2 -3 May 2017 · 2 -3 May 2017 #CDU_IASconf Casuarina campus 54634 Uniprint 0417 S. 1 ... 12-‐16 Speed ... world impact, within and beyond our unique location in northern Australia

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Institute of Advanced Studies

Student Researchers’ Conference2 -3 May 2017

#CDU_IASconf

Casuarina campus

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#CDU_IASconf

Casuarina campus

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Contents

Welcome from Professor Lawrence Cram ................................................ 3

Research @ CDU ....................................................................................... 4-‐5

Welcome to Country and Introductions

Aunty Bilawara Lee .................................................................................... 6

Professor Simon Maddocks ....................................................................... 6

Professor Lawrence Cram ......................................................................... 7

Keynote Presentations

Day 1: Associate Professor Inger Mewburn ............................................... 7

Day 2: Professor Cathy Robinson ............................................................... 8

Student Researcher Presentations Day 1

Opening Student Researcher Presentations .......................................... … 9-‐11

International Research Presentations ....................................................... 12-‐16

Speed Presentations ................................................................................. 17-‐25

Indigenous Research Presentations ........................................................... 26-‐29

General Context Presentations .................................................................. 30-‐33

Health, Education & Humanities Group 1 Presentations .......................... 34-‐37

Student Researcher Presentations Day 2

Opening Student Researcher Presentations .............................................. 38-‐42

Social & Emotional Wellbeing Presentations ............................................. 43-‐46

Science Presentations ................................................................................ 47-‐51

Environment Presentations ....................................................................... 52-‐55

Engineering and Renewables Presentations .............................................. 56-‐69

Health, Education and Humanities Group 2 .............................................. 60-‐64

Speed Presentations .................................................................................. 65-‐71

Program ..................................................................................................... 72-‐73

Map ............................................................................................................ 74

3

Welcome from Professor Lawrence Cram

Dear Student Researchers,

I am delighted to welcome you to the inaugural Institute of Advanced Studies (IAS) Student Researchers’ Conference.

The program is crammed full of intriguing keynote speeches, networking events, and of course, student conference presentations. I anticipate these two days will be busy, and may even be exhausting, but I hope will constitute some of the highlights of your time at CDU.

Whether you are presenting or just attending, use this opportunity to expand your network and learn as much as you can from each other. Presenting at such conferences is a chance, for some of you the first, to appreciate the process of research from your peers, as opposed to the ‘polished’ outcomes to which we are exposed from journal articles, books, and other published literature. It is also the perfect time to make connections with your CDU cohort as they will be your professional peers.

After a record number of well over 50 new research students who commence studies in 2017, the CDU higher degree research community is growing. We aspire to do all we can to support the ongoing development of the IAS student researcher community into a thriving, productive, and collaborative research hub. The IAS Student Researchers’ Conference will play an important part.

Thank you to all those involved in the conference organisation and to the presenters and attendees for your enthusiastic participation.

I look forward to hearing more about your research projects, and future endeavours in the coming days.

Best Wishes,

Lawrence Cram

Deputy Vice-‐Chancellor and President, Research and Research Training

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Research @ CDU

Charles Darwin University (CDU) is a research intensive university with outstanding performance and recognised excellence in Indigenous and tropical health, environmental science and public policy. Our research portfolio has real world impact, within and beyond our unique location in northern Australia.

The majority of CDU’s research is interdisciplinary, and conducted in the Menzies School of Health Research, the Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, and the Northern Institute. The CDU Institute of Advanced Studies (IAS) coordinates these units together with researchers in law, education, business, creative arts, and psychological and clinical sciences, and engineering.

Northern Institute

The Northern Institute (NI) delivers excellence in research and research leadership that seeks to understand development and the interactions of people, policy and place. The research and research training is consistently of high quality, relevance and a focus on outcomes that are sustainable.

NI's research and research training programs provide evidence for policy development, build capacity and respond to the needs of governments and communities in the region. This research recognizes the lives, geography and history of these places and the importance of contextualising research for the region.

The Institute's researchers are partnership focused, working with multiple stake holders to ensure outcomes meet stakeholder needs and impact positively on people's lives and opportunities in the region. The Institute demonstrates its commitment to the people and places of the region by taking a stand and leading debates on issues of importance.

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The Research Institute for Environment and Livelihoods

The Research Institute for Environment and Livelihoods (RIEL) is nationally and globally recognised as a leader in tropical savanna research in north Australia. RIEL’s research strengths in the region include biodiversity conservation, functional ecology, savanna and arid environments, water and catchments, and communities and livelihoods. RIEL works with our partners in northern Australia and the region to ensure sustainable management of these unique ecosystems. Co-‐operative research and traditional ecological knowledges are a key aspect of RIEL’s research practice. RIEL’s ‘livelihoods approach’ explores the co-‐existence between people and country, while recognising the services provided by a healthy environment.

Menzies School of Health Research

Menzies School of Health Research is one of Australia’s leading medical research institutes dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of Indigenous Australians, and global and tropical research into life-‐threatening illnesses across Australia and the Asia-‐Pacific region.

Menzies’ work addresses critical Indigenous health issues such as child and youth health and development, nutrition, mental health, substance abuse as well as chronic diseases such as cancer, kidney, and heart disease. In the Asia-‐Pacific region, Menzies’ research focuses on life-‐threatening illnesses such as malaria and tuberculosis.

6

Welcome to Country & Introductions

Welcome to Country Aunty Bilawara Lee Aunty Bilawara Lee is a Larrakia Elder, international author and workshop presenter on the wisdoms of ancient teachings Bilawara’s expertise includes:

•Welcome to Country ceremonies •Healing workshops and lectures •Cultural presentations •Smoking ceremonies

Introductions

Professor Simon Maddocks Professor Maddocks has held the position of Vice-‐Chancellor and President of Charles Darwin University since March 2014. He brought to the position extensive experience at senior levels in academia and government, and in research.

Previously Professor Maddocks was Director of Science Partnerships at the Department of Primary Industries and Regions in the South Australian Research and Development Institute, Director of the University of Adelaide’s Roseworthy Campus, and Professor of Animal Science at the University of Adelaide. Professor Maddocks also has worked in the United Kingdom and the United States.

He holds a Bachelor of Agricultural Science (Hons) and a PhD from the University of Adelaide, and was the first non-‐medical graduate to receive the prestigious Sir Robert Menzies Memorial Scholarship in Medicine. http://www.cdu.edu.au/executives/vc

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Professor Lawrence Cram

Professor Lawrence Cram is the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Research & Research Training at CDU. Prior to him joining CDU, Prof Cram served as Deputy Vice-‐Chancellor and Deputy Vice-‐Chancellor (Research) at the Australian National University between February 2004 and June 2012. His career spans more than 40 years of research in engineering, mathematics, astronomy, physics, computing and higher education policy.

Prof Cram was also Executive Director (Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences) at the Australian Research Council and Professor of Physics (Astrophysics) at the University of Sydney. He has worked as assistant Chief of the CSIRO Division of Applied Physics and as an astronomer in several institutions in the USA, Germany and France. http://www.cdu.edu.au/executives/lawrence-‐cram

Keynote Presentations

Associate Professor Inger Mewburn

Associate Professor Inger Mewburn is a research educator who has been working with PhD students for over a decade. She is currently Director of Research Training at ANU, but is better known for her work with the Thesis Whisperer blog, which has around 100,000 followers and is the most popular source of advice for research supervisors and students in the world.

Inger is known as an innovative and creative scholar, specialising in employability, digital academic practice and advanced qualitative research techniques. She is a frequently invited to give keynotes, locally and internationally, and comments in the mainstream media on research culture and education issues.

Presentation: What do employers want? Forging a fulfilling post PhD career Finding your way into a new career post PhD can be tricky. Part of the problem is the PhD is designed to train academics, but now over 60% of people leave academia when they finish. There is very little valid and reliable information and advice to guide graduates on these next steps.

In this presentation Associate Professor Inger Mewburn from the Australian National University will report on new research into PhD graduate employability and how it can inform your own career decisions.

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Professor Cathy Robinson

Professor Cathy Robinson is part of CDU’s Northern Institute and a Research Director of the Northern Alliance – a partnership between CSIRO and CDU that is building total system health around northern Australian development.

Cathy is the author of over 70 academic publications and is currently leading ~$3M program of externally funded program of work including collaborative research projects with a number of CDU colleagues.

In 2015 Cathy won the Australian Science and Innovation Forum Innovator of Influence Award in recognition of

science leadership and impact.

Cathy has also held several leadership positions within CSIRO including leading the large group of scientists which developed and implemented a strategic plan to guide and track the impact of scientists and teams working in five sites across northern Australia. Cathy has received several leadership awards that reflect her commitment to creating a high performance culture, evidenced by positive trends in h-‐index and leadership roles within her research groups, as well as external earnings and stakeholder engagement.

Presentation: Building innovation and impact through collaboration In this talk I will be focusing on how collaboration can build science innovation and impact. As scientists we often assert that we want to be innovative and collaborative. But we often approach these concepts as separate efforts or skill sets. In this talk I will argue why innovation and collaboration are not mutually exclusive and identify some key principles that can enable collaboration to ‘work’.

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Alien species invasion pathways to the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

M. Veronica Toral-‐Granda

Doctor of Philosophy

School of Environment

Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods

Faculty of Engineering, Health, Science and Environment

Alien species are the second most important reason for biodiversity loss worldwide and the most important threat to

the Galapagos Islands’ unique ecosystems. Current tourism and population growth trends have increased the number of pathways available for biological invasions, opening the once isolated Galapagos to biological invasions. Risk assessment, management, monitoring and surveillance all require detailed understanding of potential invasion pathways so that appropriate controls can be established. To this end we reviewed and collated datasets on numbers of tourists and residents, tourist vessels, their itineraries and visitation sites, alien species, aircraft capacity and occupancy, air and sea cargo and quarantine and biosecurity from six different institutions working in the Galapagos. We document the increase in the number of available pathways for the arrival and spread of alien species to and within the Galapagos, largely associated with tourism. They demonstrate that existing controls of boat-‐based tourists to the protected areas, which appear to have been relatively effective in constraining the spread of invasive species, need to be extended to land-‐based tourism, especially as the two groups mix at some sites. The datasets enable identification of strategic points on which to focus effort in an attempt to deter further biological invasions to the Galapagos Islands. Tuesday 2nd May, Opening Student Researcher Presentations @ 10:00 – 10:45am, Blue 5.1.01

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Towards a conceptualization and preliminary legal theory of traditional Australian Indigenous law: A study on its sources, scope and nature

Maria Salvatrice Randazzo


School of Law

Faculty of Law Education Business and Arts

This paper is concerned with traditional Australian indigenous constitutionalism. It includes an analysis of the legal traditions of two traditional decentralized legal orders in the Northern Territory to identify the institutional

elements and foundational principles of their respective constitutional orders. This will be followed by an endeavour to conceptualize and theorize the legal expressions of those traditional legal orders within the jurisprudential framework of natural law theory. The Indigenous legal orders being considered are those of the Warlpiri and the Yolngu. The paper contends that legitimate forms of law have existed from time immemorial in the absence of centralized power, law making authority, institutionalized legal roles and writing. The paper also contends that the conceptualization and theorization of indigenous traditional law within the jurisprudential framework of natural law theory can enhance the understanding of its nature and scope and also can lead to a better appreciation of their contemporary potential, including how they might be recognized and interpreted. The study is undertaken in the awareness that the legal orders analysed are in many aspects incompatible (at least in their ontological, epistemological and axiological principles) to western legal systems. The analysis will be, thus, guided by a research paradigm embedded in the Warlpiri, and Yolngu ontology, epistemology and axiology and elaborated within the theoretical framework of Rigney’s Indigenist Methodology, Nakata’s Indigenous Standpoint theory, Moreton’s Indigenous women’s Standpoint and Martin’s relatedness. Drawing on the contemporary legal philosophical thought on law as tradition and on political and legal pluralism, the paper rides on the flows of the nascent 21st century law literature which is starting to explore indigenous legal traditions from an analytical and normative perspective. Tuesday 2nd May, Opening Student Researcher Presentations @ 10:00 -‐10:45am, Blue 5.1.01

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Harvesting Moonlight: Visual narratives of pearling in the north of Australia and into Asia

Bronwyn Dann


School of Creative Arts and Humanities

Faculty of Law, Education, Business and Arts

Between the mid 1800’s and the beginning of the Second World War, the beauty of and desire for pearls and pearl shell enticed people from all over the world to northern Australian waters to risk their lives collecting them.

