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Today's date is Friday, March 29, 2024
Events for the public
 March 2013
Friday 15
11:00 - SEMINAR - The farm-level economics of conservation agriculture for resource-poor farmers : SARE/ AARES seminar series Website | More Information
The farm-level economics of conservation agriculture (zero tillage, mulching and crop rotation) are described, reviewed and modelled. The economics are defined broadly to include not just shortterm financial benefits and costs, but also the whole-farm management context, constraints on key resources such as labour and capital, risk and uncertainty, interactions between enterprises, and time-related factors, such as interest rates and the urgency of providing for the farm family. A wealth of evidence shows that these economic factors and variables related to them have significant influences on farmers’ decisions about adoption of conservation agriculture. Literature on the farm-level economics of conservation agriculture for resource-poor farmers is reviewed. There is not a large body of high-quality relevant studies. Those that have been published highlight that the economics are highly heterogeneous and need to be considered on a case-by-case basis. Their results tend to indicate that it would be profitable to adopt conservation agriculture or components of it (although not in all cases). This contrasts with disappointing adoption in many of the regions of interest. Potential reasons for this disparity are discussed. A general model of the farm-level economics of conservation agriculture and its components is presented, and used to illustrate influences on the overall economic attractiveness of conservation agriculture. Key factors that would tend to discourage adoption in situations that otherwise look favourable include: the opportunity cost of crop residues for feed rather than mulch, the short-term reduction in yields under zero tillage plus mulching in some cases, combined with short planning horizons and/or high discount rates of farmers, farmer aversion to uncertainty, and constraints on the availability of land, labour and capital at key times of year. Good quality economic analysis should be used more extensively to guide research and extension in this area, particularly in relation to the targeting of effort, and adaptation of the system to suit local conditions.

15:00 - PUBLIC TALK - A Theatre of Individuation: Theorising BioArt Encounters after Gilbert Simondon : Public talk with Andrew Lapworth Website | More Information
Characterised by interdisciplinary practices at the intersections of arts, sciences, and biotechnologies, the emergent artistic genre of "bioart" is increasingly lauded within the social science literature as a crucial arena through which question and unsettle deep-rooted cultural perceptions of life and the individual, the concept of the self, and the position of the human in relation to other (more-than-human) bodies and the environment (Born and Barry, 2010; Dixon, 2009; Hauser, 2006). It is this understanding of the capacity of bioart to effect ontological change that I want to develop further in this paper through a theorisation of art-encounters as "ontogenetic events" that materially produce, rather than merely represent, subjects and worlds. To address this ontogenetic potential of bioart, the paper turns to Gilbert Simondon's philosophy of individuation, and the conceptual terrain he develops to rethink being from the standpoint of its becoming. First, I explore how a philosophy of individuation pushes our contemporary understandings of the subject through an attentiveness to its emergence from material and affective processes that both precede and go beyond it, as well as its susceptibility to immanent disruption through the shock of encounter. Secondly, I argue that Simondon opens up the possibility of theorising this evental potential of bioart by emphasising the preindividual affective forces and processes of the art-encounter, and the disorienting transformations in being these bring about. By rendering sensible and reworking molecular, material, and technological agencies implicated in the constitution of the subject, bioart can be understood to open a space of experimentation with modes of expression and experience in their very coming-into-presence. I unpack these arguments empirically through an engagement with the bioartistic practices of the Tissue Culture and Art Project, whose "semi-living" bioart, I argue, stages a disruption of pernicious contemporary habits in favour of new and creative capacities for thinking, perceiving, and relating to the nonhuman.

