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Issue No 130
Queensland University of Technology Newspaper April11 -May 1, 1995
Casino study leads world
Queensland's two newest casinos will come under scrutiny in a world benchmark research project look- ing at their economic and social impacts.
Project leader Dr Jan McMillen, a recognised international expert on gaming and casino policy, said the comparative study of Brisbane's Treasury Casino and the Cairns Ca- sino were of interest to authorities worldwide.
"Nobody knows precisely the im- pacts of casinos in urban areas," Dr McMillen said.
The Treasury Casino will open this month and the Cairns Casino early next year.
Work on the Cairns part of the project is already underway.
Mid-yea . r intake of students
QUT will offer mid-year entry this year for about 250 new students in a limited number of courses .
.,_,""""..,._---1--~--Ju e cuu1pare With
9000 who began first year at the university in February.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Dennis Gibson said QUT had allowed mid-year entry for inter- national students for several years.
A winter start, instead of the traditional summer entry, would appeal also to some local students.
"Students in many Northern Hemisphere countries have a mid- year start and I anticipate it will better suit some local students,"
Professor Gibson said.
He said the mid-year intake assisted in fine-tuning enrolments to ensure all existing Common- wealth-funded places were filled in both 1995 semesters.
Application forms for July 1995 enrolment will be available from QUT mid-April and should be lodged by June 2 (most bachelor degrees) or June 30 (education bachelor degrees. and postgradu- ate degrees).
Courses ava1lable for mid-year entry are:
Bachelor degree
Engineenng*. Information Technology*. Surveymg*, Arts (Humanities), Social Science (Sociology or Psvchology), Edu- cauon (lnserv1ce, or Adult and Workplace).
Postgraduate
Graduate Diploma in Business Administration", MBA", Master of Education, Master of Educa- tion (TESOL)", Graduate Di- ploma in Biotechnology, Master of Life Science.
*full-time only "fees charged
Social and economic impact under scrutiny
"Because this research has not been done anywhere else in the world, no methodology has been developed,"
said Dr McMillen, a lecturer in QUT's School of Economics and Public Policy.
"Cairns is being done as a pilot to develop and refine methodology."
The Cairns project is being financed with a total of $78,000 in grants -
$30,000 over three years from the Cairns City Council and $30,000 from
the Queensland Treasury with a fur- ther $18,000 in statistical and research assistance.
Additional funding is still being sought for the Treasury Casino study which, it is hoped, will begin at the start of next year.
Dr McMillen said organisations from around the world had expressed interest in the research.
"Our argument is that social and economic impacts of casinos are inte-
Associate Professor Farhan Faruqi with OUT's first
I
rocket - a staff and student project m aerospace
. aviomcs. (Photo: Suzanne Prestwidge)
- - = = = : : : )
grated- you can't realistically look at one without the other," she said.
The research focus will include the effects of casinos on the pattern of business activity, crime, other leisure industries, other forms of gambling and gambling-related social problems.
"Views on casinos are polarised,"
Dr McMillen said.
"On one hand there is an assump- tion that casinos are of ultimate com- munity benefit. Others argue they have brought deep-seated social problems.
"However, the early nexus between government control of gambling and the provision of welfare funds spend- ing has been broken.
"Now the aim is more about eco- nomic development."
Dr McMillen said the link between
casinos and tourism would be of par- ticular interest. While there was a lot of rhetoric about casinos and tourism, in reality most Australian casinos re- lied on local residents for the bulk of their revenues.
"With 14 Australian casinos com- peting for market share, if casinos can't attract tourists, their overall contribu- tion is in question, particularly if we're looking for national economic benefit.
" If our casinos simply recycle
money from one Australian pocket to another, and from one state to another, that's of little overall national benefit.
"However if international tourists stay even one extra night (in Australia) and visit a casino that will be of major economic benefit."
• Continued page 3
All systems go ... QUT's electronic engineers are ready for countdown to launch the university's first rocket later this month.
When they do blast off from the Army's fir- ing range at Wide Bay on April23, it will be the first rocket launch in the state by a university.
It's up, up and away ...
QUT's School of Electrical and Electronic Systems Engineering is heading the project with the assistance of the Army and the Australian Space Research Institute and the Signal Process- ing Research Centre.
Project director Associate Professor Farhan Faruqi said the rocket project began to estab-
lish practical experimental aspects within the aerospace avionics course.
Project manager Mr Paul Battah and academic supervisors Mr Paul Wilson, Mr Colin Boyan and Dr Tee Tang, along with 13 stu- dents, have been working on the project.
Performance figures of the rocket include an
altitude range of up to seven kilometres at a maximum speed of mach 1.45 (about one and a half times the speed of sound).
"We have a series of experiments designed for the first launch including the testing of elec- tronic circuitry," Professor Faruqi said.
• Continued page 2
Teaching and learning
• Graduation
stories and news
•Seepage4
Research
• More stories on the latest research by QUT
staff
and students• New Ideas and projects- see page 9
• Pages 6, 7 and 6
OUT Central Adm1n1strat1on 2 George Street Bnsbane 4000 Telephone (07) 864 2111 Reg1stered by Australia Post- Publ1cat1on No. OBF 4778
Vice-Chancellor's comment
Serving for mutual benefit
QUT is a community service organisation -our mission is to bring the benefits of teaching and research to the community.
I like the notion of mutual benefit.
We bring social, environmental, cultural and economic benefits to the community and the community supports and brings benefits to the univer- sity. In this way, we are partners in the higher education of Australians.
