The Conversation – Canada – Page 34

February 17, 2026

CEOs who experience natural disasters are more likely to lead safer workplaces

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Michel Magnan, Professeur et Titulaire de la Chaire de Gouvernance S.A. Jarislowsky, Concordia University

Every year, millions of workers are injured or die on the job, imposing enormous human and economic costs. The socio-economic impact of workplace safety is hard to avoid and presents governments and organizations with a major challenge.

In the United States alone, more than 2.6 million work-related injuries occurred in 2023. These incidents resulted in an estimated economic cost of US$176 billion and a loss of around 103 million workdays, according to national data.

In Canada, a recent report estimates the economic costs of workplace injuries at $29.4 billion, which is even higher than in the U.S. once population size is taken into account.

A large body of research shows that external pressures shape workplace safety, with finances, regulatory enforcement and corporate governance being key drivers. However, emerging evidence points to the influence of corporate leadership itself — particularly the “tone at the top” set by chief executive officers (CEOs).

Previous studies suggest that certain executive traits can undermine safety. Overconfidence, equity-based pay incentives and regulatory compliance can impact safety policies, often negatively. What remains less explored is the role of a CEO’s personal traits and backgrounds. Our recent study sought to fill that gap.

Early adversity and executive decision-making

Our study examined whether CEOs’ formative experiences help explain differences in workplace safety outcomes.

Our analysis focused on more than 500 CEOs of large U.S. corporations between 2002 and 2011. We identified where each CEO lived between the ages of five and 15, and matched this information to county-level evidence of natural disasters that caused significant economic damage.

CEOs in the top decile of disaster-related economic damage were classified as having experienced an early traumatic experience.

We then assessed whether such exposure translated into better workplace safety performance. We measured this using government injury and illness data, scaled by the total number of hours worked by employees.

After accounting for firm and CEO attributes, we found that firms led by CEOs who grew up amid severe disasters — such as floods, hurricanes or earthquakes — reported significantly fewer workplace injuries than comparable firms (about 24 per cent less, on average).

Further tests revealed that such results were not an outcome of CEO risk aversion preferences. Instead, the differences appeared to reflect distinct managerial choices.

When character counts the most

One plausible explanation for our findings lies in how early adversity shapes values. Experiencing a disaster during childhood may foster empathy and a sense of responsibility toward others.

In a corporate setting, such prosocial tendencies may motivate CEOs to translate their empathy into concrete organizational actions that prioritize employee welfare. These include improving safety standards, investing in employee safety training or adopting technologies designed to mitigate workplace hazards.

Importantly, these effects were nuanced. The relationship between early-life disaster exposure and workplace safety was strongest where CEOs had more power relative to their boards, faced intense pressure to meet earnings targets or operated in industries with weaker union representation.

In such environments, a CEO’s personal values and character may matter more. Leaders who experienced disasters earlier in life appear to be more willing to protect workers, even when it is costly or inconvenient.

Consistent with this interpretation, we also found that firms led by these CEOs were more likely to make concrete operational changes linked to safer workplaces, including investing in health and safety programs and easing excessive employee workloads — practices that are typically linked to lower injury rates.

Implications for governance and policy

Early adversity does not automatically produce better leaders, nor should personal history replace regulation, enforcement or collective bargaining. That said, our findings suggest that leadership is shaped not only by training and incentives, but by life itself.

The findings are noteworthy from governance, leadership and societal perspectives, as they suggest there are some corporate leaders who are willing to confront short-term financial constraints and corporate resistance to making workplaces safer.

For boards, investors and policymakers, understanding leaders’ formative experiences may offer new insight into who is most likely to truly put human safety first.

In an era in which corporate responsibility is increasingly scrutinized, who leads firms can have tangible consequences for millions of workers.

Yu Wang receives funding from National Natural Science Foundation of China (Project-ID:
72302033).

Michel Magnan and Yetaotao Qiu do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. CEOs who experience natural disasters are more likely to lead safer workplaces – https://theconversation.com/ceos-who-experience-natural-disasters-are-more-likely-to-lead-safer-workplaces-275061

February 17, 2026

Why mass shootings can’t be reduced to a mental illness diagnosis

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Samuel Freeze, PhD Student in Clinical Forensic Psychology, Simon Fraser University

In the aftermath of violent tragedies like the recent mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., a common panic-fueled and grief-stricken reaction is to rush to simple, tidy explanations. Mental illness, for example, is often used to make sense of what appears to be senseless.

The explanation is appealing because mass shootings feel shocking and sudden, and mental illness offers a way to wrestle with them and try to understand. But the reality is that although mental illness sometimes plays a role in violence, it’s rarely the most important factor.

Regardless, politicians proceed to call for improvements to the mental health-care system, sidestepping more difficult conversations about violence prevention. Framing mass shootings as a mental illness problem misrepresents the evidence, and redirects our attention away from the other psychological, social and structural conditions that increase the risk of violence.

Why mental illness is a poor predictor of violence

Most people living with a mental illness are never violent, and most people who are violent are not living with a mental illness. One estimate suggests that even if all mental illnesses were somehow eliminated, about 95 per cent of violent acts would still need to be explained.

In fact, people living with mental illness are themselves more likely to be victims of violence. And mental illness is much more strongly associated with suicide than violence, especially when guns are involved.

It shouldn’t be treated as a single explanation — it’s a broad label covering hundreds of conditions. Some symptoms of mental illness, like psychosis, are associated with a slightly higher risk of violence. But the vast majority of people experiencing these symptoms will never be violent.

The appeal of mental illness as an explanation is driven in part by stigma. It resonates with people because there’s a commonly held belief that those with mental illness are dangerous, despite evidence to the contrary.

In most cases, other risk factors play a much larger role in explaining violent acts.

Violence risk is about probability, not prediction

Research on violence shows that it rarely emerges from a single cause, but from the interaction and accumulation of multiple risk factors over time in particular contexts and situations.

Professionals who assess the potential for violence focus on specific risk factors — personal, situational and contextual characteristics identified through research — that help to understand someone’s likelihood for future violence.

