CURTIN UNIVERSITY POSTGRADUATE STUDENT ASSOCIATION ISSUE 1 | AUTUMN 2014
The Postgraduate
Bulletin.
Interpretive History
A fresh look at the S.S. Georgette Legend
A Student of Opportunities
Getting to the heart of it.
Health Science postgrads pioneering a healthier tomorrow
How to maximise your potential whilst studying
The Postgraduate Bulletin. The Postgraduate Bulletin is run by postgraduate students and brought to you by CUPSA, aiming to keep you in the loop with all the happenings at Curtin. As a postgraduate student at Curtin you will receive these newsletters twice every semester, providing you with up to date information about events, social and academic networking opportunities, news on Curtin and our community as well as interesting articles by students like you!
| contact e | cupsa@guild.curtin.edu.au p | (08) 9266 4911 w | www.guild.curtin.edu.au Curtin Student Guild Building 106f, Curtin University Kent Steet, Bentley WA 6102
| contributors Editor Keturah Mudhan
CUPSA is the representative body of all postgraduate students at Curtin. With around 8,000 postgraduate students enrolled at Curtin, it is vital that we have a strong and active presence on campus. We’ve been around for over 12 years, so we know the issues, have an excellent reputation and have never been more committed to enhancing your experience at Curtin. We offer a variety of activities that aim to foster a collegial atmosphere at Curtin in which postgraduate students from all disciplines can interact, network and socialise.
Adnan Mannan Adnan Mannan is undertaking a PhD with the School of Pharmacy and Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute (CHIRI). He aims to identify an anti-diabetic compound and to understand its mechanism of action.
Petra Skeffington
Petra is in the fourth year of a combined Masters/PhD in Clinical Psychology. Her research area is resilience to trauma and how people can thrive under pressure. Marcia Van Zellar Marcia’s PhD thesis is through the School of Media, Culture and Creative Arts, and comprises an historical novel based on the Georgette rescue, and an exegesis. Hanieh Tolouei Hanieh is undertaking a Master of Sexology and investigating the impacts of Western Australian sex industry legislation on the health and welfare of street-based sex workers in Perth. Joseph Bul-Gayo Joseph is studying a Master of International Relations and National Security and looking at the ethno-political trends in Africa.
CURTIN UNIVERSITY POSTGRADUATE STUDENT ASSOCIATION A department of the Curtin Student Guild
/Guild_CUPSA
/Guild.CUPSA
Inside the Bulletin. pg. 08 CUPSA Social Sports
CUPSA Vice-President, Achmad Room Fitrianto - also the CUPSA Social Sports Coordinator, with a group of postgrad students and their families at one of the weekly Sunday Badminton sessions held at Curtin Stadium.
| faculty feature pg.
01 A healthier tomorrow
| coursework focus pg.
Hanieh Tolouei considers how current legislation is affecting Perth’s street-based sex workers and their health.
How our Health Science researchers are searching for ways to better health and health education.
Ethno-political movements in Africa
| HDR focus pg.
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pg.
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Joseph Bul Gayo discusses how his life experiences and philosophies helped him fulfill his dream of studying the complex world of African intra-continental conflict.
Ready for life’s opportunities Petra Skeffington tells us how she has benefited from making the most out of everything that student life throws her way.
Was Grace really so amazing? Marcia van Zellar offers a fresh perspective on the Georgette legend.
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The health of our sex industry
| CUPSA update pg.
09 PODS
Curtin Scrabble Club
| faculty feature
A healthier tomorrow. Spotlight on Curtin’s Postgraduate Health Science research students.
STORY Adnan Mannan PHOTOGRAPHY Keturah Mudhan
Hi Everyone, My name is Adnan and I am the Health Science Faculty Representative at CUPSA. Currently, I am undertaking a PhD in Pharmacy, working on isolation of an anti-diabetic compound and the study of its mechanism of action under the supervision of Dr Rima Caccetta and Professor Erik Helmerhorst. I aim to work for all the postgraduates of the health sciences faculty, and I plan to propose different training workshops, job fairs for health science students and research grants. Recently, I designed a new CUPSA scholarship titled “Academic Performance Grant” which is exclusively for postgraduate Coursework students. There are also several grants for conference attendance, thesis editing and publication assistance available from CUPSA. These are just to name a few! I encourage you to get more information about them via the CUPSA website.