Andrew Lapworth completed his undergraduate degree in Geography at the University of Bristol, writing his undergraduate dissertation on the relation between the cinematic image, temporality, and subjectivity in post-Franco Spanish cinema through the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze. After living and working in Paris for a year, Lapworth successfully received an ESRC 1+3 studentship and returned to the School of Geographical Sciences in 2009 to undertake the MSc in Society and Space. It was during this year that Lapworth developed an interest in spaces and practices of ‘art-science’, and wrote his thesis on the non-representational politics of contemporary bioart. Following his Masters year he enrolled as a PhD candidate in October 2010, and successfully upgraded in October 2011. Supervised by Dr. J-D Dewsbury and Dr. Maria Fannin, his current PhD research explores the practices, logics and ethico-political potentials of contemporary ‘laboratories’ of transversal and experimental artistic research (including SymbioticA in Perth, Western Australia, and the Institut fur Raumexperimente in Berlin). Theoretically, Lapworth draws together recent philosophies of ontogenesis, new materialisms & vitalisms, and bioaesthetic theories to explore how material processes, aesthetic conditions and experimental practices in these sites reciprocally imbricate through one another to provide the means for constituting (including conceptually) subjectivity, political possibility, and artistic practice.
Tuesday 19
11:00 - EVENT - Enviro Fest '13 : UWA Enviro Fest aims to empower UWA students and staff to reduce their environmental impact, and increase their appreciation of the natural environment. Website | More Information
UWA Enviro Fest aims to empower UWA students and staff to reduce their environmental impact, and increase their appreciation of the natural environment.

Each year Enviro Fest provides opportunities to indulge your interest in the natural environment and learn more about sustainable initiatives on campus. From gardening workshops, to live animal demonstrations to public discussions of important environmental issues, there’s something for all staff, students and their children. If you'd like to get involved with the Enviro Fest event, by holding an sustainability-related information stall or educational activity contact UWA Sustainable Development or the Guild's Event Manager.

With the added benefit of being held in common lunch hour, Enviro Fest '13 promises to be one of the year's biggest, most diverse, exciting, and unique events.

11:30 - EVENT - Centenary gardening activity, as part of UWA EnviroFest : Help plant a garden bed of the UWA Centenary plant, the beautiful and native Hakea. More Information
Join UWA Horticulturalist Mark Corbett and UWA Friends of the Grounds in creating a Centenary planting on UWA grounds.

Native plant species, Hakea is the official centenary plant for UWA.

Mark and FOG will lead you in an easy planting activity where you'll learn more about this native plant and how to ensure it thrives.

You'll also be contributing to a more beautiful campus.

The event will be held as part of the UWA EnviroFest, during UWA Sustainability Week.

Numbers are limited. Bookings are essential to Trish Howard (of UWA Sustainable Development)

Equipment, including gloves will be provided. Please wear closed in shoes, sun protection and some form of eye protection (glasses and sunglasses are ok).

13:00 - GUIDED TOUR - Tour of UWA sustainable gardens - part of UWA EnviroFest : Join UWA Horticulturalist, Sue Smith on a tour of UWA's sustainable gardens. More Information
UWA Horticulturalist, Sue Smith will take you on a tour of the sustainable gardens on campus. Learn about waterwise plant species, including succulents and natives, and the methods UWA uses to reduce its water use.

Please book with Trish Howard (of UWA Sustainable Development). Please wear comfortable shoes and sun protection.

17:00 - PUBLIC LECTURE - School of Music presents: Research Seminar Series - Alexander Jensen Website | More Information
Alexander Jensen: Different ways of dealing with death: the relation between music and theology.

Different ways of dealing with death: the relation between music and theology Western music has always been a way of expressing that what is most important to men and women. In the past, this has been (and for many people still is) religious faith. This paper explores the relation between music and religion as well as the importance of theology for the interpretation of musical works. We will look at two pieces dealing with death, namely Bach’s Actus tragicus (BWV 106) and Brahm’s Ein deutsches Requiem, as case studies for the ways in which different theologies can be expressed in music.

