Postscript 2016 by UWA Student Guild

POSTSCRIPT 2016

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CONTENTS Presitorial ........................................................................................................................................................................... 4 IPP Report UWAPSA ................................................................................................................................................... 5 Sharks and relatives research @ UWA .............................................................................................................. 6 PSA Travel Report ......................................................................................................................................................... 8 Consulting Photos ......................................................................................................................................................... 9 50 things today’s postgrad is no longer allowed to do at university.............................................. 10 PSA Fieldwork/Data Collection Award Report ........................................................................................... 12 Recipe: Broadway IGA Reduced to Clear Risotto Pies ............................................................................ 14 December Connect Photos ..................................................................................................................................... 15 #PrayForParis ................................................................................................................................................................. 16 A Beginner’s Guide to Carnivorous Plants ..................................................................................................... 18 Limina: A Journal of Historical and Cultural Studies ............................................................................... 20 Women’s Talks in Research ...................................................................................................................................... 21 “Waffles and Isotopes in Ghent” .......................................................................................................................... 22 The life of a chimpanzee researcher ................................................................................................................. 24 Science Department 3MT Photos ....................................................................................................................... 25 the master’s no one knows about ........................................................................................................................ 26 Little Sweetness: A Small Moment of Happiness ........................................................................................ 28 PSA Fieldwork/Data Collection Award Report .......................................................................................... 30 Speed Date My Degree Photos ............................................................................................................................ 31 The Australian-French Entrepreneurship Challenge ................................................................................ 32 Photographs of UWA by Sophia De Leon ....................................................................................................... 33 Plane Trees of Perth ................................................................................................................................................... 34 Improv Photos ................................................................................................................................................................. 35 ‘Dont be an A**hole, Let Them Stay’ ................................................................................................................. 36

Cover photo credit: Sophia De Leon

Presitorial PETER DERBYSHIRE

Just my luck I used all my good material in the newsletters and have nothing to write about in this year’s copy of Postscript. It has been a challenging year there can be no doubt between the renewal process and the changes to the W.A. universities legislation but I can honestly say I have learned a lot about higher education this year. The Renewal project has been the biggest challenge of the year for everyone at UWA. Next year will certainly be interesting and the PSA has been in consultation with the university at every level possible during this process. We will continue to do so in the coming months until the project is complete and during the scheduled review process in the coming years. Changes like this are always difficult but next year some of the positives should start to shine through so next year’s president has that to look forward to. I don’t really want to go into the challenges of this year too much instead I would rather focus on the amazing work that the PSA committee has done this year so far. As I have been saying all year there are less and less opportunities for entrance into academia after a postgraduate degree. Expect to see changes in the way in which research training occurs at UWA but the PSA has made great strides this year in preparing students for these changes. Over the year we have run events on improvisation, giving elevator pitches (date my degree), going from research to consulting, presenting to industry, how to get into research, and we are not quite finished there.

Ultimately though the successes of this year in representation, social events, professional development, and student advocacy has been made possible only through the dedication of the students in the PSA Committee. They get the biggest thanks for the year. From my VPs Nikki and Nevin that cover me in meetings I don’t like, to the Treasurer Shane who deals with my Bernard Black style of accounting, Faizah who reminds me we have to hold those whole meeting things, Nicky who basically runs the events and prevents me from developing multiple stomach ulcers, and of course the rest of my office bearers and faculty reps that are just too much to mention without taking up too much time and space. But the PSA is there for the students. The PSA committee exists to represent postgraduate students and to make your time here at UWA better with a few laughs along the way. After 4 years of being involved in the PSA I have seen it grow and become a stronger and stronger voice for postgraduates. I look forward to seeing what the 2017 committee brings to the table and know that with the postgraduates at UWA there are great things in store. It has been an interesting year and even though I was somewhat reluctant to take on this position (read got dragged into it kicking and screaming) the achievements we have made this year have made it all worth it. So a big thank you to the 2016 PSA committee, the UWA postgraduate students, and to my liver who is the real hero of the story.

IPP Report UWAPSA VIKRAMAN SELVARAJA

I’m very happy to welcome you to the 2016 edition of Postscript, which is one of the longest running student published magazines in Western Australia. It has communicated the world of the UWA postgraduate student body to the wider university and state communities for decades and we hope that this issue continues that fine tradition. I would also like to congratulate the PSA’s media officer Ella Syafputri Prihatini and her editorial team on another well designed and informative magazine. 2016 has been an eventful year for the university community, with the announcement of the Renewal program which involved significant job cuts to the academic and professional staff of the university. Coupled with the continuing transition of students into the New Courses framework, there were significant challenges facing the PSA and postgraduate students at UWA. My involvement with the university was limited this year to my participation with certain equity and diversity initiatives. As such I have to commend the performance of my successor Peter Derbyshire who has played a significant role in protecting the rights of postgraduate students in this difficult time. Peter has played a leading role in constructively responding to the Renewal program with a program of submissions from the postgraduate student body and his participation in the University Senate. I am also proud of the broader UWA Student Guild which has driven several projects begun in my term to completion including the renovation, rebranding and food and beverage quality improvements at the UWA Tavern. I also congratulate Nevin Jayawardena on his successful campaign for UWA Student Guild President and considering that he is a postgraduate who was VP Coursework of the PSA this year, am certain that he will work collaboratively with Peter’s successor as President of the PSA. The resignation of Paul Johnson as VC of UWA also opens many questions about the future of our institution. His term has been marked by several high profile failures but also some significant successes. I hope that his successor, whoever she is, will be open to further constructively engaging with the university community prior to making significant decisions and to wear the responsibility of this institutions’ custodianship of knowledge in our state seriously. As a community of scholars, we have a moral responsibility to act in interests of people who are unable to carry their voices in our society. As such we should never resile from speaking truth to power. I believe that next year’s generation of student leaders will continue to push for divestment of the university’s assets from fossil fuel investments and for a clear commitment to improving the representation of students from poor background at the university. Thank you Vikraman Selvaraja Immediate Past President, Postgraduate Students Association University of Western Australia

Sharks and relatives research @ UWA EMILY LESTER, VICTORIA CAMILIERI-ASCH AND JONATHAN MITCHELL