Examining a tradition of historical storytelling in visual art, Harvesting Moonlight is a visual arts project which applies the interdisciplinary areas of history, mapping, mythology and harvest of pearl shell as stimulus for creating artwork. The project borrows from stories significant to the pearl shelling industry in the north of Australia and beyond to create artworks that abstract national tropes and focus on the ebb and flow of cultural relationships with Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines. This artwork is influenced by and aims to extend on existing visual representations of pearling in Australia and beyond. Selecting symbolic motifs to use as a visual language to depict or interpret this documented history necessarily raises questions. What are the responsibilities of artists in postcolonial Australia? How is an Australian sense of nationalism built on artistic interpretations of Australian histories? How can visual storytelling reinforce, challenge or otherwise affect cultural myths or stereotypes? Tuesday 2nd May, Opening Student Researcher Presentations @ 10:00 – 10:45am, Blue 5.1.01

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Applying an ecosystem service approach to identify forest contributions to rural livelihoods in Bangladesh

Ronju Ahammad




Faculty of Engineering, Health, Science and the Environment

Forests and trees contribute to rural livelihoods through the provision of ecosystem services. These include timber, fuel wood, food, medicine and fodder to support rural livelihoods directly, while regulating climate and water flows, stabilising soil and nutrient provisions also support livelihoods indirectly. To date, there has been a greater focus on the economic valuation of forests with less on understanding the societal benefits of these ecosystem services at a landscape scale. Considering this, this research examined the relative importance of forests in terms of ecosystem service provisions (direct and indirect) perceived by local people in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) region of Bangladesh. Guided by the ecosystem service concept, I carried out interviews with 210 rural households in three locations with different proximity to forests. Half of the respondents perceived six provisioning ecosystem services were important for their direct uses -‐ fuel wood, timber, bamboo, plants and animal foods, fodder and roof thatch. The poor and middle wealth groups perceived the provisioning ecosystem services more important than highest wealth group. A high proportion of respondents living with closer proximity to forests considered provisioning ecosystem services as important for their livelihoods. Regarding indirect ecosystem services, rural people considered regulating (i.e., fresh air, water purification and control of pest), and supporting (i.e., soil fertility and soil protection) services were important roles of forests and trees. Among the indirect services, more than sixty percent of respondents perceived water purification service were related to the presence of natural forests. However a higher proportion of respondents perceived indirect services within the proximity to natural and agroforests. These perceptions indicate socio-‐economic characteristics and the locations of the rural population determine their access to forest benefits in the landscape. Drawing on the findings of the study, it is recommended that integrating diverse social needs in forest and tree management could be useful in sustaining ecosystem service provisions at landscape level. Tuesday 2nd May, International Research Presentations @ 11:15am – 1:00pm, Red 9.1.45

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Saving a thousand Islands: the efficacy of International transboundary water governance for equitable benefit-‐sharing in the Salween River.

Khami Aughterson





Benefit-‐sharing has emerged in international law as an elusive and diffuse legal concept, originating from human, environmental and economic rights with connotations of being a right, an obligation, a safeguard or a mechanism. Equity in International law is similarly elusive and broadly understood as a distribution of costs and benefits that satisfies the participants expectations. There is a need for clarity as to the nature and scope of benefit sharing and its operational link to equitable principles as an international legal concept. The concept can be found in International Water Law (IWL), where equitable and reasonable utilisation of shared water resources is a central principle (Article 5 of the 1997 United Nations Watercourses Convention (UNWC)). However, what is ‘equitable’ is not necessarily an equal portion of the resource or an equal share of uses and benefits; and the question of what is ‘shared’ in the transboundary water basin is related to its relative benefit. Consequently, the equitable use of shared transboundary waters is often at the forefront of inter-‐State, but also intra-‐state, conflict. The issues range from there being too little water or impacts from too much water (flooding), pollution, ecosystem degradation and loss of livelihoods. This thesis critically examines the efficacy of transboundary water governance, namely, water resources management regimes and water law, in addressing equitable benefit-‐sharing. Further, the extent to which alternative frameworks better operationalise equitable benefit-‐sharing such as eco-‐system frameworks (e.g. biodiversity) is also critically examined; in this instance, through the lens of Earth law jurisprudence and practice. Finally, the nature and scope of equitable benefit-‐sharing is considered in the context of the Salween River Basin in Myanmar. The Salween faces imminent transformation with the proposed cascade of dams in Myanmar and China. It is one of Asia’s longest free-‐flowing rivers, a life source to over 10 million people and supports extensive, biologically diverse and endemic species. It is also an area of high conflict. Options for transboundary water regulation for the Salween are explored; and in so doing, this thesis addresses the central question of whether there is a discernible norm of equitable benefit-‐sharing and, if so, whether its application might be effective in resolving the conflicting environmental, human and economic issues arising from any damming of the Salween River in Myanmar. Tuesday 2nd May, International Research Presentations @ 11:15am – 1:00pm, Red 9.1.45

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Participatory mapping for Marine Protected Area establishment in Indonesia: Examining its application across scales.

Pia Harkness




Engineering, Health, Science and the Environment

Participatory mapping is a key component of community participation processes in marine protected area (MPA)

establishment, particularly in low-‐income settings where marine resources are important for livelihoods. Indonesia’s commitment to rapidly increase the number and size of MPAs presents a significant challenge to marine conservation practitioners due to the time and resource intensive nature of effective community participation. An examination of the literature reveals a range of approaches to community participation and participatory mapping, reflecting different levels of participation, in MPA establishment in Indonesia. This paper investigates participatory mapping practice, and the way that it is reported on, as an indicator of community participation in MPA establishment in Indonesia. We validate published reports with field investigations and interviews with marine conservation practitioners from two contrasting case studies. Firstly we examine participation processes in the establishment of the Savu Sea Marine National Park, Indonesia’s largest MPA. Secondly, we examine participation processes aimed at facilitating communities to conserve marine resources through small, locally managed marine areas. Drawing from the strengths and weaknesses identified in these two approaches, we then propose a participatory mapping approach that can foster community participation in MPA establishment, by enabling a shared understanding of local uses of marine spaces and their importance for livelihoods. We find that the time and resources required to implement participatory mapping means that it is not feasible within the budgets or timelines of large-‐scale MPA projects. In light of the demonstrated importance of community participation for securing economic or social benefits from MPAs, small-‐scale efforts are therefore more likely to yield results. However, they are criticised for having too small an impact at the national level. An alternative approach to marine conservation in Indonesia may be to establish networks of small-‐scale MPAs, with greater local ownership, for conservation and livelihood outcomes. Tuesday 2nd May, International Research Presentations @ 11:15am – 1:00pm, Red 9.1.45

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“Is Your Cyclone Kit Ready?"

Steve Sutton


School of Psychological and Clinical Sciences


There is a remarkable persistence in the human trait not to prepare for natural hazards. Regardless of the hazard; cyclone/hurricane/typhoon, earthquake or bushfire etc.,

most people are not ready for the event when it occurs. And it seems that culture is not a big determining factor. The trend to be unready seems to exist everywhere research has been conducted.

What stands out in that research is that a suite of cognitive biases seem to strengthen procrastination and apathy while what is needed is engagement and action. Needless to say there is a rapidly growing program of research to figure out what it is that mediates a move from 'intention to prepare' to 'actually preparing'.

This project examines a unique case where an entire community was well-‐prepared for a rare but potentially devastating natural hazard: tsunami. In 2004 Simeulue Island with a population of 80,000 people was the first to be struck by the tsunami that affected communities around the Indian Ocean. On Simeulue however, only 7 people died. At the core of this remarkable phenomenon lies a culturally embedded narrative of a similar event 100 years ago which sets out the signs of tsunami advent and a recommended response. Why this highly effective DRR program has persisted on Simeulue but not in neighbouring communities subject to the same natural hazard regime is being explored in a PhD research project.

The aim is to identify the singular arrangements the people of Simeulue put in place to make the community safe, and to then determine ways to emulate that program in other populations, including in Australia. Ideal outcomes would include a means to generate adequate interest in Darwin residents to make preparations for cyclones that pose an annual threat.

This paper will present preliminary findings from two field seasons in Simeulue. Tuesday 2nd May, International Research Presentations @ 11:15am – 1:00pm, Red 9.1.45

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State centralism and neoliberalism: The way of internationalisation for Chinese universities

Bing Liu


School of Education

International Centre of Education


The predominate philosophy of internationalisation in contemporary global higher education is neoliberalism. As Jorgenson (2014) notes neoliberal agendas have influenced higher education institutions across the globe, permeating education governance at all levels of policy, funding, distribution of resources, pedagogies, assessment of performance, academic identities and many other matters. Chinese higher education reforms have attempted to make use of the conditions of globalisation and use the higher education system to promote opportunities in an increasingly competitive global environment. The Chinese government has embraced the ideas and practices of neo-‐liberalism to transform university governance. However, the government’s reluctance to withdraw from highly directed steering of higher education development can still be seen. This paper aims to explore the clash of two major governance philosophies ‘state centralism’ and ‘neoliberalism’ as they surface in Chinese higher education reforms. It draws on Chen’s concept of Asia as method (2010) to explore how the above philosophies might be leveraged and disrupted as universities promote new forms of knowledge production in Chinese universities. First, the paper explores and delineates the background and context of Chinese higher education reform, the different stages of its reforms, the confrontations experienced and the logics behind various past and present reforms. Second the paper develops a framework for understand Chens’s Asia as method within the Chinese context and the new opportunities Chen’s framing offers for theorising internationalisation. The paper concludes that China’s higher education reforms are not purely educational problems. They are also strategies of political, bureaucratic, social and historical governance. Insights from Asia as method highlight significance of starting with regional locality in understanding larger scale economic/political/social movements such as internationalisation. A dexterous equilibrium needs to be kept in mind between state centralism and neoliberalism in analysing how contemporary philosophies impact on thinking about internationalisation.

Tuesday 2nd May, International Research Presentations @ 11:15am – 1:00pm, Red 9.1.45

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Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Veterans and Schema Therapy in Recovery

Scott Bevis


School of Psychology and Clinical Sciences


For veterans suffering from mental illness, their experience is frequently complicated by issues of co-‐morbidity, chronicity, delayed onset and barriers to help-‐seeking. The issue is exacerbated further by the fact that evidence based

treatments for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) have limited effect with veterans. It is posited that the inception of the PTSD diagnosis and the way in which veterans’ mental health difficulties are conceptualised in terms of this diagnosis contributes significantly to the ineffectiveness of treatment. Traditional ways of conceptualising the problem broadly neglect contextual factors and the importance of the individual’s relationship with the military.

Considering the role of military training in relation to the psychiatric problems observed in veterans, it is posited that the process and content of training paradoxically undermines the individual’s access to self and interpersonal competencies deemed essential for trauma processing. To function effectively in the military, one must not only adopt the values and beliefs of the military, but also specific skills and methods for coping that are consistent with military doctrine. Ongoing participation in military culture and high-‐tempo activity such as deployments re-‐enforces the adoption of the soldier identity and one’s use of inculcated coping skills is essential.

Accepting the impact of relational and contextual factors on those in the military, the trauma-‐related problems that manifest in some may be best understood in terms of the Complex PTSD diagnosis. Whilst this construct incorporates the core features of PTSD, it also recognises sustained problems in areas of affect regulation, the ‘self’ construct and interpersonal functioning. The main benefit of understanding the mental health concerns of veterans in terms of the complex PTSD construct is that it facilitates theoretical grounded access to treatment approaches with demonstrable effectiveness with this construct and not currently utilised with veterans.

A review of the relevant literature is presented in addition to the research method proposed to evaluate the utility of the Complex PTSD diagnosis in assessing veterans with mental health difficulties, and the effectiveness of Schema Therapy in treating veterans with this disorder. Tuesday 2nd of May, Speed Presentations @ 11:15 – 1:00, Red 9.1.48

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Liquefied Natural Gas Development in Gladstone -‐ Risk Governance, Impact Assessment and Public Engagement

Rens van der Vegt


Northern Institute

Faculty of Law Education Business and Arts

This presentation will reflect on the results of 46 semi-‐structured interviews conducted in Gladstone and Brisbane from July to September 2016. Interview respondents (n) were drawn from diverse stakeholder groups, including: local, state and federal government (11), private industry (9),

non-‐governmental organisations (7), regional and indigenous representatives (7), peak bodies and service providers (6), research and academia (5), and the media (1). Interviews focused on stakeholder perceptions regarding environmental and socio-‐economic risks as well as on the governance process relating to liquefied natural gas (LNG) development in Gladstone.

The Gladstone region accommodates the single largest concentration of major industry and port facilities in Queensland. Since 2010, the port of Gladstone has undergone extensive expansion to facilitate the increasing coal export as well as the new development of three LNG facilities: GLNG, QGC and APLNG. Interview data suggests that a number of concerns have been expressed regarding the environmental and socio-‐economic risks that have materialised as a result of these developments. Additional concerns addressed the practice of impact assessment, a key mechanism for assessing and mitigating the impacts of development, and the ongoing governance mechanisms in place. These concerns decrease trust in governmental departments and project proponents which further impedes the perception of meaningful impact assessment and public engagement initiatives.

Therefore, the experiences of governments, industry, civil society, and the local population in Gladstone can provide important insights to inform future resource development. By identifying the perceptions on the risks and the governance mechanisms, the Gladstone case provides an opportunity to examine possible improvements to the planning, decision-‐making and regulatory framework, as well as on the proponents’ strategy to obtain and maintain their social license to operate. Tuesday 2nd of May, Speed Presentations @ 11:15 – 1:00, Red 9.1.48

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Engaging parents in school-‐based nutrition education to encourage healthful eating in children from low-‐income populations.

