ANU Student Works

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Open Access
2016 ANU Student Research Conference Proceedings
(Canberra, ACT : The Australian National University, 2016-07-14) Australian National University. Student Research Conference; Pearce, Dierdre
The second ANU Student Research Conference, held in Manning Clarke Centre over the 14-15 July 2016, showcased the work of almost 100 undergraduate, Honours and postgraduate coursework students as presenters, reviewers, photographers, graphic designers and conference organisers, supported by staff from across the university. The conference included students from every academic college, research from academic programs and co-curricular experiences, and workshops hosted by the ANU Learning Communities which addressed postgraduate scholarships, developing a digital profile, research careers beyond the ivory tower and research through creative practices such as music composition and speculative fiction. The conference was supported through funding from the Student Services Amenities Fee (SSAF), the Student Extracurricular Enrichment Fund (SEEF) (administered by PARSA, the Postgraduate & Research Students Association), Pro-Vice Chancellor (University Experience) Professor Richard Baker and Dean of Students Associate Professor Paula Newitt.
Open Access
Activity Recognition in Videos with Segmented Streams
(The Australian National University, 2019-06) Cai, Zixian; Gould, Stephen
We investigate a Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) architecture for activity recognition in short video clips. Applications are ubiquitous, ranging from guiding unmanned vehicles to captioning video clips. While the employment of CNN architectures on large image datasets (such as ImageNet) has been successfully demonstrated in many prior works, there is still no clear answer as to how one can use adapt CNNs to video data. Several different architectures have been explored such as C3D and two-stream networks. However, they all use RGB frames of the video clips as is. In this work, we introduce segmented streams, where each stream consists of the original RGB frames segmented by motion types. We find that after training on the UCF101 dataset, we are able to improve over the original two-stream work by fusing our segmented streams.
Open Access
Building Medical Leaders
(Australian National University, 2016-07-14) Wilder, Christopher
Professionalism and Leadership is one of the four themes underpinning the ANU Medical School curriculum. Legal and ethical considerations are addressed before moving to professionalism in the work place and teamwork. The chance to learn the skills and attributes that underpin leadership would further equip students and aid the development of the next generation of medical leaders. The clinical environment is one that demands leadership from key individuals, yet these individuals are trained and promoted predominantly based on clinical acumen without consideration of their leadership ability, nor is there structured support for its development. The aim of this project was to build and implement a Medical Leadership Program for the ANU Medical School. The author, a student of the ANU Medical School, took part in the ANU Vice Chancellor’s Student Leadership Program. The skills developed during the Vice Chancellor’s program were applied to the process of building a Medical Leadership Program (MLP) for the ANU Medical School (ANUMS). Key stakeholder’s were engaged in the process of program design and development, and a structure and timeline for a pilot program was agreed to by all parties. Funding sources were identified and established, a candidate selection criteria and process was developed, and program promotion began. The ANUMS MLP was launched as a pilot program in March 2016. The launch of the MLP by the ANUMS seeks to build the next generation of medical leaders for the ACT. Successful transition from a pilot to an established program will be dependent on program success and support.
Open Access
Characterisation of graphene modified carbon fibre reinforced poly-ther-ether-ketone (PEEK) substrates and examination of the mechanical enhancements
(Australian National University, 2016-07-14) Larkin, Thomas; Compston, Paul; Notley, Shannon; Stokes-Griffin, Christopher
Thermoplastic (TP) materials are of increasing use in high performance composite applications. When manufactured from pre-preg form into a laminate structure, these composites exhibit the properties of high-strength and high-stiffness. Further improvements in the mechanical properties of these materials is very desirable, since this could result in weight reductions and strength optimizations for products using TP composites. Graphene is a nanomaterial which is well-known for its exceptionally high strength to weight ratio and Young's Modulus. This paper will discuss the process of coating and characterising graphene coated carbon fibre-PEEK composite substrates. Additionally, the mechanical properties of graphene reinforced carbon-fibre PEEK composites manufactured using a heat press will be examined. The graphene particles were deposited from an aqueous based suspension onto the carbon fibre-PEEK pre-preg fibre tapes by way of a spray coating procedure. Typically, the tapes were plasma treated to increase the surface energy (improve wetting of the suspension) prior to deposition of the graphene. The coating was characterised using scanning probe microscopy. The enhancement of mechanical properties due to the presence of graphene on the fibre pre-preg will be discussed.
Open Access
Click, Print, Fire: 3D Weapons and the Arms Trade Treaty
(Australian National University, 2016-07-14) Catalán Flores, Alex
On 3 June 2013, countries united to sign the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) in an effort to combat illegal arms transfers and also regulate legal arms transfers between countries. The ATT provides an unprecedented regulatory framework which encompasses previously unregulated military materiel such as combat aircraft and battle tanks. However on 3 May 2013, exactly one month earlier, a new threat emerged when shots were fired from the world’s first entirely 3D-printed plastic polymer firearm – The Liberator. On 12 May, two Daily Mail journalists printed a copy of The Liberator and smuggled it past airport-style security. Despite this threat, 3D firearms are not mentioned in either the treaty negotiations or the final treaty text. This paper analyses whether the legal architecture provided by the ATT can address the three main challenges posed by 3D printing: firearms, components, and digital design files. This paper reviews the ATT through the lens of international disarmament law and international institutional law, analysing commentary from superior international courts and eminent legal scholars. Ultimately this paper posits that while the ATT adequately addresses 3D-printed firearms, it creates a legal void in the space of 3D-printed components and digital design files, meaning that weapons can still be transferred by sending them component by component or by sharing the original design file online. A solution is possible within the current parameters of international law, but this will depend on states’ willingness to give proactive legal powers to the ATT’s primary institutional organ – the Conference of States Parties.