Drishty, Chittagong and Young Biotechnologists of Bangladesh (YoungBB). Out of all my passions, the art that fascinates me most is teaching, of which I have had the joy of practicing at the Department of Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology in the University of Chittagong, Bangladesh. I am always interested in hearing from students, and so if you have any issues, ideas or queries please do not hesitate to contact me. We are here to help you. Best wishes, Adnan Mannan Health Science Faculty Rep
Besides study and research, I love to be involved in debate and even organisation. I have participated in the Model United Nations in Bangladesh and London and I have also recieved the national award for debate in Bangladesh. I have also enjoyed working with the Hull University debating society (UK), Bangladesh Debate Federation,
Questions or Comments? Health Science students can contact Adnan at adnan.mannan@postgrad.curtin.edu.au. If you are from another faculty, please refer to the contacts list on the back page of the Bulletin for the contact details of your faculty representative.
The Postgraduate Bulletin | Issue #1/14
In Health Sciences, quality research for better health is underway with bright young researchers at the helm. The exceptionallly multicultural team includes students from over 18 countries including Australia, Germany, and China, and through the resources made available by the Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute (CHIRI) and Biosciences Research Precinct, their fresh ideas and new perspectives are gaining attention.
From left: Bhawna gauri, Adnan Mannan,Wolfgang Wimmer, Vishal Chaturvedi. From left: Wresti Irawati , Sangeetha Mathavan, Naz Hasan Huda, Aparna Warrier and Joanne Gardner.
CUPSA Health Science Faculty Representative, Adnan Mannan, met with a few to find out what they’re up to.
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Meet som Health Sci students w has recived awards, p atten
Joanne Gardner:
research kills cancer
Joanne is from the Scool of Biomedical Sciences and is asking the question “Does ageing impact on anti-cancer immune responses?” in her PhD under the supervision of Dr Delia Nelson, Dr Connie Jackaman, and Dr Cyril Mamotte, and has won her a PhD top-up scholarship from the Cancer Council of Western Australia. Joanne has presented at several conferences in the past few years, including the International Congress of Immunology in Milan and Graduate Student Immunology Conference in France. Joanne has also received awards for her presentations in Western Australia; and has won the WA Department of Health Platinum Prize at the Australian Society for Medical Research Scienctific Symposium, best student oral presentation at the Australian Society for Clinical Immunology and Allergy Symposium and best student oral presentation at the Australian Society of Immunology session at the Combined Biomedical Sciences Meeting.
Mustafa Atee
Fighting against dementia Under the supervision of Professor Jeff Hughes and Dr Kreshnik Hoti, Mustafa is from the School of Pharmacy and is working towards the development of the Electronic Pain Assessment Tool (ePAT) which aims to automate part of the process of pain assessment in patients who are not able to communicate due to advanced dementia. Mustafa has been successfully offered three scholarships from peak body organisations –Alzheimer’s Australia and Australian Pain Society as well as an APA in December 2012. Currently, he is a recipient of the Viertel PhD Scholarship awarded by the Alzheimer’s Australia Dementia Research Foundation (AADRF)”.
If you would like to share your research, ideas and accomplishments on the next Postgraduate Bulletin, email the CUPSA Executive Officer with your expression of interest at cupsa@guild.curtin.edu.au.
Kylie Sandy-Hodgetts: finding a better way of life after surgery
The Postgraduate Bulletin | Issue #1/14
me of our ience HDR whose work d numerous praise and ntion.
Dr Daniela Rigoli:
Award winning research
Vishal Chaturvedi:
Developing biomaterials for improved muscular repair after injury
Kylie is undertaking a PhD under the supervision of Professor Keryln Carville and Professor Gavin Leslie, titled “Determining risk factors for surgical wound dehiscience and the development and validation of risk assessment tool”. Her research is funded by the Cooperate Research Centres (CRC) Project Grant in patnership with Curtin University, and has won the Inaugural Student Best Poster Presentation at the CRC National Conference in 2013.
Vishal is a PhD student in the School of Biomedical Sciences and is exploring the role of extracellular matrix in muscle repair and regeneration under the supervision of Dr Deirdre Coombe.
A PhD graduate of Curtin’s Health Science faculty last year, Daniela’s research has received notable praise; including the Chancellor’s commendation and appearances in news media such as Fox News. Daniela has also been published in the Journal of Paediatrics, which holds the second highest impact factor, second highest 5-year impact factor, and highest total citations amongst all journals in the field of paediatrics. In 2011, Daniela conducted a workshop presentation at the International Conference on Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder in Switzerland, as well as poster presentation in 2007 and 2011 at the Motor Control and Human Skill conference at which she recived commendation prizes. You will find Daniela lecturing at Curtin in the School of Psychology and Speech Pathology.
