Margaret Glassford fonds, 1941, 1951, 1961, 1971, 1973-1975, 1977-1984, 1986-2000, 2002, 2005, n.d.

Margaret was an only child who grew up on a farm just east of Cayuga, Ontario. After high school, Margaret attended Hamilton Teacher’s College and took a position with Grantham Public School Board and taught at Power Glen school. Margaret was married in 1962 and had 2 children, a daughter and a son in 1963 and 1964, respectively. Margaret left her teaching job to raise her children. Margaret was very creative and artistic and during this time, focused on these talents, which included painting, graphic arts and sewing. Margaret was also an accomplished pianist. In her 40’s, Margaret enrolled at Brock University and in 1989 obtained a Honors Bachelor of Arts degree with First-Class Honors in Sociology. In partial fulfillment of her Honors B.A. she completed her thesis that is entitled ; The State and Liberal Feminism: The Ontario Government’s “Business Ownership For Women Program”. While living in St. Catharines, Margaret attended York University and graduated with a Master of Arts in Sociology in 1992 where her studies focused on women’s issues. Margaret received a scholarship from York University and was a teaching assistant. Margaret stayed on at York University and completed her academic requirements for a Doctorate degree in Sociology. Her dissertation was on self employed women in St. Catharines at the beginning of WWII -- not the” Rosie the Riveters” who took over jobs formerly held by men who had to go off to fight World War II, but women who ran their own businesses when that was still unusual. Margaret completed the research for her thesis but did not complete her written thesis as she made a difficult decision to put her academic work on hold in the mid-1990’s and she returned to her love for the arts, although she always remained a voracious reader and interested in women’s issues. In the last decade of her life, she took up quilting with a passion, which she referred to as fabric arts. Margaret loved colour and being non-traditional. Margaret had been a quilting instructor at the Flemington College for Fine Arts in Haliburton. In 1997, Margaret founded Project Smile in the St. Catharines region, a non-profit group who make quilts for children with cancer. Margaret was also the President of the Niagara Heritage Quilters’ Guild in 2006-2007 and was very involved with the Local Council of Women.

Exploring the Influence of Female Friendships on Decisions to Discuss the Breast Self-Exam in Young Adult Women

The breast self-exam (BSE) has been an important method for detection of breast cancer, especially in women under the age of 40. This study used grounded theory to explore the possible influence of female friendships on young women’s decisions regarding BSE. Conversations with six women in their 20s and 30s revealed that discussion of BSE is an exceptional conversation facilitated by the female friendship “safe zone” and a germinal event. Without being prompted by a germinal event, such as a health scare, it is generally considered to be an unnecessary conversation about private matters and viewed as out of the ordinary, especially for low-risk women. This conversation most easily occurs within the female friendship “safe zone” that develops through the body in common, a sense of trust, and private information sharing. Implications include peer mentoring for sharing and educating women and healthcare professionals on conditions that facilitate the exceptional conversation.

Preliminary epidemiological study of latent tuberculosis in Mexican agricultural workers in the Niagara region, Canada

