UBC Okanagan

September 28, 2011
Christine Schreyer, Assistant Professor, Community, Culture and Global Studies

Title: Escaptists and Realists: Language Lessons from Na'vi Speakers 
In today’s modern world, many people now find ways to escape from their real lives on the Internet. For many speakers of Na’vi (the language from the movie Avatar), one of their on-line hobbies is learning this language. Does this make them escapists and does it matter? In an on-line survey conducted in June and July of 2011, Na’vi speakers were asked why they learn Na’vi?  This presentation discusses their answers, but also suggests some ways that Na’vi speakers might be real-life role-models for other language communities, particularly endangered ones, in garnering more speakers for their language.

October 26, 2011
Mary Jung, Assistant Professor, Health and Social Development

Title: Having Fun Getting Fit? Why Exercise Enjoyment is Essential for Sticking With It.
Although numerous strategies for adhering to exercise are studied, one of the simplest techniques is often overlooked: enjoying what you do. The links between exercise intensity, feeling states during exercise, and future exercise behaviour will be discussed. Dr. Jung will also present her own recent findings that suggest that, contrary to popular belief, vigorous exercise may be attractive for more than just athletes.  

November 30, 2011 
Bernard Momer, Associate Professor, Community Culture and Global Studies

Title: Sustainable cities: A question of culture? 
Cities are complex systems in which more than half of the planet’s population now lives. Although the role of cities hasn’t changed greatly over the last few thousand years, their form, shape and structure have adapted to reflect the available technology, way of life and beliefs of their population. Over the last two decades, culture, and more recently creativity, have gained prominence and entered the lexicon of municipalities with hopes that culture can be a panacea to the current economic, social and environmental woes of cities. Current literature abounds with proponents and critics of the use of culture in municipal planning, but a look back at the evolution of cities indicates that culture has always played an important role in shaping cities. This talk will begin with a brief journey through the evolution of cities in the Western World followed by a discussion examining the links between planning, sustainability and culture. 

January 25 , 2012
Stephen Berg, Assistant Professor, Education

Title: Perceptions of Play From Preservice Teachers: Implications for Future Practice
The purpose of this study was to investigate preservice teachers' perceptions of children's play. According to the Ministry of Education in British Columbia, a significant amount of children’s early learning takes place through play. In fact, play is so important that the United Nations has declared play as a significant right in children’s lives. Preservice teachers entering the profession of teaching may have preconceived notions of what play is and the importance of it in early learning settings. As the province of British Columbia, Canada has implemented full-day Kindergarten programming throughout the province, it is important to gain an understanding of how future educators view play and how they perceive play as a means for learning.

17 preservice elementary teachers who are in a two-year after degree Bachelor of Education program took part in the study. All preservice teachers are considered elementary generalists meaning they are trained and educated to teach all elementary school subject areas, not just early learning. Open-ended questionnaires were used to guide the study. Analysis of the data revealed that most participants have the notion of children’s play being free and creative and yet if given the opportunity, they would plan for play in an organized, teacher-directed manner.

February 23 , 2012
Robert Belton, Associate Professor, Critical Studies

Title: Irrational modernism in music.
No doubt there have been elements of irrationality in music from time immemorial, but the twentieth century saw a concerted and systematic effort to introduce deliberate absurdity, chance, and unpredictability into musical forms. This was particularly fruitful when music history intersected with art history in the form of the avant-garde. Dr. Belton's talk surveys a few historical examples and then follows the phenomenon into contemporary alternative compositions.

March 28, 2012
Mary Ann Murphy, Associate Professor, Social Work

Age Busters: An Experiment in Reducing Social Distance Between the Ages
The area of intergenerational relations is emerging as a leading edge response to the human rights issue of ageism in our society. Ageism is one of the most pervasive, pernicious and insidious forms of discrimination evident at a global level. A growing body of science and neuro-science is pointing to the harmful effects of this form of discrimination. This presentation describes preliminary data from a novel experimental undergraduate class conducted at UBC’s Okanagan campus which mixes students ages 18-80 to study the Sociology of Aging.    

September 30

Stephen Porter, Professor, Psychology: 

"Constructing Reality: The Power and Fragility of our Emotional Memories"

October 28

Dr. John Klironomos, Professor, Biology:

"Soil Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services"

Wednesday, November 25,  Dr. Phil Ainslie, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Health & Social Development

"Your brain now. Your brain as you age. Your brain on Mount Everest"

February 24

Dr. Naomi McPherson, Associate Professor, Barber School of Arts & Sciences

"Engendering Violence in a Papua New Guinea Village"

March 31

Dr. Nancy Holmes, Associate Professor, Creative Writing, Poetry:

"Nature Poetry and Eco-Art in the Okanagan"

* 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm LIB 317