The magic of informal helping

Julia Nakamura, a graduate student at the University of British Columbia’s (UBC) health psychology program, is working to improve the health and well-being of a rapidly aging population, one step at a time. Nakamura’s research is focused on how positive psychological factors (like purpose in life) and pro-social behaviors (volunteering, helping behaviors) might reduce the…

The value of trees

Forests have been an integral part of the fabric of Earth and human society since the beginning of time, a fact that often goes unnoticed in daily life. According to the United Nations (UN), sustainable forest management and the use of resources are key to combating climate change and contribute to the prosperity and well-being…

Canada welcomes over 200 Afghan refugees to Vancouver

Canada is responding as quickly as possible to the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan by helping bring Afghan citizens and their families safely to their new home. We remain firm in our commitment to resettle 40,000 Afghan nationals, and our partnerships with provinces, territories and settlement service providers across the country are key to achieving this…

Understanding the impacts of biowearable technology

Biowearable technology, such as smart watches and other interactive devices worn on-body, can offer significant benefits to children–monitoring heart rate, body temperature, and more. But research from Simon Fraser University shows that you might not want to gift these electronics to your young one. Both psychologically and physiologically, e-wearables may offer more harm than good…

Bitter Orientals – where love & advocacy coincide

Love Intersections is a media arts collective which is comprised of queer artists of colour. Artists who are a part of the collective are dedicated to using their passion for art to challenge systemic racism and advocate for underrepresented communities. David Ng and Jen Sungshine, co-artistic directors at Love Intersections, have created the virtual talk…

Envisioning a feminist city of Surrey

In July 2021, as part of their COVID-19 recovery initiative, the Government of Canada announced 237 projects that will be receiving funding under the $100-million Feminist Response and Recovery Fund. One such project called ‘Moving towards a feminist city of Surrey’ is spearheaded by the City in Colour Cooperative, a multidisciplinary consultancy co-founded by alumni…

Middle Eastern actors face substantial barriers in the film industry

Although the North American film industry has been recently evolving toward being more inclusive, there is still a long way to go, especially for Middle Eastern actors. Vancouver-based actors Hani Mefti, Panta Mosleh and Mostafa Shaker discuss the daily challenges they face in their acting careers. The number of auditions and callbacks Middle Eastern actors…

The Buddhist New Year – A time of peace and reflection

“The Buddhist New Year is a day to remind people about gratitude and appreciation,” says Reverend Aoki, minister for the Vancouver Buddhist Temple. This year, Jan 18 marks the Buddhist New Year – Buddhists around the world come together to pray. Reverend Tatsuya Aoki emphasizes the importance and sentimental value of the Buddhist New Year…

TikTok and public health

TikTok is a rapidly growing short video-sharing social media platform that has gathered over 1 billion global users, but little is known about the potential health-related impacts on its users. According to Skye Barbic, an assistant professor in the University of British Columbia’s Department of Occupational Health and Occupational Therapy, “There are several potential issues…

Examining and regulating intentional disinformation online

“Society tolerates a lot of misinformation as we always have, but the internet and social media can act as a magnifier so that it gets blown up until it almost seems like it is true, and people believe those things that aren’t true are true,” says the Right Honourable Beverley McLachlin, a former Justice of…

The Charming Taste of European… Cinema !

The Charming Taste of European… Cinema!The Charming Taste of Europe is a special project that introduces exquisite items to the UnitedStates and Canada, such as Italian and French wine and fresh fruit from Greece, that showcase allof Europe’s charm, beauty, culture, history, art, heritage, and unmistakable tastes. When it comesto… charm, the European Union’s filmmakers…

New relationship stressor: fidgeting

If seeing someone fidget makes you anxious, then you might have misokinesia (hatred of movements). Sumeet Jaswal and Todd Handy, PhD want to find out why one in three people have such a profound reaction to small, repetitive movements. They are leading an extended University of British Columbia (UBC) study on the topic to find…