Lyndall Warton

Master by Research


Statement of the Problem: The direct link between childhood obesity and poor nutrition is well documented. Research provides evidence that parents can have significant influence on children’s eating patterns. It is still unclear how and at what level family involvement yields the largest impact on children’s behaviours. The purpose of this systematic review

is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of school-‐based nutrition education studies undertaken with low-‐income populations to identify effective strategies to engage parents in school-‐based nutrition education interventions. Method: The systematic review was commenced in September and October 2016, relevant databases were systematically searched and 4672 references were retrieved. Titles and abstracts have been scanned independently by three review authors. Full text copies of 223 of those articles deemed eligible for further review have been retrieved for closer examination. Articles were included if: participants were school children aged 5 to 12 years old; were aimed at obesity prevention; had family or parent involvement; and the intervention included any health promotion activity including nutrition education or nutrition promotion programs by itself or combined with other interventions. Physical activity interventions without a nutrition component were excluded. Ninety-‐two reviews were also identified and their reference lists examined to identify relevant studies that may not have been captured in the initial search. Data will be extracted by one review author and verified by a second review author. Subgroup analysis will include: program duration; degree of parental involvement; study design; theory base; age of the children; and obesity levels. Significance: The systematic review will provide information on effective ways to engage parents in school-‐based nutrition education interventions to encourage healthful eating and drinking behaviours in low-‐income populations. This evidence may help to inform policy and practice to design effective obesity prevention initiatives. Tuesday 2nd May, Speed Presentations @11:15am – 1:00pm, Red 9.1.48

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The prevalence of trauma in Nauiyu: Incorporating traditional Aboriginal healing tools in an educational setting

Gavin Morris


School of Indigenous Knowledges and Public Policy


It took little time after initial British settlement to decimate the Australian Aboriginal population. Whilst the lawful killing has ceased, contemporary colonialist practices persist through deeply entrenched socioeconomic and

political marginalisation. This thesis is designed in collaboration with the Aboriginal community of Nauiyu located on the Daly River, Northern Territory. The focus of this study will investigate the experience and prevalence of trauma, establish whether the trauma can be passed on across generations, provide an examination into the role of traditional cultural tools in healing trauma and explore whether these tools can be incorporated in a contemporary educational setting. The study will utilise a mixed qualitative and quantitative methodology which connects western and Indigenist research models, the foundation of which framed by the Aboriginal concept of Dadirri. Aboriginal people practice the deep listening of Dadirri which is a spiritual skill based on respect and an inner, still, quiet, awareness. With guidance from a community based steering committee, the operationalisation of Dadirri in this study will closely adopt a number of its key principles to ensure the research is culturally relevant, purposeful and ethical. The primary goal of this research is to benefit and serve the community through privileging Indigenous voice and world views. Conducting research in an Aboriginal community is very complex, even well intentioned research can be a source of distress for Indigenous populations. Indeed, in respect to the data collected in this research, the significance of getting the process right is considered at least of equal importance. This view does not discount the value of the stories shared, nor does it diminish the privilege the researcher feels to be placed in this position of responsibility. A responsibility to get the story right. It does, however, reflect a deep commitment to develop a research design that navigates a path of great care and respect, one guided by the Nauiyu community, of which the final story will always belong. Tuesday 2nd May, Speed Presentations @11:15am – 1:00pm, Red 9.1.48

21

What can the Gini coefficient tell us about population fragmentation and extinction risk of Bengal Florican?

Simon Mahood




Habitat loss causes the fragmentation of species populations. This elevates extinction risk, particular in species with restricted distributions. The IUCN Red List uses five criteria to evaluate and quantify extinction risk, of which criterion B

addresses population fragmentation. To assess a species’ extinction risk under criterion B, the Red List uses range-‐size thresholds and a judgment of whether or not its population is severely fragmented and undergoing either a decline or a fluctuation in the number of sub-‐populations to assign it to one of the threat categories. The Red List defines “ severely fragmented” as a situation where most individuals are in small and isolated subpopulations.

It is widely recognized that although convenient and easy to use, thresholds lack the subtlety of metrics. A wide range of metrics have been proposed to quantify fragmentation, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. Sociologists originally developed the Gini coefficient and is most often used to quantify inequality in income or wealth distribution among people. However, it has a wider range of applications and was, for instance, recently used to quantify the relative importance of small patches for Australia’s plant communities.

I present my methods and results to date on using the Gini coefficient to describe the extent to which the populations of various species, such as Cambodia’s Bengal Florican population is contained in small patches, and how that this changed over time. I hope to stimulate discussion about how this work can be applied to better understand extinction risk of species, and design appropriate conservation interventions. Tuesday 2nd May, Speed Presentations @11:15am – 1:00pm, Red 9.1.48

22

English academic literacy for Indonesian students: A case of selling and buying knowledge

Lala Bumela Sudimantara


School of Education


This study presents a critical response on the adoption of genre writing pedagogy informed by Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) in Indonesian tertiary education as part of internationalisation project between some Indonesian and

Australian universities. While It is true that the genre writing pedagogy developed by Halliday (1985); Halliday and Mathiessen (2004); Martin (1992); Martin and Rose (2008), has received international recognition especially in literacy advancement projects including in Indonesian school and university (Emilia 2006) and Ninghsih (2016), the cultural legitimacy of such pedagogy is to be questioned: why would Indonesia adopt the white teaching pedagogy that merely revitalises English language, not Indonesian or other vernacular found in the archipelago. A critical pedagogy needs to be taken to encourage the critical attitude of Indonesian. At the same time, this study seeks to examine, following Lian, Bodnarchuk, Lian and Napiza (2016), a pedagogic design that encourage students to critically interact with the text production under the framework of aesthetic experience as introduced by Ramachandran and Hirstein (1999). The analysis of students’ writing is informed by corrective phonetics (Guberina, 1972; Lian, 1980), and neuroscience (Schwartz and Kotz, 2015), and the analysis is useful to map out the students’ intonational patterns as an element of the aesthetics. Tuesday 2nd May, Speed Presentations @11:15am – 1:00pm, Red 9.1.48

23

Intimate partner violence among African-‐born women in Australia: An ethnographic research study

Sarah Ajowi



Northern Institute


This presentation discusses my PhD in progress and in particular the research method I will use to investigate the

engagement of the African-‐born women who are victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) in Darwin with the public awareness campaigns. In particular, I am interested in establishing if and how these campaigns may prompt them to seek professional assistance from the support agencies. There is a lack of recent evidence in the NT and Australia more broadly how to design and target messages aimed at creating awareness of IPV incidences and increasing the help-‐seeking behaviours among women immigrants.

The study is theoretically framed by focused ethnography, intersectionality and three models of behaviour change communication: the individual effect model, the social diffusion model, and the institutional diffusion model.

To complete and submit my thesis within the timeframe permitted by my candidature, I have decided to use focused ethnography. This type of ethnography focuses on issues and is typified by short-‐term field visits, an interest in a specific research question, a researcher with insider or background knowledge of the cultural group, and intensive methods of data collection. My data collection methods are participating in social and community events, taking of field notes, face to face interviews, and analysis of grey literature.

My fieldwork will involve two stages with information collected in stage one (interviews with professionals) used to inform the data collection in stage two (engaging with African-‐born women former victims of IPV).

The anticipated outcomes of my study are informing the design and implementation of improved communication strategies and support services with a view to increase help-‐seeking among the immigrant-‐born women who are IPV victims, sharing key findings with participants, and contributing new and original knowledge to academic literature on the role of communication strategies in encouraging African-‐born women to seek help. Tuesday 2nd May, Speed Presentations @11:15am – 1:00pm, Red 9.1.48

24

Indigenous conservation perspectives and implications for collaborations in threatened species management

Tom Duncan





Biodiversity management in northern Australia is increasingly comprised of collaborations between

indigenous landowners and western conservation managers, because this represents opportunities to improve both biodiversity outcomes and social and circumstances in indigenous communities. However, the capacity to realise such benefits can be compromised by differences in how potential collaborators perceive landscapes, biodiversity, and the relationship of humans to their environment, because this results in divergent conservation management practices and priorities.

This presentation reviews the literature relating to indigenous Australian’s perceptions of ‘country’, biodiversity and the values of plant and animal species to identify several themes likely to present challenges where the objective of a cross-‐cultural collaboration is threatened species management. Firstly, while western conservation policy, legislation and research is often species-‐focused, indigenous worldviews and land management practices are holistic and regard individual species as inseparable from the social and cultural context in which they occur. Similarly, while western conservation perspectives prioritise conservation action for rare species and emphasise the need to protect plants, animals and their habitats, indigenous perspectives generally see consumption of natural resources and human interaction with their environment as integral to maintaining the health of their environment.

Finally, western conservation practices aim to increase the populations of valued plant and animal species through management actions, but for many indigenous groups, the assumption that humans can control biodiversity levels and ‘manage’ nature is in itself contradictory. Identification of these themes demonstrates that the concept of ‘threatened species management’ is a cultural construct which may have little relevance to indigenous worldviews and ways of life, and that an awareness of alternative perspectives of conservation is crucial in the planning and implementation of future collaborations in this field. Tuesday 2nd May, Speed Presentations @11:15am – 1:00pm, Red 9.1.48

25

The Epistemology of The Gardens: A generational tapestry of governance, leadership and mentoring roles

Darryl Saylor


Batchelor Institute This research presents my story, its lived experiences through generations and through the oral histories which still impacts and causes the evolution of my ‘contemporary situatedness’, (Harraway, 1988, p. 575-‐599).

This research is directed at my family, a multi-‐cultural family residing on a property in Halifax, North Queensland. The family consisted of various Elders with various roles and strengths that extended to several generations and to various others who would come to find refuge in this place which would become to be known as “The Gardens”. In view of the impact of government legislations, the purpose of this research will show how the families established their structure of leadership, mentorship and governance and the transferal of those values onto the existing generations residing on “The Gardens”. Karen Martin (2003, p. 12) suggests in, ‘Aboriginal ways of Knowing, ways of Being and ways of Doing’, the Aboriginal worldview and central to an Indigenist framework in alignment with aspects of Western qualitative research framework’. Furthermore the research study will overview how the now modern day families now residing in urban societies, are influenced by past leadership, mentorship and governance. In addition, is that leadership still adhered to presently and how? If this leadership/mentoring style are still utilised in their current lives in modern urban society how this is transferable. The research to be undertaken must be inclusive across the families and each generation and will display sensitivity and include a mixed methodological approach. The result of the research is to celebrate a resilient family group who worked towards individuality and not to be defined by the legislation of the day. Tuesday 2nd May, Speed Presentations @11:15am – 1:00pm, Red 9.1.48

26

Challenges and rewards of mixing methods in small Aboriginal populations

Kaely (Michaela) Woods


Northern Institute


My research seeks to identify and quantify the non-‐market value of cultural activity to Aboriginal people. This value is derived from the creation of cultural capital and continuation of cultural practice which strengthens identity, critical to the

meaning and well-‐being of the lives of Aboriginal people. Using quantitative survey methods in Aboriginal communities has been shown by many researchers to require adaptation to maximize the usefulness and validity of findings . While the core method used to answer my question of the non-‐market value of cultural activity to Aboriginal people is quantitative, the embedding of this method in a holistic approach involving qualitative methods and grounded methodologies is essential to the analysis, comprehension and validity of my findings. I identified choice modelling, specifically Best Worst Scaling Case 2, as the most appropriate method to value cultural activity. In designing and employing this method in small Aboriginal populations in the West Kimberley, the need to minimize cognitive load to maximize participation and completion rates was critical. Adaptation and application of quantitative methods in small populations may be seen as reducing the statistical reliability of findings, however the richness and depth of qualitative data not only enhances the design and analysis, it also provides some means of testing the validity of the quantitative findings. In my paper I will outline some of the methodological considerations used in the design and deployment of my research in the field. While choice modelling has been used in a handful of research projects involving Aboriginal populations , some of the key lessons in comparing results point to the importance of embedding such research in grounded methodologies. Tuesday 2nd May, Indigenous Research Presentations @2:00 – 3:00pm, Red 9.2.46

27

An exploration of health rights for Indigenous patients in renal care.

Leena Suriyakumar Kesava Panicker


School of Health


The aim of this study is to explore the extent to which Indigenous health rights are recognised and realised in the context of renal care in the Northern Territory. Current renal care policies and procedures, as well as the experiences and

perspectives of nurses and Indigenous renal patients, are analysed to increase understanding of the ways in which the Australian Charter of Health Care Rights and the principles of Indigenous rights are reflected in policy and practice. The findings will inform recommendations to support the recognition and realisation of health rights for Indigenous patients in renal care policy and practice. This presentation will share and discuss the experience of conducting research with indigenous patients as a non-‐indigenous researcher and the ethical dilemmas faced through the research process. Indigenous people are the most researched and research methodologies often can reaffirm colonising practices if not designed properly (Brannelly, 2016). It is important to acknowledge the power play between the traditional research principles attached to methodology and the need to adapt methodological decisions or principles according to the researched communities’ cultural orientation and values. Consultation and collaboration are incorporated as the best practice, demonstrating the researcher's respect for Indigenous culture and values, and the ethical responsibility to ensure comfort and cultural safety for the Indigenous research participants. The researcher is supported and guided by an Indigenous Reference Group to ensure that this research project appropriately promotes the ethical advancement of knowledge, and demonstrates respect for the diversity and integrity of Indigenous cultures. It is vital to review research processes across the phases and to propose culturally sensitive revised procedures and processes as needed. Tuesday 2nd May, Indigenous Research Presentations @2:00 – 3:00pm, Red 9.2.46

28

Aboriginal children and penicillin injections for rheumatic fever: is injection pain a problem?

Alison Mitchell



Background: Children who have experienced rheumatic fever are prescribed a ten year injection regimen of slow-‐release penicillin to prevent recurrences and resulting rheumatic heart disease. Varying anecdotal beliefs are held by clinicians as to whether injection pain is a deterrent to adherence and the few global studies on children’s experiences of the

regimen have conflicting results. Injection pain for Aboriginal children who receive long-‐term penicillin injections has not been previously studied in Australia. Therefore this topic was examined in a focused ethnography conducted in four remote communities in the Northern Territory. The study was nested within a community-‐randomised trial in ten health services seeking to improve adherence to the injections.

Methods: Semi-‐structured interviews and participant observation were selected as research methods. Conduct and analysis of the study was informed through an operational lens of a decolonising stance and whiteness studies.

Results: Thirty Aboriginal children and young people were interviewed about their experiences of the injections. Sixty-‐eight clinicians who administer the injections were interviewed as part of the trial. Six themes emerged: stoic resignation to pain; neutral response; negative encounters with pain; impact on well-‐being; perceived control of pain reduction measures; inconsistent offer of pain reduction measures.

