When we look at a global map of the Earth’s river network, fingers of blue lines appear to densely cover our continents. What that map doesn’t show is that around half of those rivers don’t have water in them for some or most of the year. These temporary rivers are a critical freshwater resource, both as a water source at the surface and as drivers of groundwater replenishment. Because temporary rivers are difficult to get to and have more complex and unpredictable hydrology, relatively little is known about how they function.

Through a combination of field measurements and computer modelling, we can learn the fundamental secrets of temporary stream hydrology. In 2014, historic environmental flows were released in the US’ Colorado River to reconnect the river to its dying delta. We evaluated what happens when water is purposefully released down a large, dry river that was once flowing all year. To promote sustainable groundwater management in our arid Australian climate, we are using similar methods to evaluate and understand what happens to infrequent flows in a Central Australian remote river. This streambed recharge of the groundwater sustains large horticulture and animal ranching operations. Closer to home, we are measuring and modelling what factors cause the temporary Pedler Creek to flow through McLaren Vale, feeding countless vineyards and supporting our highly valued wine industry.

Dr Margaret Shanafield

Dr Margaret Shanafield’s research is at the nexus between hydrology and hydrogeology. Current research interests focus on surface water-groundwater actions, as well as diverse projects that encompass international development through to fibre optics and ecohydrology. Margaret’s main passions are the use of multiple tracers to understand groundwater recharge patterns in streambeds, and understanding the dynamics of intermittent and ephemeral streamflow. Since 2015, Margaret has been an ARC DECRA fellow, measuring and modelling what hydrologic factors lead to streamflow in arid regions.

T: 8201 5129
E: margaret.shanafield@flinders.edu.au
Campus: Bedford Park
College: Science and Engineering
Role: DECRA Fellow Chief Investigator

This is a new feature for Inspiring Research where we profile Flinders’ Early Career Researchers (ECRs) in our ECR Spotlight. This initiative will appear regularly and aims to connect our research community and strengthen research communications within the University. You will get insight into who our ECRs are and how their research and achievements are making a difference.

The featured ECRs welcome dialogue, debate, and conversation and we hope that it may shape future intra-, inter- and/or trans-disciplinary collaboration with Flinders’ colleagues. Please feel free to comment on their spotlight, and/or contact them directly. Also, you can contact the ECR Spotlight coordinator, Dr Marina Delpin, with your queries and comments.

The New Zealand Geographical Society have announced their awardees for 2017, including the Distinguished New Zealand Geographer Award and Medal. Two geographers were awarded this year: Associate Professor Lex Chalmers (Waikato University, nominated by Waikato Branch), and Professor Patrick Hesp (Strategic Professor, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, nominated by Otago Branch).

Patrick (pictured) has held academic positions in New South Wales, Western Australia, Singapore, USA, and NZ; non-academic positions in the Western Australian State Department of Agriculture, Geomarine P/L, and the Rottnest Island Authority; held visiting professorships and fellowships in South Africa, Namibia, Israel, Holland, China, Brazil, Italy, Malaysia, Thailand, and France; and has worked on beaches and coastal and desert dunes all over the world. He is an expert on coastal dune geomorphology - the study of the characteristics, origins and development of the dunes, and has published over 260 articles in his career to date.

He now joins Professor Iain Hay, Dean (Education), College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, who was awarded the Medal in 2011. Since 2001, when the first Distinguished New Zealand Geographer Medals were awarded, only five awardees working outside New Zealand have received the honour. Patrick becomes the sixth Internationally based awardee.

The Society recognises the outstanding and sustained contributions and service these New Zealand Geographers have made to Geography and society, whether in New Zealand or overseas. The recipients may use the designation DNZG in recognition of the award.

Increasing effectiveness in Social Work Practice

What are the theoretical underpinnings of the social work skills used with children, adults and families? To date, theory is largely absent from the contemporary skills literature. Reviewing the literature has uncovered that there is a lack of explicit theoretical perspectives and the widespread adoption of a managerial theoretical perspective.

Even though publications in this field have content contributing to an understanding of social work skills, none of them elaborate on the process through which skills are effectively operationalised in social work practice. My research has revealed a need for qualitative case studies that explore how specific theories, and through which techniques, inform the skills underlying effective social work assessments and interventions with children, adults and families.

To read about this further, please see my paper published July 2017 in the British Journal of Social Work.

Dr George Karpetis

Dr George Karpetis is a senior lecturer in social work and the Program Director of the Masters of Social Work, at Flinders University. George completed his Masters degree in England, his PhD in Greece, and he is an accredited social worker both in England and Australia. Adopting the psychoanalytic perspective in practice, George worked as a clinical practitioner for 20 years. For the last 12 years, he has been lecturing on mental health social work and he is an editorial Board member for the Social Work Education and Psychoanalytic Social Work peer-reviewed journals. In his published research, he evaluates the effectiveness of theories in clinical, teaching and supervision practice. Currently, he is researching how child protection practice errors are generated by the implicit theories adopted by practitioners and educators.

Role: Senior Lecturer in Social Work
College: Education, Psychology and Social Work
Campus: Bedford Park
E: george.karpetis@flinders.edu.au
T: 8201 2270

This is a new feature for Inspiring Research where we profile Flinders’ Early Career Researchers (ECRs) in our ECR Spotlight. This initiative will appear regularly and aims to connect our research community and strengthen research communications within the University. You will get insight into who our ECRs are and how their research and achievements are making a difference.