In Western Australia sharks are a very topical research subject, featured on the news almost every week. Unsurprisingly, there are a lot of postgraduate students studying sharks at UWA; researching everything from shark ecology and sensory systems to their impact on recreational fishers. What is surprising, however, is that we do not often bump into each other on campus. You will often hear about certain people researching really interesting topics and think how great it would be to have the opportunity to discuss their research, but in reality you have no idea who that person is, what they look like or how you would actually find them at UWA. A few of us discovered that shark scientists belong to many different schools and research groups scattered across the UWA campus. Shark scientists can be found in obvious places like the Oceans Institute and the School of Animal Biology, but they can also be found in less obvious places such as the School of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering, the School of Plant Biology or the School of Anatomy, Physiology and Human Biology. Even if we do belong to seemingly relevant schools, our desk can be located in obscure buildings in a forgotten corner of campus. This is not to say that other researchers are not interesting people, they just get fed up watching videos of baby blue sharks and have no interest in discussing the best way to tag tiger sharks, which is understandable. Ultimately, it is nice to discuss ideas with a person who is not your supervisor, but is just as passionate about your research field as you are. We suspect that this problem is not limited only to our research field at UWA. There are many postgraduate students that are organised in a way that does not always seem to make sense in terms of working space allocations, even within faculties. It is easy to feel lost within a framework that does not always feel relevant to your work. Especially when you are busy organising fieldwork, in the lab or churning out publications

you just feel like you need a bit of guidance. In these situations it can be difficult and intimidating to track down the people who might have these valuable insights to share with you. For us, part of the solution was surprisingly easy. Victoria approached a few of us to see if we would be interested in making a Facebook group for shark researchers. In this group, we could share our experiences, interesting videos and articles or just arrange trips to the pub to catch up! The rest of us thought it was a great idea and invited one or two people to join. These people invited PhD friends, who invited friends of friends until all those faceless shark researchers at UWA that we had heard about were suddenly there with their profile on our group page. This group has made it easy to put a face to a name and take the first tentative steps in getting to know each other. We feel that this form of peer-to-peer support is a very worthwhile addition to the support given by supervisors throughout our PhD journey, and its ‘ups and downs’. This simple page has created a safe and easy space to share ideas and ask for advice. It is no secret that the Renewal project, which is currently underway, is going to drastically alter the organisation of UWA. To be honest, it is difficult to anticipate what this actually means for students. In our case, some of us are looking forward to a new shiny building – Indian Ocean Marine Research Centre (IOMRC) – which should bring most ‘marine’ people together. Yet it is also reassuring to know that we have our little social platform to stay in touch, regardless of any unexpected logistical changes. During the busy and often stressful times of PhD research, it can be very rewarding to reach out and get in touch with other like-minded students, to make new contacts and get advice on your research, and just as importantly - to make friends and receive support.

Currently enrolled PhD students conducting their research on elasmobranch (sharks, skates and rays) at UWA. This group page provides a space to share our experiences and passion towards this fish group, its ecology, management, conservation and other aspects that led to research at UWA. In particular, this would help with getting to know each other and sharing advice, especially as we are spread across different schools and physical locations on the university campus.

PSA TRAVEL REPORT BLAIR BENTLEY

I received the PSA Conference Travel Award earlier this year. The money that I received was put towards flights to get me to the USA for a number of research-related activities. The primary aim of this trip was to attend two conferences, the first was the annual meeting of the International Congress of Vertebrate Morphology (ICVM) in Washington DC. At this meeting, I presented data arising from my PhD focusing on the morphological changes of sea turtles reared under different incubation temperatures and the underlying molecular mechanism of thermal stress. I was invited to attend this conference by a collaborator from the Florida Atlantic University (FAU) in Boca Raton, Florida. Prior to attending the conference, I spent 2 weeks working out of her laboratory, meeting with and assisting her graduate research students working on freshwater and sea turtles. I was lucky enough to witness a leatherback turtle nesting, dive with loggerhead turtles and chase gopher tortoises down their burrows (a species endemic to the south-east of the USA). Both the conference and the collaboration provided me with an excellent opportunity to network with other experts in my field, which I took advantage of. Since the conference I have been collaborating on an evo-devo project with researchers based in Finland. The second conference that I attended was the 8

meeting for the Oceania chapter of the Society of Conservation Biology (SCBO) in Brisbane, Australia. Here, I presented a speed-talk on my data exploring the underlying genetic response of developing sea turtle embryos to thermal stress. The feedback that I received at this conference was greatly beneficial to understanding how the data I obtain can be used in the context of conservation management, and in part, helped me to submit my first chapter for review in the Journal of Molecular Ecology. I also took the opportunity while in the USA to travel throughout the south east of the country. After I had spent the two weeks at FAU, I spent a week driving from Miami up to Washington DC where the conference was being held. During this trip, I visited a number of field related locations. I spent a day at Busch Gardens where I got a behind the scenes tour of the zoological facilities, visited the Florida Power and Light Nuclear Power Plant where they have some of the only growth data on male sea turtles that get sucked into the cooling canals, and also visited the Georgia Sea Turtle Centre where I attended a surgery on a turtle that had been attacked by a shark. Overall, the funding that I received that allowed me to get to the USA has been hugely beneficial, both in terms of my research development, but also personal experience.

consulting

50 THINGS TODAY’S POSTGRAD IS NO 1. Not allowed to imply that senior professors’ careers pre-date the discovery of the atom. 2. Not allowed to tell prospective students that “PhD” stands for any of the following: • Parents have Doubts • Probably half Dead • Project half Done • Permanent head Damage • Potential heavy Drinker • Probably hopelessly Deranged 3. No longer allowed to perform experiments on undergrads (even if rats are expensive and you grow attached to them). 4. Must stop telling new students that the Reid Library was actually a spelling error and everyone is too embarrassed to change it. 5. It is considered very unprofessional to add “in accordance with the prophecy” to the end of answers I give to questions when presenting at a conference. 6. “It is easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission” does not apply to getting ethics approval for an experiment. 7. The large rolls of aluminium foil in the lab are for experiments, not for making tinfoil hats to block government mind-probes, and I should stop telling students this. 8. No longer allowed to set joke questions in exams. 9. No longer allowed to create obvious patterns in the multi-choice exam answers 10. No longer allowed create an obvious pattern in the multi-choice answers for the first half of an exam, and then break that pattern in the last half to watch the students freak out (even if it would be hilarious). 11. Not allowed to attempt to purchase anyone’s soul using grant money.

