Rick Mercer will deliver the 2020 keynote address. Mercer was a 2010 UBC honorary degree recipient.

Virtual ceremony takes place Wednesday as more than 1,900 students graduate

UBC Okanagan’s Convocation of 2020 will go down in history as a unique event. Instead of students, parents and faculty joining together on campus, the celebrations will be held virtually.

“The context of 2020 has made necessary a very different approach to our graduation ceremony this year,” says Deborah Buszard, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Principal of UBC’s Okanagan campus. “While the ceremony will be virtual, the remarkable achievements of our students are very real and worthy of recognition. I invite everyone to join me in celebrating the Class of 2020.”

This year, 1,925 students have qualified for convocation from UBC Okanagan—that includes 1,600 undergraduates, more than 270 students who have earned a master’s degree and 45 newly-conferred doctorate degrees.

While convocation is a time of celebration, it’s also a time of long-kept traditions. The program will begin with Chancellor Lindsay Gordon presiding over the virtual ceremony. UBC President and Vice-Chancellor Santa J. Ono and Buszard will both address the Class of 2020 live, dressed in full academic regalia. And graduates will have an opportunity to take a virtual selfie with President Ono.

UBC has arranged for Canadian icon and comedian Rick Mercer to deliver the 2020 keynote address. Mercer was a 2010 UBC honorary degree recipient.

Students have had the opportunity to purchase graduation regalia, special graduation gifts, create a personalized commemorative graduation video clip, download congratulatory signs and sign a guest book with congratulatory messages.

The virtual ceremony will last 45 minutes and it will be livestreamed on June 17, with a pre-show beginning at 2:30 p.m. The ceremony begins at 3 p.m. and a 20-minute virtual alumni reception takes place at 3:55 p.m. The ceremony can also be watched on YouTube, Facebook or Panopto, a platform that is accessible from many countries. To find out more, visit: virtualgraduation.ok.ubc.ca

“These are, indeed, unusual times, and UBC students have shown once again their resilience and ability to cope and thrive in the face of change,” says Buszard. “With everything they have accomplished over these past months and over the course of their studies, I couldn’t be more proud of the extraordinary UBC Okanagan Class of 2020. Congratulations.”

This year’s medal recipients

• Governor General’s Gold Medal: Mike Tymko
• Lieutenant Governor’s Medal Program for Inclusion, Democracy and Reconciliation: Dominica Patterson
• UBC Medal in Fine Arts: Aiden de Vin
• UBC Medal in Arts: Ellie Jane Fedec
• UBC Medal in Science: Nicholas Kayban
• UBC Medal in Education: Alyssa Pembleton
• UBC Medal in Nursing: Christopher Popel
• UBC Medal in Management: Amanda Campbell
• UBC Medal in Human Kinetics: Madison Powls
• UBC Medal in Engineering: Tyler Ho

Lots of people are using creative ideas like painting to keep busy during times of self-isolation and social distancing.

UBCO researcher explores the science behind imagination

A new study from UBC’s Okanagan campus is shedding light into how human creativity works and how novel ideas are formed—something the study’s researchers say is becoming increasingly important.

“The more the world changes, the more we need creative ideas,” says Liane Gabora, a UBC Okanagan psychology professor and creativity researcher.

But how do people come up with these innovative solutions?

“Most creativity research is done on the final products of creativity—the finished work of art, or novel or technological invention,” says Gabora. “Yet when people talk about the ‘magic’ of creativity, by the time the final product exists, that ‘magic’ is over.”

The creative process has long been believed to involve searching memory and generating multiple independent ‘candidate’ ideas, followed by selection and refinement of the most promising. But Gabora suspects something else is happening during the creative process.

She proposes that the mental representation of an unborn idea may take different outward forms when looked at from different perspectives. What appears to be discrete, separate ideas can be described mathematically as different projections of the same underlying mental representation. As creative thought proceeds, this representation loses the potential to be viewed from different perspectives and manifest as different outcomes.

This theory, referred to as honing theory, grew out of the neuroscience of how memories are encoded and retrieved, and by studying mathematical models of concept combinations and interactions.

