Blog — Sage Perspectives Blog

Civic Education in a Time of Democratic Crisis

Democracy has been on the decline globally for 16 consecutive years. U.S. democracy mirrors a similar trend, with increasing public distrust in government, rising polarizations, and growing disinformation and other threats from rapid advances in technology—all of which sound the alarm bell that such division has made it difficult for diverse peoples living in the U.S. to listen to each other and find common ground. And amid these democratic challenges, the 2022 NAEP Civics assessment results show a persistently low level of civics knowledge – a warning sign that our younger generation is not adequately prepared for these complex challenges

Research, Editor's PicksRachel WolfeNovember 20, 2023civic education, democracy, crisis, American democracy education

Brief mental health support for Ontario healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

There is considerable research now, showing the negative mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Across many countries, about one in three people in the general population reported psychological distress. Those at higher risk for being infected with COVID-19, reported more depression and anxiety symptoms. But the healthcare system needed to keep functioning, as many people were sick and dying. How could HCWs be supported to continue their vital work? The current study looked at whether a brief coping-focused psychotherapy treatment, would be associated with positive changes in Ontario HCWs’ mental health during the pandemic.

Research, Editor's PicksRachel WolfeNovember 17, 2023healthcare workers, mental health, COVID-19, pandemic, support

Rethinking older adults' sleep in China from a social behavioral perspective

China is currently experiencing rapid growth in its older adult population, a demographic shift that has the potential to negatively impact its economy and market. This includes issues such as labor shortages and decreased productivity. One significant issue relates to the sleep patterns of older adults.

Research, Editor's PicksRachel WolfeNovember 3, 2023older adults, sleep quality, china, social behavior

Emotions and sustainability

The climate crisis is intensely emotional: many of us feel anxious about the future and frustrated at the lack of adequate political action. At the same time, we may be hopeful that we can avert the worst of the projected outcomes and maybe even feel excited at the prospect of building a better world. Yet despite the clear links between emotions and sustainability, scientific knowledge is lacking on how emotions shape and are shaped by the climate and biodiversity crises, and how our emotions relate to pro-environmental behaviour.

Social Justice Informed Therapeutic Practice: Relational, ethical, transformative and politically-informed

In our recent book, The Handbook of Social Justice in Psychological Therapies, we bring together authors from across counselling, clinical and educational psychology, counselling and psychotherapy, people with lived experience of the topics, and participatory action researchers. We try to rise to current professional and societal challenges and provide contributions on both theoretical understandings and how we might enact our social justice values both inside and outside of the therapy room.

Expanding High School Counseling in a Social Media World

Social media use has been linked to increases in mental illness than experienced by previous generations. Although social media was intended as a place for connection, it has become a place for adverse comparison that contributes to experiences of suicide ideation, body dysmorphia, eating disorders, and loneliness. Many students enter their post high school experience with various unprocessed difficulties that make their academic, family, and career demands more strenuous to manage. An expansion of counseling services, especially in high school, can mitigate the growing crisis of social comparison induced mental illness.

Middle School Students Provide Insight on Using Television Clips for Vaping Education

Over the last five years adolescent use of e-cigarettes, also known as vaping, has risen rapidly. The 2022 National Youth Tobacco Survey found that 2.5 million high school and 380,000 middle school students in the United States currently vape. This is concerning because vaping in young people is associated with several harms. For example, vaping in adolescence is associated with nicotine addiction and starting to smoke combustible cigarettes later in life. There is also the risk of acute illness, such as e-cigarette, or vaping, product-use associated lung injury (EVALI), a disease that first garnered public attention in summer of 2019. By February 2020, more than 2,700 cases requiring hospitalization of EVALI had been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with over 75% of these patients under 35. In mid-January 2020, the CDC reported a link between vaping THC containing devices and EVALI, but noted that 14% of cases were in patients who exclusively used nicotine containing products.

Editor's Picks, ResearchWehida NiaziOctober 17, 2023e-cigarettes, vape, addiction

Behind the Special Collection: Intelligent Manufacturing of Advanced Materials in Structural Applications

In the ever-evolving landscape of technological advancements, one concept has captured the imagination and potential for transformative change: artificial intelligence. This groundbreaking development in information and communication technology has become the catalyst for what we now recognize as intelligent manufacturing. Gone are the days when the performance of modern machine tools relied solely on the operator's theoretical and experimental knowledge. Instead, a new era has dawned, characterized by intelligent behaviors that seamlessly integrate sensing, simulating, modeling, controlling, and monitoring processes. This metamorphosis has given rise to intelligent manufacturing, which outshines its traditional counterpart in ways previously thought unimaginable.