Recently the first grants under the new QUT community service funding scheme were approved.
The scheme supports projects of mutual benefit to QUT and the commu- nity related to our educational and/or social justice objectives.
In this first year, 15 projects have been supported by the scheme to a total value of $200,000 .
.
ij.}lj!'fff#'"@\\i&f ' - -- - The new scheme is a fine ex-
ample of mutual benefit. The 1995 projects include a service centre of technology for people with dis- abilities, the Interarts 95 regional arts festival already held in Stanthorpe, a community legal volunteer service, a continuing education program for young un- employed teachers and a Khmer language dictionary for use in Cambodian education.
These projects come from all over the university and will serve and benefit many different parts of the community -our students, disadvantaged groups, the profes- sions and the broader community.
I look forward to the success of this scheme which will enhance our community partnerships.
Professor Dennis Gibson
Letter to the editor
Student courtesy warms an elderly woman's heart
Last week I was guest speaker at the Nursing School for two consecu- tive days.
The first day, I was impressed with the friendly smiles and courteous be- haviour of the students I met on my way to the lectur~hall.
But the second day I was even more impressed.
The taxi dropped me off at the wrong building and I found myself in the canteen.
Asking where I had to go, I was shown my correct destination through the window.
For the student, whom I asked, that seemed a very short journey - but I am nearly 80, crippled with arthritis.
So I felt, and said, that I just could not
manage to get there. To my amaze- ment, the young man offered to take me across.
He carried my bag and encouraged me when I struggled on the stairs.
He did not leave me till I had reached the lecture hall where the students were waiting for me.
I am sorry I do not know his name- but I would like to take this way of thanking him.
It was a genuine act of courtesy and kindness. We hear too much about the negative behaviour of young people and forget how many of them are help- ful and supportive.
Dr Hilda des Arts Counsellor and training consultant, Ipswich.
New community service grants worth $200,000
QUT will provide almost $200,000 in internal grants to 15 projects de- livering services to the community.
Projects include a China-Aus- tralia art exchange project for young children, continuing professional education for unemployed young teachers and a centre of technology for people with disabilities.
All projects will directly benefit the community outside QUT while assisting university research and teaching.
"It is a way of giving back some- thing to the society which supports us," said Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Re- search and Advancement) Professor John Corderoy.
"The projects which QUT has supported are those which are mu- tually beneficial and related to our educational and social justice objec- tives."
The projects are the first to re- ceive funding under the university's new Community Service Grants Scheme. It is believed to be the first of its kind in an Australian univer- sity.
Six have been funded as small grants (up to $5000) and the remain- ing nine as large grants (up to
$50,000).
The successful large grant appli- cations were for:
• Interarts '95 festival at Stanthorpe ($13,000);
• expanded availability of QUT's Vision Rehabilitation Centre ($17,820);
• the bush pilots project ($14,800)
Professor John Corderoy
(see story right)
• a serviced Centre of Technology for People with Disabilities ($28,000);
• a Counselling and Health profes- sional support project ($7000);
• a Faculty of Law community le- gal service volunteer project ($9870);
• equitable access and support for community users of the Internet and an Internet program for non- profit corporations (funding yet to be determined);
• audio-teleconferencing as a me- dium for increasing service pro- viders' awareness of primary eye care needs in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communi- ties ($12,412); and
• a Khmer language dictionary ($19,800).
Small grants were awarded to: a China-Australia children's art ex- change ($5000); children's illustra- tors' workshops ($5820); a Con-
struction Management pathfinders' project ($4024); a sclerophyll forest ecological project at Kelvin Grove campus ($2500); Nexus facilities (building principles) ($3000); and continuing professional education for young unemployed teachers ($4762).
"Preference was given to propos- als which were predominantly serv- ice orientated, consistent with the QUT Community Service Plan and demonstrating links between the service activity and research and teaching," Professor Corderoy said.
"The major benefit of community service to the university is the op- portunity to involve our staff and students in learning experiences in the community at large.
"However there are many other benefits, both tangible and intangi- ble, immediate and long-term."
More than SO applications were received for this year's funding, amounting to more than $1 million.
Talented young.sters
getiltes h chance w ith. new certi f· icate
Young, unemployed people will be taught project management and business skills through a new course to be offered to Brisbane's youth.
The Certificate of Arts (Community Study) is aimed at providing second chances to talented young people who did not succeed in conventional education.
"It is designed for unemployed
young people who have demonstrated sion for ideas, the"'arts, contem- porary cultural practice or community activism, and who have shown poten- tial as organisers or leaders," said QUT Drama Program head Brad Haseman.
"It will address how young people
can remain powerful in a changing world and will give them computing and communication skills to set up their own projects and enterprises.
"It has a strong enterprise slant and its ultimate outcome will be for kids to set up their own businesses."
Curriculum for the course is pres- ently being written with a $14,800 QUT Community Service Grant.
The Department of Employment, Education and Training has been ap- proached to fund course delivery for three years.
"We hope that, ultimately, we can articulate the program with QUT courses," Mr Haseman said.
The co~rse will be offered by a pri- . ~ ~
vate proVIder, Bum Pilots, 11 program ,., · of CONTACT Youth Theatre Inc.
It will be delivered by a range of teachers drawn from tertiary educa- tion, small and corporate business, communications technologies and media industries, community arts, physical cultures like sports, and the cultural industries.