The featured ECRs welcome dialogue, debate, and conversation and we hope that it may shape future intra-, inter- and/or trans-disciplinary collaboration with Flinders’ colleagues. Please feel free to comment on their spotlight, and/or contact them directly. Also, you can contact the ECR Spotlight coordinator, Dr Marina Delpin, with your queries and comments.

At the 2017 Australian Museum Eureka Prize dinner, held 30 August 2017 at the Sydney Town Hall, the Colvera team from the CSIRO, Clinical Genomics Pty Ltd, and Flinders University were awarded the prestigious 2017 Johnson & Johnson Eureka Prize for Innovation in Medical Research.

From earlier research into bowel cancer by Professor Graham Young (right) at the Flinders Centre for Innovation in Cancer, the Colvera^TM test was developed. The test is twice as sensitive at detecting recurrent tumors in patients who previously have been diagnosed with bowel cancer. Bowel cancer, also known as colorectal cancer, is one of the top five causes of premature death among Australian's aged 45-74. Australia has one of the highest rates of bowel cancer in the world, where 1 in 13 Australians will develop bowel cancer.

The Colvera Team developed the blood test that detects tumour DNA in the blood plasma of bowel cancer patients. With 50% of bowel cancer patients in Australia having a recurrence of the disease after being given the "all clear", the ability of the early detection of the Colvera^TM test should improve the patients chances of being cured.

The test has undergone clinical testing in the United States where it is now commercially available. The test will be available in Australia soon.

The Australian Museum Eureka Prizes reward excellence in the fields of research, innovation, leadership, science communication and school science.

The Colvera Team Eureka Prize for Innovation in Medical Research

2017 Johnson & Johnson Eureka Prize for Innovation in Medical Research https://www.australianmuseum.net.au/eureka The Colvera Team, CSIRO; Clinical Genomics Pty Ltd; and Flinders University The Colvera Team has developed a clinically validated blood test that sensitively and accurately detects cancer DNA in the blood plasma of colorectal cancer patients.

AM Eureka Prizes on Twitter

Congrats to The Colvera Team! @JNJNews #Eureka17 #MedicalResearch

Can DNA sequencing of three bottlenose dolphin species (genus Tursiops) show a difference in the structure underlying the changes that have been observed from the same genus in different environments? The bottlenose dolphin is the most common dolphin in the world and lives in all oceans, apart from the Arctic and Antarctic oceans.

If the DNA sequencing does show that there are genomic changes then this will go a long way in improving our understanding of dolphins and the ways that they adapt to their environments. This will then allow scientists to make predictions about how dolphins will react to ongoing climate change, and other human-induced disturbances to their habitats.

Flinders’ PhD student Eleanor Pratt, College of Science and Engineering, will be comparing DNA from bottlenose dolphins living in coastal areas to those that prefer deeper offshore waters to identify the sections of DNA that may underlie differences between coastal and offshore ecotypes in the southern hemisphere. This includes differences in the structure of the skull, as well as in the number of vertebrae, relative body size, and diet. Eleanor will then describe the genetic population structure of two bottlenose dolphin species inhabiting coastal waters of southern and south-eastern Australia. This will establish the level of gene flow occurring between these populations and identify the DNA regions that may be associated with the potential adaptation of these dolphins to different salinity regimes, depths, water temperatures, habitat types and other environmental features.

Eleanor’s project aims to provide novel information about how bottlenose dolphins are able to adapt to their habitats. With greater knowledge of the population structure and adaptive capacity of these dolphins more effective conservation strategies can be implemented to prevent population declines in the face of ongoing environmental disturbances. “The contribution from Sir Mark Mitchell Research Foundation will go toward funding next-generation DNA sequencing of bottlenose dolphin samples, allowing me to obtain high-quality, high-coverage DNA sequences for analysis. This grant means that I am able to sequence a large number of individuals, expanding the geographical coverage of my study and improving the reliability of the results that I get,” Eleanor said.

Images of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops australis) from Gulf St. Vincent provided by Nikki Zanardo, Flinders Cetacean Ecology, Behaviour and Evolution Lab (CEBEL).

Are you putting your friends and family at risk of foodborne illness?

In Australia, the incidence of salmonellosis, a foodborne gastrointestinal illness, has been increasing over the last decade, with eggs identified as the main cause. Flinders University researchers have found that over 50% of Australians surveyed were handling eggs in a dangerous manner when at home, putting themselves, family and friends at risk of foodborne illness.

Our study revealed the need for the general public to be educated in safe food handling practises and to raise awareness of the risks associated with raw eggs. We found that just over a third of surveyed study participants always washed their hands, and only one in three always wiped down the bench after handling raw eggs. Interestingly, there was no difference in responses between male and female participants. Participants employed as Environmental Health Officers or Food Handlers were more likely to handle eggs in the safest manner.

For more information please read the full article Knowledge and Attitudes towards Handling Eggs in the Home: An Unexplored Food Safety Issue? authored by Dr Harriet Whiley, Associate Professor Beverley Clarke and Dr Kirstin Ross published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

Dr Harriet Whiley

Dr Harriet Whiley is a lecturer in Environmental Health. As an environmental microbiologist her research is aimed at informing the environmental health profession of best practice to protect human health from pathogens present in the environment. Her research areas include food safety, water quality and risk assessment.

