A common finding in the aging literature is that of the brain's decreased within- and increased between-network functional connectivity. However, it remains unclear what is causing this shift in network organization with age. Given the essential role of the ascending arousal system (ARAS) in cortical activation and previous findings of disrupted ARAS functioning with age, it is possible that age differences in ARAS func- tioning contribute to disrupted cortical connectivity. We test this possibility here using resting state fMRI data from over 500 individuals across the lifespan from the Cambridge Center for Aging and Neuroscience (Cam-CAN) population-based cohort. Our results show that ARAS-cortical connectivity declines with age and, consistent with our expectations, significantly mediates some age-related differences in connec- tivity within and between association networks (specifically, within the default mode and between the default mode and salience networks). Additionally, connectivity between the ARAS and association networks predicted cognitive performance across several tasks over and above the effects of age and connectivity within the cortical networks themselves. These findings suggest that age differences in cortical connec- tivity may be driven, at least in part, by altered arousal signals from the brainstem and that ARAS–cortical connectivity relates to cognitive performance with age.

Episode 11: On Disability This episode of Unboxing the Canon introduces the topic of disability and the visual arts, looking at both historical and contemporary examples. We consider the near absence of visible disability in the history of Western art and discuss how some contemporary artists are representing disability in powerful ways. Beginning with Diego Velázquez’s 1656 painting Las Meninas, this episode examines it and other historical works through the ideas of contemporary artist, writer and disability activist, Riva Lehrer. Then we turn towards the work of Persimmon Blackbridge, a Canadian artist whose work touches on disability, institutionalization, censorship, and queer identity. We demystify the artist-genius myth and end with a brief discussion about how curatorial choices can make art more accessible.

Heightened pressures to publish prolifically and secure external funding stand in stark contrast to the slow scholarship movement. This article explores ways in which research funding expectations permeate the “figured worlds” of 16 mid-career academics in education, social work, sociology, and geography in seven universities in Ontario, Canada. Participants demonstrated a steady record of research accomplishment and a commitment to social justice in their work. The analysis identified three themes related to the competing pressures these academics described in their day-to-day lives: funding, challenges, and the fast professor. Participants spoke about their research funding achievements and struggles. In some cases, they explained how their positioning, including gender and race, might have affected their research production, compared to colleagues positioned differently. Their social justice research is funded, but some suspect at a lower level than colleagues studying conventional topics. Challenges might be located in the backstage (personal and home lives) or the frontstage (university or funding agency policies or embedded in the research itself). In aiming for the impossible standards of a continuously successful research record, these individuals worked “all the time.” Advocates claim that slow scholarship is not really about going slower but rather about maintaining quality and caring in one’s work; yet, participants’ accounts suggest they perceive few options other than to perform as “fast professors.” At mid-career, they question whether and how they can keep up this aspect of their figured worlds for 20 or more years.

OBJECTIVES: Chinese people have distinctive perspectives on health and illness that are largely unrecognized in Western society. The purpose of this descriptive study was to develop a profile of Chinese immigrants’ beliefs and practices related to diet, mental and social health, and sexual health. METHODS: A quantitative survey with descriptive and correlational analyses was employed to examine 100 first-generation Chinese immigrants living in four urban centres across Canada (Vancouver, Toronto, Halifax, and St. Catharines). RESULTS: Although most Chinese immigrants preferred a Chinese diet, where they resided affected the groceries they bought and the meals they ate. Almost all participants reported their mental health was important to them and most felt comfortable discussing mental health issues with others. However, only a third would see a psychiatrist if they believed they had a mental health problem. Most participants believed social relationships were important for their health. Only a small number of participants, however, preferred making friends with mainstream Caucasian Canadians. More men than women believed sexuality contributed to health and were comfortable talking about sexual health. CONCLUSION: Chinese immigrants should be encouraged to be more engaged in the larger community in order to fully integrate themselves into Canadian society while still being encouraged to retain their healthy practices. These findings may help educators and practitioners enhance their understandings of Chinese immigrants’ perspectives on health and develop culturally competent education and services in health care and health promotion.