“We are constantly re-organizing our internal webs of knowledge and memory,” explains Gabora. “When we retrieve an item in a new context, it can generate emergent properties that are neither properties of the memory, nor of the context; they emerge as something totally new when the two combine.”

Gabora points to the invention of the kitchen island as an example.

“An island, we all agree, has the defining property of being surrounded by water,” she says. “However, we effortlessly accept that this is not a property of the compound concept kitchen island—because if your kitchen island is surrounded by water, you’re in trouble. But the property emerges when island appears in the concept kitchen.”

Gabora says to truly understand how the creative process works, one has to study the states of creative ideas midway through the creative process. She and four undergraduate researchers at UBCO recently conducted studies that did just that—publishing their results in Acta Psychologica.

Gabora and her team conducted two studies to test her theory. In the first, participants were interrupted midway through solving an analogy problem, writing down what they were thinking in terms of a solution. In the second, participants were instructed to create a painting that expressed their true essence and describe how they conceived of it.

For both studies, unbiased judges categorized responses as supportive of either the conventional or honing theory view.

To Gabora’s delight, the results were most consistent with honing theory, providing further evidence that her research is on the right track.

“This is exciting because having a deeper understanding of how the creative process works psychologically can greatly benefit society moving forward,” she says.

“If we can understand the mental progressions occurring during the creative process, we can better understand the steps involved in the generation of the world’s greatest masterpieces, and potentially pave the way to the next masterpieces,” she says.

Gabora adds that during times of rapid change such as a pandemic, understanding the creative process is more important than ever.

“A key step is appreciating how each person’s uniqueness gives them a potential to create in ways that are uniquely theirs. Whether it’s creating a new kind of robot, making a new delicious kind of sourdough bread or writing country music’s next big hit—our potential is endless.”

Take a minute to notice how you feel before, during and after your time on something like Facebook or Instagram. Does it pick you up or pull you down?

Along with being socially distant, should we ditch social media?

Even though much of Canada is loosening stay-at-home restrictions, people are realizing that social distancing and working from home is the new normal. And might be for some time.

For most, this means a continuation of personal contact only via social media, texting and video-meetings. But are we now suffering from too much screen time? Should we stay away from social media while we’re social distancing? Or participate in every new Facebook group or chatting app that’s created to help keep us connected?

Susan Holtzman is an associate professor of psychology at UBC Okanagan. Part of her research focuses on how our social environment can influence our physical and emotional well-being during times of stress.

These are stressful times, indeed. And for most, social media is the only point of contact with friends. Should we be limiting our electronic time?

I don’t think people should be too hard on themselves about the time they are spending on social media right now. There is very useful and important information being shared out there and it can be a helpful way to stay connected with friends and family. But there is a “but.” Social media affects people in different ways. For some, it leaves them feeling happier and more connected, but for others it can result in feelings of anxiety, emptiness and inadequacy.

I would suggest taking a minute to notice how you feel before, during and after your time on something like Facebook or Instagram. Does it pick you up or pull you down? If it pulls you down, maybe you need to cut down. Or, maybe you need to use it in a more active way, like sharing pictures, commenting on posts or as a tool to reconnect with old friends.

What’s the best thing about being connected through social media. And perhaps the worst?

There is no denying that this virus has brought a level of devastation to the human population that would have been unimaginable just a few months ago. Through it all, humans continue to have a basic need to feel connected to others and to feel like we belong. Social media has gifted us with the ability to see that we are not alone in our struggles. It has also provided us with access to stories that inspire and make us laugh.

There is a great deal of fear and anxiety in our society right now, and this is completely understandable. However, there is research to suggest that something called “emotional contagion” might be taking place when people are spending time on social media. Emotional contagion is the idea that we can “catch” emotions when we see them online and we can carry those emotions with us into our offline lives. This is another reason to be mindful about what type of social media we are consuming and how it might be affecting our well-being.

Any tips for parents on keeping the kids occupied and entertained?

Being a parent during the pandemic is hard. Really hard. There is no shortage of ideas out there on the internet for how to keep children entertained—from making doll clothes out of old socks, to scavenger hunts, to going on a virtual tour of a museum. There are websites that can transport you anywhere in the world, to Africa to watch gorillas in their habitat or to beaches in Hawaii. But the very presence of all of these ideas can be overwhelming.