Role: Lecturer in Environmental Health
College: Science and Engineering
Campus: Bedford Park
E: harriet.whiley@flinders.edu.au
T: 7221 8580

This is a new feature for Inspiring Research where we profile Flinders’ Early Career Researchers (ECRs) in our ECR Spotlight. This initiative will appear regularly and aims to connect our research community and strengthen research communications within the University. You will get insight into who our ECRs are and how their research and achievements are making a difference.

The featured ECRs welcome dialogue, debate, and conversation and we hope that it may shape future intra-, inter- and/or trans-disciplinary collaboration with Flinders’ colleagues. Please feel free to comment on their spotlight, and/or contact them directly. Also, you can contact the ECR Spotlight coordinator, Dr Marina Delpin, with your queries and comments.

A new feature for Inspiring Research will be profiling Flinders’ Early Career Researchers (ECRs) in our ECR Spotlight. This initiative will appear monthly and aims to connect our research community and strengthen research communications within the University. You will get insight into who our ECRs are and how their research and achievements are making a difference.

The featured ECRs welcome dialogue, debate, and conversation and we hope that it may shape future intra-, inter- and/or trans-disciplinary collaboration with Flinders’ colleagues. Please feel free to comment on their spotlight, and/or contact them directly. Also, you can contact the ECR Spotlight coordinator, Dr Marina Delpin, with your queries and comments.

Giselle Rampersad - Innovation future for Australia

Giselle has an interdisciplinary educational background including a PhD in Innovation and Technology Management from the University of Adelaide Business School and an MSc in e-Business and Internet Systems from Durham University (UK). Her research area is in innovation and technology management, with a particular emphasis on devising strategies for firms in managing innovation and developing policies with governments in building innovation capacity. She is part of the Australian Industrial Transformation Institute and also researches on developing innovation skills in students. A link to one of Giselle’s articles on managing innovation within industries can be found at Science Direct.

Dr Giselle Rampersad Role: Senior Lecturer in Innovation and Entrepreneurship College: Science and Engineering Campus: Tonsley E: giselle.rampersad@flinders.edu.au T: 8201 5746

Innovate or stagnate: What will Australia look like in the future without innovation?

With the decline in traditional manufacturing, most notably the closure of car manufacturers, Australian jobs have been being lost. As a result, families are suffering. This is not the Australian dream.

The National Innovation Agenda challenges us to do more. Innovation is critical to create new products, jobs, and industries to replace the old.

My research has examined the development of innovation capabilities in firms and industries. It focuses on various sectors including defence, medical technologies, ICT, clean technology and nanotechnology. At the firm level, my research has investigated a number of factors for driving innovation, including a clear and explicit innovation strategy, partnerships, culture and processes to capture and cultivate ideas. At the industry level, it has uncovered strategies to optimise coordination, build networks and measure innovation performance.

What may be surprising is that innovation is not a whimsical, mystical process. It is too important to be left to chance. While creative thinking is a fundamental component, there is more to innovation. The most successful firms view innovation as a systematic, purposeful process that deliberately leads to the development and commercialisation of new products and services. This is important in realising our desired vision of prosperity for the future.

One way to engage with the community is through video stories. Two Flinders researchers have taken advantage of this with the assistance of Channel Ten. Scope is a fast, funny and informative children’s science show produced in association with the CSIRO and airs on Eleven.

A video clip featuring Associate Professor Karin Nordstrom's research into hoverflies is also available.

Research Engagement and Impact:Time to Scope your research - Hoverflies

If you have research that could be featured by Scope or other media outlets, see our recent article on Tips from a first time interviewee, which includes a list of areas / organisations that can provide assistance for researchers and the media.

Research Engagement and Impact:Tips from a first time interviewee

In our ongoing series around Engagement and Impact, we change tact from the focus on one-on-one/direct engagement with communities to the impact of getting one's research out via the media. Dr David Armstrong, Lecturer in Teacher Education: Special Education, was recently interviewed by Radio Adelaide on the final report from the South Australian Parliamentary Select Committee into Access to the Education System for Students with Disabilities.

One way to engage with the community is through video stories. Two Flinders researchers have taken advantage of this with the assistance of Channel Ten. Scope is a fast, funny and informative children’s science show produced in association with the CSIRO and airs on Eleven.

Associate Professor Karin Nordstrom's research into hoverflies, how they see the world and how this could help pilot autonomous drones was featured on Scope. Karin presented the July Flinders Investigator free public lecture on 19 July 2017.

Seminars Conferences and Workshops:Why hoverflies? - Inspiring Research @ Flinders

Hoverflies have a lot to tell us, especially why they could be better pollinators than bees, and Associate Professor Karin Nordström's research group at Flinders with the Motion Vision group from Uppsala University, Sweden, have started to reveal their secrets.

A video clip of Flinder's FAST team's research into creating a family solar car to participate in the upcoming World Solar Car race is also available.

Research Engagement and Impact:Time to Scope your research - FAST

If you have research that could be featured by Scope or other media outlets, see our recent article on Tips from a first time interviewee, which includes a list of areas / organisations that can provide assistance for researchers and the media.

