r
Jar
!CI
JT
1i- en tm
!rS
of
JU-
Ie- ve he ng m- od
a- sis tys ch ise
es as io- . ed
in int er.
is nd act
n.
duate post-
Sep- holar- luate;
es 30 ollege 1ange;
ptem- 1d fel- here);
ields;
rtiary duate;
)men;
ering, istry;
• tates;
Sep- hips;
'ields;
j wild post- cture, :ecol- nent:
Bage :luate:
[llOra- ,radu- ber.
post- er.
;ralia;
tl and I Sep- post-
;loses
;y Ltd
~ ~----~--~--~~~~~~~~=======
378 103 " 9431 ~ueensland
\Jniversity of Technology
Newspaper
Issue No 74 Gardens Point, Kelvin Grove, Kedron Park, Carseldine Campuses and Nambour Centre 3 September 1991
Brisbane demands free recycling
The people of Brisbane over- whelmingly favour kerbside recy- cling collection but draw the line at paying for it.
A QUT survey conducted for Brisbane City Council shows that 96 percent of residents taking part in a trial want the roadside collec- tion to continue.
But more than half said they would not be prepared to pay for the shortfall if costs exceeded money recouped by recycling.
About 24 percent said they would only pay a minimal subsidy of less than 20 cents a week.
The public attitudes survey on the
SC A T!
venture s out West
SCA fl will cover 7000km in two weeks on a whirlwind tour of West- em Australia later this month.
The 10-member QUT staff and student group is Australia's only professional jazz vocal ensemble.
The tour through Sand groper ter- ritory will head south to Esperance, Albany and Kalgoorlie and up to Geraldton, Newman and Port Hedland.
Funded by the Western Austral- ian Government, the tour will in- clude performances every night at various civic theatres.
Spokesman, vocalist and trom- bone player Mr Harlie Axford said the invitation came as a result of the group's first W A appearance to open the Bunbury Civic Theatre last No- vember.
Mr Axford said the tour would be the first with new member Dave Armstrong, a QUT Bachelor of Edu- cation (Music) student who replaced Paul Gagan.
Paul left to work in North Queens- land.
The tour will include tracks off the group's latest compact disc That's SCAT! to be released in No- vember.
It will feature 17 tracks including new original work plus reworked versions of hits like You Make Me Feel So Young, Lover Come Back To Me and Making Whoopee ..
The new CD and cassette will be launched officially with a concert at the Queensland Performing Arts Complex on 23 ovember.
It will be the third SCAT! record- ing. Original SCAT! hit the streets six years ago and SCAT!, a record- ing industry award winner, was re- leased in 1987.
Other SCAT! vocalists are Paul Ford, Marian Jenkinson, Andrea Morris, John Standfast, Sandra Matt and James Simpson.
Instrumentalists are James Simpson (keyboard), Sean Metcalf (bass), John "Gibbo" Gibson (per- cussion), Mike Faragher (reeds) and John Stadfast (guitar).
trial was conducted in April by busi- ness management students super- vised by School of Mathematics staff.
A total of 1201 households were interviewed - 457 on the northside and 744 on the southside.
The survey aimed to gauge public opinion on the value of the collec- tion, its future continuation, con- tainer preference and possible cost.
Data analyst and mathematics lec- turer Mrs Helen Gustafson said most householders interviewed gave a positive response to the council's recycling initiative.
Mrs Gustafson said the survey clearly indicated a preference for the
plastic recycling crate, as opposed to a plastic sack alternative cur- rently on trial in new suburbs.
Results show that 92 percent of householders used the crate. About 67 percent put the crate out for col- lection every week even if it was not always full.
Almost 80 percent said the crate was of sufficient size.
Mrs Gustafson said the survey also highlighted the public's confu- sion over what plastics were suit- able for recycling.
"Some people did not know what PET bottles were, for instance. Peo- ple tend to have negative reactions
if some of the plastics they leave out for recycling are not collected," she said.
Polyethylene (PET) bottles are those with hard black bases like many soft drink bottles.
Other high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastics, like two-litre milk containers, are also suitable. Many take-away food and margarine con- tainers, for example, are not.
Mrs Gustafson said the percent- ages of householders placing all or most of their recyclables in the crate was encouraging .
• Continued page 3
At keyboard: Paula Ford, James Simpson, Sandra Mott. Behind from left: John Standfast, Andrea Morris, Harlie Axford, Marian Jenkinson and Dave Armstrong.
Ms Helen Gustafson
A boost to equity
A program to make tertiary edu- cation more accessible to students from disadvantaged backgrounds has been launched at QUT.
p·vly-appoint d Project Officer for the Q-Step program Mr Derek Bland said the scheme's main purpose was to help students from identified disad- vantaged schools.
The program is an initiative of QUT's Equity Board.
"Economic disadvantage sets up a cycle," said Mr Bland. "When making ends meet is a daily battle there is less chance to enjoy other options in life.
"Economic disadvantage leads to educational and career disadvantage.
This adds up to disempowerment."
In its first year of operation, Q-Step is taking its first steps towards break- ing that cycle. It plans to encourage 50 students from disadvantaged back- grounds to study at QUT.
Typically, they will be students who did not quite reach the required cut- off TE score but have been assessed as being capable of handling tertiary studies.
"A disadvantaged environment can affect a student's TE score," said Mr Bland. "Such students may have to work part time to contribute to the fam- ily income, have responsibilities car- ing for siblings or have education dis- rupted by frequent family relocation or difficult migrant passage .
"Under such circumstances studies suffer."
Mr Bland will consult with high school principals, guidance officers and counsellors to promote opportu- nities at QUT. He will also work in cooperation with the recently estab- lished parallel program at the Univer- sity of Queensland, UQ Link, to pro- mote available opportunities through the school system.
