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Experiencing connectedness to place through self-reflective learning: A participatory phenomenological study involving students on UVic campus.
Get PDFUniversity students often come to live on or near the university campus for the duration of their studies. The University of Victoria (UVic) is located in an area with a variety of natural places students frequently spend time in and may feel connected to. Student connectedness to place is often not integrated into course curricula. However, with the increasing urgency of environmental and climate change issues, awareness of oneself in place is prioritized in universities’ action plans for sustainable development and decolonization. This dissertation describes my research that involved ten UVic students and ten outdoor locations on or near campus. In a phenomenological study I explored student experiences with connectedness to place, while they engaged in various self-reflective activities, ranging from active, arts-based reflection to simply visiting and being in place. The research is grounded in a perspective of relationality, nonlinearity and self-awareness, inspired by the writings of Jiddu Krishnamurti, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and North American Indigenous scholars such as Gregory Cajete, Sean Wilson, Umeek (Richard Atleo) and Margaret Kovach. Mark Vagle’s post-intentional approach matches this perspective where both self and place are non-static and learning happens through interaction between theory, data and self-reflections. In this process, I used dance and painting as self-reflection tools, which led to a description of connectedness to place that is experienced through memory as awareness in the moment, beauty as awareness of what is, and time as being in relationship. Based on student experiences in this research, the following suggestions were discussed as elements of what I call “place-based self-reflection”: being physically present; intentional observation; inviting different perspectives; connecting and layering experiences; learning with others; receiving prompts and questions; connecting our creative self; choosing our tools; and considering right timing. The research contributes to discussions of place-based education, slow pedagogy and reflection in higher education. Continuing questions inspire further thinking for exploring connectedness to place through self-reflection that can be applied in different study disciplines, levels of education and our personal lives.Graduat
Mechanisms of cerebral artery compliance at sea-level and following acclimatization to high altitude.
Get PDFBrain health is dependent on adequate cerebral blood flow (CBF) delivered through healthy compliant vessels that buffer pulsatile hemodynamic stress. Pharmacological interventions at sea-level (SL) and high altitude (HA, 5050m) that increase and lower CBF provide a useful experimental design to assess the mechanisms involved in buffering cerebrovascular hemodynamic stress. We characterized pulsatile hemodynamic damping factors (DFi), as an index of cerebral hemodynamic stress. DFi was calculated from pulsitility (PI) in the internal carotid (ICA) and middle cerebral arteries (MCA) at SL and HA following pharmacological attempts to increase (SL=Dobutamine, DOB; HA = DOB+Actetazolamide, DOB+ACZ) and decrease (Indomethacin; INDO) CBF in healthy lowlander adults (n=12, 4 females). Cerebrovascular hemodynamics in the ICA (flow [QICA], PIICA) and MCA (velocity [MCAv], PIMCA) were measured using ultrasound; DFi=PIICA:PIMCA. Administration of DOB (2-5μg/kg/min) at SL, DOB+ACZ (5μg/kg/min+10 mg/kg) at HA, and INDO (1.45 mg/kg) at SL and HA were performed on separate days in randomized order. No QICA response were observed following DOB, while QICA increased following DOB+ACZ (change+41±24 ml.min-1, p=0.01), and decreased following INDO at SL (change-53± 56 ml.min-1,p=0.04) and HA (change -41± 18 ml.min-1, p=0.004). DOB and DOB+ACZ administration differentially altered HR (change-3 bpm; change+5 bpm, p=0.02), ICAV (change-6 ± 10 cm.s-1; change+10 ± 11 cm.s-1; p=0.04), MCAv (change+0 ± 10 cm.s-1; change+17± 5 cm.s-1), and PIICA (change+0.4 ± 0.2 a.u; change +0.2 ± 0.09 a.u.; p=0.03). DOB reduced DFi (change -0.1± 0.05, p=0.02) at SL. Meanwhile DFi following INDO was significantly lower at HA (change -0.54± 0.3a.u, p=0.02) but not at SL (change -0.26± 0.3 a.u, p=0.18). The results from these two field experiments highlights that reducing CBF via cyclooxygenase inhibition detrimental alters the buffering of cerebrovascular hemodynamic forces. In contrast, at HA when CBF is increased following DOB+ACZ cerebrovascular hemodynamic regulation was preserved.Graduate2025-03-2
Beyond the office: The role of clinical outreach services in counselling with Indigenous children, youth, and families
Get PDFCarrie Bove, Beth Wakabayashi, Kayla Mackenzie, and Jamey Dye, project sponsors, British Columbia Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD). Alison Gerlach, course instructor, University of Victoria. Thais Amorim, course coordinator, University of Victoria.Graduat
Effect of Au Nanoparticles on Mitigating Negative Effect of Humidity on ZnO-Based Gas Sensors