Research Engagement and Impact:Tips from a first time interviewee

In our ongoing series around Engagement and Impact, we change tact from the focus on one-on-one/direct engagement with communities to the impact of getting one's research out via the media. Dr David Armstrong, Lecturer in Teacher Education: Special Education, was recently interviewed by Radio Adelaide on the final report from the South Australian Parliamentary Select Committee into Access to the Education System for Students with Disabilities.

In our ongoing series around Engagement and Impact, we change tact from the focus on one-on-one/direct engagement with communities to the impact of getting one's research out via the media. Dr David Armstrong, Lecturer in Teacher Education: Special Education, was recently interviewed by Radio Adelaide on the final report from the South Australian Parliamentary Select Committee into Access to the Education System for Students with Disabilities. His interview can be heard on the Radio Adelaide site. The Research Services Office approached David to share his experience on being interviewed by the media. Below is the interview we conducted with David.

David Armstrong

How do you go about getting an interview?

Journalists from the media typically contact me for comment on a news story or to request a written submission about an issue. It’s important, I think, to have a strategy for developing your media profile as a researcher. My strategy has been to be available for ongoing comment in my areas of research (special and inclusive education, mental health in schools, dyslexia) to SA outlets (Adelaide Advertiser; local radio, InDaily) but with a view to establish myself interstate as a stepping stone to access to the national media. This is starting to pay off with radio interviews for interstate outlets and contact with national print media.  

Were you contacted first?

Colleagues very kindly forwarded my name to local journalists if the enquiry was in my area. I have reciprocated. It’s important to work as a team in sharing opportunities.

What assistance did you get beforehand?

When I came to Flinders I had assistance from the excellent Flinders education journalist (Tania Bawden) who facilitated interviews. In the past I led a funded education initiative (European Social Fund) with the homeless and in association with a major charity.

This initiative was innovative and high-profile, so the local and national media/celebrities/politicians were in contact on a regular basis. HRH Prince Charles visited, for example, and we spoke with the media present, so I am probably unusual in the amount of experience I have had in this respect. Interviews on the Radio and on TV require a different skillset from writing articles for the print media. I would recommend asking for assistance and advice from the Office of Communication and Engagement for anybody who is asked to appear in TV or undertake a radio interview and if it’s their first time.

Did you seek any out?

Yes, I have sought out journalists and taken a proactive approach. Registering for The Conversation is necessary – if you wish to write for it. I have recently had success engaging with politically influential state stakeholders in my field and by using Twitter but this needs to be carefully planned and executed.

What was the overall experience like?

It’s been positive and exciting. I enjoy communicating my research and saying why it’s designed to help improve the lives of children or young people with disabilities.

One important new organisation which has helped me is the Media Centre for Education Research Australia (MCERA): they have facilitated contact with the media so that it seems a less random and more positive experience.

What challenges were there?

A phone call will arrive when I have just arrived home or when I am in the middle of a meeting. If you don’t pick up the call often the journalist will ring another contact and you won’t be asked for comment or a story. If you pick up the phone you have an opportunity: you can help dispel myths; communicate key findings of your important research; and share knowledge with the community. The only other problem is that this takes time away from the everyday demands of the job (teaching, research etc.) so it’s important to find balance in media engagement.

The RSO thanks David for his time in sharing this information with the Flinders community.

Where to go if you are contacted by the media?

The Office of Communication and Engagement at Flinders offers media training in group and one-on-one sessions.

Registration with the Australian Science and Media Centre is encouraged. They provide training and advice and are very helpful in gaining access to mainstream media coverage.

Science Media Savvy provides some excellent top tips for researchers.

The Conversation has experienced journalists and editors who can provide assistance and advice to those wanting to start out or improve their writing communication skills in respect to print media. Flinders is a supporter of The Conversation and encourages our academics to get involved.

RiAus, based here in Adelaide, and Science in Public run workshops on media training throughout the year around Australia.

Want to help research and conservation efforts for 'Nemo' while eating at one of South Australia's top restaurants? Then the Saving Nemo at the Star of Greece is the upcoming event for you.

Researchers and Science Educators at Flinders set up the Saving Nemo Conservation Fund for the sole purpose of funding nursery-breeding programs to stop the demand for wild caught fish, establishing research projects that help conserve wild populations and running education programs that enable people to learn how to protect, breed and care for marine ornamental fish.

The popularity of the Pixar film Saving Nemo increased demand for clownfish around the world, but at that time the supplies of the fish to local aquarium stores were only from wild populations, mostly from the Philippines and the Great Barrier Reef here in Australia. This demand led to dramatic decreases in the wild populations, including them disappearing completely from some reefs. The Saving Nemo Conservation Fund set up nursery breeding programs to supply local aquarium stores and a series of research projects around conservation ecology and behaviour, aquaculture and sustainable fisheries, and using host anemones as bioactive products in anticancer research.

As part of their conservation and research fundraising efforts, a dinner will be held at the Star of Greece on Saturday, 5 August 2017 from 6:30 PM. Included in the ticket price is a two course meal, with two drinks. A Silent Auction will be held during the dinner and the guest speaker will be Associate Professor Karen Burke da Silva, Biology, and Founder of the Saving Nemo Conservation Fund. All proceeds will go directly to supporting education and awareness programs and vital monitoring and research of clownfish and their habitats.

Book by the 30 July to reserve your seat!

More information on the fund can be found at savingnemo.org.