Rocket launch
• From page 1
From the Inside ... by David Hawke
"Bush Pilots is based on a Danish program called Chaos Pilots, and en- capsulates the concept of flying by the seat of your pants- being flexible and imaginative in the face of changing work environments and labour mar- kets," Mr Haseman said.
"The whole project is driven by the notion that young people live very rich lives symbolically.
"The launch is part of a much big- ger goal which is to be able to take up experiments for other universities and organisations."
Professor Faruqi said the group planned two more rocket launches later in the year.
The second launch, in June will be for experiments on atmospheric ef- fects on gravity.
The year's final launch, in Decem- ber, will carry aloft a video camera to be used in a resource monitoring project.
Next year the launch program might soar to new heights.
Professor Faruqi said the next phase of the project would hopefully involve a two stage rocket launch next year.
This phase would enable middle and upper atmospheric research to be car- ried out.
"The overall project provides un- dergraduates training in space tech- nology and gives Australia in general and Queensland particularly a high technical capability," Professor Faruqi said.
"I hope local industry and the com- munity will develop the capability we will achieve."
"There have already been ap- proaches for sponsorship of the launch from private enterprise, which we welcome, as it would be directly put into the research effort at QUT."
- Noel Gentner
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Page 2 INSIDE OUT April 11 - May ~· .1995
"They have distinctive fashions, movies, music, hairstyles. They lead lives rich in re-creation.
"Bush Pilots embraces and builds on this.
"The training environment sets out to provide a climate where ideas, in- novations and inventions are valued and nurtured.
"It couples Chaos Pilots with Aus-
tralian expertise in community arts and community cultural development prac- tice."
Mr Haseman said the program had a specific target audience.
"It is aimed at 16 to mid-20-year- olds, and hopes to attract a large number of young people from Abo- riginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-english speaking backgrounds,"
he said.
"It is for kids who show capacity and flair but often get missed by the formal school system."
The Bush Pilots program will oper- ate from a drug-free, safe youth venue in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley which is currently being established by a coa- lition of community groups known as Making Space.
"The whole initiative is a combined state and federal government, univer- sity and private enterprise project which is addressing the intellectual, social and emotional needs of young people," Mr Haseman said.
Testing the theory: Dr Nicola Yelland with Courtney Mcivor and Tim Offway
Computers tell a gender story
Boys and girls handle computers with equal intelligence but tackle mathematical problems differ- ently when they work together, new research has found.
Dr Nicola Yelland, from the Cen- tre for Applied Studies in Early Childhood, said her two-year pi- lot longitudinal study of Year Three and Four students re- vealed their maths skills to be more advanced than required in the Queensland Education De- partment's syllabus for their age group.
"The research has indicated that when two girls work together they tend to talk and reason about each decision that is made," she said.
"This means that they often take longer than boy/boy or boy/girl partnerships to complete a task.
"In contrast, boy pairs are quick to make decisions often based on good visual approximations, so that they solve tasks in different ways with the same end result.
"The children all displayed higher order thinking skills in the way in which they approached and then solved problems.
"By high order thinking, I mean they made a plan to solve the problem.
"Then as they worked through the problem they were checking, monitoring and responding to feedback from the computer program."
Dr Yelland and fellow researcher Jennifer Masters used Geo-Logo to study eight children from the Nundah State School.
The computer application pro- gram, which was designed by Professor Douglas Clements from New York State University, features a cybernetic turtle which can be controlled by chil- dren to solve mathematical problems.
"Geo-Logo is based on the notion that children learn when they are actively engaged in tasks,"
Dr Yelland said.
"In commanding the turtle, the children are incorporating and using their mathematical knowl- edge in an active and dynamic way.
"The children spontaneously dis- cover and apply mathematical processes because they need
them to meet the task require- ments.
"We believe Geo-Logo has the po- tential to transform both the method and content of the pri- mary school curriculum.
relt can help children to learn, ana- lyse and re-conceptualise their geometric ideas.
"One of the program's basic ten- ets is based upon the importance of children learning geometry in an environment characterised by investigation, exploration and experimentation."
Dr Yelland said she hoped the Queensland Education Depart- ment would consider introduc- ing Geo-Logo into the primary school syllabus.
Dr Yelland r.ecei..,ed $8500 from the Faculty of Education and
$10,000 from the Research and Information Technology Educa- tion Group for the pilot study.
She bas received a 1995 Austral- ian Research Council small grant worth $15,000 to continue her research.
- Laura McDonald
• More research stories on pages 6 & 7
Technology a cure for remote health workers
Thousands of health workers and the services they provide in rural and remote areas throughout Australia should benefit from a joint univer- sity interactive technology project.
The project should outline new strat- egies for the future direction of Aus- tralia's rural and remote health serv- ices by the end of the year.
The research work is being carried out by QUT and the Monash Univer- sity based Rural Health Research Institute.
The consultancy, worth more than
$280,000, has been funded by the Com- monwealth Department of Human Services and Health.
Joint project co-ordinator, Dr Roy Lundin, said one of the aims was to investigate the need for and use of in- ter-active technology by health work- ers in Australia's rural and remote ar- eas. Another objective was to provide a framework and develop guidelines and benchmarks for future applications for communication and information technology in rural and remote area health services
These goals would involve identifying the needs and the level of training rural health which workers re- quire to handle the new technology.
"Generally speaking, much of ru- ral Australia at present is not as well serviced by communication informa- tion technology as the major urban, coastal and near coastal centres," said Dr Lundin, a senior lecturer in the Education Faculty's School of Cur- riculum and Professional Studies.