Last year, Vishal received the Ortho Cell student presentation award in the Regenerative Medicine category of the 23rd Annual Combined Biological Sciences meeting held at the University of Western Australia, and a conference grant from the National Stem Cell Foundation to attend the Australian Society of Stem Cell Research conference.
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| HDR focus My name is Petra Skeffington and I’m in the fourth year of a combined Masters/PhD in Clinical Psychology. My research area is resilience to trauma and how people can thrive under pressure. Balancing a full time PhD, part time Masters, part time work and something that vaguely resembles a social life is not easy! If I had to impart one pearl of wisdom from this experience, it would be that to excel you really just need to give it a go! I have a strategy of pushing myself, which involves me just ‘getting the ball rolling’ on projects, knowing that once I have made the first small step the rest will follow. For this degree, I got the ball rolling in late 2009. I was bored with my job and had always wanted to pursue higher education (and to be able to call myself a Doctor!). The prospect of a PhD was daunting but I figured I was unlikely to get in but that completing the application would be good practice and get me thinking about my future. That got the ball rolling. When I was offered a place in the PhD program I then decided to take the Masters coursework as well, and step by
step have moved forward through these two degrees. Along the way, I have continued to apply this philosophy. If there is a call for submissions for a local professional magazine, a conference, the 3MT competition, or pretty much ANYTHING, I will usually apply. This gives me the chance to practice presenting my research to small and forgiving audiences (E.g. at CUPSA meetings) and to fine-tune my writing style. This simple approach to study has led to several presentations at National conferences in my field, a publication in a specialist magazine (which was later also used by the Victorian Police), the People’s Choice Award at the 2012 3MT Grand Final, peer reviewed publications, the opportunity to review for top journals in my field, editorship of conference proceedings, places on National advisory committees, newspaper and radio interviews, job offers from research partners and countless other opportunities. I would recommend this philosophy to anyone. The time taken to complete an
application or expression of interest is often trivial, but the opportunities are substantial. Everyone gets knocked back sometimes, but nothing is lost by trying….and I won’t even start on what happens when you also apply this strategy to your personal life! Just give it a go!
You can find one of Petra’s articles here: https://www.
psychology.org.au/publications/ inpsych/2013/february/skeffington/
If you have a story that you would like to share with your postgraduate community, email us at cupsa@guild.curtin.edu. au. Our supportive research community, PODS, meets regularly. Find out more on our website.
a student of
Opportunities STORY Petra Skeffington PHOTOGRAPHY Keturah Mudhan
“to excel you really just need to give it a go!”
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The Postgraduate Bulletin | Issue #1/14 An artist’s impression of the S.S. Georgette based on an image at Fremantle Prison Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Was Grace Really so Amazing?
STORY Marcia van Zeller SUPERVISORS Dr Deborah Hunn & Professor Graham Seal On 1 December, 1876, Grace Bussell, a landholder’s daughter from Margaret River and Aboriginal stockman Sam Isaacs are said to have rescued 50 people from the wreck of the S.S. Georgette. According to popular accounts of the event, Grace and Sam charged on horseback down slippery dunes, weaved their mounts around treacherous rocks and rode again and again into wild surf to pull survivors to the beach. The incident made heroes out of Grace and, to a lesser extent Sam. But a critical analysis of their alleged feat raises doubts about the veracity of the Georgette legend. It seems incredible that horses could perform their tasks in the turbulent waters off Redgate Beach, where the average wave height is 1.5 metres and a heavy surf was reportedly running that day.
Few of the popular narratives about the incident make much mention of the other rescue that occurred earlier that day, out to sea, when two passengers – a pair of brothers – and four crew members saved eight women and children from drowning when the lifeboat capsized alongside the ship. The 14 spent some 24 hours in a tiny gig, eventually making it to land thanks to the skill and courage of the rescuers. My PhD thesis, now nearing completion through the School of Media, Culture and Creative Arts, comprises an historical novel based on the Georgette rescue, and an exegesis. The novel – which I believe is the first detailed account of the event written for an adult audience – presents an alternative, anti-mimetic perspective; it sets out to questionthe historical record, not confirm it.
