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As President Donald Trump’s threats of a trade war with two U.S. neighbors becomes a reality, Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, is asking Canadians to buy local. The Made in Canada label and other local country-of-origin labeling is about to take on a whole new level of significance. Country-of-origin labels are a helpful way to advertise that a product is locally made, but with the threat of wide-ranging tariffs, these labels could soon also signal to consumers that a product’s price tag isn’t artificially inflated due to Trump’s trade war. Speaking last month after announcing retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. should Trump go forward with his plans, Trudeau said for Canadians, it was the time to choose Canada. "Buy Canadian Instead" signs going up in BC Liquor stores pic.twitter.com/FjgGqKViUO— Riley Donovan (@valdombre) February 2, 2025 It might mean checking the labels at the supermarket and picking Canadian-made products, he said. It might mean opting for Canadian rye over Kentucky bourbon, or foregoing Florida orange juice altogether. Already, Buy Canadian Instead signs went up at a B.C. Liquor Store in Vancouver while in Ontario, a province-controlled alcohol wholesaler pulled U.S. liquor from the shelves. There could soon be more to come, and there are signs other countries are looking to protect their own domestic production. On Monday, the Australian government said it would invest in protecting and promoting the country’s Australian Made, Australian Grown initiative over the next three years. The homegrown boost There’s a benefit to homegrown goods. A 2023 Morning Consult report found nearly two-thirds of U.S. consumers said they seek out products that are Made in America and nearly 50% said they would be willing to pay more. But for some products, like cars, which are made across multiple countries, it isn’t always as simple as slapping on a simple sticker about where it was made. The Canadian government regulates what claims products can make about being made in the country. Its Competition Bureau requires products that claim to be a Product of Canada to have 98% Canadian content while products that claim to be Made in Canada must have at least 51% Canadian content and include a qualifying statement that the product is made in part from imported content. In the U.S., Made in America USA claims are regulated by the Federal Trade Commission which makes its own allowances for products made across borders, like Made in U.S. from Imported Parts for a product assembled in the U.S. with parts from other countries. The rise of economic nationalism could draw more attention to where our products come from and the varied countries that make up our supply chain. Should patriotic purchasing become a higher priority for consumers, then, country-of-origin labels could carry more weight than ever.
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E-Commerce
Violence is just part of the job. Every nurse and healthcare worker experiences it at some point. Sentiments like this echo across American hospitals and healthcare facilities, capturing a disturbing and growing reality. Though Americans think of nursing as the most trusted profession, we often fail to see that its also one of the most dangerous. An alarming 8 in 10 nurses face violence at work. As a result, healthcare workers are more than four times as likely to be injured by workplace violence than workers in all other industries combined. Despite these staggering numbers, the full extent of this epidemic may not be fully understood because nurses and other healthcare workers chronically underreport violent encounters. The American Nurses Association estimates that only 20% to 60% of incidents are accounted for. Additionally, there is no agreed-upon definition for workplace violence or clear way of tracking it on a national level. As a practicing bedside nurse, I have experienced my fair share of workplace violence. As a professor of nursing, my research shows that violence has become a normalized but underreported part of working in healthcare and that it affects the care patients receive in pervasive ways. What really counts as workplace violence in healthcare? When people think about workplace violence, they often imagine dramatic physical assaults. Assaults do happen, but violence directed at workers can take many other forms, including verbal threats, intimidation, sexual aggression, and bullying. What makes defining and measuring workplace violence especially difficult in healthcare settings is the range of people involved. Violence may stem from patients, their families, coworkers, or even disgruntled members of the public. Nurses and healthcare staff work with people during incredibly stressful moments in their lives. Sometimes patients are experiencing medical conditions that may cause them to act out or be confused, such as dementia, delirium, psychosis, or even postoperative reactions to anesthesia. Some healthcare organizations use vague definitions, such as workplace violence is any violent act or threat of violence, while nursing organizations advocate for tiered definitions delineating between perpetrator and intent. Although not all employees can recite their organizations official definition of workplace violence, ask a nurse whether they have ever experienced a threatening situation at work and they will likely have stories at the ready. In my 14 years of nursing practice, nurses shared many different types of threatening encounters. They reported being screamed at by distraught visitors and having their hair and wrists grabbed by patients who are trying to bite or spit at them. I have personally experienced having objects thrown at me from across the room and being threatened with retribution by patients family members. Nurses also shared more extreme experiences in which they or their coworkers were injured in the course of trying to simply deliver care. Many described the emotional impact of watching a coworker hurt badly enough to require medical attention. From my observations, its not just the major incidents but the countless small threats or insensitive behaviors that add up over a nurses career. These seemingly less-threatening events are much harder to document, and many nurses shrug them off, but the small infractions take a toll when they happen repeatedly. Breaking the culture of silence A culture of silence makes such incidents hard to track. The medical-surgical