What's On at UWA

In this lecture, photographer Barat Ali Batoor will discuss his journey and the persecution of the Hazaras in Afghanistan and Pakistan, including their migration to Australia.

Barat Ali Batoor and his family were driven out of Afghanistan during the civil war when most of his people were massacred. He returned to Afghanistan for the first time after September 11, 2001, when the Taliban regime was still in Kandahar. After visiting the devastation and destruction of 23 years of war, Batoor decided to draw the world’s attention to the plight of the Afghani people.

Batoor started photography in 2002 and launched his first solo exhibition in 2007. His works have been published in magazines, newspapers and catalogues such as The Washington Post, Newsweek, Wall Street Journal, Stern, India Today, Afghan Scene, Risk Magazine,The Global Mail, The West Australian,Strategic Review and others.

He was the 2009 recipient of a photography grant from New York’s Open Society Institute for the project “Child Trafficking in Afghanistan/The Dancing Boys of Afghanistan”. At the Nikon-Walkley Awards in Australia this year, Batoor won Photo of the Year and was a winner in the Photo Essay category. He was also recently awarded the 2014 Communication for Social Change Award by The University of Queensland.

This talk is part of the 'Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul' exhibition at the WA Museum, Perth.

The Institute of Advanced Studies is pleased to be a co-sponsor of a series of events as part of the exhibition.

COST: Free, but RSVP is required via http://www.ias.uwa.edu.au/lectures/afghanistan

Come and find out about UWA’s undergraduate and postgraduate courses, scholarship opportunities, outstanding career options and explore our community programs and facilities.

This year there will be campus tram tours, hands-on activities, live music and entertainment, as well as plenty of fun activities for the whole family to enjoy.

Join us for Open Day 2014 from 10.00am to 4.00pm on Sunday 10 August.

This panel session is being held as a part of UWA Open Day on Sunday 10 August, 2014.

Aimed at a wider audience, including parents, teachers, students and the community, this panel session will provide insight into the benefits of studying at UWA, told through the personal experiences of staff, current students and graduates. This is an interactive session and the audience is encouraged to participate in a Q+A.

The panel session will feature five speakers including Vice Chancellor Paul Johnson, Winthrop Professor and alumnus Stephen Smith, alumni Rebecca Halse and Virginia Christie and 2014 Guild President Tom Henderson.

Dr Vanessa Beanland is a Lecturer in the Research School of Psychology at The Australian National University. Her primary research interests are visual attention, inattention and distraction, particularly as they pertain to road user behaviour. Prior to joining ANU in January 2013, Vanessa worked as a Research Fellow at the Monash University Accident Research Centre on projects relating to rail level crossing safety, motorcycle safety (with an emphasis on motorcycle conspicuity and drivers’ failures to detect motorcyclists) and in-vehicle technology design. She published the first in-depth analysis of the role of inattention and distraction in Australian serious injury crashes; the findings of this research are now being used by the Victorian government to inform driver distraction policy. She also assisted in the development of proposed Australian design guidelines to minimise distraction arising from in-vehicle technology.

Driving is a highly visual task. We must constantly scan the environment for distinct types of information: cues to guide our behaviour (e.g., traffic lights, signs) and potential threats (e.g., vehicles that may come into conflict with us). Failure to detect hazards is a prominent contributory factor to road crashes, involved in approximately 9% of serious injury crashes in Australia. The types of targets that drivers fail to detect are incredibly diverse, ranging from relatively low salience vehicles such as motorcycles to large, conspicuous objects such as passenger trains. This presentation will describe empirical research from simulator and on-road studies, exploring the psychological factors that influence drivers’ attention and lead them to fail to see such obvious targets.

A public talk by Sergei Katsev, Associate Professor, Large Lakes Observatory, University of Minnesota and 2014 UWA Gledden Visiting Fellow.

The string of large lakes held by the East African Rift is a true marvel of the World. These lakes contain a quarter of all the fresh water on the Earth’s surface and are critical economic resources to the region, providing drinking water, fisheries, and hydropower. These inland seas however, are under a continued stress from watershed development fuelled by population growth, fishing pressure, and climate change.