Research, Editor's PicksWehida NiaziOctober 13, 2023special collections, manufacturing, engineering

Bridging the Gap: Harnessing Community Health Workers to Boost Men's Health

Men have shorter life spans and higher rates of preventable illnesses and diseases than women. Despite these concerns, men are less likely to seek preventive healthcare and engage in health promotion efforts – things that have led them to be called a “hard to reach” group. However, research among men has shown that men really do care about their health. This represents a significant contradiction. This contradiction highlights the need to improve health promotion efforts among men.

The School Nurse: An Important Relationship for Families of Children with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

We conducted family interviews with families of children with type 1 diabetes mellitus, in order to better understand the stress that these families experience and the role that school nurses play in supporting these families. We had some interesting findings!

Editor's Picks, ResearchMoazzma ArshadOctober 9, 2023diabetes, type 1 diabetes, school nurses, diabetes mellitus

Navigating the Diabetes Maze: Uncovering the Invisible Burden of Socially Vulnerable Patients

Socially vulnerable type 2 diabetes patients live shorter lives, experience more diabetes complications and benefit less from health services than other type 2 diabetes patients. Diabetes treatment involves both formal health care including consultations and lab tests and self-care including dietary changes, exercise, and medication taking. As disease progresses patients often experience comorbidities and complications demanding specialized health care. This is often more centralized and demand referral potentially making it challenging for socially vulnerable patients first to access and then to attend care.

Editor's Picks, ResearchMoazzma ArshadOctober 6, 2023diabetes

Optimizing Nutrient Preservation: The Science of Homogenizing Human Milk

Human milk has a balanced composition and is considered the first source of nutrition for newborn infants. Its components include antibodies, digestive enzymes, beneficial microorganisms and hormones. However, studies show that the composition of human milk may undergo variations due to intrinsic and extrinsic factors.

Research, Editor's PicksRachel WolfeOctober 4, 2023nutrition, milk, infant health, premature infants

How do AI tools and Large Language models fit into the future of Peer Review?

Explore how AI and Large Language Models are affecting the future of peer review.

Author Services, Editor's PicksRachel WolfeSeptember 26, 2023peer review week, AI, large language models, ChatGPT

University Student Mental Health – An important window of opportunity for prevention and early intervention

The transition to higher education coincides with a pivotal period in psychosocial and neurobiological development. It is therefore a priority to understand the determinants of university student well-being and mental health and use this evidence to develop and further refine student well-being support – at the individual, learning community and institutional levels.

Research, Editor's PicksRachel WolfeSeptember 15, 2023students, mental health, Higher Education, psychosocial, student stress

Quality Improvement in Healthcare – Reflections from the Authors

Quality improvement (QI) has been the core of much of Dr. Maria Kordowicz and Niroshan Siriwardena’s work both as practitioners and researchers. They wanted to write an accessible guide for students and practitioners which would not only convey the theoretical underpinnings of QI, but also consider the applied elements of what it takes to be an ‘improver’.

Research, Editor's PicksRachel WolfeSeptember 12, 2023healthcare, quality improvement, books, improver

Ergonomics for Cleft Providers

When we think about superheroes, we often envision invincible, impervious-to-harm individuals with superpowers beyond imagination. Yet, outside the pages of comic books and movies, real-life heroes work diligently to make this world a better place. They may not wear capes or wield extraordinary abilities, but their superpower lies in their determination to transform people's lives. Some of them wear uniforms and fight crime, while some others have the power to create smiles.

Editor's Picks, ResearchMoazzma ArshadAugust 31, 2023ergonomics

The trajectories autistic children can follow: A guide to the research

One of the hoped-for uses of trajectory research in children with autism is to provide answers to questions that a parent or caregiver might ask a clinician about their autistic child: “What will they be like as they get older?” You can imagine how important something like language development might be. But trajectory research has provided important knowledge about autistic child development for many other different outcomes.

Research, Editor's PicksRachel WolfeAugust 24, 2023autism, children, trajectory research, study

Want to be a Champion for Youth? Explore and Excavate Your Prejudices and Bias

Youth with even one safe and responsive adult in their lives report significantly fewer mental health-related concerns. These adult supporters, known as Youth Champions, have a direct, positive impact on youth mental wellbeing by inspiring participation at school, reducing engagement in high-risk behaviors, and increasing the likelihood youth will flourish in adulthood. As simplistic as it may be to be a “safe and responsive adult,” we “grownups” can make it very complicated in real life due to our own prejudices and biases.

Research, Editor's PicksRachel WolfeAugust 18, 2023youth, mental health, LGBTQIA2S+, Antiracism

Early Career Researcher? Say hello to our new Junior Guest Editor Program

The Technology in Cancer Research & Treatment is excited to formally announce the launch of the Junior Guest Editor Program to address the needs of ECRs and offer a truly unique experience. This program provides ECRs like you in the field of cancer research with an exceptional opportunity to curate and shape Special Collections within our esteemed journal. The Junior Guest Editor Program is an innovative addition to our journal's offerings, designed to support and empower all oncology ECRs in their academic journey. Read on for more details about the program, its benefits, and why you should consider participating.