18:30 - PUBLIC LECTURE - School of Music presents: DMA Lecture Recital - Georg Corall: The Eloquent Hautboy Website | More Information
Georg Corall: DMA Lecture-Recital

The Eloquent Hautboy

Scholars have investigated ‘music as speech’ and the ‘weapons of rhetoric’ in musical execution in order to understand the importance of text in historically-informed performance practice (HIP). This has led to the current vocal practice of declamation in, for example, the cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach, who communicated his emotional messages to the congregation in part through the careful selection of a suitable instrumental soundscape. His contemporary Johann Mattheson (1681-1764) referred to the oboe as ‘der gleichsam redende Hautbois’ (the eloquent hautboy) and reckoned it to be one of the instruments that most closely resembles the human voice. The investigation of contemporary treatises that provide commentary on articulation and rhetoric, as well as documents dealing with the balance of the forces available for Bach’s own performances, allows conclusions to be drawn on sound balance and transparency in the performance of Early Music on period instruments; however, it appears that many present-day habits in HIP may not withstand scrutiny. Currently, much attention is given to the close focus on articulation and text delivery required by historically-informed singers, whereas Early Music instrumentalists are deemed to merely support the vocalist’s words. Decades of personal experience in aiming to reconstruct historical hautboy reeds, together with a thorough analysis of wind instrument treatises dating from the 17th and 18th centuries, reveals that ‘articulation’ referred to the attack of notes as means to imitate text rather than merely defining the beginning and ending of a ‘vocal’ sound on an instrument.
Wednesday 20
16:00 - SEMINAR - CWR Presents : Does phytoplankton biomass in a reservoir increase in the future? Website | More Information
A water resource in the future is a great concern around the world. In 2009 the research area of "Innovative Technology and System for Sustainable Water Use" was launched by Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST). One of the projects is "Development of Well-Balanced Urban Water Use System Adapted for Climate Change", which is leaded by Prof. Furumai at the University of Tokyo.

In this project, we are discussing the availability of “rainwater”, “groundwater”, and “reclaimed water” as well as “surface water” including rivers and reservoirs in highly populated metropolitan areas to assure the safe and stable urban water supply under climate change. One of the sub-groups of "watershed water resources group" conducts advanced hydrological simulations in watersheds to evaluate the influences of climate change on the availability (quantity and quality) of surface water and reservoir water, which includes GCMs downscaling by mesoscale numerical weather prediction model of WRF.

In this group, I am in charge of the future projection of water quantity and quality in a reservoir. The results so far implicates that algal blooms may decrease in the future due to the unfavorable air temperature conditions for the phytoplankton growth and the increase of flood events, even though some researchers says we will have more chance to have algal blooms due to the air temperature increase by the global warming. I also talk about the great uncertainties in the research.

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

****All Welcome****

18:00 - PUBLIC LECTURE - Unplanned Development: The hidden geometries of change in Southeast Asia Website | More Information
A public lecture by Jonathan Rigg, Geography Department, Durham University.

This public lecture emerges from a puzzle: why are our explanations for the patterns of the world so often incomplete and far from universal in their application? Look across the development experience of Southeast Asia over the last half century and it is tempting to see a pattern of change and a set of developmental paths that can be ‘explained’ by reference to unifying conceptual models and policy frameworks. This lecture will direct attention to the unplanned, unseen and unexpected and, therefore, to the gaps between planning designs and planning experiences, between what is seen and measured and what ultimately proves to be important, and between expectations and outcomes.

Cost: Free, but RSVP essential. Bookings: www.ias.uwa.edu.au/lectures/rigg or RSVP to [email protected] or 6488 1340
Thursday 21
13:10 - EVENT - FREE Lunchtime Concert : UWA Voice Students Website | More Information
Free 50min Concert every Thursday during Semester at 1:10pm

17:00 - VISITING SPEAKER - Muslims, Democracy and the 21st Century by Javed Ahmad Ghamidi : Javed Ahmad Ghamidi is an internationally renowned scholar of Islam who has contributed to debates on the role of Islam in Muslim societies. More Information
Mr Ahmad has authored numerous books and lectured widely on Islam and Muslim issues including democracy, blasphemy law, rights of citizens particularly women, and terrorism. Born in Pakistan in 1951, he holds a BA in English Literature and Philosophy from the Government College, Lahore (1972) and has studied Islamic disciplines in the traditional manner from various teachers and scholars. He taught Islamic studies at the Civil Services Academy for more than a decade from 1979 to 1991, and was member of the Council of Islamic Ideology, Pakistan. He is the founder-president of Al-Mawrid Institute of Islamic Sciences and is the chief editor of the Urdu Monthly Ishraq and the English Monthly Renaissance . He is also the founder of the Mus‘ab School System. He appears regularly on various television channels to discuss Islam and contemporary issues as a part of his campaign to educate people about Islam. Javed Ahmed Ghamidi is currently living in Malaysia where he relocated after his outspoken criticism of Taliban earned him their wrath.

