British Columbia's network of post-secondary digital repositories
Arca British Columbia's network of post-secondary digital repositoriesNot a member yet
224150 research outputs found
Sort by
Disentangling the mechanisms of signal evolution in Tyrannidae flycatchers, part II: plumage elaboration evolved with migration behavior, but is also affected by diet, climate, and drift
No full textAnimal coloration is an important communication signal that varies among taxa and affects survival and reproduction.
Species-specific color is influenced by a variety of factors including phylogeny, predation, sexual selection, light and resource availability, ecological context, and/or species recognition. Tyrant flycatchers are useful to study color evolution because they are the largest family of birds, occur across broad environmental gradients, and although many genera are monomorphic with drab plumage, some are very colorful. Given the complexity of factors involved, the mechanisms influencing plumage color evolution in Tyrant flycatchers likely involve multiple drivers. In the second of our two-part paper on signal evolution in this avian family, we harnessed a large plumage color database of female and male Tyrannidae species (n = 399) to test the relative importance of geography (climate, latitude), ecology (migration behavior, forest cover, diet), and heterospecific proximity on plumage color evolution. From phylogenetically controlled analyses, we found that female color was largely driven by climate and male color was more exaggerated in migratory species. Sexual dichromatism was also affected by climate and diet, and was more pronounced in migratory species, possibly as a result of color loss in females. Pairwise comparisons between heterospecific color differences and geographic distance were generally weak and consistent with expectations under drift, which contrasted our song results (presented in Part I), but analyses at finer taxonomic scales revealed color may be used for conspecific recognition in some genera. Together with our paper on Tyrannidae song evolution, the color results reflect the importance of testing multiple drivers of signal evolution at different taxonomic scales because flycatcher color variation may have arisen through genetic drift, from a loss of female color in migratory species, and for species recognition in some genera. Future work could formally test the correlation between song and color variation, and use stochastic character mapping to confirm if Tyrannidae dichromatism resulted from female color loss in migratory species.articlesfinal article publisheddriftevolutionflycatcherplumage colorationspecies recognitionTyrannida
REIMAGINING RITUALS - Design’s role in amplifying cultural Identity
No full textMy research focuses on the Parsi diaspora, its disengagement with tradition, its lack of access to and its desire to conduct and participate in their cultural rituals. Employing the methods of autoethnography, participatory research, and cultural design, my research explores the cultural practices of the Parsi community to understand the current role that rituals play in their lives and the barriers to performing these rituals.
I discovered evidence of the community's desire to make the steps behind Parsi rituals and their significance more accessible. I focused on developing a digital application (app) to express and explore responses to my research findings. This app serves as a repository and almanack that will allow community members to access rituals and traditions by disseminating information about how the rituals are conducted, the materials used, and the events and beliefs upon which they are based.UI/UX designParsi ritualsIdentityCultural amplificationZoroastrian ritualsCultural preservationZoroastrian diasporaCulture, ritualsDesign for belongingCommunication desig
Sport in a changing environment: Rethinking the way we play
No full textPresented at the Research Café on March 3, 2023
Mente Ambiente: dialogues within, dialogues with us
No full textThis research addresses the affects experienced by most people in response to the current climate crisis. Research in the fields of psychology and human behaviour have termed the negative-value emotion “climate-anxiety.” My research inquires into both the positive and negative-value affects of this experience. To explore the nuances of this condition, the research is grounded in a practice-based methodology, using methods of speculative and participatory design. The personal explorations of narrative and future-building scenarios that express this condition are evidenced mainly through printmaking, embroidery, and writing.
The learnings from these activities validate responses to climate destruction and validate the use of a creative practice to transition from value-negative to value-positive affects, allowing the self to reconcile with, and mediate these emotional responses.
This research reveals a better understanding of the components of this condition and offers ways to moderate its experience in everyday life. It culminates in the rationalization of a model, Mente Ambiente, to better understand and navigate this condition. This is evidenced through a final project that engages with the model to guide a creative practice and reveal points of entry for others to explore the elements of their own condition.Natural environmentClimate-crisis evoked emotionsArtifacting relations (creation of artifacts to expand and explain relations)RelationalityFuturingCreative practiceNotions of careMore-than-human beingsClimate crisisEmotional response
The Ouroboros (Mythical Beasts)
No full textThe Ouroboros, a serpent-like deity, forms a circle by eating its tail; this action is meant to symbolize the life cycle and rebirth. This interpretation rests on a branch at the beginning of its new life cycle, gazing at the wearer with emerald eyes. Materials: Sterling silver, emeralds.First year student. Pyrrha Scholarship recipient: Handcrafting their signature talisman jewellery from their Vancouver studio since 1995, Pyrrha designers Danielle & Wade Papin established the Pyrrha Scholarship to provide financial assistance to a first-year student in the VCC Jewellery Art & Design Program who demonstrates High Academi and Artistic Achievement.mythologyorgani
Palm Readings
No full textThis thesis document titled Palm Readings is informed by entangled topics that take up plein air painting, watercolour as a primary medium and the relationship of colour to the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico. The specific questions that I address in the work are: How can plein air painting in the Caribbean function as a form of deep acknowledgement of place? What is the potential of watercolour as a contemporary artistic medium? How can colour represent the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico and its culture? Each chapter of this thesis addresses these questions and is anchored by different visual examples of my Thesis Project. My research questions are informed predominately by visual research, observation and thinking through doing. While I do integrate various citations in this text, I am inspired predominantly by the physicality of experiential learning. My research occurs in the action of painting and what comes up in the process.Large formatCaribbeanClimate crisisFemale painterDiasporaIslander artis