Support services offered to disad- vantaged students by Q-Step will in- clude a pre-orientation program to ad- vise on study skills and how to access campus welfare services.
Q-Step students will be encouraged to set up a peer support network.
Mr Bland said with the growth of technological change programs such as Q-step adopted greater significance because the types of jobs traditionally taken by school leavers from low-in- come areas were rapidly disappearing.
For further information contact Mr Bland on 864 3731.
· OUT Central Administration 2 George Street Brisbane 4000 Telephone (07) 864 2999 Registered by Australia Post-Publication No. QBF 4778
Vice-Chancellor's comment
Teaching recognised in promotions
By now, staff who were successful in QUT's annual promotion scheme to senior lecturer or to associate professor/professor will have received per- sonal notification. (They will be named in the next issue of Inside QUT.)
From 70 applications, II staff were promoted to senior lecturer and six to associate professor. The number of appointments was not constrained by resources. Promotions were based upon merit.
Teaching performance and leadership was a strong factor in five of the II senior lecturer promotions and in two of the six associate professor promo- tions. I believe this is noteworthy in a university which has set its sights on being number one in teaching and in employability of graduates.
One problem is that staff tend to assert rather than demonstrate teaching performance and leadership. For this reason, I find the Academic Staff Development Unit's concept of staff maintaining a teaching portfolio an attractive option.
For a university which aims to raise its research performance the fact that eight of the senior lecturers and four of the associate professors are strong research and schol- arship performers was signifi- cant.
This scheme provides an out- standing opportunity for staff to have their contribution to the university and their profession recognised through personal promotion.
I encourage academic staff to familiarise themselves with parameters for assessing this contribution.
Congratulations to the suc- cessful applicants.
Professor Dennis Gibson
Brisbane exhibition of children's art- see story page 3
Letter
--·--·-·---"---"-""'._...~
Reply does not answer library woe
I believe the reply from Student Services Manager Mr John Stubbs to nursing student Peter Amabile (IQ 20/8/91) has missed the latter's point.
Instead of considering a simple, inexpensive, time saving suggestion, he appears to have rushed off onto the ever-popular tangent of bigger and better technology, laser images and CD ROMS.
I'm sure no-one can deny the ulti- mate benefit of such wondrous things. CD ROMS in the library have done nothing to enhance the level of staff quality. Instead, in most areas, staff shortages, in favour of hardware, have led to an embarrass- ingly low standard of service and production in general.
Think of all those library users who could easily do without annual (daily actually) photo queues to get on with their business.
If a sticker seems vulnerable, per- haps we could over-laminate the card after applying a small date sticker each year. That will still take time and plastic, but it must at least halve the precious time now wasted.
Heather McLean, library.
Staffing needs under review
A working party has been estab- lished by QUT's Staff Committee to assess future staffing needs.
The party was formed as a response to Higher Education: The Challenges Ahead (December 1990) and the Blandy Report (December 1990) to address issues raised in these reports.
Staff are invited to attend lunchtime
"input sessions" at which they can raise any issue they feel is relevant to plan- ning for future staffing needs at QUT.
The sessions are at: Kedron Park 12 -2 pm on Friday, 6 September (Room A 204), Gardens Point 1 - 2 pm on Tuesday 10 September (Room V712 Library building), Kelvin Grove 1 -2 pm on Wednesday 11 September (Room E105/6 Education building) and Carseldine 1 -2 pm on Thursday 12 September (Room 237/8 Library building).
V-C's guidelines target research
QUT internal research funding next year will increase by 25 per- cent over 1991 to $3.5 million under the Vice-Chancellor's planning guidelines released in August.
Professor Dennis Gibson highlights the introduction of I 0 new courses in line with national priorities and QUT's priority to expand postgraduate oppor- tunities.
His guidelines also set a $2.5 mil- lion target for a major fund-raising campaign for the university.
Written as a backdrop to faculty and divisional planning for 1992- 1996, the guidelines follow Professor Gibson's QUT 1996 context and is- sues paper presented to all staff in April.
Professor Gibson says responses to
A total of $4.6 million will be set aside for Vice-Chancellor's initia- tives next year including:
• introduction of new awards for dis- tinguished academic service
• new technologies f-or teaching in a multi-campus university
• extension of the Academic Staff Development Unit and general staff development
• development of transport and com- munications systems to better serve the university
• equipment grants for new build- ings including $600 000 to the infor- mation technology/electrical engineer- ing building and $300 000 to nursing.
Other 1992 guidelines include:
• steps to reduce fragmentation within courses and subjects including
' The goals are
demanding but achievable '
the issues paper support the universi- ty's three major goals for 1996 - to rank as the top teaching institution in Australia, the best in terms of gradu- ate employability and within the top I 0 in research.
He says the goals are "demanding but achievable".
"Responses to (the paper) and dis- cussions with schools and divisions also highlight a view that QUT needs substantial strengthening of resources in order to achieve its goals," Profes- sor Gibson says in the report.
"While resources will increase over the next few years with enrolment growth, the increases will never be adequate to meet all community ex- pectations or fund all the innovations planned within the university.
"QUT must achieve its goals within a finite resources base."
Professor Gibson says that by next year QUT needs to double its 1991 research performance in obtaining competitive grants. It must then dou- ble its 1992 performance in 1993 in readiness for competition against all Australian universities from 1994.
Until 1994, QUT will continue to have special opportunities to compete for Commonwealth funding against only new universities.
Part of the push to lift QUT's re- search profile will be a $200 000 boost in library resources.
a minimum for average subject enrol- ment in faculties (presently more than 3000 subjects are taught)
• annual enrolment increase of 4.25 percent over the next five years to 20 900 equivalent full-time students by
1996
• a total enrolment of 18 I 12 equiva- lent full-time students next year in- cluding 7404 first enrolments
• continued commitment to equity in enrolment supporting women in non-traditional courses, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, those with various disabilities and so- cioeconomic disadvantages
• further exploration of continuing education opportunities as a vital in- terface between QUT and its external community
• funding increases for academic and general staff development
• a research and advancement in- come target of $13 million
• creation of four more professorial and 17 associate professorial positions this year and next
• funding for continued capital de- velopment and a recovery program for backlog maintenance.
