream province of Alberta. These flows mostly originate from the Rocky Mountains headwaters and are highly regulated, due to intensive water use and redistribution before they get to the Alberta/Saskatchewan border. Warming climate and increasing water demands in Alberta have changed the incoming flow characteristics from Alberta to Saskatchewan. It is critical to assess the performance and the viability of Saskatchewan's water resources system under uncertain future inter-provincial inflows. For this purpose, a possible range of future changes in the inflows from Alberta to Saskatchewan is considered in this study. The considered changes include various combinations of shifts in the timing of the annual peak and volumetric change in the annual flow volumes. These shifts are implemented using a copula-based stochastic simulation method to generate multiple realizations of weekly flow series at two key locations of inflow to Saskatchewan's water resources system, in a way that the spatial dependencies between weekly inflows are maintained. Each flow series is of 31-years length and constitutes a possible long term water availability scenario. The stochastically generated flows are introduced as an alternative to the historical inflows for water resources planning and management purposes in Saskatchewan. Both historical and reconstructed inflows are fed into a Sustainability-oriented Water Allocation, Management, and Planning (SWAMP) model to analyze the effects of inflow changes on Saskatchewan's water resources system. The SWAMP model was developed using the System Dynamics approach and entails irrigation/soil moisture, non-irrigation uses and economic evaluation sub-models, with the capacity to investigate alternative environmental flow requirements. The long term changes in the performance of the Saskatchewan's water resources system with respect to the considered shifts in the inflow regime are quantified using different assessment indices. Indices, such as vulnerability and reliability, are visualized in 2D maps in which the axes are describing the shifts in streamflow characteristics. Results indicate that the economy and environment in Saskatchewan are sensitive to the shifts in Alberta's streamflow regime. Most importantly, hydropower production, lake levels, and the apportionment to the downstream province of Manitoba are among the most sensitive components of the water resource system.
Some Implications of Legalized Substitution of Prescribed Pharmaceuticals
Parker, J. M.
1962-01-01
In April 1962 the Alberta Government passed legislation permitting a pharmacist to substitute drugs on a written medical prescription unless the doctor indicated otherwise. The intent was stated to be in the interests of cheaper drugs for the people of Alberta. The legality of this legislature has been questioned in Federal courts of law. The legislation has been formally criticized by the official representatives of medicine and pharmacy on the ground that indiscriminate substitution of drugs is not in the public interest until such time as the quality of all available drugs is assured by governmental or other authoritative agency. It is not within the function of the Food and Drug Directorate to guarantee the quality of drugs sold in Canada, this assurance normally being provided in the trade mark adopted by the manufacturer. PMID:13941488
Petroleum system modeling of the western Canada sedimentary basin - isopach grid files
Higley, Debra K.; Henry, Mitchell E.; Roberts, Laura N.R.
2005-01-01
This publication contains zmap-format grid files of isopach intervals that represent strata associated with Devonian to Holocene petroleum systems of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin (WCSB) of Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan, Canada. Also included is one grid file that represents elevations relative to sea level of the top of the Lower Cretaceous Mannville Group. Vertical and lateral scales are in meters. The age range represented by the stratigraphic intervals comprising the grid files is 373 million years ago (Ma) to present day. File names, age ranges, formation intervals, and primary petroleum system elements are listed in table 1. Metadata associated with this publication includes information on the study area and the zmap-format files. The digital files listed in table 1 were compiled as part of the Petroleum Processes Research Project being conducted by the Central Energy Resources Team of the U.S. Geological Survey, which focuses on modeling petroleum generation, 3 migration, and accumulation through time for petroleum systems of the WCSB. Primary purposes of the WCSB study are to Construct the 1-D/2-D/3-D petroleum system models of the WCSB. Actual boundaries of the study area are documented within the metadata; excluded are northern Alberta and eastern Saskatchewan, but fringing areas of the United States are included.Publish results of the research and the grid files generated for use in the 3-D model of the WCSB.Evaluate the use of petroleum system modeling in assessing undiscovered oil and gas resources for geologic provinces across the World.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Green, Jack N., Ed.
