The Cognitive Psychology Research Group of the School of Psychology, University of Newcastle, hosted the Australasian Mathematical Psychology Conference (AMPC) on 11 and 12 February 2021. The conference was a great success and received unanimous positive feedback on its innovative format.

 The conference adopted a first-of-its-kind format for AMPC: a hybrid in-person and online presence, to accommodate the challenges of COVID-19. All presentations were pre-recorded and available for viewing prior to the conference, all presenters gave blitz presentations in the style of a 3-minute thesis, and extended discussion sessions allowed for deep scientific interaction about a wide range of topics. Delegates repeatedly provided feedback about how they have sorely missed the in-person, informal interactions that take place at conferences and that AMPC 2021 provided ample opportunity for interaction with colleagues outside one’s home institution.

 The in-person events took place at the stunning Noah’s on the Beach Newcastle with delegates attending from a number of universities across NSW. AMPC also welcomed online delegates from across Australia and the world, with presentations from researchers in Australia, USA, UK, Europe, and Asia. The conference was thus an excellent showcase both domestically and abroad of the University of Newcastle’s research strength in cognitive and quantitative psychology.

 Many of the pre-recorded presentations are available for viewing to members of the public at no charge via mathpsych.org. Please note that some pre-recorded presentations are embargoed and only available to registered delegates. Here's a link: https://mathpsych.org/conference/6/schedule

 

Is colour really that important? PhD student Chloe Peneaux suggests birds' colour could mark population decline

 A recent publication by UoN School of Psychology’s PhD student, Chloe Peneaux, has made it into a short list of just four papers nominated for the best paper published by an Early Career author in the international journal IBIS in 2020. Her paper titled “The potential utility of carotenoid‐based coloration as a biomonitor of environmental change” was selected by IBIS Editors and the final vote for the best overall paper is now over to the wider ornithological community.

Chloe argues that measuring brightly coloured morphological features in birds could proactively ascertain whether populations are at risk of declining. This is because bright markings often correlate with an individual’s reproductive success. She shows that coloration measurements could easily become standard practice within widespread banding programs.

To cast your vote, go to https://bou.org.uk/ibis/best-ecr-paper-of-2020/