Conclusion: The Royal College of Australasian Physicians states that, although children often express that they get used to pain, it is a myth and internal responses are difficult to measure in children so great care needs to be taken. Patients expressed varying abilities to negotiate with clinicians about pain reduction measures and, although clinicians revealed good knowledge of such measures, they were not always offered. All clinicians found administering the injections distressing. Substandard practices in remote health services as well as hospitals were revealed around pain reduction measures for children experiencing repeated procedural pain. New guidelines are required to address this issue. Tuesday 2nd May, Indigenous Research Presentations @2:00 – 3:00pm, Red 9.2.46

29

Navigating Native Title

Beverley Councillor

Master of Indigenous Knowledges

Batchelor Institute

Abstract: A Journey into Navigating Native Title Native Title and its processes have often been referred to as being highly political and contentious On one level perceptions of Aboriginal traditional laws and customary practices are being questioned in courtrooms across the country. Courtrooms have become a place of intense activity for native title group factions who include judges, lawyers, anthropologists, expert witnesses and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander native title holders to provide evidence and evaluation to the court. On the 18th September 2006, the Federal Court of Australia delivered its judgment on native title to the Noongar people in Perth, Western Australia. With this thought in mind one, of the aims of my study is to answer the following question: Can a native title settlement package with economic benefits protect the rights and interests of Noongar people’s ongoing traditional culture? This question focuses on the Single Noongar Native Title Claim because of an Offer from the WA State government to resolve the claim. The Offer is considered a comprehensive settlement package which includes some of the following items; • Recognition through an Act of Parliament, • Noongar Land Estate to consist of transfer of up to 300,000 hectares as reserve land and a maximum of 20,000 hectares of freehold title, • Joint Management arrangements on Conservation, • Land and Water allowing access to crown land for customary purposes only, • Arrangements of Noongar Heritage, Economic Participation, a Community Development Framework, Capital Works Program to house the Regional Corporations. Negotiations for this package commenced between government stakeholders and representatives of the Noongar people including the South West Aboriginal Land & Sea Council in 2009 and completed in 2014. The study looks at some of the issues that impacted during the negotiations and outcomes reached. The research talks about aspects of the negotiation process from the point of view of a Noongar researcher and will include Noongar people’s knowledge, understandings, experiences, and aspirations of their native title outcomes and how have Noongar people responded to the offer. Tuesday 2nd May, Indigenous Research Presentations @2:00 – 3:00pm, Red 9.2.46

30

Influence of Photophysical Parameters on Exciton Diffusion Length and Diffusion Coefficient in Bulk Heterojunction Organic Solar

Douglas Yeboah


School of Engineering and Information Technology


One of the most efficient organic solar cells (OSCs) at present is the bulk heterojunction (BHJ) OSC, which consists of a blend of organic donor and acceptor materials as the active

layer sandwiched between two electrodes. We have derived expressions for the exciton diffusion length and diffusion coefficient of singlet and triplet excitons in organic semiconductors using Förster resonance energy transfer and Dexter carrier transfer mechanisms as functions of photoluminescence (PL) quantum yield, spectral overlap integral, refractive index and dipole moment of the photoactive material. It is found that the singlet exciton diffusion length increases with PL quantum yield and spectral overlap integral, and decreases with increase in refractive index. Likewise, the triplet exciton diffusion length increases when PL quantum yield increases and dipole moment decreases. The calculated diffusion lengths in different organic materials are compared with experimental values and found to be in reasonable agreement. The results are expected to provide insight in developing new organic materials for fabricating BHJ OSCs with better photoconversion efficiency. Tuesday 2nd May, General Context Presentations @2:00 – 3:00pm, Red 9.1.48

31

Public Installation as an alternative exhibiting space. "Potlatching"across Australia's Tropical North

Ian Hance



Faculty of Law, Education, Business and Arts Alternative methods, to the normal gallery presentation of displaying artworks, allows for the engagement and exposure of artist’s ideas to a broader public. This paper investigates the narratives behind innovative roadside

research and installation techniques. Theories of exhibition as they relate to my painting practice are discussed. This practice has included donating paintings to wayside roadhouses and hotels on the major highways across Australia’s tropical north, with no recompense and minimal conditions to the art “hosts” with whom I have developed relationships. I explore an installation practice that involves what has been called a “non-‐productive expenditure of energy “as applied to the tradition of “Australian Potlatch” and suggests nonetheless that this form of art and installation helps to build art communities not only in the context of a material presence but also in digital space through social media and the internet. Tuesday 2nd May, General Context Presentations @2:00 – 3:00m, Red 9.1.48

32

Breaking the silence: Teachers speak out about classroom behavioural problems

Anne-‐Marie Marias


School of Education


Too many teachers are struggling with students’ disengagement and behavioural problems in the classroom despite extensive research findings available to them on how to create a positive, harmonious learning environment: Why

is this so? The aim of this research was to understand the realities faced by frontline practitioners particularly in middle school in order (1) to identify the barriers that limit a teacher’s chances of success in creating a positive learning environment and (2) to search for the ‘right drivers’ and ultimately the actions, sometimes small, that as ‘tipping points ‘can lead to significant improvements in the classroom. A qualitative methodology, namely a constructivist form of grounded theory was selected for this exploratory research study in order to develop insights and create a theory for action. The goal was to capture teachers’ voice and to use my own reflections and voice in the research. It was found that the silence about classroom behavioural problems needs to be addressed through a school culture of transparency, openness and collegial support, and the importance of classroom management needs to be recognised as a major teaching skill at the teacher, school and system level. A balanced leadership approach is recommended based (1) essentially on prevention but also (2) on positive, respectful intervention through logical consequences when preventative measures are insufficient to guarantee a lesson free from student misbehaviour, and (3) on support provided to students with more challenging behaviours in order to assist them with the development of self discipline. It is the contention of this thesis that creating positive classroom learning environments is certainly achievable, and this reasonably quickly. Tuesday 2nd May, General Context Presentations @2:00 – 3:00pm, Red 9.1.48

33

Migration against the tide

Ana Vuin

Doctor of Philosophy Faculty: LEBA

Northern Institute


Many small and relatively isolated communities worldwide are suffering from population decline as a result of decreased employment opportunities, outmigration, and a perception that metropolitan areas offer more opportunities. Some of

the consequences of these trends on a global scale are ageing rural populations, stagnation of rural areas on an economic and social level, and questionable prospects for positive future developments. However, there are particular groups that migrate to different kinds of rural areas. While some of this rural migration has received attention in the academic literature, still -‐ the full diversity of drivers for rural and particularly outer peripheral migration are not yet well understood. Contemporary theories of migration and mobility may offer some insights into that diversity, but still tend to homogenize rural and remote areas and contemplate on already established reasons for migration to rural areas. The purpose of this research is to explain the diversity of experiences of migrants to depopulating outer peripheral regional areas in three countries in the context of different theories of rural migration. By focusing on rural areas which experience positive migration, although they belong to generally depopulating regions, it is possible to explore whether these ‘unexpected trends’ can be explained solely through set of already existing stereotypes, or it might be interpreted as something different? Tuesday 2nd May, General Context Presentations @2:00 – 3:00pm, Red 9.1.48

34

Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage in Indonesia: Intellectual Property Law and Transnational Law Perspectives

Dina Kariodimedjo


School of Law


This research will examine of Indonesia’s performance in protecting its intangible cultural heritage. It will do so from the perspective of intellectual property law and transnational law. The research will discuss the question of

whether Indonesia's intangible cultural heritage protection regime has been primarily driven by internal imperative or external pressures. It will discuss the implications of Indonesian legislation and policy for the past, in the present and its possible future directions. It will also briefly examine the intellectual property laws of selected countries in protecting their intangible cultural heritage, merely as a basis for comparison with Indonesia. The research will adopt a primarily normative approach. It will use combination of an empirical legal approach and non-‐legal approach incorporating empirical and comparative methods. The World Intellectual Property Organization currently uses term “traditional knowledge” to refer to cultural, indigenous or community tradition-‐based literary, artistic or scientific works, performances, inventions, scientific discoveries, designs, marks, names and symbols, undisclosed information and other tradition-‐based innovations and creations resulting from intellectual activity in the industrial, scientific, literary or artistic fields. However, traditional knowledge or intangible cultural heritage is universally recognised as a form of intellectual property, but one that does not easily fit into the western-‐based and dominant intellectual property regime. The scope of research will cover the theoretical framework, creation, implementation and administration of intangible cultural heritage legislation and policy in each of the main areas of intellectual property. In particular, the research will discuss Indonesia’s performance in the context of its membership of the World Trade Organization and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. It will examine Indonesia’s compliance with guidelines given by the major international bodies responsible for global intellectual property and intangible cultural heritage protection, such as the World Intellectual Property Organization and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Tuesday 2nd May, Health, Education & Humanities Group 1 Presentations @ 2:00-‐ 3:00pm, Red 9.1.45

35

'Data shaming'...: do we really need to 'normalise' data from skewed distributions?

Gokula Chandran



Centre for Child Development and Education

NT is multicultural with a wonderfully heterogeneous population. A survey in a city mall could include women from Yuendemu, tourists from China, public servants at lunch and the occasional itinerant looking for $2 to get home. We are not like Sweden or Sydney where 67% of the sample have similar views and opinions about things. Our diversity is unique; hence data from our survey may not fit a 'normal' distribution. But skewed data have their own story: there's no need to be 'shamed' into transforming to a Gaussian curve; no need for one mean and variance to represent everyone; and no need to be hamstrung by popular techniques such as Ordinary Least Squares Regression (OLS) that have normality assumptions. Plus transforming introduces its own problems. Quantile Regression (QR) though, allows regression in whatever shape your data comes as. It doesn't strangle diversity by regressing at a single mean value but regresses everywhere or at any chosen quantiles.

In a recent investigation of NT children we examined association of birthweight (as outcome) with the following predictors: place of origin (urban/ rural), Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) status and smoking status -‐ using both regression types, OLS and QR.

Using OLS, women from urban places were predicted to have infants 175gms heavier, on average than women from rural places. However using QR, effect of place varied: smaller infants were more affected by place than heavier infants (215 grams at 20th percentile; 150 grams at 80th percentile). ATSI status did not have a uniform effect either: the influence was bigger on the smaller infants. With smoking, the situation was reversed and smoking's effect was worse on larger infants.

Thus QR can give a more complete prediction but OLS can under-‐estimate effect on some. Tuesday 2nd May, Health, Education & Humanities Group 1 Presentations @ 2:00-‐ 3:00pm, Red 9.1.45

36

Snakes and Ladders: Narrative as Data

Barbara Morris


School of Education


This presentation investigates the notion of narrative as data and the challenges that this has for the researcher, especially if that researcher is an ‘insider’.

Personal narratives are an important source of understanding in the relationships between individuals, groups and the world they live in. The stories people recount are heavy in context: history, setting and experience both past and present. Individuals reveal their personal, social and, in this example, their professional identities in their stories which provides the researcher with data that is rich and unique. The narrators create and develop through their stories themes, plots, and drama. The resultant narrative contains choices that often reveal gaps and silences in the storied response of the individuals. The narrators make sense of themselves, of social situations and of history through their stories. When they recount their narrative the researcher can build a data picture of their storied life. The role of the researcher is complex and when the researcher is an ‘insider’, that is someone who has complete membership of the group being studied, they can potentially be conflicted by familiar knowledge. Yet it is this insiderness which provides an insight to knowledge and processes that are not always expressed to an external researcher. The relationship that develops between the narrator and the inside researcher is an important link between the stories becoming cultural and social narratives or remaining just personal stories. This presentation looks to the work of Foucault (1987), Hunter (2010), Mayne, Pierce & Laslett (2008), Polkinghorne (1988) and Riessmann (2008) in discussing the role of narrative as data. The narrative examples used in this presentation are data samples from the presenter’s study into the career progression and sense of identity of civilian partners of Australian Defence Force members. Tuesday 2nd May, Health, Education & Humanities Group 1 Presentations @ 2:00-‐ 3:00pm, Red 9.1.45

37

A constructivist grounded theory study of reformers' experiences of scaling up AL

Claire Bartlett


Centre for Child Development and Education


Scaling up literacy reform is a complex social process shaped by implementation conditions and contexts, and education reformers’ beliefs about literacy pedagogy and implementation at scale. Yet reformers’ experiences scaling

up the implementation of literacy reform are rarely examined, and no research currently exists that examines reformers’ experiences implementing Indigenous literacy reform in Australia. In order to better understand the social process of scaling up the implementation of Indigenous literacy reform I undertook an interpretive study that explored the experiences of 34 reformers involved in scaling up Accelerated Literacy (AL) in the Northern Territory. To achieve the research aims I employed constructivist grounded theory methods and the theoretical framework of symbolic interactionism to collect and analyse interview and documentary data. Scaling up AL was experienced by reformers as an evolving process that comprised six phases: 1) being in the right place at the right time, 2) encroaching into literacy spaces, 3) whipping it into full system implementation, 4) not affording for it to fail, 5) winding down and 6) remembering and forgetting. Reformers’ experiences evolved as they adapted to changing contexts and conditions. In this presentation I provide an overview of the phases of scaling up as experienced by reformers and discuss how, taken together, these phases comprise the grounded theory that explains reformers’ experiences of scaling up AL: legacies of failure and the quest to make a difference. Tuesday 2nd May, Health, Education & Humanities Group 1 Presentations @ 2:00-‐ 3:00pm, Red 9.1.45

38

Diversity in Worldviews and Approaches to Small-‐scale Manganese Mining in West Timor, Indonesia

Hannah Ling





Degree enrolled in at CDU: Globalisation and economic development have pushed many rural communities to take

on new worldviews, altering previous perspectives, values and beliefs. Artisanal small-‐scale mining (ASM) is often practised as an informal livelihood in economically disadvantaged, rural communities. Few studies have investigated the views or values of ASM miners, which are critical in understanding participation in this sector and in developing appropriate management. Small-‐scale manganese mining is a new livelihood opportunity for many rural communities in West Timor, Indonesia.

While mining improves economic development it challenges local perspectives, values and beliefs, including concepts of the sacred. Colonisation, Christianity and modernisation have impacted traditional worldviews to varying degrees in different communities over the past few centuries, leading to different reactions to mining manganese among communities, depending on their current worldview. Some communities are already heavily dependent on mining while others refuse to mine defending what they consider sacred.

