Nexus

The Impact of Opportunity: Reflections of a TASA 2024 Bursary Recipient by Xavier Mills

TASA 2024 was a great opportunity to present some findings from my research, (re)connect with colleagues and peers from TASA 2022, make new connections, and attend some intriguing workshops and seminars. Firstly, TASA 2024 gave me the opportunity to present research findings from a sub-project of my broader PhD. The paper, titled “How do I answer this?”: A queer critique of Australian Census forms and the reification of heteronormative families, looked at the heteronormative logics that informed the design, analysis and dissemination of the 2021 Australian census findings. I found this panel that I presented in to be particularly coherent, eliciting great discussion with the audience and other presenters. Dr Anthony Smith presented a paper about queer people’s participation and trust in surveys, and Ollie Cook discussed how trans and non-binary people come to define and understand trans-identities, both of which grouped extremely well with my own presentation.

While it was optimistic of me, I also presented on behalf of Prof Kath Albury and Dr Samantha Mannix, for our joint paper titled ‘Translating expertise: the challenges of digital health resourcing for young adult sexual health’. This allowed me to present to an audience of health sociologists that I would not normally network with, opening up interesting dialogue about our research areas.

While at TASA 2024 I also attended a number of seminars and workshops. This included Career Stage Workshop: Pitching for Publication (PART B) with Prof Kay Cook and Career Stage Workshop: Pitching for Publication (PART C) 'Getting your Research into Publication' Presented by Julia Cook & Benjamin Hanckel. I found the workshop with Julia Cook & Benjamin Hanckel particularly inspiring, where we discussed how to make the biggest impact with our research, both within and outside of academia. It was also refreshing to hear from Julia and Ben, both of whom (I think) are early career researchers, about their highs and lows of academia.

It felt really important for me to attend this year’s TASA conference given I am planning to submit my PhD in 12 months, and have all my data and preliminary analysis completed. TASA 2024 gave me the opportunity to connect with other researchers who have similar interests, and for me to share more about my own area of research. I clearly had a tremendous time at TASA 2024, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the bursary I received – which paid for my accommodation. I am so looking forward to TASA 2025, and hopefully many more to come.