The Vice-Chancellor's guidelines also emphasise the importance of the university's south east Asian position in terms of continuing education, stu- dent/staff exchange relationships and alumni.
Pa~~ 2 INSIDE OUT, 3 September 199~
1 1 I '
''Student say ... ''
From January 1992 the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS) fee will increase from $1993 to $2250 for students undertaking a standard program of study. The Department of Employment, Education and Training plans to use the funds to help improve the higher education system. Inside QUT asked students about funding priorities.
Peter Kubatov (right), 19.
"The computer facilities here defi- nitely need attention.
I find there's often a long waiting period because of a shortage of termi- nals. And of those we do have need more servicing for breakdown and vi- rus checks.
I also think there must be some way bus travel could be subsidised to bring it in line with the good deal students get on rail fares."
0 0 0
Gavin Hardcastle (right), 24.
"Parking would have to be one area I would like to see improved. It's just so expensive to get here.
If they're going to get more money out of us, we at least except something of value in return.
Books and texts are expensive - the secondary schooling system has a sub- sidised bood system.
Perhaps something along those lines would be advantageous for students."
0 0 0
Tamara Ruhle (left), 20.
"I'd like to see more our our funds spent on library resources as they're totally inadequate.
It would also be advantageous if some extra complementary courses were available to students. In my case, I'm just learning how to use a compu- ter- so a course in WordPerfect 5, if not offered free but at a minimal cost, would be helpful."
0 0 0
Elizabeth McDougall (left), 18.
"What I think QUT ultimately needs at Gardens Point is a sporting oval - sure we have an obvious space prob- lem. We used to go into the gardens for recreation but have now been banned from playing any kinds of ball games there. We also need a lot more water fountains. There's one in the li- brary but I think we need some more scattered along the walkways."
0 0 0
9'
f
Art lowsh and ot FuJi are a Stude!
"U"B ephon
UG physi<
physi<
Am mer v under.
scienc AF postg1 tembe Ca award ship f<
ate; b1 Me ences gradu:
20 Se1 Am scienc ate sc ate; s:
cine;' Sw Swit2 gradu ber.
Ov• scholl all fie Cac Servi<
Strait ate; al
.enda- :ience a tors, d.
·geted
~emes
o first engi-
•tech- cs for nyfor rede-
. feed- udent g,and : Staff TQM pread across arded
s
1 com- sional rofes- nning, an de- l share fill be
coun- velop-
·on of go.
1duate plan- a. ters Octo- Jduate rol for at the t-time
!swill 1-time in Ur- npson ,es.
dinate major.
tte the
, COOT-
e ad- lolden
~ doc-
ce
;ted to
·days,
m
on JT 9 inA young stroke of artist genius
Brisbane people will be able to take a serious look at children's art at City Hall during the Warana Fes- tival.
Warana, the city's annual celebra- tion of spring, and QUT have worked together to present A Stroke of Genius -An Exhibition of Young Children's Art.
Lecturer in Early Childhood Edu- cation Ms Barbara Piscitelli is cura- tor of the exhibition. It will be held in the foyer at Brisbane City Hall from 13 to 22 September .
Ms Piscitelli said the showing was designed to illustrate Picasso's con- tention that every child is an artist but the problem was how to remain one while growing up.
She said children's art had long been confined to kindergarten walls and family refrigerator doors but the exhibition would present SO framed works.
They include a longitudinal study of a young boy's drawings from age four to seven years and Cambodian child art from a Philippines refugee centre.
Ms Piscitelli said the works were a small part of a collection of more than 2000 children's drawings and paintings held by QUT's School of Early Childhood. Art had been do- nated by children from around Aus- tralia and overseas during the past four years.
"The exhibit offers a chance for all young children to see their art style presented as a valued expres- sion of artistry," she said. "For adults there will be an opportunity to appreciate children's art as a le- gitimate and exciting art form, and to learn a few tips on how to foster
A young artist at work the budding artist at home."
The spontaneity, gaiety and crea- tivity of all the works in the show were bound to delight and surprise audiences. Although rare, child art exhibitions had a long standing tra- dition in Brisbane, Ms Piscitelli said.
The famous Queensland artist Vida Lahey ran a Children's
Creative Art Display in Brisbane
Recycling plan cuts waste at Kedron Park
A survey at Kedron Park campus has re- vealed that in a year students and staff sip their way through almost 50 000 drinks in recyclable containers.
Until recently those containers were dis- posed of indiscriminately with all other cam- pus waste.
Now, under a student-initiated recycling program, most empties find their way into specially provided collection drums produc- ing revenue for campus projects.
The recycling program resulted from a project for students of the Business Adminis- tration course. Part-time student Ms Deidre Cook said students had to choose a group in need, propose a way to service that need and to put the proposal into action.
After deciding to invesitgate recycling at Kedron Park the students conducted a survey.
An overwhelming 97 percent of respondents said they would support the introduction of separate bins in the canteen for disposing of recyclable items.
"Now that the bins are in place I'm not sure all 97 percent of those surveyed are actu- ally cooperating as well as they could," said Ms Cook. "But we're hoping that through publicity we can encourage full participation."
in 1949.
"In keeping with that tradition, the Stroke of Genius exhibition will offer the Brisbane community a rare opportunity to view and appreciate the creative talent of children," she said.
Following Warana, the exhibition will tour to Adelaide from 28 Sep- tember to II October.
Kedron Park Campus Registrar, Ms Narda Jackson, said the recycling program would continue.
She thanked cleaning staff for their partici- pation in the program.