The objective of the Campus Safety Association is to promote safety on college and university campuses by the exchange of information on prevention of accidents to faculty, staff, and students. The annual conference, of several days duration, is a combination of education, training, and discussion of specific problems. This monograph contains the…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
McBeath, Angus
2007-01-01
This publication is a transcript of Superintendent Angus McBeath's presentation to legislators and media at an Issues and Ideas Forum hosted by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy in Lansing, Michigan. McBeath discusses education reform in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, including: (1) Basic Elements of Reform; (2) School Employee Union Involvement;…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Learning, Edmonton.
In 1999, the Committee on Lifelong Learning of the Ministry of Learning in Alberta, Canada, conducted a series of consultations on lifelong learning to identify ways of helping adults return to learning to improve their employment potential and realize their career goals. The committee received input from more than 450 Albertans in 14 rural and…
1984-12-01
Laboratoire de Glaciologie C. Girard, A. Manouvrier, et Geophysique de l’Environnement, C. Rado and G. Ricou C.N.R.S., Grenoble, France ABSTRACT Using an...Gillet, C. Rado, Laboratoire de Glaciologie G. Marec, M. Maitre, et de Geophysique de l’Environnement J. Perrin and G. Ricou C.N.R.S., Grenoble, France
A new analysis of Monturaqui Meteorites
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Kaniansky, S.; Molnár, K.
2015-01-01
The Monturaqui meteorite crater, located in the Andes Mountains, is known to host corroded iron meteorites (Koch and Buchwald, 1994), of probable IAB type. Over three hundred suspicious rocks with an exterior appearance were collected during the two expeditions to Monturaqui crater. A sample has been analyzed in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Canada. The analyses support the conclusion that the Monturaqui rocks are corroded iron meteorites.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton.
Chemistry 30 is a 12th-grade science course for students in Alberta, Canada. This document is the final test for the course. Intended for administration during January 1989, it contains 56 multiple-choice questions and three written-response questions. Two and one-half hours are allowed for completing the test. No answer key is included since…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton.
Chemistry 30 is a 12th-grade chemistry course for students in Alberta, Canada. This document is the final test for the course. Intended for administration during June, 1988, it contains 56 multiple-choice questions and three written-response questions. Two-and-one-half hours are allowed for completing the test. No answer key is included since…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton.
Chemistry 30 is a 12th-grade science course for students in Alberta, Canada. This document is the final test for the course. Intended for administration during January 1988, it contains 56 multiple-choice questions and three written-response questions. Two-and-one-half hours are allowed for completing the test. No answer key is included since…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton.
Chemistry 30 is a 12th-grade science course for students in Alberta, Canada. This document is the final test for the course. Intended for administration during June 1989, it contains 56 multiple-choice questions and 3 written-response questions. Two-and-one-half hours are allowed for completing the test. No answer key is included since scoring is…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton.
Chemistry 30 is a twelfth-grade chemistry course for students in Alberta, Canada. This document is a final test for the course. Both English and French versions of the test are provided. Intended for administration during June 1986, it contains 56 multiple-choice questions and three written-response problems. Two-and-one-half hours are allowed for…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton.
Biology 30 is a 12th-grade science course for students in Alberta, Canada. This document is a final test for the course. Intended for administration during June, 1988, it contains 80 multiple-choice questions and five written-response questions. Two-and-one-half hours are allowed for completing the test. No answer key is included since scoring is…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton.
Biology 30 is a 12th-grade science course for students in Alberta, Canada. This document is the final test for the course. Intended for administration during January 1989, it contains 70 multiple-choice questions and seven written-response questions. Two-and-one-half hours are allowed for completing the test. No answer key is included since…