Even those risk factors simply point to the probability of violence, not certainty.

Substance misuse and intoxication, antisocial traits and attitudes that support violence, experiencing victimization or past trauma, negative peer influence and access to lethal means like firearms are examples of risk factors other than mental health problems that are statistically associated with violence.

These factors often interact with each other and build up over time, potentially shaping motivation, lowering inhibitions and destabilizing decision-making.

Psychiatrists and psychologists involved in the investigation of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre in Colorado described perpetrators Eric Harris as a psychopath and Dylan Klebold as an “angry depressive.” They noted that Klebold likely would not have carried out the attack on his own. What proved important for attempting to explain his involvement was not depression, but the interaction between anger, grievance, negative peer influence and access to firearms.

This case illustrates how diagnosis alone explains little without paying attention to other factors like social dynamics and access to weapons.

The common pathways behind mass shootings

Mass shootings only make up about one per cent of gun deaths in the U.S., yet they tend to shape the overall discussion about gun violence. The risk factors and motivations involved in mass shootings vary by context (workplace, school) and differ somewhat from those involved in more typical violence.

The definitive role of mental illness in mass shootings isn’t clear, given how complex, unique and statistically rare these tragedies are.

Part of the challenge is that mental illness is defined differently across studies. Overall, severe mental illness appears overrepresented among mass shooters, and having a history of mental health problems, more broadly, is also common. However, rejection, despair, grudges and rage appear to be far more important in explaining why these attacks occur.

Mass shooters tend to be young white men who are socially isolated, struggling at work or in school, and experiencing a sense of alienation. Many report histories of childhood trauma, bullying and social rejection, or at least perceive themselves to have been repeatedly wronged.

Perpetrators may fixate on and ruminate about negative experiences, which can harden into grievances directed at groups or institutions that they feel wronged by. Violence, in this context, then seems justified and can offer a sense of power, revenge or recognition.

Some mass shootings are also tied to extremist ideologies and are intended to garner attention, communicate a message or assert identity within a movement. This may increase a perpetrator’s sense of belonging or purpose. Online environments can act as echo chambers that promote and accelerate radicalization, particularly when someone feels they have been rejected elsewhere.

Many mass shooters also develop an intense interest in weapons and “leak” their plans or grievances to others before an attack.

Recognizing these warning signs can help create opportunities for intervention. At the same time, many people who fit these descriptions will never be violent, highlighting the uncertainty involved in risk assessment.

The future of violence risk assessment

The uncomfortable truth is that we just don’t know for sure what leads to a mass shooting. But focusing on a single risk factor distracts from the many others that research shows are important to pay attention to before they lead to violence.

Preventing future tragedies requires a clearer understanding of how risk develops along a pathway to violence and early intervention to handle warning behaviours.

Viewing violence as a complex process is essential. Reducing it to cursory labels like “mentally ill” makes it harder to address.

Samuel Freeze does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Why mass shootings can’t be reduced to a mental illness diagnosis – https://theconversation.com/why-mass-shootings-cant-be-reduced-to-a-mental-illness-diagnosis-275920

February 17, 2026

Big feelings: 5 ways parents can help kids learn to regulate their emotions

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Marissa Nivison, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Psychology, University of Calgary

Parenting can be hard and can feel especially overwhelming when children have strong emotions, such as anger, frustration or excitement, that they are not always able to regulate on their own.

Although children may struggle to manage strong emotions, parents play a critical role in helping them navigate them.

Drawing on our work with children and families, we share practical tips and resources to help parents support their children through emotional ups and downs — big feelings.

The development of processing emotions

Children are not born knowing how to regulate their feelings — it’s a skill they learn as they grow. The ability to process emotions is often learned from modelling, including watching how their parents deal with their own emotions.

In infancy, we see that babies’ cries are a form of emotional communication. For example, this is how babies let their parents know that they are in distress, such as being hungry or needing a diaper change.

As toddlers, children often experience new and more complex emotions that they cannot always identify. For example, a two-year-old may feel anger and jealously when introduced to their new baby sibling because their parent’s attention is suddenly focused on the baby instead of them. With limited understanding of their big emotion, they may act out by directing anger toward their baby sibling or parent.

As children grow older, they gradually develop their own skills to manage big feelings. Parents can help to build up their child’s “emotional tool kit” through modelling good emotion regulation strategies as well as explicitly teaching children these skills.

Big feelings aren’t necessarily negative. Children often have difficulty regulating big, positive emotions as well, such as excitement or joy.

How parents can help

There are several ways that parents can help children learn how to manage big feelings.

Stay calm. Children are sensitive to the emotions of the adults around them. When possible, approaching your child’s big feelings with a calm presence can help them feel safe and supported. Of course, staying calm is not always easy, especially in the middle of a stressful moment. Many caregivers find that strong emotions can feel contagious or overwhelming.

If you notice this in yourself, it can help to take a short pause. Taking slow, deep breaths, leaving the room momentarily (if possible) or turning away from your child to give yourself time to collect your own emotions can be a valuable reset.

The good news is that there are several resources — many of which are free — that can help strengthen a parent’s ability to regulate their own emotions and promote emotion processing in their children.

Praise positive behaviour. Noticing, recognizing and reinforcing positive behaviours is incredibly important. While it’s natural to react to negative challenging behaviours, it’s just as (if not more) important to acknowledge when your child is handling their emotions well. Reinforcing these positive behaviours has been shown to reduce the number and intensity of negative outbursts over time.

Identify and validate emotions. After a child has settled down from an intense emotional reaction, it can help if the parent explicitly identifies what the child was feeling — for example, “I know you are angry and sad because you cannot have a cookie before dinner.” By identifying the feelings, children are slowly learning to how to recognize their own emotions. This is an important first step in knowing which skills to use to help calm themselves down.

For example, when a child recognizes they are angry, they may know that taking deep breaths makes them feel better. This can also help children to feel that they are in a comfortable environment where they can actually express how they are feeling. Using an emotions wheel or chart that names and illustrates facial expressions of a range of feelings can help parents and children identify and validate emotions.