nursing unit at the hospital where I conducted my research has a healthy and supportive culture. Yet in my ongoing doctoral work, which will be published in May, of the 74% percent of staff that acknowledged experiencing workplace violence in the past year, only 30% reported the event. When nurses stay silent, whether from fear, futility or institutional pressure, violence becomes an accepted part of the job. Without accurate data, healthcare facilities dont understand the true extent of the problem, cant implement effective safety measures, and struggle to support their workers in meaningful ways. There are common themes as to why nurses underreport violence. Some nurses think reporting does not make a difference. Others find the lack of clarity in defining workplace violence or reporting policies demotivating and confusing. Nurses also report a lack of support from management, a fear of reprisal, or a sense of shame when reporting. Commonly, many nurses simply find reporting tools to be too difficult and time-consuming to use. The hidden costs to healthcare For healthcare workers, the consequences extend far beyond physical injuries. Workplace violence in all its forms contributes to anxiety, depression or PTSD, as well as job dissatisfaction. Dangerous workplace violence trends are a contributing factor in 55% of healthcare workers feeling burned out and 18% of newly licensed registered nurses leaving the profession within the first year. That is a huge problem, considering that the United States is projected to have 193,100 nursing job openings per year until 2032, yet will produce only roughly 177,400 new nurses in that time frame. This also has vast repercussions for patient care. During my nursing career, I observed my peers developing complex strategies to protect themselves while trying to provide compassionate care. Like me, they tended to carefully position themselves near doorways, maintained constant awareness of their surroundings and silently assessed each new interaction for potential risks. These invisible precautions reflect the far-reaching effects of healthcare violence. When nurses are hypervigilant about their safety, they have less emotional energy for patient care. When theyre rushing between rooms due to short staffing caused by violence-related turnover, they have less time for each patient. When they are worried about what the next patient encounter may bring, they are increasing their anxiety, fear, and stress rather than focusing on delivering quality care Creating safer healthcare together Each healthcare visit is a chance for patients and their families to improve nursing care for everyone. When you visit a hospital or clinic, try to understand the stress that healthcare workers are under and express your needs and concerns calmly. You never know what your nurse is dealing with in their interactions with other patients. They try to compartmentalize and give you their full attention, but they might also be experiencing a difficult and traumatic situation right next door. It also helps to share information that might be relevant to caring for your family member, such as whether their medical condition is causing them to act differently than normal. And you should speak up if you witness any forms of aggressive behavior. These actions might seem small, but they support healthcare staff and help prevent violence in healthcare settings. Nurses are trained to keep information private, to be problem-solvers and to bear the burden of the job, so they dont always seek support. If you have a nurse or healthcare worker in your family or circle of friends, let them know you care. Supporting their safety validates their work and leads to better care for everyone. Jason Blomquist is an assistant professor of nursing at Boise State University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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E-Commerce
Ever miss the thrill of the 2016 Pokémon Go craze? A new anti-swiping dating app has come to fill that void, but instead of cute Pokémon you can catch yourself a hot date. These days, trying to find a partner IRL, whether at a bar or reluctantly joining a singles running club, is no easy task. Dating apps are still one of the most common places for people trying to meet The One, but . . . have you seen the apps? 2024 has been widely dissed as the year the dating apps died. Both Bumble and Match Group saw stock prices steadily decline since reaching all-time highs in 2021. Left Field, the latest dating app launched in New York City this week, has the goal to combat swipe fatigue and bring back spontaneity in dating. The app uses location-based notifications to engineer real-life meet-cutes. Instead of actively swiping through endless profiles, the app sends push notifications of a potential match in the area (when location services are switched on) and two users could happen to cross paths. Samantha Martin and Kate Sieler began building Left Field last year to address their own mounting frustrations with existing dating apps. We interviewed over a hundred Gen Zers and heard the same three complaints again and again, the founders told Fast Company in an email. First, dating apps are a massive time drain; people are spending hours swiping each week. The second issue is the rise of paywallsit feels like apps are prioritizing monetization over connections. And finally, dating feels more forced and inorganic than ever. In 2024, 78% of dating app users reportedly feel emotionally, mentally, or physically exhausted from the apps, according to one Forbes Health survey. At its core, dating should feel fun and serendipitous, they added. We believe the future of dating isnt about making swiping slightly better, but about shifting the focus back to real-life connections. The app officially launched on the Apple App Store in February, and to build its community, Left Field is leaning on in-person events and social media. Its collaborating with comedy influencers on Instagram and TikTok while hosting singles events across New Yorkteaming up with bars, running clubs, and comedy venues. Looking ahead, Left Field plans to expand to college campuses in May, rolling out student ambassador programs to help spread the word. We believe the best connections happen when you are not actively searching for them but just out living your life, said Martin and Sieler. Gotta catch ’em all.
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E-Commerce
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