What's On at UWA

Video has become a well-established tool within learning and teaching, supported by a growing body of evidence demonstrating its positive impact on both the achievement of learning outcomes and the student experience. More recently the potential of video has started to shift away from teaching ‘with’ video to teaching ‘through’ video; the notion that video isn’t simply a digital method of delivering content but can also play an active role in the learning process itself.

In this 45 minute presentation we will be exploring how the use of student-created video is being used to support authentic, engaging, creative, active and problem-based learning, both globally and in our very own backyard at UWA. Join us and learn more about student-created video, its relevance to you and the facilities available on campus to help you make it part of your teaching.

Register for this event via the Eventbrite link listed below.

The first detection of gravitational waves from binary black holes was made in September 2015. This not only confirmed Einstein’s 1915 general theory of relativity, but also marked the beginning of a new era of gravitational wave astronomy. In recognition of the promising revolutionary effect of this discovery in astrophysics, in October 3, 2017, the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to the three pioneers in the field, Rainer Weiss (MIT), Kip Thorne and Barry Barish (Caltech). Since the first discovery, three more confirmed detections of gravitational waves from binary black holes have been announced. In September 2017, for the first time, the Virgo detector in Italy and the two LIGO observatories in US made a joint three-detector detection. On October 16th, a new breakthrough is to be announcement that is considered by many as revolutionary as the first detection.

The three groups in the UWA node of Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav) contributed to these discoveries ranging from instrumentation, signal processing, theory, to electromagnetic follow up observations. This lecture will discuss the progress of gravitational wave discoveries with focus on the new event as well as the UWA contributions.

The speakers will be joined by Dr. Clancy James, Prof. David Coward and Prof. Chris Power, for a panel discussion.

This PhD research proposes to tackle the definition of changes seen in lithic artefact production in the North East Kimberley during the Holocene. Previous archaeological studies have shown modifications in the manufacture of stone tools in the Kimberley and the adjacent Arnhem Land region during the Holocene. Furthermore, the rock art record from North East Kimberley displays important changes through time in weapons and objects associated with human figures. This research will offer new insights into technological changes by applying an analytical method rarely used in Australia, the chaîne opératoire approach, to stone tool assemblages from rockshelters and open site excavations in North Eastern Kimberley.

Chinese political leaders and intellectuals continue to struggle with how ‘Chinese values’ fit with ‘universal values’ and by extension, global institutions.

Is there a single global modernity that perhaps China can shape? Or are there multiple modernities and multiple, perhaps competitive, values that political systems aspire to?

In the past, debates have focused on the question of whether Confucianism is in conflict or compatible with democracy. However, these debates are increasingly becoming more complex in response to new political and social forces and new questions concerning the relationship between democracy and Confucianism.

Join in the conversation and see how Confucianism and democracy are shaping our understanding of China today.

Presented in partnership with the UWA Law School.

A public lecture by Professor Jeffrey Bamber, Head, Ultrasound and Optical Imaging Physics, The Institute of Cancer Research London and Institute of Advanced Studies Gledden Short Stay Visiting Fellow.

Compared with other medical imaging technologies, ultrasound is low cost, transportable, rapid, safe and comfortable for the patient. It offers excellent 3D soft tissue visibility, good blood flow information and high frame rate. It has already made enormous contributions to medicine but the potential for further impact is truly exciting.

This lecture will draw on the author’s work in cancer research to look at recent progress, mentioning parallels that exist because of lessons learnt from mining and construction industries.

A very promising area is mechanical property imaging, known as elastography. A key aim of Professor Bamber’s visit to Perth is to collaborate with The University of Western Australia on this topic. As in geophysics, different types of mechanical wave travel in tissue at different speeds, each providing importantly different information. In medicine, we use a pressure wave (ultrasound) to watch the progress of a shear wave and make images of its speed. This is proving important for diagnosis and assisting treatment of an astonishingly wide range of diseases.