18:00 - PUBLIC LECTURE - Shaky Ground or Firm Foundation? When women's equality depends on a business case : 2013 Grace Vaughan Lecture Website | More Information
A lecture by Dr Jacquie Hutchinson, UWA Business School.

It’s 2013 and Australian women workers are still being significantly under-recognised and under-valued for their skills, knowledge and contribution to the nation’s economic and social well-being. In response to this ongoing employment inequity, governments, business and social justice advocates have more recently turned to the 'business case' argument. Currently, we have ‘the good for business’ idea being used to increase the numbers of women board directors and CEOs. In addition, the business case is motivating increased employment of women in traditionally male dominated occupations and industries that are experiencing skills shortages.

Clearly, the business case argument has a compelling logic but does it work? What are the implications of linking employment fairness and equality with market forces and a company balance sheet?

This lively presentation will explore these challenging questions and their potential effects on women, other diversity groups and the broader Australian society.

Cost: Free, but RSVP required. Phone 1800 199 174 or send an email to [email protected]

18:00 - EVENT - Evensong : Choral Evensong with the Winthrop Singers Website | More Information
Choral Evensong with the UWA Winthrop Singers. Feat. Gibbon's "Short Service" and Weelke's "Hosanna to the Son of David."
Friday 22
15:00 - PUBLIC TALK - Postcards From the North : Public talk with Oron Catts and Ionat Zurr Website | More Information
Between August 2012 and February 2013 SymbioticA's Oron Catts & Ionat Zurr seconded to Aalto University in Helsinki, to help establish Biofilia- Base for Biological Arts. The resulting hybrid lab, launched in February, is a fully functioning state-of-the-art tissue engineering and molecular biology facility, situated in the Electrical Engineering School, operated by the faculty of Art, Design and Architecture.

This lecture will discuss the trials, tribulations and lessons from the trip, while reflecting upon some of the conferences and events that Catts & Zurr participated in over the last six months. In doing so the talk will address the international perception and expanding interest in the field of Biological Arts.

www.biofilia.aalto.fi/en

Oron Catts

Oron Catts is the Director of SymbioticA, The Centre of Excellence in Biological Arts, School of Anatomy, Physiology and Human Biology, UWA, and a Visiting Professor of Design Interaction, Royal College of Arts, London. Oron Catts is an artist, researcher and curator whose pioneering work with the Tissue Culture and Art Project which he established in 1996 is considered a leading biological art project. In 2000 he founded SymbioticA, an artistic research centre housed within the School of Anatomy, Physiology and Human Biology, UWA. Under Catts’ leadership SymbioticA has gone on to win the Prix Ars Electronica Golden Nica in Hybrid Art (2007) and became a Centre for Excellence in 2008. In 2009 Catts was recognised by Thames & Hudson’s “60 Innovators Shaping our Creative Future” book in the category “Beyond Design”, and by Icon Magazine (UK) as one of the top 20 Designers, “making the future and transforming the way we work”. Catts’ interest is Life; more specifically the shifting relations and perceptions of life in the light of new knowledge and it applications. Often working in collaboration with other artists (mainly Dr. Ionat Zurr) and scientists, Catts has developed a body of work that speak volumes about the need for new cultural articulation of evolving concepts of life. Catts was a Research Fellow in Harvard Medical School and a visiting Scholar at the Department of Art and Art History, Stanford University.