Recreation Officer Ms Karen Bucholz, Campus Director Student Guild Mr Norbert Heinl and first-year business marketing student Ms Michelle Gannon.
-Graduations- Kerbside collection trial
Two graduation ceremonies will be held in September-October for 900 stu- dents who completed course require- ments mid-year.
Ceremonies for Arts, Education, Health and Information Technology faculties will be on Thursday 26 Sep- tember, and for Built Environment and Engineering, Business, Law and Sci- ence on Thursday 17 October.
The ceremonies, to be held at the Queensland Performing Arts Complex, will begin at 5.30pm. All staff are welcome to attend but should reserve a place with Merilyn Burrows on ext.
3157 by 12 September (September ceremony) or by October 3 (October ceremony).
• From page 1
About 86 percent recycled all or most glass bottles and jars, half put out all or most aluminium cans (about 28 percent said they had none), and 81 percent handed over all or most PET bottles and HDPE containers.
Prior to the kerbside collection trial, about 80 percent said they put glass bottles and jars in their wheelie bins.
More than half threw their alu- minium cans in the wheelie bin (20 percent used cash-for-cans and 24 percent had none to dispose).
The inclusion of steel cans was
given a favourable response by 70 percent of householders.
But respondents were not keen to swap to half-size bins for remaining rubbish. About 67 percent wanted to keep the existing wheelie bin. The offer of reduced rates for users of half-sized bins appealed to 46 per- cent.
Brisbane City Council Recreation and Health Committee Chairman Alderman David Hinchliffe said the survey helped the council "iron out wrinkles" in the recyclables collec- tion trial.
He said the council intended to widen the collection areas of the on- going trial in the near future.
Kelvin Grove is student housing favoured choice
Survey results have revealed that Kelvin Grove campus is the most favoured site for QUT's first stu- dent accommodation.
Planning and Budget Director Mr Doug Brown said final recommenda- tions were yet to be made but Kelvin Grove was emerging as a front runner.
Before the survey, Carseldine was expected to be the popular choice.
Mr Brown said the opinion of the students was very important to the fi- nal decision.
"Students are, after all, the custom- ers," he said.
The siting of the student accomodation would rely largely on student preferences.
"Forty-five percent of those sur- veyed nominated Kelvin Grove as their first choice of location compared with 26 percent for Carseldine." said Mr Brown.
"However, the interesting point here is that Carseldine, in terms of total student population, does noi total 26 percent.
"It would appear that a number of
Kedron Park students prefer Carseldine because of access by rail and Gympie Road."
Mr Brown said the survey, con- ducted by QUT sociology lecturer Ms Pam Byde in late April, pinpointed security and transport as key areas of student concern.
"Seventy-seven percent of students described a safe, well-lit area as very important to them," said Mr Brown.
"This mitigates against Carseldine because of its isolation."
Transport was a top priority in site
Soviet news hits campus
"Postmaster" for QUT's Com- puting Services electronic mail serv- ice Mr Cecil Goldstein found him- self directly in touch with happen- ings in the Soviet Union during the recent coup crisis.
On the afternoon of21 August Mr Goldstein had to deal with an ad- dress query from the USSR respond- ing to one from a QUT staff mem- ber.
Casually, he asked about events in the Soviet Union. That evening he received a reply from an llya A Shulman, a systems programmer with the Institute of Radio Engineer- ing and Electronics at the Academy of Science in Moscow.
It gave a dramatic, emotional first-hand account of historic events taking place in Moscow.
Mr Doug Brown
selection for 73 percent of students.
Kelvin Grove was seen as having a transport advantage, particularly if the proposed permanent opening of the City rail loop goes ahead.
Other interesting results included:
• more than half the ~tudents con- sidered the availability of accommo- dation as a key factor in their choice of university
• a significant majority of students were prepared to pay for good stand- ard accommodation rather than cheap student digs
• most students were against segre- gation by year, faculty and home loca- tion seeking instead a more broad- ranging educational experience
• students wanted a say in accom- modation administration
The survey covered a sample of 300 students with input from the Student Guild and QUT student accommoda- tion officers.
Mr Brown said critical points in the final decision were access and equity.
It must be sited where a majority of students have access to the site.
"We must also take into considera- tion that the accommodation is used by students for only 28 weeks of the year," he said.
"On other occasions it would be used as, for example, a conference venue, so location would be impor- tant."
The working party will meet to dis- cuss the survey results. It comprises Mr Brown, the University Architect Mr Ron Goward, the Director of Fi- nance and Facilities Mr John Nelson, Director of Counselling and Health M r Brian Whitelaw, and a Student Guild representative.
If consensus was reached recom- mendations would be made to the Vice-Chancellor Professor Dennis Gibson to take to the Planning and Resources Committee and University Council. Approval was needed before the final decision was announced in approximately two months.
Campus quickies
Deans of Education, Built Environment and Engineering, and Health joined the Vice-Chancellor, Planning and Budgets Director and War- den of Convocation on 20 August to tell the new Division of Research and Ad~ancemen_t w~at was expected of it. It came down to providing professiOnal serv1ce mternally and externally, helping QUT to reach out to the community, and building QUT dollars and image, though not necessarily in that order.
0 0 0
Gardens Point security boom gates obviously earned their name. The expression "lowering the boom" took on a whole new meaning for one staff member who found the boom decorating his roof rack. Security chief Mr Bernie Daniels revealed a boom is broken about once each week when the embarassed staffer admitted adding to the statistics. Sorry about that Chief ...
0 0 0
Kieran O'Brien was awarded three gold stars by colleagues on his return from a recent overseas student recruiting mission. The gold stars were not for finding his way back but for getting here with all his possessions intact.
