Monday, August 31, 2015Letting the fox guard the henhouse. Part 2By Hymie Anisman, Dept. of Neuroscience, Carleton University Last week’s blog outlined several issues related to addictions in general, and then considered some features that were unique to gambling addiction. A discussion (rant?) followed regarding the role of the gambling industry, as well as governments, in facilitating and fueling gambling,... MoreWednesday, August 26, 201599 Stories and Racism is OneThat moment when you’re standing at the Dryden airport, surrounded by a sea of tan MNRF travel shirts, brass nametags, and green Nomex pants. That moment when another white crew cab rolls up, and four crew people jump out, unloading their red and blue bags. Four new faces. Four new stories. That moment when the... MoreMonday, August 24, 2015What’s Next for Childhood Cancer in Canada?By Marie-Claire Flores Pajot, Dept. of Health Sciences, Carleton University No child should be left out from going to school for the very first time, playing at recess with new friends, or having the opportunity to learn about what the world will offer them in life. And no family should lose these or other... MoreWednesday, August 19, 2015Letting the fox guard the henhouse? Part IBy Hymie Anisman, Dept. of Neuroscience, Carleton University Addictions, especially those involving drugs, continue to be a problem world-wide. Several neurobiological and psychosocial processes have been implicated in addiction, which have led to a variety of treatment strategies, although most haven’t been overwhelmingly successful. It’s... MoreThursday, August 13, 2015Air Pollution: The Law of Diminishing Returns?By Amanda Pappin, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Carleton University. We have all experienced the law of diminishing returns. It shows up in various scientific disciplines and in our everyday lives. Weight loss is one example that often comes to mind. If you cut your food intake by a fixed amount, initially weight... MoreSunday, July 26, 2015Calling all Deadly WomenAsk anyone, anywhere, “what’s the deal with all the missing First Nations women,” and I guarantee that the only answers you’ll get in return are shrugged shoulders, or an “ I dunno really.” Despite plaguing Facebook and news pages for weeks, I continue to hear few answers explaining what is going on, what it... MoreSaturday, July 25, 2015Fire Services & Emergency Medical Response: Turf War is a Distraction from Key IssuesBy Susan Braedley, School of Social Work, Carleton University Sometimes a turf war hides bigger problems. In a continuing saga between fire fighters and paramedics, the recent flare-up in Ontario over “who does what” is one example. For decades, many municipalities in Canada have seen a steady, dramatic increase in 9-1-1 calls for medical... MoreWednesday, July 15, 2015Doctor’s Order: A Daily Dose of NeverlandNeverland: the fictional dwelling for Peter Pan, the Lost Boys, Tinker Bell and others; the place where people cease to age or grow up; the occasional nickname for the fire program. While the name refers to both the people, and the job itself, I’m still not sure if it’s a positive, or a morbid... MoreSaturday, July 11, 2015The Flim Flam ManBy Hymie Anisman, Department of Neuroscience, Carleton University Placebo responses, as most people are aware, refer to responses elicited by a treatment that can’t actually have direct organic effects on neurobiological processes. The effects of placebos are often considered in the context of pain relief or in some psychological conditions,... MoreThursday, July 9, 2015Frontline Health – Showcasing Public Health Successes One Story at a TimeBy Frank Welsh, Director of Policy, Canadian Public Health Association Your health and quality of life is determined by a wide range of factors. These social determinants of health (SDH) are broadly defined as “the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age” and include education, income, housing, gender, physical... MoreFriday, July 3, 2015The Built Environment & Social Connections: Possibilities for Preventing Dementia?By Anna Tomczak, Department of Health Sciences, Carleton University For many years the environment has been considered to have important effects on human well-being. Feng shui, for instance, is a Chinese philosophical system that aims to harmonize everyone with the surrounding environment through orientation of buildings and other structures. You... MoreSaturday, June 27, 2015Bonding Over Bad Habits “Hey Root, what time is it?” This question prompts one response: chew o’clock. My crew member will start packing his tin, and I’ll grab a Bandit pouch from mine. One hand on the steering wheel, the other on my dip bottle, I shake my head —when did this happen? Having been taught the risks... MoreThursday, June 18, 2015The Strength and Persistence to RegrowEvery forest is a little magical. Unique layout, diversity, and character—no two forests are ever the same. But when a fire rolls through the forest, it can swallow everything. Colours that once stood as brilliant greens or families of intertwined wood and fibers are all destroyed. All are charred. All become black. No matter... MoreMonday, June 15, 2015The Social Cure: From “we” to “me”By Sarah Zutrauen, Department of Health Sciences, Carleton University Most of us think that we understand what it means to be “healthy”: eat the right foods, get enough exercise, lose weight. What is less obvious is how belonging to social groups can protect and enhance health and well-being both physically and mentally. For example,... MoreWednesday, June 10, 2015White Bread SandwichesThere’s something a little extra delicious about a barbequed meal and a cold beer on the deck after returning home from a fire-fighting tour. Our crew just finished a 19-day tour in Lac la Biche district in Alberta. We