Faculty of Management researchers Dr. Amir Ardestani-Jaafari (right) and Dr. Amin Ahmadi Digehsara discuss their gaming strategy that helps protect infrastructure from attack with student Mohammad Mosaffa (left).

As technology continues to advance, the likelihood of malevolent attacks and subsequent failures on society’s critical infrastructures increases. Blackouts, water shortages, transport collapses—these potential threats to cities not only come with a hefty price tag but are likely to cause chaos and affect the health and safety of communities.

UBC Okanagan Postdoctoral Research Fellow Dr. Amin Ahmadi Digehsara, along with Assistant Professor Dr. Amir Ardestani-Jaafari, both with the Faculty of Management, recently published a study that will enhance the resilience of vital infrastructures against malevolent attacks.

“We rely heavily on various interconnected systems and networks, like electricity, water and transportation,” says Dr. Ahmadi Digehsara. “Imagine these networks as a series of roads and intersections. If certain roads or intersections are blocked due to an attack or disaster, it can cause significant problems within our community.”

Their study tackles the ever-growing challenges associated with safeguarding power stations, water systems, railways, highways, subway stations, roads and other key components of a community’s infrastructure. As threats, ranging from warfare and criminal acts to terrorism, continue to loom it becomes imperative to devise robust strategies to defend against these vulnerabilities.

“Our research is crucial because it helps us better prepare to support our communities during disasters,” says Dr. Ahmadi Digehsara. “By identifying which roads and intersections are crucial, we can reinforce them so our daily lives are less disrupted during emergencies. This isn’t just about avoiding inconvenience; it’s about ensuring safety, health and even saving lives during disasters.”

Dr. Ardestani-Jaafari explains how they used a gaming strategy to devise ways to prevent potential blockages or infrastructure attacks.

“For our research, we acted like city planners. By thinking ahead, we try to strengthen important roads and intersections—we call these nodes and links—to keep the city running smoothly, even when trouble happens,” he says. “However, it’s tricky because we don’t know exactly where or how these blockages might occur. So, we’ve created a three-part strategy, like a game, involving a defender which is us, an attacker who created blockages, and then the defender again.”

In their study, the first defender makes strengthening plans and the attacker finds weak spots to hit and create damage. Then the second defender makes quick moves to fix issues and find the best paths within the damaged network.

“To figure out how to do this efficiently, we used a special method—like a problem-solving tool—to test our strategy on known examples. We found out that with smart planning, we can make really strong protection plans quickly, even when facing complex problems.”

The research, published this month in Annals of Operations Research, proved that by strengthening the most important roads and intersections, cities become more resistant to unexpected disasters and attacks. Their paper also determined that by properly preparing for disaster, the financial consequences can be decreased.

“Even if we don’t know exactly what’s coming, we have smart tools and strategies that help us prepare to respond effectively,” adds Dr. Ardestani-Jaafari “Our approach isn’t just theoretical. We’ve tested it, and it will keep things running more smoothly in emergencies while simultaneously saving money and resources in the long term.”

Though the research is promising, Dr. Ahmadi Digehsara cautions that as threats change and networks continue to grow, it is imperative to keep adapting to these changes in order to improve defences.

“This isn’t a one-time effort,” he says. “As threats change and our networks grow, it is important to keep adapting and improving the response. In simple terms, we’re like the guardians of the city’s lifelines, working behind the scenes to make sure everyone can continue living their lives with minimal disruption, no matter what surprises come our way.”

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A first of its kind study from the Okanagan School of Education has determined that canine therapy can help students feel better and more optimistic regardless of their gender. Photo credit: Freya Green.

While there are a number of studies demonstrating that dog therapy programs can improve a person’s social and emotional wellbeing, many typically have a disproportionate number of female participants.

Recent research led by Dr. John-Tyler Binfet, an Associate Professor in UBC Okanagan’s School of Education and Director of Building Academic Retention through K9s (BARK), evaluated if there are gender differences in wellbeing by setting up separate dog therapy sessions for those who identified as female, male and gender diverse participants.

Dr. Binfet has conducted numerous studies on the benefits of canine therapy, but to his knowledge, this is the first gender-specific study about canine therapy.

