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‘Whistle while you work’: A comparative study of gender representation in ‘Little Snow White’ and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Get PDFThis article employs comparative methods to explore gender representation and the depiction of female innocence and sexuality in two iterations of the ‘Snow White’ fable: the 1812 Brothers Grimm fairytale ‘Little Snow White’, and Walt Disney’s 1937 screen adaptation Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. By conducting literature-based research into the historical contexts of the texts, as well as into critical issues raised by adaptation, it will be made evident that both iterations clearly encourage traditional family values and call for women to take on a subservient role. This article argues that while Disney has more recently attempted to engage in a contemporary brand of ‘marketable’ feminism, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs followed in kind from the Brothers Grimm by depicting the character Snow White as a personification of nineteenth and twentieth-century ideals surrounding gendered domesticity. Her stepmother, on the other hand, represents ‘harmful’ female sexuality. The remaining dramatis personae—particularly the prince and the seven dwarfs—are the Queen’s narrative foils, reinforcing patriarchal supremacy and reflecting the sensibilities of their historical audiences. Ultimately, it may be concluded that the two adaptations reflect disjunctions between traditional audiences of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and contemporary liberal sensibilities concerning gender
Metabolism and allometric scaling of the infraorder Acrididea, including four grasshopper species of the Australian Wet Tropics (suborder Caelifera)
Get PDFThe metabolic rate of various grasshopper species, in particular Valanga irregularis and Austacris guttulosa, collected from around the Daintree Rainforest Observatory, was measured. This was done to investigate the relationship between mass and metabolic rate in grasshoppers, and how closely it followed Kleiber’s law. The difference in metabolic rates between Valanga irregularis and Austacris guttulosa was also investigated. Grasshoppers are an abundant and important part of ecosystems. Additionally, Austacris guttulosa is a pest species, and information about its metabolism may be useful in controlling it. The metabolic efficiency of grasshoppers and their mass had a power relationship, but did not exactly follow the equation of Kleiber’s law. Austacris guttulosa had a significantly lower metabolic rate than Valanga irregularis
Plasticity in photosynthesis of bat laurel (Prunus polystachya) in tropical rainforest of Singapore
Get PDFRainforests are one of the most important habitats that contain an extraordinary amount of our global biodiversity. However, due to human disturbance we have lost a great portion of primary forests. Thankfully due to the rising awareness of the importance of rainforests, secondary rainforests are regenerating, providing a new environmental condition for different species as it is a much higher light environment than primary forests. Plants are then forced to adjust their traits in order to adapt to the new lighting conditions. This study investigates the plasticity in photosynthesis characteristics of Prunus polystachya, we predicted that understory leaves will have a higher chlorophyll content, higher overall carbon fixed during photosynthesis and higher photosynthetic induction. These predictions were made since understory leaves receive very little light, they rely heavily on sun flecks for photosynthesis, therefore they should have photosynthetic traits that will maximise all the sunlight they receive. We found that understory leaves do indeed have a higher chlorophyll density and carbon fix amount, but the hypothesis of understory leaves have a higher photosynthetic induction was not supported. The findings of this study could assist in determining how different species excel under different conditions, leading to the prediction of floristic composition of primary and secondary forests. In the field of conservation of forests, it will assist in predicting the species turnover rate between primary and secondary rainforests by having knowledge of which species will need protection and which we should focus on the regeneration of secondary forests
Treatment of migrant workers in the Middle East: Modern-day slavery?
Get PDFThis article aims to establish that the treatment of migrant workers in the Middle East is a form of modern-day slavery. This area of research has not been written about extensively in academia, thus it is important to address this gap by writing about these lived experiences. Research in this area predominantly focuses on ill-treatment without acknowledging that maltreatment fulfills the criteria of slavery. This essay used a top to bottom societal analysis of academic, social media, and entertainment sources in order to ascertain its findings. This article found empirical and conceptual validity to the claim that treatment of migrant workers in the Middle East is akin to modern-day slavery. This was established through determining that abuse, exploitative working conditions, and denial of freedom are the prevalent forms of maltreatment, which correlate with the criteria that is used to establish slavery. This essay also found that legal and economic vulnerability, as well as racial bias, allow slavery-like practices to continue with impunity in the Middle East. These findings are valuable for the field of social science as they widen the scope of academic discourse on this issue, and shed light on marginalised groups like migrant workers that do not often have their experiences studied
The promises and pitfalls of digital activism: Fighting for #MeToo under the Great Firewall of China
Get PDFIn 2017, the #MeToo movement swept across the globally interconnected digital sphere, exposing cases of sexual assault and harassment across a plethora of industries worldwide, with Hollywood in particular dominating the spotlight. However, little research has been conducted into how this movement translates in non-Western online domains, and the efforts of survivors and grassroots activists in sustaining change online in the face of digital censorship. This essay provides critical insight into how #MeToo has manifested in the Chinese digital sphere, and how these digital movements often struggle to operate and survive within an authoritarian context. It explores how Chinese netizens have thus articulated and cultivated a participatory presence online, carving out a malleable creative space for survivors and activists that is constantly circumventing and adapting to the boundaries of online censorship. Through the evaluation of tactics used by Chinese activists in the #MeToo movement, this essay highlights the complex and dichotomous utility of digital media, through its promises and pitfalls in generating tangible sociocultural transformation