12. When giving a reason for the failure of an experiment I must put forward a reasonable hypothesis, not: • God • Gods • Witches • Gnomes (there is no physics, it’s all gnomes) 13. Not allowed to sacrifice a chicken (or goat, suckling calf, mule, or virgin) to Odin so that He may look favourably upon my work (even if virgins are easy to come by in the physics department). 14. When visiting German colleagues, don’t mention the war. 15. Laser safety briefings must contain more than “Don’t stare into laser beam with remaining good eye.” 16. Drug running and prostitution are not acceptable ways to raise research funding. 17. Not allowed ask “Do you want fries with that?” when given instructions by supervisors. 18. Must stop trying to hide Dr Seuss quotes in paper manuscripts. 19. Not allowed to turn my office into a ball pit… Not allowed to turn anyone else’s office into a ball pit… Plastic balls are no longer allowed on campus. 20. Despite the fact that people with a PhD are called “doctor”, they are not allowed to prescribe any form of medication. 21. When asked to attend a meeting in formal attire, I am not allowed to turn up in jeans and hoodie claiming that it is “the cultural dress of my people”. 22. Not allowed to wear costumes in the lab unless it is Prosh. 23. Office decorations must be limited and

LONGER ALLOWED TO DO AT UNIVERSITY

DAVID GOZZARD

practical. I am not allowed to fill the room with inflatable novelties. (And not allowed to try and convince anyone that the Kiwi PhD student owns the inflatable sheep.) 24. When asked to “give a few words” to new postgrads, I am to assume that I should say more than a “few” words. (“Run you fools!” is also inappropriate.)

visitors with tales of how dangerous Australian fauna is (even if it’s true). 37. “No drinking of alcohol” is not a challenge to find other ways to imbibe. 38. Correct technical terms are to be used when teaching or preparing manuscripts. “Thingy”, “doohickey”, and “piece of shit” are not appropriate terms.

25. The correct course of action for an asphyxiating gas leak is not “hold my breath and hope for the best.”

39. I must stop sending new students to the lab supply stores to ask for things that don’t exist.

26. Crucifixes do not ward off supervisors.

40. Stop telling new students that Petri dish agar is edible (even though it is).

27. Stop sticking large googly eyes on laboratory equipment. 28. Not allowed to make liqueurs out of labgrade ethanol. 29. No drinking in the lab. 30. No drinking in the office. 31. No drinking while teaching.

41. Wearing shorts under a lab-coat is disturbing because it looks like I am not wearing pants. 42. Do not replace the coffee in the lab coffee machine with decaf “to see what happens”. 43. No cooking in the lab. 44. Lab safety inductions do not need to begin with the “Safety Dance” song.

32. I may not trade laboratory equipment for any of the following: • cigarettes • booze • sexual favours • bootleg DVDs • magic beans

45. “To conquer the Earth with an army of flying monkeys” is not an appropriate response to being asked “what is this research for?” during a media interview.

33. Using an old Smirnoff vodka bottle as a water bottle and taking large, regular gulps is disturbing and I should not do it around new students or while teaching.

47. Beers are not to be stored in the specimen fridge. (Beers do not count as specimens.)

34. Putting red skittles in a prescription medicine bottle and swallowing regular handfuls while teaching is not appropriate. 35. I should not taunt humanities students just because they are doing “easy” subjects. 36. No longer allowed to scare international

46. Do not suggest to a colleague who has just had twins to name them “Alex, and the control.”

48. Magic eight-balls are not to be consulted for experimental procedures. 49. Student plagiarism is to be referred to the Head of School, not resolved “at dawn, on the field of honour.” 50. I am not allowed to start a betting pool on how long before the PSA president finally snaps and actually goes insane.

PSA Fieldwork/Data Collection Award Report DAVID GOZZARD, PHSYICS

In 2018, construction is due to begin on the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest and most powerful radio telescope, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). The SKA will study the sky in unparalleled detail and be able to peer into the deepest regions of the cosmos to answer fundamental questions about the evolution of galaxies and the nature of the universe. However, constructing such a large radio telescope introduces complex engineering challenges. The SKA will be made of hundreds of individual receivers spread across the desert in remote regions of Western Australia and South Africa. For all of the

receivers to work together as one telescope, high precision reference frequencies need to be transmitted from a central atomic clock to each receiver, some of which will be located up to 150 km from the centre. Over these distances environmental noise picked up by the transmission cables would degrade the precision of the reference signals to the point where the telescope would be unable to operate. I have spent the majority of my PhD developing and testing systems to actively stabilize the transmission of the reference signals and maintain the best precision possible. The stabilization system has undergone weeks

of thorough testing in the lab, but plugging the system into a working radio telescope and getting real-world data was the final test required by the SKA engineers to prove the effectiveness of the system. To do this, I boxed up nearly 100 kg of stabilization system and testing equipment and headed to Narrabri, in regional New South Wales, the home of CSIROâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Australia Telescope Compact Array, the most scientifically productive radio telescope in the southern hemisphere. The Compact Array uses an almost unique dual-receiver system that means it is the ideal platform on which to test the SKA frequency stabilization prototype I had brought. I spent two weeks at the Compact Array, running a battery of tests designed to determine the real-world

performance of the frequency stabilization system. It was a pleasure to work with the CSIRO engineers, scientists and managers, who worked with amazing efficiency and went out of their way to accommodate the tests I needed to perform and ensure that they would be successful. I even got to drive one of the 270-tonne antennas during a reconfiguration of the array. As for the results of the tests â&#x20AC;&#x201D; at the time of writing the data is still being processed, but preliminary results look very promising. I am hugely grateful to the team at the CSIRO Australia Telescope National Facility for making these important tests possible, and to the PSA, for supporting this work through a Fieldwork and Data Collection Award.

RECIPE Broadway IGA Reduced to Clear Risotto Pies LIESEL GENTELLI

INGREDIENTS: • Ready to eat vegetable risotto (if you go in the late afternoon or early evening, it will be reduced to clear at $4 or $5) • 2 sheets of puff pastry • Cheese

STEPS: 1. Preheat oven to 180 2. Defrost two sheets of puff pastry and cut into approx 12cm diameter circles 3. Fold the pastry into a muffin tin, to line each cup. 4. Place a 2cm square, thick slice of cheese in the bottom of each pie. 5. Bake until the pastry just starts to puff and the cheese is melted 6. Bring the pies out of the oven, fill them with risotto, and top with grated cheese 7. Bake until the pastry is golden and the cheese is bubbling 8. Yum

DECEMBER CONNECT

REBECCA HEYES

On 13th of November, 2015, the city of Paris was once again rocked by a terror attack. These attacks resulted in the deaths of 130 innocent civilians. Normal Parisians who were just enjoying a typical Friday night, at concert halls, football stadiums, cafés and restaurants had become the targets of six coordinated terrorist attacks. These deplorable attacks shocked the Western world. Messages of condemnation against Islamic communities and solidarity with the country of France were shared throughout millions of social media accounts. #PrayForParis has over 6.8 million hits on Instagram alone. Snapchat and Facebook even developed filters for people to place over their messages and profile photos. These filters and hashtags didn’t have the wholly positive impact which was intended. Instead of just spreading the messages of solidarity, and compassion, these filters actually had several negative implications also. Changing ones profile photo to have it overlayed with the French Flag is part of a social media phenomenon that researchers are dubbing ‘slacktivism’. Studies have proven that posting support online ‘enables people to associate with causes but makes them less likely to commit any resources to them.’ Here are some disasters that took place in the same month as the Paris attack, but didn’t warrant a similar public outcry; 1. Exactly one week after the Paris attacks, on the 20th of November 2015, Islamic militants took 170 hostages, killing 20 of them during a mass shooting in a ‘western’ hotel in the capital city of Mali. Did you see and Malian flag Facebook filters? No? I didn’t either.

