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The Australian Institute for Women's Research and Policy (AIWRAP) at Griffith University is working with Sue Nielsen and Liisa von Hellens in the School of Information Technology on a pilot study investigating the participation of women in computing and information technology at Griffith University. The study will look at why female students choose to study IT and the factors which affect their performance and their decisions to remain in the area of study. It is expected to inform strategies on better recruitment and retention rates of female students in IT. AIWRAP expects to develop further research on women in IT, covering issues such as how women use IT, occupational and personal uses, and the gendered cultural aspects of a rapidly expanding technological environment.
Tanya Monro of the Department of Theoretical Physics at Sydney University is working on a PhD entitled Self Written Waveguides. Her research may well have future practical applications in the area of fibre optics.