Practice. Take the opportunity to teach your children about emotions outside of their own feelings. For example, identifying emotions can be turned into a game by making different faces and asking your child what emotions they think you are feeling. Parents can also pause during reading books and ask their child what the characters may be feeling. The Center for Early Childhood Mental Health Consolation at Georgetown University has put together an extensive list of activities that can help you teach your child emotions in everyday life.

Finally, know when to seek additional help. Temper tantrums, outbursts and emotional displays are very common in the toddler and preschool years. Young children are still developing the brain systems that support self-regulation. However, if a child’s outbursts are unusually intense, frequent or prolonged, additional supports may be helpful, such as from a family doctor or pediatrician.

Marissa Nivison receives funding from The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Gizem Keskin receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Sheri Madigan receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation, the Calgary Health Foundation, and the Canada Research Chairs program.

– ref. Big feelings: 5 ways parents can help kids learn to regulate their emotions – https://theconversation.com/big-feelings-5-ways-parents-can-help-kids-learn-to-regulate-their-emotions-275173

February 16, 2026

More police and surveillance won’t prevent the next school tragedy

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Beyhan Farhadi, Assistant Professor, Educational Policy and Equity, University of Toronto

I’m still processing the devastating mass school shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C. Like many people across the country, I’m thinking about the families and communities directly impacted while trying to anticipate next steps.

As an academic who researches surveillance technology in Canadian schools,
I am also watching the media landscape for developments in coverage and shifts in discourse.

This is because my preliminary research suggests – based on analysis of news media reports between 2010 and 2025 – a single, tragic story can impact expanded visible security measures and significant investments.

When violence and tragedy erupt, governments and school leaders face intense pressure to act quickly, and urgency can produce policy responses that signal control without a plan to evaluate their impact.

Focus on securing schools

Market research from the United States estimates that billions of dollars a year are invested in “securing” schools, often in response to school shootings.

These measures can feel reassuring in the short term, but decades of U.S. experience following the 1999 Columbine shooting suggest that expanding visible security measures shows limited or mixed evidence of reducing serious violent incidents, and does not provide causal support for the claim that these measures prevent rare violent incidents.

CBC reports that the tragedy in Tumbler Ridge “and other intruder incidents at schools” are “reviving conversations across Canada about school safety.” Since the Tumbler Ridge school shooting, there have been calls to examine emergency procedures not just in Tumbler Ridge and B.C., but also in Manitoba and Alberta.

Premier Danielle Smith suggested the Alberta Ministry of Education may expand school resource officers after upcoming safety audits.

Expanded police presence to address violence

This recent event follows a growing movement in Canadian jurisdictions to expand police presence to address violence in schools.

The British Columbia Ministry of Education fired the Victoria School Board for banning police in schools. In Ontario, Bill 33 is set to expand policing in schools and erode democratic oversight of school boards.

Scholarly evidence on school policing depends on how studies are designed and findings interpreted. A 2018 evaluation of Ontario’s Peel Region estimated school policing had positive social value based on surveys and stakeholder reports. However, it did not compare schools with and without officers or test whether police presence reduces serious violent incidents.

In contrast, a 2020 U.S.-wide study comparing similar schools before and after increases in police funding did find reductions in non-weapon physical fights. However, it found no reduction in gun-related incidents. It also documented increases in suspensions, expulsions and police referrals for Black students and students with disabilities.

Human rights commissions from both Ontario and British Columbia have cautioned that police programs in schools must meet a high legal threshold and have raised concerns about disproportionate impacts on Black, Indigenous, racialized, disabled and 2SLGBTQ+ students. They highlight that any policy that risks discrimination must be necessary, proportionate and supported by evidence.

This raises an important question: if police integration in schools increases the likelihood that already marginalized students will be criminalized through suspensions, expulsions and arrests — all of which fortify the school-to-prison pipeline — what kind of safety are we building and for whom?

Threat assessment and AI

Another common way schools are expanding security measures is through threat assessment models that embed digital monitoring tools and law enforcement deeper into schooling. This raises important questions about proportionality and democratic oversight, especially when students and their families may not understand how their information is being collected, used or retained.

These models are presented as preventative rather than disciplinary, focused on identifying suspicious behaviour early and intervening before harm takes place.

Evidence supporting threat assessment emphasizes early identification and co-ordinated intervention, not a permanent police presence, routine intelligence gathering or digitally monitoring students.

Expanded digital threat assessment, in particular, is connected to the development of artificial intelligence tools that are marketed to schools as preventative solutions. These solutions include scanning social media, flagging keywords, mapping digital networks and generating “risk scores” based on behavioural data.

In practice, this means that a student’s online activity can be captured and shared across school and law enforcement systems in ways that were not possible a decade ago.

These early intervention tools subject students to continuous monitoring, with private actors mediating the flow of information from students through schools to police.

Relational breakdowns

Research on mass school shootings underscores
how rare and context-specific they are.

While visible security measures may signal action, they do not address the social disconnection and relational breakdowns that often precipitate youth violence in cases where youth are current students at a targeted school, or where they are not (as in the case of Tumbler Ridge).

Students who are marginalized are most likely to experience negative school climates. In schools, these vulnerabilities call for support and trust-building, while in policing contexts, these vulnerabilities are a risk to surveil and detect relative to behavioural baselines.

When police presence expands in schools, the students most in need of care may also be the most likely to be watched. Students who feel watched are less likely to feel trusting of their school community.

Protective social connections

Decades of research on youth violence consistently identify protective social connections not only between students, but also among families, staff and the broader community. Early identification and intervention through multidisciplinary teams that include educators, administrators and mental health professionals are central to prevention efforts.

This does not require engaging in surveillance activities that risk the human rights of students or subject them to criminalization. It does require that we put resources toward educating and supporting youth rather than policing them.

In times of collective grief, the choices leaders make can shape school policy for years. If safety is the goal, relational infrastructure matters.

In this way, prevention depends not only on identifying threats, but on making environments in schools where students and youth feel supported, comfortable seeking help and willing to speak up when a peer needs support.

