Featuring SR of the Year David Smith

Featuring iHMA Execs Tiffanie Sugianto Neil Chen Bernie Lim Movie to watch in OCT and NOV Catching Fire MAJOR event in OCT and NOV STUVAC Suppers

UTLOOK

2013 Issue 4: Oct 2013

Cover photo by Shun Yang Ch’ng

8 | Biomedical SciencesCancer Nanotechnology

9 | LeisureA New Camera

10 | What’s up in Sydney

11 | RecommendedMovies

3 | FeatureIHMA Executives: Tiffanie Sugianto, Neil Chen, and Bernie Lim

5 | FeatureDavid Smith

7 | Science and TechnologyAbout Space

IHMA OUTLOOK IS OPEN TO FEEDBACK AND SUGGESTIONS!

SEND US AN EMAIL AT IHMASYDNEYUNI@GMAIL.COM

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chairperson: Tiffanie Treasurer: Neil Secretary: BernieWhat is your role and what is it about?

As the IHMA Chairperson, my roles are to oversee the activities of IHMA, to actively listen to feedback from residents and to represent IHMA’s views in meet-ings with the IH Office, Senior Leadership Team, IH Council, SUIHAA and organisations external to IH. In consultation with the other Execs and/or the IHMA Committee, I give recom-mendations for IHMA programs and ensure all IHMA Committee members have all the resources and they need to implement them.

My principal role as the IHMA treasurer is to manage the society’s finance, ensur-ing that all activities throughout the year have sufficient financial resources to pro-ceed. Some of my duties include prepa-ration of the annual budget, establish a proper financial record system and make sure all transactions are duly authorized and documented. I also communicate with the office and external parties regarding all matters financial. Despite my role is predominantly about money, I also play an important role as part of the executive team in facilitating a smooth operation of the IHMA committee.

I am currently serving as the Secretary of IHMA. This means that I act as the liaison between the Committee and the rest of my house. My responsibilities include assisting in coordinating IHMA’s events and activities, taking min-utes at the meetings, collecting IHMA mail, handling magazine subscriptions and attending SUI-HAA and Council meetings.

Why did you decide to nominate yourself last year?

Ever since I came here last year, I have always strongly identified with the welcoming and diverse culture of IH. I had a wonderful learning experience in the IHMA Committee as a Food Coordi-nator and would like to greatly extend my contribution to the IH community as I gain valuable leadership experience.

I nominated myself for this role primar-ily for professional reasons. Since I am studying an accounting related degree I really wish to be able to put some of that theoretical knowledge into practice. A unique advantage about being the IHMA treasurer is the relative lack of strict rules and regulations that governs the role. Though there are certain rules and procedures to follow, such as preparation of semester financial reports or prepar-ing refunds, the process how I choose to do them is very flexible. This allows me to constantly try new approaches and always learn from my mistakes.

The reason why I nominated myself was because I wanted to get more involved with the House. I had been on the general IHMA committee as a photographer and I thought that being Secretary would help me to get a better un-derstanding of iH and allow me to get more involved in the commu-nity! Also it sounded like a cool job and I like taking notes :D

What are some important personal qualities that your roles involve?

Organisational skills, time- and stress-management skills, confi-dence, commitment, creativity, ability to delegate, communica-tion skills, flexibility, openness in accepting and implementing feedback and optimism. This is my first chairperson experience and most of the qualities I listed are qualities I actually acquired from this experience.

The number one quality required is ded-ication. Accounting can at times seem pretty repetitive and tedious, but one must constantly stick to the parameters you establish for keeping your records so as to ensure the integrity of data is not compromised. Second is a willingness to learn – always learn from your mistakes and try to come up with better ways of doing things. Last but not least, the abil-ity to work as part of a team. It’s impor-tant to realize that the role does not exist independent of others.

I think that the job involves good time management and communi-cation skills. Time management is important for managing my vari-ous commitments and communi-cation is important when working with everyone on the committee.

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3Featuring

IHMA ExecsThe end of the academic year is almost upon us and a new round of IHMA Executives will soon to be challenged into steping up to the high standards achieved by this year’s exec team: Tiffanie Sugianto, Neil Chen, and Bernie Lim. In this interview, the current execs reveal some interesting and important tips for the future execs. Interview by Shun Yang Ch’ng

What is the most impor-tant thing you’ve learnt from this role so far?

tThe importance of creating and maintaining rapport and com-munication in inspiring actions. They involve always having a good attitude, sensitivity to feedbacks, carrying out routine follow-ups and understanding people in both professional and personal levels.