“Previous research has explored if it works and how it works, but not who it works for,” says Dr. Binfet. “This was one of the first studies that examined whether canine-assisted interventions work equally well for varied genders.”

For the study, students self-selected their gender cohort and were assigned to a session on a first-come first-serve basis. Prior to the sessions, they provided reports of wellbeing; specifically measuring their self-perceptions of campus and social connectedness, happiness, optimism, stress, homesickness and loneliness.

A total of 163 students—49 per cent women, 33 per cent men, and 17 per cent non-binary and other genders—participated in 20-minute sessions. In groups of three to four, the students engaged with a therapy dog and handler, and following the session they filled out a survey. The results showed, as expected, that there was a significant increase in wellbeing and a decrease in homesickness, stress and loneliness. The results also demonstrated that canines have a comparable positive wellness effect across diverse gender identities.

“In light of previous studies that note participants were predominantly women, our sampling of men, genderfluid and two-spirit participants furthers our understanding that the efficacy of these interventions does not appear to be gender dependent,” says Dr. Binfet. “The vast majority of responses showed that the dogs helped the students feel and experience something positive regardless of their gender.”

The findings could influence post-secondary mental health and wellness programs as educators continue to seek low-cost and low-barrier inclusive options for students.

The research, published in CABI Human-Animal Interactions, was supported by the BARK program.

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UBC Okanagan researchers Dr. John Braun and Dr. Kevin Hanna are among the first to join the newly created US-Canada Centre on Climate-Resilient Western Interconnected Grid. Their research is designed to protect infrastructure vital to 14 western states, BC and Alberta.

Wildfire modelling has advanced enough in the past 10 years that UBC Okanagan researchers say devastating losses like those witnessed in Fort McMurray, Alta., could become easier to prevent.

Dr. John Braun and Dr. Kevin Hanna are among the first to join the newly created US-Canada Centre on Climate-Resilient Western Interconnected Grid. Their work is helping highlight the need for improved wildfire prediction models and eventually establish better data access to mitigate or prevent damage to vital North American infrastructure.

“Today’s technology allows us to gather much more high-quality data than even a decade ago,” says Dr. Braun, a Professor of Mathematics and Statistics in UBC Okanagan’s Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science.

Heightened consideration of topography and advanced data collection tools such as satellites and drones can significantly enhance fire models and help determine fire spread rates, especially in alpine areas, he says. Correctly accounting for this can substantially augment fire models’ accuracy, allowing for more effective and timely firefighting strategies and infrastructural safety assessments.

Dr. Braun’s research, focusing on fire spread models, explores stochastic models that consider uncertainty. These can offer a more reliable range of predictions than deterministic models, which offer one likely conclusion. He cites the 2016 Fort McMurray fire, where advanced stochastic models could have significantly improved decision-making and resource allocation, potentially averting extensive damage and loss.

The Fort McMurray fire is still Canada’s most costly disaster and left behind $9.9 billion worth of damage. It destroyed 2,400 homes and forced 88,000 people to evacuate. During the emergency, a turning point for firefighters came as the blaze jumped a river and looked like it could pose an immediate threat to the city itself.

Officials used a deterministic model and estimated flames could reach city limits by 11 pm. That led them to divert resources to where they were needed most at the time. Dr. Braun says they may have reconsidered this decision if they’d had access to today’s tools.

“Initial calculations showed a five per cent probability that the fire could reach the city limits by 6 or 7 pm—which is actually about when it did,” Dr. Braun says. “If they had known this, they might have made a different decision. These models serve as essential decision support tools, improving both infrastructure safety and firefighting efforts.”

The researchers are also aiming to further risk and vulnerability assessments used in planning projects. Dr. Hanna is examining the specific information that regulators need for approving power projects in Canada. Their research seeks to establish robust processes for assessing risk and safety points along electric transmission routes, ensuring they withstand the impact of sudden events like wildfires.

“This project provides a unique platform to unify various research disciplines for addressing energy resiliency and security in the face of evolving climate challenges,” says Dr. Hanna, an Associate Professor in Earth Sciences and Director of UBC’s Centre for Environmental Assessment Research.