This paper investigates the diversity of worldviews within communities which determine local approaches to mining, ultimately to resist or adapt to this new livelihood based on non-‐renewable resources. This study draws on ten months of fieldwork during 2016 and 2017 where semi-‐structured and key informant interviews were conducted with miners, community members, village leaders and landholders, across ten communities in West Timor.

The results, analysed using a perspectives, values and beliefs framework, show that each community represents a different approach to manganese mining based on their current worldview. Some locations mined intensively using heavy machinery, some mined manually and rehabilitated after, some mined very sensitively and in accordance with cultural law, and the others chose strongly not to mine. Local worldviews, including perspectives, values and beliefs, influence decisions on how manganese mining should occur. The diversity in worldviews and approaches highlights the importance of understanding local context to ensure locally relevant and appropriate natural resource management. Wednesday 3rd May, Opening Student Researcher Presentations @ 9:30am – 10:45am, Mal Nairn Auditorium

39

Towards climate-‐smart livestock: the role of water buffalo in increasing livelihood resilience in Central Luzon, Philippines

Jacquelyn Escarcha


Northern Institute


Water buffalo, locally known as "carabao" in the Philippines plays a critical role in the economies of smallholder farmers; improving livelihoods in view of pressing agricultural production challenges in the region. This study examines

farmer perceptions and conditions that underlie livelihood resilience possibilities for water buffalo farming households and communities that face and respond to climate-‐and other changes, in Central Luzon, Philippines. The fieldwork was conducted in Nueva Ecija province, home to many water buffalo farmers and chosen as the National Impact Zone (NIZ) for implementation of carabao development program in the country. Documentary research, key informant interviews and household surveys carried out across farming systems were used for data collection. Analysis will be based on a combination of qualitative and quantitative dataset that was gathered; exploring social, political, and economic contexts, additional to climate, as key drivers of change. In this presentation, preliminary data results will be shared. Water buffalo farming significantly contributed to the livelihoods of smallholder households: economically as primary income source, as buffer to cover unexpected household costs, as an accessible protein (milk) for the family, and as means to recover from natural disasters or insurance in case of serious crop failure. Understanding the interaction between the identified key drivers of change from farmers’ perspectives shows evidences that the role of water buffalo in providing livelihood benefits to households is enhanced particularly through their improved farming practices. The identified practices highlight the need to improve farmers' resources to enhance the ability to undertake strategies for increased livelihood resilience of smallholders against the changing environments. Wednesday 3rd May, Opening Student Researcher Presentations @ 9:30am – 10:45am, Mal Nairn Auditorium

40

Physical and functional Quality of Life of Facial Trauma Patients in the Northern Territory, Australia –A Retrospective study

Soundara Rajan Thangaraja

Master by Research

School of Psychological and Clinical Science


Abstract: Physical and functional Quality of Life of Facial Trauma Patients in the Northern Territory, Australia –A Retrospective study

Introduction:This study is a retrospective analysis along with a prospective assessment of the quality of life/ and was proposed for all patients who were treated for facial fractures (not including nasal bone fractures) in the Northern Territory for six months between 7th March 2005 and 6th September 2005. With the data from the operative log of the primary investigator, it was proposed to seek further details -‐ of the type of injury, delay to treatment, method of treatment (operative or conservative), early and late complication traced from the medical case records. A patient survey was conducted using a self-‐constructed quality of life (QOL) questionnaire by post, in person, or via telephone -‐ to assess the perceived QOL one year after treatment for the facial injury/fracture. Design and Methodology: We correlated data from primary investigator’s operative logbook with medical records and theatre records to ensure all episodes of care for facial fractures were captured for the relevant months of this Human Research Ethics Committee approved study (March-‐September 2005). Data recorded included cause and place of injury, demographic details, type of injury, injury mechanism, location and frequency of soft tissue injuries, dento-‐alveolar trauma, facial bone fractures and concomitant injuries, treatment, times to treatment and complications. Sample size:The primary investigator had preliminary data on the total number of study patients admitted and treated during the six months between 7th March 2005 and 6th September 2005. The total number of patients who visited Royal Darwin Hospital with facial fractures was 233. Participant / subject selection criteria and level of involvement All patients seen at the Royal Darwin Hospital with facial fractures (excluding nasal bone fractures) from 7 March 2005 to 6 September 2005 were included. Of these 233 patients, 36 patients participated in this QOL study. These patients were aged between 9 – 79 and the mean age was 35. There were 27 male and 9 female respondents in all. Conclusion: This study was done as a part of understanding the epidemiology and the impact of facial fractures within the Northern Territory in Australia. The results show that facial fractures cause significant changes to the individual QOL. It clearly indicates that the individual victim of such injuries require a far more intensive holistic follow-‐up. It indicates the need for a prospective study of a similar nature, to validate our current findings, and to comprehensively record the quality of life following facial fractures, from a physical long-‐term perspective. We have embarked on such a body of work now. Prospective study gained ethical approval from the relevant body and under process. Wednesday 3rd May, Opening Student Researcher Presentations @ 9:30am – 10:45am, Mal Nairn Auditorium

41

Researching for a Modern History Topic -‐ An Alternative Method

Craig Bellamy




My topic concerns the history of a secret Allied wartime unit during the Pacific War of 1941 -‐ 1945. This talk concentrates on a radar countermeasures unit called ‘Section 22’ set up in Australia by the Allies. The organisation operated

multinational and multi-‐service field units in, around and over Japanese territory (using initially primitive electronic surveillance receivers) to search for Japanese radar sites in the islands north of Australia. Researching this modern history topic is, I have learnt, unlike other types of research. This is especially because of the narrative style which I have chosen leans on the first-‐hand accounts or the memories of those that were there at the time. These accounts give the history a ‘life’. But where do you find these accounts? Are these people still around and how do I find them? With Google and the like it should be so much simpler – however, the internet and even the rise in smart phones in fact has made some aspects of this research harder. My alternative research methods will be explained in my talk. Wednesday 3rd May, Opening Student Researcher Presentations @ 9:30am – 10:45am, Mal Nairn Auditorium

42

Finding what you never knew you were looking for: the benefits of an emerging research methodology

Jennifer Macdonald





For many people, doing a PhD is a linear process of formulating a topic and hypotheses, conducting the research

through collecting data, analysing the data and then writing the results up in a thesis. For this PhD though, the processes of formulating, researching, analysing and writing cannot be clearly distinguished as discrete processes, because the processes of research have constantly informed and transformed each other. Using an emerging research methodology, I conducted research for twelve months through two case studies, working with the Yugul Mangi Rangers in Ngukurr in south east Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory and with APY Land Management in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands in South Australia. I was interested to discover values and aspirations for Indigenous Land and Sea Management (ILSM), and the ways that local people and organisation are measuring the success of their ILSM activities and programs. The method used can be described as ‘full immersion fieldwork’ which, while it has its limitations, is advantageous due to allowing a wide variety of relationships and interactions. I obtained rich data and contextual information through this full immersion fieldwork, which I captured in participant observation, conversations, interviews and field diary notebooks. In the presentation I will explain the context of each case study, followed by a description of the methodology. The description of the methodology that I used to arrive at the point of writing this thesis is fundamental to understanding how all these aspects of doing a PhD come together, as well as for realising, understanding and justifying my own position, arguments and outcomes. I will then talk about an emerging paper from the research, which looks at the costs and benefits of the bureaucratisation of Indigenous Land and Sea Management, and the consequent need for better intercultural institutions that support ILSM and Indigenous rangers. This is an important and interesting piece of scholarship that I did not plan to explore at the beginning of my PhD, but which has emerged through a commitment to inductive, open-‐minded research. Wednesday 3rd May, Opening Student Researcher Presentations @ 9:30am – 10:45am, Mal Nairn Auditorium

43

Emotional status of Indigenous and non-‐Indigenous young adults in the NT

Belinda Davison



Introduction: One in ten Australian adults (10.8%) experience high levels of psychological distress at some stage in their life. The most vulnerable are those aged 18-‐24 years (12%) and Indigenous Australians (32%). Emotional status of young adults (22-‐27 years) in the Northern Territory (NT) is presented. This overview is the first step in

examining the role stress has on emotional status of young adults. Further investigation will occur through biomarkers of stress (cortisol).

Methods: Cross sectional data from the Life Course Program encompassing two distinct but complementary cohorts; the Aboriginal Birth Cohort (Indigenous urban and remote) and Top End Cohort (non-‐Indigenous urban). Emotional status assessment occurred through the Kessler-‐5 (K-‐5), Shortened Warwick-‐Edinburgh Mental Well-‐being Scale (SWEMWS), Perceived Stress Scale, suicidal ideation and/or self-‐harm and major life events questions. These were adapted to a pictorial computerised program and used independently or assisted by a researcher of the same gender. Psychological distress was identified as K-‐5 score ≥12.

Results: Rates of psychological distress were high in remote (31.7%) and urban (35.4%) residing Indigenous and urban non-‐Indigenous (34.2%) young adults. This rate was more pronounced in young women, more so in Indigenous (47 vs 16%) than non-‐Indigenous (37 vs 29%) participants. Young adults with high psychological distress also had lower levels of positive wellbeing (SWEMWS), higher perceived stress levels, experienced a higher number of major life events and were at an increased risk of suicidal ideation and/or self-‐harm.

Conclusion: One in three Indigenous and non-‐Indigenous young adults in the NT reported high psychological distress levels. The significant association seen between psychological distress and other markers of emotional wellbeing, particularly risk of suicidal ideation and/or self-‐harm, highlights the need for a holistic approach to mental health assessment and treatment. Young adulthood is a particularly vulnerable time requiring specifically targeted programs tailored to region and context. Wednesday 3rd May, Social & Emotional Wellbeing Presentations @ 11:15am – 1:00pm, Red 6.1.03

44

Understanding Communication Difficulties of Yolŋu with MJD

Rebecca Amery

Doctorate of Philosophy

School of Health

Engineering, Health, Science and the Environment

Machado Joseph Disease (MJD) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disease affecting Aboriginal families in the Top End of the Northern Territory, and in some parts of

central Australia and Queensland. Currently, over 600 Aboriginal people are at risk of MJD, and the number of people at moderate to severe stages of the disease is estimated to triple in ten years. Ataxic dysarthria, one of the early symptoms experienced by individuals with MJD, affects their ability to use speech to meet their everyday communication needs.

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) (forms of communication other than speaking, including aids, symbols and strategies) may benefit individuals with MJD in the mid to late stages of disease, to support or enable communication participation in all aspects of life. Most Aboriginal people with MJD rely on informal and unaided modes of communication, with limited access to speech pathology services and resources, and none in their own languages. Some individuals and families have shown interest in exploring high-‐tech aids (requiring a battery) and use of mobile technology to support communication. Their interest has prompted this research which will be conducted in two phases.

The aim of Phase 1 is to better understand the communication needs and goals of Yolŋu (Aboriginal people from northeast Arnhem Land) with MJD and their communication partners. This will include exploring important aspects of communication participation, perceptions about communication difficulty, technology and the factors which impact on communication.

These findings will inform the activities of phase 2, with the aims of implementing and evaluating processes and strategies to support Yolŋu who experience communication difficulties associated with MJD. In this presentation, the research protocol for Phase 1 of this project will be presented, explaining background information, aims, methods, dissemination of findings, the timeline and anticipated outcomes from the project. Wednesday 3rd May, Social & Emotional Wellbeing Presentations @ 11:15am – 1:00pm, Red 6.1.03

45

The provenance of literacy: Reigning descriptors

Carolyn Mison-‐Smith


School of Education


Lea (2013), echoing Giroux’s concerns around operational ideologies (1983), suggests that literacy is stripped of its provenance when associated with the digital. This statement provides a trigger for an exploration into terms commonly deployed in relation to adult learning such as literacies, capabilities and competences. Literacy has long been associated with reading and writing and numeracy. UNESCO (2006) claims ‘a lead role in defining literacy’ and indicates that capabilities emerge because of literacies (p.30). Capabilities tend to align with achievements we often see described as graduate attributes and include technical and knowledge capacities as well as soft skills. Academic literacies include “writing, reading, knowledge and meaning-‐making” (Lea 2013). Competences are commonly framed as defined targets such as might be found in vocational training assessments. This presentation will explore the questions: How is terminology changing in response to the digital era? In what ways are boundaries defined? What effect does a descriptor have on the interpretation of an experience? Wednesday 3rd May, Social & Emotional Wellbeing Presentations @ 11:15am – 1:00pm, Red 6.1.03

46

Natural Disaster Risk Reduction Using Social Media: Development of An Evidence-‐based Community Engagement Model

Katelyn Rossiter




The past decade has seen a large increase in interest in social media within emergency and risk management circles. To date, the focus has been predominantly on its role in disaster response and recovery however this is quickly changing

(Anikeeva, Steenkamp & Arbon, 2014; Dufty, 2012; 2014; Veil, Buehner & Palenchar, 2011). The PhD project being presented seeks to determine how social media services (such as Facebook) provide community contexts that facilitate the social construction of disaster risk beliefs and outcomes (i.e., support DRR strategies, particularly in urban environments where communication is complicated by complex community diversity), and whether this provides ways to facilitate sustained individual and community capacity to anticipate and prepare for natural disaster events. This presentation will focus on the evolving methodology and design of this project, which has afforded the flexibility to accommodate new findings and directions. This will include discussion of some of the findings from the first qualitative study into community and emergency services natural hazard related social media use, and how this informs her new study in the flooding events in her home town Launceston, that occurred in June last year. Wednesday 3rd May, Social & Emotional Wellbeing Presentations @ 11:15am – 1:00pm, Red 6.1.03

47

Wastewater nitrogen budgets can be resolved by complementary functional gene and physicochemical methods

Alea Rose





A nitrogen budget was calculated for a wastewater stabilisation pond located in the tropical savanna of northern Australia. The calculated total nitrogen indicated a deficit between influent and effluent total nitrogen of ≈ 47 %. Nitrogen-‐isotope ratios and gas emission data in pond water suggested the total nitrogen deficit was a result of nitrogen loss as nitrogen gas. These data also showed that nitrogen cycling patterns were diel, and different between the two ponds measured. We used nitrogen gene diversity and function to explore these differences between the ponds, the diurnal patterns and the total nitrogen deficit. Denitrification (nosZ) genes and Anammox (hzsA) genes were targeted because they are involved in those steps of the nitrogen cycle that lead to nitrogen gas emission. Relative gene abundance and activity also supported the suggestion that the 47 % total nitrogen deficit was largely due to nitrogen gas emission. Most of the nitrogen gas emissions appeared to occur after Pond 1, and nitrogen removal in Pond 5 is likely associated with Anammox rather than denitrification. Wednesday 3rd May, Science Presentations @11:15am – 1:00pm, Red 9.1.48

48

Vegetation recruitment in differently aged rehabilitated patches of monsoonal vine forest in the Northern Territory, Australia

Vidushi Thusithana



Research institute of Environment and Livelihoods


Monsoon rainforests in the Northern Territory, Australia comprise many small (<5ha) patches. Coastal vine forest near Darwin is a dry monsoonal rainforest which has been severely affected by urban development and cyclones. Rehabilitation of vine forest at East Point Recreational Reserve has been ongoing with rehabilitated stands (RS) of various ages from 6 to 42 years, and a remnant community. Rehabilitation involved planting seedlings of pioneer species and advanced regeneration of climax species rely on a nearby forest remnant.

