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Issue No 87
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_...,..._ --~--Gardens Point, Kelvin Grove, Kedron Park, Carseldine campuses and Sunshine Coast centre 26 May 1992
Graduates job winners
UTS
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U of SA
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UofQ UNSW Curtin Sydney Melbourne LaTrobe Adelaide Monash Macquarie +
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
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Graduate Destinations
1991
• Other Further Study
0 Seeking Full-time Employment
68 Full-time Employment
Graduates of QUT have again placed second in Australia and first in Queensland as job winners from institutions producing more than 1000 graduates per year.
In a survey of all Australian univer- sities, QUT was second out of all large _ institutions for its percentage of gradu-
ates entering the workforce despite the recession.
Only one university exceeded QUT' s 64.4 percent of graduates gaining full- time employment The success rate for students of the University of Technol- ogy Sydney (UTS) was 77 percent
By
Jim Simmonds survey.QUT counsellor and careers adviser Mr Alan Richardson said he believed the UTS higher graduate employment rate was due to a more extensive Coop- erative Education Program (CEP) than that operating at QUT.
Mr Richardson said figures produced by the survey could show different uni- versities in different lights. For exam- ple, University of Queensland shows a lower rate of graduate unemployment than QUT.
"But U of Q has 52 percent full-time graduate employment in comparison with QUT's 64.4 percent, and an Aus- tralian average of 50.8 percent," he said .
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Graph courtesy Plannmg and Stattsttcs
The figures are based on a national survey coordinated by the Graduate Careers Council of Australia and relat- ing to the status of new graduates at 30 April ast year. A total of 4274 students graduated from QUT, with 72 percent of these graduates participating in this
"From the graduate destination fig- ures, we have UTS as a main competi- tor for top employment rates."
A QUT interior design student with a passion for dinosaurs is helping to transform Brisbane's South Bank into a prehistoric rain- forest.
Self-confessed dinosaur freak Mr Gavin Harris is a part-time student in the School of Architecture, Inte- rior and Industrial Design.
Mr Harris, 24, also is project di- rector of the Gondwana Rainforest Sanctuary, a $7 million theme park incorporated in the South Bank de- velopment_
Mr Harris, who is employed by the Joffe Group, has worked for sev- eral architectural firms and been in- volved in conventional develop- ments such as shopping centres and office blocks.
But this latest opportunity to de- velop his hobby on a large scale - and be paid into the bargain - has been his most satisfying project.
"I have worked with architectural firms on interiors, which is the logi- cal step from doing the course, but I've always had an interest in natu- ral history and dinosaurs," Mr Harris said.
''Then about a year ago I saw the Joffe Group was involved in Gondwana, building a prehistoric theme park.l'djust been retrenched because of the recession, so it was a golden opportunity.
"Up until then, dinosaurs had just been a hobby forme. Now I have the chance to be paid for working on them. It's great"
The Gondwana Rainforest Sanc- tuary consists of a rock and netting structure covering 2355 square me- tres.
It will house 100 species of native wildlife, more than 1000 plants, limestone labyrinths, towering wa-
• Continued page 3
Gondwana Rainforest Sanctuary project director Mr Gavin Harris eyeballs one of his creations.
(Photo: Tony Phillips)
After talking to the careers advisers at UTS, he believed that higher em- ployment rate was due to all UTS courses having cooperative education years built-in.
At QUT science and information technology faculties both had well-es- tablished Cooperative Employment Programs.
''The edge that these students have is participation in the workforce during their studies, creating contacts and get- ting work experience," Mr Richardson said.
While he thought the faculties would support more cooperative education or professional training years, there also was a trend towards more research and academic theory.
"Currently, we have the edge. Both QUT and UTS have the employment edge," he said.
"QUT's contact with employers and the real world has worked in the past and should be fostered."
The concept of QUT being a uni- versity for the real world was work- ing but it posed the question of whether or not the next step of more cooperative education years across more faculties should be taken, Mr Richardson added.
"Do we take a step closer to employ- ers and secure their increased partici- pation in undergraduate training? QUT has a mission statement to aim for the highest level of graduate employment,"
Mr Richardson said.
"That goal might not be achieved in competition with UTS without taking a stronger direction of undergraduate in- volvement in the workforce.
"The dilemma remains as to how to increase graduate employment," Mr Richardson said.
