University Lecture Series
The Office of Research Services is pleased to announce the University Lecture Series at UFV, profiling UFV researchers and their research.
Upcoming Lectures
| |
 |
|
|
Tom Baumann |
Tom Baumann, Department of Agriculture
Oct 6, 7 pm
Abbotsford campus, B101
The evolution of berry production in the Fraser Valley
Working collaboratively with the British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Baumann and several of his students conduct field-testing of new berry breeds. The project has produced now-common new varieties such as the Sto:lo strawberry and Chemainus raspberry, and is helping further our knowledge of how berries grow, how growers can manipulate them for optimum growth, and how we can encourage healthy food-production while remaining competitive in an international marketplace.
Adrienne Chan, Ph.D, School of Social Work and Human Services
| |
 |
| |
Adrienne Chan |
Nov 17, 7 pmAbbotsford campus, B101
What does social justice mean to the university?
Dr. Chan's broad research goal is to identify how social justice is conceptualized and implemented through policy and practice. Most universities in Canada appear to have articulated the basic ‘pillars’ of social justice but there are continuing problems with exclusionary and discriminatory practices on campus. Policies and practices that are consistent with social justice principles include those that facilitate access, equity, and the elimination of barriers to participation in education. These terms are often simple to say and difficult to exhibit in practice.
Past Lectures
| |
 |
| |
Scott Sheffield
|
Scott Sheffield, PhD
Mobilising Indigeneity: Comparing Settler Societies and Indigenous Participation in the Second World War
The Indigenous warrior has long captivated the imaginations of Western societies. As ‘vicious savages’ impeding the march of civilization of loyal allies fighting alongside imperial powers/noble settlers, the be-feathered North American Indian, fierce Maori, and elusive Aborigine have become entrenched in the popular consciousness of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States. Although pre-war indigenous-settler relationships differed substantially, each Aboriginal population responded when war broke out in 1939 by declaring their support and volunteering to serve. Thousands of Aborigines, First Nations, Maori and Native Americans fought overseas, while on the home front, their families, communities and leadership offered labour, voluntary, monetary and symbolic aid to national war efforts.
Governments that had been working for decades to undermine the cultural vitality and identity of indigenous peoples would, in the exigencies of wartime, explicitly seek to utilize perceived indigenous attributes, languages, knowledge and bushcraft for the national war effort. Whether drawing on ‘marital race’ concepts to support organisation of segregated indigenous units like the 28th (Maori) Battalion, formally or informally using indigenous knowledge of remote regions threatened by attack in Northern Australia or Alaska, indigeneity was enlisted for the Allied cause. Examining such processes in comparative perspective can tell us a great deal about these historical processes, both in the startling similarities across the four countries, and via their clear differences.
This grows out of a present SSHRC-funded research project undertaken in collaboration with Dr. P. Whitney Lackenbauer at St. Jerome’s University in Waterloo, Ontario.
Learn more about Dr. Sheffield.
View the presentation (streaming video).
| |
 |
| |
Darryl Plecas
|
Darryl Plecas, EdD
Successful Crime Reduction
When the notion of ‘crime reduction’ first came to BC four years ago, many of us who study crime and what to do about it were very excited. We were especially excited because we knew of the effect that a crime reduction approach had in its birthplace, the UK. Under the umbrella of what the country called ‘crime reduction’, the UK took concepts, such as community and multi-stakeholder accountability and thoughtfully wove them into a new, comprehensive, and very successful response to reducing crime, Within a decade, crime in the UK fell by more than 40%. Even with some important differences between the UK and British Columbia, we were confident that if communities around the province put in place the same basic principles and practices adopted in the UK, we could expect to see the same kind of results here. This lecture will discuss the efforts and the research designed and implemented to make that happen.
Learn more about Dr. Plecas.
View the presentation (streaming video)
Application process will be changing. Be sure to check back for more information soon! 