We assessed whether advanced regeneration of climax species was dispersal limited and rehabilitation using pioneers eventually converges on remnant forest tree diversity. We predicted that if the advanced regeneration in these patches was dispersal limited the patches would be dominated by planted pioneers.

We measured the species abundance and diversity of recruiting seedling and the seed rain in different aged RS for comparison with the remnant forest. In young stands pioneer species from different growth forms established easily and achieved a closed canopy. Climax species established once canopy closure was achieved.

However, even the oldest rehabilitated stand (42 years) had not begun to converge on the climax species diversity contained in the nearby remnant. This is because planted pioneers dominated the overstory for years and seeds from climax species could not disperse as readily as pioneers. Few seeds of climax species were dispersed to neighbouring stands, and it appeared that established pioneer species exert competition for space and resources, causing recruitment limitation in rehabilitated stands. Choosing ‘pioneer’ species carefully is the key to successful rainforest rehabilitation. Key words: rainforest, rehabilitation, seedling recruitment, seed rain, climax species, pioneers Wednesday 3rd May, Science Presentations @11:15am – 1:00pm, Red 9.1.48

49

Does complement protection comes at a cost? Role of complement-‐fixing antibodies in the pathogenesis of severe malaria anaemia

Damian Oyong


Medical Science


The complement pathways of the human immune system act as an essential component of the antibody mediated defence mechanism against malaria parasite invasion. However, complement activation has also been implicated in

severe malaria anaemia. We hypothesis that increase in complement activation by functional antibodies and the removal of complement regulatory proteins (CRPs) by Plasmodium infection may exacerbate the destruction of red blood cells (RBCs) and contribute to malaria induced anaemia. In this study, we investigated the relationship of complement-‐fixing antibodies with the removal of CRPs and the degree to which this makes RBCs vulnerable to complement attack and ultimately results in anaemia in both P. vivax and P. falciparum infection. Blood from 120 patients with uncomplicated and severe P. vivax (n=60) and P. falciparum (n=60) malaria were collected from patients enrolled in Papua, Indonesia and categorised as: anaemic (<8 Hb), mild anaemic (8-‐12 Hb), and non-‐anaemic (>12 Hb). Indirect fluorescence staining and flow cytometry were used to measure levels of CRPs (CD35/CR1, CD55/DAF, CD47, and CD59) on RBCs surface. Magnitude of complement activation (C3a and C5a) and complement-‐fixing antibodies targeting merozoite antigens were measured using ELISA. Expression levels of CR1 and DAF on uninfected RBCs in anaemic patients were significantly lower compared to non-‐anaemic individuals, in both P. vivax (CR1; p=0.003, DAF; p=0.005) and P. falciparum (CR1; p=0.008, DAF; p<0.001) infection. Expression of CD47, a marker that reduces phagocytosis, was 1.5 fold higher in anaemic individuals with P. vivax (p=0.048). This study is the first to fully investigate complement-‐associated immunopathogenesis in both P. falciparum and P. vivax malaria, and the interaction between complement activation, complement-‐fixing antibodies and CRPs loss will be presented. Induction of complement-‐fixing antibodies may correlate for CRPs loss on uninfected RBCs and may account for healthy RBCs destruction in Vivax and Falciparum malaria, contributing to anaemia. Wednesday 3rd May, Science Presentations @11:15am – 1:00pm, Red 9.1.48

50

Stable isotope tracer hydrology for investigation of springs in a data and resource limited environment

Penelope Godwin


Research Institute of Environment and Livelihoods


Groundwater is an important resource for rural smallholders in the wet-‐dry tropics, particularly during the long dry season when it is not possible to harvest rainwater. Understanding the mechanisms of recharge and the drivers of yield

variability in groundwater systems is key to predicting the potential impacts of changes in landuse and landcover on water availability. In un-‐gauged catchments where physical hydrological investigations are not feasible, stable isotope tracers can provide insights into relative groundwater ages and flowpaths. In Hahar district of Sumba, Indonesia, the heavy stable water isotopes – deuterium and oxygen-‐18, were used as tracers to characterise recharge mechanisms of shallow groundwater reservoirs and develop a conceptual model of springs. No-‐purge passive sampling devices were used to collect groundwater samples from un-‐cased wells and seeps and rain samples were collected in monthly composite samplers as well as manual event samples. Repeated analyses of stable isotope ratios in samples of rainfall, groundwater and spring discharge indicate rapid recharge response from springs to rainfall events. Wednesday 3rd May, Science Presentations @11:15am – 1:00pm, Red 9.1.48

51

Using histological stains to explore the structure of saltwater crocodile skin

Rhiannon Moore




Farming of the Australian saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) began in the 1980’s to protect the wild population. Since then they have become a highly valued, sought-‐after

commodity within the high-‐end fashion industry, further strengthening the role of farming in the protection of the wild population. However, blemishes on the skin are not desired or accepted by the buyer, causing the skin to be down-‐graded, resulting in loss of income for the farmer. In order to develop strategies to reduce the number of blemishes, first we must understand the structure of normal crocodile skin.

In order to determine the structure of normal skin I have examined the belly skin from standardised scale regions across 12 animals from four age groups. Using special histological stains I have visualised the different structural components of the belly skin, such as collagen, blood vessels, ground substance and elastin. By clearly being able to visualise these structures, image analysis using Fiji was undertaken to quantify these components and determining any structural change within the growth of the normal crocodile belly skin. This will enable me to determine and quantify how blemishes are different to normal skin. Wednesday 3rd May, Science Presentations @11:15am – 1:00pm, Red 9.1.48

52

Hierarchical integration of individual tree and area-‐based approaches for savanna biomass estimation from airborne LiDAR

Grigorijs Goldbergs




To fully understand the role savannas in northern Australia play in the continental carbon cycle it is necessary to estimate the carbon stock in savannas at landscape and

regional scales. Over the past decades, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging )remote sensing technology has proven efficient and accurate for the fine-‐scale estimation of above-‐ground tree biomass and carbon stocks in many ecosystems. The main goal of the current study is to find and propose the optimal procedure for the estimation of above-‐ground biomass in north Australian mesic savannas by using LiDAR remote sensing based methods.

This project established a two-‐phase procedure for using 1. estimations from individual tree LiDAR measurements as training/reference data for 2. the area-‐based LiDAR approach estimators to create the allometric equations related to LIDAR metrics. The two-‐phase procedure can be applied in remote areas, where road networks are non-‐existent or sparse, with a goal to minimize the costs and a large amount of field measurements, as is required for the area-‐based approach.

The availability of a robust approach for measuring carbon stocks in savanna vegetation provides an opportunity to enhance landscape-‐scale fire management through carbon sequestration in living vegetation / biomass, in ‘savanna burning’ projects. Wednesday 3rd May, Environment Presentations @ 11:15am – 1:00pm, Red 9.1.45

53

Forest gardens reduce the economic and ecological vulnerability of farming enterprises

Kamal Melvani





Farming enterprises that include forest gardens are under threat in several tropical countries. In Sri Lanka, however, farmers continue to adopt forest gardens because they reduce the economic and ecological vulnerability of farming enterprises. This study investigated why farmers value forest gardens. The ecological (area, numbers of plants and crops, plant and crop diversity), and short and long term financial (profit, profitability and financial efficiency) values of forest gardens were assessed and compared with other on and off farm livelihood components in 30 farming enterprises in the intermediate agroecological zone. On farm incorporated land uses such as forest gardens, paddy fields, cash crops, plantations, seasonal crops (chenas) and livestock, while off farm included trading, employment and welfare. Data were collected from 2013-‐2016 using mixed methods, and accounting protocol was used in financial analysis.

This study revealed that forest gardens had the highest numbers of plant and crop species of all land uses. Forest garden area and crop diversity were higher than paddy and cash crops, while plant diversity was greater than paddy and chenas. In the short term, they were the most financially more efficient, generated higher profit than all land uses except chenas, and more profitable than paddy and plantations. In the long term, trees in forest gardens were biological assets easily converted to cash in a family emergency or to buffer losses in other components of the enterprise.

Despite their value for forest gardens, farmers needed to maintain a diversified portfolio of on and off farm livelihood components in their enterprises because they provided household with continuous access to food, immediate cash flow and the capacity to cope with rainfall variability and other stressors. Forest gardens make a strong contribution to farming enterprises in Sri Lanka that behooves other tropical countries to conserve this valuable land use. Wednesday 3rd May, Environment Presentations @ 11:15am – 1:00pm, Red 9.1.45

54

The Conservation Ecology of the Alligator Rivers Yellow Chat (Epthianura crocea tunneyi)

Robin Leppitt



Research institute for the Environment and Livelihoods


My presentation will provide a summary of the research I plan to do over the course of my PhD.

The conservation of a threatened species is most effective when the ecological requirements of that species are well researched. The Alligator Rivers Yellow Chat (Epthianura crocea tunneyi) is a small, insectivorous passerine found on the floodplains of Rivers between Darwin and Oenpelli. Despite its listing as endangered in 2006, the taxa remains critically under researched with just two published surveys and one paper. This study aims to greatly expand the ecological knowledge of the Alligator Rivers Yellow Chat to aid in its conservation and understand the reasons for its rarity.

This study will investigate the habitat use, breeding ecology and major threatening processes to the Alligator Rivers Yellow Chat. A thorough and methodical search of its historical range will provide a current estimation of the subspecies distribution whilst also estimating its population. Surveys of randomly stratified habitat will compare sites where chats are found to where they are not, quantifying their habitat requirements. The study will investigate the timing and location of breeding and measures of fecundity such as clutch size fledgling success. Through fieldwork surveys, remote sensing and historical vegetation and fire records, the threatening process affecting the Alligator Rivers Yellow Chat will be identified and prioritised. A comparison of the Alligator Rivers Yellow Chat to its two other subspecies will aim to identify differences in inhabited climate, ecology and physiology that may explain its poor conservational status. Collaboration with Indigenous Traditional Owners will identify their relationship with the taxa and also explore how they believe Chat habitat should be managed.

Finally, the ecological data collected in this study will be analysed to identify practical and cost-‐effective management strategies to conserve the Alligator Rivers Yellow Chat. Wednesday 3rd May, Environment Presentations @ 11:15am – 1:00pm, Red 9.1.45

55

Something fishy in the shallows: Understanding the use of underwater video cameras for monitoring fishes in tropical wetlands

Bryan Baker



Research Institute for Environment and Livelihoods


Underwater video cameras are commonly used in marine environments to sample fish, but have been infrequently

used in freshwater environments. Undertaking fish sampling in tropical, shallow, vegetated billabongs is inherently difficult, with challenging environmental conditions, remoteness, complexity of habitat and safety issues. This presentation will explore a component of my PhD, and will examine the relationship between the density of aquatic plants and fish abundance detected by video cameras. The abundance and species richness of fish were sampled in three shallow billabongs in Kakadu National Park, and the density of macrophyte species at each camera location was quantified. The results will further the understanding of using video cameras in challenging conditions and selecting appropriate techniques for sampling in tropical wetlands. Wednesday 3rd May, Environment Presentations @ 11:15am – 1:00pm, Red 9.1.45

56

To determine cohesive energy, formation enthalpy and electronic structure of chromium carbides by first principle calculations.