Beyhan Farhadi receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

– ref. More police and surveillance won’t prevent the next school tragedy – https://theconversation.com/more-police-and-surveillance-wont-prevent-the-next-school-tragedy-275872

February 16, 2026

Ski mountaineering is making its Winter Olympics debut at Milano Cortina 2026

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Angela Schneider, Director, International Centre for Olympic Studies, Western University

The 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan and Cortona d’Ampezzo in northern Italy feature eight new medal events and one new official sport: ski mountaineering, or “skimo.”

It’s an endurance sport in which athletes ascend mountains on skis fitted with climbing skins, carry their skis over sections too steep to skin and then descend on alpine terrain. In total, 36 skimo athletes will compete at the Stelvio Ski Centre in Bormio.

The Olympic format features two events: the individual sprint and the mixed relay. Athletes alternate between uphill climbing with ski skins, boot-packing and downhill skiing. Sprint races last about three to four minutes, while the mixed relay features longer, more demanding courses.

Alongside skimo, the 2026 Games have introduced women’s doubles luge, women’s large hill individual ski jumping, a freestyle skiing dual moguls event and alpine skiing team combined.

Skimo stands out within the Olympic landscape as the first new sport to be introduced within the Winter Games since skeleton was introduced at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.

Do we need more skiing at the Games?

With 55 of 109 medals awarded for skiing events at the 2022 Winter Olympics, it’s fair to question whether we need more skiing at the Winter Games. The International Olympic Committee certainly thought so, approving skimo and three additional skiing events for 2026 while removing one.

Alpine skiing debuted at the 1936 Winter Games in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, while Nordic and ski jumping have been part of the Winter Games since the 1924 Olympics in Chamonix, France.

One of the original skiing disciplines in early editions of the Winter Games was military patrol, a combined skiing and shooting event widely considered a precursor to biathlon.

Milano Cortina has introduced a new variation on this tradition through ski mountaineering. It has been described as the “son of the biathlon without the shooting,” combining rapid transitions, technical descents and endurance climbing under extreme conditions.

What sets skimo apart is its unique focus on upward movement. Unlike most Winter Olympic sports, which emphasize downward or horizontal motion, skimo focuses on human-powered vertical movement — how effectively athletes can climb. Cross-country skiing is one of the only other sports in the Olympics comparable, but the elevation changes during the race are far smaller.

Skimo also broadens the physiological demands on athletes at the Games, rewarding qualities such as pacing, resilience and strategic energy management.

Past and present

Ski mountaineering has deep roots dating back over 1,000 years, long before the activity was formalized as a competitive sport.

It began to emerge in the late 1800s in the Alps as an adventure-based activity before transitioning into organized competition. Its first major race was the Trofeo Mezzalama in Italy in 1933.

The first world championships of the sport were held in 2002 in France. Since then, the event has taken place every two years, alternating with continental championships, alongside an annual World Cup circuit that has helped professionalize the sport and pave its way to Olympic inclusion.

Ski mountaineering is now governed by the International Ski Mountaineering Federation and was featured at the Lausanne 2020 Winter Youth Olympics before earning full Olympic status.

Accessibility and risk

Skimo has the potential to democratize participation in winter sport because it relies on climbing skins and micro-spikes — equipment that is widely available and comparatively affordable.

Because the sport is relatively accessible, participants can take part in a wide range of mountainous environments with minimal technical equipment compared with other mountaineering disciplines. That accessibility, however, does not eliminate risk.

Most ski mountaineering takes place off-piste, where weather, avalanches and navigation hazards increase the risk of accidents.

As interest in the sport grows following its Olympic debut, it may draw inexperienced participants into hazardous terrain. Newcomers, in particular, should seek proper training and use safe routes in regulated environments, ideally with supervision or a partner in case of emergency.

Education around snow sports, safety awareness and responsible participation will be essential to ensure the democratization of ski mountaineering does not come at the cost of increased accidents.

The rise of designated, safer off-piste areas where people can try the sport safely is a good compromise between safety and sustainability.

Canada’s skimo prospects

Canadians are making strides on the international skimo circuit. Emma Cook-Clarke, a former mountain runner, placed sixth in the team event and women’s sprint at the 2025 world championships.

However, Canada narrowly missed Olympic qualification for 2026. This year’s favourites include Switzerland for the women’s sprint, France for the mixed relay and Spain for the men’s sprint.

Looking ahead, future success will require sustained investment. Cook-Clarke could help lead Canada to ski mountaineering gold in four years’ time, but mid- and long-term success will require a lot of work.

Canada’s elite skimo program is still emerging compared with European nations such as Norway, where the sport is well established.

Success should be measured by grassroots growth, which will provide a base for a larger, more robust elite team, and by expanded international experience as athletes compete more frequently on the world circuit.

These developments require resources, which are inevitably limited. Yet investment in ski mountaineering could be in Canada’s best interests. As a new Olympic sport, it presents an opportunity for Canada to position itself as a future leader as it has done in many other winter disciplines.

Skimo’s Olympic debut provides Canada with an opportunity to make those investments and strengthen its position at future Games.

A new direction for the Olympics

Skimo’s inclusion reflects changes in priorities surrounding sustainability, accessibility and the nature of athletic challenge.

The shift comes at a critical moment. The Winter Games face mounting scrutiny over their environmental footprint, particularly as warming temperatures threaten snow reliability in host regions.

Against this backdrop, ski mountaineering offers a meaningful test case for how the IOC can work more diligently toward its climate and sustainability goals. Skimo athletes ascend and descend under their own power rather than relying on the energy-intensive lift systems used in traditional alpine events.

While emissions from travel and venue construction remain concerns, the significance of this small shift should not be underestimated, especially in the Italian Alps, which are already experiencing above-average temperatures.

As climate change reshapes winter sport, there is evidence that broader ski culture is shifting toward a more environmentally friendly footing. Skimo is a sign that the Olympics as a whole could follow suit.

