Undergraduate Research in Australia

First Australasian Conference of Undergraduate Research (ACUR)

The first Australasian Conference of Undergraduate Research was held at Macquarie University in Sydney on 20th September 2012. This one-day conference included poster presentations and spoken papers by undergraduate students from all disciplines and from across Australasia. The conference follows successful undergraduate research conferences in America (NCUR – now in its 29th year) and in the UK (BCUR – now in its 3rd year).

What is an undergraduate research conference?

An undergraduate research conference is just like any other academic conference but each presentation is delivered by undergraduate students presenting work they have done either as part of their course or as part of an internship.

Briefing the volunteerrs the day before Morning tea in the foyer of Y3A Poster presentation

ACUR 2012 SPOKEN presentations

Click on the titles below to read the abstracts.

	Stream 1 W6D Lotus Theatre	Stream 2 X5B T1 Theatre	Stream 3 W5A Price Theatre	Stream 4 Y3A T1 Theatre Morning presentations
8:30 – 9:00	Registration For ALL Presenters (in W6D Lotus Theatre)
9:00-9:40	Welcome by Prof Angela Brew & Introductory Speech by Prof Mick Healey on “International Perspectives on Undergraduate Research and Inquiry: Nature and Vision” (in W6D Lotus Theatre) Watch the opening address
9:40-10:00	Should an alternative conscious state assessment be taught to undergraduate paramedic students? Christian Winship, Monash University	Guarding Against Crime: Real-Life Cases of Australian Guardians Zarina Vakhitova, Griffith University	Mediating Weeping Woman: A live/digital performance study Kate Maguire-Rosier, Macquarie University	Too White to be Black, too Black to be White: an exploration of Aboriginal identity in contemporary Australian cinema. Sarah Henderson, UTS
10:00-10:20	The value of the cranial-caudal mammographic view in breast cancer detection: a preliminary study Phuong Dung Trieu, University of Sydney	How does law based community service learning benefit community and academic stakeholders? Hamish Clift, QUT	Speaking the Blue Mountains Rhiannon Hall, University of Wollongong	Performance in the construction of religious identity Lydia Gore-Jones, Alexandra Wrathall and Natasha Langley, Macquarie University
10:20-10:40	An investigation of the experiences of radiologists participating in Multi-Disciplinary Breast Cancer Teams Samantha Alcantara, University of Sydney	“All In A Day's Work”: An Exploratory Study of Workers’ Experiences of Therapeutic Intervention with Suicidal Clients and Clients Who Went On To Commit Suicide Maria Chan, UNSW	"Silence here you're not allowed to speak"- theatre and identity in reunified Germany Emily Collett, Macquarie University	We are what we know: the role of language in the social identity of Italo-Australians Mary Giordano, La Trobe University
10:40-11:00		Driving Errors in School Zones: Observing the Influence of Traffic Light Intersections. Bree Gregory, Macquarie University		“Her is going to bed now”: Investigating input-based explanations of why children produce non-nominative subjects Cory Bill, Macquarie University
11:00-11:30	Morning Tea (30 min) In Y3A Foyer
11.30-11.50	The Tomb of Memi: A New Approach to Research, Learning and Teaching in Egyptology and Archaeology Nicole Leong, Macquarie University	The Transmission of Gesture: The Effect of Modelled Actions on Gesturing and Task Performance in a Spatial Direction Context. Elizabeth Austin, Macquarie University	A Compact Spectrograph to Search for Extrasolar Planets Carlos Bacigalupo, Macquarie University	Soft as Silk and White as Snow: Feminism, Mythology and “Affect” in Eliza Keary’s “Little Seal-Skin” Sarah Kelly, Monash University
11:50-12:10	An Encounter with the Australian Navy in Australian Indigenous Rock Art Jessica Viney, ANU	The Impact of Nicotine on Goal-Directed Behaviour Andreea Heriseanu, Macquarie University	Shock waves in dense interstellar clouds Andrew Lehmann, Macquarie University	The Fires of Passion: Simile and Emotion in Ovid's 'Metamorphoses’ Gabrielle Gillmer, ANU
12:10-12:30	Jews and Judaism in The History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria Annie Thompson and Alex Thompson, University of Sydney	Cultural Influences on Remembering and Reminiscing Emma Nile, Macquarie University	Determining physical characteristics for pre-planetary nebulae Shane Vickers, Macquarie University	"10 Years on from 9/11" Muslim women media advocates reflect on Challenges and Achievements Widyan Al Ubudy, University of Wollongong