Get PDFThis thesis presents ZnO-based gas sensors for the detection of analytes, using Au nanoparticles to reduce the destructive effects of humidity on gas detection. The ZnO nanostructures are fabricated using the thermal decomposition method for different lengths of time and at varying temperatures. These structures are characterized by the X-ray diffraction technique, revealing the wurtzite hexagonal close-packed ZnO structures. In addition, scanning electron microscopy is employed to characterize the morphology of the synthesized ZnO structures. The results show that the length of ZnO nanostructures increases by raising the calcination temperature for 12 hours. The changes in the electrical current of the sensor are studied to determine the presence of target gases at various concentrations. The results show that the ZnO nanostructures prepared at 380 oC revealed the best response toward different humidity levels due to a higher number of oxygen vacancies, which are perfect sites to react with the target gas molecules. After selecting the best ZnO-based sensor, Au nanoparticles are sputtered onto the ZnO nanostructures with different thicknesses. Based on the results, the 0.1-nm-thick Au layer creates the best sensors to reduce the effect of humidity while demonstrating a constant response toward the target gas at different humidity levels. The sensor also shows good sensitivity and selectivity toward the triethylamine gas target with a response of 17.57, which is 62.75, 60.59, 4.81, 8.29, 4.30, 42.85, 70.28, and 292.83 times higher than the response toward Acetone, Methanol, Diethyleneamine, Benzene, Toluene, Ethanol, 1-propanol, and H2, respectively. This sensor revealed fast response and recovery times of 9.8 s and 4.4 s, respectively and promising stability over 24 days.Graduat
Helpful or harmful? Differences in exercise experiences between those with and without recent disordered eating
No full textResults remain mixed around if exercise is helpful or harmful among those with eating pathology. As such, healthcare providers often recommend abstinence from exercise for this subpopulation. The current dissertation aimed to illuminate the benefits and consequences of exercise among those with recent, recent disordered eating (DE). Specifically, the study examined 1) if motivations for exercise engagement differ between those with and without recent DE, and between different DE-related concerns; 2) if changes in mood and body satisfaction from pre- to post-exercise differ between those with and without recent DE; 3) if associations between different intensities of exercise and body checking behaviours differ between those with and without recent DE. Participants were Canadian adults and students from UVic (n = 384; Meanage = 26.85, SD = 8.72; 62% female). Participants completed an online baseline survey assessing their demographics, depression and anxiety symptoms, and history of DE. Next, participants completed a 14-day daily monitoring protocol via a smartphone app: participants completed mobile surveys pre- and post-exercise that assessed mood, body satisfaction, duration and intensity of exercise, as well as surveys every evening that assessed engagement in body checking behaviours. Linear and generalized hierarchical linear models were used and all models controlled for relevant demographic and mental health variables. Results revealed that engaging in exercise to avoid negative affect, control weight, improve mood, change how one feels about their body, or follow rules/training expectations, were more strongly endorsed by those with DE relative to without, and by those with greater DE-related concerns relative to those with fewer. Mood and body satisfaction increased for both those with and without DE from pre- to post-exercise, however, those with recent DE experienced smaller mood benefits whereas there was no moderating effect for body satisfaction. Finally, level of exercise was not related to same-day body checking behaviours. Assessing motivations for exercise appears to be clinically relevant for those with DE as exercising to change perceptions of one’s body, avoid distress, and follow rigid expectations may confer risk for exercise to intensify to become disordered. Exercise may be a helpful adjunct treatment to support mood and body satisfaction among those with recent DE, however, the benefits to mood appear to be small. Finally, exercise engagement (no/minimal, light or moderate/vigorous) does not appear to confer risks for increasing same-day body checking behaviours among those with recent DE. Results from the current study inform theoretical understandings of exercise experiences among those with recent DE, along with clinical considerations. Future research would benefit from using more clinically extreme DE groups to substantiate the current results and examining the impacts of different types and formats of exercise on such outcomes.Graduat
Rich color contrast
Get PDFAn award-winning work of poetry with the theme of equity, diversity, and human rights created by undergraduate student Nico Caparas, selected by celebrity judge Thembelihle (Thembie) Moyo.2024 On the Verge Writing Contest second-place poetry winnerUndergraduat
Farmers' perspectives on transitions away from animal agriculture food systems
Get PDFDespite a growing field of research on how workers in highly polluting sectors are transitioning to more sustainable livelihoods, little research is available on how farmers in animal agriculture engage in such transitions. Conventional animal agriculture is widely recognized as a significant contributor to climate change and other environmental problems. This research explored farmers’ motivations for transitioning away from animal agriculture and toward plant-based agriculture or animal sanctuaries, documenting sources of support and the barriers farmers face in transitioning.