were working on a fire near Cold Lake that grew to 10 000 ha in... MoreThursday, June 4, 2015Vaccine Hesitancy and Risk CommunicationBy Suzanne Waldman, School of Journalism and Communication, Carleton University How do we make decisions about which risks to take, and which to not take? Do we look at evidence about the likeliness of harm, or do we go with our gut feel? Do we trust science, or follow celebrity advice? Why some people... MoreSaturday, May 30, 2015Truth & Reconciliation: #MyreconciliationincludesBy Kim Matheson, Department of Neuroscience, Carleton University This week the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada will be releasing its final report. This report details the statements provided by Survivors, staff, and honorary witnesses describing the experiences of over 150,000 First Nations, Inuit, and Metis children who... MoreThursday, May 28, 2015Four Nylon Walls as a Place to Call HomeOne of the most challenging fires I ever worked was in my first year: SLK047. It was in Wabakimi Provincial Park. We were going in to help lay line and protect a caribou-mating site in case the fire came that way. We sustained our line within the first two days, and spent the next... MoreSaturday, May 23, 2015Problems in treating obesity: Complexities of the ghrelin systemBy Martin Wellman, Department of Neuroscience, Carleton University In Statistics Canada’s most recent report on overweight and obesity in 2013, 18.8% of Canadians aged 18 or older were obese based on their body-mass index, while 41.9% of men and 27.7% of women were overweight [1]. We are all aware of these health conditions in... MoreThursday, May 21, 2015Rock Cuts, Lakes, and Basemap 36555I grew up in the small town of Deep River, Ontario. 4200 people. Originally created to house employees of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, I grew up with the narrow-minded impression that everyone would eventually become a doctor, engineer, technician, or researcher of some sort. Some might say (namely my parents) that I had... MoreSaturday, May 16, 2015Cause of Death: Fine Particulate MatterBy Anna Tomczak, Department of Health Sciences, Carleton University It seems like we, as a society, are constantly being warned against disease-causing products, whether it be the dangers of BPA found in our water bottles or the associated risks of getting vaccinated. Rarely are these “findings” of danger found to be true. In fact,... MoreTuesday, May 12, 2015A Natural Path to Sustainable HappinessBy Colin A. Capaldi, Department of Psychology, Carleton University From declining biodiversity to rising sea levels, we are inundated with seemingly endless news about the deteriorating health of our planet. Terms like ecoanxiety and ecoparalysis have emerged into the lexicon to capture the sense of dread and powerlessness that might be... MoreThursday, May 7, 2015From Colonialism to Candor: The Indian Residential SchoolsBy Parnell Davis MacNevin & Amy Bombay, Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University On Wednesday, June 11 2008, Prime Minister Stephan Harper stepped up to a podium in Ottawa and delivered a long overdue speech. In this speech he acknowledged and apologized for the wrongdoings Canada openly committed against Aboriginal peoples for over 100... MoreThursday, April 30, 2015Prisons & mental health: Violence & truth-tellingBy Stuart J. Murray, Department of English Language and Literature, Carleton University Earlier this spring, I was asked to present my work on bioethics at the annual Ontario and Canada Research Chairs Symposium. In 7 minutes, I was to present a PechaKucha style presentation: 20 images, each displayed for 20 seconds, with my dynamic... MoreFriday, April 24, 2015Not all microbes are bad: are we becoming too clean?By Rozlyn Boutin, Department of Neuroscience, Carleton University In today’s society, it seems as though things like “peanut-free zones” and gluten-free menus are popping up all over the place. Even if you yourself don’t have an allergy, you probably know of at least one person that does. Over the past few decades, affluent westernized... MoreFriday, April 17, 2015Mercury and marine birds in ArcticBy Jennifer Provencher, Department of Biology, Carleton University A striking step forward in environmental protection policy was the creation of the Minamata Convention signed by 128 countries in 2013. As of April 2015, ten countries had ratified the convention. The Convention aims to limit the release of mercury into the environment. Although... MoreFriday, April 10, 2015Who are you to nudge me?!?By Kim Matheson, Department of Health Sciences, Carleton University Like many health researchers who are committed to having an impact on human behavior in order to prevent illness, I saw the ‘Nudge’ phenomena as a welcome revelation. And so when a colleague of mine presented a paper at a recent symposium, I, like many... MoreMonday, April 6, 2015Oxytocin the ‘Love Hormone’? Nah!By Robyn McQuaid, Department of Neuroscience, Carleton University You’ve heard of oxytocin, the ‘love hormone’, right? You know, it’s that chemical (hormone) released in our brain that makes us want to cuddle, and is released during sex? Maybe you’ve heard of it as the hormone that is released during breast feeding that helps enhance... MoreSunday, March 29, 2015What happens when moulds and humans share the indoor environment?by David McMullin, Department of Chemistry, Carleton University One of the most fascinating aspects of fungi is their ability to synthesize an array of structurally diverse, often potently bio-active compounds known as secondary metabolites. This phenomenon can be exemplified by Sir Alexander Fleming’s discovery of penicillin from an indoor... More« Previous Page 1 Page 2 Share: Twitter, Facebook Short URL: https://carleton.ca/chaimcentre/?p=2478