SUPRA Postgrad Conference
FREE::CROSS-DISCIPLINARY::CATERED
Wed 26 - Fri 28 September 2007
Main Quadrangle
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Program
DAY ONE – Wednesday 26th September |
|
8.15-8.45 |
Registration |
8.45-9.00 |
WelcomeAcknowledgement of Indigenous owners of the land, the Gadigal people |
9.00-11.00 |
Panel 1 – Ageing and Rural Populations: healthcare, superannuation and marginalisationRoom: History Room S223Chair: Mike Beggs Virginia Simpson-Young Meat trays, marginalisation and the mechanisms of social capital creation: an ethnographic study of a registered club and its older users Hui-Chen Chang Taiwanese nurses and nursing managers: perceptions of EBP in nursing homes Lin Yuan The New Rural Cooperative Medical Schemes in China: a critical review George Kudrna Income versus expenditure: tax treatments of Australia’s superannuation savings Panel 2 – Inspiring Art: past, present futureRoom: Latin 1 S224 Chair: Cath Davies Catherine Rafaelle Reclaiming the copyright balance for artists Patricia Casey Echolalia in a Visual Arts context Clarissa Regan and Joseph Wheeler Breaking the mould |
11.00-11.30 |
Morning Tea |
11.30-1.00 |
Postgraduate Careers WorkshopRoom: The Refectory Nitsa Athanassopoulos Career Development Manager, Careers Centre Migration Seminar (runs til 1.30pm)Room: History Room S223 Arisotle Paipetis Migration Solicitor Getting Published: Philament explains postgraduate publishing Room: Greek Room N293 Presented by the Philament collective |
1.00-2.00 |
Lunch and Student Advice and Advocacy Officer (SAAO) Stall |
2.00-3.30 |
Panel 3 – Global PerspectivesRoom: History Room S223Chair: Nelson Yin Ian Steep Caucasian men who love Asian men: one year on Theodore Ell Lichens on broken stone: Piero Bigongiari’s Rogo and the quest for survival after war Alexandra Young Planning a qualitative research study: intercountry adoption Panel 4 – Performance and EmbodimentRoom: Latin 1 S224 Chair: Lulu Stewart Clem Gorman African American cultural influences in Australia, 1940s–1950s: performative embodiment Cath Davies Writing in white ink Emma Banyer Night clubs as carnivalesque spaces |
3.30-4.00 |
Afternoon Tea |
4.00-5.30 |
SUPRA WorkshopsInternational Session - Improving the International Student Experience Room: The Refectory Convened by SUPRA International Officer Nelson (Yue) Yin Queer Meet and Greet - Impromptu Queer SpaceRoom: S241 Convened by SUPRA Queer Officer Cath Davies Women’s Session - PhD Women: building your track-record alongside your thesis Room: The Greek Room N293 Convened by SUPRA Women’s Officer Estelle Noonan Featuring Dr Nicola Parsons (English), Dr Fiona White (Psychology), Dr Kate Jolliffe (Chemistry) and Dr Ariadne Vromen (Government). |
5.30 |
CONNECT Drinks at Manning |
DAY TWO – Thursday 27th September |
|
8.30-9.00 |
Registration |
9.00-11.00 |
Strategies to Support your teaching at University Room: The Refectory Dr Tai Peseta Associate Lecturer, Institute for Teaching and Learning |
11.00-11.30 |
Morning Tea |
11.30-1.00 |
Panel 1 - Environment: conservation and sustainabilityRoom: History Room S223Chair: Rosemary Whitecross Rebecca Lesic Free radical polymerisation: the making of the humble plastic bag Karma Nidup Phylogenetic study of wild and indigenous pig breeds in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region Marcelo Nudel Greening the building industry: major barriers and ways to remove them Panel 2 – Poets PanelRoom: Latin 1 S224 Chair: Estelle Noonan Craig Billingham and Adrian Robinson Poetry Reading Theodore Ell Poetry Reading |
1.00-2.00 |
Lunch and Student Advice and Advocacy Officer (SAAO) Stall |
2.00-3.00 |
Thesis WorkshopsHumanities StreamRoom: The Refectory Science and Technology Stream Room: The Greek Room N293 |
3.00-3.30 |
Afternoon Tea |
3.30-5.00 |
Panel 3 – Reading History, Writing HistoryRoom: History Room S223Chiair: Kate Barnsley Ross Halpin A history of concern: the ethical dilemma of using Nazi medical research data in the name of medical and scientific research Anna Rosenbaum Czechoslovak Jews and Australia 1938-1942 David W. Kim The Kingdom Memory: a sapiential language to Didymos Judas Thomas Richard Ouvrier America's New Deal: reregulating the US economy
Panel 4 – Conceptualising computersRoom: Latin 1 S224 Chair: Sacha van Albada Rajat Dhawan How useful are model driven decision support systems: an empirical investigation Hong Jun Song InfoSonic: can you sketch what you hear? Stephen Boyce On the classical theory of primative recursive relations Rohit Dhawan They learn, therefore they are: training neural networks to forecast time series |
5.00-6.00 |
Refreshments in the Main Quadrangle |
6.00-8.00 |
Evening Keynote Session –Beyond the Ivory Tower: the Role of Public IntellectualismRoom: General Lecture Theatre Chair: Kate Barnsley Dr Thalia Anthony Lecturer in Law Dr Paul Magee Lecturer in Creative Communication (University of Canberra) President of the Cultural Studies Association of Australasia Professor Chris Nash Professor of Journalism (UTS) Director of the Australian Centre for Independent Journalism |
DAY THREE – Friday 28th September |
|
8.30-9.00 |
Registration |
9.00-11.00 |
Panel 1 – Researching RealityRoom: History Room S223Chair: Lian Jenvey Don Munro Escaping the structure-agency cul de sac: the social scientific epistemology of Marx and Hegel Thomas Barnes Applying critical realism in economics: a Marxist critique Greg Mallory Trade Unions and Beyond: a comparative biographical study of the leadership of Harry Bridges, Ted Roach and Jack Mundey Panel 2 – Streams of SoundRoom: Latin 1 S224Chair: Angie Dunstan Antares Boyle, Jane Duncan and Janet McKay Streams of Sound: avant-garde and contemporary works for flute |
11.00-11.30 |
Morning Tea |
11.30-1.00 |
Time Management and Procrastination Workshop Room: The Refectory Lorraine Ryan Lecturer, Learning Centre |
1.00-2.00 |
Lunch and Student Advice and Advocacy Officer (SAAO) Gripe Session |
2.00-3.30 |
Panel 3 – Ethics and Science: cloning and conservationRoom: History Room S223Chair: Lian Jenvey Mohammad Basim AlAnsari Inclusion of Shia perspectives into the human cloning debate Donna Fegan Constructing the whale, constructing science: the changing nature of scientific whaling arguments Panel 4 – Education: motivation and performanceRoom: Latin 1 S224 Chair: Jenny Leong Marian Koo Dynamics of reading performance and motivation within a fluency-oriented reading programme Katherine F. Moore The use of metacognitive, self-regulatory and other musical practice strategies by instrumental musicians: their relation to motivation and their development through expertise Usha Sivaranjani Sista VS Ramachandran and Autism research |
3.30-4.00 |
Afternoon Tea |
4.00-5.30 |
Afternoon Keynote Session – The Politics of Higher EducationRoom: General Lecture TheatreChair: Jack Clegg Kerry NettleGreens Senator for NSW Dylan Welch Journalist, Sydney Morning Herald Kate BarnsleySUPRA Co-President |
5.30-7.00 |
CONNECT closing drinks in the Nicholson Museum |
Abstracts
Wednesday 26th September - Morning
Panel 1 - Ageing Populations: healthcare, superannuation and marginalisation
Viginia Simpson-Young