Anindya Ganguly

Masters by Research



In the present study, the electronic structure, bonding properties for the stable forms of chromium carbide bulk phase like Cr3C2, Cr7C3 and Cr23C6 are investigated by

means of the first-‐principles pseudopotential method using the DMol3 software. Moreover, the chemical bonding in these carbides are interpreted by calculating the density of states, electron density distribution and Mulliken charge analysis. Thermodynamic properties like cohesive energies and enthalpies of formation are compared with the data available in literature for different phases of chromium carbide. The cohesive energies and enthalpies of formation for Cr3C2, Cr7C3 and Cr23C6 phases has been calculated as -‐30.67, -‐55.01, -‐145.77 eV and -‐0.86, -‐1.32 eV and -‐2.56 eV respectively. For both Cr3C2 and Cr7C3 bulk phases, triangular prisms are observed with C-‐atoms occupying their centres. For Cr3C2, in the prismatic sites, depending on their position the Cr-‐atoms share corners and prism lengths of different prisms where as in case of Cr7C3, at the prismatic sites, the Cr-‐atoms only the share corners of different prisms. At the fermi level, the total density of states for C (graphite), Cr, Cr3C2, Cr7C3 and Cr23C6 are 0.2, 1.5, 14.5, 13.5 and 83.0 electrons/eV. The DFT energy gap for C (graphite), Cr3C2, Cr, Cr7C3 and Cr23C6 systems are found as 0.003 eV, 0.003 eV, 0.000 eV, 0.044 eV, and 1.361 eV respectively stating the trend of metallicity of these systems at the Fermi level. In case of Cr3C2, Cr7C3 and Cr23C6, strong covalent interactions between Cr-‐atoms and C-‐atoms are indicated by the electron density maps. The strong covalent and metallic interactions indicate the trend of rigidity of the stable phases of the bulk chromium carbide. Wednesday 3rd May, Engineering and Renewables Presentations @2:15 – 3:30pm, Red 6.1.03

57

Optimisation of Photocurrent in Bulk Heterojunction Organic Solar Cells using Optical Admittance Analysis Method

David Ompong




The optical admittance analysis method allows one to calculate the optical properties of any multilayer structure, such as thin film solar cells, which consist of a few thin layers.

The optimised thicknesses of the active individual layers in organic thin film solar cells are obtained using optical admittance analysis method. We have used optical admittance analysis method to simulate the optical properties of two bulk heterojunction organic solar cells of: 1) poly(3-‐hexylthiophene):1-‐(3-‐methoxycarbonyl)-‐propyl-‐1-‐phenyl-‐(6,6)C (P3TH:PCBM) and 2) poly[[4,8-‐bis[(2-‐ethylhexyl)oxy]benzo[1,2-‐b:4,5-‐b']dithiophene-‐2,6-‐diyl][3-‐fluoro-‐2-‐(2-‐ethylhexy) carbonyl] thieno [3,4-‐b] thiophenediyl]]):1-‐(3-‐methoxycarbonyl)-‐propyl-‐1-‐phenyl-‐(6,6)C (PTB7:PCBM) blends. The optimal thicknesses of 75 nm and 115 nm of P3HT:PCBM and PTB7:PCBM blend layers, respectively, are obtained by maximising the absorbance in these layers through this simulation, which agree very well with experimental results. The simulated short-‐circuit current density (Jsc) is plotted as a as a function of the active layer thickness for a few selected thicknesses of the aluminium cathode in these two solar cells and it is found that the short-‐circuit current density becomes maximum when the thickness of Al cathode is 40 nm. By optimising the thickness of the two solar cell structures, one can increase the short-‐circuit current density of the solar cell with P3HT:PCBM active layer by 4.8% and that with PTB7:PCBM by 13.3%. Wednesday 3rd May, Engineering and Renewables Presentations @2:15 – 3:30pm, Red 6.1.03

58

Impact of microclimatic conditions on households’ electricity consumption in the hot and humid tropical climate of Darwin

Shokhida Safarova





Urban density increase contributes to increase in urban heat island effect that in turn impacts electricity consumption of households. This study presents microclimatic data and electricity consumption of 36 households from December 2015 to January 2017 collected in Muirhead and Lyons suburbs of Darwin. The energy consumption data was collected at 30min interval. Microclimatic data was recorded at 30min interval by weather station installed in Muirhead suburb. Household size and occupants’ behaviour data was collected through survey. Muirhead, designed with parallel streets, has 16.9 lots per hectare in dense area with minimum area of 450m2. Lyons, designed in cul-‐de-‐sac style, has 14.4 lots per hectare with minimum area of 525m2. Muirhead weather station recorded the maximum air temperature of 38.48°C on 21.04.2016 and the minimum air temperature of 14.13°C on 5.08.2016. The average daily household consumption on 21.04.2016 was 31.97kWh in Muirhead and 35kWh in Lyons. The average daily household consumption on 5.08.2016 was 13.5kWh in Muirhead and 20.35kWh in Lyons. Houses were divided by lot areas into three categories: small (450-‐610m2), medium (611-‐710m2), and large (>710m2). In Muirhead, three-‐member household had maximum average daily consumption of 63kWh in the ‘wet’ and 44kWh in the ‘dry’. In Lyons, the same type of household had maximum average daily consumption of 66kWh in the ‘wet’ and 58kWh in the ‘dry’. In Muirhead, average daily consumption during the ‘wet’ was 10.67kWh/person in houses situated on small lots, and 11.40kWh/person in houses situated on large lots. In Lyons, average daily consumption was 11.31kWh/person in houses situated on small lots, and 12.67kWh/person in houses situated on large lots. Increase in lot density and decrease in lot area did not show significant impact on total energy consumption of households in this study. This research is continuing and other factors have to be analysed for final conclusion. Wednesday 3rd May, Engineering and Renewables Presentations @2:15 – 3:30pm, Red 6.1.03

59

Investigation of the cause of underground corrosion in vertical structures and development of an analytical model to predict the corrosion rate

Ranjith Kumar Selvamani

Masters by Research


North Australian Centre for Oil and Gas


Corrosion has been an ongoing problem and plays a significant economic role in the capital and maintenance

costs of both developed and developing nation’s assets. Underground corrosion is one form of corrosion which causes heavy damage to various industries worldwide. Underground corrosion is very complex in nature and it is very dynamic since the micro environment surrounding the structure varies over time. Underground corrosion is mainly caused by water content, presence of oxygen, soil properties (pH, resistivity, particle size distribution and soil stratum), soluble salts (chlorides, sulphates and carbonates), microbial activity and stray currents. Extensive research has been carried out in underground corrosion over the last five decades. However, the results are not easily transferable to other locations because underground corrosion is specific to the micro environment and the complex nature of interactions between the multiple factors mentioned above is not well understood. Steel is the most widely used metal in any industry and the corrosion damage caused by underground corrosion is enormous. In this research, the focus will be on the investigation of the major factors causing underground corrosion in vertical structures and the influence of oxygen aeration cell in underground corrosion. This research has two main goals. Firstly, it aims to ascertain the causes of the underground corrosion and the influence of oxygen aeration cell formation on underground corrosion. Secondly, it will explore the possibility of developing an analytical model which is expected to predict the corrosion rate of vertical structures (Ex. steel piles) for a given soil and environmental conditions. A survey of literature has indicated the major factors causing underground corrosion in various structures (ex. Steel) and the experimental tests to determine these factors. Besides, through literature survey, standard experimental protocols and the instruments required for the experiments have been identified. An analytical model will be developed which use experimental results as inputs and may help in predicting the corrosion rate. Wednesday 3rd May, Engineering and Renewables Presentations @2:15 – 3:30pm, Red 6.1.03

60

Motivational Factors for Knowledge Sharing using Pedagogical Discussion Cases: Students, Educators, and Environmental Factors

Narumon Sriratanaviriyakul


School of Engineering and IT


This research examines the motivational factors which affect the knowledge sharing among university students through the use of pedagogical discussion cases in and out of the

classroom. The research identifies three such factors, namely the individual level (students’ prior knowledge, experience and self-‐efficacy), the lecturer level (lecturer prior knowledge, experience and characteristics of trust and fairness), and the environmental level (course context and diversity in team structure). The research was conducted on undergraduate business students enrolled in an online course (n = 103) and analyzed using multiple regression, a questionnaire was administered to the students and data analysis was conducted. The results of the analysis demonstrated that the students’ prior knowledge and experience, the lecturer prior knowledge and experience, and the course context positively influenced the level of knowledge sharing. In addition, the analysis demonstrated that the students’ self-‐efficacy, the lecturer characteristics, and the diversity in team structure have no significant influence on knowledge sharing. The implication of the study is that lecturers need to promote the students the importance of knowledge sharing as well as understanding their subject and cultivate a positive course context and learning environment to encourage knowledge sharing among the students. Wednesday 3rd May, Health, Education and Humanities Group 2 Presentations @ 2:15– 3:30pm, Red 9.1.45

61

An interactive and visual dietary assessment tool for use across cultures

Sarah Whalan



Introduction: Poor nutrition is a major risk factor in the development and progression of preventable chronic disease. Accurate assessment of nutrition is a challenge in all populations. In Indigenous populations, this is compounded due to the additional challenges of language and concepts of quantity, making gathering of specific serves and portion

sizes difficult. As a consequence, new and more appropriate approaches need to be developed. Methods: The Top End Nutrition Board was developed and administered with Aboriginal and non-‐Indigenous adults aged 22 to 27 years belonging to the Aboriginal Birth Cohort and Top End Cohort studies. Participants completed the Top End Nutrition Board followed by an Automated Multiple-‐pass Method (AMPM) 24-‐hour dietary recall. Food group consumption was compared using several aspects of validity including Spearman’s correlation coefficients, ranking ability and weighted kappa statistics. Food group consumption was assessed based on the previous 3 days. Results: Of the 569 participants (443 Aboriginal and 126 non-‐Indigenous adults) seen during the 2013-‐2015 wave of follow up, 342 participants (60%) (248 Aboriginal and 94 non-‐Indigenous adults) completed the Top End Nutrition Board. Of these, sixty-‐five participants (19%) (45 Aboriginal and 20 non-‐Indigenous) also completed a 24-‐hour dietary recall and were included in the validity analysis. There were no statistically significant differences in food consumption estimates between both methods for all food groups. On average vegetables, fruit and grain-‐based foods fell below recommendations, while discretionary foods were consumed in excess. Conclusion: The Top End Nutrition Board appears to be valid within acceptable limits of a 24-‐hour dietary recall in the assessment of food group consumption in these two cohorts. It provides a quick and acceptable method for estimating consumption of food groups. Based on food group intake, both Aboriginal and non-‐Indigenous participants fail to meet the 2013 Australian Dietary Guidelines. Wednesday 3rd May, Health, Education and Humanities Group 2 Presentations @ 2:15– 3:30pm, Red 9.1.45

62

Critical factors in the establishment of a sustainable accountancy profession in Timor-‐Leste

Simon Morris


The Northern Institute


This research contextualises the Timor-‐Leste accounting profession to map the path it must take to meet the International Federation of Accountants’ definition of a sustainable accounting profession.

As no previous research has been undertaken in Timor-‐Leste, this study identifies what lessons can be learned from the literature, the steps that developing countries might take to strengthen the educational sector, the necessary legislative infrastructure to create a sustainable accountancy profession, and the attitudes of the stakeholders towards the creation of a sustainable profession and educational sector. This research may have a wider application regionally. The theoretical framework is informed by New Institutional Theory, which has identified that change can be instigated by government to maintain political and social legitimacy through governments creating a professional and academic accountancy infrastructure. The sustainability of an accounting profession relies upon accountants, their employers, the government and the community that will benefit from them, the educational providers that will supply their recruits and provide professional development. The different classes of stakeholders’ perspectives will assist data triangulation. In this qualitative study the limited number of initial interviewees necessitated snowball sampling. Semi-‐structured interviews have been most appropriate. The data will be used to identify the pathways to a culturally appropriate sustainable accountancy profession. An initial review of the Timor-‐Leste accountancy profession identified that qualifications ranged from professional qualifications to attendance certificates. Skills recognition and acquisition, a regulatory structure, engaged government, educational, commercial and professional sectors are the building blocks that create sustainability. The business community’s and government lack of understanding, especially the revenue collection agencies, of the benefits of producing financial accounts as a management tool and a means to promote transparency and accountability, and the poor numeracy skills of school leavers and university graduates are limitations. New Institutional Theory may be amended by Deficit Theory when applied to Least Developed Countries. Wednesday 3rd May, Health, Education and Humanities Group 2 Presentations @ 2:15– 3:30pm, Red 9.1.45

63

The experiences of Indigenous higher education students in online learning: Findings and implications from an EDR study

Alison Reedy


Northern Institute


The participation and success of Indigenous students in higher education in Australia has been increasing over the past decade, but continues to lag significantly behind the non-‐Indigenous population. This is reflected at Charles

Darwin University (CDU) where the Indigenous course completion rate is 18% lower than that of all higher education students (CDU Annual Report 2015). CDU is predominantly an online university, with over 90% of all higher education unit offerings online reliant, yet there is little known about how Indigenous higher education students experience online learning or how the online environment impacts on their engagement or success. This presentation summarises the findings drawn from an Educational Design Research (EDR) study where yarning was used as the principle data collection method. The study investigated the experiences of online learning of 19 Indigenous higher education students at CDU who were enrolled in a range of disciplines. Six main themes were identified that impacted on the students’ experiences of online learning: mode, access, identity, relatedness, content and curricula, and pedagogy. The findings are discussed in terms of the implications of these six themes on the unit level design of online learning environments. Recommendations are also made in relation to the six themes at the course, university and federal government levels. The findings of this study provide an evidence base that can be used to guide practical change and enhancement of online learning environments for the benefit of Indigenous higher education students. Wednesday 3rd May, Health, Education and Humanities Group 2 Presentations @ 2:15– 3:30pm, Red 9.1.45

64

The Voice of Reason: An Examination of Nurse Related Adverse Events Subject to Coronial Inquiry within Australia (2001 – 2013)