"We have nothing to lose by being in direct competition with UTS, we have a lqt to gain. I see no reason why we should not follow the paths of uni- versity research, academic and applied theOry and the use of cooperative em- ployment programs."
Mr Richardson said U of Q showed a lower rate of graduate unemploy- ment, but on the other hand more graduates participated in postgraduate studies. QUT had a significantly higher level of graduates in full-time employ- ment
QUT director of counselling and health Dr Brian Whitelaw said there were satisfying numbers of employers interviewing graduating students on Gardens Point and Kedron Park cam- puses through the Employers on Cam- pus program.
"All employers have reported a great deal of pleasure at the high level of students presentation for interviews,"
Dr Whitelaw said.
"Given the economic situation, our students will take out more than just a fair share of new appointments."
Inside:
Educators must defend values
• Page 3
QUT Central Administration 2 George Street Brisbane 4000 Telephone (07) 864 2999 • -Registered by,Australia Post- Publication No. QBF 4778
Vice-chancellor's comment
City transport a university concern
Urban consolidation is an important issue for the future of Brisbane. Will the development of our city at the centre of the south east Queensland megalopolis inevitably lead to the economic, social and environmental problems of urban sprawl evident in many world cities? Certainly unplanned growth can mean social isolation, a huge cost of providing public services over a wide area and large numbers of vehicles with concomitant congestion, fringe city parking lots and pollution.
All large employers and organisations with large numbers of patrons in the city must be part of the debate on the future of Brisbane.
QUT' s Gardens Point and Kelvin Grove campuses are very much part of the CBD with more than 20 000 students and staff travelling to and from the campuses daily. Growth of Brisbane and of the QUT population will require movement increasingly to public transport for users of Gardens Point and Kelvin Grove campuses.
The university will continue to work with the city and the State Government to facilitate provision of convenient and efficient public transport for students and staff. The South Bank ferry service effective from 20 June will be a time- saving connection for train travellers (Vulture Street station) and for people using parking stations nearby.
Negotiations are under way with the Brisbane City Council for an improved bus service for Kelvin Grove campus.
Another more important issue is intro- duction of the inner-city rail loop which would service Royal Brisbane Hospi- tal, Brisbane Grammar and Girls Gram- mar Schools, and the campus and pri- mary and secondary schools at Kelvin Grove. We will continue to promote this.
Professor Dennis Gibson
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Academic looks at Origin football - see page 4
Apology ln . ~r:ief Exchange of
youth study philosophies
In the last issue of Inside QUTwe carried a story relating to the visit to Australia of Indonesian journalist Mr Goenawan Mohamad. The story stated that prior to founding Tempo magazine Mr Goenawan headed the ABC's bureau in Indonesia.
In fact, the bureau head at that time was QUT senior lecturer ,in journal- ism Dr Errol Hodge. We apologise for this error and any embarrassment that might have been caused by it.
QUT's Physical Infrastructure Centre is sponsoring a nine-week Continuing Education Program (CEP) course on Urban Transport Planning Techniques.
The course consists of seven Tuesday evening lectures, to be held in L block, from 21 July. Each three-hour lecture begins at 6pm and includes a tutorial period.
Registrations close on 31 June.
The fee is $345 per person. For fur-
Mr Cliff Button (left) with Mr Brian Howe at the launch of his manual
Construction manual guide for industry
Deputy Prime Minister Mr Brian Howe recently launched a new publi- cation by QUT Physical Infrastructure Centre researcher Mr CiitT Button.
The 900-page Australian Domestic Construction Manual was co-authored by Mr Button and consulting engineer Mr Richard Adams.
The manual was the result of a rec- ommendation from a 1989 special pre- miers' conference to review building regulations.
Mr Button and Mr Adams were ap- pointed by the Master Builders Con- struction and Housing Association of Australia, and the Standards Associa- tion, who agreed to underwrite the
$1 million program for the manual.
Page 2 INSIDE QUT, 26 May 1992
The Australian Domestic Construc- tion Manual is specifically directed at owner-builders, builders, house design- ers, architects, engineers, draftspersons, inspectors and surveyors.
It explains the formal legislation de- sign rules also drafted by Mr Button, and emphasises legislative and admin- istrative requirements for the design and construction of buildings.
The manual gives advice on the se- lection of building sites, outlines pro- cedures for minimising approval and construction delays, and highlights in- surance and contractual aspects.