0 0 0
The continuing saga of the staffer with recently acquired disposable contact lenses. Last week we reported that his eye tests were carried out at QUT's opthalmic clinic. Oops, no such beast exists. In fact, it was QUT's optometry clinic but don't blame the guy too much ... it's not easy to read signs when you've just lost another contact lens. Latest report is that his three month supply might just stretch to six weeks.
• ~~ • • I
Page 3 INSIDE OUT, 3 September 1991
Australia may risk influence
Eagle lands in art collection
in Pacific area
Australia must change its attitude towards the Pacific Island states or run the risk of losing its historical influence in the region.
Pacific legal expert Dr Guy Powles warns that nations such as Japan, China, Taiwan, South Korea and, in- creasingly, Indonesia are spending more time and money in the South and Central Pacific.
With the tension gone from the Cold War and the introduction of the United Nations' 200-mile offshore economic zone concept, the Pacific Island states traded strategic importance for greater economic bargaining power.
A visiting adjunct professor at QUT Dr Powles is an acknowledged inter- national expert on Pacific legal sys- tems.
An Associate Professor of Law at Monash University, he delivered a
"mini series" of seminars on Pacific Law to QUT staff and students as part of the Law Faculty's on-going legal research and writing program. The course enhances students' legal re- search skills, and develops expertise in such areas as writing professional letters, memos and barristers' opin- ions.
Dr Powles, who owns an extensive personal collection of legal works from Pacific Island states, said there was a danger Australia and New Zealand could think of Pacific Island nations as perpetually dependent.
"Although they are certainly by no means self-sufficient they have devel- oped ways in which they can exercise influence collectively," he said.
Or Guy Powles
"One of the most important devel- opments in the last decade for Pacific nations is the UN Law of the Sea Con- vention which has established the ex- clusive economic zone (EEZ) giving the countries concerned the authority to control natural and marine resources and all aspects of economic activity within that area. This gives the Pacific Island region collectively real bargain- ing power and influence."
Dr Powles said the picture had changed considerably since the Cold War period when Australia felt that it needed to consider the Pacific as a buffer or defence zone. The emphasis had shifted from defence to economic considerations.
"Many Australian businesses and policy makers in the economic area are increasingly aware of the priority being given by, most specifically. Ja- pan, South Korea, China, Taiwan and Indonesia to developing their eco- nomic interests in the Pacific Islands,"
said Dr Powles. "Economic linkages with outside powers will inevitably give them political leverage.
"Australia's role in relation to the Pacific Island states must be primarily economic if it is to retain for itself influence in the region. If Australia concedes that most of the trade is go- ing to be with other countries it has abdicated that influence."
Dr Powles said this was one reason why there was growing interest by the Australian Government in building up Pacific Island-related studies. It was also a rapidly growing area of aca- demic interest.
"lt is clearly in the interests of Aus-
tralian universities to develop their expertise in the region to be in a posi- tion to meet the needs of Australian lawyers who will be involved in legal work which goes with Australian trade and aid," he said.
"The diversity of Pacific legal sys- tems, and the uniqueness of each, are factors that we underestimate, often to our cost.
"It would also seem that Australian education institutions have an obliga- tion to serve the educational needs of the region -and our law school are no exception."
Dr Powles said Australia tended to take its relationship with the Pacific Islands too much for granted.
Another major work by Austral- ian Archibald art priLe winner William Robinson now hangs in the QUT art collection.
Eagle Landscape, an oil on can- vass painted in 1987, was purchased for $25 000 last month.
It depicts the lush landscape of the Gold Coast hinterland near Canungra where the renowned Aus- tralian artist lives.
The purchase was announced at the launch of a new QUT painting lease scheme at the Council Room, Gardens Point, on 27 August.
University curator Mr Stephen Rainbird said the purchase was the most significant since the acquisi- tion of Ian Fairweather's Rm;· of"
Figures in the 1970s.
Eagle Landscape was painted in
the same year that Mr Robinson won the Archibald priLe with his Eques- trian Selj~Portmit.
Mr Robinson also won the 1990 Wynne Prize, Australia's foremost prize for landscape painting, with the work entitled The Rainforest. It is now housed in the Gold Coast City Art Gallery.
Three of Mr Robinson's most re- cent prints have also been purchased through funds donated to the QUT Foundation. Entitled Creation Series . Water and Land 1-3, the prints now hang with Eagte Landscape outside the Council Room.
The QUT art collection includes about 18 works by Mr Robinson.
The pieces, including paintings, prints, drawing and ceramics, span the artist's career since the early 1960s.
.- ~·--
..._.,
f~ ~~
.··
'
.Artist William Robinson (Photo: The Courier-Mail)
Life membership honours lecturer
Lecturer with QUT's School of Learning and Devel- opment Mr Don Burns has been made an honorary Life Member of the Australian Reading Association (ARA).
The award was conferred on Mr Burns in recognition of his contribution to reading education in Australia and for his outstanding service to ARA over many years.
During the 16 years since the ARA was founded in Adelaide, Mr Burns has been Queensland representative, business manager, publications manager and president.
The citation says he has been particularly active in the development and organisation of conferences and the
"expansion of the vision of the association".
Mr Burns said the ARA was a professional association devoted to the promotion of literacy in Australia. Its current membership was around 5000.
The ARA holds annual conferences and meets four times each year. It produces its own professional magazine called The Australian Journal of Reading.
In 1988 the ARA hosted a world conference on the Gold Coast in collaboration with the US-based International Read- ing Association.
"We had just on 3000 people from all around the world for that event, including 1200 Americans," Mr Burns said.
He said he was surprised by the award but appreciated it.
Unicredit lets you R\e:, !bove INFLATION
Staff give thumbs up to hours shift
The introduction of a variable worl-,.ing hours scheme for QUT staff has been received cnthu-,ia-,tically after initial doubh.
Personnel Officer (Projects) Ms Carolyn Peterken said the variable working hours scheme was approved by the QUT Council in June.