This talk will address the unique challenges of these large tropical lakes, as they change in response to climate, population pressures, and geologic forces. Focusing on permanently stratified (meromictic) lakes, it will discuss how the biological productivity is affected by the physical mixing dynamics, what sediment records tell us about the recent and geological history of the lakes, and how climate change can affect the lakes biological and other resources. It will describe how the accumulation of methane in Lake Kivu presents both an economic opportunity and a danger of a catastrophic limnic eruption that would threaten two million people, and what sediment records and physical and geochemical data tell us about the recent changes in the lake.

Cost: Free, but RSVP required via http://www.ias.uwa.edu.au/lectures/katsev

We invite you to attend our upcoming information evening which will give you the opportunity to: meet Faculty of Law staff; learn about the Juris Doctor and the admissions requirements for the course; discuss your study options; and have all your questions answered before applying.

About the talk

In the First World today Longevity is increasing almost exponentially. This review seeks to examine the reasons for this increase, together with the ways in which it has been attained and, at times, compromised. Those factors which have been substantiated and those which remain putative and illusory will be discussed.

Although many in the audience will be well on the way toward vindicating any formula for longevity and even continuing good health, these aspects will be examined and, perhaps, some additional bonuses may be uncovered.

Manifestly, our preoccupation with personal salvation and salubrity must be set against the majority of the world's struggle for mere survival. Yet we must take things as they are and THAT is another story.

About the Speaker

Professor Alexander Cohen has practiced, taught and researched in medicine in Australia and overseas for over sixty years. Although specifically orientated toward endocrinology and metabolism he is an unashamed General Physician since it is impossible to evaluate the global consequences of a disorder such as diabetes without considering every aspect of its bodily and intellectual intrusions. Great universities in the UK and USA have given him insights into what may be attained by the minds and dedications of humans and a deep respect for their courage and loveable frailties. The Chancellorship of this University was the apogee of this journey.

Members: Free Non Members: $5 donation

Students of Natural and Agricultural Sciences (SNAGS) and The UWA Institute of Agriculture would like to invite you to a breakfast to commemorate the role of women in agriculture.

Lake Shinji is a brackish shallow lake in Japan. Its surface area is 86.8 km2 and the average water depth is 4.5 m. In 2001 the Japanese government (MLIT) started a project to construct an artificial shallow area around the shoreline where concrete embankments had been constructed and the water depth became deeper.

One of the main objectives of the project is to reduce wave energy and inhibit the suspension of bottom sediments, which is expected to decrease the turbidity in the lake. In order to reveal the effect of constructing an artificial shallow area on waves and turbidity, we performed field surveys of measuring waves, currents and turbidities at an artificial shallow area as well as an adjacent deeper area in the lake. Moreover wave analysis using a wave simulation model named SWAN was performed to evaluate the change of wave characteristics and bottom share stresses due to the water depth change.

The field survey showed that significant wave heights in the artificial shallow area became smaller than the deeper area. But there were no significant turbidity differences between two areas. Why? I will discuss the tricky part of the project.

PS* This seminar is free and open to the public & no RSVP required.

****All Welcome****

Panel discussion on the topic "Crossing the line" with a focus on fighting attitudes that seek to silence the voices of women, and to highlight the importance of women speaking out and sharing their stories and views. Featuring a special tribute to UWA W/Prof Philippa Maddern. Light refreshments will be served after the talk. Please RSVP by emailing [email protected] or calling 08 6488 3013

The 2014 ATSE lecture by Dr Rob Hough, Australian Resources Research Centre, CSIRO.

In this talk, Rob will describe the ways that science and innovation are helping to find the resources that can provide a prosperous future for Australia.

Just a small proportion of Australia's rich endowment of ore minerals, petroleum and geothermal resources have been processed, a large amount of mineral and energy wealth remains to be found. Early prospectors combed the surface of this ancient land searching for valuable minerals, the geology that was visible on the surface was then mapped, but in the 21st century we need to see through the surface and map below.

Rob is an investigator, of sorts, looking for clues that will lead to the discovery of mineral wealth. Exploring bacteria, gases, plants and even termites can provide hints as to the geology under the surface.

Arguably more is known about the surface of Mars than the deep parts of the planet Earth. It is no surprise then, that some technologies employed by the Mars Rovers are also being used to investigate the unknown realms of our own planet.