May Keeble, an undergraduate student in sports management and coaching from Bath University, contributed to this article.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Ski mountaineering is making its Winter Olympics debut at Milano Cortina 2026 – https://theconversation.com/ski-mountaineering-is-making-its-winter-olympics-debut-at-milano-cortina-2026-273895

February 16, 2026

What it really means to love your job — and when that love can become a liability

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Nick Turner, Professor and Future Fund Chair in Leadership, Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary

What does it mean to love your job?

The language of love has become increasingly common in contemporary discussions of work. People say they want to love their jobs, organizations promise roles candidates will love, and recruitment ads frame employment as an emotional commitment rather than an economic transaction.

Yet despite its ubiquity, the idea of “loving your job” is rarely defined with precision. What does it actually mean to love your job? And is that kind of love always good for employees and organizations?

These questions matter for both employees and organizations. Our recent research set out to understand what employees are describing when they say they love their work, and whether that experience is always advantageous.

What does it actually mean to love your job?

In a series of studies led by Michelle Inness at the University of Alberta and co-authored with Kevin Kelloway at Saint Mary’s University, our research team set out to answer a simple question: what does it mean to love your job?

Across multiple studies involving thousands of employees, we found that loving your job is not the same as being satisfied with your work or feeling engaged. Instead, it reflects three experiences coming together.

The first is enthusiasm for the work itself. People who love their jobs genuinely enjoy what they do and feel energized by their work. This goes beyond momentary satisfaction and reflects a deeper emotional connection to the work.

The second is commitment to the organization. Loving your job involves feeling attached to the organization you work for, believing that its problems are your problems and finding meaning in your role within it.

The third is connection with others at work. This does not mean oversharing or blurring professional boundaries. Rather, it reflects feeling emotionally connected to the people or community at work. This sense of trust and belonging makes work feel personally significant.

Many employees are satisfied with their jobs without feeling emotionally connected to them. Others feel highly engaged without experiencing their work as deeply meaningful. Still others may love the work they do but feel little attachment to the organization or the people around them.

Love of the job is different. It reflects a rare alignment, where enthusiasm, commitment and connection come together at once.

Why love of the job can be powerful

When these elements converge, love of the job can function as a powerful psychological resource.

In our research, love of the job was associated with outcomes above and beyond job satisfaction and work engagement. Employees who loved their jobs reported higher psychological well-being and remained more involved in their work.

For organizations, this distinction is important. Love of the job is not another label for motivation or engagement, but reflects a deeper form of attachment that helps explain why some employees remain invested even when work becomes demanding.

Under supportive conditions, loving one’s job can contribute to both individual well-being and sustained performance.

When love becomes a vulnerability

There are some possible drawbacks. While we didn’t find evidence that love of the job directly causes burnout, overwork or exploitation, past research suggests that having a deep attachment to work can create vulnerability when organizational conditions are poor.

Employees who love their jobs often feel a strong sense of responsibility for their work and their organization. In supportive environments, this can be a strength; in unsupportive ones, it may make it harder to step back, set limits or recognize when demands have become unreasonable.

In other words, love of the job may heighten employees’ exposure to the effects of poor management.

This is especially relevant in organizations that encourage employees to bring their “whole selves” to work or frame work as a calling. When strong emotional attachment is celebrated without realistic workloads, fair compensation or respect for boundaries, devotion can turn into obligation.

A paradox for organizations

These findings from our research point to a paradox. In our studies, employees who reported a higher love of their job were more likely to go above and beyond their formal roles. More broadly, organizations tend to value employees who care deeply about their work, seeing them as more invested and willing to contribute.

But encouraging love of the job without protecting those who experience it can undermine the very outcomes organizations value. Love cannot be manufactured, demanded or treated as a performance metric. It also cannot be substituted for sound management practices.

Supporting love of the job means creating conditions where enjoyment, commitment, and connection can develop organically through meaningful work, supportive leadership and healthy job design. Love of the job does not replace good management; it depends on it.

Decades of research on job design, leadership, and employee well-being show that sustained positive attachment to work requires clear expectations, manageable demands and psychological safety. Love cannot compensate for chronic overload, unclear roles or lack of support.

Loving your job can be fulfilling when that love is freely experienced under healthy conditions. But when love is expected or leveraged in place of good management, it can become a source of strain rather than strength.

Nick Turner receives research funding from Cenovus Energy Inc., Haskayne School of Business’s Future Fund, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).

Julian Barling receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Borden Chair of Leadership.

Kaylee Somerville receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Council of Canada (SSHRC).

Zhanna Lyubykh receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).

– ref. What it really means to love your job — and when that love can become a liability – https://theconversation.com/what-it-really-means-to-love-your-job-and-when-that-love-can-become-a-liability-275204

February 16, 2026

Draining wetlands produces substantial emissions in the Canadian Prairies

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Kerri Finlay, Professor, Department of Biology, University of Regina

The value of wetlands on the landscape cannot be overstated — they store and filter water, provide wildlife habitat, cool the atmosphere and sequester carbon. Yet, in the farmland area of Canada’s Prairies, wetlands are being drained to increase crop production and expand urban development.

While wetlands sequester carbon, they also naturally release greenhouse gases (GHG) into the atmosphere. That means the impact of wetland drainage on net GHG emissions was previously difficult to determine.

Our new study, however, has found that widespread wetland drainage on Prairie farmland releases 2.1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂-eq) per year. That’s equal to more than five per cent of Prairie agricultural emissions from the industry as a whole. CO₂-eq is a metric used to to compare emissions from different greenhouse gases by converting amounts of those gases to the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide.

Our research team included Darrin Qualman from the National Farmers Union, Sydney Jensen, a then-graduate student at the University of Regina, as well as Murray Hidlebaugh and Scott Beaton, independent farmers in the Canadian Prairies.

Some tout wetland drainage as providing numerous benefits to agriculture. In addition to increasing arable land area, proponents argue that “proper drainage management … reduces the carbon footprint by cutting down equipment operation time, fuel and emissions, reduces the impacts of extreme weather events, and decreases overland flooding and nutrient washouts.”

This assertion of the environmental benefits associated with wetland drainage is not supported by science. Our work highlights a large increase in the carbon footprint associated with wetland drainage rather than a reduction, while other work documents impacts on streamflows and nutrient export, and the loss of ducks and other birds.