12:30-12:50	Pinning it down: Double shank pins as evidence for Paeonian trade networks and cultural interactions Candace Richards, University of Sydney	'Beware the Jabberwock': Fear Renewal in Adults Using An Indirect Learning Paradigm Isabella Jacomb, Macquarie University	Optimising adherence to group exercise interventions for the prevention of falls: systematic review & meta-analysis Lucy McPhate, Monash University	"The World in a Grain of Sand": Contrary ideologies and their ecological implication in William Blake's "Songs of Innocence and Experience" Erin Corderoy, Macquarie University
12:50-13:10				Was Trojan Women the greatest anti-war play of all time? Jessica Alexander-Lillicrap, ANU
13:10-14:30	Lunch and POSTER PRESENTATIONS in Y3A Foyer and Café (see list of POSTER presentations below)
	Stream 1 W6D Lotus Theatre	Stream 2 X5B T1 Theatre	Stream 3 W5A Price Theatre	Stream 4 Y3A 212 Afternoon presentations
14:30-14.50	Spatial variation in benthic infauna with respect to coastal development, Smith’s Lake, NSW Louise Tosetto, Macquarie University	What’s the Law Got to Do with Corruption in Indonesia? A Case Study for Systems Theory Samuel Chan, ANU	Exploring indigenous early childhood education from a New Zealand perspective Jess Buchanan and Cushla Dargan, University of Canterbury
14:50-15:10	A measure of abundance and diversity of invertebrate communities across roadside and non-road side environments in open, dry sclerophyll forest (Smiths Lake, Australia) Julia Wyllie, Macquarie University	The Relationship Between Human Rights and Democracy: Do Democracies Guarantee Human Rights in Asia? Courtney Lor, Macquarie University	Us and them: Identifying an ideology of segregation Graeme Hadfield, Macquarie University	Sedimentation tank design for disadvantaged rural communities in the hilly regions of Nepal Emilia Wisniewski, University of Melbourne
15:10-15:30	Ménage à trois: the problem with ‘three-ways’ involving predatory wasps Gurion Ang, University of Queensland	International Law, Palestine and the Two-State Solution: A Critical Legal Analysis (working title) Ademir Hajdarpasic, Macquarie University	Ancient Erotic Satire: Straton's The Boyish Muse Marguerite Humphries, ANU	The effects of climate change and sea-level rise on Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary Micala Witton, RMIT
15:30-15:50	Volatilised free-base cocaine effects reward processing in the honey bee (Apis mellifera) Catherine Radford, Macquarie University	The "Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels":looking beyond the myth Emma Rogerson, University of Wollongong	Utility, sexuality, creativity: the search for meaning in a public loo Raina Rabin, UTS	Alternative Waste Management in Metropolitan Areas Kylie Bishop, RMIT
15:50-16:10	Foraging site selection by Perameles nasuta in relation to the density of trees in a wet sclerophyll forest. Catherine Stuart, Macquarie University	Transition Japan: the Transition Town Movement in a Japanese Context Jacqueline Lau, ANU	Change and Continuity: The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras through Tradition and Postmodernism Eloise Flanagan, UTS	Trouble in the pipeline: Lead contamination of grazing lands adjacent to the Hunter Valley's Chichester Trunk Gravity Main Water supply system Paul Harvey, Macquarie University
16:10-16:30	Optic flow in stingless bees Trigona carbonaria Kate Hardwick and Karen Bulmer , Macquarie University	Chinese Postmodernism: an evaluation of an empire's new export Nathalie Jones, UTS	The Challenge of Change: Acceptance, faith and homosexuality in the Catholic Church Rayan Calimlim, UTS	Australian drought and climate change in the Southern Hemisphere Guy Leech, ANU
16:30-16.50	Poissonality: something fishy going on? The role of rearing environment in determining personality in crimson spotted rainbowfish (Melanotaenia duboulayi) Larissa Trompf, Macquarie University	An Evaluation of the Use of Social Networking Sites: Singapore General Election 2011 Lijuan Abigail Wong, RMIT
17:00-17:45	Prize Giving and Wrap Up *Concluding Speech by Prof Mike Neary on Student as Producer: Why Student Research is so great!* (in W6D Lotus Theatre) Watch the prize giving and closing address
17:45 – 18:30	Refreshments/Chat (in Y3A Foyer)

A poster presentation

ACUR 2012 POSTER presentations