"Rural and remote Australia has been described as 30 years behind the rest of the country as to the pro- vision of communication technology and, for the health professional in those areas, there is no instant sup- port system."
Assisting Dr Lundin in the project at QUT are Professor Gail Hart and Mr William Collier.
Dr Lundin said Professor Hart, from the School of Nursing, was one of the first people to use telec- onferencing for nurse education.
He said Mr Collier, from the School of Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations, would bring particular expertise in the area of econometrics and strategic planning.
"The project is already attracting international interest," Dr Lundin said.
"A person in Washington DC who specialises in teenage health in rural
United States has been in contact with me through Internet."
Earlier this month Dr Lundin at- tended an international telemedicine symposium at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, USA.
He also visited the State of Geor- gia which he understood had the larg- est tele-medicine network in the world with 181 sites that use video- conferencing and computer technolo- gies for providing health services throughout the state.
Dr Lundin described the present rural and remote use of technology for health services in Australia as a
"railway gauge syndrome".
"What has been happening is that individual regions and states have undertaken their own initiatives us- ing various types of technologies,"
Dr Lundin said.
"The problem will be that in the near future these various areas will not be able to communicate with each other. Hopefully, the project will ap- ply direction and informed decision making about the acquisition of tech- nology for these areas."
Dr Lundin said the final report was due by the end of September.
- Noel Gentner
Breast screening unit to visit QUT campus
Queensland Health Department's mobile mammography clinic, operated by the Royal Women's Hospital, will revisit QUT's Gardens Point Campus from May 15 to 16.
Organised by the Counselling and Health Service, the free service is available to QUT staff and students.
Counselling and Health nursing of- ficer Ms Carolyn Angus said the screening mammograms were strongly recommended for women who had breast cancer in the past, younger women whose mother or sister had brea~t cancer before they were 50 and women aged 40 years and over.
"One in 14 women will get breast cancer at some stage in their life," said Ms Angus.
"Women who have regular screen- ing mammograms every two years
halve their chance of dying from breast cancer."
To make an appointment contact Ms Angus on 864 2127 or 864 4673 be- fore April 28.
The Health Service has also organ- ised free breast self-examination work- shops to teach women how to effi- ciently examine their breasts to detect changes early.
The teaching program takes about one hour and includes a video and dis- cussion.
The workshops will run between 12 -1 pm at Gardens Point, April 19, Kim Beasley Room; Carseldine, May 4, C216; Kelvin Grove, May 11, B343.
Those interested in enrolling should contact Ms Marie Kappell or Ms Shaynee McMahon at the Health Serv- ice on ext 3126.
Casino research to study social impact
• From page 1
The potential for casino gambling to cannibalise other forms of gambling, such as club poker machines and horse racing, will come under scrutiny.
Impacts on other leisure provi.ders such as theatres and restaurants will also be monitored.
The horse racing industry was ini- tially hit in ever state following the opening of casinos, Dr McMillen said.
Any impact on clubs could also be negative because of the contribution they made to local community serv- ices.
"Australians have shown they really enjoy casinos," Dr McMillen said.
"Our aim is to provide an accurate and balanced picture of the benefits and costs which casinos bring to a community.
"This will allew the industry, gov- ernments and welfare agencies to re- spond quickly to any problems and to maximise community benefits."
While Dr McMillen and fellow researchers, Dr Neal Ryan, also an economics and public policy senior lecturer, and Dr Tom Mandeville, a
Dr Jan McMillen
University of Queensland economics senior lecturer, are hopeful of secur- ing additional research funding, Dr McMillen said the Cairns project could stand alone.
A broad-ranging community refer- ence group has been set up in Cairns.
It will work with and assist the re- searchers and includes representatives of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Is- lander Commission, Lifeline, the Fam- ily Resource Service (which is donat- ing administrative costs and office space), all levels of government, the convention centre developers, indus- try, and the unions.
"Our methodology will be quite in- novative," Dr McMillen said.
"Not only are we trying to explore the link between social and economic impacts but we're trying to make it a community-based project.
"The community provides us with information and in return we analyse the data so they'll be able to make appropriate policy decisions.
"This will allow participants to ad- just their policies once the impacts have been identified."
- Kathryn Lund
Campus quickies
Seems our very own Account- ancy Professor (Kevin) Scott Holmes has had his own adven- ture
a
Ia Willy W onka and the Chocolate Factory. He was recently snapped hovering over a huge vat of chocolate, cap on head, gleeful expression on face.The photo was actually part of an excellent write-up in the Australian Financial Review, detailing how the good professor's work developing the Australian Business Network Program had helped Haigh's Chocolates break
into the Japanese market ...
anything for a good photo oppor- tunity!
0 0 0
Looking forward to the new in- ternal telephone directory lobbing on your desk?
Well, sit back and wait just a lit- tle longer, well, until July sometime.
Seems the much-awaited update, which was due out this month, has been wisely delayed to incorporate imminent changes within the Busi- ness Faculty.
INSIDE OUT April 11 - May 1, 1995 Page 3
April/May gra:duations
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Special guests to speak at ceremonies
More than 5500 students, who fin- ished studies at the end of last year, are eligible to graduate in April and May ceremonies.
The ceremonies will be held in the Concert Hall of the Queensland Performing Arts Complex, South Bank, starting 5.30pm.
