February 27, 2024

UOW expert commentary (27 February)

UOW academics provide expert commentary, opinion and analysis on a range of ongoing and breaking news stories

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Deepfake explicit imagery

Dr Armin Alimardani can discuss concerns about the growing use of artificial intelligence to generate sexually explicit deepfake images. This comes after the announcement of Sora, OpenAI’s new video generation tool. Dr Alimardani is a Lecturer in the School of Law and an expert in the ethical and legal implications of emerging technologies. 

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Women's History Month

Professor Sharon Crozier-de Rosa is a historian who can talk about Women’s History Month (March) which celebrates the contributions of women to events in history and society. Professor Crozier-de Rosa is the Deputy Editor of the international journal Women’s History Review and Board Member of the International Federation for Research in Women’s History. She is a Professor in the School of Humanities and Social Inquiry.

Associate Professor Claire Lowrie is a historian whose research explores the history of labour, migration, and colonialism in tropical northern Australia and Southeast Asia. Associate Professor Lowrie has also written extensively on the history of domestic service. She is an Associate Professor in the School of Humanities and Social Inquiry.

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Donald Trump

Dr Luis Gómez Romero can discuss the likelihood of Donald Trump returning to the White House as the US President. Dr Gómez Romero is an expert in human rights, international law and international relations. He is a Lecturer in the School of Law.

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Portrayal of autism in entertainment media

Professor Sandra Thom-Jones is available for interviews about the portrayal of autism in entertainment media. In a recent interview for Rolling Stone magazine, Professor Thom-Jones said so many portrayals of autistic people are white, adolescent, young-adult males typically from middle-class families. She says:

“Where are the autistic females? Where are the autistic people of colour? Where are the autistic people with different presentations? That is starting to change, but very slowly.” 

Professor Thom-Jones is an autistic author, artisan, academic and advocate. She is an Honorary Professor in the Faculty of the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities.

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World Seagrass Day – Friday 1 March

Dr Marian Wong is a marine biologist who can talk about World Seagrass Day (Friday 1 March). The day is celebrated annually to raise awareness of the importance of seagrasses as a core component of marine biodiversity, the threats that they face, and their contribution to sustainable development and climate change mitigation and adaptation. Dr Wong is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences.

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Eight new bee species found in the Pacific Islands

Dr James Dorey can talk about the discovery of eight new bee species in the Pacific Islands. In an article Dr Dorey co-authored for The Conversation he writes:

After a decade searching for new species of bees in forests of the Pacific Islands, all we had to do was look up. We soon found eight new species of masked bees in the forest canopy: six in Fiji, one in French Polynesia and another in Micronesia. Now we expect to find many more.

Forest-dwelling bees evolved for thousands of years alongside native plants, and play unique and important roles in nature. Studying these species can help us better understand bee evolution, diversity and conservation.

Dr Dorey’s current research is on the evolution, ecology, zoology, and phylogenetics of global bee species. He is a Lecturer in the School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences.

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UOW academics exercise academic freedom by providing expert commentary, opinion and analysis on a range of ongoing social issues and current affairs. This expert commentary reflects the views of those individual academics and does not necessarily reflect the views or policy positions of the University of Wollongong.