Factors influencing leaders in academia series: workplace incivility at Canadian business schools in the post-pandemic society
No full textThe prevalence of workplace incivility in academic settings is on the rise. Understanding how university leaders navigate the accompanying subtle but damaging behaviours is critically important because perpetrators in this context are often ‘smart bullies’ who understand violence and harassment policy and can evade reprimand. This study explores workplace incivility experienced by business school leaders as victims and managers of these behaviours, based on three primary research questions: What acts of incivility are academic leaders experiencing? What impact does incivility have on the leaders who receive it? What strategies do academic leaders employ to manage incivility in their schools? The study, conducted in the winter of 2023, utilized a qualitative research approach that integrated constructivist philosophy with inductive research methods. The study participants included deans, associate deans, and department chairs from selected Canadian institutions. A thematic analysis was used to analyze the data collected from the semi-structured interviews. The results showed that incivility is ubiquitous, largely unaddressed, and significantly impacts leaders, faculty members, and their schools. The report presents two recommendations highlighting the critical need to support academic leadership development and civility education and awareness. This study, prepared by Leda Stawnychko (Bissett School of Business, Mount Royal University), was supported by the Business Schools Association of Canada (BSAC) and funded through its grant competition program.workplace incivilityleadership developmentbusiness schoolspost-secondary educationacademic leadershi
The creation of collective identity in James's nonfiction after World War I
No full textConference paper presented at the 9th International Henry James Society Conference, Kyoto, Japan (July 5-8, 2023).Not peer reviewedPresentatio
Sinixt Traditional Territory: A Review of Ethnographic and Historical Sources
No full textThe focus of this research is limited to the period between direct European presence in the Arrow Lakes area in 1811 through the assertion of British sovereignty (1846), and up to the establishment of Indian Reserves at the end of the nineteenth century. For the purposes of this report the rough scope of the geographic region includes the drainage area of the Arrow Lakes and Columbia River between Kinbasket Lake to the north and the international boundary to the south
Western rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus) migration and habitat use in British Columbia, Canada
No full textStudies on migratory behaviour and habitat use are central to understanding the ecology of migratory animals and provide important data to inform the conservation and management of these species. However, spatial ecology can vary substantially among conspecific individuals, and failing to understand differences within or between populations may be problematic. In British Columbia, Canada, where Western Rattlesnakes (Crotalus oreganus) reach their northern range limit, individuals undertake seasonal migrations between communal hibernacula and summer hunting grounds. Mature snakes also show annual fidelity to their migratory paths, providing a useful system to examine the development of migratory behaviour and variation within and between populations. Knowledge on the spatial ecology and habitat use by juvenile vertebrates in general is sorely lacking, and we address this gap by comparing spring outbound migratory movements of juveniles to those of adult Western Rattlesnakes at a site in southern British Columbia (BC), Canada, and describe habitat use by juvenile snakes along their active-season movement paths.
Juvenile movement data were collected in 2021, and adult data (2011-2016) were drawn from a long-term project database. We found that compared with adult
rattlesnakes, juveniles displayed similar directional orientation, direction of vertical migration, and path sinuosity, but initiated spring migrations later and exhibited shorter movements in terms of distances and rates. To assess juvenile habitat use, we measured habitat at two spatial scales along the active-season movement paths of snakes. Resembling adult rattlesnake behaviour elsewhere in BC, juveniles selected habitat features that provided structurally stable cover (e.g., woody debris, shrub, and rock cover). Additionally, we tested for differences in features at sites used for short- and long-duration stopovers but identified little difference in the microhabitat features associated with these two categories of stopover locations.
Western Rattlesnakes are commonly associated with low-elevation grasslands and open Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) habitats; however, recent work has shown that some animals undertake longer-distance migrations into higher-elevation Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) forests. Here, to further investigate multi-phenotypic migratory tactics and habitat use, we compiled all available raw data from radio-telemetry studies conducted on adult males (n = 139) between 2005 and 2019 from nine study sites across the Canadian range of Western Rattlesnakes. On average, snakes migrated 1364 ±781 m (ranging from 105 m to 3832 m) from their overwintering dens. Migratory distance differed significantly between sites and was higher among individuals using forests as their migratory destination, yet there was immense variation in migratory distance among snakes using forests and open habitats, suggesting more of a continuum of phenotypes
than a dichotomy. Next, we used a linear mixed-modelling approach to assess potential drivers of long-distance migration and found that migratory distance was best predicted by a combination of physiological factors, landscape terrain, and vegetation. Even the top-performing model, however, left much of the variation in migratory distance unexplained (rs = 0.65 based on k-fold cross-validation where k = 10), suggesting other factors not measured here, such as genetics and prey quality, may also be driving long-distance movements.
Overall, my thesis provides critical knowledge on the ecology of a young age class of rattlesnake and sheds light on some of the drivers of multi-phenotypic migration
among mature snakes. The findings have implications for the conservation and management of rattlesnakes in the far north where seasonal movements are commonplace and contribute to our growing understanding of the complexity of patterns and variation in the movement ecology of this far-ranging snake.migrationmovementhabitat useWestern rattlesnakecrotalus oreganusradio-telemetryBritish Columbiajuvenilemigratory continuumChapter 2 is published in Canadian Journal of Zoology Volume 101, Number 7 July 2023