It is well documented that the majority of Tuberculosis (TB) cases diagnosed in Canada are related to foreign-bom persons from TB high-burden countries. The Canadian seasonal agricultural workers program (SAWP) operating with Mexico allows migrant workers to enter the country with a temporary work permit for up to 8 months. Preiimnigration screening of these workers by both clinical examination and chest X-ray (CXR) reduces the risk of introducing cases of active pulmonary TB to Canada, but screening for latent TB (LTBI) is not routinely done. Studies carried out in industrialized nations with high immigration from TBendemic countries provide data of lifetime LTBI reactivation of around 10% but little is known about reactivation rates within TB-endemic countries where new infections (or reinfections) may be impossible to distinguish from reactivation. Migrant populations like the SAWP workers who spend considerable amounts of time in both Canada and TBendemic rural areas in Mexico are a unique population in terms of TB epidemiology. However, to our knowledge no studies have been undertaken to explore either the existence of LTBI among Mexican workers, the probability of reactivation or the workers' exposure to TB cases while back in their communities before returning the following season. Being aware of their LTBI status may help workers to exercise healthy behaviours to avoid TB reactivation and therefore continue to access the SAWP. In order to assess the prevalence of LTBI and associated risk factors among Mexican migrant workers a preliminary cross sectional study was designed to involve a convenience sample of the Niagara Region's Mexican workers in 2007. Research ethics clearance was granted by Brock University. Individual questionnaires were administered to collect socio-demographic and TB-related epidemiological data as well as TB knowledge and awareness levels. Cellular immunity to M tuberculosis was assessed by both an Interferon-y release assay (lGRA), QuantiFERON -TB Gold In-Tube (QFf™) and by the tuberculin skin test (TSn using Mantoux. A total of 82 Mexican workers (out of 125 invited) completed the study. Most participants were male (80%) and their age ranged from 22 to 65 years (mean 38.5). The prevalence of LTBI was 34% using TST and 18% using QFTTM. As previously reported, TST (using ~lOmm cut-off) showed a sensitivity of 93.3% and a specificity of 79.1 %. These findings at the moment cannot predict the probability of progression to active TB; only longitudinal cohort studies of this population can ascertain this outcome. However, based on recent publications, lORA positive individuals may have up to 14% probability of reactivation within the next two years. Although according to the SA WP guidelines, all workers undergo TB screening before entering or re-entering Canada, CXR examination requirements showed to be inconsistent for this population: whereas 100% of the workers coming to Canada for the first time reported having the procedure done, only 31 % of returning participants reported having had a CXR in the past year. None of the participants reported ever having a CXR compatible with TB which was consistent with the fact that none had ever been diagnosed with active pulmonary TB and with only 3.6% reporting close contact with a person with active TB in their lifetime. Although Mexico reports that 99% of popUlation is fully immunized against TB within the first year of age, only 85.3% of participants reported receiving BOC vaccine in childhood. Conversely, even when TST is not part of the routine TB screening in endemic countries, a suqDrisingly high 25.6% reported receiving a TST in the past. In regards to TB knowledge and awareness, 74% of the studied population had previous knowledge about (active) TB, 42% correctly identified active TB symptomatology, 4.8% identified the correct route of transmission, 4.8% knew about the existence of LTBI, 3.6% knew that latent TB could reactivate and 48% recognized TB as treatable and curable. Of all variables explored as potential risk factors for LTBI, age was the only one which showed statistical significance. Significant associations could not be proven for other known variables (such as sex, TB contact, history of TB) probably because of the small sample size and the homogeneity of the sample. Screening for LTBI by TST (high sensitivity) followed by confirmation with QFT''"'^ (high specificity) suggests to be a good strategy especially for immigrants from TB high-burden countries. After educational sessions, workers positive for LTBI gained greater knowledge about the signs and symptoms of TB reactivation as well as the risk factors commonly associated with reactivation. Additionally, they were more likely to attend their annual health check up and request a CXR exam to monitor for TB reactivation.

The impact of integrated programming on student attitude and achievement in grade 9 academic mathematics and science

This research studioo the effect of integrated instruction in mathematics and~ science on student achievement in and attitude towards both mathematics and science. A group of grade 9 academic students received instruction in both science and mathematics in an integrated program specifically developed for the purposes of the research. This group was compared to a control group that had received science and mathematics instruction in a traditional, nonintegrated program. The findings showed that in all measures of attitude, there was no significant difference between the students who participated in the integrated science and mathematics program and those who participated in a traditional science and mathematics program. The findings also revealed that integration did improve achievement on some of the measures used. The performance on mathematics open-ended problem-solving tasks improved after participation in the integrated program, suggesting that the integrated students were better able to apply their understanding of mathematics in a real-life context. The performance on the final science exam was also improved for the integrated group. Improvement was not noted on the other measures, which included EQAO scores and laboratory practical tasks. These results raise the issue of the suitability of the instruments used to gauge both achievement and attitude. The accuracy and suitability of traditional measures of achievement are considered. It is argued that they should not necessarily be used as the measure of the value of integrated instruction in a science and mathematics classroom.