Whatever you do, keep your goals simple and realistic. Get outside at least once a day (ideally, to do something physically active), sing or dance to your favourite music, cook or create something together as a family, call or video-chat with a friend or family member. Now is the time to be compassionate to ourselves and understand that we are all just doing the best we can.

What does your research tell us about social media?

Previous research in my lab has shown that digital communication, like texting, doesn’t give us the same boost in positive mood as in-person interactions during times of stress. I think our society is now feeling these effects first-hand. Online communication is the only option that many of us have to stay in touch with our friends and family right now, especially those who are elderly or medically at-risk—but it often doesn’t feel as satisfying as in-person communication.

Generally speaking, research suggests that technology that provides us with more visual and auditory cues, like video-chatting or voice calls, will help us to feel more connected, compared to things like texting or social media (which can absolutely still have benefits). It is safe to say that there is nothing “good” about a pandemic, but I suspect we will see some very innovative and creative new technologies emerge out of this period that will help us to stay connected when distancing measures are in place.

From a public health perspective, one issue that we have recently been investigating in my lab is how social media can be used to perpetuate false information. We remind people to check credible websites, like the BC Centre for Disease Control.

But we know that people aren’t going to stop sharing COVID-related information on social media. UNESCO has actually responded with a social campaign using #ThinkBeforeSharing, #ThinkBeforeClicking and #ShareKnowledge to encourage thoughtful sharing. And reminding us all to be kind during these unusual times.

Volunteers provide free, online, mental health first aid

All of BC’s frontline health care workers can now access online support services to help them cope with the psychological effects of managing the COVID-19 outbreak.

UBC’s Okanagan campus announced today—in a partnership with the BC Psychological Association (BCPA) and the Association of Nurses and Nurse Practitioners of BC (NNPBC)— that mental health help is now available for those on the front lines of COVID-19.

A new, and free, psychological support service went live this week with more than 160 registered psychologists volunteering their time to the initiative.

“There is emerging evidence that the psychological effects of COVID-19 are just as great as the physical effects, particularly for front-line health care workers,” says Lesley Lutes, a UBCO professor of psychology, registered psychologist and lead on the new initiative.

Lutes points to a recent study from China that demonstrated front-line workers were significantly more likely to suffer from the negative mental health effects of being at the epicentre of the outbreak. Data shows 52 per cent report symptoms of depression and anxiety while 70 per cent report clinical levels of distress and experiencing insomnia at three times the rate compared to other health care workers as a result of the outbreak.

“We’re always worried about the mental health of our front-line health care workers. But the data coming from China is incredibly alarming,” says Lutes. “This has, therefore, necessitated the need for immediate action to provide support to these critical workers.”

In response to this unprecedented need, Lutes is coordinating a new initiative that will deliver free online access to psychological services to any front-line health care worker.

“I compare our healthcare workers in BC to the firefighters and first responders during 9/11,” says Lutes. “And we need to remember that mental health never goes away. Even during a pandemic, it doesn’t stop.”

The BCPA is providing administrative support for this program, along with UBCO’s expertise and resources. And even before this initiative went live, Lutes says the College of Psychologists of BC also stepped up to contribute funding—and will monitor, promote and enhance compliance with the professional standards in the provision of these services to health care workers. However, she wants to emphasize that this initiative is only operating through the kindness of volunteer psychologists—more than 160 of them—who have stepped up to help at this time.

Lutes has already expanded the offering of this service to all essential workers.

“I see the distress, strain and worry in the eyes of the grocery store clerks, the pharmacy technician and the gas station attendant,” she adds. “We plan to expand services even further to the wider public in the coming weeks with additional resources.”

As the service expands, measures of help could include providing daily supportive automated text messages, online well-being resources, live psychoeducational groups and some virtual ‘walk-in’ clinic psychological services for those wanting additional support.

“These are unprecedented times,” says Lutes. “It calls for unprecedented compassion, support and help for each other. I am truly humbled by the people, groups and organizations who have stepped up to help us through this. We will get through this. Together.”

Visit the BCPA or NNPBC websites for more information about how to access the new services.

To read more about Lutes’ work at UBC Okanagan, visit: ourstories.ok.ubc.ca/stories/lesley-lutes

Historical connection of Punjabi explored through theatre, art and literary production

What: History and Sociology Speaker Series
Who Anne Murphy, associate professor in Asian Studies, UBC Vancouver
When: Tuesday, March 10 starting at 6:45 p.m.
Where: Okanagan Regional Library, 1380 Ellis Street, Kelowna

The histories of Canada and South Asia are deeply intertwined.

They are connected through the expansion of the British Empire and anti-imperial resistance, global histories of migration and cultural exchange, and the continuous unfolding of South Asian Canadian pasts.

Anne Murphy, associate professor in Asian Studies at UBC Vancouver, is writing a book on the social and cultural history of the modern Punjabi language movement in India and Pakistan. But her study of this subject began in BC, and is grounded in the vibrant life of the Punjabi language in this province.

That discovery has led her to a Punjabi cultural production here in BC, and to further explore the deep interconnections between the formation of this province and the Punjab region in India and Pakistan.

Using theatre, visual art and literary production, Murphy will explore different aspects of these connections with the audience. Her presentation will focus on the Punjabi language—as a Canadian and South Asian language—and how creative work like poetry and art express this dynamic relationship.

“It’s incredibly important that we all understand that we live in a deeply connected world,” says Murphy. “The connections between South Asia and Canada, and with other parts of our world, mean that to understand ourselves, we must look outward, not just within.”

The community is invited to join Murphy for this special history presentation on Tuesday, March 10 at the downtown Kelowna library. It is free to attend. Murphy will also share works of South Asian Canadian art that will be featured in two exhibitions at The Reach Gallery Museum in Abbotsford in summer 2020.

For more information and to register, visit: intertwinedubco.eventbrite.com

UBC Okanagan’s History and Sociology department, in partnership with the Okanagan Regional Library, brings leading thinkers from around the world to the Okanagan to discuss some of the big issues of today, tomorrow and the past.

About UBC's Okanagan campus

UBC’s Okanagan campus is an innovative hub for research and learning founded in 2005 in partnership with local Indigenous peoples, the Syilx Okanagan Nation, in whose territory the campus resides. As part of UBC—ranked among the world’s top 20 public universities—the Okanagan campus combines a globally recognized UBC education with a tight-knit and entrepreneurial community that welcomes students and faculty from around the world in British Columbia’s stunning Okanagan Valley.

To find out more, visit: ok.ubc.ca

Stretching sealskin demonstrates the resilience of certain forms of traditional Inuit knowledge in Nunavut.

Sociology expert to discuss the walls we do not see in front of us

What: History and Sociology Speaker Series
Who: Professor Lisa-Jo K. van den Scott, department of sociology, Memorial University of Newfoundland
When: Thursday, February 6 starting at 6:45 p.m.
Where: Okanagan Regional Library, 1380 Ellis Street, Kelowna

Walls are everywhere.  Although hardly noticed, they define who is legitimate and who is not.  Whether someone is inside or outside the walls of a home, office, prison, public building or a border wall, it affects their identity and its legitimacy.

For her case study, Professor Lisa-Jo K. van den Scott worked with Inuit while living in Arviat, Nunavut. Her research explores how the walls that people take for granted can be turned into objects—unveiling hidden power relations, expressions of identity and the way these dividers can either maintain the landscape of lives, or interrupt them.

That was definitely the case, she says, when colonizers brought changes to housing in Arviat.

“The Inuit peoples had worked to perpetually enact and fortify their unique way of viewing the world, yet being ‘walled-in’ had a profound effect on the transmission of knowledge,” she says, pointing to walls that inhibited traditional disciplining of children and changed the transmission of skilled knowledge in gendered ways.

“The walls have greatly impacted these people—and the situation isn’t unique to Arviat,” she says. “I hope my talk will open the audience’s eyes to an interesting aspect of society’s many barriers.”

