What to know about avian influenza in dairy cows and the risk to humans
Why is H5N1, or bird flu, a concern, how does it spread, and is there a vaccine? Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about avian influenza.
A new global study by computer security software company McAfee has found that 60 per cent of Canadian children as young as 10 have experienced some form of cyberbullying. Globally, that figure is only slightly higher, at 63 per cent.
The study, entitled “Cyberbullying in Plain Sight,” sheds light on cyberbullying trends based on survey responses from 11,687 parents and their children in 10 countries this summer, including 1,516 in Canada.
“Our findings reflect the concerns of parents and children alike,” the study’s authors write. “Cyberbullying remains a pervasive and potentially harmful fact of life online, particularly as racism and other severe forms of cyberbullying take rise.”
Cyberbullying takes place over digital devices like cell phones, computers, and tablets, through SMS, text, social media apps, forums and online gaming communities.
It encompasses familiar forms of bullying such as name-calling, making physical threats, spreading false rumours, stalking and outing – disclosing someone’s sexual orientation without their consent – but also includes methods like doxing, which involves publishing private or identifying information about someone online without their consent.
According to McAfee’s research, cyberbullying in Canada focuses on highly personal topics, with the top three being appearance, at 34 per cent; clothing, at 22 per cent; and friends, at 19 per cent. The top three forms of bullying, both in Canada and globally, are name-calling, exclusion from group chats and conversations and spreading false rumours. However, a growing number of parents are reporting racially-motivated attacks on children as young as 10.
“Our survey found that more than 28 per cent of children worldwide have suffered racially-motivated cyberbullying, according to their parents,” the study reads.
Canada’s survey results are mostly aligned with global averages, except when it comes to the way parents and their children perceive and respond to cyberbullying.
“Canadian children experience cyberbullying largely on par with global rates,” Gagan Singh, chief product officer for McAfee, wrote in the study. “Yet their parents act on it less often than other parents, and Canadian children are the least likely to seek help when it happens to them.”
According to the study, Canadian children and parents expressed some of the lowest levels of concern about cyberbullying, at 15 and 13 per cent below global averages respectively.
Additionally, Canadian parents were among the least likely to take an active role in protecting their children from cyberbullying, with 78 per cent responding that they actively protect their children from cyberbullying compared to 85 per cent of parents worldwide.
Canadian children are also less likely to confide in their friends about cyberbullying, or to seek help. Globally, 32 per cent of children said they have sought help at some point compared to 21 per cent of Canadian children. Only Japan reported a lower figure, at eight per cent.
“Worryingly, Canadian children are some of the least likely globally to seek help in the face of cyberbullying,” Jasdev Dhaliwal, McAfee’s director of social and digital content told CTVNews.ca in an email. “Canadian parents can support their children by starting an open discussion about cyberbullying at home and seeking resources to support their child.”
As for broader solutions, the study points out cyberbullying is shaped by cultural, technological, societal and governmental factors.
“Addressing one factor alone won’t curb it,” it reads. “Significantly curtailing cyberbullying for an internet that’s far safer than it is today requires addressing those factors in concert.”
Despite efforts by technology conglomerate Meta to provide resources for family safety on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, cyberbullying persists on its properties at the highest rates. Globally and in Canada, cyberbullying is most likely to take place on Facebook and Instagram, followed by YouTube, TikTok and Twitter, according to McAfee.
Why is H5N1, or bird flu, a concern, how does it spread, and is there a vaccine? Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about avian influenza.
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Royal commentator Afua Hagan writes that when King Charles recently admitted Catherine to the Order of the Companions of Honour, it not only made history, but it reinforced the strong bond between the King and his beloved daughter-in-law.
American troops will be spending more time training in the Far North, the new commander of Norad says, a strategy that fits 'hand-in-glove' with Canada's renewed focus on Arctic defence.
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
It was evident to the federal government as early as last fall that Loblaw and Walmart might be holdouts to the grocery code of conduct, jeopardizing the project's success.
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
When it comes to cardiovascular fitness, you may tend to focus on activities that move you forward, such as walking, running and cycling.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.