":-if '
Ordinary savings accounts usually earn interest below the level of inflation, but Unicredit
term deposits earn a really high rate of interest to always keep you on top.
They're cashable anytime, but you're less inclined to disturb your savings when you know you'll be getting a good return. With their other special features, Unicredit term deposits are not only secure, but are the most flexible around.
And that's not just a lot of hot air.
Call Unicredit today for more details.
CASHABLE TERM DEPOSITS
11.3~
On amounts from
$20,000
10.8~
On amounts from
$1000 to $20,000 Terms between
31
"':!and 5 months ~ V)
5
~ uFor more information, phone extension 2432 or 229 1388. Or call in at the office on Level3, Community Building, Gardens Point.
I~ uqi•CKl~o't ~
M;liiW;.t·l•A"l•111·J01:rt-"i#!'!·Y·laW«•"l#mM
z
:::>§
~
z
Page 4 INSIDE OUT, 3 September 1991
"'I held meetings with various managers and administra-
tion officers around the university in July and the scheme will come into effect as of I September," she said.
Managers had been given the opportunity to discuss the scheme with their staff, work out rosters and consider how it best could work within their organisational areas.
"When it was first approved there was some scepticism from managers about introducing flexible hours scheme,"
Ms Peterken said. "But by explaining the scheme I think we've allayed most of their fears and I'd say that it's been extremely well received by both staff and their supervisors."
She stressed that the scheme was optional and no staff members would be forced to participate.
"For many staff the advantages are obvious, in terms of having time to cope with personal needs. The advantages for the managers are that they can have their offices manned for a longer span of hours and specific allowances for major projects or quiet time~ can be built into the scheme ·s opera- tion." Ms Peterken said.
The policy had been written so that it was in itself very flexible. Some areas would need to work to fairly rigid rosters but much more flexible arrangements were likely in other areas.
She explained: "What it's really done is to allow manag- ers to arrange working hours to suit the needs of their area.
If, however, staff prefer to work standard hours they can continue to do so.'·
tit
E
c
a
Tl bet\\
will I nar ofLl Pro~
It· lie e emm Ht Proft semi temb exer<
Ht FilL~
Viet<
Wes Soutl for s1
'"A great betw he sa Th then
• 1r
Q{
as th giom Th held
Edu Se Low after Ml now volvi inces He tion i siona Th keep he sa It neXt I
Tti has
a
It I per a of 15 At the ri try is:
ment
Mi
Ia rna.
··pi peop try in Lil econ1 I
like
i Mi
politi fully
"T
inCO(
he sa '·B valuE
"T
the
s
M1 latiOJ the c
"T
plam
w
have An i1 T ian [
Ql throu ning patio
Ethics seminar on government and contracting
The finely balanced relationship between business and government will be put under scrutiny at a semi- nar organised by the QUT Faculty of Law's Centre for Commercial and Property Law.
It will investigate the themes of pub- lic ethics and contracting with gov- ernments.
Henderson Trout Professor of Law, Professor Chris Gilbert, described the seminar at the Hilton Hotel on Sep- tember 17 as a consciousness-rai;ing exercise.
He said the revelations of the Fitzgerald inquiry, recent events in Victoria and Royal Commissions in Western Australia, Tasmania and South Australia, highlighted the need for such a seminar.
"All of the inquiries involve to a greater or lesser extent relationships between governments and business,"
he said.
The seminar had been prompted by the need to look at what sorts of con- tracts were entered into between gov- ernment and private enterprise and
what code of ethics, if any, should govern relationships.
"It's not a topic that has really en- gaged a great deal of attention in Queensland until the last couple of years," said Professor Gilbert. "Yet it's a topic that should because, particu- larly under the last (state) government there were many and extensive rela- tionships between government and private business enterprises."
Professor Gilbert said there wa<, at this stage no particular Act of Parlia- ment setting out guidelines for there- lationship. The main body of law gov- erning the relationship was the normal rules of contract law with a few spe- cial amendments.
"Those special amendments arc quite particular and that"s one of the things we'll be looking at." he said.
"We'd like to see it as a consciousness
raising exercise which will provoke a debate and introduce some lines of inquiry."
The Crown Solicitor for New South Wales, Mr Hugh Roberts, will be a keynote speaker.
BCC fares fair to QUT
Brisbane City Council has made a $10 000 grant to QUT to help with the daily travel ex- penses of disadvantaged students.
A cheque for the amount of the Community Assistance Grant was presented by Alderman David Hinchliffe to the Vice- Chancellor Professor Dennis Gibson at Kelvin Grove Campus on 22 August.
The grant followed a success- ful application from QUT's Working Party on Students from Socioeconomically Disadvan- taged Backgrounds.
Alderman Hinchliffe repre- sents Spring Hill on the council and is chairman of the Recrea- tion and Health Committee.
QUT's Equity Board will ad- minister the grant. It will be used to buy 20 full year student bus passes and a number of conces- sion rail fares.
The success of the scheme will be evaluated through interviews.
It is aimed at removing a barrier to tertiary education for students from socioeconomically disad- vantaged backgrounds.
Alderman David Hinchliffe presents the bursary cheque.
Region planning workshops held in island nation
QUT is playing a key teaching role in the Solomon Islands as the small Commonwealth nation seeks to devolve re- gional planning responsibilities to its eight provinces.
The School of Planning and Landscape Architecture has held workshops at the Solomon Islands College of Higher Education in the capital, Honiara, for the past two years.
Announcing
The Last Thing
Our Competition
ants To
Hear:
Senior lecturer Mr George Williams and lecturer Mr Daryl Low Choy returned from the college earlier this semester after conducting the first workshop in regional planning.
Mr Williams said the Prime Minister Mr Mabeloni was now trying to bring planning under regional control - de- volving responsibilities from federal control to the prov- inces.
