What's On at UWA

Human Sentience and Ideas of Empathy: A Neuroanthropological Study of the Sensory Life Worlds of Women With Fibromyalgia and/or Autism Spectrum Condition

This proposed ethnographic study poses the question: How are biomedical interpretations of fibromyalgia (FM) and autism spectrum condition (ASC) in women mediated by cultural constructions of human sentience and empathy? It seeks to understand how notions of what it is to be a coherent, balanced and well-functioning human being, realised at both a societal and biomedical level, impact on the senses of self and well-being of women with one or both of these conditions. I also aim to gain a better picture of the sensory life-worlds of these women, for whom heightened sensory sensitivity is a common feature of their perception and engagement, as well as disengagement, with the world around them. Using a neuroanthropological approach, I wish to investigate the interplay among the increasingly sophisticated neurological understandings of these conditions, the psychological constructs that medical practitioners frequently use in profiling these individuals, and the ways in which the individuals themselves try to form and sustain identities within societal and biomedical contexts that often limit their capacity for expression and being understood. Neuroanthropology is an emergent field that explores how the brain and nervous system are culturally patterned, by “the things that people do and say and the ways we interact with one another and the environment” (Downey & Lende 2012, p. 41). Both FM and ASC have been associated with the personality construct alexithymia in the medical literature, which refers to difficulty in recognising and describing emotions in the body. Both have also been described as featuring abnormal sensory processing, but there has been a scarcity of on the ground research that considers how these people attempt to navigate daily life with sensory sensitivities, how they attempt to communicate, and how sociocultural factors influence communication. This study hopes to elucidate some of the cultural complexities that contribute to the unfolding and experiencing of FM and ASC in women.

UWA School of Music is a vibrant centre for research in music and music education, where a thriving community of scholars is engaged in exploring the frontiers of knowledge, working on a wide range of research projects with diverse outputs.

Join us each Thursday during semester for a free seminar series with presenters from within UWA and from the wider community.

This Tuesday Professor Brian Finlayson, Head of Strings at the State Conservatorium of Corinthia in Klagenfurt, will present a seminar entitled 'Instrumental and Chamber music education: Parallels and differences between Australia and Central Europe'

Free entry - all welcome

Professor Finlayson is present in WA as a guest of AUSTA, and will lead a chamber music masterclass at 6.30pm featuring students drawn from UWA, WAAPA and Hale School (further details www.trybooking.com/182698)

Masterclass: Brian Finlayson (Chamber Music)

Mastery of Technique and Excellence in Performance International artist and pedagogue Violin/Violist Professor Finlayson will conduct a series of lectures, masterclasses and workshops for students, professionals and teachers. Professor Finlayson will demonstrate fundamental concepts in teaching as developed from revered Igor Ozim, who has long been regarded as the European equivalent to Galamian.

In this Masterclass Professor Finlayson will work with UWA and other student groups on Chamber Music performance techniques.

Tickets (available from www.trybooking.com/182698) AUSTA Member $15 Non Member $20 UWA/WAAPA Student $0 Other students $10

Professor Christophe Lécuyer received his PhD in petrology and geochemistry from the University of Rennes France) in 1989, and also obtained a position at CNRS. He has worked as a Research Associate at the University of Michigan (1990-1991) where his research began on past global climate change. In 1996, he obtained his ‘Habilitation’ at the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon. He became Professor at the University of Lyon in 1999 where he managed the Department of Earth Sciences until 2010. Christophe is now a member of the Institut Universitaire de France and leads the stable isotope geochemistry team at the University of Lyon. His current research interests include stable isotope studies of palaeo-meteoric and marine waters to reconstruct climate and water cycles from the geological record. Earthquakes and explosive eruptions generate tsunami waves at the origin of thick and chaotic coastal sediments. These commonly fossiliferous deposits are formed instantaneously within historical or geological timescales, and therefore have the potential to provide snapshot records of past climates. In Crete, near Palaikastro, a thick sedimentary layer (1 to 9m) was deposited by huge tsunami waves (~10m). Volcanic ash, the geometry, and archaeological and faunal contents of the sedimentary deposit along with radiocarbon dating indicate that the tsunamite was coeval with the Minoan Santorini (Thera) eruption 3,350 years BP. The devastating tsunami wave deposited large rocky blocks and a muddy matrix containing diverse faunas (marine molluscs, cattle skeletons) and artefacts from the Minoan civilization. Oxygen isotope measurements of both marine shells and terrestrial vertebrate teeth and bones revealed that sea surface and air temperatures were higher than today (~2°C), but with similarly warm summers (26°C) and much milder winters (16°C). The eruptions and tsunami events are also discussed in the context of the fall of the Minoan civilisation.

