POST
SCRIPT UWA POSTGRADUATE MAGAZINE - september 2013 CENTENARY EDITION CELEBRATING
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editorial
I’m especially proud of our featured article, a fascinating interview with Dr Watt who was one of the first female postgrads at the UWA. Her perspective on the changes the University has gone through is a pretty unique one and I’m so pleased to be able to include it! Coming into this process I really wanted this edition to reflect as much of the nuances of postgrad life as possible and looking over the articles, I do think we’ve managed to achieve that! The articles included cover a whole range of experiences that might go into the ‘life of a postgraduate,’ from what it means to juggle being a parent and conducting research at the same time, to the challenges of fieldwork, to adjusting to coursework! We’re a pretty diverse bunch here and I’m thrilled to show that off! I’m also extremely proud to award the two Editor’s Choice awards and the winners are highlighted for your reading pleasure.
Hey Posties, It feels way too early in the year to be writing this editorial but my calender says that half the year is over so it must be true! Leaving behind questions of time and space anomalies however, it gives me great pleasure to introduce this special Centenary edition of Postscript! I have been very impressed by the way the University has chosen to make this entire year a celebration – both of what the institution has achieved in the past and what its aspirations are for the future – and I hope that this edition will go some way in marking the occasion as well.
Finally, thank you all for giving me the opportunity to work on this edition. It has been a great experience and one that I will look back on with pleasure! I only hope it gives you as much enjoyment to read it and perhaps show you an aspect of postgrad life you hadn’t really thought about before. Wishing you all a great year ahead! Rukmini Pande
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CONTENTS 01
Editorial
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President’s Report
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Past President’s Report
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Committee 2013
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Funding: Get the details of how the PSA can help you!
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What have we been up to all year? Events!
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Stepping Stones: An Interview with Dr Watt
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Information Inundation: An Innovative Approach to Sorting out the Mess in Your Head
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In Focus: Editor’s Choice Award (Artwork)
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Not One Size Fits All: Life as a Parent and PhD Candidate : Editor’s Choice Award (Article)
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Poetry Corner: Days
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Get Proactive about Socialising your Research: How to be part of The Conversation
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Ain’t No Mountain High Enough! A Tale of Fieldwork in Indonesia
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Vida Loca: A Research Trip to Colombia
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It’s Not Unusual: College Life as a Postgrad
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Postgrad Updates: Or How your PhD is really going!
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Yummy in Your Tummy! Recipe Time!
CONTACT US Website: http://www.psa.guild.uwa.edu.au
Email: psa@guild.uwa.edu.au
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/uwapsa
Mailing list: http://maillists.uwa.edu.au/
Blog: http://uwapsa.blogspot.com.au
mailman/listinfo/postgrad
Twitter: @UWAPSA
EDITOR’S CHOICE AWARDS: 13-14
In Focus
15-16
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Not One Size Fits All: Life as a Parent and PhD Candidate
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
given away money to PSA Award winners and had a nap at some point as well. In 2013 the University celebrates its Centenary. The PSA is not quite that old (we were established in the 70s), however we feel that this year, with the University’s focus on the past, is a good time to examine some postgraduate stories from the past and present. With this year’s edition, we have an array of postgraduate tales – research and coursework, old and young, past and present to demonstrate what an amazingly diverse bunch we really are. I would like to thank this year’s media officer Rukmini Pande, for all the amazing hard work she put in on this year’s Postscript; she has produced a fantastic magazine. The PSA does not run magically on its own, so I would also like to take the time to thank this year’s committee for all the hard work they have done (and for all the hard work I know they will continue to do – hint hint, nudge nudge). I know this year has been a challenge at times, especially when we have had several committee members come and go (unfortunately life and study got in the way). I hope the committee have found working on the PSA amazingly rewarding – I know I have (this is also a not so subtle way of encouraging people to be part of the PSA next year).
Greetings Fellow Postgraduates! I am finding it slightly unbelievable that I am sitting here writing in Postscript as the 2013 Postgraduate Students’ Association (PSA) President – partly because I still can’t believe you all left me in charge, and partly because it means that my time as PSA President is well over half done. This year has gone amazingly fast and the PSA has built upon the strong foundation that was established last year. We have had a sold-out Quiz Night, popular professional development sessions and crowded Connects. We have also more than doubled the likes on the Facebook page (https:// www.facebook.com/uwapsa), become part of the Twitter-verse (@uwapsa) , staked out new students at orientations (we tried to enculturate you early), hounded the Guild to reform the PSA’s position within its structure,
So, like I always say…..That’s all folks! Gemma Bothe
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PAST PRESIDENT’S REPORT
postgraduates at UWA sticking together. I’ll repeat my exhortation from last year to everyone of “get involved!” because it makes all the difference to the whole experience of being at UWA as a postgraduate. As far as my update goes, I’ve been trying to keep my nose clean this year and work on this thesis! You’ll still catch a glimpse of me occasionally helping at an event, but mostly I’ve been spending my time at a desk covered in Post-It notes. I’m on to serious editing and redrafting, so I’ve come a long way since my presidency! I also took a little time off to recuperate after a very hectic 2012, and divided my December between Sydney, Melbourne, Oxford, London, Edinburgh, and Accra… so December was no less hectic, really. Please continue to support your very hardworking PSA, each and every member of the committee gives a lot of themselves to their roles – but no one more than the President! It’s a huge responsibility, so make sure to tell Gemma how much you appreciate her work next time you see her. I know exactly how much of a difference it makes to the day of the PSA President!
Hi there posties! No one is more surprised than me at how much I miss saying that! It’s a pleasure to be able to contribute to Postscript in 2013, and it has been wonderful to see how awesome the 2013 Committee has been at maintaining our PSA traditions, while at the same time starting some new ones! I’ve really loved attending events like Connect and the Quiz Night with everyone, because it’s fantastic to see our community of
Big hugs, Aisling (Exclamation point counter: only 9)
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Think your postgrad research has commercial potential? What would you like to achieve?
imagine
inspire
innovate
interact
invest
If you want to explore the commercialisation opportunities for your research, we can help. Come along to the Office of Industry and Innovation’s free postgraduate full-day workshop on Monday 23 September and find out more. For details or to register contact Rosanna Marchesani on 6488 7172, rosanna.marchesani@uwa.edu.au or visit us at oii.uwa.edu.au.
EYECARE CENTRE For all your Eyecare needs Extensive range of spectacle frames, sunglasses, contact lenses and solutions available Latest fashion and top designer brands including Sass & Bide, CK, Marc Jacobs, Gucci and Oakley Discounts available to Guild Members Bulk-billing direct to Medicare and HICAPS $99 frame and lens package $50 off 6 months supply of contact lenses UWA Guild Village Hackett Drive, Nedlands Phone 08 6488 1491 Phone 08 9381 3517
Carine Glades Suite 11 Carine Glades Commercial Centre 6 Davallia Road, Duncraig Phone 08 9246 5333
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psa committee
GEMMA BOTHE PSA President
KARA SALTER Vice President
RUKMINI PANDE Media Officer
ISABEL ROSEN Equity Officer
Peter Derbyshire Science Faculty Representative
CANY JOBE Engineering Faculty Representative
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Shoaib Memon Secretary
Jaqueline De Oliveira Haupt Equity Officer
FIONA MAYNE Educational Faculty Representative
ELLIOT SMITH Treasurer
Pratima Gupta Course Work Officer
JENNY TUNG International Officer
Charmaine Fernandez Arts Faculty Representative
Madeleine Hartley Law Faculty Representative
Sajni Gudka MDHS Faculty Representative
CHRISTO BESTER Ordinary Committee Member
AISLING BLACKMORE Immediate Past President
Fatima Khushnud Business Faculty Representative
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FUNDING The PSA offers four major types of funding for postgraduate students, distributed by their peers. We also co-fund two of the Convocation Travel Awards annually.
collect data or results essential to their postgraduate studies. The value of these awards was significantly increased this year and is currently valued at $850 and upto 3 are awarded each year.
PSA CONFERENCE TRAVEL AWARDS
PSA LEADERSHIP / COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD
The Conference Travel awards exist to help postgraduates at UWA travel to conferences outside of Western Australia to present their research, either as a paper or a poster. There are up to 9 awards annually, currently valued at up to $850.
This award is to recognise one postgraduate per year, who is exceptional and high-achieving. Applications are accepted throughout the year, but will be judged in October and presented at the PSA Annual General Meeting. There is a small bursary of $200 associated with this award, a certificate, and public recognition through the postgraduate community, PSA website, and potentially other UWA channels. The aim and purpose of this award is to recognise the diversity of activities undertaken by postgraduates during their study, and that there are many postgraduates who deserve to be publicly recognised by their peers for their contribution to the community over and above their study commitments. There is only one award per year, and self nominations will not be accepted.
PSA SMALL GRANTS The Small Grants are to help create a lively postgraduate community at UWA. Small Grants should be considered seed funds, to facilitate a new event or service to fill a gap perceived by postgraduates. The grants will be given to applications which demonstrate they are not duplicating services or activities already provided by the University, Student Guild, or PSA. These activities include anything that fosters a community spirit among postgraduates including networking opportunities, conferences, seminar series etc. They are currently valued at up to $300, and there are up to 6 awarded each year. PSA FIELDWORK / DATA COLLECTION AWARDS
For more information about eligibility and application procedures visit http:// www.psa.guild.uwa.edu.au/grants/ psa_funding
This award is targeted at students who need to travel within their local area to
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what have you been up to all year? events! 4
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6 1 Connects are on the first Thursday of every month at the University Club! Come on down to relax, unwind and meet other postgrads! 2 International Postgrads bring a splash of colour to our pages with their celebration of the festival of Holi! 3 Quiz Night! Fun and Prizes galore! 4 Cocktail Party! Time to Party PSA style! 5 Family Day! Everything is better with Koalas right? 6 Family Day also makes for hungry posties! But we’ve got you covered!
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Stepping Stones: An interview with Dr Shirley Watt This year is a significant one for the University of Western Australia as it marks our Centenary! It was in 1913 that UWA first opened its doors to students (though it wasn’t until the 1950s that UWA accepted postgraduate students). To celebrate this milestone, I decided to seek out a postgraduate story that is not of our current generation, both to have a peek at what life was like back then, and also as an opportunity to look at how much has changed (and not changed) at UWA over the years.
Postgraduate study. In that time she married, raised three children and started to play golf! During her time away from the University many things had changed: UWA had installed their first computer (the PDP-12), opened a medical school, new buildings had popped up all over campus, and advances in science had come a long way (for example Watson and Crick had made their discoveries in relation to DNA). With this in mind, she enrolled in preclinical units for two years undergraduate study to gain a current understanding of physiology, before embarking on her PhD. At the end of these two years of study Shirley ended up with a choice, she was invited to do a PhD in both Anatomy as well as in Physiology. She did not hesitate in choosing to continue her studies in Physiology. Shirley says, “I understood anatomy as structural, and physiology as functional. Anatomy stood still – it was static, I wanted to look at how things worked.”
Dr Shirley Watt first attended UWA at the age of 16, in 1944. Dr Watt had wanted to study physiology. At the time, however, UWA did not have a Department of Physiology or a medical school. As a result, Shirley enrolled in UWA Faculty of Agriculture, with the intent of focusing on animal physiology. At the time, she was only the third female student to enrol in the four year degree of Bachelor of Agricultural Science at UWA. During her time as an undergraduate, she can recall how both Currie Hall (now University Hall) and the Old Pharmacology building were “At the time, she was only the third female used to house US military personnel during student to enrol in the four year degree of the war! Shirley completed her undergraduate Bachelor of Agricultural Science at UWA. During degree, graduating at the age of 19. As an her time as an undergraduate, she can recall how undergraduate she was inspired by Dr Eric both Currie Hall (now University Hall) and the Underwood (appointed Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural and the director of the UWA’s Old Pharmacology building were used to house Institute of Agriculture in 1946 – who also US military personnel during the war!” coincidentally lived in Coorow, my home town, for several years when he was younger). This was the beginning of Shirley’s six-year PhD Shirley had always seen postgraduate education in Physiology in the ‘Lipid Group’ studying ‘The as an intellectual challenge with which she Effect of Bile Salts on the Intestinal Absorption wanted to engage and had wanted to further of Cholesterol’. She recounted how cholesterol her education beyond her undergraduate was just “becoming studied” at the time of her degree. However, it was over twenty years later PhD. It was an issue that had not been well that she would come back to UWA to undertake explored before and one in which her supervisor 12
and her lab were now interested in. Shirley recounts how the premise of her research; “Cholesterol is insoluble in water, I was trying to look at how something that is insoluble in water could get across a water barrier and into the absorbing cell. My supervisor used to explain it by using washing dishes as an example. When you wash dishes the oil and the water don’t mix without detergent.” She recalls her relationship with her supervisor fondly, as someone who was always pushing her to further her experiments (something I think we can all still very much relate to!)
involved in the UWA community, volunteering at the UWA Visitors Centre and being involved with the Graduate Women’s Association. I asked Dr Watt what her ‘top tips’ for PhD students today would be and her advice essentially came down to making sure that you work thoroughly and be highly motivated.
Like most PhD students, Shirley dealt with multiple demands on her time while she was conducting her research. A mother and wife, she also tutored, then lectured and tutored in later years, as well as publishing articles and conducting experiments. She still recalls her time as a PhD student as involving “lots of hard work and long hours.” A typical week of experiments involved being “… up at five and at university by six. A main experiment would take a week, and involved much surgery (on rats). After the surgery we would leave them for 48 hours. We then had to do an eight hour infusion using some radioactive substances, and four hour incubations of samples taken.. Sometimes I would be coming back at 11.30 at night because of an experiment’s timing.” Despite all this, it was not the long hours or experiments that she found most tedious from her PhD days – it was the statistics and the typing of the thesis. Typing was done manually – one letter wrong and the whole page had to be typed again!
As evident from Dr Shirley Watt’s PhD journey, we face many of the same challenges she did all those years ago. We still hear the call of ‘publish or perish’ from the university. We are still slaves to the ‘long hours and hard work’ that our candidatures require, and a good many of us still get extremely frustrated while using statistics! Many of us still lecture, tutor, have family and other commitments, as well as having supervisors looking over our shoulders to tell us to do more! Despite all of these hardships that go along with doing a PhD, Shirley still recalls her time as a postgraduate fondly and is immensely proud of her work. This brings to mind something which I have been slowly learning – it is the things that scare you the most, and are the hardest to do, that are most worth doing. So as scary as postgraduate study can be, and as hard as some of the days, weeks, months (or even years) are, I am happy to strive to succeed knowing that 50 years from now I will be able to look back fondly and proudly.
After almost forty years Dr Watt is still justifiably proud of the reception of her thesis, as she recalls that her PhD examiners reports were ‘glowing’. Her research was passed with only minor typographical corrections. Once she had completed her PhD, she continued to lecture and tutor at UWA until her retirement. Even after retiring Dr Watt has continued to be
Gemma Bothe
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Information Inundation: An Innovative Approach to Sorting out the Mess in Your Head!
and go through your pages, underlining key points or facts in different colours. You will start to see core themes, links, and interactions as you do this.
Writer’s block is a dreadful experience for all postgraduates. Regardless of whether it’s a thesis, essay, or report, sometimes you just get overwhelmed with information. You sit at your desk, quietly drowning, while the others in your office or favourite library study nook seem blissfully unaware that you need some kind of mental CPR, stat! This is my way of dealing with this situation.
“The way you lay out these themes reflects groups of ideas, or how each idea leads on to each other. You can then start to plan the structure of your argument, because you can see exactly how each
Ever tried representing the information visually?
piece of information fits together, and identify any weird anomalies!”
There are a number of programs you could use to do this digitally, but the tactile, analogue method is very effective to help you order the information, conceptualise it, and build a strong framework for your argument.
Then cut out each phrase. Organise these slivers of paper by colour, and sort them out onto a foam or cork board that you can pin the paper to so you don’t lose your ideas! The way you lay out these themes reflects groups of ideas, or how each idea leads on to each other. You can then start to plan the structure of your argument, because you can see exactly how each piece of information fits together, and identify any weird anomalies!
Using this approach, you would type up all your notes or quotes from primary and secondary materials (remember to include the reference after each quote, or at least enough info to find the reference in your database of choice). You’re only typing up single ideas. So, for instance, “Le Guin has three children and one cat” would be one. Then you leave a line space, and then type your next idea, “Le Guin has won five Hugo Awards”.
This is only one method which can help increase your buoyancy, and works well for the visual learners amongst us. Good luck writing!
Once you’ve typed up your material for the chapter or whatever, print them out single-sided (this is not a green method!),
Aisling Blackmore
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IN FOCUS - Editor’s Choice Award: Artwork This year’s winner of the Editor’s Choice Award for Artwork is Audrey Appudurai, for her series In Focus, a marvellous blending of science and art, showing that those two categories are not nearly as far apart as usually assumed.
Initially, it was to document the process and finesse involved in biological dissection. Viewed through a light microscope, I catalogued the laborious removal of a lens less than 0.5 mm in diameter from an eye belonging to a juvenile South American lungfish. The resulting lens was fascinating, and the way it captured and directed light from the tiny spotlight focussed on the microscope surprised me; that something so small and perfectly spherical enabled an equally small animal to focus and experience its underwater world. When isolating each component; the eye devoid of a face, the lens devoid of the eye, I found that they could be more provoking in absence of the context in which they were taken from. Ultimately, these photographs sought to utilize biological methodologies for artistic expression, and create new connections between humans, non-human animals, and the biological cameras locked in our own eye sockets, enabling you to read these words.
Audrey’s project aims to scientifically and artistically investigate the visual ecology of lungfishes, the closest living ancestors of the animals that first moved onto land from water. It means to unravel the evolution of vision in vertebrates pre- and post-transition onto land and reflect on our own (human) perception, which has a direct effect on how we understand the world around us. In Focus is a series of photographs that explores objects abstracted from context, and the unexpected consequences associated with the objects once context is returned.
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“Ultimately, these photographs sought to utilize biological methodologies for artistic expression, and create new connections between humans, nonhuman animals, and the biological cameras locked in our own eye sockets, enabling you to read these words.�
Above: Audrey Appudurai, Third Eye, 2013. Eye of South American lungfish photographed using light microscopy at 40X magnification. Photo: Audrey Appudurai Right : Audrey Appudurai, Lens0.5mm, 2013. Biological lens photographed using light microscopy at 50X magnification. Photo: Audrey Appudurai
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Not One Size Fits ALL: Life as a parent and PhD candidate Editor’s Choice Award: Article Time is at a premium and I have turned into one of those nerdy mature-age students I resented as an undergraduate who started their assignments more than two days before they were due. But I get it now. I’m too tired to cram and can no longer pull an all-nighter if I’m behind. I also never know if I’ll find any more time to complete a task. As an example, do I watch tonight’s episode of My Kitchen Rules or do I make myself do some reading just in case a family crisis arises that will consume some of the time I had set aside for my study? You can see the dilemma!
In May 2011 my mum handed me a column from The Weekend Australian which I pinned to the board above my desk. It is still there today. It’s entitled, ‘Giving birth or delivering a doctorate, they’re both labours of love’ by Emma Jane. Mum gave it to me because I had just started my PhD and my youngest child had just turned 1. Emma Jane’s column draws two main conclusions: that studying, like parenthood, is at times exhilarating and exhausting, and that education is ‘aerobics for the brain’ - while it hurts at the time, it produces long-term benefits to intellectual and mental health. I hope so!
“TIME IS AT A PREMIUM AND I HAVE TURNED INTO ONE OF THOSE NERDY MATURE AGE STUDENTS”
The same PhD challenges exist for candidates who are parents as for those who are not, it is just that the balancing of time and commitments involves people who are dependant. Children and their needs are always the first priority and the combination of postgrad study and parenthood brings sacrifices which are not always pretty! My son is usually late to kindy. Sometimes he hasn’t always got what he’s supposed to have (‘He had to bring his favourite toy? I thought that was next week!’), and I wear make-up a lot less often than I used to.
When people ask me where I find the time to study, I usually say, “In the evenings when the kids are in bed,” but that’s not always true. Sometimes I am just too tired so the work just doesn’t get done, and sometimes, if I do manage to grab an hour here and there, it is tricky getting into the headspace of my work as quickly as I need to, so I waste a lot of time too. I suspect this is a challenge for all PhD candidates.
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yourself quickly and clearly in the limited awake time you have spare to write that chapter.
I once had a conversation with two fellow PhD candidates I didn’t know very well. One was remarking on the fact that another student he knew was managing a newborn baby and a research proposal – “that’s pretty amazing don’t you think?” I nodded and smiled, agreeing wholeheartedly but the other student snapped, “Not really. There are lots of postgrads who are parents.” While I immediately thought her attitude a little abrasive it wasn’t long before I realised that this was good for me to hear. The more I think I’m doing something ‘special,’ just because plenty of parents of young children are not studying, the more I’m distracted from getting on with my thesis. Plenty of parents work, and so do I. The challenge is that studying relies on a lot of self-motivation, on an obsession with one narrow area of research and on the ability to express
“But, like making babies, it does make the world a far richer and more complicated place.”
I return to Emma Jane who concludes with the merits of studying for a PhD: “Will it leave you time to take a shower, do something fancy with your hair or interact with other actual grown-up humans? No, it will not. But, like making babies, it does make the world a far richer and more complicated place.” Again, I hope so! Trish Dowsett
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days like a bottomless wishing well in the dark
There are days in which the world feels like silk against my skin caressing my senses like a cool breeze through moonlit trees on a warm summer night by the river
and there are days for which there was no yesterday there will be no tomorrow the world is created in a flash as I open my eyes from slumber and its hard to tell apart the actual unfolding of the universe from my dreams that dance me and throw me around in my sleep; that’s if they differ at all
There are days in which the world aches like the bags under my eyes after a sleepless night like a broken bird crashed into a window after a graceful flight sullen and swollen and awkward
and sometimes it’s just me and the powers that be like a big black bear looming over a beetle and I’m a beetle asking questions trembling in the dark shadows of a selfperpetuating system that’s going a thousand miles a second engulfing all the animals, and all of the plants, and all of humanity in its wake not quite sure where it’s headed not quite sure how it started off on this path but racing there anyway, like an unstoppable snowball down a mountain gathering snow and speed as it flies unable to hear the beetle’s cries
and sometimes the world is one bar-tailed godwits fly in orderly flocks through the sky from Alaska, to New Zealand and back and the air that you breathe out is the air that I breathe in and there is no difference between you and I although sometimes the world is the chain come off my bicycle stuck up the back of the gears and I’m hands covered in cuts and black grease trousers torn and it’s a long walk home
but still, there are days that are the unfurling of a flower bud wet with the dew from the night, laden with the sweet nectar of possibility where troubles are lost in the mist of the morning and only beauty and promise shine through and the world stands still while the flower blossoms
and then there are days in which the world is a colossal conceptual framework shaky with metaphors scaffolded with ‘what we think’ shaped by ‘what we think is good’ constrained by ‘what we think we sense’ expanding inwards and outwards at the same time with ‘what we think we know’ and ‘how we think we know it’ and ‘what we think we are in the first place’
and each day there’s a mirror reflecting me back to me in shadows in smiles in frowns and each day there’s a chance that the mystery will surprise us or that we’ll surprise the mystery
and sometimes the world is one long list of things to get done stretching out to the distant end of the rainbow
Keren Gila Raiter 20
From the Curious to the Serious: Socialising your Research Through The Conversation https://theconversation.com/au Just over two years ago, the University of Western Australia was one of the founding members of a new venture called The Conversation, which is an online platform designed to deliver an independent source of news and views, sourced from the academic and research community. It’s a great way to start getting your research out there! It’s a fantastic resource and one that more postgrads should take advantage of! Read on to see how it can help you!
and people external to the sector. More than 840,000 readers visit The Conversation each month, which makes it Australia’s most read independent news and commentary site! So who are you going to reach? In terms of reader demographics, 90% have an undergraduate degree or higher qualification and readership is quite broad, with 80% coming from a non-academic or research background. Around 35% of the audience is international, and The Conversation will launch its UK site in May. The site also allows other websites and media outlets to republish articles online or in print for free (with proper acknowledgements and on the proviso the piece isn’t edited). So far, 103 UWA researchers have contributed 416 articles. In 2013 the average readership for UWA articles is 3,508 unique readers!
The Conversation aims to provide the general public with an improved understanding of current affairs and complex issues informed through research and expertise, and to encourage a better quality of public discourse. So who writes for it? Contributors come from universities and research institutes, and include postgraduate researcher students. Researchers from over 330 institutions have contributed to The Conversation in its first two years! There are four types of articles that you’ll find here:
“Researchers from over 330 institutions have contributed to The Conversation in its first two years.”
• General analysis of recent key news stories • Analysis on new research results • Explanations of a researcher’s recent research publications • Explainers on topics of interest
You can also keep track of your readers through the Author Dashboard provides metrics on readers so that you can get a feel for your audience, including a spread by country and how readers found the piece. So take advantage of the opportunity! If you’re interested in contributing talk to your supervisor, and then pitch an idea to the editorial team https://theconversation.com/pitches/new
It is vital for any researcher to be able to disseminate their work to the broadest audience possible and The Conversation is an avenue that makes this process a pretty smooth one. It employs an editorial team to assist researchers, who, by making suggestions on the format of the article and tightening arguments, make sure that the piece is appropriately translated for the lay reader. The authors of the article have the final sign-off prior to publication.
The Conversation also provides internships for students from funding universities. Students from Western Australia can undertake an intensive program, such as 2-3 weeks full-time placement in the Melbourne headquarters. If you are interested in an internship, please contact Natalie Mast natalie.mast@uwa.edu.au. The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor Robyn Owens
What this does, is provide researchers with a platform to socialise their research, and forge new links with both researchers from other universities
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Ain’t no Mountain High Enough! A tale of Fieldwork in Indonesia In the 3rd semester of my study in Master of Infectious Diseases in UWA, I had to do a research project. My supervisor was an expert in Malaria from Indonesia (my home country) and he required me to take blood samples from malaria patients and do a clinical trial in Mamuju, an endemic area in West Sulawesi Province, to evaluate the efficacy of the latest anti-malarial drug: ACT (Artemisinin-based combination therapy).
electricity in the village was only provided by a generator, so I couldn’t get in touch with the local health care staff about the latest situation in the village. Since it was quite isolated, the best way to get to it was by motorbike. I finally made it there with the help of a cousin. The route was tough, passing through a hilly stony road, and a small river. Even then we nearly didn’t make it because of a rapidly deflating front tire!
The fieldwork was in March to April 2012. My worksite was in a mountainous area and getting there took a twelve-hour trip by bus from my town, Makassar. The last hour was especially difficult to handle, with the road circling around a steep mountain! On the right side of the road was the mountain, and on the left side was a sharp drop to the valley – you can imagine that it was the best way to induce motion sickness!
Thankfully we arrived safely in the village and after meeting the health care staff there, I was glad to learn that there had been no further reports of malaria. Thus, I moved my research to another village which was more accessible, and furthermore, had electricity. What made all this even more challenging was the fact that I was in the early stages of my second pregnancy! I only discovered this two days before leaving for my fieldwork, and to be honest, it was very much a surprise! However, it was too late to change my research method, so I soldiered on. My time in the field was tense due to the risk of infection, but thankfully, I completed the work and managed to get back home after staying for six weeks in the area.
“My worksite was in a mountainous area and getting there took a twelve-hour trip by bus from my town, Makassar.”
As with all the best adventure stories this one also has a happy ending! I got a Distinction for my project and my baby was born healthy in October 2012 at King Edward Memorial Hospital. A true case of, “All’s well that ends well!”
But that was not the most challenging part. After arriving in the capital city of the province, I continued my trip to a village where quite a number of malaria cases were found in previous fieldwork. There was no mobile network in the area and
Yenni Yusuf
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Vida Loca: A Research Trip to Colombia Last year I had the amazing experience of spending six months in Bogotá, Colombia as part of the research process of my thesis. Colombia does not have a particularly good image internationally, and is frequently associated with cocaine and kidnapping. Things are certainly not all rosy in Colombia, but spending six months there collecting information for my thesis was life-changing.
Coming through! learnt a lot of other valuable life-skills. I developed the confidence (and Spanish skills) to cold-call government ministries and non-governmental agencies to try and set up interviews. I also got incredibly good at waiting because in Colombia, things almost never start on time! I ended up being a translator on various occasions, once acting as an interpreter between the Vice-President of the Korea Foundation and the Chancellor of the University which was providing me with workspace while I was there. Thus I got some practical experience in a field I could fall back on if I can’t find work once I finish my PhD!
Bogotá is fabulously chaotic! There is an amazing amount of life that takes place on the streets. On my way to University in the morning I could pick up a whole array of things on the street for breakfast – from exotic fresh fruits to arepas (Colombian flat-bread) filled with freshly cooked eggs, ham and cheese.
Fancy a snack??
The traffic was also crazy. At times it would be quicker to walk than to wait in the over-crowed buses. Walking around the streets in Bogotá was dangerous, but not in the way you would think. The footpaths were incredibly uneven, and there were frequently potholes to be avoided. I was not always successful in this endeavour, I have to say the footpaths beat me more than once!
A different pace of life! Perhaps, more than anything else, the most amazing things was getting out of the city to some of the more remote communities, and getting a broader perspective on the range of different realities that there are within just one country.
Aside from collecting a raft of valuable information about my thesis topic, I also
Grace Boffey
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It’s Not Unusual: College Life as a Postgrad a few, I have not regretted it for a second. Living away from home and being independent has finally given me the impetus to learn some important life-skills, such as cooking. I will admit that I lived on noodles and cereal for a while, but that is a period I would rather not dwell on!
While living on campus as a postgrad is a way of life in many Universities in the world, here at the UWA it’s a pretty new experience! Unihall is a new housing space recently opened by the University as an option for postgrads who would rather be closer to campus and quite a few have taken up the option. As it’s a brand new feature on the campus available for postgrads, we naturally wanted to find out more about it. Elliot Smith gives us a peek into his experience!
From a social angle as well living on campus has been enriching! I have made some great postgrad friends at Unihall who come from a multitude of disciplines across all faculties of the university.
At the end of last year, I made the decision to apply for a place at Unihall – previously known as Currie Hall. I did it because I was sick of the constant travel to and from my home in the Swan Valley (about an hour away) and the endless issues with finding parking at Uni.
Some postgrads I talk to in Commerce react with surprise when I explain where I live, not believing such a place is for those in their senior years of university. I have found that college living is a great option, as it provides an environment conducive to work with social options available if you want them!
People had always told me about life at a resident college and how great it was, however the problem was that they were all undergrads and I thought things might be a bit different for me. Luckily, my application was accepted and I was offered a new one-bedroom apartment designed for postgrads. I decided to give living on campus a try and accepted the offer.
Elliot Smith Looking for more information on housing options on campus? Visit http://www.unihall.uwa.edu.au/
Moving in, I was unsure about how it would be to live in a college where practically everyone is younger and postgrads are definitely in the minority. But, building issues aside, and there were
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a day in the life of a postgrad wishcrys
So, the postgrad next to you is profusely typing away? Bet you think he/she must be writing up the world’s best thesis? Well do not be fooled, my young padawan! Chances are he/she is probably on Facebook. Or Twitter. Or Instagram. Or Myspace (does anyone still use this?) As postgrads, we are masters of procrastination (don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!) and experts in *ahem* ‘online interaction’. Welcome to a sneak peek into a day in the life of a postgrad.
dear GRSO/HREO, please be kind to me. love you long long time. xoxo. Like ‧ Comment ‧ Share ‧ 01:56pm
wishcrys
I am under such pressure now to finalize my draft! And to complete form x, form y, and form z. Tells self: No need to panic! Reminds self: I still have five weeks till the due date! Self says: No! Do it now now now! Like ‧ Comment ‧ Share ‧ 02:37pm
Crystal Abidin
anonymous
wishcrys so exhausted and sleep deprived that suddenly everything on the internet is hilarious.
apostgrad
Supervisor meeting comes, Supervisor meeting goes, Where do I end up? Nobody knows! Like ‧ Comment ‧ Share ‧ 03:15pm
at a conference… looking forward to gion matsuri :) #Japan
Like ‧ Comment ‧ Share ‧ 04:12am
ulla Short lived panic yesterday when I received this erroneous email: “I am away until 25th October and have no access to email”. Fortunately it wasn’t for me!
Like ‧ Comment ‧ Share ‧ 04:10pm
wishcrys
advice from prof leaving the office at 1700hrs: “try to introduce some sort of life into your postgrad journey. there is more to life than your thesis.”
Like ‧ Comment ‧ Share ‧ 07:31am
Like ‧ Comment ‧ Share ‧ 05:01pm
wishcrys some mornings, I feel I can accomplish two hundred things at once. others, I can barely pry myself out of bed.
wishcrys
i love school. i love school. i love school. i will be productive all weekend. i will be productive all weekend.
Like ‧ Comment ‧ Share ‧ 08:07am
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wishcrys
I am on my way to uni on the train now. For once in my life, I am not consumed by the thought of having to keep on reading a book or journal article.
ruku
ruku
oveskaribian
Getting the dryer to work really shouldn’t be your biggest achievement of the day...
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1) structure, structure, structure. 2) restructure, restructure, restructure. 3) break head against wall. repeat 1-3.
Dear supervisors… Do you think my proposal is great? A) Yes. B) a. C) b Like ‧ Comment ‧ Share ‧ 07:19pm
Like ‧ Comment ‧ Share ‧ 01:48pm
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‘Sweet & Spicy Nightshades’: Eggplant & Tomato Sauce medium heat. Add red onion, cracked pepper and garlic. Cook for about 7 minutes or until fragrant. [Note: If you’re cooking this dish with meat, add and cook the chicken until no longer pink before proceeding to step 3.] 3. Add carrot, celery and bell peppers. Cook on medium heat until vegetables are tender. 4. Add tomato puree, and stir in vegetable stock, cayenne pepper and cumin. Cook on high heat until the sauce is boiling. 5. Add cloves and tomatoes. Cook uncovered for about 5 minutes. 6. Stir honey and cinnamon into the sauce. 7. Reduce to a simmer and add eggplants. [Note: Skip this step if you’re cooking with chicken.] 8. ****Cover for about 15-20 minutes or until eggplants are cooked through and creamy. Stir occasionally.
(Serves 4; approx. 60 minutes prep+cooking time) Grocery list: Salt 1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 small red onion (finely chopped) ¼ tsp cracked pepper 2 tsp garlic (minced) 1 medium carrot (coarsely grated) 3 stalks celery (chopped into ½” pieces) ½ red bell pepper ½ green bell pepper *4 Japanese/baby eggplants (degorged and sliced lengthwise) 500ml tomato puree **1 cube vegetable stock (or equivalent) 1 tsp cayenne pepper ½ tsp ground cumin 4 cloves 1-2 tbsp honey ***dash of ground cinnamon 4 sundried tomato slices (coarsely chopped) 5 grape tomatoes (cut into ½” pieces)
To turn this into a meat dish, try these suggested substitutions: *300g chicken breast (cut into 2” strips) **1 cube chicken stock (or equivalent) ***1 tspn ground nutmeg ****Increase cooking time to about 45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and is easily pierced with a fork.
Cook up a storm: 1. Degorge the eggplants: This removes the excess water in the eggplant, along with some of its bitterness. Place eggplant slices in a colander and sprinkle generously with salt. Stand aside for about 40 minutes. Rinse well and squeeze dry before cooking. 2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a saucepan on
Enjoy with couscous, some dates and dried apricots. Pair with a glass of sweet moscato wine. Charmaine Fernandez
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RECIPE TIME: YUMMY IN YOUR TUMMY
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chicken jalousie Grocery List
Method
1 onion 1 tablespoon oil 1 tablespoon whole seed mustard 1 teaspoon dried tarragon 250g low fat sour cream Salt and black pepper to taste 1 ½ cups cooked chicken 2 sheets flaky pastry 1 tablespoon water
Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Cut onion into rings. Heat oil in pan and sautĂŠ onion until clear. Mix onion, mustard, tarragon, sour cream, salt, pepper and chicken together. Place one sheet of pastry on a greased baking tray. Cut 1cm from the edge of each side of the pastry. Brush the edge of the pastry with water, and place the 1cm wide pastry on the edge of the base pastry. Fold the second sheet of pastry in half, and cut along the folded edge at 1cm intervals to within 2cm of either edge of the pastry. Place the chicken mixture on the pastry base. Brush raised edges with water and fold the second sheet of pastry over the chicken. Seal the edges with water. Spray with canola oil spray. Bake at 200 degrees Celcius for 1520 minutes or until golden. Serves 3-4.
RECIPE TIME: YUMMY IN YOUR TUMMY
Jess Taylor 30
Website: http://www.psa.guild.uwa.edu.au Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/uwapsa Blog: http://uwapsa.blogspot.com.au Twitter: @UWAPSA Email: psa@guild.uwa.edu.au Mailing list: http://maillists.uwa.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/postgrad