Mel Underwood


School of Health


This research constitutes the first Australian study to explore nurse-‐related, adverse events resulting in death and subsequently investigated by the Coroner. As nurses

represent the largest group in the health care workforce providing 24 hour care in diverse settings, they are in a key position to contribute to influencing factors around improving patient safety. Using a Human Factors approach, the study provides an in-‐depth exploration and interpretation of the nature and frequency of nurse-‐related, adverse events resulting in death. The HFACS model provides a framework to categorise and analyse active and latent errors at each level of a system. The overarching intent of utilising this approach was to develop an understanding of the individual contribution to error; and, organisational and structural factors impacting on patient safety. Part one of the study comprised document analysis of Coroner’s Inquest findings from Western Australia, Northern Territory, South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland for the years 2001 to 2013. Findings that included nurse-‐related adverse events resulting in death of the patient were included for the analysis. Part two comprised selected individual cases plotted diagrammatically as a trajectory of error and described from an organisational, structural and individual perspective. James Reason’s theory of accident prevention, including his Swiss cheese model (1990), provided a conceptual framework for the study and underpinned the chosen Human Factors Analysis and Classification (HFACS) methodology. This study was undertaken to develop an understanding of nurses’ contributions to adverse events resulting in death and subsequently investigated by the coroner. It is anticipated that by developing this unique understanding of error in healthcare, that strategies can be developed and put in place to reduce clinical errors and consequently improve patient safety. Wednesday 3rd May, Health, Education and Humanities Group 2 Presentations @ 2:15– 3:30pm, Red 9.1.45

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Developing undergraduate research and inquiry in English language teacher education programs in Indonesia

Wakhid Nashruddin


School of Education

Faculty of Law, Education, Business and the Arts

The current era of globalisation and increased accountability is changing the ways in which universities all over the world “do business” (Christensen & Eyring, 2011). This includes processes which concern themselves with meeting

international quality standards of higher education teaching programs. Terms like “higher education reform” or “curriculum renewal agenda” (Barrie, Hughes, & Smith, 2009) are used to describe the processes which universities all over the world develop in order to comply with international achievement standards, bring in global dimensions and, in general, make their degrees internationally comparable and competitive. Indonesia is part of this global reform. It is expected that it will serve to improve national competitiveness and counter the possibility of negative effects from globalisation (Soejatminah, 2009, p. 72). The invisibility of the clear articulations with the Indonesian Qualifications Framework (IQF) in English language teacher education research and, especially, an absence of an integrated approach to the development of the culture and practices of research pedagogy in English language teacher education programs, together, illustrate a serious capacity gap in the Indonesian academic sector. This study will investigate the impact of the critical learning opportunities that it will facilitate for academic staff in English language teacher education programs to engage with the IQF and to build competence and confidence in developing sustainable and empowering research and inquiry pedagogies in English language teacher education programs. Wednesday 3rd May, Speed Presentations @ 2:15 – 3:30pm, Red 9.1.48

66

From explanatory frameworks to thinking tools: Taking a second look at developments in educational research

Widya Pertiwi


School of Education


This presentation questions the intentions of educational research and the expectations in which it is embedded. In other words, what does educational research hope to find out and why? Is it to know “what works and when”? Is it to

objectify the students to the point that teacher could manipulate them just like tiles in a jigsaw puzzle to “get things right”? What frames of thinking or what concepts justify these expectations? What concept of reality underpins these studies and the hopes that inform them? Or is it just an unfounded dream that drives this research for its own sake and with no specific purpose in mind?

This presentation, largely based on texts that are critical of research in general and of research in education specifically, will examine these questions which are rooted in concerns expressed by Professor Gary Thomas, University of Birmingham, who describes the research culture in education as introverted, unadventurous and obsessed with “what-‐is” and “what has-‐been”, thus “collectively excluding the raw light of new ideas”.

The questions about research methods and methodology are important to Indonesian scholars due to the increasingly higher standards in the higher education sector that are being demanded globally, including in Indonesia. Garry Thomas’ critique of research in education is troubling considering that Indonesia follows Western models as cases of best practice. Implications to Indonesian context are drawn in the form of questions that are being followed up in a doctoral study in the School of Education. Wednesday 3rd May, Speed Presentations @ 2:15 – 3:30pm, Red 9.1.48

67

Polar coded modulation technique for next generation wireless communication systems

Mohammad Hanif




A recent study by Cisco shows that the global mobile data traffic grew 74 percent in 2015. It is also predicted that, 75 percent of the world’s mobile data traffic will be video by

2020. It is almost impossible for conventional cellular systems (3rth and 4th generations (3G,4G)) to cope with this high growth of data traffic. Hence, implementation of a new and higher speed cellular system is vital. It is expected that, the fifth generation of cellular system (5G) will be deployed by 2020, which will be based on massive number of antennas at base stations and user terminals. There are difficulties of using large number of antennas such as the cost and high power consumption due to radio frequency chain. In order to deal with this problem, spatial modulation (SM) for multiple input multiple output (MIMO) transmission system is recommended. However, SM cannot protect the information from noise and unwanted interference due to vulnerability of wireless channel. In this research, a highly efficient error protection technique for SM-‐based MIMO transmission system is presented. This is conducted by utilizing polar codes recognized as the most recent advanced channel codes for correcting different types of error appeared during transmission of the information. Understanding this error correcting technique will contribute to optimise other constituents of the massive MIMO transmission system for the optimum delivery of wide range of services proposed in 5G standard. Wednesday 3rd May, Speed Presentations @ 2:15 – 3:30pm, Red 9.1.48

68

Storying pedagogy for in-‐between spaces

Greg Williams`


Northern Institute


‘The strength of stories is in how well they can convey the contradictions and endemic uncertainty of any person’s duties.’ (Frank 2016: 20)

Narrative plays a central role in professional practice in the in-‐between spaces. As a teacher, an important aspect of this is the way some stories – what I’m learning to call ‘companion stories’ inform and shape my pedagogical practice. These ‘companion stories’ are narrative guides that accompany me and help me to make sense of what can be a complex professional life. Having worked in ‘in-‐between’ educational spaces for a while, storying has for me, emerged as a central task in performing pedagogies that are appropriate for these spaces. What do I think I mean by storying? How might a methodology emerge from a more thorough exploration of a storying method and what it can mean? I want to pose these two questions and tell you a story about how I am coming to understand some answers. Wednesday 3rd May, Speed Presentations @ 2:15 – 3:30pm, Red 9.1.48

69

The Quartet of towering B's in piano Music: Why Bartók is not as well-‐known as Bach, Beethoven and Brahms

Helen (Kasztelan) Chapman


School of Education


This paper will consider ways in which to examine and refine approaches to teaching and learning Bartók’s ‘atonal’ piano music. Bartók, 1881-‐1945, is one of the major composers of the twentieth-‐century (Gillies, 1993) yet, despite the

inclusion of his piano music in Australian piano syllabi, it is not as well-‐known as the keyboard repertory of Bach, Beethoven or Brahms. One of the reasons is that Bartók’s musical language is derived from the folk music of Eastern Europe (Somfai, 1996); another is his interest in atonality (Antokoletz, 1984), an avant-‐garde trend in Western art music. A fervent Nationalist (Kovacs, 1993), Bartók is also considered the ‘Father of Ethnomusicolgy’ (Nelson, 2012) because he was one of the first musicians to travel, collect, and transcribe authentic folk music. Bartók first discovered the Eastern pentatonic foundation for much Hungarian folk music during a collecting tour to Transylvania in July and August in 1907 (Gillies, 1990, p. xix), though his interest in Hungarian folk music soon expanded to include ‘the ethnic musics of the many minorities within the [Austro-‐Hungarian] empire’ (Gillies, 1993, p. 4). An outpouring of works for piano in 1908 was preceded by his appointment as professor of piano at the Budapest Academy of Music in January 1907. The four volumes of pieces For Children and the Ten Easy Pieces from 1908 were written with a pedagogical purpose in mind. Bartók stated that the collection For Children was written ‘in order to acquaint the piano-‐studying children with simple and non-‐Romantic beauties of folk music’ (Suchoff, 1993, p. 129) and the Ten Easy Pieces were written as a ‘complement’ to the ‘difficult’ Bagatelles (Antokoletz, 1993) ‘to supply piano students with easy contemporary pieces’ (Suchoff, 1993, p. 126). Reference will be made to Bartók’s Ten Easy Pieces, within the context of organising a literature review. Wednesday 3rd May, Speed Presentations @ 2:15 – 3:30pm, Red 9.1.48

70

Students’ Perception of Green Finance in Bangladesh

Maxim Rahman



Green finance has increasingly received attention since the increased level of awareness among environmentalists towards the negative impacts the country is facing due to global warming and climate change. There has been a paradigm shift in the intellectual community adopting a more sustainable growth framework conserving the

environment and the ecosystem. Green financing has emerged as an alternative and sustainable financing system and financial institutions are perceived to be the most influential agent that can positively influence the industrial sector. The aim of this paper was to find out the perception of university students about green financing. By using a survey, a total of 100 questionnaires from final year undergraduate students were collected. The results demonstrated that there is a satisfactory level of awareness among students regarding green finance as around 93% of the respondents confirmed their acquaintance with green financing activities. However, further analysis of the survey result demonstrated that 45% of them think the promotional activities are inadequate and 69% think that corporations don’t actively take green initiatives as corporate social responsibility. Two of the main barriers to financing in green projects are high interest rate (23%) and people’s unawareness of green finance schemes (21%). The finding of this survey has a subtle yet profound implication, suggesting that the university students, who will be the new generation of policy makers, are well aware of the green movement and acknowledge the initiatives. Furthermore, the idea that current promotional activities on green finance is inadequate implies that in coming decades, the country will see more awareness building programs and promotional activities. Wednesday 3rd May, Speed Presentations @ 2:15 – 3:30pm, Red 9.1.48

71

Patterns in bird assemblages of central Australian river red gum woodlands

Erin Westerhuis





River red gums (Eucalyptus camaldulensis subsp. arida) are the dominant tree found along the ephemeral watercourses

of central Australia and are considered key-‐stone species that provide important shelter, nesting and foraging sites to many arid zone birds. As highly mobile fauna, birds are able to cover large distances in search of resources and can exploit a variety of habitats within their range. Never-‐the-‐less there seems to be a distinctive bird assemblage which is characteristically found in riverine woodlands. These assemblages are usually comprised of colonial honeyeaters, parrots and other hollow nesting species, small canopy feeding insectivores and medium to large omnivores. This project seeks to test if these assemblages are predictable and consistent through space and time within riverine woodlands while the bird communities in neighbouring plant communities change seasonally. The results of this research will increase our understanding of the importance of river red gum woodlands for birds in central Australia. Wednesday 3rd May, Speed Presentations @ 2:15 – 3:30pm, Red 9.1.48

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Institute of Advanced Studies Student Researchers’ Conference Program

Day 1: Tuesday 2nd May, 2017 8:00 – 8:45am Breakfast and registration (HDR Students and Supervisors)

Mal Nairn foyer 9:00- 9:10am Welcome to Country by Aunty Bilawara Lee

Mal Nairn Auditorium 9:10 – 9:20am Introduction by Prof Simon Maddocks (VC) &

Prof Lawrence Cram (DVC-RRT) Mal Nairn Auditorium

9:20 – 10:00am Keynote Speaker A/Prof Inger Mewburn ( The Thesis Whisperer) Presentation: What do employers want? Forging a fulfilling post PhD career Mal Nairn Auditorium

10:00 - 10:45am Opening Student Researcher Presentations Mal Nairn Auditorium

10:45 – 11:15am Morning tea Red 9 Foyer

11:15am – 1:00 pm

International Research Presentations Chair: A/ Prof Natasha Stacey Red 9.1.45

Speed Presentations Chair: Prof Karen Gibb Red 9.1.48

1:00-2:00pm

Lunch Red 9 foyer

2:00pm – 3:00pm Indigenous Research Presentations Chair: Dr Jillian Marsh Red 9.2.46 (Boardroom)

General Context Presentations Chair: Dr Gemma Blackwood Red 9.1.48

Health, Education & Humanities Group 1 Presentations Chair: Prof Isabelle Skinner Red 9.1.45

3:00-3:30pm Afternoon tea in Red 9 foyer and make your way to CDU Theatre

3:30pm onwards Spun-style “Stories from the Other Side” CDU HDR Students & Alumni talk about their PhD Journey Followed by canapés and drinks and dancing (if you wish)!

CDU Theatre & Foyer (Orange 3)

Please note that the program may be subject to change. To view the latest program, see the conference website iassr-conference.cdu.edu.au

73

Institute of Advanced Studies Student Researchers’ Conference Program

Day 2: Wednesday 3rd May, 2017 8:30am for 8:45am start 8:45 am – 9:30am

Keynote Speaker Prof Cathy Robinson Director, Northern Australian Research Alliance Presentation: Building innovation and impact through collaboration Mal Nairn Auditorium

9:30-10:45am

Opening Student Researcher Presentations Mal Nairn Auditorium

10:45- 11:15am Morning tea Mal Nairn Foyer

11:15am – 1:00 pm

Social & Emotional Wellbeing Presentations Chair: A/Prof Simon Moss Red 6.1.03

Science Presentations Chair: Prof Lindsay Hutley Red 9.1.48

Environment Presentations Chair: Prof Stephen Garnett Red 9.1.45

1:00-2:15pm

Lunch – including Comedian Amy Hetherington “Silliness can keep you Sane” Mal Nairn Auditorium Foyer

2:15 – 3:30pm Engineering & Renewables Presentations Chair: A/Prof Krishnan Kannoorpatti Red 6.1.03

Health, Education & Humanities Group 2 Presentations Chair: Prof Peter Kell Red 9.1.45

Speed Presentations Chair: Prof Lisa McManus Red 9.1.48

3:30-4:00pm Afternoon tea Mal Nairn Auditorium Foyer

4pm onwards Presentation of prize/s and Closing Prof Lawrence Cram

Mal Nairn Auditorium

Please note that the program may be subject to change. To view the latest program, see the conference website iassr-conference.cdu.edu.au

Enquiries: [email protected]

74

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2 -3 May 2017 · 2 -3 May 2017 #CDU_IASconf Casuarina campus 54634 Uniprint 0417 S. 1 ... 12-‐16 Speed ... world impact, within and beyond our unique location in northern Australia