A male European shore crab, Carcinus maenas, found in Port Gawler, Adelaide. Photo by René Campbell

Australia has not been immune to the invasion of the European shore crab. These notorious marine invaders are considered to be in the top 100 of the world’s worst invasive species, and have been introduced to the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of North America, the Patagonian coast of South America, Japan, the cape of South Africa, and south-eastern Australia, often via ship ballast. What has made them so devastating for these indigenous coastlines is the crab’s voracious appetite, particularly for commercial fisheries such as clams and cockles. It has long been considered that they may also impact on native biodiversity through predation and competition.

 René Campbell using opera house traps to locate Carcinus maenas in mangrove habitats of Spencer Gulf.
Photo by Louis Halstead

In Australia, populations of these crabs are found in Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania, and South Australia. However, little is known about their population biology in southern Australia or their adaptations to our unique temperate coastline. René Campbell, School of Biology, is currently undertaking field work in both Gulf St. Vincent and the Spencer Gulf to capture these invasive crabs to assess their current distribution, and to start analysing reproductive and molecular samples. The field work has been funded via a successful application to the Sir Mark Mitchell Foundation.

René’s current PhD project, The population biology and adaptation of the invasive European shore crab (Genus Carcinus) in southern Australia, will include the information obtained from these field trips. The reproductive and molecular samples, particularly the reproductive samples, will help identify what time of year and how often female crabs reproduce, which may influence the spread of this marine invader and determine future ecological management decisions. “These techniques will help me confirm species identification and assess population genetic structure of crabs in southern Australia, which can help us understand how different populations are connected, and if they were the result of multiple introductions,” said René.

Lake Pinpa (red marker) in the Frome Downs area with the Flinders Ranges to the left. (google maps)

What is so important about the Oligocene period, and, especially, about fossils here in South Australia? It was the period during which most of Australia’s modern marsupial families evolved. The end of the Oligocene period, about 25 million years ago, was also the time of transition to a global greenhouse from the cooler conditions created when Australia separated from Antarctica. By looking at fossils from this period, it gives us greater understanding of the effect that global climate change had on this fauna. For the first time near-complete koala, kangaroo and bird skeletons have been discovered from the area around the southern end of Lake Frome.

Top: Excavation site at Lake Pinpa. Fossils are found in  a thin clay layer close to the surface.
Bottom: Collecting fossils at Billeroo Creek, South Australia. In the foreground, from right to left, TH Worthy, Warren Handley and Ellen Mather are excavating a rich layer of bones  to collect bulk material for processing in the lab.
Photos by Aaron Camens

Past the Flinders Ranges and heading toward the border with New South Wales, the Frome Downs area has been of interest to palaeontologists since an American Museum led expedition in 1973, which found abundant fossils exposed on the bed of Lake Pinpa. Some of those finds are only just now being identified. In 1975, rain washed sediments from the nearby dunes onto the lake bed, and those fossils still in place have remained hidden since. In 2006, Professor Rod Wells with future Flinders palaeontology researchers Dr Aaron Camens and Associate Professor Trevor Worthy visited the lake, considered then to not be productive for fossil finds, and the nearby Billeroo Creek. At the creek a large hoard of fossils was found, including two new species of cormorants in the genus Nambashag.

The group travelled again to the region in 2015 to revisit the sites found in 2006 and to locate new ones. What was discovered included the first articulated or associated skeletons of a new raptor, a basal kangaroo, and a koala in the genus Madakoala. The funding from the Sir Mark Mitchell Research Foundation in late 2016 has allowed the group to continue and expand the expeditions to the area.

The two week expedition in March 2017 had the group re-examining many of the sites from the first 1970s expeditions. A large number of new fossils were found, including another extraordinarily well-preserved koala skeleton complete with the first skull known for any late Oligocene koala. This skeleton is part of an Honours project for Amy Tschirn. Lizard fossils found are contributing to a PhD project for Kailah Thorn.

Most of the finds are still awaiting preparation in the Flinders Palaeontology Laboratory, but further rare discoveries are anticipated. “This research programme is contributing greatly to the inventory and reconstruction of the late Oligocene fauna, which provides a key insight into the evolution of Australian’s modern fauna,” said Trevor.

Time-lapse vision was kindly provided by the Flinders University Palaeontology Society.

The Sun Foundation Peer Prize for Women in Science is now open for voting. After a successful first Prize being awarded in 2016, where, instead of a small panel of hidden peers who vote on the winners, an open call for peers across the world to select who they thought should be worthy of the prize was run via Thinkable. This allows not just the winners research to be showcased, but all the nominees. This year's nominees includes Flinders' Dr Rachel Popelka-Filcoff, and her research on X-ray Fluorescence Microscopic Vision Into Our Cultural Past.

The Inaugural prize engaged with over 100,000 people and 1,400 peers voted in the two areas of research focus: Life Sciences; and Earth, Environmental and Space Sciences. Each category has a prize amount of $20,000.

So, who can vote? Any researcher who has been verified by Thinkable. Verification entails registering as a researcher, and then authenticating your current organisation email, select your field/s of study, and provide details of at least one recently published peer-reviewed article. Once you are registered, take a look at the submissions and click 'Vote' on the ones that you find most engaging. Verified peers can vote on multiple entries, but only once on each. Thinkable strongly encourage peers to engage and vote on entries beyond their own specialist field.

Thinkable asks research peers to choose the most impactful piece of research, or important new discovery. This will help drive multi-disciplinary collaboration that is critical to accelerate scientific discovery and solve some of humanity's most complex future challenges in health and the environment.

