University of Victoria Journals
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Unknown Roads (poem)
No full textSolidarity researcher and artist Ninette Rothmüller is a visiting scholar from Germany at Smith College, Massachusetts. With a background in Cultural Studies, Social Work and Interdisciplinary Arts, her practice-led and theoretical work is concerned with who humans are to, and with, each other under various circumstances, such as severe crisis. Her autobiographical documentary poetry reflects experiences of forced immobility and displacement across borders and languages
Restoration of relict Garry oak (Quercus garryana) ecosystem along the Colquitz River: A study conducted in Cuthbert Holmes Park Saanich BC, Canada
No full textThe focus of this study is to restore an area underneath the Garry Oak (Quercus garryana) canopy by utilizing cutting, trimming and thinning techniques in an attempt to mimic natural successional processes. The objective is to open-up the shrub layer, which may increase the potential for native species colonization. Prior to the restoration activity, site surveys and monitoring were conducted by E. Strachan in an urban forested area located within Saanich. BC, on the traditional territories of the Esquimalt and Songhees First Nations. Vegetation surveys were conducted in the summer and fall season to identify native and invasive plant communities found in the area. Based on observations, the study found limited native vegetation, potentially due to the overcrowded invasive vegetation found in the shrub layer. In addition, previous restoration initiatives were discussed to identify ways to increase public participation and build strong relationships with community leaders, which is recommended for future restoration activities
A Meadow for Moralea: Making room for a Garry oak Meadow to flourish in Metchosin, British Columbia
No full textThis project re-initiated the restoration of a 1360m² Garry oak meadow in Metchosin, BritishColumbia. The restoration is being done as a living memorial for Metchosin councillor MoraleaMilne, who died unexpectedly in 2018. The meadow was experiencing woody encroachment,intense herbivory by rabbits, and competition from aggressive invasive grasses. The restorationinvolved 1) installation of a rabbit proof fence, 2) removal of encroaching shrubs, 3) managinginvasive grasses through a series of tarping and mulching experiments, 4) planting native Garryoak associated species and 5) bench painting and path creation. Tarping trials revealed thatextended tarping periods beginning in August or earlier appear to be effective at controllingsome invasive grasses, including orchard grass (Dactylis glomerata) and Kentucky bluegrass(Poa pratensis) but ineffective at reducing the more aggressive rhizomatous quackgrass (Elymusrepens). It appears that the most effective means of reducing invasive grass cover of orchardgrass and Kentucky bluegrass that was trialed during this restoration work, was through addinga layer of Garry oak leaf mulch with tarping. Monitoring will provide valuable long-term data toaid in next steps. We recommend the following: 1) removal of at least 50% of Douglas-firs; 2)continue tarping treatments beginning in August or when camas dies back (both thecompression method and the mulching under tarp method) to reduce invasive grass cover; 3)long-term monitoring of tarping methods, and site more broadly, to investigate which methodworks best and where, and for vegetation changes over time; 4) consider use of small patchesof prescribed fire to create space for native species; 5) investigate further into quackgrassmanagement through prescribed fire and grass-specific herbicides; 6) supplementing meadowwith planting native Garry Oak associated species; and 7) creating educational signage forvisitor
Cinema of the Occupation and Vichy France: Examining and contextualizing Le Corbeau and Les Inconnus dans la maison
No full textThe Southern French–Italian Border Before, During, and After COVID-19 Lockdowns
No full textThis essay focuses on the French–Italian border of the Maritime Alps. Grounded on previous research and on more recent data, it examines both “desirable” (cross-border workers and customers) and “undesirable” (illegalized non-European migrants) circulation before, during and after the COVID-19 French and Italian lockdown
The Effects of Acute Stress on the Neural Correlates of Decision-Making
No full textAbstract
Stress has been defined in many ways and is typically induced as a response to a threat to homeostasis. Stress affects decision-making, and the effects of stress on subcomponents of decision-making can be indirectly measured through EEG. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of acute stress on the neural correlates of decision-making. We hypothesized that acute stress would decrease the reward and attentional sensitivity, seen through reduced P300 and reward positivity component activity. The results were that the mean percent change from baseline for heart rate was higher for the stress condition during the TSST. The stress group also had decreased positive affect scores and increased negative affect scores for the STAI questionnaire and decreased positive affect scores for the PANAS questionnaire. Additionally, while not significant, there was a trend towards reduced P300 component activity in the stress condition, potentially indicative of reduced attentional sensitivity. Further research is needed to explore the implications for reward sensitivity, utilizing multiple tasks, and including cortisol measurement. Stress is common to everyday life and has been implicated chronically in numerous health conditions. Understanding how stress affects executive function, particularly decision-making, is therefore crucial in both the short- and long-term.
Keywords: stress; decision-making; ERPs; P300 component; reward positivity component
*This research was supported by a Jamie Cassels Undergraduate Research Award, University of Victoria
THE GENDER REVEAL PARTY: A NEW MEANS OF PERFORMING PARENTHOOD AND REIFYING GENDER UNDER CAPITALISM
No full textThis article explores the popularization of gender reveal parties and considers what they can tell us about current societal expectations around gender, parenthood, and consumption. Gender reveal parties are events in which expectant parents reveal, or even learn, the sex of the child-to-be through a surprise display of something pink or blue, typically using innocuous means such as confetti, balloons, or a coloured cake. However, methods for revealing fetal sex have become increasingly bizarre and dangerous, involving firearms, car fires, and, in at least one case, an alligator. This article examines digital media depictions of gender reveal parties and their aftermath; discusses sexing technologies and diversity in biological sex and gender; looks critically at how capitalism and the White neoliberal state have constructed the gender reveal party as a performative event for parents-to-be; and explores the physical and affective violence done to individuals, families, and the natural environment by gender reveal parties
Death-Wishes, Liars, and a Witch\u27s Coil
No full textEDITORIAL ABSTRACTSabrina Scott’s illustration and cogent insight into Kristeva’s Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection (1982) and the abject as a theme contains a tornado-like force of expression, tinkering between art and theory as the mind settles in states of demise. The work is reminiscent of how the artist (and the witch by extension) comes to terms with what Alejandra Pizarnik (2010) calls the poetic body, or the dream of death. That is, both the self and human becoming take shape between the bleeding shades and luminous lines of India ink in her illustration. The convex of being and non-being which emerges as subjectivity underlies the central struggle of what the abject is (flourishing in that brittle moment of hope as possibility strikes in a cascading brush line)