The Queensland edition will be fol- lowed by adapted manuals for the other states.
ther information contact Dr Luis Ferreira (Tel: 864 1542) or Pro- fessor Rod Troutbeck (864 2775).
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All members of QUT are invited to participate in the Second Annual Environment Debate, to be held on Friday 29 May at the Link Lecture Theatre G3L, Gardens Point.
The proposition is A reduced im- migration program will benefit Aus- tralia's environmental management.
Chair of the debate will be Dr Jim Davie of the School of Planning and Landscape Architecture.
Speakers for the proposition will be the director of Griffith Universi- ty's Science Policy Research Centre Associate Professor Ian Lowe, Queensland Australian Democrats Senator Ms Cheryl Kernot, and the Australian Conservation Founda- tion's Mr Mark Horstman.
Speakers against will be head of QUT' s School of Planning and Landscape Architecture Associate Professor Phil Heywood, ALP Member for Petrie Mr Gary Johns, and former national president of the Housing Industry Association Mr Roger du Blet.
The debate will run from 1pm to 3pm. For further information con- tact pr Jim Davie on 864. 1749.
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The annual general meeting of the women's association Women in QUT (WIQUT) was held on 15 April. A new executive and com- mittee was elected.
The newly elected executive members are: President Maria Sand (Info/Tech GP) x2782, vice- president Jill Borthwick (Lan- guage & Literacy Ed KG) x3241, vice-president Carolyn Gaskell (Uni Librarian's Office GP) x2721, secretary Sharon Stokes (Staff De- velopment KG) x3109 and treas- urer Lex Pietzner (Planning &
Budget GP) x2090.
Inquiries about WIQUT and women's issues are welcomed by all executive members. As well as the above executive a committee of 11 was elected.
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This issue of Inside QUT is the last one for this semester. The newspaper will be in recess until the first edition for the second se- mester which will be published on 28 July.
The deadline for advertising and copy for that issue is 21 July.Inside QUT staff will continue working throughout the semester break and will be happy to follow up story leads for future issues.
An eminent scholar in the field of youth studies has been in Brisbane for the past three weeks exchanging ideas with QUT's School ofCultura1 and Policy Studies.
Dr Chris Murray is director of the Centre for Youth Studies at the Uni- versity of Manchester in the United Kingdom.
He was invited to apply for an ad- junct professorship at QUT through his association with pro-vice-chancel- lor (research and advancement) Pro- fessor Millicent Poole.
Dr Murray has held his position at the University of Manchester since 1972, and is highly regarded for his work in youth studies and policy.
For the past 20 years he has concen- trated his research on the lifestyles of young people. His most recent studies centred on adolescents in Ulster, Northern Ireland.
"We looked at whether Catholic youths differed from non-Catholic youths in their attitudes towards them- selves, towards society and towards organisations such as schools," Dr Murray said.
"We also looked at their views of the overall situation in the country, against the background of what we're seeing in the media as the increasing alienation of the people of Northern Ireland.
"In all, we did a questionnaire study of about 2000 young people, using fairly sophisticated analysis proce- dures. But we didn't find any real dif- ference in attitudes between the de- nominational factions, nor did we find there was a great feeling of alienation among the youth in general.
"So it was a more optimistic than expected view of a fairly buoyant youth group, considering the circum- stances."
Dr Murray delayed completing his Northern Ireland study to take advan- tage of the opportunity to visit Bris- bane and work with other academics in his field.
While at QUT he has given student lectures, addressed staff seminars, and worked towards introducing a liaison between QUT and the University of Manchester for research and Consul- tancy purposes.
Dr Murray has been involved in various lifestyle studies in the UK which he believes would be applica- ble to Australia.
He also is a strong advocate of a 20- year-o\d program in the UK known as Community Industry, which was a scheme designed to help unemployed young people with a history of crimi- nal and/or drug-related problems.
Community Industry was estab- lished to help those youths who found it difficult to hold down jobs even in very good economic circumstances.
"Initially, Community Industry was seen as an alternative way of employ- ing these young people. They were paid wages, rather than a training al- lowance," Dr Murray said.
"Under the scheme the young peo- ple found it was impossible to get sacked. For example, if they threw a chair through a window they would simply have their pay docked and be expected to return to work the next day. So it was a strange experience for them. They could do all these things which previously resulted in instant dismissal and still come back and try again.
