Image: Ingrid Hunter.
INAUGURAL BACHELOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(PHB) SYMPOSIUM
P R E S E N TAT I O N A B S T R A C T S
6.00–8.00pm
26 August 2016
Lecture Theatre 2 - Manning
Clark Centre, The Australian
National University
Possibilities for innovative Native Title mapping
Mia Sandgren (PhB CASS)
Maps are subjective creations, often used to the advantage of a State. Maps were used to dispossess
Australia’s Indigenous peoples in 1788. In 1992, Native Title made maps a tool for repossession. Yet,
Native Title forces Indigenous people to represent their values with a usually inappropriate, Western
tool. To accurately represent indigenous values using maps, a new understanding of what constitutes
a map is required. In addition, technology is required to produce defensible maps of “fuzzy” values and
store data in an accessible format. Sound participatory methods are necessary to involve Indigenous
people in the mapping process. Ethical issues and the nature of indigenous knowledge, spirituality
and land ownership need to be considered. While this sounds like a mammoth task, I argue that
we have all the technology, information, understanding, expertise and experience required to make
this transition. That is, Australia is ready for innovative native title mapping. We now need to engage
Indigenous people, mapping experts, technicians and legal experts in the creation of innovative
maps. Barriers to this process, in particular the current legal paradigm and the interest of the State in
repressing native title, must be overcome.
How can playing ‘molecular Lego’ help us to understand the malaria parasite?
Lachlan Arthur (PhB Science)
ANU College of
Arts & Social
Sciences
Each year there are approximately 200 million cases of malaria recorded, with almost a million
associated deaths. Most deaths in humans are caused by the Plasmodium falciparum parasite, which
is most effectively modelled in mice using the rodent malaria parasite Plasmodium chabaudi. Clustered
regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR associated systems (Cas) have
been found to provide bacteria and archaea with adaptive immunity against viruses and plasmids
by using CRISPR RNA to guide the silencing of invading nucleic acids. CRISPR-Cas9 systems have
consequently been modified by biologists for use as a genome editing tool. This study designs
and constructs a system that is able to generate P. chabaudi lines that express high levels of green
fluorescent protein throughout their life cycle. By then producing transgenic P. chabaudi parasites, it is
hoped that the function of this parasite can be better understood.
Diagnosing Bottled Stars
Adrian Hindes (PhB Science)
Nuclear fusion has the potential to provide virtually limitless clean energy
for the future. Fusion plasmas can be at temperatures on orders equal to
or greater than that of the sun, so a significant hurdle in the development
of such a reactor is the use of accurate, non-intrusive “passive” diagnostic
techniques to understand plasma behaviour. A computer model of an
advanced coherence imaging spectroscopy system is explored, and the
viability of using simultaneous spectral broadening phenomena (Stark and
Doppler) for recovery of electron density and temperature information from
the plasma is found to be quite accurate. This development has extremely
useful applications in specifically the divertor region of fusion tokamak
reactors, and in experimental linear plasma magnetic mirror devices.
Chemical Keyrings
Todd Harris (PhB Science)
This research examined a new family of molecular structures that I’ve
coined ‘keyrings’. These molecules consist of a main ring, onto which some
number of key-shaped structures are threaded. At the end of these keys
are repulsive charges, which cause these structures to arrange themselves
in a wide variety of interesting and unexpected ways. These types of
molecular structures have not been synthesised yet, but given the current
interest in catenane molecules (of which keyrings could be considered
a subcategory) it is only a matter of time before they are synthesised.
Keyrings have potential applications as molecular machine parts.
Digital disruption in the academy
Oliver Friedmann (PhB CAP)
With the advent of social media and the global connectivity revolution,
our ability to communicate ideas and knowledge has been transformed.
Most institutions have adapted and developed significantly in response.
Universities have not. Digital disruption is transforming the academic
world. Traditional academia is a becoming obsolete. And young students
are starting to get bored. Maven is a youth media platform that produces
written, video and event content in the hope of reigniting youth passion
for learning and redefining the way that academia is perceived in both
education and in public discourses. The buzzword around conversations
related to digital disruption and academia is impact. Through community
events, public engagements and commentary, dialogue between university
and high schools and a more active voice from our academics, we are
able to shape the way universities are perceived and thus transform their
educational impact into something that is more socially responsible.