Both components of the thesis address the central research question: “How can a writer of historical fiction ethically negotiate the divide between fact and imagination?” In this thesis, I explore the growing intersection between scholarly history and postmodern historical fiction, and the assertion by some historiographic theorists that history, like fiction, is interpretive by nature. To quote Jean Genet: “The fame of heroes owes little to the extent of their conquests and all to the success of the tributes paid to them.” My thesis investigates ways in which the taints of bias, gender, race and the need for national identity may have shaped the making of the legend of Grace Bussell.
| coursework focus
Hanieh Tolouei Master of Sexology
The health of our sex industry. Abstract Title: The impacts of Western Australia sex industry legislation on the health and welfare of street-based sex workers in Perth. Abstract Theme: B Authors: Hanieh Tolouei, Maryanne Doherty Affiliations: Sexology, Curtin University Sex work has been considered a dangerous occupation because sex workers are exposed to Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)/ Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV),
My name is Joseph Bul Gayo; I am currently doing a Masters of International Relations and National Security at Curtin University. I came to Australia in 2001 as a migrant from Sudan. I lived in Kenya with my family as a refugee at Kakuma Refugee Camp situated in Northern Kenya and when I came to Australia in 2001, the most important thing that I wanted to achieve was education. I have spent most my childhood life as a refugee moving from one Displaced Camp to another within South Sudan. In 1993, I stayed in Uganda briefly as a refugee, but later moved to Kenya where I stayed until 2001. My research interest at Curtin is the Ethno Political Movements in Africa particularly in South Sudan and Sudan. I have developed my research topic from one of the units taught at Curtin University; 581: Ethno political Movements taught by Dr Ian Chalmers. My research thesis will provide deep insight into Root causes of ethno political movements in Africa particularly in Sudan and South Sudan. I am excited about my research project, because it had been my long term dream, especially to do a research in my area of interest. I would like to develop a thesis about the root causes of ethnic conflicts in Africa as well as possible solutions to chronic conflicts that have wittingly caused underdevelopment in the continent. My thesis seeks to address root
violence, exploitation, discrimination and criminalisation more than the general population. However, it has been reported that it is not commercial sex work that maximises the risk of these harms, but the context of the sex work and the laws and policy are the factors. Thus, sex work legislation can significantly reduce or increase the harms that sex workers are exposed to including access to different health services, psychological distress and work related mortality. The Western Australia (WA) Prostitution Act 2000 governs
the sex industry in Perth. Soliciting clients within view or hearing of a public place for the purpose of prostitution is illegal; however, no research was located that reported the impacts of this legislation on the lives of the street-based sex workers. Therefore, this study investigated the impacts of the existing Western Australia Prostitution Act 2000 on the health and welfare of street-based sex workers in Perth from the perspectives of sexual health educators. It was guided by a phenomenological approach and semistructured interviews were conducted. So what? The findings of this research aim to provide recommendations to policy makers for improving street workers’ health and welfare in Western Australia.
Ethno-political movements in Africa. Joseph Bul Gayo Master of International Relations and National Security causes and solutions and therefore, this may help policy makers in the future on how to solve ethnic conflicts in Africa and elsewhere. When I started my undergraduate course, I was not confident enough in my ability to do a research program, but certainly the support I got from staff at Curtin University enabled me to confidently start my thesis. Dr Ian Chalmers, the Dissertation Coordinator assisted me to shape my thesis topic. So, please, if you feel less confident about your research topic, seeking advice will definitely help you in your studies. I would like to encourage students from non-English speaking backgrounds to
work hard and utilise opportunities at Curtin in order to achieve their educational aspirations. Many students at Curtin are from diverse and multicultural backgrounds, and although, I speak English as a second language, my commitment together with staff support helped me to achieve good academic results at Curtin. I started in Semester 1, 2013 as full time student with full time job at night. I did well by scoring Distinction Marks for all of my four units. In Semester 2, 2013, I put more efforts toward my studies and I scored an aggregate of 82% for that semester far better than Semester 1 2013. My outstanding results in Semester 2, 2013 paved my way toward my research thesis.
| CUPSA Events
CUPSA WEEKEND
Social Sports
This semester our Vice-President, Achmad Room Fitrianto, is running weekly Badminton sessions at the Curtin Stadium as part of our CUPSA Weekend Social Sports series. All experience and skill levels are welcome, including family and friends.
For more information, contact Room at a.fitrianto@postgrad. curtin.edu or contact the CUPSA office at cupsa@guild.curtin. edu.au. Alternatively, look us up on the CUPSA webpage or follow us on Facebook for all the latest news!