A public lecture by Jane Macnaughton, Professor of Medical Humanities, Durham University, UK and Co-Director of the Durham University Centre for Medical Humanities.

Can the arts and humanities make a real difference to clinical practice and research? This lecture takes up that challenge by describing a new trajectory for medical humanities, which is demonstrating that the field can go further than simply 'humanising' clinical students and practitioners.

In this lecture Professor Macnaughton will illustrate the changing face and current ambition for this field with reference to a new project that is underway at the Centre for Medical Humanities at Durham University, UK. This project, the 'Life of Breath', is funded by a Senior Investigator Award from the Wellcome Trust.

This lecture is part of the 2016 Institute of Advanced Studies' Medical Humanities Public Lecture Series and is co-sponsored with the School of Primary, Aboriginal and Rural Health Care, UWA.

The People’s Action Party, Singapore’s governing political party, has since independence in 1965,imposed strict restrictions on the Singaporean populace. Using direct and indirect measures to manage the city-state, the resultant climate of fear has developed widespread use of out-of-bound markers amongst the Singaporean populace. Still, the light touch approach the PAP asserted it would adopt with regard to dealings with websites and the internet, has encouraged increased autonomy in Singapore’s online sphere. Survey and interview results suggest young adult Singaporeans view Facebook as a convenient and viable channel for the expression of views. Contributing to the opening up of Singapore’s tightly controlled social sphere, Facebook has increased information access, the proliferation of citizen journalism and interest in social issues. Yet, restrictions still limit the extent of openness allowed in Singapore’s online sphere. Netizens are now highlighting undesirable issues found on Facebook and are calling upon the relevant authorities to take action. The bottom-up surveillance occuring particularly on Singapore’s Facebook platform suggests a change in the norms and practices prevalent amongst the Singaporean populace. In differentiating structural constraint from the limits of agency, this thesis is aimed at identifying the impact new media has had on social structures, Gen Y’s construction of social identities, and their connections to Singapore. The implications such changes have had on the understanding of social processes, Singapore’s Gen Y’s participation in civil society and Singapore’s nation building exercise, are also examined.

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 UWA Vocal Consort presents Renaissance to Rihanna - a selection of sacred and secular a cappella partsongs that will rock your day!

Free entry - no bookings required!

Free performances every Friday during semester at 1pm and at 5pm! Come and see our young emerging artists delight and inspire!

This presentation will offer an overview of my doctoral research project, which focuses on representations of migrant cultural identities in selected fictional works by second-generation Australian women writers of Asian and Middle-Eastern backgrounds.

My research focuses on an emerging field of Australian literary studies describes young migrant women’s experiences in Australia. The selected works narrate second-generation young migrant women’s cross-cultural negotiations that charter the thematic terrains of difference and belonging. As such, these literary works by Asian and Middle-Eastern Australian fiction writers have attempted to describe what it means to be an Australian in the twenty first century. Women writers in particular have concentrated on highlighting women’s representations and the specific challenges that migrant women face in contemporary Australia. Essentially, these works address the cultural challenges and different trends of cultural diversity among the second generation and the complex consequences of the process of acculturation.