"Eventually, instead of showing up two days a week, they would be at work every day. It was an institutional way of breaking the cycle of unem- ployment, crime, court appearance, unemployment."
But in the past few months Dr Murray has witnessed what he calls
"the death of a fine idea".
"I evaluated the Community Indus- try scheme for the British Government back in the early 1970s and was asked to evaluate it again early this year," he said.
"There was a huge difference in the success rates. Sadly, the scheme has now been absorbed into the huge three- billion pound Youth Training (YT) program and the original idea has been total! y subverted. The emphasis is back on qualifications, rather than social skills.
''I'm not saying these youngsters shouldn't be allowed to develop their academic abilities to the fullest. I'm just saying the criteria for them should be softened, so that their personal and social development is enhanced."
! l
Educators must defend
This tot enjoys the facilities at Gardens Point Child Care Centre. (Photo: Tony Phillips) As a response to a crisis in child
care QUT and the Student Guild are cooperating in support of a survey across all five campuses.
The survey will assess the needs for child care and identify target groups and areas. Data collected will become the basis for submis- sions to government departments seeking funds for the provision of more on-campus child care facili- ties.
Information gathered also will be available to QUT's Department of Planning and Budget so that child care requirements can be in- cluded in the future development of university infrastructure.
Ten percent of staff and students will be targeted in the survey. A National Union of Students child care ''phone-in" findings summary will be included in the overall data analysis of the situation.
Child care coordinator Ms Liz Banney said child care as an issue had been spotlighted by commu- nity media at a level of recognition alongside other industrial and
work-related issues.
"The lack of affordable and ap- propriate child care impacts upon parents and, in particular, women who work or study within the educa- tion sector," she said.
"Within QUT, the provision and access to appropriate, quality child care for students, academic and gen- eral staff is of growing concern."
The past 18 months had seen the ratification of the International Labor Organisation Convention 156 on workers with family responsibili- ties, and the endorsement of equal opportunity legislation, Ms Banney said.
While these moves were per- ceived as positive responses to- wards developments in the area of child care much needed to occur at the grass roots level of supply and demand.
"The Student Guild and QUT are concerned with this lack of provision as it currently stands," she said.
"It continues to present a substan-
tial obstacle to access to higher edu- cation and employment, particularly
for women."
The present situation in child care meant a substantial waiting period before places became avail- able within centres and child care schemes.
While QUT Gardens Point cam- pus had a quality child care cen- tre, its waiting list currently num- bered between 200 and 300, Ms Banney said.
Plans were under way for a two unit child care centre to be built at Carseldine campus, hopefully by the start of the 1993 study year.
Ms Banney stressed that the suc- cess of the survey would depend on the response of those asked to take part.
"We hope these surveys will be completed and returned as quickly as is conveniently possible," she
said. ·
"Obviously, the significance of this survey cannot be over-empha- sised. All staff members and stu- dents are encouraged to respond as the implications for the fate of child care are significant."
Di nosau rs reborn in Brisbane
• From page 1
terfalls, a nocturnal house, live croc pool and koala house, as well as the prehistoric rainforest exhibit.
Animated prehistoric creatures will be combined with a high-tech theatre, interactive computers, and special sound systems and lighting to reproduce the total con- cept of a 65 million-year-old Australian rainforest.
The theme park will be complemented by a museum and art gallery, and 500 000 visitors are expected to tour the attraction in its first year of operation.
Joffe Group spokesperson Ms Samantha Neilsen-Moore said the project was the only one of its kind in the world - a combination of zoo, museum, botanic garden and theme park.
"One of the interesting aspects of the project is that we're recreating prehistoric Australian creatures, not the usual American or European models found in theme parks," Ms Neilsen-Moore said.
"We even have an ex-Walt Disney animator on staff, so it will be a much more realistic picture of prehistoric Aus- tralia." A common misunderstanding is that the word
"gondwana" has Aboriginal origins.
Gondwana is in fact an Indian term, used to describe the ancient continent- or Gondwanaland- which once included Australia, South America and Antarctica.
Mr Harris hopes the theme park will be the forerunner of several more "Gondwanas" throughout Australia.
The project is on target to be completed in time for the opening of South Bank on 20 June.
values: PVC
By
Jim SimmondsA leading QUT academic has strongly refuted allegations that higher education is responsible for the failure of Australian business to be more competitive and of workers to be more productive.