The emergence of religious pluralism has been seen by many as one of the defining characteristics of the cultural diversity in contemporary Australia, where multiculturalism is widely regarded as a pillar of the country’s national identity. The Chinese community has been an important part of the Australian society for a long time, and it is continually expanding in Australia. According to the 2016 census data, more than 1 in every 50 people who are currently living in Australia were born in China, and the amount of Chinese-born Australian residents increased 50% during the 5 years between 2011 and 2016. However, whilst a noticeable amount of academic attention has been placed to investigate how some religions (such as Christianity, Islam, and Japanese Zen) are shaping the multicultural society in contemporary Australian, to this date there is yet to be a systematic assessment on the religious affiliations among the members of the Chinese community in Australia. In this talk, I will present some preliminary findings from my ongoing investigation into the recently-released 2016 census data, with a focus on the religious profile of the Chinese community in Australia. In particular, this talk will cover the following three sets of questions:

(1) How to identify the Chinese community in Australia through the census data? (2) What is the religious profile of the Chinese community in contemporary Australia? (3) Within the Chinese community in Australia, what are the similarities and differences between different subgroups regarding the structure of religious affiliations?

Be transported from the everyday in our free lunchtime concert series, featuring the finest musical talent locally, nationally and within the School.

This week, the Vocal Consort present an entirely a cappella program featuring works by Gesualdo (startling harmonies), Antonio Lotti (450th anniversary with settings of his 6-, 8- and 10-part Crucifixus), Baroque pieces by Telemann and Doles inspired by Martin Luther (500th anniversary), François Poulenc (a Christmas song), John Adams (from Nixon in China) and Billy Joel.

Entry is free - all welcome!

Now in its third season, Fridays@Five is the ideal way to kick-start your weekend! Each session offers a unique musical experience to delight all music lovers, from young artist led concerts to informal musical drinks on the famous grassy knoll, behind the scenes workshops to lectures and masterclasses. Join us each week for a delightful musical surprise!

Come and hear talented UWA Music students perform ahead of their end of year exams and graduation recitals.

Free entry - all welcome

The University of Western Australia is delighted to present a community art exhibition in collaboration with the John Fawcett Foundation.

Bali Eye IV (Kamadpalla) aims to raise funds to support the 'Adopt a Village' program run by the John Fawcett Foundation to fund eye clinics in Balinese villages. 'Adopt a Village' supports economically disadvantaged communities in Bali by raising much-needed funds.

The exhibition will showcase artwork created by UWA students who have worked with local Balinese artists through UWA’s Bali Art Studio program.

The exhibition is free for the public to attend and the artwork at the event will be available for sale with prices ranging from $65 per artwork to $300. All proceeds will support the 'Adopt a Village' program.

Paul Trinidad, UWA unit coordinator of the Bali Art Studio program said the study program was unique because it was an immersive cultural experience of a lifetime.

“During this unit, students spend two weeks in Bali – living in Bali’s oldest hotel, meeting the local community, visiting the Royal Palace in Denpasar and taking part in a traditional cleansing ceremony,” he said.

“Our goal is to gain knowledge as we contribute to the people of Bali and continue to raise enough funds to run two village eye clinics each year, coinciding with UWA’s Bali Art Studio visits in January and July.”

Since September 2015, students who attend UWA’s Bali Art Studio have assisted in raising over $10,000 from scholarship funding, by selling their artwork, collecting community donations, and organising raffles, to raise enough money for the fourth eye clinic to be held in Bali in the January 2018 study program.

Special Exhibition on the Life of Bahá’u’lláh at the Undercroft, Winthrop Hall

“The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens”

On the 200th year of the birth of Baha'u'llah, the Prophet-Founder of the Baha'i Faith, this special exhibition presents the life of Bahá’u’lláh, the history of the Bahá’í faith and provides an introduction to community building initiatives undertaken by the Baha’i Community that are transforming societies around the world. In October 2017 Bahá’ís in Australia and throughout the world are celebrating the bicentennial of Bahá’u’lláh’s birth with local and national events.

Bahá’u’lláh called for a united global society, founded on the principles of justice and unity, arising from the conviction that all humankind are equal members of one human family. This is encapsulated by His statement: “The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens”.

This event is organised by the UWA Bahá’í Society.