Guest speakers for each ceremony are listed below:
April 18- Education (in-service)- inauguration of QUT Chancellor Dr Cherrell Hirst;
April 19 - Education (pre-service- primary/early childhood) - Mr Frank Peach, Director-General of Education;
April 20-Education (pre-service- secondary) - Mr Daryl Hanly, from the Department of Educa- tion's Centre for Leadership Ex- cellence;
April 24 - Health - Mr Dick Persson, Queensland's Director-
General of Health;
April 26 - Arts/Health - speaker to be announced;
April 27 - Science - Professor Emeritus Ralph Doherty, AO;
May 8 -Law, The Honorable Jus- tice Tony Fitzgerald, AC;
May 9-10 - Built Environment and Engineering - Professor Evan Walker, former Dean of Archi- tecture at the University of Mel- bourne and chair of the National Capital Planning Authority; and former QUT Chancellor Dr Vic Pullar, AO;
May 15- Business and Information Technology - Mr Don Argus, Managing Director of the Na- tional Australia Bank;
May 16-17- Business- Mr Mike Ahem, former Premier of Queens- land, and Mr Jim Kennedy, CBE, former head of Queensland Tour- ist and Travel Corporation.
Honorary degrees to be awarded
QUT will present honorary Doc- tor of the University degrees to the following people at the April/May graduation ceremonies:
• Former Queensland Premier Mike Ahern-May 16, Business
• Professor emeritus Ralph Doherty - April 27, Science
• Fitzgerald Inquiry head Justice Tony Fitzgerald - May 8, Law
• Former head of the Queensland Tourist and Travel Corporation Jim
Dr Cherrell Hirst
Chancellor's inauguration
QUT's new Chancellor Dr Cherrell Hirst will be inaugu- rated on April 18 during the university's first graduation ceremony for the year.
Governor of Queensland, Mrs Leneen Forde, AC, will install Dr Hirst at the ceremony at the Concert Hall in the Performing Arts Complex.
Dr Hirst will make her inau- gural speech as Chancellor at the graduation.
Dr Hirst, Director of the Wesley Breast Clinic, is the sixth woman in Australia to be elected to a university chancel- lor position.
She was elected to the post last November after QUT's founding Chancellor Dr Vic Pullar stepped down from his position at the end of his five- year term.
All QUT staff have been in- vited to the inauguration.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Dennis Gibson will host a reception at the conclusion of the ceremony.
The graduation ceremony will involve Education Faculty staff and students who have completed in-service education degrees.
Kennedy - May 17, Business The honorary degrees are con- ferred in recognition of outstanding contribution to the community and/
orQUT.
Former Chancellor Vic Pullar, who received an honorary doctorate on his retirement last year, will have his doctorate formally acknowl- edged on May 10 at the Engineering and Built Environment graduation
ceremony. Mother and daughter study duo, Lara and Jacqualine Watchman
(seated). (Photo: Suzanne Prestwidge)
PhD probes student response to Viviani
Boring lessons, job anxiety and dissatisfaction with the school sys- tem remain among the biggest wor- ries facing some Queensland high school students, according to new research.
Dr John Fanshawe, from QUT's School of Learning and Development conducted his PhD research into Ado- lescent Problems and Coping Strate- gies over a five-year period.
Its aim was to gauge student atti- tudes prior to, and after the release of the Viviani Report in 1992.
Dr Fanshawe, the Faculty of Edu- cation's first PhD graduate, will receive his doctorate on April 18.
The Viviani Report led to the re- placement of the tertiary entrance (TE) score in Queensland with a system designed to provide tertiary institutions with more detailed information about students' abilities.
The system ranks students on an overall position (OP) and a field posi- tion (FP) and awards them a score on a core skills test (CS).
Dr John Fanshawe
Dr Fanshawe said that after com- paring data between 1620 post- Viviani students and 1664 enrolled under the TE system, he discovered they had similar concerns. with some experi- encing greater pressure under the new system.
"Major problem areas for both groups included teaching methods, anxiety about the future, achieving independence and school workload,"
he said.
"The post- Vi vi ani students indi- cated they were experiencing greater pressure under the new system.
"The Viviani reforms were sup- posed to produce a fairer, less pressu- rised system, but 1t appears that this has not happened."
Dr Fanshawe said students concerns, particularly those involving assess- ment, had remained essentially the same because of the fundamental simi- larities between the OP and the TE score systems.
"Students are still being rank or- dered and are still competing with
other students for limited numbers of tertiary places rather than being judged 1n terms of performance standards,"
he said.
"A single score (the OP) still seems to carry the most weight when seeking entry to the majority of university courses.''
Dr Fanshawe said his study also found teachers were aware of student problems.
"One hundred and seventy eight teachers participated in last year's seg- ment of the study," he said.
"They generally agreed that their students' biggest problems included anxiety about the future and school workload.
"The teachers also agreed that the new TE system had not reduced the pressures on students."
Dr Fanshawe said student stress could be reduced if schools placed less emphasis on a competitive academic curriculum.
"There needs to be more personal development, cooperative learning and the development of life skills," he said.
"Also required is a huge increase in funding for education to achieve ma- jor reductions in class sizes and teach- ers' workloads.
"In smaller classes, teachers will be able to interact with their students in a more personal way and meet their stu- dents' needs more effectively.
"Teachers can play a very special role in helping students to deal with their problems by encouraging them to identify worthwhile and achievable goals, providing them with realistic challenges, building their self-esteem and helping them develop a sense of control over their own lives."