The centre has received US$5 million from the US National Science Foundation and C$3.75 million from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. It involves 11 North American universities and institutes that aim to address the growing challenges of wildfires, heatwaves, drought and flooding.

Such extreme weather events not only endanger lives and the environment but also threaten the grid providing power to millions of people across two Canadian provinces and 14 western states. The western interconnected grid stretches from the northern edge of British Columbia to the Mexico border, and from the California coast to the Rockies. It serves roughly 80 million people over 4.66 million square kilometres.

“This will help safeguard infrastructure, particularly power lines and natural gas systems, and potentially save billions in damage and replacement costs,” Dr. Hanna says.

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UBCO researchers are investigating ways to ensure wear-resistant coatings, designed to protect turbines, propellers, bridges and other structures, are not deteriorating over time.

As the wind and rain pound the blades of a wind turbine, UBC Okanagan researchers carefully monitor screens, hundreds of kilometres away analyzing if the blade’s coatings can withstand the onslaught.

While this was only a test in a lab, the researchers are working to improve the way structures such as turbines, helicopter propellers and even bridges are monitored for wear and tear from the weather.

A changing climate is increasing the need for better erosion-corrosion monitoring in a wide range of industries from aviation to marine transportation and from renewable energy generation to construction, explains UBC Okanagan doctoral student Vishal Balasubramanian.

In many industries, wear-resistant coatings are used to protect a structure from erosive wear. However, these coatings have a limited service life and can wear out with time. As a result, these coated structures are periodically inspected for abrasion and breaches, which are then fixed by recoating the damaged areas.

Currently, these inspections are done manually using a probe, and Balasubramanian—one of several researchers working in UBC’s Okanagan Microelectronics and Gigahertz Applications (OMEGA) lab—is working to develop sensors that can be embedded directly into the coatings. This could take away any chance of human-caused errors and drastically reduce the inspection time. By integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR) into these embedded sensors the researchers can monitor in real-time the wear and tear of protective mechanical coatings designed to prevent catastrophic failures.

“By leveraging AI technologies into our microwave resonator sensors, we’re able to detect not only surface-level coating erosion but we can also distinguish when an individual layer is being eroded within a multi-layer coating,” explains Balasubramanian, lead author of the research recently published in Nature Communications.

Some studies suggest that metal corrosion in the United States has a cost of nearly $300 billion a year; more than three per cent of that country’s gross domestic product.

But it’s not just about money.

Erosion can cause irreversible damage to the exterior surfaces of bridges, aircraft, cars and naval infrastructure, explains Balasubramanian. History has a long list of disasters where erosion was identified as the primary reason for structural failures that have led to the loss of thousands of lives—including the 2018 Genoa bridge collapse in Italy, the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy in India and the 2000 Carlsbad gas pipeline fire in Texas.

“Being able to proactively monitor and address equipment degradation—especially in harsh environments—can undoubtedly safeguard important infrastructure and reduce the effect on human life,” says Dr. Mohammad Zarifi, an Associate Professor in UBCO’s School of Engineering and principal investigator at the OMEGA Lab. “For several years, we’ve been developing microwave-based sensors for ice detection and the addition of newer technologies like AI and AR can improve these sensors’ effectiveness exponentially.”

The newly developed sensors can detect and locate the eroding layer in multi-layered coatings and can also detect the total wear depth of protective coatings. This information is collected and can provide a detailed understanding for engineers and stakeholders of the potential damage and danger of failures.

In the lab, the differential network device interface system was tested at varying temperatures—extreme hot and cold—and different levels of humidity and UV exposure to mimic several harsh environments. The developed system was tested with different types of coatings and its response was monitored in four different types of experimental setups that performed the desired environmental parameter variations.

“We tested our sensors under some of the harshest environments including various temperatures, humidity and UV exposures,” says Balasubramanian. “We continue to push the limits of what these sensors are able to withstand in order to stay ahead of what’s transpiring around the world.”

For his work, Balasubramanian was recently recognized with an Award for Excellence in Microsystems CAD Tool & Design Methodology by CMC Microsystems and sponsored by COMSOL. The award recognizes a graduate student who demonstrates a novel design technology advancement with the most potential for applicable improvements to microsystems manufacture and deployment.