Pro-vice-chancellor (research and development) Professor Millicent Poole said much of the blame placed on higher education should be born by govern- ments, trade unions, managers, entre- preneurs and bankers.
Professor Poole tackled the issue as guest speaker at the graduation cer- emony of the education faculty at Vic- toria's La Trobe University (Bendigo campus).
The western world had been taken by surprise by the rapid dissolution of the Soviet Union;-·she said. This and other world changes such as the
"Asianisation" of Australia and the for-
mation of the European Economic . .
Community had the recurring theme of Professor M11f1cent Poole economic restructuring.
There was a need for graduates to defend purposes and values which were central to their future profession in edu- cation, Professor Poole said.
In Australia, new messages were being transmitted concerning goals and directions of education and its relation- ship to work and to national reconstruc- tion.
"Equality and equity have been over- taken by a concern with economic re- covery, internationalisation and com- petitiveness, and the role that higher education is expected to play in that process," she said.
National vision had shifted from the construction of a socially just and eq- uitable society to that of an economi- cally competitive, global and industri- ally restructured one, in which eco- nomic imperatives drove secondary and, increasingly, higher education.
Professor Poole said it was of con- cern that higher education was blamed for the failure of business to be com- petitive and of workers to be more pro- ductive.
A recent Business Council of Aus- tralia conference had found failures to be in several directions, including gov- ernments for rigid policies, managers for lacking vision and forward plan- ning capabilities, trade unions for ar- chaic labour practices, and entrepre-
neurs and bankers for their lack of judg- ment.
The conference also blamed human qualities such as greed and deceit.
Graduates had a collective responsi- bility to develop a future vision extend- ing beyond narrow economic responsi- bility, she said.
Education was about empowering individuals for their own develop- ment and providing the professional knowledge and skills needed to access the labour market. It also was about developing critical and reflective world views, and the capacity to seek change and challenge the direction of change.
Governments that had put policies for the state before people had failed dramatically in recent times, Professor Poole said. Examples were the Soviet Union, Romania and Poland where there had been a failure to deliver basic human needs and services.
She accused the Australian Govern- ment with its high economic focus of failing to balance human and material- istic values. It was neglecting people- oriented professions, she said.
Professor Poole told the graduates:
"It will be your individual and collec- tive responsibility to work towards a more balanced set of values within so- ciety, values which assert the impor- tance of human services within the cur- rent economic and corporate climate."
Women scoop uni versity
Women have scooped the univer- sity medals pool at this year's QUT graduation ceremonies.
More than twice as many female students as male students were awarded the medals, even in such tra- ditional male strongholds as science, and built environment and engineer- ing.
University medals are awarded for outstanding academic performance by students throughout their course.
Of 17 university medal winners from seven faculties, 12 were women.
Around 5000 students graduated in ceremonies running from 14 April to 7 May. Of those students, some 60 percent were female.
University medal winners were:
meda· ls pool
Built Environment and Engineering Faculty Ms Wendy Mathieson and Ms Catherine Smith; Business Faculty Ms Melissa Carey, Ms Melinda Waddell and Ms Michelle van Tulder; Educa- tion Faculty Ms Kerryn Drinkall and Ms Julie Ward; Health Faculty Ms Wendy Leighton and Ms Colleen Loos; Information Technology Mr Peter Scalia and Mr Narinder Singh Sahota; Law Faculty Mr Stuart Dutson;
Science Faculty Ms Jodie Kelly, Mr Ian Jackson and Ms Sharon O'Brien;
joint Information Technology and Built Environment and Engineering faculties medals Ms Francine Johnson and Mr Brendan Beahan.
Campus quickies
Water is said to have a soothing effect on the soul but it didn't do much for the staff of U block Gardens Point when it cascaded down the back stairs recently. Water lapped to within centimetres of mahogany row but all was saved by our quick-thinking maintenance staff and the cleaners.
It seems a hot water pipe ruptured in the roof and the water, naturally, sought the lowest level.
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Another good one from Keith Done in the Office of Commercial Services (OCS) which currently is marketing a publication called Australia's Commu- nication Futures. The mail order form for the book gives the purchaser the choice of paying by cheque or credit card. For cheque payment, the form reads: "I enclose cheque-make payable to QUT & MARK 'not negotiable'."