Dr Fanshawe's PhD supervisors were Dr Paul Burnett and Dr Wendy Patton from the School of Learning and Development.
His research was supported by DEET Upgrade Funding, a Faculty of Education Research Grant and QUT's Professional Development Program.
- Laura McDonald Page 4 INSIDE OUT April 11 -May 1, 1995
Mum and daughter team for teaching
Teaching has truly become- a family affair for Jacqualine and Lara Watchman of Woombye ever since they enrolled in the same education degree four years ago.
The mother and daughter duo will graduate together with a Bachelor of Education (Secondary) degree at a ceremony on April 20 at the QPAC Concert Hall.
Also attending the ceremony as a proud father and husband will be Ken Watchman, who, in an- other remarkable coincidence, teaches at the same school as his daughter.
After graduating last year, Lara, 22, joined the Caloundra State High School as a drama/English teacher, where Mr Watchman has taught history and English for the past three years.
After a total of six years of study which included gaining her sen- ior certificate, Jacqualine now teaches home economics and Eng- lish at the Burnside State High School in Nambour two-and-a- half days a week.
Lara, who also runs Arts-Link, a youth drama school on the Sun- shine Coast, said her mother was an inspiration to anyone consid- ering a mid-life career change.
"The kids at mum's school really look up to her," she said.
"Recently one asked her how long she had been teaching. When Mum said eight weeks the kids gave her a standing ovation."
Jacqualine said mature-aged teach- ing graduates could add an extra dimension to adolescent educa- tion.
"Given my life experiences, I am able to fully comprehend the im- portance of educating young peo- ple about crucial issues like social justice and community involve- ment," she said.
"I believe that education today is very challenging and extremely rewarding to both teachers and students."
Both Lara and Jacqualine agreed each provided the other with valu- able and positive support throughout their three-year course at QUT.
"We studied history and education units together and had great dis- cussions on both," Lara said.
"Mum would motivate me all the time. She was the best possible study partner."
Jacqualine said there was never any competition between them to achieve better results.
"It was a wonderful experience. We
shared everything. This included doing our third-year prac at the Nambour State High School.
Lara achieved a grade point aver- age of 6.11, while Jacqualine scored 5.93.
Inside QUT reaches 15,000 readers - staff,
students and professional groups.
To find out about reaching the same people with your advertisment, contact The Media Workshop,
ph (07) 391 6633
New massage clinic opens
A new therapeutic massage clinic has opened at QUT's Kelvin Grove campus to bring some soothing comfort to the general public and QUT staff and students.
It also aims to be a centre for continuing education for practising nurses interested in massage therapy.
The clinic, which opened on April 4, is an innovation of the Nursing Practice Unit within the QUT School of Nursing.
Unit coordinator and senior lec- turer Mr Rob Thornton said the clinic was established in response to growing commu- nity and professional accept- ance of massage as a benefi- cial therapy in preventative health care and stress man- agement.
"We certainly see massage as a very complementary practice to existing, more traditional forms of nursing care," Mr Thornton said.
"We are confident this will serve a very real need both within QUT and in the gen- eral community, around Kel- vin Grove particularly."
Mr Thornton said the clinic had employed professional mas- sage therapist Ms Sarah Gleed to operate the clinic every Tuesday and Thursday from 9am to 6pm.
Ms Gleed, who has a Certifi- cate in Advanced Massage from the Victorian School of Massage in Melbourne, has left private practice in Clayfield to take the position.
Mr Thornton said the clinic would have three roles - serving the general and QUT community, providing con- tinuing education for practis- ing nurses, and forming an educational setting for QUT undergraduate and post- graduate students through clinical placements.
On April27, the clinic will start its first continuing education
Massage therapist Ms Sarah Gleed course, a seven-week morn- ing program in therapeutic massage for nurses. A paral- lel course will also begin on the following Tuesday in the afternoons to accommodate nurses working shifts.
Mr Thornton said some of the clinic's continuing education courses would be open to the general public.
For example, the clinic will con- duct relaxation massage workshops on May 20, May 27 and June 3.
The Nursing Practice Unit within the School of Nursing
has operated since 1993 and has developed a number of other programs including a support service for carers of people with Alzheimer's Disease.
• To book a massage appoint- ment, telephone (07) 2311928.
One-hour consultations are
$30 for pensioners and full- time students, $35 for QUT staff and $40 for public.
• For more information about continuing education courses in massage, telephone 864 3824.
Food for business
The processed food indus- try is being targeted by the Office of Commercial Services (OCS) as a potential growth area for involving QUT exper- tise.
"Background research shows continual growth within the industry, significant gov- ernment encouragement for research and development, and the need for ongoing food product development to meet the changing demands and tastes of consumers," said commercial research support officer Ms Cheryl Munko.
Cindy wins national title
"It is intended that target- ing the processed food indus- try will bring together the broad range of expertise avail- able within QUT and the cur- rent demands of the industry."
Two workshops have al- ready been held for academ- ics. The first, in February, sought to gauge the full extent of expertise and interest in the industry. The second, last month, looked at ways to de- velop ongoing working rela- tionships with local food processing companies for re- search activities.
Administrative Services secre- tary Ms Cindy Lee (above) is still trying to get over her excitement at being chosen Australia's junior sec- retary/administrator of the year.
She was announced as the winner during a special breakfast for National Secretaries' Day in Sydney on March 31.
"It was really exciting to be cho- sen," she said.