Verification can take up to 24 hours depending on the influx of registrations so please make sure you register well in advance of the Voting Closed date. Voting opened on Monday 5 June 2017 and will close on Friday 16 June 2017.

How can some of the smallest marine organisms, even down to the plankton level, help monitor water quality? Researchers at Flinders will be creating a record of zooplankton and copepods, small crustaceans, communities in the Coorong and Onkaparinga estuaries. By recording these communities, this will enable researchers to, firstly, have the first organised record of the biodiversity of the estuaries, and secondly, a recording of some species habitat ranges. Both of these records will enable researchers in the future to better track water quality.

Copepod culture and preparation before dissection

Zooplankton communities are more susceptible to changes in water quality, and because they are at the base of the aquatic food chain any effects on those communities will trickle up the food chain. By creating that record of these communities, it will allow researchers in the future to be able to make qualified judgements on the changes to water quality, pollution, and human caused change to our local estuaries. The focus on recording both the types of organisms and their habitat ranges will also allow conservation, monitoring and future modelling of change.

Copepods have been used by researchers as indicators on biodiversity in water bodies previously. The Coorong is home to several copepod species that are unique to South Australia. One of those species is very close to another species from Port Phillip Bay, Victoria. So close, that they are considered to be allopatric sibling species. DNA barcoding of the Coorong Acartia cf. fancetti copepods, which only occur and grow in a vastly different habitat range from their Port Phillip ‘cousins’, will be compared to those ‘cousins’ for the first time. The aim will also be to identify other species in the estuaries that have distinct habitat ranges.

Sampling and analysis started in November and December 2016 with funding from the Sir Mark Mitchell Research Foundation. The Flinders team of Mr Deevesh Hemraj, and Associate Professor Sophie Leterme, with Dr Russell Shiel (Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Adelaide) aim to finish the analysis and sampling by December 2017 and have a number of manuscripts prepared for submission to peer reviewed journals.

Research can not only engage directly with a community, but can then impact beyond the immediate academic research outputs to society in general. The Australian Research Council (ARC) defines Impact as: ‘research impact is the contribution that research makes to economy, society and environment, beyond the contribution to academic research’ in their guidelines for the ARC Pilot Engagement Study.⁽¹⁾ In our continuing series on the upcoming Excellence in Research Australia round, we now look at what impact research at Flinders has had, starting with the Flinders-Panthers Be Your Best Program.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) lists a lack of physical activity as one of the 10 leading risk factors for premature death worldwide. Figures presented in January 2015 by the WHO provide the frightening statistic that one in four adults is not active enough. The effects of insufficient physical activity include heightening the risk of cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

To further compound the problem, epidemiological research in Australia shows insufficient physical activity is often found in communities in low-socioeconomic areas where its effects are heightened by poor nutrition. Both physical activity and poor nutrition are major modifiable risk factors in the reduction of a number of chronic lifestyle diseases such as obesity and diabetes. Research conducted by Professor Murray Drummond and the SHAPE (Sport, Health and Physical Education) team at Flinders University in partnership with a popular local sporting club, has designed and tested an innovative health project with schools in the local area to assist in modifying behaviours in young Australians and thereby promoting healthier choices.

The effects of engaging in increased physical activity for children go beyond the health outcomes listed for adults. Children and adolescents who undertake regular physical activity and enjoy good nutrition show greater personal responsibility and improved group cooperation than those who did not. Research conducted by Flinders SHAPE Centre showed child-focussed programs to enhance physical activity and improved nutrition were more successful when these activities were associated with inspirational individuals within a child’s community. So they set out to use this research to improve lives.

The Flinders – Panthers Be Your Best program was designed to build on healthy living messages already in place at schools by regularly bringing fruit and vegetables, fun activities and local sports heroes (Panthers footballers) into the children’s school environment to promote physical activity and good nutrition as positive lifestyle choices. Run by University students together with Panthers footballers, the program enjoyed phenomenal success with the children and their communities. School principals hosting the initiative were excited by the response it received from both the students themselves and the parents and teachers supporting them. Working with the footballers gave the program a degree of ‘cool’ that working with teachers and parents did not have. The Flinders – Panthers Be Your Best program had a different role from regular school lessons, namely the promotion of key lifestyle concepts with positive reinforcement. In that way the children could engage with role models on a peer-to-peer basis rather than in a teacher-student way. These interactions inspired the children to a healthier lifestyle because it was something they had seen someone they admired doing, and that being healthy was ‘cool’.

"In terms of academic impact this research has resulted in a number of important research papers and international book chapters that will be accessed by scholars around the world to emulate the program in their own unique settings. From a practical and ‘real life' perspective we have impacted the lives of several hundred children by changing attitudes and behaviours associated with physical activity and nutrition in regions where these aspects of health are poorest. Through sport, and by utilising sport and PE students as agents of change, we have also played a role in promoting children's awareness in these low socioeconomic localities that university is a ‘cool’ place to be. The potential to be interrupt the cycle of education attrition is a real prospect for families where higher education is not a high priority," said Murray.

In addition to the predicted outcomes of the program, working with University students had unforeseen positive consequences for the children involved. All schools involved in the initiative are located in low socio-economic areas with few positive career and educational opportunities. By giving the children regular and positive contact with University students from similar backgrounds, the idea that there was more to life than school and possible unemployment was invigorating to the participants. Teachers reported that students engaged with the program expressed significantly increased interest in attending high school and seeking tertiary education as a direct result of engaging with the Flinders students in the Flinders – Panthers Be Your Best program.