Meat Trays, Marginalisation and the Mechanisms of Social Capital Creation: an Ethnographic Study of a Registered Club and its Older Users
Participation in voluntary associations, such as clubs and other organised social groupings, is associated with lower mortality, better health and increased wellbeing, and has been proposed as a key contributor to social capital. Many older Australians are members of one of the thousands of local `registered' or `licensed' clubs that provide leisure facilities (such as sport, gambling and entertainment), restaurant and bar services, as well the opportunity for informal social interaction. The ageing research literature is, however, curiously silent on the role of registered clubs in the lives of older Australians. In this context, the purpose of this study was to discover the nature, meaning and role of registered club participation for the older people who are users of one particular registered club. An additional research question (which arose during data analysis and which informed further interpretation) sought to identify mechanisms of social capital creation, and outcomes of that social capital for older club-goers. Using an ethnographic methodology comprising participant observation supplemented by formal interviewing, this study focussed in-depth on a suburban Sydney registered club and addressed the following specific research questions: How do the older club-goers use the club - their activities, interactions, spatiotemporal patterns of use? How do the older people experience and interpret their involvement in the club? And what role does the club play in the broader context of the older club-goer's life? Club participation was found to enable older club-goers to develop and maintain both informal and formal networks, as well as to access resources for everyday living. Social capital was created and maintained through the operation of networks of club-goers, staff and the club as an entity. Satisfactory locus of control, positive self-identity, social integration and sense of belonging were positive effects of the social capital inhering in these networks.
Hui-Chen Chang
Taiwanese nurses and nursing managers’ perceptions of EBP in nursing homes
This study presents the findings of mix quantitative and qualitative study that identified the nurses' and their managers' views of evidence-based practice in nursing homes in the Taiwanese population. It aims to explore nurses' and nursing managers; perceptions and experiences of evidence-based practice, to identify the barriers that impeded the implementation of EBP, and the possible strategies to overcome them. Although the last decade has seen an increade in the awareness of the value of evidence-based nursing practice for all involved in the delivery of health care. little research has focused on managers' and nurses' views of research in nursing homes. This sentiment is particularly true in Taiwan since the presence of evidence-based practice in the region is rudimentary and limited to hospitals. It is therefore beneficial to investigate more closely the conceptualisation and implementation of EBP in the nursing home setting in Taiwan as the aged population such facilities care for is very much sensitive to variations in quality of care. Eighty-nine registered nurses responded to the questionnaires and additionally, six nursing managers participatedf in semi-structured interviews in this study. The analysis of interviews and questionnaires employs the PARIHS framework in an attempt to better understand the implementation process of EBP in nursing homes in Taiwan.
Lin Yuan
The New Rural Cooperative Medical Schemes (RCMS) in China: A Critical Review
Objectives: To examine how well the new Rural Cooperative Medical Schemes (RCMS) address the health needs of rural Chinese people. Methods: Analysis of document-based studies and research papers in the past 10 years on the topic of the new RCMS. Critical analysis has been done on each core journal research paper related to the new RCMS. Findings: Rural Chinese people have poorer access to education and a significantly limited awareness of the health importance of using clean drinking water and consuming nutritious food. In the countryside in China, there is a widespread lack of health resources and health professionals. Health and the quality of life of rural Chinese people are poor. Rural Chinese also have a very basic understanding of the new RCMS and are generally not impressed by their provisions. There are major conflicts between the health needs of Chinese rural people and the new Rural Cooperative Medical Schemes. These include: the requirement to allow participants to choose to join the scheme and the need for the scheme to maximize its membership; the gap between the low rate of financial contributions and the expectation of a high level of reimbursement; the scheme's major objective to cover only those costs associated with serious illness compared with people's expectations for wide coverage of both inpatient and outpatient costs; and the high costs of medical services in designated scheme hospitals and the amount of money provided by the new RCMS funds to cover them. Conclusions: Further and detailed research is required to determine how the new RCMS might meet the needs of minority older people in rural China.
George Kudrna
Income versus Expenditure tax treatments of Australia's superannuation savings
Since 1 July 2007, people aged 60 years and over pay no tax on their superannuation benefits withdrawn from a taxed fund. This implies that currently, Australia features an income tax treatment of superannuation where superannuation contributions and fund earnings are taxed but benefits are tax-exempt. This paper uses a lifecycle, household model to numerically evaluate the inter-generational, welfare and aggregate implications of the benefit tax removal (income tax treatment). The results are compared with the simulations of the expenditure tax treatment of superannuation where superannuation contributions and fund earnings are tax-exempt while superannuation benefits are taxed. The life-cycle model is a mathematical representation of optimal inter-temporal choice made by rationally-behaving, utility-maximising households. The model developed here features lifespan uncertainty and incorporates the main aspects of retirement income and personal income tax systems in Australia. The numerical simulations show that under the income tax treatment (benefit tax removal) older cohorts gain more in consumption and welfare compared to younger cohorts at time of the policy change while the expenditure tax treatment (removal of contribution and fund earning taxes) is more beneficial for younger generations. Short-run welfare gains are significantly higher under the income tax treatment compared to the expenditure tax treatment while the opposite is true for the long-run welfare gains. Aggregate implications indicate that the benefit tax removal has a negative effect on aggregate saving while the expenditure tax treatment of superannuation increases aggregate saving rapidly. The model suggests that the removal of the benefit tax implemented on 1 July 2007 will benefit mainly older cohorts in the form of higher retirement savings and consumption spending.