Dr Ionat Zurr

Ionat Zurr is an artist, curator, researcher and Academic Coordinator at SymbioticA. An award winning artist and researcher, Zurr formed, together with Oron Catts, the Tissue Culture and Art Project. She has been an artist in residence in the School of Anatomy and Human Biology since 1996. Zurr, who received her PhD titled "Growing Semi Living Art" from the Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Visual Arts, is considered a pioneer in the field of biological arts and her work has been exhibited internationally. Zurr has studied art history, photography and media studies. She was a research fellow at the Tissue Engineering and Organ Fabrication Laboratory, Harvard Medical School from 2000 and 2001. Her PhD via SymbioticA examined the ethical and epistemological implications of wet biology art practices.
Saturday 23
17:00 - CONCERT - It's a Kind of Magic : UWA Extension Summer School Picnic Concert Website | More Information
Is this the real life? Or is this just fantasy? Experience the UWA Extension Summer School Choir’s performance of your favourite Queen hits, led by the queen of choirs, Dr Margaret Pride. Be part of the concert experience and join in the sing-along in the grand Octagon Theatre; be taken on a ride full of quirky Queen entertainment! Enjoy the magic, the dancing and a special guest appearance from an Australia’s Got Talent finalist.

THINGS TO KNOW Seats can not be individually selected, each section will be filled from the front back based on booking sequence.

There will be a long interval so bring a picnic to enjoy in the balmy grounds of The University of Western Australia. Seating is reserved, so please book together if you wish to sit together.
Tuesday 26
13:00 - PUBLIC LECTURE - Tunisian Women in the Arab Spring by Dr Leila Ben Mcharek : What makes Tunisia an exception in the Arab world as far as women’s rights are concerned ? More Information
What makes Tunisia an exception in the Arab world as far as women’s rights are concerned ? What role did Tunisian women play in the Revolution (17 December 2010- 14 January 2011) ? What is the status of Tunisian women since the Revolution ? What are the main debates involving women’s status and rights in post-Revolution Tunisia, mainly in relation to the drafting of the constitution and the upcoming elections ? This lecture will try to provide answers to these questions as the issue of women’s rights is a very controversial issue in a country trying to proceed with its transition to democracy despite the existence of serious divisions within public opinion. Indeed Democrats, mainly democratic and secularist women, want achievements as far as women’s rights are concerned to be consolidated or at least preserved, while Islamists want women’s rights to be in conformity with Islamic Sharia law. Developments in the area of women’s rights could indicate whether Tunisia is likely to continue to play the leading role its has played during the Arab Spring, regarding not only women’s rights, but also democracy in general.

13:00 - SEMINAR - Research Reflections of a Biomechanics Professor : A Seminar by Emeritus Professor Bruce Elliott More Information
Professor Bruce Elliott was the senior biomechanist and the former Head of the School of Sport Science, Exercise and Health at The University of Western Australia. He was the inaugural chair of the Western Australian Institute of Sport (1984-1994) and served as the Scientific Chair for the 5th IOC World Congress on Sport Sciences and supervised the research projects at the Sydney 2000 Olympics. In 1999 he was honoured with the Award of Merit by the Western Australian Sports Federation and in 2003 the Professional Tennis Registry gave him the Stanley Palgenhoef Sport Science Award for "his lifetime contribution to tennis" and the Australian Government awarded him their Centenary Medal for "service to sport policy and research development for sport." In 2006 the University of Western Australia presented him with an Excellence in Research Supervision Award, for his supervision of Honours students, which was followed in 2008 with an Excellence in Teaching Award.

In his seminar, Professor Elliott will discuss and reflect upon his many years of research in biomechanics and exercise science at UWA.

17:00 - PUBLIC LECTURE - School of Music presents: Research Seminar Series - Nicholas Bannan Website | More Information
Music as the ‘missing link’: the evolutionary pathway from animal communication to language.