1. On the 12th of November, a day before the Paris attacks, two ISIS suicide bombers detonated explosives in Beirut, Lebanon. They did this in an area which is known to have a high population of Shia Muslims. The attack resulted in 181 casualties. It was the deadliest bombing in Beirut for 25 years. However, this disaster received relatively little news coverage, and nowhere near the amount of public compassion when compared to the attacks on Paris. 1. On the 10th of October, 2015 over 500 people were wounded at a peace rally in Ankara, Turkey, when two suicide bombers detonated themselves. Over 100 people died. Yet again Facebook didn’t give the option of Turkish flag filters. All human lives are equal, and by mourning some and not others we are creating a dangerous divide. Why does the Western world only get angered by attacks that happen close to home? Attacks that happen to white Westerners? Is a Parisian’s life more important than that of a Malian? No, of course not. Trending hashtags like #JeSuisParis and #PrayForParis would be fine, if we also had hashtags for their counterparts in the Middle East and Africa. Otherwise they are just tools for division, and can be sullied by bigotry and racism. Instead of #PrayForParis, I suggest that we spread a message of love, solidarity, and hope and #PrayForPeace. Peace in Mali, peace in Turkey, peace in the Middle East. We cannot overcome the cancer that is ISIS divided by hatred and bigotry. We must stand together as one people, a people united in our cause to rid the world of terror, let’s embrace the power of social media and spread the united message that #WeAreOne.

An example of the French flag filter offered by Facebook

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;I am against terrorism throughout the whole worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

A Beginner’s Guide to Carnivorous Plants LAURA SKATES

What springs to mind when you see the words “carnivorous plants”? Is it the sharp-toothed monster from Little Shop of Horrors? A Piranha Plant from Nintendo’s Super Mario games? Could it be Victreebel from Pokemon? Maybe you’ve even caught one on Pokemon Go (that is, if you even have time to play what with the postgraduate studies and all…) These sci-fi horrors are the things that most people seem to think of when I first tell them I am doing my PhD on carnivorous plants. Usually, the whole conversation is spent explaining what exactly a carnivorous plant is, and it never goes further into the nitty gritty of what my actual research is about. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t really mind that! I love learning and talking about cool plants, it’s part of the reason why I’m doing a PhD in the first place. But I thought I’d use this opportunity to answer some of the most common questions I get about carnivorous plants. This way, you can have some fun plant facts to tell people at parties (I’m a real hoot at parties, can’t you tell?) and if we ever meet at a Postgrad Connect, we can skip all the basics and get into the really technical stuff! Or y’know, we can chat about something other than PhD work too… “Woah, you study carnivorous plants? So, like, Venus Fly-Traps?” Yep! Venus Fly-Traps (or Dionaea muscipula) are probably the most well known of all the carnivorous plants, with their super-fast snap-trap, locking in unlucky insects that land in their specially modified leaves. It’s actually one of the fastest plant movements in the world (whoever said plants don’t move?) “Awesome! And they just straight up eat bugs, right? That’s crazy!”

and capture of prey (with leaves becoming stickyhaired-traps, suction-traps, snap-traps, corkscrewtraps, or pitcher-traps). They then use digestive enzymes to dissolve prey (usually insects) and absorb nutrients directly into their modified-leaf surface. Mm, yummy. Don’t let that description put you off though; carnivorous plants are actually quite beautiful (if you can get past the thought of smushed up bugs everywhere…) Incredibly, these carnivorous traits have popped up independently at least six times in the entire evolutionary history of flowering plants! Talk about convergent evolution, am I right? “Whaaaaaat? No way! And we have carnivorous plants here in WA?” Sure do! Western Australia is actually the global centre for carnivorous plant diversity – we have more species of carnivorous plants naturally occurring here than in any other location in the whole world! If you’ve been for a wander anywhere in the Southwest or up in the Kimberley, then you have probably passed by a species of Drosera. If you’re not familiar with this pretty little species, it’s more commonly known as a Sundew because of the way its sticky hairs reflect the light. Not only that, but we have Utricularia (which uses a kind of internal vacuum to suck prey in), Byblis (which evolved completely independently of Drosera and yet has a very similar sticky-leaved method of catching prey), the endemic Cephalotus follicularis (a little pitcher plant that only lives in a few small bogs around Albany), and the aquatic Aldrovanda vesiculosa (which has little underwater snap-traps and looks like a waterwheel).

Well, they don’t really “eat bugs” in the same way us humans would (not that we eat a lot of bugs anyway, I mean some of us might, but that’s beside the point). Carnivorous plants don’t have animal-like teeth, mouths or stomachs, but they do have a very particular set of adaptations…

I could go on and on about these plants, they are incredibly fascinating creatures, and we are lucky to have so many living in the wild here! If you still need convincing about how cool they are, then maybe you’ll believe the one and only Charles Darwin, who published the very first scientific study on carnivorous plants, and described them as “the most wonderful plants in the world”! ☺

Technically speaking, the leaves of these plants have modified into a shape that allows for the attraction

If you want to discuss some more, come say hi or hit me up on twitter @laura_skates

Drosera zigzagia

Drosera gigantea with a captured lacewing 19

Limina: A Journal of Historical and Cultural Studies WANDA WARLIK

If you would like an inside view into what is involved in publishing an academic journal or organising an academic conference, then Limina is the place for you. We are a group of postgrads in the Arts Faculty who publish Limina: A Journal of Historical and Cultural Studies twice each year. Limina encourages creative methodologies and resistance to traditional disciplinary boundaries, while at the same time promoting a rigorous approach to research and writing. The journal is double-blind peer reviewed. We also hold a conference at UWA each year. Our 2016 conference was a great success and the theme, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Beyond Boundaries: Recognition, Tolerance Changeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, attracted local, interstate and overseas participants. At Limina, there are always things to do, people to meet, skills to learn and opportunities to let your talents shine. Visit our website at www.limina.arts.uwa.edu.au, contact us at liminajournal@gmail.com and come along to our next meeting.

WOMENâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s TALKS in RESEARCH

“Waffles and Isotopes in Ghent” LAURA SKATES

Ahh Belgium, well known for its waffles, chocolate, beer and … isotope research? Well, the University of Ghent is anyway, and that’s where I was lucky enough to spend the first week of September this year, for the Joint European Stable Isotope User Meeting (JESIUM). As the name would suggest, this is a conference designed to bring together stable isotope users from throughout Europe (and the rest of the world – I wasn’t the only Aussie!). Researchers and industry members come to discuss advances in technology and new knowledge in a variety of fields, from ecology and biogeochemistry, to paleoclimatology and archaeology, to medicine and forensics. You might be wondering, what exactly is a stable isotope? Simply put, isotopes are atoms with the same number of protons, but a different number of neutrons within their nucleus. Unlike radioisotopes, stable isotopes do not decay into other elements. For example, nitrogen atoms always have 14 protons, but they can naturally exist in a stable form with either 14 neutrons (14N) or 15 neutrons (15N). The only differences between these two isotopes really are that 14N is much more abundant naturally, and 15N is just that little bit heavier. This small difference in weight can have a big effect on the rate at which each isotope reacts in chemical or physical processes. So why are these stable isotopes important? Well, by measuring the amount of heavy and light isotopes in different systems, we can understand a lot about the world. We can find out where the ingredients in our food have been grown, and the origin of forensic materials. We can learn about how people in the past lived, what they ate, and where their building materials or clothes came from. We can better understand processes occurring in the natural world, between

different organisms and their environment. And so much more! There are many applications for stable isotope research. For my PhD, I am using stable isotope measurements to determine how much carnivorous plants rely on capturing and digesting insect prey to gain their nutrients. I have been fortunate to spend a good portion of this year at one of the world’s leading institutes for stable isotope research on heterotrophic plants: the BayCEER Laboratory, at the University of Bayreuth, Germany. While there, I very slowly picked up some German words (Eichhörnchen is my favourite, it means squirrel) but more importantly, I developed skills in the use of Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry, including all of the essential theory, sample preparation, and statistical analyses that go along with it. At JESIUM, I was joined by my external supervisor at the BayCEER Laboratory, Prof Gebauer, and four of his Masters students: Elli, Saskia, Philipp, and Stefan. We had a lot of fun exploring the beautiful city of Ghent, trying new foods (mainly waffles), and learning more about the various applications for stable isotope research. I had the opportunity to present some of my early findings, particularly focussing on Byblis plant species, which capture insects with their sticky leaves and are native to both the Southwest and Kimberley regions of Western Australia. I was able to discuss my methods and findings with fellow stable isotope researchers, resulting in plenty of inspiration for future work! I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity and would like to give my thanks to the Postgraduate Students Association for the Conference Travel Award. If any fellow postgrads would like to know more about stable isotopes, and how they might be used in their own field of research, I would be happy to discuss!

Just some of the many delicious waffles we tried in Ghent

The beautiful ceiling of the Aula, at the University of Ghent, where the lectures were held for JESIUM

The life of a chimpanzee researcher JANICE LIM

I’m writing this report sitting in my tent in Nyungwe National Park, Rwanda after spending 12 hours today tracking chimpanzees. I can hear a tree hyrax screeching in the night and the occasional jackal howl, but the low voices of the trackers talking around the fire are comforting and I know I will sleep soundly. I will be calling Rwanda home for the next 15 months while conducting field research on the diet, foraging and grouping patterns of the Mayebe community of chimpanzees. I’m looking at how this high altitude forest community is affected by seasonal decreases in food availability. Embarking on this project I had images of my idol Jane Goodall sitting in soft grass just meters away from chimpanzees, notebook in hand and the sun shining down on her hair… my reality however is far removed. I spend my days hiking up and down steep ravines and cutting trails through thick vegetation with machetes. When we make contact I am usually squatting on a muddy trail, with sticks in my hair simultaneously juggling a GPS, notebook and binoculars while frantically checking the time so as not to miss the next scan. Despite the many challenges, it is safe to say I am enjoying PhD life immensely and count myself lucky to be able to mix purposeful research with a little adventure. Unfortunately field work incurs many expenses, however there are also numerous opportunities for funding within UWA and from external granting agencies, and with persistence I have found that funding doesn’t have to be a limitation on the research you want to do. So this is where I wholeheartedly thank the Postgraduate Student Association for generously granting me with funds from the Fieldwork Data Collection Award, this contribution has been crucial in helping to facilitate my field work.

SCIENCE

DEPARTMENT 3MT

the master’s no one knows about PAULA BECK

With about a month left before my thesis is due, it seems writing on anything but my research topic is appealing, so why not contribute to Postscript? As I’m nearing the end of this degree, I’m feeling less confident than at any time previous in this course, and I’m just starting to recognise that it is because I’ve now opened up a world of questions. Instead of straightforward essay topics, I’ve delved into something complex with multiple angles, and am realising that while this final deadline will mean the end of my degree, I’m unlikely to be able to just put the research away and forget about it. I suppose this is typical of post grad studies, and endings generally do create reason to reflect. So here’s a bit of a reflection on four years part time post grad studies in the Master of Curriculum Studies. Haven’t heard of the Master of Curriculum Studies? No surprise there – I’d be more surprised if you had! I’m one of six students who will be completing the Master of Curriculum Studies program this semester. We are the inaugural enrolment in this program. Our degree is a little bit of a split personality program – those who study double majors in two faculties will likely relate to this - we studied 6 coursework units, 3 in the Arts faculty and 3 in Education, before choosing our dissertation topics this year. The units alternated so each year we studied in the Arts faculty in semester one, and then crossed the road for semester two to study in

Education. It isn’t just the buildings and views that change with the crossing of the road, the whole teaching and learning style and philosophy of education is different across the two faculties. I say ‘we’ here as I feel I can write on behalf of ‘my group’ as we have taken this degree on together. We had a fixed program, knew what units we had to study from the start, and have been in classes together all the way through, including all taking a break from study in semester one this year. We didn’t know each other at the start, but we’ve got to know one another and sometimes dragged each other along to ensure we all got through. We’ve shared information, via email initially, and then through a closed Facebook group, which always seems to have many more posts and comments in the final days before an assessment is due. All of us work in secondary education, across a diverse range of contexts, and we represent a diverse age range too, but on Tuesday afternoons during semester we’ve developed a routine of turning up to debate and discuss aspects of literary texts and the teaching of English and Literature, and getting to know the diverse interests of the other members of the group, as well as our Arts professor. Nearing the end now we meet at The Uni Club over a plate of sweet potato wedges, and discuss other aspects of our lives, stresses of work, and cafes in the hills, amongst other topics. We’ve each learnt from the

research topics of the other members of the group, and I think the stories we’ve shared about our work have been almost as valuable professional learning as the materials we’ve studied in our course units. My initial degree was acquired a long time ago, I remember studying back then and spending a lot of time socialising. This time around it is different, but I’ve benefited more from my shared experience with other students in the group. We arrive when most of the uni is going home, so we can usually get a park, we are usually in no rush to leave – before we discovered post grad membership of The Uni Club we used to stand in the carpark in the dark talking for an hour on the way home from class, and many of us are contemplating further study after we finish this semester.

reading on the sidelines while they played sport.