Opening Times: Sunday 22nd October 10 am - 5 pm Monday 23rd October 9 am - 4 pm Tuesday 24th October 9 am - 1 pm

Free Entry

“The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens”

On the 200th year of the birth of Baha'u'llah, the Prophet-Founder of the Baha'i Faith, this special exhibition presents the life of Bahá’u’lláh, the history of the Bahá’í faith and provides an introduction to community building initiatives undertaken by the Baha’i Community that are transforming societies around the world. In October 2017 Bahá’ís in Australia and throughout the world are celebrating the bicentennial of Bahá’u’lláh’s birth with local and national events.

Bahá’u’lláh called for a united global society, founded on the principles of justice and unity, arising from the conviction that all humankind are equal members of one human family. This is encapsulated by His statement: “The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens”.

This event is organised by the UWA Bahá’í Society.

Opening Times: Sunday 22nd October 10 am - 5 pm Monday 23rd October 9 am - 4 pm Tuesday 24th October 9 am - 1 pm

Free Entry

“The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens”

On the 200th year of the birth of Baha'u'llah, the Prophet-Founder of the Baha'i Faith, this special exhibition presents the life of Bahá’u’lláh, the history of the Bahá’í faith and provides an introduction to community building initiatives undertaken by the Baha’i Community that are transforming societies around the world. In October 2017 Bahá’ís in Australia and throughout the world are celebrating the bicentennial of Bahá’u’lláh’s birth with local and national events.

Bahá’u’lláh called for a united global society, founded on the principles of justice and unity, arising from the conviction that all humankind are equal members of one human family. This is encapsulated by His statement: “The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens”.

This event is organised by the UWA Bahá’í Society.

Opening Times: Sunday 22nd October 10 am - 5 pm Monday 23rd October 9 am - 4 pm Tuesday 24th October 9 am - 1 pm

Free Entry

This workshop will explore how micro-learning can change the way you educate your students. Micro-learning is an innovated method of teaching through ‘bite-size chunks’ of accessible content that actively engages students by encouraging them to use their mobile devices in support of their learning, rather than as a distraction.

After discussing current research on micro-learning in higher education, we will showcase some practical ways to integrate micro-learning techniques into your teaching by incorporating the use of social media. You will also learn how to create appropriate ‘bite-size’ digital content for effectively engaging students on social media platforms, and then try your hand at crafting your own live micro-lecture on Twitter!

Note: Bring your own mobile device (smart phone, ipad etc) along to this workshop or borrow one of ours. You may also wish to create a Twitter profile in preparation for this workshop as well, if you don't already have one.

Register for this event via the Eventbrite link listed below.

These are dark days for advocates of democracy in China. Crackdowns against freedoms of speech, assembly, and thought have intensified under President Xi Jinping, while Western governments are increasingly muted in their response. President Xi’s speech to the 19th Party Congress last week has only deepened these concerns. This makes it even more important to discuss openly the subject of whether and how China could democratize, and the changes necessary for minimalist democracy to emerge. This presentation will examine these issues from a comparative perspective, including the experience of democratic transitions elsewhere in Asia.

A public lecture by Alex Holcombe, Co-director of the Centre for Time, University of Sydney and Institute of Advanced Studies Visiting Fellow.

Time cannot be seen or touched, yet we do experience it. Do our brains contain an internal clock whose ticks mark the passing of seconds, minutes, and weeks? Why does time sometimes seem to crawl, and other times fly? Results from experimental psychology and neuroscience will be used to address these questions. We will then zoom in on the shortest timescale, of moment-by-moment experience. Every millisecond, different aspects of the world such as colour and motion, are being processed by distinct parts of the brain, but our experience of these aspects is unified and assigned to a single timeline. Or is it? Some animated displays will be presented, the experience of which undermine our assumptions of how consciousness evolves over time.

The Big Idea is a social enterprise competition where university students around Australia work on their big idea for improving the lives of people experiencing disadvantage.

Students participating in The Big Idea develop a concept and business plan for a social enterprise or social business with a mission to change the lives of disadvantaged Australians. It is a national competition delivered by The Big Issue and this year, UWA is one of the 13 university partners.

At this event, five teams of undergraduate UWA students will pitch to an expert judging panel. The winner of this event will go through to compete at the national finals.