Join us every Sunday for an afternoon of family-friendly fun.
Every Sunday 3 - 5 pm Curtin Stadium | CUPSA Fiesta - 15 May 2014 Health Science and Science & Engineering postgraduates enjoyed a cultural show by the Bangladeshi Youth Association of Western Australia, as well as presentation from key members of Curtin’e academic staff. Special thanks to our performers, organisers and presenters - Professor Kate Wright, Associate Professor Jaya Earnest, Associate Professor Lynne Emmerton, Dr Cyril Mamotte, Ms Sok Bewley, Professor Steve Hall, Associate Professor Ian Howard, and Professor Yong Wu.
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| CUPSA updates
Postgraduate Open Door Society PODS meets every 3rd Thursday at a variety of locations within the Curtin University Bentley campus and Technology Park. As a welcoming research community, this CUPSA initiative aims to provide Curtin research students with a relaxed environment in which to practice their presentation, feedback and networking skills. Attendees are also able to interact with peers from other faculties and disciplines to expand their field of view. Presentations in the past include: The Efficacy of an Antenatal Resilience and Optimism Workshop (AROW) in Preventing Postnatal Depressive Symptoms. Josephine Ratna, School of Psychology Constructing Counter-narratives to terrorism: A Comparative Analysis of Collective Resistance in the aftermath of the terror attacks in Bali and Norway. Anne-Marie Balbi, School of Media, Culture and Creative Arts (MCCA) Customer relationship: The impact of self-service technology upon retailer loyalty. Mitra Maboud, School of Marketing
If you would like to present at PODS, attend a session or just find out more about the program, contact our PODS Cordinator today. Farveh Farivar farveh.farivar@postgrad.curtin.edu.au CUPSA Office cupsa@guild.curtin.edu.au (08) 9266 4911 PODS has a Facebook group! Join now and start sharing your ideas with other bright researchers at Curtin. www.facebook.com/groups/PODS. CUPSA
Curtin Scrabble Club Scrabble is a great way to socialise, relax and practice your English! Join us every week with fellow students and get the chance to speak with CUPSA represenatives.It is free to join and all materials are provided, so what are you waiting for? If you would like to know more, get in touch with the Curtin Scrabble Club team:
Jamal Esttaifan CUPSA Councillor jamalohan.isteevan@postgrad.curtin.edu.au Nadine Gibbons CUPSA Humanities Faculty Representative nadine.gibbons@postgrad.curtin.edu.au
Postgraduate Mentor Program This program was designed to provide new postgraduate students with access to a student menot who can provide guidance and support during the first six months of their degree. Registrations to be a mentor or mentee in semester 2 will be opening very soon, to find out more information and to access the application form, you can contact the program coordinator. Andrew Cameron a.cameron@guild.curtin.edu.au +61 8 9266 2913
| your representatives
President Gerard Gill president.cupsa@guild.curtin.edu.au
Vice-President Achmad Room Fitrianto a.fitrianto@postgrad
Treasurer Iftekhar Robin iftekhar.robin@postgrad
Health Science Faculty Rep Adnan Mannan adnan.mannan@postgrad
Business Faculty Rep Hossein Aliabadi hossein.aliabadi@postgrad
Science & Engineering Faculty Rep Md Aminul Haque mdaminul.haque@postgrad
Humanities Faculty Rep Nadine Gibbons nadine.gibbons@postgrad
Postgraduate Open Door Society Coordinator Farveh Farivar farveh.farivar@postgrad
Councillor Jamal Esttaifan jamalohan.isteevan@postgrad.
all suffixes: curtin.edu.au
Curtin University Postgraduate Student Association Curtin University Kent Street Bentley WA 6102 Building 106f Tel: +61 8 9266 4911 cupsa@guild.curtin.edu.au
The Postgraduate Bulletin is published by the Curtin University Postgraduate Association (CUPSA), a Department of the Curtin Student Guild. The views expressed in the Postgraduate Bulletin do not necessarily reflect those of CUPSA or the Curtin Student Guild. All reasonable efforts have been made to acknowledge and trace the copyright owners of published material. For editorial or advertising enquries, contact the Postgraduate Bulletin editor via the CUPSA Office. The Postgraduate Bulletin is available online at www.issuu.com/CUPSA and in alternative upon request. For more information contact the CUPSA Office.