What's On at UWA

A public lecture by Alex Edney-Browne, International Relations, University of Melbourne.

Imagine living under the eerie "bnng" of an armed drone circling overhead. Imagine if that was the sound you heard immediately before the explosion that killed your brother or blasted off your leg. Imagine knowing that people 7000 miles away could see into your homes and watch your family from above. Fear, disappointment, anger and hopelessness are just some of the emotions that Afghan civilians living under drones experience. With military drones fast-proliferating across the world, governments and militaries continue to claim that drones cause minimal harm to civilians and are an effective weapon against terrorism. There are, however, significant effects on civilians' physical and psychological health, ability to socialise and move freely and their cultural customs. Drone warfare’s effectiveness as a counter-terrorism strategy is dubious at best. In this talk, Alex Edney-Browne discusses her findings on the wide-ranging effects of drone warfare from qualitative research in Afghanistan, refugee squats in Greece, and the United States.

Learn to use Web of Science and Incites to benchmark your research against your peers, your area of research and even the whole world.

Each year The UWA Institute of Agriculture hosts a postgraduate showcase where some of UWA's top PhD students present their research in agriculture and related areas. Join us for an afternoon of fantastic talks from seven PhD students in the UWA School of Agriculture and Environment, the UWA School of Molecular Sciences, and the UWA Law School, with an introduction by Prof Imelda Whelehan, Dean, Graduate Research School. Afternoon tea and refreshments provided.

A public lecture by Margaret Beavis, GP and secretary of the Medical Association for Prevention of War.

In the last few decades there has been an inexorable rise in military themes and influence in Australian society. Anzac Day commemorations have morphed from solemn respectful marches to youth pilgrimages to Gallipoli and an overall romanticisation of the “Anzac spirit” and World War I. Defence spending is being massively ramped up while diplomacy and foreign aid expenditures fall to shameful levels. The influence of weapons companies is pervasive, ranging from partnerships with educational institutions and extensive political lobbying and donations through to government subsidies to support the industry. Australia exports weaponry to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, when many other countries have condemned and banned such sales due to the terrible war in Yemen. MAPW works on these issues to bring about policy change.

The objective of this two day workshop is to enhance the skills of the faculty and postgraduate students in the assessment of student learning. The topics covered include; Writing test items, creating assignments, conducting pre and post examination reviews, assessment of professionalism, feedback and development of blueprints. This workshop is organised by Peers Learning Together: A Community of Practice for academics with an interest in assessment and feedback funded by the Educational Enhancement Unit at the University of Western Australia

A public lecture by Dr Mark Engel, Associate Professor, Medicine, University of Cape Town and 2019 UWA Institute of Advanced Studies Visiting Fellow.

Elimination of Rheumatic Heart Disease in Africa is a continental priority, given the great morbidity and mortality associated with the disease in most low- and middle-income countries. It is a classic example of a disease that, despite the presence of effective primary and secondary prevention, treatment and rehabilitation methods with successful eradication in high-income countries, continues to wreak a heavy toll on many societies. We recognise that many important determinants of RHD lie outside the health sector, and thus include social determinants in addition to access to primary and tertiary health care resources.

The ASAP Programme (raise Awareness, establish Surveillance systems, Advocate for increased resources for treatment, and to promote Prevention strategies) was launched as a comprehensive approach to tackling RHD on the African continent. Employing a multi-pronged approach, the programme emphasizes the importance of awareness-raising, surveillance, advocacy and prevention programmes being incorporated in research endeavours. Having been instrumental in the programme from its inception in South Africa, Dr Engel will report on the programme’s progress from population screening to genome-wide association studies involving 6000 participants from seven countries in Africa. The lessons learnt serve as an illuminating guide for initiating studies responsive to the health needs and the priorities of the population or community in which it is to be carried out, especially in a resource-constrained environment.

Join us for the annual Keyed Up! Day of Piano where you can learn tips and tricks of piano performance from some of Perth’s most experienced teachers and examiners. Why not ensure that every performance you give is one that you are proud of, whether that be for your University or School assessment, WACE practical or AMEB or other grade exams!

Led by UWA Head of Keyboard and Performance Studies, Graeme Gilling and supported by Perth’s finest pianists, teachers and performance specialists and ideally timed for those students undertaking ATAR Music and AMEB or other grade exams the Keyed Up! Day of Piano is an event not to be missed!

Register to perform and receive feedback from one of our expert panel in an informal workshop setting or just come along and observe students at your own level.

You’ll also have the opportunity to:

Hear performances by UWA Conservatorium of Music students

Explore the Conservatorium’s Historical Instrument collection with a guided session led by Dr Cecilia Sun The skills that you learn at the Keyed Up! Day of Piano will give you the confidence to excel in all your performance endeavours!

$10 Participants - $5 Parents accompanying students/Observers

Two public lectures delivered by Egyptologist Dr Michael Birrell. The first lecture "The Romans in Egypt" will start at 1:30. The second lecture "Roman Mummy Portraits" will follow a light afternoon tea. Please RSVP to Ann Boyer ([email protected]) by Tuesday, 4th June for catering purposes.