Panel 2 - Inspiring Art: past, present future
Catherine Rafaelle
Reclaiming the copyright balance for artists
The copyright debate is often framed around finding a balance between the artist's right to protection and the public's right to use - go too far on the protection side and the public are left with works that have so many restrictions that they are not worth using. This balance argument ignores the very real need that artists have to be able to use other works, be they in copyright or not, to create new works. Stronger, longer copyright laws do not benefit artists, they benefit some artists. They preference some types of art over others, disadvantaging art that incorporates intertextuality or transforms other works innovatively. They also preference established artists, relegating many more into the categories of “amateur” or “users” (hence the term “user created content” to describe works found on video sites regardless of quality). Like the printers' monopolies back in the 16th Century, copyright terms have the practical effect of being everlasting (works can be protected for over 150 years in some cases) with no guarantee to rule out future extensions and the primary interests now served are those of the producers, distributors and the state.
Patricia Casey
Echolalia in a visual arts context
In my family of birth we have a form of echolalia. Echolalia is the involuntary repetition of words or sentences spoken by another person. Sufferers are usually autistic or idiot savants. My family suffers from an emotional echolalia. Whenever we are together there are stories that are repeated in a variety of forms over and over. The theme rarely changes. Familial betrayal, narcissism, addiction and deception. When we are apart we rarely talk about it, but when reunited an involuntary reflex takes over and the stories begin again. The idiot savant can repeat tracts of another's conversation long after the words have been uttered. I can relate events that took place long before I could read and write. Looking back one can become caught in a cycle of questioning what was real and what was a simulation. Simulacra are flawed copies of an original, a shadow repetition, doppelgangers, homunculus, or are they copies of something that really does not exist. When is a rose a rose and not an allegory for something else? I have come to realize that most people have these embedded stories and this is what I will explore in my presentation. The paper deals with echolalia and the simulacra in the context of memory, perception and the fluidity of time. There is an elasticity that exists between them, moving backwards and forwards. One event assuming significance, while another fades. There are different truths for all the players in the story and even layers of meaning inside each version of the truth. As an artist I look both to the personal and the universal for my inspiration. This paper, in the context of my artistic practice, explores echolalia in connection with photography and installation art as a simulacrum of memory. I will look at the way memory is influenced by individual perspective to explore the power of family stories, myths and legends and the power of the “echo” of memory. I will address these questions through a study of Roland Barthes' theories on photography; Merleau-Ponty's writing on the phenomenology of art; and Jean Baudrillard's theory on the simulacra. I will also refer to artists such as Henry Peach Robertson, Bill Viola, Pat Brassington and Tracey Moffat whose work also evokes a strong “echo” in the viewer.
Clarissa Regan and Joseph Wheeler
Breaking the mold
This presentation will to examine our positions within the broader ceramic arts community. We will give a presentation with visuals looking at the history of decoration in general and related to ceramics in particular. This will include historical aspects such as the association of decoration with royalty, the bourgeoise and ultimately criminality. The early twentieth century was a period both of rejection of ornament, and rich and lush achievements in decorative art. As the century rolled on the influence of schools such as the Bauhaus spread and decoration was rejected absolutely, and we had the dawning consciousness of what was called good design. We shall also look at influential movements of the late twentieth century Firstly the notion of` natural' potters that springs from the Anglo Japanese school of Englishman Bernard Leach. Decoration on this work is often absent or very understated. Secondly those ceramics which are an outgrowth of abstract expressionism. These represent a non-decorative stance more often associated with the Fine Art disciplines of painting and sculpture. We feel it is the work which can be loosely termed, decorative ceramics ,which is often marginalized or ignored altogether in Australia. This category covers itself a variety of styles and subgroups. We will show images of our work and discuss these in relation the above m,./f smashing pots as a symbolic gesture against what we perceive as an on going tradition, still entrenched in many ceramic centers today. The mantra of “ form follows function” and “truth to materials”. We will go on to discuss the influence of the different schools particularly in Australia as well the role of galleries and institutions in perpetuating what we see as an entrenched conservatism.
Wednesday 26th September - Afternoon
Panel 3 - Global Perspectives
Ian Steep
Caucasian men who love Asian men: one year on
At the inaugural CONNECT conference I presented a paper about my incipient research into the lives of gay Caucasian men who are predominantly or exclusively attracted to men of Asian ancestry. In the past year I have further explored the topic, extensively researched the literature and conducted initial interviews. My inquiry seeks to determine the basis of the attraction of gay Caucasian to men of other ancestry and whether such attraction, that is, to a racially different other, is a fetish. My exemplar is that of Caucasian men attracted to men of Asian ancestry. Although my theoretical framework is the fetish and my current methodology life story, the topic explores many aspects of the human condition, and the relatively exclusive attraction of an individual to one who is racially opposite appears to find its roots in varying conditions. The literature is sparse. A certain amount of work has been done on gay Asian men and the men who admire them identified residually; however, the Caucasian men who admire men of Asian ancestry have received scant attention. Among other things, my research aims to fill this gap in the canon of works related to gay men. Fetish is explored in its original sense, that is, as something that serves as a substitute for something else. The value of the original, which may be unattainable, is invested in something else. This is most easily explained by the Marxist notion of commodity fetish. Further, the study investigates the attraction of gay Caucasian men to men of Asian ancestry based on stereotyped understandings of ethnicity, including physical features, and compares it with other bodily-constructed attractions such as attraction to amputees and large-bodied people.
Theodore Ell
Lichens on broken stone: Piero Bigongiari's Rogo and the quest for survival after war
Piero Bigongiari was one of the most important poets of contemporary Florence, yet also one of the most mysterious. He maintained friendships with many revered Italian and indeed European literary figures of the last century and yet the full importance of his own work has not yet been recognised. Many of the truths and emotions of his poetry reveal a highly significant side of the modern Italian character that is likewise often neglected: a contemplative and melancholy search for transcendence and relief from suffering. Bigongiari lived through the terrible siege that liberated Florence in 1944 and in that year began writing Rogo, a collection of poetry which would consume his imagination until 1952 and which is at the centre of my own project. His first subject was not so much the war itself but the feelings of hopelessness, enclosure and fear of annihilation that it brought about, and as time went on the poems evolved into reflections on the traumatic memories of human catastrophe. Rogo does not follow a design; rather, the poems are presented in chronological order and follow the evolving nature of Bigongiari's own thoughts and preoccupations. A close reading of the dense pattern of motifs he created, as well as the feelings he set down in letters and diary entries, reveals a poetic consciousness absorbed in meditation on the nature and possibility of survival in a setting in which this is not guaranteed. He compared himself and his poetry to lichens, clinging on to existence even in the harshest conditions, not because of driving ideals but because to do so is an elemental necessity. Encounters and discussions with other poets, including his close friend and contemporary Mario Luzi and the inimitable Dylan Thomas, were also influential. The striking and refreshing truths of Rogo reveal more philosophical and universalised aspects of the Italian character than we are used to.