I think we’ve all been asked why we bother. Why do this when it won’t lead to better pay or promotion or better job opportunities, and it costs quite a lot of money! Because the learning enriches our lives. It makes us better professionals. It builds our knowledge. I’m a much better researcher now. I have a stronger understanding of key curriculum issues. At the start of this journey I was hoping to set a good example for my kids. Hoping to model good study habits for them, hoping to show them that putting in time and effort brings results. What they likely really saw was me carrying books and articles with me everywhere I went and sitting

do so too. I can identify issues in my work and turn

I’m still trying to work out how to model good study habits. My solution is to read and read and read and hope a bit of deadline pressure knocks things into shape. I think my 17 year old has only recognised the deadline pressure part of that statement, and missed the prep part. He recently admitted that he thought I still had two years left before I finished my Masters! Clearly my constant mutterings about the ‘final deadline’ and needing some time are falling on deaf ears. At the end of this journey, what I take from this study is much more than the piece of paper and qualification that will come – there is the knowledge that I can work through problems and help others to them into research questions. I can find motivation through the work that academics have done – that I previously never made the time to read, and I can juggle study with a demanding job and a busy family. The greatest thing I will take away from my study though is a rekindled love for my discipline. This enabled me to find a new job, and also become a board member of a non-profit, neither of which I could have imagined at the start of my Masters study. And I found a new group of friends who shared a four year long experience.

little sweetness:

a small moment of happiness PETRA ELIAS

An ethical crisis with my PhD autoethnography meant that I was having the first holiday in years without having to work on my thesis. My family and I returned to our Javanese house from our Australian home for three weeks to escape the winter chill of Perth and I thought I would feel free of the burden of word limits and journal articles and deadlines. Instead, I found myself sitting before my keyboard, palms itching to write. It’s true, I feel at my most creative when I am free of the stresses of work and the mundanity of daily life, so here I sat feeling the compulsion to write but without a single idea in my head. On my lap, Kecil Manis, a stray kitten, who had weaseled her way into my heart, despite all my efforts to resist her charms. It was a set up. I know the exact moment it happened; such was the force of my error of judgment. It was so quick, but still I was cognizant of what was going on while it was happening. Not in that slow motion way of catastrophes or the dissociated way of trauma, but a slow burn, each of us providing the space to get to know each other and cautiously circling each other, gradually encroaching until light touches ensued without flinching. Despite my better sense and lectures to the children, my weak-ness allowed me to succumb to her small whines and big blue eyes. Within the space of a couple of hours we went from being complete strangers to being intimately intertwined, a kind of depend-ence although somewhat one sided, due to our relative sizes. She fit in my hand or my lap, or into the crook of my arm which provided a sheltered, safe, maternal nest. Nevertheless we had devel-oped an unspoken understanding of reciprocity. I’d provide the food, she’d provide the affection. Maybe as a bonus, she’d chase away large tropical bugs and mice. Before my children found her a few days ago, the kitten had been living in a biscuit tin on my adja-cent neighbour’s porch and been shown ambivalent but furtive kindnesses. Although big strong adolescent boys, my sons found their tenderness in her and

delightedly and boisterously pro-nounced to me: “Mum, there’s an orphaned kitten” as though Indonesia didn’t already have mil-lions, possibly billions of them living like scavengers. All stray, all uncared for. All refugees. The 14-year old would delightedly scoot off to play with her as though she was a playmate. “Don’t get too close, you’ll only end up with broken hearts” I shout after their shadows. Of course they couldn’t know that I had previously experienced the broken heart of rescuing Indonesian kittens from the scrap heap of life only to then abandon them when I returned to Australia, living with the anguish of not knowing their fate. “Mum, how can you be so cold-hearted?” accuses the elder child. “I’m not”, I retort more angrily than I want to, “but you’re setting her up. She will get used to having regular meals and your affection and then you’ll leave in a few weeks and she’ll have to fend for herself and may be at greater risk to predators because she will be more trusting. I’m not cold-hearted, I just know the heartbreak of this situation.” He looks wounded and I don’t know how to fix it. Life is cruel sometimes. At 15, it’s a lesson he too must learn. After my morning shower, I descend the stairs. Of course, I hear her cries before I get there, but thinking she is outside I’m surprised to see her wandering around the house, looking for some-thing, meowing, as though she is a resident demanding her breakfast. I like her confidence. After a brief introduction, lots of sniffing of my feet and ankles, and her looking at me with those big na-ive, blue eyes, were the tentative, light touches and longer and longer strokes, first in the safe zones of her face and neck, then the whole body. Something in my instincts tells me that her cries are due to her gnarly, hungry stomach so I offer her a few small pieces of fatty, grisly meat left over from the night before. She approaches it tentatively, using her nose to determine its status - poi-son or prey. Initially regarding it suspiciously and circling it, she sniffs it thoroughly finally deciding to give it a try. After wrestling with a particularly grisly bit, she is finally committed to eating

the en-tire serve with gusto - several pieces, some with more meat on them which she seems to relish. She knew she had me then. I am eating my breakfast at the dining table and doing my daily cross word puzzle when she approaches me again, circling my chair and feet, sniffing and rubbing my ankles, whining again. I look at her and ask “Ini apa?”, Indonesian for “What is it?” Again the big blue eyes and sad face. I offer her another serve of meat, somewhat surprised at her appetite, but again she relishes it before consuming a third and final serve. By contrast she doesn’t seem to like the milk. Perhaps it is because it’s skim or long life or perhaps she just doesn’t have a taste for milk. Who can blame her? Everything probably rates second best to her mother’s milk, and of course we haven’t got any of that. She looks up at me questioningly and I rub her neck. “What are we going to call you?” I ask, as though she can answer. “Kecil Manis” I answer to see how it fits. Indonesian for ‘small sweetness’. And she is. She follows me around while I clean the kitchen and start some cooking for later in the day, playful-ly climbing water cartons and jumping up and down the kitchen steps. More exploring - the bin ar-ea, under the stairs and round the back of the fridge. I am happy for her to make herself at home and I know she won’t get into any mischief here. When I open the fridge, she steps up into it and sniffs some more before whining

when I gently push her out of the way with my foot so I can shut it again, but then her distraction is caught by an empty box to climb into and out of. When the boys wake up, she gallops and skips behind them and they play with her, the younger boy giving her rides on the broom as he sweeps and the older boy giving her lots of cuddles and ‘teaching’ her to climb up and down the stairs. I let him take the credit for this, even though I re-mind him that she is used to living on the street and has had a pretty tough start to life. After all this, they have chores to do and adjourn to my study to write for the morning, the kitten nestling on my lap and going off to sleep. She spends a fair bit of time nudging my body’s folds and cushion-ing and I realise she is looking for her mother’s teats. Perhaps she does want milk. She gently nips and licks my fingers before rolling herself into a neat little ball on my lap and falling asleep, purring loudly. I too am content to have the benefit of this peace, for however long we have this time together. After several days, during a rain storm, she disappears and we don’t see her again. We are sad and forlorn, missing her more than we expected to. I even dream about her and the boys think they hear her cries in the distance, but she never returns and we are left wondering what hap-pened to our Kecil Manis and, finally, I have my idea for a story.