Are you storing your research data securely? Is it backed up regularly? Do you know what the minimum retention period is for the ongoing storage of your research data after your project is finished? This short 30 minute seminar will provide details of data storage options recommended by UWA, the key considerations you need to take into account in regards to the storage of your data and where you can go for more information.

Rasch models for measurement are used in large scale national and international assessments, not only to analyse test data after collection, but to use as criteria for design of test items and their administration. The GSE Psychometric Laboratory undertakes research and development for application to the broad area of measurement and assessment in education and the social sciences including psychology, health and marketing. The GSE Psychometric Laboratory does research in all areas of Rasch models for measurement, in particular epistemological, applied, and in software development. This is an opportunity to study with researchers who have made advancement in all these fields.

Course Structure: The course will be at an intermediate level and consist of two parts: 1. Part I – Thursday 11 to Friday 12 July 2019: Overview of introductory principles of Rasch measurement and the RUMM2030 software. RUM2030 is a very easy to use interactive program that analyses data according to the Rasch measurement model and provides comprehensive diagnostics in both tabular and graphical forms. It can also be used for large scale assessments including vertical equating. 2. Part II - Monday 15 to Friday 19 July 2019: Rasch Measurement Theory. Participants have the option of attending only Part I or II or both parts of the course.

Course registration: Part I (2 days) – AU$950 (Early bird AU$850) Part II (5 days) – AU$2185 (Early bird AU$1960) Part I and II (7 days) – AU$2745 (Early bird AU$2460) http://www.education.uwa.edu.au/ppl/courses/rasch-course

Registrations close 31st May 2019, approximately 10% Discount for Early bird registration - Registration by 31st March 2019. Participants will receive a 15% discount if they enrol in one of the on-line courses after this course.

Guided by an experience Educational Technologist, we’ll explore exactly what the Tests tool is capable of, how to build and deploy tests to your LMS unit, and discuss some best practices for planning and writing questions for your quiz.

A public lecture by Dr Daniela Liggett, Centre for Antarctic Studies and Research (Gateway Antarctica), University of Canterbury and 2019 UWA Institute of Advanced Studies Visiting Fellow.

A mere few centuries ago, the icy continent to our South was the subject of speculation and imagination. In many ways, Antarctica was beyond the grasp of human understanding – it was an unexplored, unknown land, a terra incognita. In the span of a few hundred years, the Antarctic was discovered, mapped and the surrounding ocean’s resources were exploited – what was terra incognita became terra nullius and later, in anthropologist Jessica O’Reilly’s words a terra clima, with Antarctica not only representing a bellwether for global environmental change but also a hotspot for climate science. The continent’s future is uncertain and once again subject to much speculation.

This presentation, which discusses the results of a collaborative research project, explores four “possibility spaces” within which Antarctic futures might unfold. These are defined by differing interactions between two interdependent variables: the level of human engagement with Antarctica, and the strength of Antarctic governance through the Antarctic Treaty System. Dr Liggett will discuss the many dimensions of anticipated developments in Antarctic governance, tourism and research and identify key drivers behind them and explore four alternate scenarios for Antarctic futures: a collaborative-conservationist, a collaborative-exploitative, an individualistic-conservationist and an individualistic-exploitative scenario. She will argue that the first two require determined efforts to reach, ie a “push”. The other two seem inevitable if lethargy among Antarctic Treaty Parties prevails. Consequently, the Parties will need to ask themselves how they might ‘shape’ the Antarctic future. The answers are likely to affect the rest of the world.

Members: Free, Guests: $5 donation

The nineteenth-century French writer Stendhal famously observed that “politics in a literary work is like a gun shot in the middle of a concert: it’s something vulgar and coarse, which is also impossible to ignore.” Stendhal’s analogy posits the traditional model of literature as the realm of the aesthetic, expressive of beauty and universal moral truths, and which is regarded as superior to the grubby realm of “politics” – loosely defined here as pertaining to issues of power and human rights. This model naively presupposes the existence of non-political literature – as if it’s possible for any writing to exist in an ideology-free zone. Nevertheless, Stendhal’s comment also rightly highlights the challenge for a creative writer intent on exploring overtly political issues: how to avoid being “vulgar and coarse”; that is, ideologically dogmatic or morally self-righteous; how not to insult the intelligence of the reader, regardless of their political beliefs. This presentation will consider the creative strategies used in my political novel The Art of Persuasion in order avoid those pitfalls: the use of the romance genre to explore love as moral concept in our hyper-sexualised culture; and the use of wit or intelligent humour to raise questions about the crucial political issues of asylum seekers and climate change. I pay particular attention to my novel’s allusions to the fiction of Jane Austen, and its adherence to the Horatian dictum that writing should both delight and instruct. My novel The Art of Persuasion aims to give readers aesthetic delight – the pleasures of language and story – in order to encourage reflection on the issues that matter to me as a writer and a member of civil society.