He said this initiative meant an increasing role for educa- tion and training in regional planning for practising profes- sionals and students in the island nation.
The link with the Solomons also helped QUT lecturers keep up-to-date on planning issues in developing countries, he said.
It could also lead to QUT student field trips to villages next year.
The Solomons, which gained its independence in 1978, has a population of more than 286 000.
It has a high population growth rate of about 3.7 percent per annum. More than half of its population is under the age of 15 years.
About I 0 percent of its population has settled in towns.
the majority living in villages. About 85 percent of the coun- try is "customed owned" by villages, not the national govern- ment.
Mr Low Choy said these statistics made regional planning a major priority.
''Planning obviously has to occur in cooperation with the people in these villages and that requires training for those trying to make that work effectively," he said.
Like many developing countries grappling to boost its economy, the Solomons depends on its primary industries like mining, fishing and forestry.
Mr Low Choy warns, however, that unless the country's politicians negotiate this trade-off of natural resources care- fully, a Bouganville situation could be around the corner.
"This is where regional planning can assist, especially if it incorporates thorough environmental impact assessments,"
he said.
"But we are not going in there and imposing our cultural values on to their society.
"The people working there, however, need to train and get the skills to deal with these planning issues."
Mr Low Choy said that although the majority of the popu- lation lived in the provinces, more people were moving to the cities in search of work and a different lifestyle.
"This is leading to a typical urban drift problem. Urban planning will therefore need to take on a new focw,."
Workshops in residential sub-division and site planning have also been conducted at the college in the past two yean,.
An initial course was held in 1986.
The workshops have been funded jointly by the Austral- ian Development Assistance Bureau and the college.
QUT has also trained eight students from the Solomons through the Graduate Diploma in Urban and Regional Plan- ning since 1985. The school hopes to attract similar partici- pation in the Graduate Diploma in Landscape Architecture.
"
Kelly® oesltAgain
Ordering Temporaries Has Never Been Easier.
Introducing tlte Kdly Service Descriptions-a totally new. sim- plified. fkxihle joh description system for temporary hdp. To identify the work skills. expe- rience levd and equipment requirements of every assign- ment. For further information.
call your local Kdly office.
Exclusive Testing:
The Help You Get Is The Help You Need.
Introducing the Kelly Skills Review-a task-oriented testing procedure that tests real workplace ~kills. It's fully computerized. Independently validated. And carefully matched to the Service Descriptions. To ensure that the hdp you get is the hdp you need.
The Kelly Service System:
What You'd Expect From The Leader.
Both the: new Kdly Service Descriptions and Kelly Skills Review are part of the: industry's most comprehensive quality assurance program: The: Kelly Service System. It's designed to cover every aspect of customer service. From hiring, ordering and assigning-to follow-through.
BRISBANE I..evel5,
135 Wickham Tee
Spring Hill
KEL •~yrem~orary
L Serv1ces
GOLD COAST I..evel4, 12 Short St Southport (075) 916 444 (07) 832 2244 The Kelly Giri"'People
Page 5 INSIDE OUT, 3 September 1991
TQM science teaching project continues
QUT is the centre of an on-going trial to encourage academic staff to adopt a teaching philosophy derived from the business world.
Total Quality Management forms the basis of a Science Faculty action research project funded by the Com- monwealth Department of Employ- ment, Education and Training (DEET).
Led by mathematics lecturer Mrs Helen Gustafson, the project in- volves a trial restructuring of five science subjects taught to other fac- ulties, like maths for engineers.
Senior research officer Ms Barbara Kelly will coordinate the project until the end of this year.
A specialist in human resource management, Ms Kelly says the TQM project is part of a federal push to encourage improvement and accountability in Australian univer- sity teaching.
Ms Kelly says TQM helps aca- demic staff to adopt a "supplier-cus-
Faculty journal venture
A new law journal has been launched by the Faculty of Law and the Queensland Law Society.
Dean of Law and foundation edi- tor Professor David Gardiner said the Queensland Annual Law Review was a unique publication aimed at updating professionals on major areas of law and legal practice.
"Its uniqueness lies in each arti- cle being jointly written by a QUT academic and a practising soli tor, thereby ensuring practical, relevant and academic integrity for each seg- ment," Professor Gardiner said.
"This single venture encourages research and provides an opportu- nity for publication, ensuring that research efforts have a practical and professional focus."
He said the faculty formally iden- tified the initiative in its action plan- ning deliberations in 1989. The fac- ulty presented the idea to the then Queensland Law Society president Mr Greg Vickery who embraced the concept enthusiastically.
The final result is a 350-page first volume which contains material on 44 subject areas from a total of 67 contributors.
Mr Justice John Macrossan launched the journal last month to solicitors participating in a continu- ing legal education program via sat- ellite broadcast in more than 40 cen- tres in Queensland.
Law Faculty Dean Professor David Gardiner launching the Queensland Annual Law Review.
'
.
tomer" relationship in teaching.
"Just as in business, university teachers need to be flexible and will- ing to change in response to cus- tomer feedback," she says.
"TQM is basically a commonsense approach. It sets in place a frame- work within which on-going im- provement is promoted."
She says the TQM approach is non-threatening because it analyses processes and systems, not individu- als.
The project, which received a sec- ond round of DEET funding worth
$102 000 earlier this year, started as a pilot study in 1989. It has also re- ceived $50 000 from QUT this year.
The first pilot study was headed by Associate Pro- Vice-Chancellor Professor Ron Gardiner (the former QUT Dean of Science). It was con- ducted through the Key Centre for Strategic Management in first se- mester last year.
Three teams within the faculty
Ms Barbara Kelly
were formed -senior management, teaching staff, and support staff.
Each group identified a problem specific to its area and used TQM techniques to address it. Participa- tion was voluntary.