PSA Fieldwork/Data Collection Award Report VICTORIA CAMILIERI

I feel very grateful to have received this award and it will be a great benefit to my research. Initially, I had not considered applying as my research is only laboratorybased. However, data collection can be very costly in the lab too! I am starting to collect a lot of data using electron microscopy (EM) – both scanning (SEM) and transmission (TEM) – at the Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation and Analysis (CMCA) at UWA (Physics). Some chemicals and/or material required for sample preparation, storage and processing before visualisation, and ultimately data collection, can cost an overwhelming amount. The annual subscription to access CMCA on campus is a substantial outlay of $1,000 but this Facility provides the instruments required by my project on an unlimited basis. Nevertheless, I did apply the advice that “you can only get what you apply for”. In a nutshell, the objective of my project is to establish and validate a series of neurobiological indicators – morphological and physiological – of olfactory sensitivity in some bony fishes and compare these to cartilaginous fishes. Specifically, my study aims to quantitatively assess the olfactory input (axons numbers and subsequent convergence ratios) to the central nervous system as a more accurate indicator (or proxy) of olfactory sensitivity. Time and cost permitting, this anatomical approach will be complemented by an electrophysiological analysis of the sensitivity

thresholds to certain amino acids. The funding applied for through the PSA Data Collection Award will be specifically used to investigate the morphological aspects of the research, which will generate large amounts of data. This dataset will then act as a baseline to guide and inform further electrophysiological investigations that will follow. In brief, the maximum funding amount offered by the present PSA Data Collection Award covers a significant proportion of the costs of the morphological research. A quantitative comparison will provide the first ever indication of the sensitivity (level of summation or convergence) at both peripheral and central levels of the nervous system in representative species of bony and cartilaginous fishes. The research outcomes will represent a major contribution to our understanding of olfactory processing in sharks (earliest jawed vertebrates), and will serve as a useful model for olfactory processing in aquatic vertebrates in general. The integration of traditional and cuttingedge techniques represents a novel and innovative approach that will ultimately be useful in assessing olfactory-driven behaviours, the efficacy of shark mitigation strategies that rely on chemosensory cues, and validating whether large olfactory bulbs are in fact a good indicator of olfactory capability in elasmobranchs (sharks, skates and rays).

1µm

TEM: mounting the sample grid onto

the sample çholder icroscopy (TEM): before inserting into the microscope d onto the sample 30 nto the microscope.

TEM: transverse tin section (100-120 μm thin) of the Transmission electron micrographs: transverse olfactory bulb of a Port Jackson shark thin section (100-120µm thick) of the olfactory 1µm bulb of a Port Jackson shark.

speed date my

degree 31

The Australian-French Entrepreneurship Challenge JANICE LIM

“It’s been 37 hours and 30 minutes since I last shut my eyes…” was how I wanted to begin my description of the Australian-French Entrepreneurship Challenge held in Canberra on 2-3 June 2016 before my need for sleep prevailed… but I digress. This Entrepreneurship Challenge originated in France and has been run every year since 2011. It was designed to promote the ideas of entrepreneurship among PhD students. Australian students were given the opportunity to put themselves to the test for the first time in 2016, and I was lucky enough to be selected to participate. Assisted by past participants of this program from France, motivational coaches, plentiful food and lots of caffeine, we worked in teams of 6-8 people to build a start-up company over a continuous 24-hour period. Not only did we have to stay awake, work collaboratively with people we had never met before and use our collective brainpower to develop our business idea, there were also the lectures to attend. Our dedicated and equally sleep-deprived coaches delivered 30-minute lectures throughout the Challenge on multiple aspects of building a company – from developing a business model, to financial forecasts to legal considerations. At the stroke of 1300 hours on Fri, 3 June, we were done but far from finished. Over the next 2 hours, we then had to convince a distinguished panel of judges that our idea was worth funding as a start-up company. Students came up with ideas ranging from an app to detect the diarrhoea-causing parasite Giardia, to creating a smart toilet to detect colorectal cancer, to incentives to reduce spikes in household energy use. I am very grateful to the Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccine and Infectious Diseases at the Telethon Kids Institute for sponsoring me to participate in this event. I have come away inspired and more confident in exploring future opportunities. I would strongly recommend it to anyone who ever wondered “what if…”. If you’re interested in finding out more, visit the Australian Academy of Science webpage or check out the video snapshot of the event on Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40MbBjZSrTI&feature=youtu.be)

PHOTO: SOPHIA DE LEON

PLANE TREES OF PERTH ANDREW ENDRY

Plane trees grow different here, not like the stolid citizens of Melbourneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wealthy east with their stout midriffs, and their brawny arms locked together over winding avenues in a leafy, loving embrace that brought comfort and shade on Summer days of my youth. Plane trees here grow mean and spindly, serried ranks of drunken soldiers under the stern but tender gaze of the war memorial, lined up along Mounts Bay Road tracing a foreshore long since taken back from the river, their branches like wizened digits of an ancient man, clawing at the heavens in anger at the pinching salt, or a supplication for drenching rain, or a cry of anguish, a plea for release from the gritty, sandy soil. But live on they do, and they laugh at their malformed selves, scoffing at their siblings in Melbourne and cousins in London grown fat on damp and miserable days. There is no returning to the wealthy avenues of my youth, looked over by the kindly folded boughs of the plane trees of Melbourne. Here I stake my claim, plant roots in the stingy earth, till comes a day when arms raised high I soar into the sky with the plane trees of Perth. 34

IMPROV

This is Samuel, the #LetThemStay campaign prevented him from being sent back to Nauru. He now lives in Sydney with his Iranian refugee mother. Photo: Janie Barrett

A #LetThemStay Rally

REBECCA HEYES

“For those who’ve come across the seas We’ve boundless plains to share” Sound familiar? Well it should. It’s in the second verse of our national anthem. So when will Australia start practicing what we preach? Australia’s relationship with ‘boat people’ can be traced back to 1770, when Captain James Cook sailed his fleet into Botany Bay seeking refuge from the awful English weather. However in the past 246 years, Australia’s relationships with the people who come by boat to seek refuge on our shores has somewhat deteriorated. In 2013 the Australian Government further solidified

the fact that they no longer wish to share our ‘boundless plains’, and introduced the controversial Operation Sovereign Borders. This act effectively closed our borders, and all boats with asylum seekers were to be turned around and processed at offshore detention facilities. Australia’s relationship with refugees has deteriorated to the point that the UN have declared Australia’s treatment of them to be in violation of the Human Rights Convention. UN Secretary General, Ban KiMoon, has even made personal pleas to Malcolm Turnbull. Urging him to reconsider Australia’s abhorrent policy on ‘boat people’.

