The Arbutus Review

Letter from the Editor

Emily Arvay — Sun, 23 Oct 2022 19:34:56 -0700

Produced by the Division of Learning and Teaching Support and Innovation at the University of Victoria, The Arbutus Review was created to showcase the articles, projects, and installations that result from the Jamie Cassels Undergraduate Research Award (JCURA) program. JCURA was instituted in 2009 as the Undergraduate Research Scholarship program by Jamie Cassels, then Vice-President Academic and Provost and President from 2013–2020. The award program was designed to support and create truly formative research experiences for exceptional undergraduate students. The Division of Learning and Teaching Support and Innovation administers the award nomination process on behalf of the Provost’s Office. In addition to submissions that were the result of JCURA research, The Arbutus Review also publishes other exceptional work from students in departments across campus.

The River’s Legal Personhood: A Branch Growing on Canada’s Multi-Juridical Living Tree

Andrew Ambers — Fri, 04 Nov 2022 00:00:00 -0700

Relationships with rivers in British Columbia are often imbued with social and material toxicity. Learning from three sources of law in British Columbia—Indigenous, Canadian, and international law—this article draws out one potential remedy to the imbalanced relationships between humans and rivers through exploring the viability of declaring the rights of nature in accordance with the socio-cultural and doctrinal frameworks embedded in these three sources of law. By taking seriously storied precedents and governing practices from the ‘Namgis, Heiltsuk, and W̱SÁNEĆ Nations, this article is guided by their water relations, governance, and legal orders. In expanding Canadian conceptions of personhood, challenging anthropocentrism within section 7 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and expanding section 35 constitutional protections, this article also leverages Canadian legal concepts and protections for remedying river relations. Drawing upon the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) further guides the process of affirming the rights of rivers, especially in light of legislation that has codified UNDRIP domestically. Braiding these three sources of law indicates that subsequent rights of nature cases should be rooted in the interpretative and analytical framework of Canada’s multi-juridical living tree.

Motherhood and Suffrage in Early Twentieth-Century Canadian Women’s Journals

Rachel De Graaf — Fri, 04 Nov 2022 00:00:00 -0700

Maternal feminists of Canada's early women’s movements used their publications to define who should be a Canadian citizen and who deserved the vote. To this end, maternal feminists created an exclusionary concept of motherhood that reached from the domestic to the national sphere in order to justify their own enfranchisement and sense of belonging at the expense of marginalized groups—namely women who did not or could not bear sons, women who could not meet popular child-rearing standards, Indigenous women, and immigrants who were not perceived to be white. The exclusionary rhetoric and ideologies put forward by early twentieth-century Canadian women’s journals not only cut off marginalized groups from enfranchisement and national belonging but also further entrenched the social, racial, and gender divides that alienated these groups in the first place.

Marrying Christ: Bernard of Clairvaux and the Song of Songs in Aemilia Lanyer’s "Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum"

Jocelyn Diemer — Fri, 04 Nov 2022 00:00:00 -0700

In 1611, an Englishwoman named Aemilia Lanyer published a volume of poetry and prose titled Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum. Throughout the volume, which centres on an 1800-line retelling of Christ’s death and resurrection, Lanyer draws from the Song of Songs as well as other biblical texts to produce an image of Christ as a Bridegroom. In so doing, Lanyer inserts herself into a hermeneutical genealogy populated by both Protestant and Catholic writers. A key figure in this interpretive tradition is the twelfth-century abbot and mystic Bernard of Clairvaux, whose sermon cycle on the first part of the Song of Songs offers a detailed character study of the Bridegroom. This article examines the cross-confessional nature of the bridal-mystical tradition epitomized by Bernard before conducting a close reading of the images that Lanyer associates with Christ. Ultimately, this article suggests that Lanyer puts bridal theology to a new communal use by producing a devotional poetic space in which female readers can engage with each other through Christ and with Christ through each other.

Stücke: Graphic Vignettes and the Haptic Response in László Nemes’s Saul fia

Sarah Wald — Fri, 04 Nov 2022 00:00:00 -0700

This article examines László Nemes’s film Saul fia (2015) and its visual and sonic use of brutalized human bodies to induce a haptic response in its audience. Presented out of focus and often at the periphery of the shot, the visual frame of human death causes viewers of the film to recoil into the centre of the frame—a space typically occupied by the film’s protagonist, Saul Auslӓnder. This article argues that these visually and sonically induced haptic triggers, and the claustrophobia that results, tether the audience to Auslӓnder to re-centre the viewer’s gaze as that of a companion rather than perpetrator. Drawing from extant literature on cinematic haptics and filmic representations of the Holocaust, this article engages with contemporary discourses on graphic Holocaust representations in contemporary feature-length films to examine the impact of graphic imagery and haptic cinematics on the perspective and ability of the viewer to subvert the perpetrator gaze.