Dr Susan Midalia has studied at Cambridge University and the University of Western Australia, where she completed a PhD in contemporary Australian women’s fiction. She has published in national and international literary journals, and taught in secondary and tertiary institutions for many years. Since becoming a full-time writer in 2006, she has published three collections of short stories, all of them shortlisted for major national literary awards: A History of the Beanbag (2007), An Unknown Sky (2012), and Feet to the Stars (2015). Her debut novel The Art of Persuasion was published in 2018, and her second novel has recently been accepted for publication.

Special Collections

The current display in the Special Collections foyer of donations by the Friends of the Library features maps showing the Dutch interest in the Indian Ocean region. These maps include copies of Polus Antarcticus by Jansson 1650, Frederick de Wit’s Orientaliora Indiarum Orientalium 1680, Mare del Sud 1765 by Zatta and Abraham Ortelius’ 1574 Indiae orientalis insvlarvmqve adiacientivm typvs.

The Friends of the Library have recently donated a facsimile copy of the Barcelona Haggadah to Special Collections. The illuminated Hebrew manuscript dates from the fourteenth century and contains the Haggadah, Laws for Passover, piyyutim and Torah readings for the festival of Passover according to the Spanish rite. The purchase of the facsimile was supported by Assoc/Prof Suzanne Wijsman (Chair of Strings Conservatorium of Music) for her research as the manuscript contains illustrations of musical instruments. Special Collections will next be open on Tuesday 11th June from 6.30pm – 7.15pm for members to view the Barcelona Haggadah.

RSVP: Kathryn Maingard – [email protected] or 08 6488 2356 https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/politics-and-the-novel-tickets-62182092312

Nine short presentations from colleagues based at UWA, Curtin, and ECU covering the theme of preparing students for laboratories and practice. Also discussed at the event will be the opportunity for participants to contribute to a multi-disciplinary (cross-institutional) research project on “effective preparation”. REGISTRATION / TICKETS: Registrants should use an institutional (*.edu.au) email to identify their university affiliation.

A European seventeenth-century aristocratic household consisted of a variety of members. There was the noble family itself but also numerous servants of different rank, of which many lived in the same house as the family. In this lecture the audience will be given a tour through a house in Stockholm: we will 'look at' how the rooms were decorated, which items could be found in which rooms and think about what kind of sound, light, smell and taste people at the time would have experienced. We will 'meet' with the people who lived and worked in the house: who were they, what were their chores, what did they talk about and what were their future prospects?

This lecture is presented by the ARC Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions, the Institute of Advanced Studies and the Forrest Research Foundation.

This workshop aims to capture student and researcher interest across History, Gender Studies, Fine Arts, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions. Professor Norrhem will discuss both the many benefits but also the methodological challenges when working with gender, power and materiality – both in historical research and in applied museological environments.

This masterclass is presented by the ARC Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions, the Institute of Advanced Studies and the Forrest Research Foundation.

This four hour workshop is a great practical opportunity for Faculty of Science Unit Coordinators to experience redesigning your existing unit using best practices in learning and teaching.

Clarinettist Ashley Smith is a laureate of several of the Australian classical music industry’s most prestigious prizes, including the 2015 APRA Performance of the Year, the Music Council of Australia Freedman Fellowship, an ABC Symphony Australia Young Performer Award and a Churchill Fellowship.

He has performed throughout Australia, the USA and Asia including performances with Bang on a Can, the Chamber Music Society of the Lincoln Centre, Chamber Music Northwest, the Kennedy Centre, the Beijing Modern Music Festival as well as a soloist with several major Australian and Asian orchestras.

Ahead of his United States tour, Ashley presents a one-man recital of dizzying virtuosity. The solo works by Italian avant-garde composer Franco Donatoni are presented alongside Entr’acte by Chris Tonkin (a bass clarinet solo composed for Ashley) and David Lang’s Press Release.

Free entry – no bookings required

Facilitated by an experienced Learning Designer, this one-day workshop is a great practical opportunity for both new Unit Coordinators at UWA to experience the unit design process, or Unit Coordinators who are developing approved new units for their majors to be delivered from 2020.

Do you remember the sound of dial-up internet? What about the whistle of an old kettle or a wine cork popping? Sounds, noise and music are fundamental to our lives.

Join us to explore our sonic past and present and learn how our lives are shaped by sound and listening.

Presented in collaboration with the City of Perth Library.

Sound all Around: Introducing Sound Studies Presented by Dr Sarah Collins

From the invention of the stethoscope to hear the secret sounds of the body, to the contemporary world of ipod and loudspeaker, this talk will trace a history of listening that will make you hear anew the sounds that shape our lives every day.

Sarah Collins works in music history at the UWA Conservatorium of Music. Her research concerns how perceptions of music and sound have shaped ideas about emotions, rationality, national identity and political participation in the past, and what these can tell us about our own soundscapes today.

Free entry - bookings essential