By connecting children with accessible sporting role models in an environment focused on healthy lifestyle choices, the Flinders – Panthers Be Your Best program has been a great success. SHAPE director, Murray, is working with the South Australian National Football League to expand the program into additional schools and working with additional football clubs in the future to bring the impact of the program to a greater part of the society.

For further Flinders Research Impact stories, see the Research Impact section. For assistance in creating a Flinders Research Impact case study, contact Dr Brodie Beales.

(1) ARC Pilot Study overview information - http://www.arc.gov.au/ei-pilot-overview

New technology being developed at Flinders is aiming to help identify suspects from a simple touch on items that have rarely been used for DNA testing before.

Identification of criminals and terrorists from traces of material that they leave behind at crime scenes and on items that they touch is a cornerstone of forensic science. Typically, fingerprints and DNA in body fluids such as blood yield the most valuable crime-solving leads. Flinders, through the leadership of Professor Adrian Linacre, Chair in Forensic DNA Technology, is at the cutting-edge of DNA analysis where invisible traces containing just a few cells deposited by criminals as a result of a single and brief touch can yield valuable evidence.

With $205,193 in funding from the Defence Science and Technology Group (DST) – Defence Science Partnership program, the School of Biological Sciences’ Professor Adrian Linacre and Professor Paul Kirkbride will initially aim to gain useful DNA profiles from items such as cartridge cases, timing devices, circuit boards, tapes and wires. These crucial pieces of evidence are especially relevant to investigation of terrorist bombings and other serious crimes yet it has been notoriously difficult to obtain DNA from these objects in the past. The innovative method uses a specifically devised micro-swab combined with a process that greatly enhances the sensitivity of the genetic testing. The outcome is that DNA profiles are generated from items of forensic interest where it has not been possible using standard methods.

A further aim of the project, Informative genetic data from trace material collected from a range of forensically informative substrates, is to include genetic testing that examines areas of the genome that determine certain physical features such as eye and hair colour as well as where in the world the person leaving the DNA may have come from. The ultimate goal of that work is to provide law enforcement agencies with a new type of intelligence that can help them identify unknown criminals and terrorists. Combining all the DNA testing will ultimate provide highly informative genetic data if persons touch any of a wide range of surfaces during a criminal and terrorist action.

Even the young can excavate a straight trench wall!

I’ve just returned from leading an archaeological excavation at Baker’s Flat near Kapunda, South Australia, as part of the research for my PhD in archaeology. 

Today, it’s a wheat paddock on private land, but in the nineteenth century Baker’s Flat was a vibrant Irish community. Although its residents made up a large proportion of the broader Kapunda community, they weren’t very popular locally. In the recorded histories, where Baker’s Flat gets mentioned at all, the predominant message is of fights and hovels, animals running wild, drunkenness, lawlessness, and dirt. The Baker’s Flat community was first written off, and then written out of the histories.

Which is where community comes in. The story of Baker’s Flat was remembered by just a few local historians, who shared it with me. And in the 'heel of the hunt', as we say in Ireland, those historians and I embarked on an historical and archaeological journey of exploration about this site. A journey that has now encompassed old and young, academics and community members, archaeologists and artists.

Volunteer crew hard at work in the trench.

When I first looked at the site, I was told that there had been dugouts, but I couldn’t see it. I was thinking of dugouts like those at Burra, very defined and easy to see the remains of in the creek bed. However, a geophysical survey of part of the site showed anomalies consistent with the size of houses, and when we excavated one of these, it turned out to be a dugout. Not the same as at Burra, but one that was dug lightly into the side of the hill to form shelter walls, which were then used as the foundation for other walls made of flattened tin and hessian. And all consistent with oral histories collected in the 1970s and folklore passed down by the Kapunda historians.

Talking to the landowner, he remembered his father telling him how he was able to buy the land cheap after the last war because it was so full of junk and big holes that it was impossible to work. He covered the land with 10cms of top soil, but where there were large holes from the dugouts, he pushed in the "junk" (wheelbarrows, bedsteads, bathtubs) and added up to a metre of top soil to level the land. These memories helped explain the stratigraphy of the site, and helped me to determine where to work.

And the important thing here is time. The landowner and I have spent a lot of time standing and thinking, looking at holes in the ground. If you don’t allow the time to build trust with people, then you really miss out.

It shows the importance of communication and collaboration, and the fact that effective public engagement demands time and the ability to wait, generosity of spirit, trust, and the ability to ask good questions and listen well to the answers. 

Historical archaeologists are in the fortunate position of working in a truly multidisciplinary field. I would argue that because we can combine texts and archaeology, oral histories and public involvement, we are really able to help archaeology to live in the public arena, and allow different stories and voices to be heard. One of the most enjoyable research outputs so far has been a series of 12 oil paintings by artist Lynn Mack, which is based on ceramic and glass artefacts excavated at Baker’s Flat. The exhibition, Unearthed, is currently on display in the Flinders University Central Library.

Unearthed: an exhibition of paintings by Lynn Mack based on artefacts excavated at Baker’s Flat.