The management team developed an improved action planning proc-
Outstanding le~cturer wins
' , _
A plaque for the Most Outstand- ing Lecture has been awarded by the QUT Student Guild to part-time lec- turer Dr Phil Jauncey (above).
The award was based on the re- sults of surveys conducted among students. Survey results have been published in the Student Guild 1991
Alternative Handbook. Certificates were awarded to a further nine lec- turers.
Dr Jauncey lectures in Psychol- ogy for Engineers. He is attached to the School of Marketing, Advertis- ing and Public Relations within the Faculty of Business.
Engineers' paper.
presented in Israel
A paper written by two QUT scien- tists was presented at a conference in Haifa, Israel, in July.
The scientists are senior research fellow in the Faculty of Built Envi- ronment and Engineering Dr Charles Silvassy and head of the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engi- neering Professor Walter Wong.
Dr Silvassy attended the 9th In- ternational Scientific Conference on the Strength of Metals and Alloys (ICSMA 9).
On his return, he said: "ICSMA 9 was one of the strongest scientific con- ferences in the area of metals and al- loys."
Several eminent scientists from USA, Japan, Germany, France, Canada and other nations took part. About 240 scientists attended.
Dr Silvassy's and Professor Wong's paper was selected from the poster section for a plenary lecture. Their re- search work was the only one selected from that section for plenary lectur- ing.
The presentation was accepted with enthusiasm and interest, to the extent that the lecture time was increased from the original schedule.
The provision of extra time dem- onstrated the value of their research work.
Page 6 INSIDE OUT, 3 September 1991
ess for the faculty.
The support staff group focused on how to deal with obsolete or unservicable equipment. It also re- commended training programs to help staff upgrade to new equipment and technology.
The academic teaching staff group tackled interfaculty or "service"
teaching.
Almost 40 percent of the Science Faculty's teaching is done for other faculties, for example, maths for en- gineering, and physics and chemis- try for industrial design and archi- tecture.
The group identified existing problems, particularly poor commu- nication, dissatisfied students and unacceptably high failure rates.
Ms Kelly says the findings of the pilot study sparked the beginning of the second project now underway.
She says it highlights the real need for science teaching to be more relevant to the needs of the
customer faculties.
One of the initial recommenda- tions, the appointment of science inter-faculty teaching coordinators, has already been implemented.
Five subjects have been targeted in the project underway this semes- ter. The study will continue into first semester next year.
The subjects are maths for engi- neering, maths for information tech- nology, chemistry and physics for built environment, and anatomy for nursing.
These subjects have been rede- signed largely on the basis of feed- back from client faculties, student surveys on content and teaching, and assistance from the Academic Staff Development Unit.
Ms Kelly says the on-going TQM project may lead to a widespread adoption of the philosophy across the university.
An interim report was forwarded to DEET mid-year.
Masters courses for landscapers
and area planners
Professionals in planning and landscape architecture will be able to enrol in new masters courses for 1992.
The courses will be offered as new majors in the Master of Built Environ- ment degree introduced three years ago.
Now professional postgraduate study is available in City and Regional Planning, and Landscape Architecture as well as the original Urban Design strand.
Head of the School of Planning and Landscape Architecture Associate Pro- fessor Phil Heywood said the new masters courses were a major contri- bution to continuing professional de- velopment.
"They will maintain and enhance QUT's tradition of real-world design projects and community orientation,"
Professor Heywood said.
"The new masters courses will make a significant contribution by produc- ing multi-faceted professionals who have the skill to create whole, interac- tive, physically attractive, socially re- sponsive and artistically designed liv- ing environments."
Professor Heywood stressed that the masters degree was only open to can- didates with professional recognition.
Course work would, however, in- clude week-long short courses which would also be open to the general pub- lic.
"So this will not be an ivory-tower
exercise in fine art. It will match com- munity objectives with professional skills," he said.
"Integration between the profes- sions of city and regional planning, landscape architecture and urban de- sign will be encouraged. All will share common studio work which will be done in conjunction with local coun- cils, community groups and develop- ers.
QUT approved the introduction of the two new strands two years ago.
This year 10 students with graduate diplomas in urban and regional plan- ning have upgraded into the masters program.
Five students will graduate in Octo- ber. The remaining five will graduate next April.
The first new students will enrol for 1992. Applications will close at the end of November. Up to 20 part-time places in each of the three strands will be offered.
The degree is one year full-time study or two years part-time.
Brisbane City Council Chair in Ur- ban Studies Professor Bob Stimpson will teach across the three courses.
Professor Heywood will coordinate the city and regional planning major.
Dr Catherin Bull will coordinate the landscape architecture strand. A coor- dinator for urban design will be ad- vertised to replace Mr Gordon Holden who will be on leave pursuing doc- toral studies.
New partner takes up residence
An innovative program at the School of Accountancy will see QUT's first Partner-in-Residence arrive late this month.
Program coordinator Mr John Sweeting said the school planned to get partners from large chartered ac- counting firms to spend a few days on campus.
The first Partner-in-Residence will be Mr David Van Homrigh, who is a partner in the major company KPMG Peat Marwick.
"Basically, he will talk to first-, sec- ond- and third-year students about ca- reers in accountancy," Mr Sweeting said. "At a higher level for the final- year students he will explain his par- ticular area of expertise and experi- ence."
Mr Van Homrigh was widely expe- rienced in litigation involving account- ancy. He would be able to teach stu- dents things they could not learn from textbooks, he said.
Postgraduate students and staff also would benefit from a workshop semi- nar to be run by Mr Van Homrigh.
"Then he generally will be avail- able to have one-on-one consultation with students and staff," Mr Sweeting
said. Mr Van Homrigh is expected to be on campus for a total of four days, spread over two weeks.
Visiting dean
~-·-~~----
Professor Ralph Elliott, Associate Dean of Education and Development at Clemson University conducting a OUT continuing education course in effective seminars and conference marketing at the Heritage Hotel last month.
