The Research Relay

What risks do diffusion models pose? And what do people view as the most harmful consequences of AI-generated explicit imagery? Jemima Brooker, who recently completed a Bachelor of Criminology with First Class Honours, explored these questions in their thesis. Passionate about safeguarding children and vulnerable populations, their research tackles the uncomfortable but vital issue of how artificial intelligence can be misused to create sexually abusive content.

How can lawyers best represent Indigenous Australian defendants in criminal court rooms? Nina Gannon, a recent ANU Law School graduate and associate at the ACT Supreme Court, discusses her time on-country in Central Australia and in Northern Territory courts. Her law dissertation explores concepts of ethical advocacy and cultural safety, and seeks to provide practical steps to lawyers for improving access to justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients.

How are Australian democratic practices shifting in a new age of technology and social media? What defines truth, and who should be able to make the call on what is and isn't misinformation? Felix Archibald is final year Law student at ANU who has made multiple submissions to parliament on topics of information censorship. He discusses these submissions and the international landscape of democracy and technology.

Why was the Mabo case in the Australian High Court so monumental? How do, and should, historians and lawyers work together? Archie Horneman-Wren is a Law and History student at ANU, with a keen interest in Australian Indigenous Studies. He discusses his paper that won the 2023 Australian Legal History Essay competition, and the law dissertation he is writing this semester.

What will the new age of military occupations look like, and what must occupying nations do to justly preserve humanity? Oscar Pearce, a final year Law and Politics student, comes on the podcast to discuss his Law Dissertation on the legalities of military occupations.

*Warning* - The Gaza conflict is discussed, from a legal (not political) perspective.

S1 - Climate Change and Sustainability. E5 - Cyclone Intervention

Max Etherington evaluates the potential for dispersing aerosols - particles suspended in air - over large tropical cyclones to limit their growth in intensity.

S1 - Climate Change and Sustainability. E4 - The History of Earth's Climate

Seb Bland explores the importance of Paleoclimatology in tackling climate change and how he determined what the wind strength was off Australia's northwestern coast a million years ago.

S1 - Climate Change and Sustainability. E3 - Heat and the Human Body.

Zoe Crooke breaks down her Honours thesis, exploring the molecular changes in our bodies during passive heat stress. Amongst many topics, she explains what happens when someone suffers from heat-stroke, and highlights the key differences between RNA and DNA.

S1 - Climate Change and Sustainability. E2 - Solar Cells and Hydrogen.

How do we capture energy from the sun? Why should we care about hydrogen? What are Perovskites? Isaac Martin, a final year Bachelor of Engineering (R&D) student, gives a run down on the basics of photovoltaic technologies and the emerging markets that he is helping to develop. Isaac explores the ways in which we can create hydrogen directly from sunlight and water, as well as alternative methods for applying Perovskite films to cells.

S1 - Climate Change and Sustainability. E1 - Food Security and Supply Chain Resilience.

Through her undergraduate research, Kayleigh Sleath developed a start-up company - Ohna - cutting out the middleman between small and medium scale farmers and customers. Kayleigh is (at recording) in her 4th year studying a Bachelor of Engineering (R&D)(Honours) at the Australian National University.