Cost: Free, but RSVP required via http://www.ias.uwa.edu.au/lectures/hough

The Industrial Relations Society of WA, in conjunction with the UWA Business School, is pleased to support the Fair Work Commission Education Series Lecture in Perth.

The FWC Lecture Series features presentations on a range of workplace relations topics by local and international experts.  Lectures are taking place around Australia.  

The lecture is being given in conjunction with the Fair Work Commission’s program of mock hearings. These mock hearings are ideal for practitioners and industrial officers, as well as students, new graduates, and anyone interested in workplace relations. The mock hearings are presided over by Members of the Commission, with the merits of the mock cases argued by leading workplace relations practitioners. The ‘hearing’ in Perth will be on Tuesday 12 August.

Russell Lansbury worked with British Airways in the UK and then has held a number of academic positions in universities within Australia and elsewhere. He was Professor of industrial relations at the University of Sydney from 1987-2009 and was appointed Professor Emeritus in 2009.

He was awarded a Senior Fulbright Fellowship at Harvard University and the Sloan School of Management at MIT, with other visiting appointments at the Swedish Centre for Worklife Research and the ILO. He has received fellowships from the French, German, Danish, Finnish and Swedish governments. He was made a General Member of the Order of Australia in 2009.

His major research contributions have been in the areas of international and comparative employment and industrial relations. His current research includes studies of the effects of management strategies of multinational enterprises on employment relations and labour practices, particularly in the auto industry.

RSVP: [email protected]

Be transported from the everyday every Thursday in our free lunchtime concert series.

FREE 50min Concert every Thursday during Semester at 1:10pm. No booking required, just turn up!

The twenty-first century is often characterised as an era of unprecedented mobility and interconnectivity, but it is also marked by efforts to reinforce national borders and curtail human movement. Paradoxes of mobility and immobility in our increasingly unequal world come into sharp focus when viewed through the lens of religion. Sociologists, anthropologists, and scholars of comparative religion have long called attention to the way that religion constitutes space and place, linking particular localities to encompassing cosmic schemes. The world’s major religious traditions emerged in the context of expanding empires and markets becoming, arguably, the first truly global social movements. In the current globalising context, relocating individuals re-establish religious communities, or transport portable, malleable beliefs and rituals. Some ‘lose their religion’ in increasingly secular contexts; others adopt ‘foreign’ religions. What is certain is that religion mutates and accommodates with movement.

With the support of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation ‘Faith and Globalisation’ Initiative, the UWA Mobilities and Belonging Initiative research cluster, and the Centre for Muslim States and Societies, we are proud to present the Faith in Motion symposium.

The Perth USAsia Centre is proud to host three experienced diplomats for an insightful discussion on Australia - Japan - US trilateral relations.

Come on down to our Save the Children Annual University Branch Book Sale! Save the Children is Australia's largest aid and development agency dedicated to helping children. Funds raised will go towards essential programs aimed to provide the necessities for underprivileged kids in Australia and worldwide. Come on down and take your pick from over 100,000 books in more than 40 categories. Find us under the clock tower (Winthrop Undercroft).We hope to see you there!

Friday 15 August 5pm to 9.30pm

Saturday 16 August 6am to 6pm

Sunday 17 August 8am to 6pm

Monday 18 August 9.30am to 9.30pm

Tuesday 19 August 9.30am to 9.30pm (Half-Price Day)

Wednesday 20 August 9.30am to 3pm (Bargain Box Day)

For more event information and for future events : http://www.savethechildren.org.au/our-work/where-we-work/australia/western-australia/events.

Come to a free talk and book signing by Tim Jarvis, one of the world’s leading explorers, as he describes his modern-day journey to retrace, for the first time ever, the legendary 1914 expedition of Sir Ernest Shackleton.

In early 1914, British explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton and his team sailed for Antarctica, attempting to be the first to reach the South Pole. Instead of glory, Shackleton and his crew found themselves in an epic struggle for survival: a three-year odyssey on the ice and oceans of the Antarctic that endures as one of the world’s most famous tales of adventure, endurance, and leadership ever recorded.