The community is invited to join van den Scott at this special sociology presentation. This event takes place February 6 at the downtown Kelowna branch of the Okanagan Regional Library and is free and open to the public. Registration is required at meaningofwalls.eventbrite.com

UBC Okanagan’s History and Sociology department, in partnership with the Okanagan Regional Library, brings leading thinkers from around the world to the Okanagan to discuss some of the big issues of today, tomorrow and the past.

About UBC's Okanagan campus

UBC’s Okanagan campus is an innovative hub for research and learning founded in 2005 in partnership with local Indigenous peoples, the Syilx Okanagan Nation, in whose territory the campus resides. As part of UBC—ranked among the world’s top 20 public universities—the Okanagan campus combines a globally recognized UBC education with a tight-knit and entrepreneurial community that welcomes students and faculty from around the world in British Columbia’s stunning Okanagan Valley.

To find out more, visit: ok.ubc.ca

UBCO guest speaker Deborah van den Hoonaard says checking the widowed box on paperwork is often an identifying moment for women.

History and Sociology Speaker Series returns with Experiencing Widowhood Today

What: UBCO History and Sociology Speaker Series
Who: Deborah K. van den Hoonaard
When: Tuesday, November 5 starting at 6:45 p.m.
Where: Okanagan Regional Library, 1380 Ellis Street, Kelowna

Regardless of medical and lifestyle improvements, Statistics Canada reports that the average life expectancy for males (80) is still a few years shorter than women (84)—meaning that generally, wives still outlive their husbands by a number of years.

Widowhood has been a research topic for St. Thomas University Professor Deborah K. van den Hoonaard for many years. In fact, in the early 2000s, she conducted interviews on womens’ experiences as widows. The results of her research were later turned into a book, The Widowed Self: The Older Woman’s Journey through Widowhood, published in 2001.

Recently, van den Hoonaard, a professor emerita of sociology, embarked on a study with a new cohort of women. This time, instead of focusing on grief, her research focused on how women are navigating their lives as widows. Her findings illustrate how changes in social context and womens’ life paths have shifted the way they experience and think about being widows.

UBC Okanagan’s department of history and sociology, in partnership with the Okanagan Regional Library, is hosting van den Hoonaard at a public speaking event on November 5. The community is invited to join her for a lively talk focusing on relationships that demonstrate a woman’s creativity and strength.

This is a free event, but pre-registration is required at: widowubco.eventbrite.com

About UBC's Okanagan campus

UBC’s Okanagan campus is an innovative hub for research and learning in the heart of British Columbia’s stunning Okanagan Valley. Ranked among the top 20 public universities in the world, UBC is home to bold thinking and discoveries that make a difference. Established in 2005, the Okanagan campus combines a globally recognized UBC education with a tight-knit and entrepreneurial community that welcomes students and faculty from around the world.

To find out more, visit: ok.ubc.ca

Speaker to discuss von Humboldt’s scientific project and relevance today

What: 250 years of Alexander von Humboldt: The explorer, his scientific project and his relevance today
Who: Sandra Rebok, science historian
When: Wednesday, October 16 starting at 6:30 p.m.
Where: Kelowna Innovation Centre, 460 Doyle Avenue, Kelowna

Prussian naturalist Alexander von Humboldt began his celebrated expedition through the New World in 1799. During his travels, he explored the Americas widely, journeying to several countries including Venezuela, Cuba and the United States.

A polymath, geographer and naturalist, von Humboldt’s new-age thinking led him to the discovery of what we now know as human-induced climate change. He was also one of the first people to suggest that the lands surrounding the Atlantic Ocean, particularly Africa and South America, were once connected.

In commemoration of von Humboldt’s 250^th birthday, the community is invited to join science historian Sandra Rebok as she evaluates his achievements, how he differed from fellow explorers, and whether or not his scientific methods are still valid today.

This is a free event, but registration is required at: 250yearsalexandervonhumboldt.eventbrite.com

The department of history and sociology thanks the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies and the Reichwald Endowment for their support of this public lecture.