Discover the advantages of collaborating with other campus partners to develop, promote, and deliver a unique non-credit interactive information skills workshop series. Learn the importance of flexibility interactivity and modularity to the success of a non-credit information skills program. Learn how to incorporate the knowledge management practices of Learning Before, Learning During, and Learning After into team project activities.

Queen’s Own Rifles Regimental Order Books 1-2. Books 1 and 2 are bound together in one volume. Book 1 contains entries from the Regiment’s founding on April 26, 1860 to December 4, 1865. The book contains administrative details of the Regiment including appointments, promotions, and orders. Some of the entries are signed by Walker Powell, P.L. MacDougall, and W.D. Otter. William Dillon Otter became an accomplished militia and army officer who fought with the Queen’s Own Rifles against the Fenians at the Battle of Ridgeway in 1866. Book 2 contains entries dated from January 1, 1866 to December 23, 1867. The entries are signed by W.D. Otter, Robert Denison, W.S. Durie, J.S. MacDougall, C.H. Cormon, and M. Campbell. The entries dated from May 31, 1866 to June 4, 1866 provide some brief information on the activities and leadership of the QOR while they were stationed in Port Colborne and Fort Erie during the Fenian Raid. The entry dated at Port Colborne on June 1, 1866 contains instructions for a guard, noting that “the orders of the Sentries will be the usual ones & in addition those of the one on the Pier will be to pay particular attention and give instant warning in the event of the entry into the Harbour of any vessel carrying armed men in connection with which there may be any suspicious circumstances”. The same entry states that a picquet will be mounted each evening “to patrol the Canal Side from the end of the pier to the east part of the village and upon the main road leading into the later from Fort Erie. The orders of the said picquet will be to report at once to the Commanding Officer the approach of any body of men advancing on the place or any other suspicious circumstances and to arrest and hand over to the Serg. of the guard as prisoners all Volunteers out of their Billets without pass from the Commanding Officer after the sounding of the last post which will be 10 p.m.”

Fonds consists of correspondence; a letter copy book describing an 1817 voyage from Newbern, North Carolina, to Charleston, South Carolina; bills; receipts; invoices; and wills. The financial records such as bills, invoices and receipts record the personal and business activities of Thomas Tileston Sr., who had a business as a house builder. The correspondence, letter copy book, and wills belonged to Thomas Tileston Jr. and document his activities. Some of the letters refer to events from the War of 1812.

Most of the fonds consists of correspondence written to George Crawford, a Pennsylvania State Legislator. The bulk of these letters were written to him while he was serving as a Pennsylvania State Legislator from 1831 to 1834. Other materials include rolls for labourers working on the Pennsylvania Canal, legal documents, accounts, printed material, receipts, and newspapers. Correspondence, 1817-1868, n.d. Contains 268 letters. Many of the letters are from constituents, fellow legislators, judges, and lawyers who were looking for Crawford’s support on their bills, need for a charter, petitions, remonstrances, or inquiries. An interesting letter to George Crawford from his son R.A. Crawford in 1857 provides a detailed description of his trip to Niagara Falls, including sightseeing excursions to Goat Island, the suspension bridge, Barnett’s Museum, and Lundy’s Lane.

A program for the 1983 Niagara Grape and Wine Festival.

Evolutionary algorithms have a tendency to overuse and exploit particular behaviours in their search for optimality, even across separate runs. The resulting set of monotonous solutions caused by this tendency is a problem in many applications. This research explores different strategies designed to encourage an interesting set of diverse behaviours while still maintaining an appreciable level of efficacy. Embodied agents are situated within an open plane and play against each other in various pursuit game scenarios. The pursuit games consist of a single predator agent and twenty prey agents, with the goal always requiring the predator to catch as many prey as possible before the time limit is reached. The predator's controller is evolved through genetic programming while the preys' controllers are hand-crafted. The fitness of a solution is first calculated in a traditional manner. Inspired by Lehman and Stanley's novelty search strategy, the fitness is then combined with the diversity of the solution to produce the final fitness score. The original fitness score is determined by the number of captured prey, and the diversity score is determined through the combination of four behaviour measurements. Among many promising results, a particular diversity-based evaluation strategy and weighting combination was found to provide solutions that exhibit an excellent balance between diversity and efficacy. The results were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively, showing the emergence of diverse and effective behaviours.