Alexandra Young
Planning a qualitative researcg study - intercountry adoption
This presentation will briefly outline some of the issues involved in designing a qualitative research project using my study on intercountry adoption as an example. Intercountry adoption involves the placing of children, for whom there are apparently no chances of placement within their birth country, with families overseas. Adoption is an issue which is regulated in Australia by each state and territory and therefore legislation differs around Australia. In NSW, the Department of Community Services (DoCS) runs the intercountry adoption programme through Adoption & Permanent Care Services. The nature of adoption has changed in Australia. We have gone from having many local adoptions in which children who are born in Australia are adopted by Australian citizens to a situation where intercountry adoption has become the dominant form of adoption. The aims of my PhD thesis are to explore the reasons behind this shift in adoption practice and also to understand the wider sociological issues linked to intercountry adoption, including its impact on family life, on multiculturalism, on globalization and on demographics. My presentation will discuss why I chose to use qualitative methods in my study and also provide some practical advice for designing a qualitative project. Issues discussed will include: getting ethics approval, methods of data collection, choosing a research sample, study locations, data recording procedures and methods of data analysis.
Panel 4 - Performace and Embodiment
Clem Gorman
African American Cultural Influences in Australia, 1940s-1950s: performative embodiment
This paper examines the process whereby a cohort of young people in Sydney, Australia, known as “bodgies”, during and following World War 11, embodied African American culture, in a process which I have described as “performative embodiment”. During World War II large numbers of African American soldiers in the U.S. Army came to Sydney for work or recreation, especially at a club for “colored” servicemen known as the Booker T. Washington Club. The bodgies further experienced African American culture which had already been embodied, within the United States, by white American GIs, and from records of R and B and jazz, and after the War through Hollywood films featuring a glamorised version of black culture. The inherited ethnic culture of young Australians in Sydney in 1940 was predominantly Anglo-Celtic. The contrast between the drab life of Depression and War could not contrast more strongly with the brightly dressed, jive-talking, jitterbug-dancing black Americans, on leave in the streets, dance halls and milk bars of inner Sydney. The bodgies, who saw African Americans only during the latter's leisure hours, and later on film or vinyl, adopted a hybrid identity by a process of bricolage, mimicking the process by which African American culture was fashioned, over centuries, from African cultural roots overlaid with embodied European cultural practices such as Irish dancing in Southern cities or French music in New Orleans. They took into their bodies the cultural manifestations of African Americans to fashion a new, hybrid culture, neither wholly Anglo-Celtic nor African American. In doing so they challenged and overthrew their cultural inheritance through this process of embodiment of the exotic. As sources, I use Australian novels and non-fiction work, as well as personal testimony from older Australians who were among the cohort referred to.
Cath Davies
Writing in white ink
My PhD started life early last year investigating the ways in which lactation and breastfeeding could be viewed as forms of communication, both within and beyond bodies. As part of this project, I decided that I wanted to experience this for myself, and so in September 2006 I began to induce lactation. Since this time the focus of my thesis has shifted somewhat, moving towards an exploration of the relationships between lactation, lactating bodies and performance, and I have begun to include my lactation in my own art work. Throughout this project I have kept an online journal, and documented my performances, with the intention of somehow including it all as part of my final submission. This paper will give a brief overview of the hows and the whys of the induced lactation process, solely from my personal perspective and experience, and how this has informed my understanding of my topic, how I write my thesis in white ink.
Emma Banyer
Night clubs as carnivalesque spaces
Fiona McGregor's 2002 Australian novel, "Chemical Palace", describes a number of Bacchanalian parties arranged by its characters in vivid detail. The parties, in night club settings, are outlets for creative expression, joyful experience and are part of a process of self-definition: a way of creating and maintaining a group identity. The parties are radical spaces where diversity is revered, disease and death are explored through extreme performance and play, taboos are thrown away, and new gender presentations and sexual cultures are created. My paper uses Bakhtin's notion of the carnivalesque, McGregor's novel, and other supporting material including interviews with performers, to look at this scene, analysing the culture, aesthetics and performance of this unique and colourful culture.
Thursday 27 th September - Morning
Panel 1 - The Environment: conservation and sustainability
Rebecca Lesic
Free Radical Polymerisation: The Making of the Humble Plastic Bag
The art and science of polymerisation have been known for decades, and today are an essential part of many industrial processes, such as the production of plastics, paints and coatings as well as various electronic and biomedical devices.* Clearly, the applications of polymers are extensive, with a number of diverse industries and important systems relying on this crucial technology. Although there are several types of polymerisation, free radical polymerisation is one of the most commonly used processes, and is currently used extensively in a variety of systems. Traditionally, free radical polymerisaiton is initiated by the decomposition of a highly reactive and unstable species, such as an azo compound or a peroxide compound.** These molecules break down producing radicals that attack the chosen monomer, and thereby initiate polymerisation. Radical initiators rely on the fact that they are highly reactive, however, as they are unstable, care must be taken in their handling and storage so as to prevent them from exploding. In the present contribution, calcined silica is employed as a novel polymerisation initiator. When coupled with supercritical CO2, a relatively benign solvent, this system represents an environmentally friendly and sustainable approach to the production of polymers. The process utilises an alternative and recyclable reaction medium, a cost effective, non toxic and robust initiator that is highly active at relatively low concentrations, thereby eradicating the need for initiator recovery and product purification. Our system is effective in the polymerisation of methyl acrylate, a commonly used monomer, and of norbornadiene, a traditionally non-reactive substrate. Analysis of the products via gel permeation chromatography has confirmed the presence of polymeric materials with molecular weights of up to 54 000 amu. Electron paramagnetic resonance has also been used to confirm the presence of radicals.
Marcelo Nudel
Greening the building industry: major barriers and ways to remove them
Sustainable architecture has been `marginalized' (KAM, 1999) by the building industry that insists on dividing architecture into two different categories: conventional and sustainable (or green). Sustainability should not be seen as a `kind', `style' or `tendency' in architecture, but as a necessary and urgent intrinsic characteristic of it. This is the first paradigm that has to be broken and it represents the major obstacle to the creation of more sustainable buildings. The meaning of sustainable architecture should be `demystified' and brought to the every- day practice of architecture and engineering offices and development firms. This paper discusses the major barriers to the creation of more sustainable buildings at the present time, and ways to slowly remove these barriers.