In the winter of 2013, celebrated explorer Tim Jarvis, a veteran of multiple polar expeditions, set out to recreate Sir Ernest Shackleton’s treacherous voyage over sea and mountain, outfitted solely with authentic equipment – clothing, boots, food, and tools – from Shackleton’s time, a feat that has never been successfully accomplished.

Prof Singh has acted as principal investigator on numerous clinical trials of novel therapies in asthma and COPD, and has over 100 publications in peer reviewed journals. He is a member of the GOLD science committee.

Gender score is the cognitive judgement of the degree of masculinity or femininity of a face which is considered to be a continuum. Gender scores have long been used in psychological studies to understand the complex psychosocial relationships between people.

Perceptual scores for gender and attractiveness have been employed for quality assessment and planning of cosmetic facial surgery. Various neurological disorders have been linked to the facial structure in general and the facial gender perception in particular. While, subjective gender scoring by human raters has been a tool of choice for psychological studies for many years, the process is both time and resource consuming. This study investigates the geometric features used by the human cognitive system in perceiving the degree of masculinity/femininity of a 3D face. It then proposes a mathematical model that can mimic the human gender perception.

The results suggest that the human cognitive system employs a combination of Euclidean and geodesic distances between biologically significant landmarks of the face for gender scoring. It proposes a mathematical model that is able to automatically assign an objective gender score to a 3D face with a correlation of up to 0.895 with the human subjective scores.

Biography:-

Syed Zulqarnain Gilani

Syed Zulqarnain Gilani is a PhD scholar in the Computer Science & Software Engineering Department at UWA. His research topic is 3D Morphometric Face Analysis: Applications to Syndrome Delineation. Mr. Gilani did his MS in Electrical Engineering from the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Pakistan and secured the Presidents Gold Medal. Prior to joining UWA, he was an Assistant Professor in NUST. He is working with a multi-disciplinary team of scientists to find possible alternatives diagnosis of syndromes like Autism from 3D faces. His research interests include computer vision, 3D face analysis, pattern recognition and machine learning.

Faisal Shafait

Faisal Shafait is working as a Research Assistant Professor in the Computer Science & Software Engineering Department at The University of Western Australia. Formerly, he was a Senior Researcher at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), Germany and a visiting researcher at Google, California. He received his Ph.D. in computer engineering with the highest distinction from Kaiserslautern University of Technology, Germany in 2008. His research interests include machine learning and pattern recognition with a special emphasis on applications in document image analysis. He has co-authored over 100 publications in international peer-reviewed conferences and journals in this area. He is an Editorial Board member of the International Journal on Document Analysis and Recognition (IJDAR), and a Program Committee member of leading document analysis conferences including ICDAR, DAS, and ICFHR. He is also serving on the Leadership Board of IAPR’s Technical Committee on Computational Forensics (TC-6).

Professor Ajmal Mian

Professor Ajmal Mian completed his PhD from The University of Western Australia in 2006 with distinction and received the Australasian Distinguished Doctoral Dissertation Award from Computing Research and Education Association of Australasia. He received the prestigious Australian Postdoctoral and Australian Research Fellowships in 2008 and 2011 respectively. He received the UWA Outstanding Young Investigator Award in 2011 and the West Australian Early Career Scientist of the Year award in 2012. He has secured four Australian Research Councit grants worth over $2 Million. He is currently a Professor in the School of Computer Science and Software Engineering at The University of Western Australia. His research interests include computer vision, 3D shape analysis, pattern recognition, machine learning, multimodal biometrics, and hyperspectral image analysis.

PS* This seminar is free and open to the public & no RSVP required.

****All Welcome****

An 'On the Edge' public lecture by Paul Power, Chief Executive Officer of the Refugee Council of Australia.

For the past eight years, Paul Power has been actively engaged in debates about the direction of Australian and international refugee policy as Chief Executive Officer of the Refugee Council of Australia. He has been involved in the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network, the regional umbrella body for NGOs involved in support to refugees, since its inception in 2008 and now serves on its steering committee. Paul will share his observations about the impacts of Australian policy on refugees across the Asia-Pacific region and look at what practical alternatives are available, even in a national political environment where both major parties seem unlikely to back away from their commitment to "stop the boats".

Cost: Free, but RSVP essential via http://www.ias.uwa.edu.au/lectures/power