Everyone is invited to come along to support the teams, their commitment to addressing disadvantage in Australia, and their big ideas! As an attendee, you'll also get to vote on the Audience Choice Winner!

If a UWA team reaches the national grand final, they will travel to Melbourne to compete. Last year, the winning team from UWA successfully competed in the national semi-finals to make the grand final, where they delivered their pitch to a live judging panel of university and industry experts. They attended an awards evening hosted by The Big Issue and also participated in a professional immersion day at PwC in Melbourne.

Venue: Murdoch Lecture Theatre, UWA Arrive at 5.15pm for a 5.30pm start and there will be a short interval during the event.

The event will be opened by Professor Kent Anderson, UWA Deputy Vice Chancellor (Community Engagement). The judging panel includes: Professor Paul Flatau (Centre for Social Impact UWA), Dr Jo Hawkins (UWA Innovation Quarter), Kylie Hansen (Impact Seed), and Andrew Joske (The Big Issue).

The Big Idea is brought to UWA by Centre for Social Impact UWA, The McCusker Centre for Citizenship, UWA IQ and Bloom.

A public lecture by Deirdre O’Connor, School of Agriculture and Food Science, University College Dublin and UWA Institute of Advanced Studies Visiting Fellow.

Social Farming offers people who avail of a range of social/health services (including mental health, physical/intellectual disability, elder care, among others), or who experience social marginalisation, the opportunity to engage in the farming and related social activities of their communities.This opportunity is offered through the medium of ordinary farms and families acting in partnership with service providers and the people who avail of these supports. It provides such groups of people with an opportunity for inclusion, increased self-esteem and improved health and well-being. Social farming also creates an opportunity to further connect farmers with their local communities through opening up their farms as part of the social support system of their locality.

While the practice of using horticultural or agriculture-related therapies to support vulnerable people in Ireland has a long history, traditionally, these services were offered within an institutional setting. The idea of linking a family farm with social, health or care services, in order to provide service users with a social farming experience, is a relatively new concept in Ireland. At the same time, there is growing recognition of, and interest in, this family-farm based model in Ireland, informed and inspired by successful practices, policies and institutional supports which are emerging across Europe and further afield.

This lecture will explore recent developments in social farming in Ireland in a comparative context and consider how the lessons learned and insights gained might usefully transfer to other settings.

The Friends of Grounds of UWA Plant Sale is on Thursday 26th October, from 12 midday until 2pm in the Taxonomic Garden. Any remaining plants will be sold on Friday 27th October from 12-2pm. We have a large selection of succulents as well as exotics, natives and herbs. Most plants will be $3-$5, with most herbs less. It is cash only and bring your own bag/box if possible. All proceeds will be spent on the grounds of UWA.

Abstract Imagine a technique that requires minimal or no sample preparation and allows you to explore the internal structure of your sample down to the micrometre scale without the need for a single cut. This can be achieved using X-ray microscopy (XRM), which, as for medical CAT scanners, uses the penetrative power of X-rays to “non-destructively” image through materials. The data generated by an XRM is converted to a digital format that can be investigated in almost limitless ways. The technique is highly flexible, with wide ranging applications in biological, geological and materials science. The Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation and Analysis (CMCA) at UWA has two X-ray imaging systems and this seminar will cover the basics of the XRM technique, its applicability to the study of a broad range of samples, and a number of gratuitously pretty videos of objects imaged by XRM.

The pygmies of Africa were long believed by Europeans to be imaginary, no more real than the dwarfs of Lilliput. Now and then reports by Portuguese and French sailors told of dwarfs with long monkey-like tails sighted along the West African coastline, but few believed them. In 1699 final proof of the mythical nature of these descriptions seemed provided when Edward Tyson described the dissection of a “pygmy” and showed that it was ape rather than human. It was only in the late 1860s that the pygmies were moved formally from the imaginary to the real. Explorers in the great forests of central Africa encountered them, photographed them and even brought some back to display in Europe and America. This paper concerns the people “discovered” by those explorers and the story of how their descendants have found themselves living amongst tribes of anthropologists for more than a century. I follow the social construction and then deconstruction of African pygmyness; I highlight the horrible impacts of academic ethnocide and argue that we need to reconsider anthropological practice.