Assessing Mild Cognitive Impairment Using Portable Electroencephalography: The P300 Component

Hannah Smith — Fri, 04 Nov 2022 00:00:00 -0700

Increased prevalence of mild cognitive impairments (MCIs) and dementias are a growing concern as the population ages, which produces a need for an objective, accessible, and cost-effective tool to facilitate early detection and intervention. This article investigates whether a portable electroencephalography (EEG) system can provide an effective measure of MCI using a visual oddball task to target the memory and attention event-related potential (ERP) component called the P300. In this study, 40 participants were separated into two groups: individuals with a diagnosed cognitive impairment and a healthy age-matched control group. Participants completed two typical pen-and-paper MCI assessments to gather behavioural data, which were followed by a perceptual EEG oddball task to gather brain data. Results show that the MCI group demonstrated decreased behavioural task performance in the pen-and-paper assessments and a modulated brain response during the oddball task when compared to healthy controls, which the portable EEG system revealed to be a decreased P300 peak amplitude. These results indicate the capability of portable EEGs to identify biomarkers for MCI and their potential use in the diagnostic process. This capability could provide major benefits to patients, their families, and physicians, and would also assist with Alzheimer’s research. Future research could expand on these findings by applying a lifespan or disease-span approach to investigate P300 changes in the course of a healthy individual’s life compared to P300 changes in individuals with MCI over the entire course of their disease. This research could also cultivate a greater understanding of how MCI progresses, which could improve diagnostic or treatment development.

Allied Interpreters: Exploring the Role Perception and Ethics of Uncertified Interpreters Supporting Migrant Agricultural Workers in British Columbia

Arista Marthyman — Fri, 04 Nov 2022 00:00:00 -0700

Uncertified interpreters enable migrant agricultural workers in Canada’s Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program to access key resources and connect with community. Through providing a range of services, including support work and advocacy, interpreters assist migrant workers at risk of exploitation and injury in Canada. This article explores how uncertified interpreters navigate the power dynamics between migrant workers, interpreters, and other actors. Moreover, this article investigates how uncertified interpreters perceive their role and the ethical values that guide their communicative methods. This study’s research findings show that interpreters may adopt a pro-worker role perception as they gain knowledge of the disempowerment experienced by migrant workers. Arising from this role perception, interpreters may also adopt pro-worker ethical values that renounce interpreter neutrality in favour of accessibility and an explanatory communication style. Ultimately, this article contends that uncertified interpreters may reject some traditional interpretation guidelines to adopt a role perception, ethical framework, and communicative style perceived to be more well-suited to supporting migrant farm workers in British Columbia.

FM 3-24 and Religious Literacy in American Military Operations in the Middle East

Samantha Olson — Fri, 04 Nov 2022 00:00:00 -0700

In August 2021, the Taliban’s success in Afghanistan shocked American citizens and foreign policy analysts. Many counterinsurgency experts sought to explain this phenomenon by focusing on tactical and strategic military failures; however, such explanations often neglected to investigate the religious literacy of American troops engaged in counterinsurgency operations in the Middle East. By considering the treatment of religious literacy in General David Petraeus’s landmark field manual, FM 3-24, a startling degree of religious illiteracy is revealed within counterinsurgency operational protocols. While a historically and culturally focused “civilizational approach” is often proposed by foreign policy analysts as a potential solution to the problem of religious illiteracy in counterinsurgency operations, this approach also falls short of addressing the complex realities that confront American “liberators,” whom locals often perceive to be foreign invaders. This article therefore addresses the disconnect between American military strategy, foreign policy, and the tactical realities encountered by military personnel stationed in the Middle East. Resultantly, this article argues that improved mandatory religious literacy training for American troops is critical not only for conducting successful operations in the Middle East but also for ending, rather than reinvigorating, conflicts abroad.

The Annexation of Crimea and EU Sanctions: An Ineffective Response

Kiegan Barron — Fri, 04 Nov 2022 00:00:00 -0700

Ongoing geopolitical developments regarding Russia and Ukraine have resulted in discussions about the utility of sanctions. This article analyzes European Union (EU) sanctions on Russia following the annexation of Crimea by investigating whether EU-Russia oil and gas trade relations compromised the efficacy of restrictions. It thus argues that the EU did not sanction Russian oil and gas due to EU reliance on these resources. However, the absence of sanctions on these industries cannot be held responsible for Russia’s refusal to leave Crimea since restrictions that were put in place still notably impacted the Russian economy. Hence, other considerations, such as the general inefficacy of sanctions, unintended consequences of the EU restrictions, and deeper historical reasoning clarify why Russia’s occupation of Crimea persisted.

Healthy Neuroticism, Daily Physical Activity, and Daily Stress in Older Adults

Tristen Lozinski, Tomiko Yoneda, Scott Hofer, Jonathan Rush — Fri, 04 Nov 2022 00:00:00 -0700

People are typically less physically active when experiencing stress, an unavoidable aspect of life. Since physical activity has been associated with health benefits, it is important to understand what influences physical activity during stress. Research has demonstrated that individuals who are high in conscientiousness are more physically active; however, studies that have examined physical activity among people high in neuroticism have yielded mixed findings. Healthy neuroticism, a term used to describe individuals high in conscientiousness and neuroticism, may explain these mixed results. While individuals low in conscientiousness and high in neuroticism may become overwhelmed, stress may motivate people high in healthy neuroticism to be physically active as an investment in their future. We assessed older adults’ (N = 60; M_age= 70.72; 76.70% cisgender women) personality at baseline as well as daily physical activity and daily stress over 14 days. Regression analyses investigated whether daily stress predicted daily physical activity and whether healthy neuroticism moderated the physical activity-stress association. Ultimately, this study found that daily stress did not predict daily physical activity; as stress increased, individuals higher in conscientiousness were less physically active, while individuals lower in conscientiousness were more active. These findings were inconsistent with our predictions and previous research. Consequently, we propose future research directions and potential explanations for these unforeseen findings.