I would perhaps say that I am much more financial literate as a result of serv-ing on this position. I learn how to look at finance from a holistic perspective, I learn how to use accounting software, and basically I get to deal with all sorts of stuff that I wouldn’t have had the chance to experience before. This role is like a window to the real commercial world for me.

I’ve learnt to trust my own judg-ment.

How much time/dedi-cation/com-mitment per week does your role involve?

I actually never count how much time I spend. I think it really varies from time to time, depending on the number and scale of IHMA events happening, availability of resources and my own and Committee members’ academic workload.

It varies depending on the times of the year. I would perhaps say at the start of each year it’s always the busiest time because of the amount of learning that is required to get ready for the year (such as learning how to deal with the software, take over management of the bank account, analyze previous budget/actual patterns and then make your own budget). As the semester goes along it will then be more about keeping a tight record of income and expenditures, monitoring the budget, and be actively engaging with the general committee regarding the operations of all events.

I wouldn’t be able to assign a set amount of hours that my role in-volves as it varies with the amount of events on. I would say that it just requires you to be dedicated to IHMA for the whole year.

How would you rec-ommend potential nominees to prepare for your role?

Create good relationships with various groups of residents, build confidence, gather lots of deter-mination and start planning!

It would be helpful if you have some ba-sic understanding of accounting prior to starting, so that you won’t find the whole thing too overwhelming. Other than that, just remember to always be willing to learn, and you will pretty much get on track in no time once you get started.

Make sure that you are able to commit the time and effort to the role. Being on IHMA Exec isn’t going to be an easy job, but it is a great experience and will teach you many things.

Any other comments?

- Based on the current situation, the much feared incorporation is perhaps not going ahead for 2014, so the role of treasurer still has the benefits I mentioned above regarding the degree of flexibility en-joyed.

I’m super excited for IHMA elections!

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5Featuring

DAVID SMITHDavid Smith was voted as the Senior Resident (SR) of the Year in the recent IH Ball. In this interview, David reveals some of his secrets being an SR... Interview by Shun Yang Ch’ng

Where are you from, what are you studying, and why are you here (in IH)?I hail from the overpopulated state of New Jersey in the United States of the USA. I’m studying Chemical Engineering, and I de-cided to stay at International House for the convenience. I’m so close to the engineering buildings I can wake up late for class and still get there on time!

Why did you decide to be an SR?I wanted a key to everyone’s room so I can sneak in and take pictures of people as they sleep. Just kidding, I don’t take pictures be-cause it wakes them up :P. I also felt that I had been here long enough (3 years and ongoing!), and knew I should give back to the house in some way. When I found out there were a few openings for SR, I went for it. I’m glad I did because I gained a new group of friends that are great to work with.

What characteristics do you think an ideal SR have?The SR needs to be at the right place at the right time, acting and reacting to situations in a manner that allows the House to run prop-erly. This means ensuring that the majority of the House is comfortable, happy, and able to go about their academia. They must be quick on their feet and forthright in their method-ologies. They must also be the person that individuals can go to if they need help with something personal, academic, or profession-al. Honestly, as the SR of the year, any charac-teristics I have are essentially characteristics an ideal SR should have. Look no further. I’m there at the right place at the right time, forth-right in our methodologies whilst keeping the House’s best interest at heart, even if that means looking the other way when

“Honestly, as the SR of the year, any characteristics I have are essentially characteristics an ideal SR should have. Look no further.”

- David, on the ideal SR characteristics

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E needed. Other SRs may have read handbooks. I wrote the handbook. Other SRs may seek to build strong relationships with residents so they may listen to them when needed. I don’t need to, as residents know what’s going to happen when they disobey. Because at the end of the day, I’m thriving in this role.

What have been some of the challenges you have faced as an SR and how did you solve them?I can’t say there has ever been a challenge so hard, a day too rough, or a resident too tough to handle. But people will nevertheless try thinking for themselves and asking questions like, ‘but why can’t I take my food to my room and take the plate down later?’, or ‘what happens at 11 pm that makes the roof an unsafe place to be?’ Proper explanation of the rules and complete disre-gard for their drivel generally gets them to walk away, their place reaffirmed.

If you are to give potential new SRs one advice, what would it be?Quid pro quo. Tit for tat. If you have provided some kind of special service for someone, they will listen when you need them. If you keep them down and ensure they know their place, they will start looking up to you. And remember that I AM THE SR OF THE YEAR. PRAISE ME!

Interviewer Yang approaching David for an interview for the Outlook

soon after David was voted the SR of the Year at the IH Ball.

Interviewer Yang befriending David a year and a half ago knowing that

he could potentially be the SR of the Year.

Interviewer Yang co-directed this year’s i-Night SR Short Film together

with David.

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To put this into perspective, the astrophysicist Neil De Grasse Tyson once suggested that chimpanzees and humans were 99% similar genet-ically. However we owe our greatest discoveries to that 1% difference, within that 1% we have created global cities, mastered the natural sciences, stretched our presence to the edge of the solar system, and many more things that make us distinctly advanced. This raises a question: what if we were to find an alien species that were to be 1% more intelligent than us? We would likely be no more than babies to them. This is one of the exciting questions that sprung off space exploration.

Space exploration is a necessity that have often been mistakenly treated as a leisurely activity by governments such as the US which infamously allocated only $1.6 billion to NASA research funds while open-heart-edly spending up to $1 trillion on warfare. This could be blamed on the government’s pre-occupation with short-term benefits rather than the much-needed foresight into the scientific future of NASA research. You might be wondering that how could any space exploration possibly be beneficial to us in Australia, a country that lacks a space race. Well, the answer lies with the side effects of space research. You might be unaware of it, but a large majority of the technology surrounding us are the offspring of the NASA space research program that wouldn’t be possible otherwise.

You don’t have to look very far for examples of NASA’s space-re-search-inspired technology. Just have a look at your running shoes. It contains shock-absorbing soles similar to the ones used in space boots. Your plasma screen computer monitors and television screens would not be possible without NASA scientists. Ear thermometers that you of-ten see at medical centres are yet another example of NASA’s technolo-gy. In addition of all these “inspired” technology, NASA has even aided in improving the water purification systems used by various countries. Space Exploration can open up more doors than we realise and affect

Science and Technology

ABOUT SPACE Written by Samanvay Karambhe

Take a moment to reflect on your own achievements in retrospect of our col-lective achievements as a human race in the past 100 years. Certainly you might say that your achievements are merely a spec of dust compared to the latter but as a race we have been undoubtedly productive compared to other animal species.

us in many unforeseen ways. It might someday hold the key to our future but we will never know unless we try. It should be seen as more of an obligation (financially permitting) as this is the hotbed for innovation. As Neil deGrasse Tyson puts it ‘Space exploration is a force of nature unto itself that no other force in society can rival’.

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As you all know, cancer is a dis-ease which has affected our lives in some way. This disease is primar-ily caused by mutations in the DNA which cannot be controlled and as such can be contracted by anyone, anywhere at any time. Currently, a cure for cancer has yet to be found. Surgery never fully removes malignant cells from the body so the remission time is very short.

Recently, there has been an emergence of an idea of combat-ing cancer with the use of nano-technology. Nanotechnology is a rapidly developing field, with many applications in a variety of other fields, ranging from medi-cine and healthcare to engineering and even to sports equipment. Many scientists already think that nanotechnology has other hidden potentials which could prove to be useful in cancer research.

There are many new research pro-jects under way that are aimed at developing cancer nanotechnolo-gy. There has been a recent break-through in cancer research with a new innovation that can identify and “filter out” circulating tumour cells, or CTCs for short. CTCs are an important factor in the metas-tasis, a.k.a spreading, of malignant tumours in the body. They form when tumour cells break off from the group and travel to other parts of the body in the blood stream. They then latch on to other parts

of the body and form into more tumours. Filtering out CTCs is a relatively new technology that is currently being researched. It is a silicon wafer with “silicon nano-pillar- covered substrates coated with epithelial-cell-adhesion molecule antibodies”. They are used like filters to essentially filter out circulating tumour cells from the blood.

The new breakthroughs in cancer nanotechnology all seem too good to be true. However, there are po-tentially many unknown risks in using nanotechnology which have yet to be full assessed. A recent study stated that there was no clear data and information on the risks of nanoparticles like its “toxicity in humans” and there has been very little investigation conducted on the possible negative effects of nanomedicine on the human body. Currently, there are a variety of programs being conducted in the U.S. that are aimed at studying these risks. However, it is because of the fact that nanotechnology is relatively new that such extensive testing needs to be done first as there is inadequate understanding of the effects, whether long-term or short-term, that nanomedicine has on the body.

Other than studying the effects of nanomedicine, there is also the problem of communicating the risks to the public as they are the ones who will be exposed to these

new changes in medicine and healthcare. In the book “Emerging Issues in Nanomedicine and Eth-ics", Bawa and Johnson explained that the public is still uncertain of the implementation of “nano-medicine” due to its unknown properties. Nanomedicine manu-facturers and researchers will have to educate the public on both the benefits and risk of nanomedicine and hold discussion sessions in order to avoid offending the public due to a lack of concern for their opinions. In other words, cancer nanotechnology may be a big step towards a cure for cancer but as a long way to go before it can be considered a viable solution for treating cancer.

Biomedical Science

CANCER NANOTECH Is cancer nanotechnology safe? Written by Michael Teoh

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9Leisure

A NEW CAMERA What camera should you get for summer travels?

Written by Shun Yang Ch’ng

Looking forward to summer travels (after the final exams, of course)? Want to take lots of beautiful and awe-inspir-ing photos? Dedicated to record down all the awesome memories?

I have made a list of highly rated cameras sorted by camera needs and ranked in order of price (option 1 being the cheapest, and option 3 being the most expensive). Do remember, however, that you pay for you get.

The hipster need is catered for people who like to be different and own beautiful ret-ro-styled cameras. The Fuji X20 is ideal for beginners who simply want great photos from a beautifully crafted camera. The Fuji X100S and the Fuji X-Pro 1 on the other hand are made for serious enthusiast and professionals as it includes full manual controls that imply a steep learning curve. While the X-Pro 1 provides the flexibility of inter-changeable lenses, the X100S utilizes a highly praised integrated fixed 23mm (35mm full frame equivalent) lens.

The snappers need is catered for beginners who just want a camera that is slightly better than their smartphones. These cameras are simple, cheap, and easy to use. In oth-er words: point and shoot! The Sony HX20V features a 20x optical zoom and is an ideal compact travel camera. The Olympux XZ2 has a well-designed fast 28-112mm lens, which makes it ideal for everyday use – be it in the morning or at night. Finally, the Sony RX100 is an advanced compact camera that combines extensive features with great image quality.

The enthusiast photographer DSLRs need is catered for enthusiast who wants to have full manual controls paired with awesome image quality. DSLRs are ideal cameras to learn photography with and offer a wide array of interchangeable lenses. The Nikon D5200 features a vari-angle 3.0” screen that makes it ideal for videos or taking photos from awkward angles. The Canon 70D features a touch screen capability and offer an incredibly high ISO sensitivity of 12, 800. The Nikon D610 has a full frame sensor that guarantees incredibly sharp photos and amazing low light performance. Do note that the images produced by DSLRs are highly dependent on the lenses you choose.

The enthusiast photographer CSC need is catered for enthusiast who wants to have image quality as good as DSLRs, but at a smaller package. A new and upcoming trend for enthusiasts and even professionals, CSC cameras also offer interchangeable lenses. The Sony NEX-3 is a relatively cheap well-rounded beginner CSC camera that offers manual controls. The Olympus OM-D E-M5 is Olympus’ retro digital camera that claims to be the fastest CSC camera at autofocusing. Sony Alpha 7 is an advanced full frame CSC that com-bines great ergonomics with amazing image quality.

Option 1 Option 2 Option 3Hipster Fuji X20 Fuji X100S Fuji X-Pro 1

Snappers Sony HX20V Olympus XZ2 Sony RX100

Enthusiast Photogra-pher DSLRs

Nikon D5200 Canon 70D Nikon D610

Enthusiast Photogra-pher CSC

Sony NEX-3 Olympus OM-D E-M5 Sony Alpha 7

Fuji X100S

Sony RX100

Nikon D610

Sony Alpha 7

The Lion King: NAAAAAANTS IN-

GOOOOOON-YAAAAAAMAAAAAA BAAAAAAGITHI BA-BAAAAAA! I’m sorry. I

could not resist, but hey, it’s The Lion King musical, at

the Capitol Theatre, starting in the middle of December, and going on for a good few

months. You know what that means? It means no

worries, for the rest of your days. It’s also a problem-free

philosophy. If you have about fifty bucks to blow, go

see it!

Finders Keepers Markets: For those of

you staying on through the summer after the contract ends, you might want to

check out this colossal indie market in Eveleigh. With hundreds of emerging de-signers and artists striving to become stallholders, this event is one to keep an eye out for, on the 6th and 7th of December! Check out

the cool garbs and get some fairy-floss!