In her written application to the judges, Ms Lee said competent sec- retaries/administrators should have a positive attitude and be keen to undertake new challenges and ac- cept responsibility with enthusiasm, think through problems and suggest possible solutions for discussion, exhibit judgement on confidential issues and politics in the workplace
and possess high-level and accurate technical skills.
Ms Lee beat nominees from each state and the Northern Territory.
The 20-year-old who joined QUT in June 1993 previously worked at an engineering firm in Spring Hill.
Ms Lee was nominated by her boss Sarah Johnstone, the Secre- tariat Manager in Administrative Services. She also works for QUT Chancellor Dr Cherrell Hirst.
Ms Lee said both her bosses ac- knowledged her contribution by cre- ating developmental opportunities, seeking her advice and expertise and being open to suggestions for im- provements to office administration.
Ms Lee's prizes include a trip for two to anywhere in Australia and a Canon electric typewriter.
The next step in the process would involve visits by OCS staff and academics to various local food processing compa- nies, Ms Munko said.
Further information on the strategy can be obtained by contacting commercial re- search business manager, Ms Carole Green, on 864 1720 or Ms Munko on 864 5354.
Green campaign in Vietnam takes Oz advertising advice
QUT is part of possibly the first environmental awareness campaign conducted by a communist country with international assistance.
The United Nations campaign in Viet- nam is promoting personal responsibility for environmental protection and addresses the two most urgent environmental issues confronting Vietnam - environmental hygiene and the need to protect the coun- try's greenery .
QUT advertising lecturer Mr Alan Hales has helped develop the campaign since late last year.
Stage one was launched at a ceremony in Hanoi in January.
One of the campaign's messages is that forest degradation cannot be allowed to continue.
Forests once covered 75 percent of Viet- nam; the present figure is only 23 percent.
"To ensure the campaign's success, we devised a strategy and conducted a series of group interviews to determine the mes- sage, the wording and the delivery of the campaign," Mr Hales said.
"It resulted in national television cover- age, radio broadcasts and concentrated poster and leaflet campaigns."
The goal was not only to create aware- ness of the problems but provide easy-to- follow instructions on simple things which people can do to make a difference-plant- ing trees, starting gardens, boiling water, cleaning, not littering, turning rubbish into fertiliser, keeping water sources clean and giving plants and trees as gifts.
Five, half-hour television documentaries, five live-action commercials targeting eight to 28-year-olds and five animated commer- cials for young children were produced.
The poster and leaflet campaign was con- ducted in six villages in each of seven provinces which resulted in 42 villages and more than 18 million people being targeted.
Mr Hales said the poster message, Whether our country is green, clean and beautiful or not? It's up to you, was an exercise in itself.
"In Vietnam the environment is perceived by people as a government problem, a let- them-solve-it attitude," Mr Hales said.
"What we did was to bring the focus
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Noel Gentnerback to each individual to play a part.
"Part of the slogan, It's up to you, was a powerful message because its direct lan- guage is not part of the usual polite Viet- namese spoken word."
Mr Hales said research work from the television, radio and poster campaigns was being conducted to determine whether the message was getting through.
He said once a clear direction was estab- lished, 20 million more posters would be printed.
Stage two of the program, to begin mid- year, would be directed at major cities, in- cluding Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang and Haiphong.
"Obviously the poster message will change as the environmental emphasis will be on cities and not rice paddies and for- ests," Mr Hales said.
The United Nations Development Pro- gram, along with the Vietnamese govern- ment, has provided funds for the project.
Mr Hales will return to Vietnam during the May semester break for a review of stage one and the launch of stage two.
· His targets include, by the end of the year, a 60 percent awareness of the need to protect the country's environment and about 45 to 50 percent awareness that individuals can make a difference.
Alan Hales (left) with Mr Roy Morey, the UNDP representative in Hanoi, at the campaign's launch in January.
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INSIDE QUT April 11 - May 1, 1995 Page 5
OUT physics researchers Associate Professor Brian J Thomas {left) and Dr Bruce Cornish using the bio-impedance analyser they helped develop.
MIR cosmonauts may carry Brisbane-made technology
A
new device designed to chart the progress of diseases such as anorexia by measuring body water may be used to study the physiology of cosmonauts i{l the MIR orbital space station.Three modified versions of the swept- frequency bio-impedance analyser have been sold to German space company PANKOSMOS.
The company is working with the Germany Space Agency DARA, which is coordinating a research program in- volving a series of experiments to test fluid shifts during micro or increased gravity conditions.
The device was developed by Asso- ciate Professor Brian J. Thomas and Dr Bruce Cornish from QUT's Centre for Medical and Health Physics and Dr Leigh Ward from the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Queensland.
Built and manufactured by Hilary Johnson from Brisbane-based firm SEAC, it was released on to the Aus- tralian and European markets by UniQue.\t in 1992.
Centre director Professor Thomas said the portable analyser, which can be applied to the whole body or a body segment, measures the body impedance at 256 frequencies using a low-level al-
ternating current.
·'The instrument measures the amount of body water contained in intracellular and extracellular fluid compartments situated within muscle tissue." he said.
"The results are relayed to a compu- ter for subsequent analysis.
"In nutritional medicine. the intracellular/extracellular water balance can indicate the progress of diseases such as cystic fibrosis and end-stage liver disease."
The device is currently being used in a number of Australian and European hospitals.
There are only two other similar in- struments available. developed and built in the USA and Italy.