A child in Australian Detention

f A Poster for ‘Operation Sovereign Borders’

As if all of this wasn’t already both condemning, and embarrassing enough, the Papua New Guinean supreme court has ruled that Australia’s detention of asylum seekers on Manus Island is illegal and must stop. Yes. That’s right. A country where being a homosexual is still a punishable crime, have ruled that Australia is in violation of human rights laws. Now we’ve established that Australia’s use of offshore detention centers is immoral, illegal, and must be stopped, can we do something about this? Can we even make a difference? The answer is yes! Not only can we make a difference, the combined efforts of people power and social media already have made a difference. Earlier this year the Australian High Court ruled to allow the Government to send 267 Asylum Seekers, who were in Australia seeking various medical treatments, back to the offshore detention centers that they had been removed from. 37 of these were babies,

Australia’s original ‘boat people’

who had been born in Australia to mothers seeking asylum. A further 54 were children, several of whom were attending Australian schools. Upon hearing this ruling the Australian public jumped into action and launched the #LetThemStay campaign. This campaign was shared over 90,000 times on Facebook, rallies were held, discussions were had, and the Australian public finally voiced their views to the Federal Government. Beyond all odds, the campaign worked and prevented 150 people, including all the babies, from being sent back to offshore detention. Whilst the campaign was a success, it did have its limitations, and the fight for the just treatment of Asylum Seekers is far from over. In fact, it has only just begun. There are still around 200 children being held in Australian Detention Camps, their only crime is being born a persecuted minority. They deserve freedom. They have a right to a future. As do all refugees. So let’s continue the fight, turn ‘slactivism‘ into activism #LetThemStay!

Is getting married during PhD a good idea? ANONYMOUS

This question seems to be not so uncommon on postgraduate forums. Of course, there is no single answer for everyone – it will depend on numerous factors – relationship dynamics, family, financial situation to name a few. Starting a PhD while married certainly is difficult but I think getting married during PhD is another story. I started dating my husband seriously with the start of PhD last year. Two months in, we were engaged and then we had a simple civil ceremony in my home country during Christmas break. To give you a short answer for myself, 10/10 I would do it again and getting married was the best decision I’ve ever made in my life. I’m now juggling between my research, housekeeping and planning for our upcoming wedding ceremony to celebrate with friends and family. So having been a Mrs for 7 months and counting, here are a few things I have learnt about getting married and being married during PhD: 1) Sit down and talk with your significant other what this means for both of you Everyone has expectations regardless of what kind of relationship they are in. With marriage, there probably will be a shift in these and I think it is important to communicate openly. What does this mean financially? Will you be having kids during PhD too? What about after PhD? When we got engaged, my husband had just finished his undergraduate

with part-time job in line. I had jumped straight from undergraduate to PhD so we both had study related loans. We figured we could live on my scholarship and save any income that came in while he looked for a permanent full-time job. As I am considering staying in academia, my husband has happily agreed to consider opportunities that may arise overseas, which means that he may have to be a stay-at-home husband/dad. I also want to strongly emphasise that you as a couple need to keep having these conversations as there will be change of situations and plans. 2) It helps to have a team of supporters I think it is also important for future-in-laws to be aware of the unique situations we are in as graduate students. There will be birthdays missed for that important conference in Europe and Sunday brunches you just can’t make. Fortunately, my parents-in-laws are very supportive of my study. My loving mother-in-law often invites us over for dinner and packs left overs for us to eat over the week (and they are delicious too!). I also cannot thank friends and family enough for helping with wedding planning. My supervisor too is very understanding. I’ve moved further away from uni after we got engaged. This made the commute an hour long by drive and over 2 hours by bus, which I cannot justify the cost or time. He lets me work from home and we communicate over email and skype most of the time. He also was

more than accommodating when it came around taking time off for wedding and honeymoon. 3) Wedding really is expensive We decided to have a wedding after elopement (civil ceremony, which in fact was exactly 2 minutes and 28 seconds long) because 1. we decided a wedding was not a requisite for the start of marriage and 2. we could wait until we are able to afford to have one. Our parents have generously chipped in, but even with a very small wedding with guests just shy of 20, we are looking at over $10K. We’ve taken out a lot of traditional aspects we thought were too extravagant or unnecessary, and researched for months to get the best deals. We would be looking at about $3-4K less if I could do my own flowers, have even simpler gown than my second-hand wedding dress or build an arch myself. However, some things are just beyond what I can do or learn, and I don’t have more time to spend on wedding (plus honeymoon) than I already am. Also, we are not spending the entire sum we were gifted, so we can afford to have this wedding comfortably. But still, wedding is expensive! 4) It probably is impossible to be a perfect student and a perfect spouse at the same time. There may be super-persons who can manage both roles perfectly, but I cannot. And that is OK. I can say that I am fortunate that I have flexible schedule that allows me to meet up with my wedding vendors or run

errands throughout the day. But honestly speaking, sometimes there are distractions that weren’t there when I was single, such as being obsessed with colour of the arch curtain or having to cook dinner instead of being satisfied with a quick tuna fix. It is true that they are distractions because I let them be though.At the same time, I am not the best wife I can be. Some days I have to work through the night without having a quiet time talking about how our day was, make him eat dinner by himself (dinner’s the only meal we have together), miss his family’s gatherings and events over weekends he had been meaning to go with me because I have data to process or books to read. I do my best to be good at both roles, but I don’t think I can ever be perfect (how do working mums do this?). I am still refining the balance and time management skills so hopefully when all the wedding shenanigans are over I would be able to dedicate more of my time on research and my husband. I think there is no such thing as ‘perfect time to get married’, as it won’t just be PhD that will get in the way, whether it be post-doc, tenure track or moving interstate or even overseas to pursue your goals further down the road. It is how you make it to be. Although even when my research and marital bliss is awesome, there will be unique challenges to overcome as a PhD student or together as a married couple. But honestly, I think it’s worth it.

Life isn’t easy,

but it can be easier. The Guild’s independent Student Assist team is here to help when life and study have got you down and can provide all postgrad students with 100% confidential advice about: • Mental health, well-being and stress management • Living on postgrad student budget • Your relationship with your supervisor • Applying for a deadline extension • Deferring, withdrawing or changing courses •C omplaints, grievances and appealing the University’s decision • Your student visa or visa options after graduation • Discrimination, bullying and harassment • Emergency loans and grants • Tax assistance .... or anything else you’re worried about!

Independent advice when you need it. assist@guild.uwa.edu.au