Glebe Street Fair: Picture the ever lovely

Glebe Markets. It’s alright, but swing on over down to Glebe Point Road on

the 17th of November and feast your eyes on a kilome-ter-long (0.6 miles for some

of you) stretch of stalls and entertainment. With

a smorgasbord of things to choose form to look at or

eat, you will not run out of things to treat yourself to!

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YD What’s up in Sydney?So, you’re bored in Sydney (completely understandable) and you are wondering what you can do. Fortunately, there is actually quite a bit to do in Sydney...This list contains things to do during the summer break too! Compiled by Jieyang Low

The Rocks Village Bazaar: Ya’ll should clear

your Fridays up for the months of November and December. Seriously. The

weather is clearing up, and getting nice and warm, so head on over down to The Rocks and treat yourselves to a vibrant village experi-ence. Art, music, food and

miscellaneous things to tickle your heart will make

this a great experience.

Eveleigh Artisan’s Market: Put on your

thick-rimmed glasses, grow out your handlebar mus-

taches and gingerly slip on into your skinny jeans, be-

cause local indie artists have their stalls set up on the first

Sunday of every month, showcasing as well as selling their handmade art, fabrics

and jewelry. So head on over to Eveleigh!

Newtown Festival:: You know that town up the road from the house that doesn’t really look new, but it’s named such any-way? There is going to be a festival in the early half of November, with over a hundred stalls selling vin-tage stuff, new stuff, exotic foods, with tents set up to feature panels of writers,

plus lots of entertainment. Also, a dog show! Explore the deeper parts of New-town you’ve never seen

before!New Year’s Eve on the Harbour: Darling Harbour. New Year’s Eve. Fire-

works, performances, and huge crowds. What else could you ask for? It’s gonna be a beautiful night.

Surfest 2014: You’re not doing it right if you come

to Australia and don’t even try to learn how to surf. It’s harder than it looks, much more fun than it looks and

far more rewarding an experience than it looks. It’s a bit far away, located at Merewether Beach in

Newcastle, but totally worth the journey to see a few of the top surfers in the world competing.form to look at or eat, you will not run out of things to treat yourself

to!

Movies-to-watch in OCT/NOV

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire:It’s returning, and the film series adapta-tion of the acclaimed book series looks to be better than ever. With the dreamy Liam Hemsworth being in this movie, how can you say no?

Ender’s GameScience fiction meets war, with the movie adaptation of the book being highly antici-pated. Humans and aliens and soldiers. It’s looking to be like the conventional science fiction movie, yet not at all.

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Muse – Live: As of typ-ing, there are limited tick-ets left for sale, and by the

time you read this, you just might have a few seconds left to be able to secure a

ticket to catch the phenom-enal rock band live in Syd-ney. Known for putting on amazing live performances, Muse is one of those bands that are just that much bet-ter live. Ready your bodies and ears for the Friday the 13th of December. Luck is

on your side.

Summer Wrap Up: This isn’t an event, but more of a suggestion. If you’re in Sydney for the summer, be it for school or just chill-ing out, go out and ex-

plore. Go up the coast. You won’t regret it. Go down

the coast. You won’t regret it. Although up the coast

seems pretty cool. Australia is beautiful, but you have to go looking for it. It doesn’t come to you easily. With

stellar views and impressive attractions, you shouldn’t linger around a city if you can. Go out, and have fun!

CONTACT USif you guys have any questions, comments, opinions, recommendations, suggestions

Shun Yang Ch’ngJieyang Low

ihmasydneyuni@gmail.comTiffanie Sugianto - Chairperson

Bernadette Lim Lo Suy - SecretaryNeil Chen - Treasurer

Neil Fraser - Social CoordinatorAmar Arsiwala - Social Coordinator

Jess Hoorda - Social CoordinatorKatie Croaker - Social Coordinator

Samuel Lee - Shop Coordinator Friska Ruslim - Shop Coordinator

Andre Sugianto - Shop CoordinatorDonny Ha - Sports CoordinatorBo Yun Lu - Sports Coordinator

Bella Draeger - Food CoordinatorEvan Voroney - Food Coordinator

Tess Bennetts - Food CoordinatorElaine Xue - Intercollegiate Rep.

Shannon Tay - Intercollegiate Rep.Shun Yang Ch ng - Publications Officer

Jieyang Low - Publications OfficerMai Nguyen - Environmental/ Welfare

Officer Ashan Dias - Environmental/ Welfare

OfficerJulie Chow - Photographer

Timothy King - PhotographerFei Xue Jin - Advertising Officer

Karina Sathar - Advertising OfficerJun Ming Kong - Advertising Officer