Karma Nidup
Phylogenetic study of wild and indigenous pig breeds in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region
Pigs have important socio-economic, cultural and traditional, and biodiversity importance in the lives of many people living in the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region. The HKH region considered in this project are whole or part of Bhutan, north and north-east India, Nepal, and Pakistan. Bhutan has approximately 41,401 head of indigenous pigs constituting about 86% of the total pig population in the country. India has total domestic pig population of 12.8 millions of which 85% are indigenous breeds. Nepal has over 550,000 head with 81% of the population being indigenous breeds. The wild pig population figure is not known but several reports suggest that HKH region has one of the largest populations of wild pigs in the world. This rich and broad distribution of both domestic and wild pigs can provide unique opportunity to analyze the diversity and origins of modern domestic pig lineages. However, apart from molecular genetic study conducted on pigs of north and north-east India, there are no other evidence of such or similar studies in the HKH region. Therefore, this study will investigate genetic relationship between domestic and wild pigs, and will reveal the origin and domestication of pigs in the HKH region and other parts of the world. To do this study, genetic markers commonly known as microsatellites and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) will be used. Microsatellites are best the markers for evaluating the genetic diversities of domestic animals because of their abundant, even distribution in the genome, high polymorphism and ease of genotyping. The panel of microsatellites markers which will be used in this study is recommended by International Society for Animal Genetics and the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). The mtDNA, which reveals maternal lineage contribution is particularly useful in inferring phylogenetic relationship between closely related breeds within same species will be used to complement microsatellites. The outcomes of the study will be relevant to devise an appropriate mechanism for conservation of biodiversity and sustainable use of swine genetic resources in the HKH region.
Panel 2 – Poets Panel
Craig Billingham and Adrian Robinson,
Poetry Reading
Craig Billingham and Adrian Robinson, two poets who have studied Creative Writing at the University of Sydney, have recently published their first collections. Following a reading from their books, Craig and Adrian will field questions from the audience.
Theodore Ell
Poetry Reading
I stopped writing poems a few years ago, possibly by accident, but also probably because I realised that the flamboyant and melodramatic things they said were getting in the way of what I really wanted to say. If I did not return to writing poetry, I felt, I would not miss it much: reading it was good enough. Unexpectedly over the last year, though, I have begun again, and the results are more satisfying. The poems are shorter and sharper, with no oblique references or emotional excess, and they look outwards, considering an eclectic mix of moods and subjects in the wider world rather than personal worries: a scene in a cathedral, in which unfortunate people pray but receive no real comfort; the raffishness of cliques of young professional businessmen; the ridiculous denial of reality by an Honi Soit columnist, whose comments unwittingly condemn them to `death by truth.' These and others are situations that in earlier years I could not even have dreamed of dissecting. It is early days yet for my poetry and I am not sure what I am going to do with it, but the few short pieces I would like to read at CONNECT are a sample of the little games my imagination plays while my PhD is `otherwise engaged.'
Thursday 27 th September - Afternoon
Panel 3 - Reading History, Writing History
Ross Halpin
A History of Concern: the ethical dilemma of using Nazi medical research data in the name of medical and scientific research
It is over 60 years since the end of the Nuremberg Medical Trials. Since then there has been fierce debate amongst historians, scientists, physicians and survivors regarding the use in further research of data obtained by Nazi experimentation. In the majority of cases these commentators have had one thing in common - they all have an association with or deep interest in the subject under consideration in one form or another. The survivor of the experimentation is likely to have an intensely emotional interest and very strong views on this matter. The historian, particularly the Holocaust historian, has an academic interest in the subject focusing on why these events occurred and whether they can ever be repeated. The scientist's attitudes are largely based on whether the data obtained are useful or not to ongoing research. Attitudes of the survivor, the historian and the physician are mostly shaped by moral and ethical considerations while in the case of the scientist a more pragmatic and scientific approach would be favoured. Based on the descriptive and interpretive evidence I will attempt to answer key questions: what makes scientific research valid? Can science and ethics be separated? Are scientists who consider they are working for the better of society above the law or above a code of ethics? The experiments carried out before, during and after the Nuremberg Medical Trials, not only in Germany but in Western and Soviet countries, indicate that some scientists, government agencies and businesses believe they have license to do what they think is good for society, or in the case of business for profit, at the expense of the health and life of the individual. From these questions comes the most important question. How does society and the individual ensure that in the future scientists and governments adhere to a strict code of ethics and the atrocities of the past can never be repeated?
Anna Rosenbaum
Czechoslovak Jews and Australia 1938 - 1942
The Australian Government in conjunction with the Australian Jewish Welfare Society have absorbed thousands of Jewish refugees who fled Europe in the 1930s in a bid to escape Nazi rule. The persecution of German Jews was followed by the persecution of the Jewish population of Austria after its annexation by Hitler in March 1938. The cession of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland, to Germany in the aftermath of the Munich Agreement of September 1938 and the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in March 1939 substantially increased the number of Jews, whose existence was now in peril. In their majority, Jews were anxious to secure immigration visas. Not a popular destination in the first half of the 1930s, antisemitic legislation, increased violence and efforts to expel Jews, made Australia a sought after country of refuge for German, Austrian and Czechoslovak Jewish refugees in the second half. In contrast to German and Austrian refugees, the number of Czechoslovak Jews who arrived in Australia prior to and after the outbreak of WWII was not substantial. The reason for that was that Jews in democratic Czechoslovakia enjoyed equality and were not subject to antisemitism prior to the country's loss of independence six months before the outbreak of the war. The history of German and Austrian Jewish immigration to Australia throughout the 1930s has been well researched. However, no study has so far been undertaken to document the history of Czech Jews in Australia during that period, as well as the attitude of the Australian government, political parties, churches, the press and the Australian public towards the situation in Czechoslovakia. Theses issues together with the processes leading to their escape to this country, their journey, arrival, beginnings, assimilation and integration, are the focus of my dissertation. My presentation will deal with the challenges this research poses.
David W. Kim
The Kingdom Memory: a sapiential language to Didymos Judas Thomas
This article focuses on a literal skill by which the author of an ancient text directly or indirectly expresses its historical originality. Since none of the early Christian groups in the history of early Christianity emerged with a permanent written text, it is the undeniable fact that the oral tradition type was initially used (early first century C.E.) and then the verbal beliefs and group rules at some stage had to be transformed into a written tradition to pass onto the heir of the leadership or the following generations. In this process, the function of memorizing was a significant method, such as catchwords, locating the same word or relevant theme between sentences or between passages. While the route by which those (oral) teachings or principles smoothly carried onto the texts of different groups is still being disputed within various controversies, this paper will not only explore the documents of the Oxyrhynchus Papyrus 654, 1, 655 and Nag Hammadi II, 2 to unveil the role of the Kingdom in the memory of Thomas, but will also argue the notion that the ancient Christian text is a Q of the Qs that emerged.