The impacts of draining wetlands

An explainer on the important role wetlands play in the environment. (Ducks Unlimited Canada)

To quantify the net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with wetland drainage, our approach was to quantify GHG sources when wetlands are intact, and compare them with sources after drainage takes place to understand the net effect of wetland removal on emissions. The annual rate of wetland loss from existing data (10,820 hectares per year) was used to quantify associated carbon emissions for the region.

Intact wetlands emit GHGs such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, so their removal eliminates these natural emissions from the landscape. The presence of wetlands in fields can also require repeated machinery passes and lead to double fertilization around wetland margins, both of which contribute to GHG emissions.

When wetlands are drained, carbon-rich sediments are exposed to the air, allowing rapid decomposition and the release of carbon dioxide. Drainage also expands cropland area, leading to additional GHG emissions from farming activities on the newly cultivated land. It often requires the removal of rings of willow trees surrounding wetlands, with the resulting debris typically burned or composted, producing further emissions.

Our results show that the amount of carbon dioxide released from exposed soil from drained wetlands far exceeded any other source. This was much larger than emissions when wetlands were intact, including natural wetland emissions and emissions from multiple passes with machinery. Additional emissions from farming the former wetland and the removal of vegetation also made a small contribution to the overall balance.

Overall, we estimate that wetland drainage contributes to an annual increase in emissions of at least 2.1 million tonnes CO₂-eq (recognizing that stored carbon will be released over a multi-year period). It is worth noting that this includes natural emissions from intact wetlands, but emissions that are not human-caused are not typically targeted in an effort to achieve GHG reductions.

For example, reducing methane emissions from livestock is a strategy to reduce agricultural GHG emissions, but emissions from wild animals are not considered or incorporated in the same way. Our estimate swells to 3.4 million tonnes of CO₂-eq per year when we exclude natural wetland GHG emissions; this represents an increase of approximately eight per cent above currently quantified GHG emissions from the agricultural industry in the Prairie provinces.

Canada’s GHG Inventory

Canada uses a National Inventory Report to quantify GHG emissions from different jurisdictions and industries, but emissions associated with wetland drainage are not currently included. Emissions of 3.4 million tonnes of CO₂-eq from a single year of wetland drainage are substantial and exceed several emission sources currently described in the report.

For example, emissions from wetland destruction are greater than agricultural emissions from gasoline combustion in trucks or from poultry and swine manure in the Prairie provinces. Including emissions from wetland drainage in the National Inventory Report would provide a more accurate accounting of total agricultural emissions and better position the country to meet its climate commitments.

Prairie farmers play a key stewardship role in this landscape — preserving wetlands on their land provides a public good. Retaining wetlands would create many additional benefits: maintaining wildlife habitats, groundwater recharge, nutrient retention, as well as drought and flood mitigation. These wetland services help address global and regional crises related to biodiversity loss, climate change, lake eutrophication and flooding.

Research shows there is public willingness to pay to restore wetlands in the Prairie provinces. There is additionally a need to reduce conflict and increase collaboration in conversations on agricultural water management in the Canadian Prairies and develop policies that incentivize and enable landowners to consider the environmental benefits of wetlands in their decision making. By better understanding the costs of GHG emissions resulting from wetland drainage, we can better preserve wetlands in the Canadian Prairies.

Kerri Finlay receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada, Canada Research Chair (CRC) program, Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture (Agricultural Development Fund), Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association (SCA). The research reported here was funded by the National Farmers’ Union.

Colin Whitfield receives funding from Canada’s Federal Tri-Agencies, Canada Foundation for Innovation, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (Bridge to Land Water Sky Living Lab, Central Prairies Living Lab).

Lauren Bortolotti receives funding from Environment and Climate Change Canada, Alberta North American Waterfowl Management Plan Partnership, and the Prairie Habitat Joint Venture. She is an employee of Ducks Unlimited Canada.

– ref. Draining wetlands produces substantial emissions in the Canadian Prairies – https://theconversation.com/draining-wetlands-produces-substantial-emissions-in-the-canadian-prairies-273549

February 16, 2026

How vaccines give our immune systems a home advantage

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Anthony Wong, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Immunology, University of British Columbia

We are now approaching six years since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization, yet talk of vaccines and our immune systems persists in our cultural conversations — from political arenas to the dinner table.

The vaccination conversation has extended beyond the scientific community, resulting in controversial changes to the recommended vaccination schedule for children amid other changes to public health policy and funding cuts to vaccine development.

These changes coincide with reports of rising outbreaks of infectious diseases like measles in Canada and other countries that have historically been measles-free.

Scientific evidence points to vaccines helping, rather than hindering, our immune systems. Each of us possesses a team of immune cells dedicated to protecting us against outside enemies or “pathogens” — harmful bacteria or viruses that can make us sick, like the viruses that cause COVID-19 or the common cold.

Front-line defenders

There are two kinds of players on our team of immune cells with distinct roles. The first are “front-line defenders” that stand guard and can respond immediately to intruding pathogens that enter our home turf.

These kinds of immune cells, called “innate” immune cells, are found in peripheral tissues around our bodies, including our respiratory tract, digestive tract and even on the surface of our skin. Their job is to rapidly clear pathogens by eating them in a process called “phagocytosis” (derived from an ancient Greek word meaning “to eat”) or releasing toxic compounds into their surrounding environment to target the pathogen indirectly.

Usually, innate immune cells can fight off intruding pathogens on their own. However, sometimes the enemy team is so formidable that front-line defenders are overwhelmed and call for backup.

Advanced responders

Another play that innate immune cells can make when things get tough is to pass the immune response on to the second kind of immune player, the “advanced responders.”

These immune cells, known as “adaptive” immune cells, must be activated by innate immune cells that have encountered the pathogen in order to respond.

Innate immune cells instruct adaptive immune cells on how to recognize the enemy based on unique molecular components of the bacteria or virus on the enemy team — and once adaptive immune cells acquire their target, they mount a powerful and highly specific response to the target pathogen.