This project analyzes the narrative constructions of gender, race, ethnicity, religion, and multicultural life in Australia within the frame of postcolonial theory and multiculturalism. As such, this cultural and ideological study of literary works contributes to a broader understanding of how second-generation authors of Asian and Middle-Eastern heritage engage in representational politics of multicultural Australia.

Biofilia – Base for Biological Arts is a learning and research environment at the intersection of art, life sciences and technology. It offers a platform and infrastructure for trans-disciplinary research and education that aims to create cultural discussion and innovation around the topics related to the manipulation of life and biological processes at a practical and theoretical level, including philosophical and ethical dimensions. Biofilia was launched in 2012 in close collaboration with SymbioticA.

Aalto Biofilia is unique in the world as it is the only fully equipped biological lab that is operated by an art school and based in an electrical engineering building. It offers unparalleld research capacity for the growing field of biological art. The lab is equipped for hands-on research and creative experimentation and it provides the basic tools for molecular biology, tissue culture and engineering and microbiology.

This talk will concentrate on presenting activities and opportunities of Biofilia and presenting some of the work done there or in collaboration in the past years.

Marika Hellman is currently working in Bioart laboratory Biofilia at Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture in Finland as a laboratory manager. She graduated from Aalto University, School of Chemical Technology in the field of Applied Microbiology and she has been working several years in Biofilia and earlier mainly in research groups but also in industry.

The ideal way to start your weekend, Fridays@Five offers unique musical experiences to delight all music lovers. See young artists be inspired through a variety of masterclasses, workshops, pre-concert talks, lectures and Q&A sessions. Delve deep into music or simply enjoy a free informal performance to kick-start your weekend.

This week join contemporary Percussion Ensemble Piñata Percussion as they perform works by Hindson, Pollard, Vickery, Westlake and Xenakis.

Bar open 5pm, performance begins 5.30pm. Free entry - all welcome!

A public lecture by Paivi Hietanen, oncologist and psychotherapist, Helsinki.

As an oncologist and psychotherapist Paivi Hietanen has met many cancer patients and their family members who struggle with anxiety and depression when facing a life threatening illness. Her lecture will deal with the following questions: How do people find hope when life's order is replaced by disorder and loss of basic trust? What roles do significant others play? What happens to relationships?

In this lecture, Dr Hietanen will refer to research that was conducted by interviewing seriously ill patients and their relatives to detect different mental maneuvers they used as a way of creating hope. She will frame this in the context of her long clinical experience.

This lecture is part of the 2016 Institute of Advanced Studies' Medical Humanities Public Lecture Series and is co-sponsored with the School of Primary, Aboriginal and Rural Health Care, UWA.

If you are a Year 12 student (or a parent of a Year 12 student), this session will provide information about UWA's courses, admission requirements and how to achieve your study and career goals.

UWA Future Students Office staff will be on hand to answer your queries following the presentation.

A public lecture by Christophe Lécuyer, Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon - Terre Planètes, Environnement, Université Claude Bernard Lyon, France and 2016 UWA Gledden Visiting Fellow.

Samples of tooth enamel and bone have been obtained from Egyptian human and animal mummies that cover the Predynastic (5,500 years BP) to Byzantine periods (1,500 years BP). Mummy teeth and bones record the ratio of stable oxygen isotopes (18O and 16O) of their drinking water, which was ultimately the Nile River water. These samples are able to tell us many things about the history of the Nile, for example, variations in this stable isotope ratio reflect changes in precipitation patterns over the source regions of the Blue and White Nile. A progressive increase of the 18O/16O ratios of mummy skeletal remains indicates a precipitation decrease of about 140 mm per year while mean air temperatures remained rather constant.

Attendance is free but RSVP requested through the website.

Deciding what subjects to study in Year 11 and 12 can be a daunting process, particularly if you are not yet sure if university is the right pathway for your future goals.

Our information sessions will provide advice on UWA's courses, entry requirements and other helpful subject selection tips that will allow you to keep your future study options open.

You will also find out about the various events and activities we offer on campus for Year 10 and 11 students throughout the year.