Richard Ouvrier
America's New Deal: reregulating the US economy
Following the Enron debacle, the Administration of GW Bush introduced the Sarbannes-Oxley Act and accounting regulations to corporate American life to protect American capitalism from such corporate collapses and scandals in the future. This paper argues that accounting regulation did not go far enough, despite the clamourous Jeremiahads from sections of the NY financial community claiming that it has caused NY to become displaced as the global hub of finance in favour of the less scrupulously regulated Bleak House that is London. It avers that after the Clinton Administration effectively repealed the New Deal's Glass-Steagal Act, transforming deregulated financial capital into the new tyrant of the early 21st century, the world has again faced the serious risk of a 1929 style Wall Street Crash, with consequent risks to Australia and the region. The Controller General of the US announced recently that the American Economy's current practice of "business as usual" is unsustainable in the long run. More recently, retired Fed chairman, Alan Greenspan has cast doubts on the American "war" economy, possibly as an election stunt,however. If such concerns are warranted, it might be time to launch a strike on the possibility of further financial deregulation that is the business zietgiest, retightening it. Essentially, America needs a New Deal to restabilise the economy, if not necessarily a new FDR, more than ever since the CDU meltdown. So does Sydney. In this light, Tax Lawyer Justice Jacobsen's recent judgement in Citigroup versus the Australian Securities and Investment Commission effectively denied Sydney the historic opportunity to help support America in getting back on a fairer and more sustainable financial footing. As the US's very good friend and ally who was once saved by her from Japan, Australia owes America an historical debt to set a better example of more ethical financial regulation and
accounting and to get out of bed with London, the paper asserts, for the benefit of most stakeholders in global capitalism.
Panel 4 - Conceptualising computers
Rajat Dhawan
How useful are model driven decision support systems: an empirical investigation
System thinking and system dynamics provide tools for conceptual and computer modelling respectively, based on the belief that component parts of a system will act differently when isolated from their environment. Even though these tools are widely used as management aids, their relationship with our fundamental cognitive abillity - dynamic decision-making, has not been empirically tested. The main contribution of this paper is to scientifically establish whether systems tools can improve our understanding of complexity. A rigorous experimental study based on a pre-test/ post-test design was conducted on 80 participants in a controlled setting. To test effectiveness of system tools, participants were given a pre-test and then trained in feedback loops and stocks-and-flows twice before being given post-tests. Results show that our ability to understand even simple feedback systems is initially quite poor. However, this improves considerably with the assitance of system thinking tools. Specifically, performace in simple tasks improved significantly after a system thinking intervention was introduced. In a complex forecasting task, performance improved significantly after a computer modelling intervention. Overall, the participants' understanding of the system improved with the system thinking intervention and further with the system dynamics intervention. Computer modelling helped participants improve the complexity of their mental models significantly. The results of this research establish a fundamental link between the role of system tools and our decision-making abilities. The findings also provide concrete results that contribute to the debate regarding the relative efficacy of conceptual and computer modelling tools in decision-making.
Hong Jun Song
InfoSonic: can you sketch what you hear?
My current work has successfully demonstrated the benefit of using spatial separation for differentiating concurrent streams in sonification. The next stage of my research is to evaluate the most effective timbres for the purpose of reinforcing spatialized data streams in sonification. The perception of timbre is complex, which is not only acoustically correlated with pitch and loudness but rather is correlated with multidimensional variables such as spectral centroid, attack position and harmonics etc. Several pairs of dissimilar timbres have been generated with an additive synthesizer in order to reinforce the spatialization. The analysis combines acoustic measurement and intercorrelations between timbres (i.e. discriminability). My contribution is the development of design decisions that benefit an effective information representation. The significance of this work lies in its potential to bridge a gap between theoretical acoustic models and applicable development and improvement in information sonification.
Stephen Boyce
On the classical theory of Primitive Recursive Relations
Gödel’s system P is widely viewed as an example of an omega-consistent classical system that is capable of expressing all primitive recursive relations. Using Gödel’s own description of the isomorphic image of this system in the domain of arithmetic we prove that system P is neither omega-consistent nor consistent simpliciter. The result is relevant to current research as the proof only exploits properties of P that appear to be shared by many other classical systems in current use.
Rohit Dhawan
They learn, therefore they are: training neural networks to forecast time series
Artificial neural networks simulate biological neurons that create architecture of neurons and the connections between them and then train this model to link the output neurons with input neurons. Traditionally, where time series forecasting has mostly relied on traditional statistical techniques, neural networks have been advocated as a serious alternative. In most business scenarios the data sets are small and have a less obvious nonlinear structure. Hence, even though there has been much effort for the development of effective forecasting models, neural networks have had a mixed reputation in time series forecasting. This study investigates the efficacy of neural networks in forecasting monthly seasonal time series on simulated and empirical data. Whether or not neural networks are able to model the seasonal component of a time series has been a matter of controversy. While some earlier studies suggest that neural networks can learn the seasonal component well, a couple of recent studies suggest that it is better to deseasonalise the data first. This research investigates neural network's ability to model seasonal data in detail and presents a robust neural network approach that reduces the forecasting errors of a seasonal series even without prior deseasonalisation of the data. Results on artificial time series provide guidance in neural network methodology that is later used for experiments on real data. Neural networks present a promising alternative to traditional forecasting methods, however, in order to achieve benchmark accuracy, the neural network model should be chosen carefully.
Friday 28th September - Morning
Panel 1 - Researching Reality: contemporary issues in research methodologies
Don Munro
Escaping the structure-agency cul de sac: the social scientific epistemology of Marx and Hegel
Social science and humanities research usually reinforces one of two different world-views: the “lives are structured by external forces beyond our control” perspective, and the “actors can shape their own
destiny” approach. For example, some researchers say their research findings were influenced by globalisation, the environment, the capitalist system or can be explained using econometric or other
modeling; others explain their results in terms of character, personal interest, community action or class struggle; and many assert their findings arose from some sort of “interaction” between agents and their context. This paper proposes the structure-agency divide is not a reflection of reality but an artifact of the Positivist research method – one that can be resolved through the use of a Hegelian/Marxian epistemology.