A growing consensus drawing on research in a wide variety of disciplines has over the last fifteen years or so argued the need to revisit Darwin’s conjecture of 1871 that language may be descended from an existing, musical medium of communication that developed from animal calls. This paper focuses especially on the aspects of human musical behaviour and language that have evolved in our species in relation to perceptual and productive capacities that respond to the properties of the Harmonic Series.
Wednesday 27
16:00 - SEMINAR - CWR Presents : ALTERNATIVE PROPOSALS FOR WASTEWATER PROCESS MANAGEMENT–MULTICRITERIA ANALYSIS. Website | More Information
Wastewaters treatment is an issue of increased interest during the last twenty five last years in Greece, particular considering the need to comply with the requirements of the European Union directive 91/271.

Although all participants in the decision making process generally agree on the necessity of interventions, a systematic opposition frequently emerges when the interventions are concretised and touch upon citizens everyday life in their local societies. At the same time various approaches on centralized or decentralized wastewater management and the available treatment processes form a complex environment for sound decisions from the authorities at municipal and regional level. In this context, a rationalization of the decision-making process is required in order to deal with conflicting objectives.

In the seminar will focus on the following topics:

- current legislation on wastewater treatment and reuse in Greece,

- current trends in the wastewater management (advantages - disadvantages)

- which method of processing is more suitable according the equivalent population

- Cost, energy consumption and efficiency of wastewater treatment systems appropriate for small-scale wastewater treatment plants (WTP).

- the possibility of reuse

- A generic multicriteria approach, based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) for the evaluation of alternative scenarios on wastewater treatment processes at municipality level.

Evaluation scenarios are developed with respect to the size of WTP, treatment method, and location of WTP. Multicriteria process selection is a part of the decision support system where location algorithms and GIS tools are combining in order to define the number of the alternatives and the location of the WTP. The application of this approach will be presented through a case study. The results obtained show that this approach is a viable tool and offers good communication with the decision-maker.

Short bio.

Maria has 35 years of experience in surveying and civil engineering as a supervisor of construction sites and design engineer, teacher, researcher, and consultant.

She graduated from the School of Engine¬ering of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece), and is post graduated of the Department of Sanitary Engineer from the National School of Health (Greece). She has attended many seminars on methods and applications of multicriteria ana¬lysis, wastewater treatment processes, GIS, remote sensing, etc.

Maria started her career as a designer and site supervisor engineer of road and airport projects in Libya. She continued to work for 20 years on the same field as well as in the field of environ¬men¬tal engineering, conducting environmental impact studies, in Greece, for public project’s studies at prefecture level, running her private firm. She has drafted more than fifty project studies and technical reports.

Maria holds a PhD in Technical and Economic Analysis of Waste Water Treatment Plants from the Department of Civil Engineering, Democritus University of Thrace (Greece). After obtaining her doctorate she was elected Lecturer in the same Department. Currently, she is an Associate Professor. She has taught: Wastewater Treatment Plant Design, Environmental Management, Water Resources Management, and Site Management. She was a key member of twelve research programs and the scientific coordinator of four. She has also authored three books and about 80 papers in journals and conference proceedings.

Maria has worked as a consultant for a Greek Municipality and for some military projects. She was also chairman of the Rhodope National Park Board in Greece.She has administrative, teaching and research experience and wide social activity. She is currently on

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

****All Welcome****

17:45 - EVENT - Stephenson-Hepburn Oration 2013 : Being Hot but Staying Cool: Complexities in Delivering the Dream of Density Website | More Information
The WAPC and planning academia agree furiously that we need increased density in our city. The planning profession agrees that we need to shift the balance from the suburban towards the urban in order to contain the economic and ecological hazards of sprawl in our rapidly growing city. Socially, we also need to provide the diversity of lifestyles demanded by our rapidly changing population. However very little work seems to have done into how we practically manage that transition so we can bring the community with us on the journey.

We need better planning tools to manage the interface issues and to conserve the history of our city. We need to work out how we co-mingle the cool small bars and nightclubs with residential living. We cannot do European city densities without European standard public transport. How do we compensate for the loss of trees and its impact on intensifying the heat island effect? How do we find and fund expansions of public open space to deal with a dramatic drop in private open space? We need strategic planners to get their hands dirty with a bit of statutory planning so the blue-sky visioning in master plans can be turned into a real life sustainable and bustling city that captures the heart and mind of our community.

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