Adaptive immune cell players include B cells, which secrete antibodies — small molecular agents that bind to the target pathogens and clear them from the body — as well as T cells, which can directly kill cells infected by the pathogen or provide extra support to B cells.

Importantly, a portion of adaptive immune cell populations can retain memory of the specific virus or bacteria they learned to fight off in an infection — so if you were to encounter that same pathogen again in the future, your adaptive immune cells would be able to clear the infection much faster, without needing activation from innate immune cells.

A bright blue cell. — A scanning electron micrograph of a healthy human T cell (also called a T lymphocyte).
(National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)

Training the team

While our team of immune cells can develop protection against a pathogen after fighting an infection, vaccines train it in advance — without requiring us to get sick.

Vaccines contain a component of a pathogen of interest or a compromised version of the pathogen, which does not have the capacity to cause disease.

For example, the COVID-19 vaccine contains a molecule called “mRNA” that encodes a small component of the virus that causes COVID-19, but not the virus itself.

This allows our immune cells to learn how to recognize and respond to the COVID-19 virus in advance of a potential infection. Specifically, the adaptive immune cells that will retain memory of the response can provide long-term protection if we encounter the real COVID-19 virus in the future.

Put simply, vaccines train our home immune players to prepare for the big game, before they face the enemy team — which is what any good coach would encourage.

A red and yellow cell. — Colorized scanning electron micrograph of a cell (red) from a patient sample, heavily infected with SARS-COV-2 virus particles (yellow). Image captured at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility in Fort Detrick, Md.
(National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)

Moving forward

Vaccines, including mRNA vaccines used for COVID-19, are not a new strategy of disease prevention — they have been safely and effectively used for decades to protect us from various infectious diseases.

For example, a successful vaccination campaign against smallpox led to its eradication from the world in 1980, which is widely considered a milestone of modern medicine. Today, vaccines are tightly regulated and monitored by health-care officials, including local public health authorities such as pediatricians.

Here in Canada, new vaccine technology is currently being developed by leading researchers for COVID-19 and other diseases. These continued efforts will equip current and future generations with immune protection against old and new foes — and allow vaccines to continue to provide our team with a home advantage.

Immunity and Society is a new series from The Conversation Canada that presents new vaccine discoveries and immune-based innovations that are changing how we understand and protect human health. Through a partnership with the Bridge Research Consortium, these articles — written by experts in Canada at the forefront of immunology, biomanufacturing, social science and humanities — explore the latest developments and their impacts.

Anthony Wong is a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of British Columbia that receives funding from Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Health Research BC, and Canadian Biomedical Research Fund and Biosciences Research Infrastructure Fund (CBRF-BRIF) on behalf of the AVENGER project grant. Anthony Wong is affiliated with the Bridge Research Consortium (BRC).

– ref. How vaccines give our immune systems a home advantage – https://theconversation.com/how-vaccines-give-our-immune-systems-a-home-advantage-275066

February 15, 2026

Is teasing playful or harmful? It depends on a number of factors

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Naomi Andrews, Associate Professor of Child and Youth Studies, Brock University

Picture this: a group of girls are sitting at a table in the lunchroom when a boy walks by. One girl turns to another girl and laughingly says: “Oh, isn’t that your boyfriend? You should go kiss him!”

A different girl chimes in: “Yeah, go give him a big kiss!” The girl in question responds: “Shh, stop that. I don’t want him to hear you!” and she smiles, but her face goes red. Her friends continue, making kissing noises and laughing. The others in the group join in laughing as well.

How should the girl interpret that behaviour? Were the teasers being playful — or taunting her in an aggressive way?

The answer to that question is: it depends. Teasing is a common but complex behaviour that can serve pro-social functions, such as bonding, signalling relational closeness. But it can also have anti-social functions and harm the targeted person.

Like all complex social behaviours, teasing interactions are influenced by a number of factors, like the relationship between teaser and target, the content of the tease and the local and broader context.

Study about harmful or playful teasing

In our recent study, we developed a model that organizes these various factors and the links between them.

The study used semi-structured interviews with 27 university students, who we asked to describe a teasing interaction from their adolescence that they experienced as harmful and playful.

Based on the interviews with participants, we developed a model to capture the many dynamics involved in teasing (such as the relationship between parties) and profiles of both harmful and playful teasing that shows where these factors differ.

Power differences, motives

As described by research participants, harmful teasing often includes content that is sensitive to the target, and might include a power difference between teaser and target based on factors like gender or sexuality, culture or racialization, as well as wealth or popularity. Some harmful content expressed was about sexuality (more than one participant mentioned homophobia) and ethnicity or religion (one participant was teased about wearing her hijab).

Playful teasing, on the other hand, often happens between close friends and is based on positive motives (for example, to be friendly, for encouragement). However, there is also substantial overlap between playful and harmful teasing.

Teasing can also start out as playful but “cross the line” to become harmful. Our systematic review of existing research about peer teasing revealed that youth consider a few key factors to determine what “crosses the line.”

The teaser’s body language, facial expressions and tone of voice combine to indicate the meaning behind the tease. Intent is important, and a teaser whose intent is clearly playful is less likely to cross the line.

Changes across development

The interplay between relationships and teasing content is also important. Youth in our study indicated that friends should know what to say and what not to say. That is, given their closeness, friends should know what specific content would cross the line. That said, teasing from friends can still hurt, particularly because they can have intimate knowledge of the target’s vulnerabilities.

Other research also points to important changes across children’s development. For example, researchers have noted that teasing is almost always interpreted as harmful by younger children. It isn’t until adolescence that youth recognize the potential for teasing to be playful.

This suggests that advances in cognitive, social and emotional skills across the transition to adolescence may better help youth understand the complexity and nuance that can be a part of these interactions.

For adults working with youth — or thinking about their own lives — it’s important to remember a social interaction may look harmless from the outside, but can still have negative consequences for those involved.

As for the distinction between teasing and bullying, what our research shows is that some harmful teasing can be considered bullying as it meets the hallmarks of that negative behaviour (power differential, intent, repetition), but not always.