Writing Wrongs: Women and the Glass Ceiling of
Literature
Rosalind Moran (PhB CASS)
Women’s Fiction, Women’s Writing, and Literature are often defined as
separate categories. Yet why is this case? What makes a book ‘girly’?
By examining the categorisation of books by genre, the way in which
they are marketed, and the accolades they receive, prejudices can be
detected within the spheres of writing and publishing. Indeed, the way in
which stories are told is influenced by a particular set of values celebrating
men and masculinity as the norm, and as being superior to expressions
of femininity. Consequentially, unless these values are acknowledged and
addressed, both men and women are likely to carry on judging stories—
often unconsciously—depending on gender as opposed to inherent
quality.
Poking at Vibrations in Crystals
Kay Song (PhB Science)
Phonons are quanta of lattice vibration in solids, a little packet of energy
associated with excitations in a system. They have very interesting
properties due to their quantised energy levels and this project explored
the phonons present in crystals of quartz and aluminium. These samples
were investigated using the technique of inelastic neutron scattering using
PELICAN, a time-of-flight spectrometer, at ANSTO in Lucas Heights,
Sydney, using neutrons produced by the OPAL nuclear reactor. The
project provided valuable data of the distribution of phonons in the quartz
and aluminium crystals, which are often used as sample holders and
calibration standards on neutron scattering instruments. These materials
have never before been measured on PELICAN and the data would assist
with research on materials that have high temperature superconducting
potentials or exhibit frustrated magnetism, which are all exciting new
advances in the field of condensed matter physics.
Chemical weavings and coloured nets
Benjamin Thompson (PhB Science)
Just as threads can weave together to form fabric, chemical nets can
interweave with each other to form materials. Metal organic frameworks
(MOFs) are a class of compounds rich with examples of structures
containing interwoven nets. These compounds are not only studied for
the geometry and topology of their structures, but also for their diverse
potential of applications such as gas storage and separation. One way
to gain a deeper understanding of MOFs is to analyse the symmetry of
how the different components of their structures cross over each other.
By doing so it becomes possible to classify such ‘weavings’ up to a given
complexity, and hence enumerate the most basic weavings one may hope
to create in the laboratory. We write a program that carries out such an
enumeration for certain families of nets, and illustrate its output for square
nets both in the Euclidean and hyperbolic plane, as well as for weavings
involving hexagonal and triangular nets.
Gifted Underachievement: Causes and Interventions
Jessy Wu (PhB CASS)
Giftedness is generally seen as a precipitate to superior academic
performance. Therefore, the spectre of the gifted underachiever leaves
educators scratching their heads. Despite being widely observed - a
Victorian inquiry found that up to 50% of gifted students do not perform
at the level of which they are capable—the underlying causes of gifted
underachievement are not well understood. In this report, I integrate
evidence collected from interviews and from a literature review to devise
a schematic for understanding gifted underachievement. I argue that
giftedness is distinct from the ability to achieve. Instead, the development
of gifts into talents is a continuous process, which can only occur if
certain intrapersonal and environmental catalysts are present. With this
understanding, I evaluate interventions schools use to reverse this trend,
and analyse why certain elements of the interventions are particularly
effective. I find motivation, the influence of peers, and self-esteem
to be particularly important catalysts. Following this, I make several
recommendations as to how we can optimise learning environments to
ensure these catalysts are present.
Walt Whitman’s Civil War Poetry: Transcendentalism …
or Jingoism?
Harry Dalton (PhB CASS)
Walt Whitman’s poetry was one of the preeminent cultural reflections on the
American Civil War. Researching the way Whitman’s style evolved from his
pre-war poetry into the verse he wrote during the war allowed me to trace
the level of stylistic continuity between the two periods, and to see the
effects of the war on Whitman’s political beliefs and his poetic philosophy.
My paper explores the way in which the war-poetry illustrates Whitman’s
evolution as a poet, comparing the patriotism and militaristic enthusiasm
Whitman seems to preach during the war with the Transcendentalist style
of his earlier antebellum poetry. This gives insight into the impact that war
has in both a personal and a cultural context. Further, it shows the complex
role literature plays in representing war while also acting as an ongoing
textual discussion of the merits, demerits and implications of conflicts.
Above all, it demonstrates the contradictory attitudes war is capable of
engendering within individuals.