Thermoregulatory behaviours and ecology of wolf spiders in the Australian alpine region
Get PDFResearch on temperature regulation in invertebrates has been limited, particularly in arachnids such as the alpine wolf spider Tasmanicosa musgravei. This study examined thermoregulatory activity in T. musgravei and whether this changed with temperature and spider size. The spatial distribution of this species and the relationship between burrow width and temperature/size were also explored. Spiders were filmed for at least one hour to determine frequency of thermoregulatory behaviours and compared to both temperature and size. Burrows and ground temperatures were also measured at different sites within Kosciusko National Park, Australia. From this data, there was no significant difference in the activity patterns at temperatures between 14-21°C nor with body mass. Body mass also had no significant effect on the spatial distribution of this species. Burrow dimensions were not affected by temperature but were significantly correlated with the size of the spider. This information may be useful in formulating management strategies for this species both currently and in response to changes in environment
Climate displacement and the need for legal protection
Get PDFThis paper explores the discrepancy between the protection available to traditional refugees—as defined in art 1A(2) of the Refugee Convention—and other displaced people, including migrants and internally displaced people (IDPs), and the protection available to people displaced due to climate-related factors. This paper proposes changes to the current definitions as a way to secure protection rights for those displaced due to climate-related factors, without having to change the current legal framework or create a new one. The paper begins by examining the current legal definitions, highlighting precedents for changing the legal definitions of refugees over the years. It then presents the rationale for the proposed changes, describing three common scenarios to demonstrate the plight of those displaced due to climaterelated factors, before offering recommendations to secure their protection under both international and domestic law
Why we should trust scientific consensus: An extension of Naomi Oreskes’s argument
Get PDFSince the very beginnings of modern science, findings that have challenged various aspects of the social status quo have been met with extreme resistance. Even after ideas such as heliocentrism, natural selection, vaccination, and global warming achieved consensus support within their respective fields, many opponents have continued to deny them on the grounds that the scientific consensus is corrupt, mistaken, dogmatic, or some combination thereof. It was in response to contemporary manifestations of this concern that the historian of science Naomi Oreskes wrote an article for Time magazine titled ‘Science isn’t always perfect—But we should still trust it’ (2019). In the article she presents a nuanced case for why non-scientists can and should trust in scientific consensus. The purpose of this essay is to delve deeper into her argument and ultimately to strengthen it with the addition of new premises. I start by offering a brief reconstruction of the original argument before examining some key objections to it. After assessing the strengths of these objections, I suggest a way of addressing them that involves introducing a new distinction between two different types of consensus. I conclude that consensus only carries epistemic weight when it emerges from the process of scrutiny described by Oreskes, but that when it does, we are obliged to heed it
Reality or rhetoric: The role of education in achieving gender equality in Myanmar
Get PDFUnited Nations Secretary-General António Guterres recently declared gender equality to be ‘the unfinished business of our time’.1 Equality of opportunity, regardless of sex, seems a clear and accepted goal for policymakers. However, in most countries, progress remains slow. This report explores how, and why, some strategies for pursuing gender equality are failing to achieve progress.
For decades, education has been promoted as an invaluable tool for promoting gender equality.2 However, research into education in Myanmar challenges this assumption. Women outnumber men at every stage of education, yet remain economically repressed and politically underrepresented. Our research explores why traditional education reform is failing the women of Myanmar. Through policy analyses and interviews conducted in schools, communities, and political arenas, we investigate the disjunction between increased participation of women in education and improvements in post-education outcomes. By affirming existing gender inequality, the current education system is creating an unbroken cycle of discriminatory attitudes and outcomes.
We recommend integrated reform of Myanmar’s school curriculum, examination structure, teacher training, and resourcing. By redefining children’s experience in school, Myanmar’s government can transform education into a tool to empower, not repress, the women it shapes
Introduction to Volume 11
No full textBy most yardsticks, 2020 was a rough year; one that challenged our collective resilience. Bushfires blazing across Australia, widespread political and social unrest, and above all a global pandemic defined a truly tumultuous year. The quest to develop a COVID-19 vaccine is a timely reminder of the importance of research for societal good. For many scientists and researchers across all fields, that journey begins as an undergraduate. As editors of the ANU Undergraduate Research Journal, we are proud to once again curate an outstanding selection of essays across multiple disciplines from undergraduate students at The Australian National University. Topical and ongoing concerns, from climate change to #MeToo to the welfare of Indigenous Australians, are discussed in the essays that follow