About UBC's Okanagan campus

UBC’s Okanagan campus is an innovative hub for research and learning in the heart of British Columbia’s stunning Okanagan Valley. Ranked among the top 20 public universities in the world, UBC is home to bold thinking and discoveries that make a difference. Established in 2005, the Okanagan campus combines a globally recognized UBC education with a tight-knit and entrepreneurial community that welcomes students and faculty from around the world.

To find out more, visit: ok.ubc.ca

An abandoned boat in a swamp near Mumbai symbolizes how environmental histories, including colonialism resource extraction, may become irrelevant as climate change takes centre stage in global concerns.

History and Sociology Speaker Series returns for Futures Without a Past

What: UBCO History and Sociology Speaker Series
Who: Rohan D’Souza, Associate Professor, Kyoto University, Japan
When: Tuesday, September 17 starting at 6:45 p.m.
Where: Okanagan Regional Library, 1380 Ellis Street, Kelowna

If we want to save the planet from climate change, how do we protect the environmental histories of South Asian cultures?

Concepts such as the great acceleration—population growth, rapid consumption of energy and increasing greenhouse gases—only add to recent anxieties about climate change and threats on a planetary scale. But these anxieties, in particular the idea of the Anthropocene—or the age of humans—have begun to unsettle accepted interpretations of South Asian environmental histories.

These environmental histories, which include colonial resource extraction, have traditionally been preoccupied by efforts to explain the complicated and troubled relationships between ecological change and colonial rule.

Will saving the planet require society to ignore local and regional histories about South Asia’s experiences with European colonialism? Will a growing obsession with the problem of futurism make the past irrelevant and turn the present into a mere hostage of the future?

UBCO’s History and Sociology Speaker Series brings Kyoto University’s Rohan D’Souza to Kelowna for a special presentation on September 17. During his talk, Futures Without a Past, D’Souza will try to address some of these questions.

This is a free event, but pre-registration is required at: futureswithoutapast.eventbrite.com

UBC Okanagan’s History and Sociology Speaker Series, in partnership with the Okanagan Regional Library, brings leading thinkers from around the world to the Okanagan to discuss some of the big issues of today, tomorrow and the past.

About UBC's Okanagan campus

UBC’s Okanagan campus is an innovative hub for research and learning in the heart of British Columbia’s stunning Okanagan Valley. Ranked among the top 20 public universities in the world, UBC is home to bold thinking and discoveries that make a difference. Established in 2005, the Okanagan campus combines a globally recognized UBC education with a tight-knit and entrepreneurial community that welcomes students and faculty from around the world.

To find out more, visit: ok.ubc.ca

The Okanagan Valley has seen a number of groups, including casino workers, walk off the job in protest of wages and working conditions.

Labour resurgence and injustices at work topics of discussion

What: Envisioning Labour’s Future in the Okanagan
Who: Unionists and worker activists
When: Saturday, May 18, starting at 10:30 a.m.
Where: Okanagan Regional Library, 1380 Ellis Street, Kelowna, BC

The Okanagan Valley has seen its fair share of labour disputes over the past few years. A number of groups, including casino workers and bus drivers have walked off the job in protest of wages and working conditions.

Similar to other areas in Canada, labour in the Okanagan has been challenged by a declining post-war economy and the emergence of a post-industrial economy based on service, information technology and the health and wellness sectors.

The majority of these sectors can be difficult to organize, prompting labour groups to invent campaigns to evolve their organization strategies.

Envisioning Labour’s Future in the Okanagan is the first event to publically discuss labour and its relevance to the community in the absence of a strike or protest.

This open-dialogue event invites unionists, worker activists and the public to come together to discuss the recent resurgence of labour in the Okanagan, and how workers are organizing to challenge injustices at work.

The event will feature multiple guest speakers throughout the morning, including:

• Scott Lovell, president, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1722
• Ian Gordon, president, North Okanagan Labour Council
• Gayle Furgala, vice-president, component 17 Okanagan casino workers, BCGEU

This is a free community event being hosted by UBCO’s History and Sociology Department, the North Okanagan Labour Council and the Okanagan Regional Library.

No advanced registration is required. To find out more, visit: www.eventbrite.ca/e/envisioning-labours-future-in-the-okanagan-tickets-61178983988