The research was supported by funding from the Department of National Defence of Canada, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and the Canadian Foundation for Innovation.

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On October 24, UBCO will host its second debate this year, following up on the successful event this spring. This topic this fall: Free Speech is Not Dead.

Freedom of speech. Is it a gift, a privilege or a right?

Does it even exist?

In the second event of its kind, UBC Okanagan Debates will host four leading experts from the world of academia, law and media to debate whether the digital age has choked off free speech or empowered it to thrive.

Does mainstream media control whose voice gets heard to maintain their grip on profits and influence? Are secretive social media algorithms limiting those who speak their minds? Or is the digital age supercharging free speech, granting anyone with an internet connection the power to express and influence regardless of their language or geography?

“Freedom of speech is a fascinating, nuanced topic. Who has it, why, and how does today’s world shape how we use it?” says Dr. Lesley Cormack, Principal and Deputy Vice-Chancellor at UBC Okanagan. “What is so exciting about UBC Okanagan Debates is each side has the opportunity to take a firm position and see how persuasive they can be, both in the eyes of the audience and against their fellow debaters. It’s going to be a timely discussion.”

Debating experts include Dr. Greg Garrard, a Professor of Environmental Humanities at UBCO, and Dr. Joel Bakan, a Professor at UBC’s Allard School of Law. Dr. Bakan, a renowned expert in constitutional law, is currently challenging X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, over censorship issues. He and Dr. Garrard stand on the side that free speech is dead. Opposing them will be Dr. Margo Young, a Professor at UBC’s Allard School of Law and Sue Gardner, the former head of cbc.ca and is a special advisor to the Wikimedia Foundation.

“UBC Okanagan Debates is a signature event for our campus,” says Marten Youssef, Associate Vice-President, University Relations. “Civil debates are our response to connecting a polarized world, because we believe that the absence of debate is not harmony, it’s indifference.”

The debate takes place Tuesday, October 24, at the Kelowna Community Theatre beginning at 7 pm. Tickets are $15 for general admission, $10 for UBC alumni and $5 for students. A reception will follow the debate.

This is an in-person debate and will not be livestreamed or available online afterwards.

To purchase tickets or learn more about the event, visit: ok.ubc.ca/debates

The post UBCO to host second debate: Free Speech is Not Dead appeared first on UBC's Okanagan News.

On October 24, UBCO will host its second debate this year, following up on the successful event this spring. This topic this fall: Free Speech is Not Dead.

Freedom of speech. Is it a gift, a privilege or a right?

Does it even exist?

In the second event of its kind, UBC Okanagan Debates will host four leading experts from the world of academia, law and media to debate whether the digital age has choked off free speech or empowered it to thrive.

Does mainstream media control whose voice gets heard to maintain their grip on profits and influence? Are secretive social media algorithms limiting those who speak their minds? Or is the digital age supercharging free speech, granting anyone with an internet connection the power to express and influence regardless of their language or geography?

“Freedom of speech is a fascinating, nuanced topic. Who has it, why, and how does today’s world shape how we use it?” says Dr. Lesley Cormack, Principal and Deputy Vice-Chancellor at UBC Okanagan. “What is so exciting about UBC Okanagan Debates is each side has the opportunity to take a firm position and see how persuasive they can be, both in the eyes of the audience and against their fellow debaters. It’s going to be a timely discussion.”

Debating experts include Dr. Greg Garrard, a Professor of Environmental Humanities at UBCO, and Dr. Joel Bakan, a Professor at UBC’s Allard School of Law. Dr. Bakan, a renowned expert in constitutional law, is currently challenging X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, over censorship issues. He and Dr. Garrard stand on the side that free speech is dead. Opposing them will be Dr. Margo Young, a Professor at UBC’s Allard School of Law and Sue Gardner, the former head of cbc.ca and is a special advisor to the Wikimedia Foundation.

“UBC Okanagan Debates is a signature event for our campus,” says Marten Youssef, Associate Vice-President, University Relations. “Civil debates are our response to connecting a polarized world, because we believe that the absence of debate is not harmony, it’s indifference.”