Professor Thomas said PANKOSMOS chose the Brisbane-made analyser which was modified to the company's specifications by SEA C.
"Scientists want to record the degree of fluid changes which occur in human>
under extreme conditions such as microgra\ity," he said.
"Hilary Johnson modified the origi- nal analyser to produce a smaller ver- sion which can be clipped on to the astronaut's belt. Also incorporated was an infrared transmitter to relay the data to an onboard computer."
Professor Thomas said the analyser
developed by QUT and the University of Queensland was currently being used in a three-year study with The Wesley Hospital.
"We are evaluating a technique us- ing the swept-frequency device to moni- tor the severity of lymphedema in women undergoing treatment for the disorder:· he said.
"Lymphedema is an accumulation of fluid resulting from damage to the lymph channels which may occur due to treatment of breast cancer.
"In some cases. the lymphedema can result in impaired mobility and swell- ing and can be quite debilitating.
"The preliminary results indicate that the technique is considerably more sen- sitive than presently used methods al- lowing better evaluation of treatment protocols and may also provide an ear- lier dia2:nos1s of the condition."
To c~nduct further research. Profe>- sor Thoma>. Dr Cornish. Dr Ward and The Wesley Ho;pital collaborators Doctor<, Cherrell Hirst and Ian Bunce have applied for a 1996 National Health and Medical Research grant.
The swept-frequency bio-impedance analyser IS available through UniQuest.
For more information telephone 365 4037.
- Laura McDonald
New book released for postgrads
Advice to postgraduate students on how to manage stress by successfully juggling their academic and personal lives is contained in a newly-released handbook.
Compiled by Postgraduate Stu- dents Officer Ms Gabriela Berger and QUT Counselling Service head Dr Robert Schweitzer, Issues in Post- graduate Study -A Workshop Hand- book for Postgraduate Students is available from the Student Guild.
Ms Berger, a final-year PhD student herself, said she was able to drew from first-hand experience in co-editing the book.
Dr Schweitzer said he and Ms Berger decided to put together the handbook to help students cope with personal and professional issues which arose during postgraduate study.
"We had been running seminars for postgraduate students over the past four years," he said.
"What we have discovered is that many students concentrate more on
the technical process of postgradu- ate study. What they don't always appreciate is that study is also a per- sonal process."
Dr Schweitzer said that for an in- creasing number of nature-age post- graduate students this process was becoming more complicated.
"Many mature-age students have to balance their lives as academics and parents and also successfully manage personal relationships/part- nerships," he said.
"It is very difficult to fulfil all three roles. It is often useful for students to divide their energy between only two at any one time.
"They must be prepared to make sacrifices and give themselves time- out.
"This doesn't mean they should ne- glect one for the other- just give qual- ity time to each."
Dr Schweitzer said another impor- tant aspect of student life was the re- lationship with their supervisor.
For them to gain the maximum Page 6 INSIDE OUT April 11 - May 1, 1995
from their postgraduate study this re- lationship must be collegial and pro- ductive," he said.
"From our feedback, the qualities that students seem to be looking for is someone with a genuine interest in their topic, a supervisor who is acces- sible and approachable and one with a solid background in their research area. Students don't want personal- ity clashes or someone who has little or no experience in supervising stu- dents."
Dr Schweitzer said the handbook provided personal and profession ad- vice on such topics as defining a the- sis, drafting an outline, avoiding pro- crastination, setting a time frame, as- sessment, intellectual property and authorship, time-management and personal effectiveness, presenting seminars and the technical and psy- chological aspects of writing.
The CounsPIIing Service is situated on each campus.
The handbook is available from the Guild for $5.
Researchers at Q
Mosq u ito-eati n Vietnam's fight
D
eveloping a sustainable bio logical control method in Vietnam for the dengue vi- rus, which infects more than one million people annually world- wide, is the aim of a collaborative research project between QUT's School of Life Science and the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR).Funded by a three-year, $550,000 Australian International Develop- ment Assistance Bureau (AIDAB) grant. the project will be centred in villages in northern Vietnam.
It will have two goals- monitor- ing the effectiveness of a macro- scopic organism. mesocyc/ops, in reducing mosquito larvae numbers. and setting up diagnostic facilities and a screening program to detect continuing dengue virus transmissions.
Project scientific advisors, QUT's life science senior lecturer Dr John Aaskov and QIMR entomologist Professor Brian Kay. will train their Vietnamese counterparts to sustain the project once their work is finished.
"In south-east Asia thousands of children each year die of dengue haemorragic fever." Dr Aaskov said.
"Yet nowhere in the world have government-run insecticide spraying programs worked in the long term. So the world is looking for alternatives."
Dr Aaskov described the dengue carrying mosquito, Aedes aegypti, as
"peridomestic'', living in and around houses.
"In Asia, in particular, many people have water storage around houses because they don't have
Dr John Aaskov articulated water." he said.
The mesocyclops will be introduced to water supplies to eat mosquito lar- vae without harming those who drink or cook with the water.
Community members will also be taught how to maintain the mesocyclops populations. how to transfer it to other communities and to check mosquito numbers.
Dr Aaskov's diagnostic facilities will seek to monitor the ongoing incidence of the dengue fever.
"The mesocyclops may reduce the number of mosquitos but we've also got to prove we've got rid of the virus altogether," he said.
"We're going to try to measure sub- clinical infections. Just because you get infected doesn't mean you get sick so there may be a lot of people infected
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