The research design entailed qualitative semi-structured interviews with eight U.S. farmers. The study was guided by the multi-level perspective (MLP) in the analysis and discussion section of the thesis. The findings showed that there are a multitude of forces influencing farm transitions, indicating a need to use a wide variety of strategies for transitions. Beyond economic and political motivations, some farmers in the study were motivated by a change in their view on animals whereby they no longer agree with animal agriculture processes such as breeding and sending animals to slaughter. Farmers noted barriers to transitioning such as the burden of debt, particularly for contract chicken farmers, an increase in labour demands with vegetable production, and the need to develop new marketing strategies to align with their new enterprises. The study’s findings can inform farm policy on supporting farmers who wish to transition their farms from animal to plant-based operations.Graduat
Thermal tides in neutrally stratified atmospheres: Revisiting the Earth’s Precambrian rotational equilibrium
No full textThe authors are thankful to the referee, Dorian Abbot, for insightful comments which helped improve the manuscript considerably. M.F. expresses his gratitude to Kevin Heng for his hospitality at the LMU Munich Observatory where part of this work was completed.Rotational dynamics of the Earth, over geological timescales, have profoundly affected local and global climatic evolution, probably contributing to the evolution of life. To better retrieve the Earth’s rotational history, and motivated by the published hypothesis of a stabilized length of day during the Precambrian, we examined the effect of thermal tides on the evolution of planetary rotational motion. The hypothesized scenario is contingent upon encountering a resonance in atmospheric Lamb waves, whereby an amplified thermotidal torque cancels out the opposing torque generated by the oceans and solid interior, driving the Earth into rotational equilibrium. With this scenario in mind, we constructed an ab initio model of thermal tides on rocky planets describing a neutrally stratified atmosphere. The model takes into account dissipative processes with Newtonian cooling and diffusive processes in the planetary boundary layer. We retrieved, from this model, a closed-form solution for the frequency-dependent tidal torque, which captures the main spectral features previously computed using 3D general circulation models. In particular, under longwave heating, diffusive processes near the surface and the delayed thermal response of the ground prove to be responsible for attenuating, and possibly annihilating, the accelerating effect of the thermotidal torque at the resonance. When applied to the Earth, our model prediction suggests the occurrence of the Lamb resonance in the Phanerozoic, but with an amplitude that is insufficient for the rotational equilibrium. Interestingly, though our study was motivated by the Earth’s history, the generic tidal solution can be straightforwardly and efficiently applied in exoplanetary settings.This work has been supported by the French Agence Nationale de la Recherche (AstroMeso ANR-19-CE31-0002-01) and by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (Advanced Grant AstroGeo-885250). This work was granted access to the HPC resources of MesoPSL financed by the Region Île-de-France and the project Equip@Meso (reference ANR-10-EQPX-29-01) of the programme Investissements d’Avenir supervised by the Agence Nationale pour la Recherche.FacultyReviewe
Double circulant self-dual codes from Legendre sequences
No full text[see abstract in PDF of theses for correct formatting]
A Legendre sequence s of length p, p an odd prime, is used to create a circulant matrix S. An alternative Legendre sequence s̃ is employed to form another circulant matrix S. By concatenating these two matrices, we obtain the matrix D′ which is used to form a bordered double circulant code with length 2p + 2 and dimension k = p + 1 over Fq, q a prime, nd gcd(p, q) = 1. We demonstrate that for p = 2qm − 1 the code generated by D=11/1/1/10/S/S over Fq is self-dual.
The idempotent elements of the ideals generated by s(x) and s˜(x), the leading polynomials of the p×p matrices S and S˜, respectively, for p = 4kq−1 are investigated and used to find the rank of these matrices over Fq. We define a specific row-column permutation of [S|S˜] which leads to a non-singular matrix, revealing that these codes can be defined as a direct sum of codes.Graduat
Influence of mountain pine beetle outbreaks on large fires in British Columbia
No full textA key uncertainty in understanding climate change effects on wildfires in western North America is the role of mountain pine beetle (MPB) outbreaks in driving wildfire occurrence and severity. In this study, we investigated the complex relationship between MPB outbreaks, other environmental factors, and wildfire occurrence in British Columbia (BC), Canada. We adopted a fire risk analysis method developed for fire occurrence prediction to separate the effect of changing fuel conditions on wildfires in BC when neither post-outbreak fuel conditions, climate, nor management is stationary. Using lasso-logistic regression and a novel variable ranking procedure, we determined that MPB-affected areas had 1.7 times more large lightning-caused fires (≥100 ha), as the likelihood of large lightning-caused fires increased by 40% in these areas and likely contributed to the increased burned areas in BC. Meanwhile, the likelihood of large human-caused fires decreased in MPB-affected areas. Fire weather factors were most influential for both lightning- and human-caused fires, while anthropogenic factors were most influential for human-caused fires. Fuel dynamics following MPB outbreaks vary across the wide distribution of a host species such as lodgepole pine, at stand and landscape levels. Furthermore, the expression of the effects of MPB and other disturbances on wildfire is also conditional on, as well as confounded with, many other environmental factors and management activities that vary across western North America. Therefore, a lack of consensus on the impacts of MPB on wildfire is not surprising.This study was funded by the fRI Research and conducted under the supervision of the University of Victoria, Canada (fRI project reference U21012, university project number RES 06773).FacultyReviewe