The debate takes place Tuesday, October 24, at the Kelowna Community Theatre beginning at 7 pm. Tickets are $15 for general admission, $10 for UBC alumni and $5 for students. A reception will follow the debate.

This is an in-person debate and will not be livestreamed or available online afterwards.

To purchase tickets or learn more about the event, visit: ok.ubc.ca/debates

The post UBCO to host second debate: Free Speech is Not Dead appeared first on UBC's Okanagan News.

Goal is to reduce costs, environmental impacts and health risks of aquatic centres

UBC Okanagan researchers are taking a deep dive into the analytical data of public aquatic facilities in an effort to minimize environmental impacts and make them more energy efficient.

With nearly 3,000 publicly owned aquatic facilities across Canada, municipalities are continually looking for ways to further reduce their environmental impacts while keeping operational costs manageable, explains Dr. Michael De Coste, a Postdoctoral Researcher with the School of Engineering’s Life Cycle Management Laboratory.

Through the four-year community-based project, the researchers will develop best management practices for new and existing aquatic centres to optimize the operations of the facilities. The project will focus on three key pillars: water, health and energy.

“Over the course of this research, we’ll be monitoring water and air quality, building energy use and overall user experience,” says Dr. De Coste. “Comparing this data will paint a clearer image of the benchmarks required for aquatic facilities to meet their goals today and into the future.”

Three of British Columbia’s largest cities—Burnaby, Richmond and Kelowna—have partnered with the life cycle lab to identify new opportunities to address these areas through a new water-health-energy nexus approach. As part of the unique partnership, the researchers have access to the participating facilities and will be provided with the essential data to analyze the operational costs, energy consumption and user experience of each aquatic centre.

Along with the three cities, industry and regulatory partners, including the local health authorities, have joined in to determine methods to optimize aquatic facilities and, at the same time, keep staff and users safe. Industrial and commercial partners in this research include HCMA Architecture + Design, DB Perks and Associates Ltd, AME Group and Myrtha Pools.

The research team includes Drs. De Coste and Haroon R. Mian along with supervisors Drs. Rehan Sadiq and Kasun Hewage from UBCO’s Life Cycle Management Laboratory. The team is also collaborating with Dr. Andrea MacNeill from Planetary Healthcare Laboratory.

In particular, they will investigate and analyze the impacts of total energy use in each facility along with chemical use, total life cycle cost and thermal comfort. Their findings will help develop a dashboard platform to provide evidence-based tools for municipalities to leverage in their ongoing efforts to optimize energy consumption and minimize the health risks of users and staff while enabling a more cost-effective method of operation, explains Dr. Sadiq.

“All of the partners are leaders in sustainability and innovation, and have leapt right in sharing information that—once analyzed—will add to measures already in place that make new and existing aquatic facilities in these communities more sustainable and operationally less expensive,” he says. “We are excited at this opportunity to play a role in reducing the environmental footprint of aquatic facilities across the country.”

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UBCO’s Dr. Mary Ann Murphy discusses the emotional recovery after the trauma of experiencing a wildfire.

A year after the 2003 Okanagan Mountain Park fire, a team of UBC Okanagan researchers reached out to people who had lost their homes in the fire. Some 25 Okanagan families were interviewed, sharing their emotional journey of recovery after the wildlife.

Mary Ann Murphy, an Associate Professor of Sociology at UBC Okanagan’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and with the School of Social Work, has become an expert on the emotional aspect of recovering from trauma—especially the devastation of wildfires.

Dr. Murphy, along with fellow UBCO researchers David Scott, Fern Helfand and Penny Cash, took the information gleaned from those interviews and created a Kelowna Museum exhibition titled The Meaning of Home. The exhibition included fire science and artifacts, along with images depicting the primary themes of impact and loss identified by both the families and first responders.

What the researchers learned 20 years ago resonates today as the communities of the Central Okanagan continue to deal with the reality of the Grouse Complex Wildfire which caused damage in Kelowna, West Kelowna and Lake Country and continues to burn today.

What did you learn when you interviewed those who had lost their homes in 2003?

There was a profound sense of guilt felt by those who left behind simple but irreplaceable mementos that represented deeply embedded memories—children’s trophies and stuffed animals, family heirlooms and old, inexpensive keepsakes that most represented what they cherished about their home and history.

They grieved, had sleepless nights, health problems and worked to help their children adjust to new neighbourhoods and friends. And, they mourned about living with the incredible loss of what was more than a structure—as every comfort, every family routine and ritual, everything familiar was turned upside down. They struggled with the loss of something that many people work, sacrifice, tend to and care about. Many said it was not a house, but a home—a place that is a welcoming safe harbour, a site of shared history, comfort, celebrations and traditions.

Why did you feel it was important to tell the stories of those who had lost their homes?

We wanted to share the depth and significance of their loss. We captured the very personal impact of the fire and related their stories. The exhibition included fire science and artifacts, along with images depicting the primary themes of impact and loss identified by both the families and a number of the FortisBC power line technicians who were among the first to enter the fire areas.

Museum visitors left familiar reflections on the depth and significance of what was lost: “…seeing the fire was … [eerily] awesome. The most heart-breaking sight was watching the people drive by with all of their belongings in their vehicles. The most wonderful thing was hearing how your community came together.”

How do the people who live in the Central Okanagan brace for the future?

It has been an astonishing 20 years since the historic 2003 Okanagan Mountain Park wildfire—an event that destroyed more than 25,000 hectares of parkland, forced more than 33,000 people to evacuate and levelled 238 homes. At the time, it was one of the largest wildland-urban interface fires in Canadian history. It forever changed our landscape and our psyche.

We could never have anticipated that 20 years later, almost to the date, we would be living under a provincial state of emergency, evacuations, homes destroyed, smoke-filled skies and hundreds of fires would become what we are told may be our “new normal.”

To prepare for the future, find information about making your home as fire smart as possible. And keep in mind, at any time, you may have short notice to evacuate. Know where those important documents are and keep a list handy of things you would need to take with you.

What message would you give to all those who have been affected by this wildfire?

Remember, things will get better.

However, don’t suffer alone. Advice from previously impacted families is to reach out for help, continue to share how you’re feeling and doing with friends and neighbours as well as look next door to see if anyone from your street might still need help. Talk with your children in case they feel guilty about what was left behind and let them know that this turmoil is normal.

As we heal and move forward, you will learn that this was one of our region’s “finest and darkest hours” and that the simple outpouring of concern from everyone far and wide is entirely sincere. Get back to the people you haven’t heard from in ages who expressed concern. Let them know how you are truly feeling. Families previously impacted have said this can be a great opportunity to reset your priorities.

And finally, try to be patient. The fires aren’t fully under control and some sites simply aren’t safe yet. But we will get through this. We are a resilient and caring community. In all, take great comfort from all of those—including first responders—who have cared for us and avoided the loss of life.

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Earlier this summer a giant panda named Ai Bao delivered twin cubs in a South Korean zoo. Although pandas often give birth to twins, typically only one cub survives, especially in the wild.

And to survive, this tiny helpless cub needs to communicate with its mother—better and more urgently than the twin.

Dr. Christina Buesching, an Adjunct Professor with UBC Okanagan’s Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science, is a researcher who studies how animals communicate with each other. In collaboration with a group of Chinese co-authors, she recently published a study examining the way newborn panda cubs acoustically connect with their mother.

Blind at birth and just one-900th of the size of their mother, the two babies compete for nourishment and care by making sounds. Those squawks, squalls and croaks likely determine whether they’ll survive or not.

What is the survival rate for pandas born in the wild? And in captivity?

Approximately 56 per cent of giant panda births are twins. However, even though the new mother will spend two weeks fasting and doing nothing but caring for the babies, if raised in the wild, typically one of those cubs will die shortly after birth.

And in captivity, the mortality of pandas younger than one month—especially during their first 15 days—is 22 per cent higher than in any other age class.

To avoid this high neonatal mortality and ensure the continued survival of this charismatic species, twins born in captivity are switched regularly every 24 hours, so the mother only ever has to care for one baby while its twin is being nurtured by the zoo keepers.

Interestingly, we currently don’t really understand how the mother decides which cub she will favour. Because the cubs are so tiny and helpless, the only way they can elicit maternal attention is by making sounds—and it’s those sounds that likely determine which twin survives.

In essence, they need to communicate to their mother “Feed me, not the other one.” Therefore, we propose in a recent publication in Integrative Zoology, that poor understanding of early-age vocal mother–infant communication may be a reason for the high mortality rate of newborn pandas.

So what kind of vocalizations do newborn panda cubs make?

Panda cubs use three distinct calls: harsh-sounding squawks, high-pitched squalls and throaty croaks. These are so-called broadband calls and comprise a very wide frequency range, as well as contain both audible and ultrasound components higher than 20 kilohertz.

Of course, these sounds should have evolved to elicit maximum maternal care and attention, but in the wild the cubs are potential prey to other animals including golden cats, yellow-throated martens and even the Asian black bear. Ideally, their calls should therefore be something just the mother can hear.

Can you explain why baby pandas use both ultrasound and lower frequencies?

Our analyses show that the calls get deeper the older and bigger the cubs get.

This is quite interesting in the context of “survival of the fittest” because the lower call frequencies require longer vocal cords. Therefore, deeper calls could be an unmistakable way for a baby panda to signal to its mother that it is big and strong and growing rapidly—in fact much bigger and growing faster than its twin—and therefore worthier of the mother’s attention and care.

Ultrasound, however, is much harder to pinpoint and therefore cubs vocalizing in higher frequencies may be harder to detect by predators. So, cubs may be safer when calling in ultrasound, but they may get more attention from their mother than their sibling when calling with a deeper voice.

This truly is a biological example of being stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Broadband calls have been reported in several other species, which would typically use ultrasound calls when babies are distressed or desperate to get their mother’s attention. But before our study, they had not been reported in mother–infant communication of any large solitary terrestrial carnivore.

How did you conduct this research?

We analyzed 5,300 calls including 3,475 squawks, 1,300 squalls and 490 croaks of 11 panda cubs under 15 days old—seven males and four females.

When a cub was removed from its mother for scheduled health checks, we played back a recording to gauge her interest in the sounds. But to investigate the biological significance of the different frequency ranges, we modified these recordings using computer software so we could delete either all ultrasound components and playback only the deeper frequencies, or do the opposite and remove all deeper frequencies playing back only the ultrasound components. We also played the natural broadband calls, which included the complete frequency range.

Our observations showed clearly that females could hear frequencies of up to 65kHz, and eight of the nine mothers reacted strongly to ultrasound playback by searching for the source of the calls—in this case the speakers. But all nine females responded much stronger to broadband calls and calls comprising only the deeper frequencies by being alert and investigating the speakers.

This leads us to conclude that cubs uttering deeper calls do have an advantage in competing for maternal care and attention.

Why is it important that we know how pandas communicate?

The giant panda is a true flagship species for conservation and often serves as China’s national symbol. It was endangered for many years, but due to considerable and far-reaching conservation measures in the wild, and a stringently regulated captive breeding program coordinated between zoos worldwide, panda numbers are recovering.

In 2016, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List downgraded their conservation from endangered to vulnerable and in July 2021, China followed suit. However, the mortality rate of panda cubs is still high.

This research suggests that better understanding of early-age vocal mother–infant communication may help increase cub survival.

Understanding the detailed ins-and-outs of a species’ behavioural and physiological needs, however, is crucial in designing effective habitat conservation and management strategies. In a paper, published in The Innovation, we examined the pros and cons of creating single large protected areas as national parks or conservation areas to investigate the benefits of protecting several smaller areas to encompass a higher number of panda subpopulations.

A mother panda holds on to her newborn cub. Photo courtesy of Guiquan Zhang.

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Back to school can be exciting but with each new year comes change, especially for students entering middle school. UBCO experts provide some tips for parents to navigate those middle years.

Long before children are ready for middle school, their parents have heard the horror stories.

Online bullying, gender identity, social media, vaping, drugs, sex and dating…the list of potential pitfalls and obstacles can feel overwhelmingly endless.

It’s enough to disrupt even the most stable of households when a child shifts from the safety and security of the known into the uncertainty of a new school—especially if it’s around a milestone like the first day of middle or high school.

UBC Okanagan’s scholars and researchers want to help. Experts from across disciplines provide a few tips to help parents successfully navigate this new phase of their journeys.

“Make a plan,” says Dr. Stephen Berg, Associate Professor, Okanagan School of Education 

The start of another school year is an exciting and sometimes nerve-wracking time for everyone in a family. New activities and routines begin, so taking the time to plan and communicate with everyone in the family can help ease anxiety and nervousness going into the year.

Along with this, it is so important for children and youth to have proper nutrition. Having them take a water bottle to school—if allowed—helps maintain hydration and planning for healthy snacks and lunches helps with alertness and self-regulation in the classroom.

Of course, being physically active throughout the day is just as important. Even if there are no activities planned, something like going for a walk or other cost-effective activity gets children outside and can also be a great way to communicate and connect with each other.

“Encourage kindness,” says Dr. John Tyler Binfet, Associate Professor, Okanagan School of Education

A previous study involving 191 Grade 9 students from Central Okanagan Public Schools demonstrated that when the teens were encouraged to be kind, they surpassed expectations.

Within one week, more than 940 acts of kindness—sharing school supplies, giving compliments, helping with chores or encouraging others—were accomplished. As the bulk of the kind acts took place at the school, the findings show positive effects on school climate, student-to-student relationships and student behaviour.

I think adolescents can be misperceived, especially in schools. And if educators and parents can model kindness or provide examples of kindness, it will make being kind easier for adolescents.

“Keep the big picture in mind,” says Dr. Jessica Lougheed, Assistant Professor, Psychology, Irving K. Barber Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

For kids and teens in middle school and high school grades, back to school can be an especially challenging time. Often, tweens and teens are experiencing developmental changes in many domains at the same time—these include puberty, with more intense and less predictable emotions, as well as new activities, peer groups and schools.

Relationships with primary caregivers, understandably, can become more strained. The back-to-school season is yet another change. When routines change in such a big way, we typically see a period of less predictable daily dynamics in the household before everything settles into a new routine. Often, what’s going on in one area, such as your child’s school or social life, will influence other areas including their emotions or how they relate to family members.

If you notice a lack of balance in your household dynamic at the start of the school year, it might be helpful to keep the bigger picture in mind. Change is hard, and your tweens and teens are navigating an acute change to their daily schedules and activities at the same time as all of their other developmental changes. Irritability might be directed at you, but it might not be about you.

Check-in with your child when things are quieter and calmer, and it might be easier to make a connection then.

“Communicate well, and communicate often,” says Dr. Shirley Hutchinson, Lecturer, Psychology, Irving K. Barber Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Transitioning back to school, especially a new school, can be hard for both students and parents. Much of the anxiety stems from uncertainty and one of the best ways to deal with uncertainty is to try and collect as much information as possible.

Communication is key.

Parents should talk to their children and explore the new or returning school environment together. Talk about what the children are excited about and what they may be nervous about. And most importantly, talk about what worries are within their control and which ones are not. Knowledge goes a long way to reducing uncertainty and easing anxieties.

“Get those steps in and keep active,” says Dr. Ali McManus, Professor, School of Health and Exercise Sciences

Physical activity is just another word for movement and it can look like anything including riding your bike to school, cleaning your room, mowing the grass, walking the dog or playing sports.

The easier way to keep active is to get your steps in. In Canada, the recommended daily steps are 13,000 for adolescent boys and 11,000 for girls. But in middle school steps tend to decline and across Canada less than 10 per cent of our teens meet these guidelines. Here are four easy tips on ways to get more active: start small, make it social, do things you enjoy and make time in your day, every day, for activity.

“Provide a non-judgmental space to chat about the risks of vaping and smoking,” says Dr. Laura Struik, School of Nursing

Vaping has become common in school environments, with youth stating that the commute to school, school washrooms, recess and lunch are contexts where they are frequently exposed to vaping. Having open discussions about vaping with your child can help if they are feeling pressured, or even curious, about vaping.

Parents might also get some empty vape devices, free of charge at a vape store, to start the conversation and address the curiosity that frequently contributes to trying vaping. Role play can also help prepare a child to proactively think about how they might manage peer pressure situations that could make vaping tempting. And parental or family disapproval can play a strong role in preventing uptake of vaping among children and youth.

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