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Co-Creativity: Reflections, Insights and Impact
(Popsicule, 2023) Singhal, Isha
Co-Creativity can be a wonderful method of collaboration that brings across ideas from very diverse walks of life to create a truly unique solution for purpose. These videos are created as a collaboration between Scaffolding Cultural Co-Creativity Project and Engaged ANU. They aim to highlight student experiences on co-creation with senior researchers. Each student has had a very different journey, but each project had one thing in common: It was unexpected. Co-Creativity challenged each student to create something they wouldn’t have even considered before.
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Comedy for Conservation: Exploring the effectiveness of humorous videos in raising awareness about climate change
(Popsicule, 2023) McKenna, Emilie
In a time when environmental issues and climate change science are becoming increasingly essential yet difficult to understand, effective communication and education methods are crucial. As such, I created a short nature documentary that employs anthropomorphism and wordplay humour to explore the impact of climate change on Australian animals. This is a creative tool for engaging audiences with wildlife conservation and climate change science. My SCOM2006 project explores how a nuanced relationship between anthropomorphism, humour and science communication can allow for an enjoyable and relatable science communication product addressing a broad online audience that can be used to communicate the impact of climate change, why it is important to know about it and ultimately advocate for positive change.
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Correcting Critter Misconceptions with Comics
(Popsicule, 2022) Rehn, Emma
Comics have great potential as science communication tools, with most research to date has focused on comics in educational settings with some work on comics for public engagement with science. This project builds on a growing field of research into humorous comics for science communication, particularly when combined with social media to increase audience reach. — This project is a series of eight standalone comics, each presenting an animal science fact which corrects a common misconception. The intended audience for the project is English-speaking users of Instagram and Twitter, specifically users willing to engage with comics. The comics in this project have been designed to require no prior knowledge of science, allowing any users of either platform to engage with these comics for both education and enjoyment.
Open Access
A critical report of Multidimensional Social Learning
(The Australian National University, 2020) Xiao, Xinyue
Open Access
Developing a Framework for the Assessment of the Australian Research System
(Australian National University, 2016-07-14) Patajo, Albert
The aim of this research was to develop a framework for the holistic assessment of the Australian research system. Through the identification of indicators and the presentation of data from metrics that encompassed these indicators, this research presented an accurate portrayal of the performance of the Australian research system. This research was developed in response to the Boosting the Commercial Returns from Research report that was presented by the Australian Government in 2014. The current assessment tools are fragmented and do not provide a holistic approach to the evaluation of the Australian research system. Indicators are used to provide a quantifiable analysis of the research system. The indicators used in this research project were: resourcing, quality, engagement, return on investment and responsiveness. These indicators had been identified by the Department of Education and other Government research. Research was conducted through data-mining available databases and through data request from organisations. This data was presented against the OECD average in order to determine how Australia was progressing internationally. The quality of Australian research is stronger than the OECD average, with Australian research receiving more citations per publication and publications per researcher. However, Australia should improve on resourcing its research system through an increase in investment in research to remain competitive, as well as providing incentives for industry collaboration and research commercialisation. This research made several key recommendations based on improving research evaluation frameworks and data collection. The collection of sufficiently robust data will ensure that future frameworks are able accurately assess the Australian research system.
Open Access
An Economic Analysis of the Sharing Economy: A Case Study in Uber for Taxis
(The Australian National University, 2020) Xiao, Xinyue
Uber is one of the most representative enterprises in the sharing economy has attracted the attention of many people. Lots of research have analyzed the economic analysis of Uber, especially on social welfare. In this essay, it analyzed the sharing economy digital platforms (Uber) in terms of the economic impact. This essay also provided some new information and insight about the Uber for taxis.
Open Access
The Economics of Nationalism
(Australian National University, 2016-07-14) Agarwal, Vishesh; Zhang, Tong
Nationalism as a relatively new but powerful force has received extensive study in political science and sociology with the view that for better or worse, nationalism provides the ideological foundation for political consensus in a country, based on which policies are made and implemented. However, the study of nationalism has received little scrutiny from economists as an economic rationale behind nationalistic behaviour has remained ambiguous. Building on Lan and Li (2015), this paper tests the economic framework linking nationalism and economic openness with its claim that ceteris paribus, greater economic openness in the form of increased foreign trade leads to falling nationalism within countries. With ever-increasing globalisation characterised by increasing foreign trade and capital openness, its consequences on the changing nature of nationalism is of vital significance. Using World Values Survey data to construct a nationalism index for regions in India and China, the paper employs OLS regression techniques as well as instrumental variables, to show that the relation between nationalism and economic openness is weaker than that shown by Lan and Li. Similarly weaker results are found between nationalism and economic openness using fixed effects estimation on cross country data for over 30 countries showing that greater economic openness has been accompanied by greater nationalism in a majority of nations in the past decade. The paper concludes by highlighting some other factors which might account for this increasing nationalism as well as
Open Access
The Effect of Female Social Status on Human Stature Sexual Dimorphism: Evidence of Self-Domestication?