Thomas Barnes
Applying critical realism in Economics: a Marxist critique
In the last decade, a methodological critique of orthodox (neo-liberal) economics has brought together a vocal, if small group that argues for the application of Roy Bhaskar’s critical realist philosophy in the discipline. This body of work finds some echo in the longstanding critique of economics pioneered by students and teachers of Political Economy at the University of Sydney. In this paper, I argue that while a critical realist approach to economics is a welcome intellectual development, it should only be applied in a qualified form. Partly by following the critique of Marxist political economist Ben Fine, I argue that there are serious shortcomings in rejecting orthodox economic methodology without outlining an alternative theoretical perspective. My argument will be posed in four ways: Firstly that critical realism’s healthy preference for a multi-disciplinary approach to social science should not be confused by theoretical eclecticism. Secondly, Bhaskar’s recognition that reality has depth and structure needs to be combined with an explicit acknowledgement of the need for a coherent theory of economic stratification and, more particularly, of the capitalist mode of production. . Thirdly, that there needs to be a reappraisal of the concept of scientific law in economics and, indeed, in social science generally. Finally, I suggest that the best way of dealing with these concerns is to integrate critical realist ontology with its (usually unacknowledged) roots in the Hegelian-Marxist theoretical tradition.
Greg Mallory
Trade Unions and Beyond: a comparative biographical study of the leadership of Harry Bridges, Ted Roach and Jack Mundey
Harry Bridges, Ted Roach and Jack Mundey were three prominent twentieth century trade union leaders who had a considerable impact, both industrially and politically, within their respective union organisations and later as leaders of broader social movements during their respective incumbencies. Whilst all three were Australian, Bridges practised his leadership as the influential head of a US labour union whereas Roach and Mundey were each leaders of two of the key Australian left wing unions; respectively the Waterside Workers' Federation (WWF) and NSW Builder's Labourers' Federation (NSW BLF). Employing a comparative biographical case study approach, this paper evaluates the significance of their leadership and influence in the industrial and political wing of their respective labour movements and in particular examines `critical junctures' in their leadership. For Bridges this involved his role in the 1934 San Francisco waterfront strike and in the subsequent formation of the International Longshoremen and Warehousemen's Union (ILWU) in 1937; for Roach his role in the 1938 Pig-iron dispute in Port Kembla; and for Mundey his role in the movement to save historic buildings and communities in Sydney, which became internationally known as Green Bans. The paper also explores how their influence and reputation as leaders might have contributed to the impact they had in the formation and development of broader social movements which emerged during their times.
Panel 2 - Streams of sound: flute performance
Antares Boyle, Jane Duncan, and Janet McKay
Streams of Sound: Avant-garde and Contemporary Works for Flute
Streams of Sound will present a diverse sampling of works for solo flute and flute ensemble from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, including a world premiere of a piece written especially for the performers and the second performance of another new commissioned work. The performers met in the Master of Music (Performance) course at the Sydney Conservatorium, where all are conducting research related to contemporary music for flute. During this time, the three have collaborated on several performance projects, including a recital of contemporary flute duos (Antares Boyle and Janet McKay) and an amplified flute quartet. This concert includes two seminal works in the early history of avant-garde flute music, Varese's Density 21.5 and Takemitsu's Voice, and a selection of more recent works. The program features performances on four types of flute: piccolo, concert, alto and bass. The musical styles range from theatrical (Voice) and haunting (Glimmer) to virtuosic (Caprices). Program duration is approximately 45 minutes including introductions and set changes.
Program:
Density 21.5 for solo flute (1936), Edgard Varèse
Jane Duncan, flute
Glimmer for alto and bass flutes (2002), Dominic Karski
Antares Boyle, alto flute
Janet McKay, bass flute
Voice for solo flautist (1971), Toru Takemitsu
Antares Boyle, flute
[New Work] (To be premiered 20 Sept. 2007), Julian Day
Janet McKay, flute
Caprices for two flutes (World Premiere), Hermes Camacho
Antares Boyle, flute and piccolo
Jane Duncan, flute
Friday 28th September - Afternoon
Panel 3 – Ethics of Science: cloning and conservation
Mohammad Basim AlAnsari
Inclusion of Shia perspectives into the human cloning debate
Contemporary bioethics is characterized by the marks of its historical, sociopolitical and intellectual traditions and thus is dominated by secular Western analytic thought. In contrast, there is very limited inclusion of non-Western religious and cultural perspectives, and much of what is available is not easily accessible to those who might be interested in learning more about such perspectives, such as academics, legislators, or members of the general public. This is an important omission as, in an increasingly plural and global world there is much to be gained from careful consideration of the diverse range of perspectives regarding health care, medicine and science. The paper reports the results of research into Shia (a major school of thought within Islam) perspectives on human cloning, using cloning as an exemplar to illustrate the processes of moral reasoning in a Shia world view. The judgments of 14 prominent Shia Muslim scholars relating to the ethics of human reproductive cloning were examined in the study. Human reproductive cloning is the focus of this paper because it has
been explicitly addressed by a number of prominent Shia scholars, whereas related issues (such as embryonic stem cell research) have not yet been discussed in any detail. The research reveals that commonly held assumptions regarding the uniformity, conservatism and 'anti-scientific' stance of Islamic bioethics may be unfounded and that Shia scholars' views on human reproductive cloning are, in fact, widely variable, richly developed and deeply contested.
Donna Fegan
Constructing the whale, constructing science: the changing nature of scientific whaling arguments
Since the issue of whaling became very public in the 1970s, it has attracted immense comment in the public arena. As the debate has grown and intensified over the last 30 years, it has become evident that the issue of whaling is not simply about killing whales. Following a worldwide moratorium on whaling which came into being in 1986, the issue of `scientific whaling' became central to the whaling debate. The decision to continue whaling under scientific auspices altered the nature of whaling and the issue of whaling was transformed, becoming not just about killing whales, but about science, politics, the environment, economics and animal rights. At issue in the scientific whaling debate is the nature and type of scientific research being undertaken and what constitutes valid and necessary research. On the one hand, Western anti-whaling scientists argue that today, all necessary research can and should be undertaken using non-lethal and predominantly non-invasive techniques. Alternatively, countries such as Japan argue that lethal research is essential to gain better and detailed knowledge regarding whales and their environment. It is the lethal nature of scientific whaling that leads to charges that this research is nothing but commercial whaling in disguise. This paper examines how the whale has been represented and constructed throughout history and demonstrates how the Japanese government draws on science to legitimate and validate the practice of whaling. A conflict such as `scientific whaling' is representative of the ambiguity that may be attached to scientific protocols, procedures and data interpretation. This conflict leads to tension within the scientific community and may call into question the legitimacy of some aspects of science within the wider public forum.