Limits of playful teasing

Based on findings from our review and across our multiple studies, we suggest some insights around the limits of playful teasing that could be relevant for youth or adults in their own lives — or adults supporting children and youth.

A good starting place for playful teasing is when the teaser has a positive, close relationship with the person they are teasing. The person being teased should feel comfortable enough to ask for the teasing to stop if they want; and then the teasing should stop right away.
Teasing shouldn’t involve part of the target’s identity or involve sensitive topics. This is why having a close, positive relationship is a good prerequisite, so that the teaser knows what topics are “off-limits.”
We should always be careful about teasing around an audience, as this can amplify the harm — even when the audience involves other friends.
Check in with the person you’re teasing and pay close attention to their reaction. Often playful teasing is reciprocal.
Repeated teasing — even about seemingly benign topics — is more likely to feel harmful.

Lastly, even if a teaser means to be playful, being teased can still hurt. Be prepared to make amends and engage in relationship repair if the playful tease “crosses the line” and harms someone.

– ref. Is teasing playful or harmful? It depends on a number of factors – https://theconversation.com/is-teasing-playful-or-harmful-it-depends-on-a-number-of-factors-273676

February 15, 2026

When norovirus hits the Olympics: The science behind the spread

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Jennifer Guthrie, Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, Western University

Norovirus outbreaks have repeatedly shadowed major international events, and the Olympics are no exception. When thousands of athletes from around the world gather in one place, attention is usually on records broken and medals won. Yet the size and intensity of the Games can create conditions that allow infectious microbes to spread.

The outbreak at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Games has already affected several teams, illustrating the real-world impact of such infections. Highly contagious and able to survive for days on surfaces, norovirus is one example of a pathogen that can move efficiently in these environments.

While norovirus outbreaks are often reported on cruise ships and in schools, global sporting events present additional challenges. Meals are served in centralized facilities, training and recreational spaces are shared and participants travel from countries around the world. In these environments, norovirus can spread rapidly through shared spaces and close contact.

Outbreaks at events like the Olympics are more than logistical setbacks. They reveal how the virus’s biology and the realities of mass gatherings make containment difficult.

What is norovirus?

Illustration of blue norovirus particles — Norovirus is the leading cause of food-borne illness worldwide, causing hundreds of millions of cases each year.
(CDC/ Jessica A. Allen)

Norovirus is a highly contagious virus that causes acute gastroenteritis, an inflammation of the stomach and intestines. It is the leading cause of food-borne illness worldwide, causing hundreds of millions of cases each year.

Although infections are often brief, typically lasting 24 to 72 hours, symptoms can be intense. Sudden onset vomiting, watery diarrhea, nausea, stomach cramps and sometimes low-grade fever or body aches are common. Most healthy adults recover quickly, but young children, older adults and people who become dehydrated can experience serious complications.

One reason norovirus spreads so efficiently is its extremely low infectious dose: fewer than 20 viral particles may be enough to cause illness. By comparison, many other viruses require far higher doses to trigger infection.

In practical terms, microscopic contamination on food, surfaces or hands can be enough to make someone sick. The virus spreads primarily through the fecal–oral route, via contaminated food or water, direct person-to-person contact or touching contaminated surfaces and then the mouth.

Norovirus is also remarkably resilient. It can survive on surfaces for days, withstand freezing temperatures and resist many common disinfectants. It is not reliably killed by alcohol-based hand sanitizers, making thorough hand-washing with soap and water essential. Adding to the challenge, infected individuals can spread the virus before symptoms appear and may continue shedding it for days after recovery.

These characteristics of high infectivity, environmental persistence, and the ability to spread before and after symptoms appear make norovirus particularly difficult to control, especially in settings where large numbers of people live, eat and interact in close proximity.

Why the Olympics are a perfect storm

The Olympic Games bring together thousands of athletes, coaches, support staff and spectators for several weeks of intense competition. With back-to-back events, team meetings and travel between venues, athletes are in near-constant contact with teammates, competitors and staff. In the shared spaces of the Olympic Village, even small exposures can allow infections to move quickly.

The rapid turnover of participants and the arrival of athletes from multiple countries further increase the risk. Different viral strains can be introduced, and those infected may unknowingly carry the virus to others or even back home.

In this environment, speed is everything: norovirus can cause illness within a day or two of exposure, allowing outbreaks to spread quickly and challenging even the most well-prepared health teams.

Containment challenges during major sporting events

Isolation, sanitation and rapid testing are critical but difficult at scale. Containing norovirus during a global event like the 2026 Winter Olympics highlights the practical hurdles organizers face. In early February, a norovirus cluster among the Finland women’s hockey team forced the postponement of their opening game against Canada, as more than a dozen players were either ill or quarantined, showing how quickly an infectious outbreak can disrupt competition plans.

Testing is a key limitation. Norovirus is often diagnosed based on symptoms, and although laboratory tests are available, results may be delayed and capacity strained during a massive event. Because people can spread the virus before symptoms appear, transmission may already be underway by the time cases are confirmed.

Sanitation must also intensify quickly. Norovirus survives on surfaces and requires chlorine-based disinfectants applied thoroughly to high-touch areas across venues and athlete housing. Scaling these measures across large facilities demands rapid co-ordination and staffing.

Isolation is another essential tool. Separating symptomatic or exposed athletes can interrupt transmission but may disrupt team routines. After one player on Switzerland’s women’s hockey team tested positive, the entire team entered precautionary isolation and missed the opening ceremony, showing how a single case can have wide-reaching effects.

Containment ultimately depends on co-ordination among organizers, medical teams and public health authorities, along with clear communication to safeguard both health and competition.

Beyond the Games

The Olympics showcase the best of global unity, but they also reveal how tightly interconnected our world has become.

Managing infectious diseases at events of this scale requires constant preparedness, reminding us that public health planning is as essential as athletic preparation.

Jennifer Guthrie receives funding from the Canada Research Chairs program, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

– ref. When norovirus hits the Olympics: The science behind the spread – https://theconversation.com/when-norovirus-hits-the-olympics-the-science-behind-the-spread-275782