UWA staff from the Future Students Office will be available to answer any queries you may have after the session.

Dr Fausto Panizzolo is a former international postgraduate student from Italy who completed his PhD at UWA in Feb 2015 under an SSEH supervisory team led by Associate Professor Jonas Rubenson. Fausto currently holds a post-doc position at Harvard’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and we are delighted to have him back in Perth this week to attend his PhD conferral ceremony. He will be presenting some of his current work in a lecture titled "Soft exosuit: new generation exoskeletons" at 1pm Wednesday 23rd March in the SSEH John Bloomfield Lecture Theatre for those interested in attending.

The Catholic Chaplain Rev Father Cyprian M Shikokoti invites you, your friends and colleagues to our weekly Mass; on Wednesday 23rd March at 12.00pm in the University's chapel; located in the Law Link Building - Room G.32.

Studying and or working at uni is always exciting given the prospects it offers us for now and the near future. We can never the less, overlook the 'busyness' and sometimes the pressure this brings upon us when so much needs to be done in tight timeframe. It is with this in mind that the Catholic Chaplaincy here on campus provide our students and staff - from all disciplines and departments; an opportunity to spend half an hour every week away from our desks to somewhat unwind as we try to make sense of what it is that is happening in the moment. It is half an hour of the week when we can unload and leave some of our workload and or study load to Jesus; who alone strengthens us and guides us through it all. Mass is on every Wednesday at 12.00pm in the chapel located in the Law Link Building; followed by a shared lunch in the refectory.

I hope you will make it a point to utilize this opportunity during your time here at UWA; students and staff alike. I am here on Campus Mondays and Wednesdays every week between 9.00am - 3.30pm unless otherwise advised. Please feel free to come by my office in the Law Link Building - room G.40 to say hello and or have a chat.

As always, on behalf of the Catholic Chaplaincy and on my own behalf; I wish you every success in all your endeavours here at UWA.

We are a family!

The Perth USAsia Centre in collaboration with the United States Studies Centre is proud to welcome Dr David Smith to Perth for our inaugural Election Watch 2016 event with a special book presentation. His book, Religious Persecution and Political Order in the United States, examines why the state has acted to protect some religious minorities while allowing others to be persecuted or actively persecuting them. It details the persecution experiences of Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Catholics, Jews, the Nation of Islam, and orthodox Muslims in America, developing a theory for why the state has intervened to protect some but not others. Dr Smith argues that the state will persecute religious minorities if state actors consider them a threat to political order, but they will protect religious minorities if they believe persecution is a greater threat to political order. From the beginning of the republic to after 9/11, religious freedom in America has depended on the state's perception of political threats. We hope you are available to join us for what is sure to be a very timely presentation and discussion.

Presentation 5.00pm - 5.45pm with light reception to follow 5.45pm - 6.30pm

Are you aged 15 - 25? We want to hear from YOU! Tell us, what is important to YOU about health and wellbeing? How do YOU want to have a say about health research? Join us at Telethon Kids Institute for a community forum. Free parking, free pizza and payment included.

New client special at UWA Exercise & Performance Centre (EPC)! Machine and/or mat based Pilates classes with a focus on efficient and effective movement patterns. Classes designed to strengthen the body whilst building flexibility and mobility.

Sessions may incorporate elements of myofascial and muscle lengthening, contemporary Pilates method (mat and machine) and a variety of props including foam rollers, Fit Balls, Pilates ring, resistance bands, massage balls etc. Max 8 participants per class, and can be tailored for all levels.

Classes are run lunchtime and after work weekdays, plus Saturday mornings. Bookings essential (6488 3333 or [email protected]) UWA EPC is located within the School of Sport Science, Exercise & Health on the Crawley Campus - Parkway Entrance #4, near the pools! All sessions are conducted by an Accredited Exercise Physiologist and private health rebates may apply.

Distinguished speakers from Australia and China sharing insight on the Common Diseases in Chinese and Western Medicine.