(The Australian National University, 2016-07-14) Gleeson, Ben
Charles Darwin noted that domesticated mammals share multiple traits when compared to their wild ancestors. These shared characteristics are known to occur following breeding selection against aggression. Domesticated traits are also apparent in modern humans when compared to earlier Homo sapiens, which has led researchers to propose that a form of human ‘self-domestication’ has occurred. One of three hypotheses proposed to explain this process suggests that human females preferentially selected against aggressive male partners. Over time, this would lead to lower aggression, as well as other domesticated traits across our species, including reduced body size difference (dimorphism) between the sexes. In all human populations mean male stature is always greater than mean female stature, however, the relative magnitude of stature sexual dimorphism (SSD) varies. In order to test the hypothesis that self-domestication was effected through female mate choice, this study examines whether elevated female social status (hence higher female capacity to exercise mate choice) is associated with lower levels of SSD in different human populations. To do so, SSD data were compared with selected statistically-coded variables from the Ethnographic Atlas (a cross-cultural sample of 1267 societies). Linear regression models were used to assess correlations between SSD and variables associated with female social status. After controlling for world region and latitude, matrilineal property inheritance remained a significant predictor for lower SSD. This result may lend weight to the hypothesis that female mate choice was a contributory mechanism in human self-domestication, however, further empirical investigation is required.
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Enacting Innovation: Classics Meets Science Communication
(Popsicule, 2023) Barnes, Sarah
Sarah’s “Enacting Innovation” poster series is a creative science communication project: an artistic, visual interpretation of the interdisciplinary ‘classics meets scicomm’ conference “enacting innovation” (organised by dr tatiana bur and dr anna-sophie jürgens) which brought together academics from classical studies, science communication and pop culture studies to think about how objects were and are technologically animated in theatrical contexts, both as ideas in text and as realities in production, from classical antiquity to the present day.
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Episode 10: Xenotransplants - Human-Animal Organ Transplantation
(Popsicule, 2023-05-30) Richards, Isabel; McCarthy, Ella
Welcome to our 10th Episode of Sci_Burst, where we delve into the horror-coded topic that is Xenotransplantation. Yep, you heard us - we're talking fiction and realities of human and animal organ transplants! Explore with us from classics like H.G. Wells' The Island of Dr. Moreau to modern masterpieces such as Margret Atwood's Oryx and Crake. Though this is our 10th episode, it is our first one to touch properly on Medical Science, so get keen.
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Episode 11: Queer Science - Depictions in Fiction & Beyond #HappyPride
(Popsicule, 2023-06-22) Richards, Isabel; McCarthy, Ella
Join us as we dive into depictions of queerness in science, both in sci-fi & beyond! We chat about what types of media have great LGBTQIA+ characters, what identities are depicted, and why this representation isn't more prevalent in mainstream media. We also chat about the blossoming movement to queer science, and particularly to queer science communication! The future is bright!
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Episode 12: Street Art & Science Engagement
(Popsicule, 2023-07-07) Richards, Isabel; McCarthy, Ella
Our exciting Uncharted Territory episode on science and street art has officially dropped! Listen to explore the mathematical, technological and environmental (solarpunk may make an appearance) genres found in science-themed street art. Using examples from Australia and around the globe, we discuss street art's potential as a highly accessible avenue for science communication.
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Episode 13: Mars, Space Colonisation & Board Games
(Popsicule, 2023-08-19) Richards, Isabel; McCarthy, Ella
Happy Science Week 2023! And happy episode 13! Bring your ears along for a discussion on humanity's current Mars endeavours and space colonisation themes... in board games
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Episode 14: Elemental Stories
(Popsicule, 2023-09-30) Richards, Isabel; McCarthy, Ella
The elements - a scientific concept that emerged from natural philosophy and alchemy - permeate pop culture to the nth degree. In this episode, we discuss chemistry's roots, science and magic, and the colourful portrayals of the 'classical' elements in contemporary pop culture. Join us in exploring the wonderful metaphors that come with these representations and what they say about our understanding of science - from Pixar's "Elemental" and "Avatar: The Last Airbender" to "Potion Permit" and Pokémon"!
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Episode 15: What makes a Hero? Science in Comic Characters
(Popsicule, 2023-10-30) Richards, Isabel; McCarthy, Ella
Our penultimate episode of season 1 is now here! Listen to learn all about the (science and technology) formulas that make superheroes and supervillains in popular comic universes. This episode is being released as part of the National Film and Sound Archives’ science and film night on the 1997 adaptation “Batman & Robin” — an event featuring yours truly!

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