Panel 4 – Education: Motivation and Performance
Marian Koo
Dynamics of reading performance and motivation within a fluency-oriented reading programme
Children, regardless of their proficiency in reading, will continue to make achievement choices against a backdrop of declining and negative attitude to reading. The consequences of their choices may not serve their ultimate future well being in terms of course choices and career aspirations. The study examines a fluency-oriented reading programme and its impact on the reading performance and achievement choices of its participants. Two disadvantaged schools in the metropolitan Sydney had participants from Years 3 to 6 pre-tested and post-tested for reading achievement and motivation. School A had a 40 minute reading session delivered three times a week for ten weeks in conjunction with their usual literacy programme while School B continued with their usual class literacy lessons only. Preliminary results showed that the reading intervention did impact on reading comprehension, willingness to engage in reading tasks and emotions. Study highlights the importance of a reading programme to develop both the `skill' and `will' of students.
Katherine F. Moore
The use of metacognitive, self-regulatory and other musical practice strategies by instrumental musicians: their relation to motivation and their development through expertise
In the past few decades, research in Education has begun to focus more intensely on ways in which students learn most effectively and on means to foster these “ideal” learning processes. The use of metacognitive (thinking) and self-regulatory skills and strategies have been shown to have far reaching consequences for levels of motivation and self-efficacy (confidence), and to be an important component in academic success. A new and exciting burgeoning body of research is applying well established educational constructs to the field of music education. This paper reports on a qualitative study which examined musicians' strategy use during instrumental practice and its relation to developing expertise and levels of motivation and confidence. In depth interviews and video taping of practice were used to examine the processes and experiences of a range of musicians from beginners to professionals on a range of instruments including violin, piano, trumpet and drums. The study found that beginner and intermediate students demonstrated low levels of strategy use, whereas advanced and professional musicians demonstrated high levels of strategy use. Strategy use was not shown to be related to specific instruments or genders which raises interesting points about the generality of such skills. The presentation of this paper will explore the differences in the level of awareness and thought processes in beginners to professional musicians and will show samples of video data to demonstrate the intriguing differences in the ways that novices and professionals practice music. While focused on music education, this data is highly accessible to all and is an interesting demonstration of how students at different levels of expertise approach their learning.
Usha Sivaranjani Sista
VS Ramachandran and Autism Research
Vilayanur S Ramachandran is a behavioural neuroscientist who also specialises in psychophysics. He has published over 120 peer reviewed papers and is currently the director of the Centre for Brain and Cognition and a professor of neuroscience and psychology at the University of California, San Diego, USA. His principle areas of research are studies of visual perception, phantom limb, Capgras syndrome and more recently, synaesthesia. He also recently published a paper titled “Autonomic Responses of Autistic Children to People and Objects.” This paper aims to study the significance of afore mentioned paper of Prof. VS Ramachandran. Fresh perspectives in the field of autism research are very important particularly in the context of Australia because of the prevalence of this disorder - 62.5 per 10,000 children in the age group of 6 and 12 suffer from Autism Spectrum Disorder. This means that one in every 160 children suffers from Autism Spectrum Disorders, according to “Australian Advisory Board on Autism Spectrum Disorders.” At this rate, it is suspected that there might be over 125,000 people with ASD. Autism Spectrum Disorders are comprised of five disorders - autism, Asperger's Syndrome, Rett Syndrome, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder and Pervasive Development Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS). Prof. VS Ramachandran's study on mirror neurons also throws light on some of the aspects of autism - particularly, “that autistic children lack the mirror neuron system and we pointed out that this deficit may help explain the very symptoms that are unique to autism: lack of empathy, theory of other minds, language skills, and imitation.” It is thus apt that we should take a look at the research of this neuroscientist in order to find possible solutions to ASD in Australia.
Nitsa Athanassopoulos, Careers Centre
Nitsa Athanassopoulos BA (Hons) has been working in the Careers Profession for seventeen years providing services in careers counselling, skills training and graduate recruitment. She has previously worked in a wide range of fields encompassing staff training, development and recruitment and health education. She is a psychologist and a member of the Australian Association of Careers Counsellors and the National Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services.
Postgraduate Career Success: making the most of your skills, knowledge and experiences
This workshop will assist postgraduate students to identify the skills they have developed from their postgraduate study and to start thinking about their career options. The workshop will be interactive and an opportunity to share thoughts and experiences with other postgraduate students.
Arisotle Paipetis, Solicitor
Aristotle Paipetis is a solicitor and a Registered Migration Agent (number 0006846) specializing in legal issues related to migration.
Migration Seminar
This two hour seminar will provide an overview of the Australian immigration framework, including where to locate preliminary information for those considering the possibility of migration to Australia. A solicitor and registered migration agent, Mr Paipetis will address issues such as the legislative framework regulating migration agents and the industry, advice on how to find a registered migration agent, and information on the Migration Agents Registration Authority (MARA), including an overview of the professional responsibilities and standards that Migration Agents must follow.
Philament Editorial Collective, Journal of Arts and Culture
Getting published: Philament explains postgraduate publishing
This workshop run by postgraduate student members of Philament, an online refereed journal of the arts and culture, will introduce you to a successful student-run journal which publishes academic pieces and creative/commentary work including visual media. Philament aims to develop an intellectual community that has both an interdisciplinary and intercampus nature. This workshop will focus broadly on getting your work published as well as explaining how Philament is run, with a view to encouraging students from other fields to consider forming a collective and launching their own academic journal.
SUPRA SESSIONS
Chair: Nelson Yin
Improving the International Postgraduate Experience
Find out about peer support and mentoring programs on campus, hear from Unimates and the International Student Support Unit and meet other international students from different disciplines across the university.
Chair: Cath Davies
Queer Meet and Greet
What do PG Queers need and want from SUPRA? Booze and schmooze nights? Peformance evenings? BBQs? Forums? Disco bowling? A Mardi Gras float? Join Cath/Zoo(newly appointed PG Queer Officer Extraordinaire), in meeting and greeting your fellow Postrgaduate Queerlings and discussing what mischief you would like to get up to.
Trans, bi, queer, dyke, gay, lesbian, faggot, femme, bear, twink, butch, homo, camp, dragstar- we want to know what you want! Whether you be in leathers or fishnets, flagging hunter green or gold lame, mince or strut your stuff down to the conference from 4-5pm on September 26th and let's get to know one another...
Chair: Estelle Noonan
Ph.D. women: building your track-record beyond the thesis
This is an interdisciplinary session that will present a selection of women academics from a diverse range of disciplines across the Faculties of the University, who will speak and take questions. All speakers will be registered with SUN's peer mentorship program, and happy to support postgraduate women with creative and practical advice. Speakers will address the following questions: