Q&As

Saving the planet in the midst of a pandemic

Greta Thunberg galvanized masses of people across the world into advocating for climate change. But just as climate action seemed to be hitting a new peak globally, the COVID-19 outbreak abruptly brought the physical manifestations of the movement to a halt.

Apr 21, 2020

We spoke with Bryan Gick, a speech scientist with UBC Language Sciences, about what’s been on his mind since the Prime Minister went viral. Credit: Unsplash

Why ‘speaking moistly’ needs to be taken seriously

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gave us all a much-needed laugh when he awkwardly used the phrase “speaking moistly” in response to a recent question about wearing masks.

Apr 17, 2020

Social Distancing in Madison Square by Eden, Janine and Jim from New York City is licensed under CC BY 2.0

The social psychologist’s guide to making people stay home

Relying on people to do the right thing has never been an airtight strategy. Nonetheless, the choices made by individuals will likely have a greater impact than anything else on the success of our response to COVID-19.

Apr 15, 2020

Ergonomics is about fitting the task or the work to the person doing the work. Credit: Samule Sun/Unsplash

How to stay comfortable and prevent injury when working from home

Abigail Oveduin leads the ergonomics program for UBC Human Resources, where she is tasked with keeping 16,000 faculty and staff comfortable, productive and injury-free. We asked her what people can do to bring ergonomics into their homes.

Apr 7, 2020

Feedback-based policy can help manage COVID-19 more effectively

A team of applied science researchers at the University of British Columbia have developed a systematic feedback strategy they say can help public health authorities in their efforts to contain COVID-19 over the next several months.E

Mar 31, 2020

Webinar: UBC experts on how to reduce COVID-19 anxiety

The rapid spread of COVID-19 has impacted the global psyche in a way not seen in generations.

Mar 31, 2020

How globalization stoked fear of disease during the Romantic era

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the word “communication” had several meanings. People used it to talk about both media and the spread of disease, as we do today, but also to describe transport—via carriages, canals and shipping.

Mar 25, 2020

The post-pandemic city: UBC expert on how the coronavirus will impact future cities

The current COVID-19 pandemic is rapidly changing the way we live and the way we work. Do these changes signal long-lasting impacts on the design and architecture of our cities? We spoke to UBC professor Patrick Condon.

Mar 23, 2020

Myth busting: Setting the record straight on ibuprofen and COVID-19

In the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak, there has been a wave of fear and misinformation related to the use of anti-inflammatory drugs, like ibuprofen (Advil and Motrin)

Mar 23, 2020

UBC health psychologists Anita DeLongis and Nancy Sin have launched a new study that will explore the effects of coronavirus on our mental and physical health. Credit: Iz zy/Unsplash

UBC psychology study to examine how people worldwide cope with COVID-19 outbreak

The COVID-19 outbreak has impacted everyone in Canada and around the world. Health officials are asking people to practice social distancing to slow the spread of the virus, and this unprecedented series of events has dramatically changed our social landscape.

Mar 20, 2020

Why we need to live in social quilts, not echo chambers in times of COVID-19

Fake news is a growing phenomenon, and its impact on people, politics and public health, seems greater than ever before. With the advent of social media, misinformation about COVID-19, can reach huge audiences and circulate very quickly.

Mar 19, 2020

Meet the UBC master’s grad who watched Cats four times—all in the name of scholarship

This Saturday, the 40th annual Golden Raspberry Awards, or the Razzies, will honour the worst films of 2019. Jared Aronoff wrote his master’s thesis on bad cinema to earn an M.A. in cinema and media studies from UBC’s department of theatre and film.

Mar 11, 2020

Genetic variants place Asians at higher risk of side effects to common medications

From commonly prescribed drugs for gout through to depression, there’s growing evidence that Asians are at a higher risk of side effects from many medications due to their genetic makeup.

Mar 3, 2020

UBC News spoke with Heidi Tworek about the complicated history of race and disease. Credit: Unsplash

When a virus is the cause, racism is often the symptom

A virus is a virus, but humans have a long history of turning their fear of disease into unwarranted panic about people and places.

Feb 25, 2020

What this year’s Oscar nominees say about our times

The financing, distribution and promotion of Oscar-worthy films has entered new territory in recent years thanks to the rise of online streaming services, but the films themselves—particularly in 2020—explore territory that seems familiar.

Feb 7, 2020

Artist rendition of Vancouver school after hypothetical earthquake.

Earthquake risk perception: A picture is worth a thousand stats

Seismic engineers and psychologists from UBC teamed up with a visual artist to create an image showing what a Vancouver elementary school would look like after a major earthquake, and how it could help people understand the risk of a seismic event.

Dec 2, 2019

Gamblers under the influence of alcohol place higher bets after losses

When gamblers get tipsy, they tend to follow a losing spin of the roulette wheel with higher bets than sober gamblers do.

Nov 13, 2019

Mandatory water meters supported by most Metro Vancouver councillors

UBC researchers surveyed elected councillors and mayors in the region and found that 68 per cent are in favour of mandatory water metering.

Sep 19, 2019

Social media platforms are expected to play a major role in political participation in the federal election come October.

Big data project to investigate online abuse of candidates during federal election

With a federal election approaching, Canadians are bracing for an uptick in political chatter on social media. So are university researchers from around the world.

Sep 18, 2019

What can we do to stop climate change? Experts share their views

Youth climate activists around the world are planning a Global Climate Strike during the week of Sept. 20-27 to demand action on the climate crisis. Ahead of the strike date, we asked several UBC experts who work in climate-related fields for their views on climate change action.