The Departments of History and Archaeology are thinking about engagement. In 2017, the Field of Research code 21 History and Archaeology will be submitted for the Australian Research Council’s Pilot Engagement Study.

The pilot aims to examine how universities are translating their research into economic, social and other benefits and encourages greater collaboration between universities, industries and other end-users of research.

The ARC defines research engagement as:

'the interaction between researchers and research end-users (including industry, government, non-governmental organisations, communities and community organisations), for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge, technologies and methods, and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity’

Much of the research in the Department of Archaeology is initiated by community groups, government departments and other end-users. People regularly approach us to record historic shipwrecks, identify the graves of their relatives, record Aboriginal rock art and excavate under the floor boards of historic buildings.

For archaeology, engagement is less about researchers engaging with the community than the community engaging with researchers.

The Department of Archaeology receives around one community request per month. Many of these are translated into student research projects, Archaeology Society training exercises, field schools or voluntary projects undertaken by staff members. Many of the contacts made by communities are the result of media coverage of our research and our web presence.

Sometimes engagement is a single project. This may involve recording a cemetery, assisting with the digitisation of the records of a local museum or excavating an air raid shelter.

Sometimes engagement is a long-term relationship. These research partnerships can last for decades. Claire Smith has worked with the Barunga community in the Northern Territory since 1990 and Ngadjuri people since 1998. Associate Professor Amy Roberts conducted her Honours research with the Mannum community in 1998 and still works with this community. Similarly, Dr Mick Morrison is still conducting research with the Aboriginal people in west Cape York whom he first worked with in 2000. DECRA Fellow Dr Daryl Wesley has worked with Aboriginal people from Western Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, since 1991.

Among other things, community-initiated research has the capacity to significantly increase Flinders University’s public profile. Heather Burke’s research in 2011 and 2012 with the Catholic Church, the Sisters of Saint Joseph and the Mary Mackillop Penola Centre sought to locate the stable school where Mary Mackillop founded the Sisters of Saint Joseph. This research generated more than 65 media interviews, including television segments with WIN 9, National 9 News and Channel 10 News.

Dr Alice Gorman’s research on space archaeology and space junk has led to her playing a leading role in the Space Industry Association of Australia, which in 2017 is hosting the world’s largest space gathering, the International Astronautical Congress, in Adelaide. In this capacity, she has been invited to mentor small satellite start-up companies in Melbourne and New Zealand and to collaborate with lunar research teams in India.

Most importantly, community-initiated research points to both the needs and wants of local communities.

Often, people identify research opportunities but don’t have the capacity or the specialist knowledge to take advantage of these themselves. They seek support from the University as a regional authority and archaeology as a specialist discipline. If the archaeologist takes on the research the community may provide small amounts of funding and/or in-kind support for the research. Sometimes the community may seek funding for a longer-term project. Sometimes they will co-fund or co-host a workshop or symposium, co-present at a conference or co-author a publication or other product. These activities produce a wide variety of output from research undertaken on the basis of a ‘mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge, technologies and methods, and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity’ (ARC 2017:11).

Article provided by Professor Claire Smith and Associate Professor Heather Burke, Department of Archaeology

Reference

Australian Research Council 2017 Engagement and Impact Assessment Pilot 2017. Submission Guidelines. Available at http://www.arc.gov.au/engagement-and-impact-assessment

Timorese Youths

There are not many people who can claim to have directly influenced the way the United Nations measures development, but Associate Professor Udoy Saikia, School of the Environment, and his research team (Dr James Chalmers, Associate Professor Gour Dasvarma and Dr Merve Hosgelen, a Flinders PhD graduate and the Project Manager - National Human Development Report (NHDR), United Nations Development Programme, Dili, Timor-Leste) can say just that.

The work of Saikia et al has expanded the applicability of standard United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) indicators to more accurately reflect the circumstances of the people in developing nations. In so doing they have opened a new, more accessible, field of development research able to include many more people in a wider diversity of circumstances.

Timorese Youths

From their innovative work with the United Nations Development Programme in Bougainville pioneering the use of food security as a proxy for income when calculating the Human Development Index (HDI) to include the local bartering culture, to designing and implementing a wellbeing index for Assam in India they have joined forces with the UNDP once again to lead Timor-Leste’s 4^th National Human Development Report. The development report (due to be finalised in November 2017) is designed to help Timor-Leste plan for its burgeoning youth population in a way that will ensure the future prosperity of their nascent nation.

Timor-Leste’s population has a median age of just 16.8 years old (by way of comparison Australia’s median age is 37.4), making it one of the youngest national populations in the world. Saikia and his team have worked closely with the Timor-Leste government to combine the standard quantitative UNDP HDI statistics and measures with qualitative research into the lives, aspirations and experiences of Timor-Leste’s youth. The evidence they collect and present in their report will be crucial to the government’s evidence-based policy development process, a process that will allow Timor-Leste to take advantage of the opportunities that its young population will offer as they age.

The results of this research will shape government investment and priorities in areas such as education, training and infrastructure. For a new nation this information will prove truly defining and there are precious few research projects that can demonstrate nation-shaping influence.

From left to right: Associate Professor Udoy Saikia, Mr Knut Ostby (United Nations Resident Coordinator, Timor-Leste), Ms Noura Hamladji (Former Country Director, UNDP Timor-Leste), Dr Merve Hosgelen, Associate Professor Gour Dasvarma, and Dr James Chalmers.