Sure enough a cheque was received for the sum of $24.95 with instructions that the amount be paid to "QUT & MARK". The cheque was sent by none other than the Australian and Overseas Telecommunications Corporation (OTC).
INSIDE OUT, 26 May 1992
...
New view of Origin
spectacle
It is probably fair to say rugby league is not considered a major sport in Estonia. Heaven forbid, the exploits of "King" Wally Lewis may not even warrant headlines on the back page of the Tallinn Times.
Nor is it likely that epic tales of viewpoint.
battle between the Cane Toads and the "Certainly for the past decade the Cockroaches are recorded for poster- State of Origin has been THE sporting ity in Sweden, Canada or the United event in Queensland and New South
States. Wales," Professor Howell said.
But a QUT academic, with a col- "A combination of things resulted ourful background involving all these in State of Origin becoming the phe- countries, has recently co-authored ar- nomenon it is today. One was the tra- guably the most comprehensive book ditional interstate rivalry and the fact on rugby league ever published in Aus- Queensland had always been forced tralia: State of Origin - The First to take a back seat to NSW in sport.
Twelve Years. "But in the early 1980s, Queens-
Associate Professor Reet Howell with fellow authors Professor Max Howell (left) and Dr Peter Hastie at the launch of their book. (Photo: Tony Phillips)
Another fact likely to make the av- land and especially Brisbane came of erage macho, beer-swilling, footy fa- age. Brisbane grew into a fully-fledged natic choke on his meat pie is that this city with a status that evolved largely multi-cultural league expert is a through sport."
woman. Professor Howell attributed the
Associate Professor Reet Howell 1982 Commonwealth Games and Bris- of the School of Human Movement bane's Olympic bid with bringing new- Studies was born Reet Ann Nurmberg found recognition to Queensland, na- in a Swedish refugee camp, after her tionally and internationally.
The growing need for specialist business and management expertise in Australia's fastest growing indus- try - tourism - has prompted a new combined QUT and T AFETEQ course.
The combiJled Associate Diploma in Hospitality and Bachelor of Busi- ness (Tourism and Hospitality Man- agement), which has received prelimi- nary approval from the QUT Academic Committee, will fill a demand for ex- pertise in management of the tourism industry.
Business faculty dean Professor Bernie Wolff said students would ap-
Mathematics skills have
common thread
The so-called ''women's work" of sewing, weaving, knitting and bas- ket-making is being used to demon- strate many aspects of mathematics in an unusual exhibition being staged in the foyer of the City Hall.
Organised by the British Council with local help from QUT's School for Mathematics Science and Technol- ogy Education it uses crafts from many countries to demonstrate aspects of mathematics including symmetry, numbers, information handling, prob- lem solving and creativity.
The Common Threads exhibition was designed and produced by Dr Mary Harris of the Maths in Work Project of the University of London's Institute of Education. Dr Harris says women from a wide variety of cul- tures should be given credit for the sophisticated level of mathematical thinking that goes into their craft work.
Local coordinator mathematics lec- turer Mr Darryl Burrows said items as diverse as baskets from Botswana, capes from Paraguay and socks from Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom.
were helping prove mathematical points.
Students from some 80 Brisbane region schools had been invited to at- tend. The general public also was wel- come.
Brisbane is the final stop for Com- mon Threads which has been touring Australian capitals since October last year. After Brisbane it moves on to Canada.
Page 4 INSIDE QUT, 26 May 1992
ply to the Queensland Tertiary Admis- sions Centre (QT AC) for the joint pro- gram as they would for any other course.
Students would do a two-year As- sociate Diploma iQ Hospitality at a T AFE college. Provided they passed they then would complete the final two years at QUT to gain their Bachelor of Business degree.
The faculty planned to have its first intake into the degree element of the program in 1994.
Professor Wolff said there would be a quota for the combined program and he believed demand would be high.
Because of the separate quota, the en- trance score required by high school students would be much higher than for those doing only the associate di- ploma.
"We will probably be able to take 30 or 40 students initially," he said.
The course is expected to have input from other courses and faculties includ- ing Bachelor of Business (International Business), the arts faculty for language training and, possibly, built environ- ment and engineering for aspects of tourism construction and design.
Professor Wolff said a number of factors had influenced QUT and T AFE representatives in drawing up program proposals. The associate diploma trained students at the operative level but did not train them for middle and higher management.
"Tourism is one of Queensland's largest industries and obviously has a
need for middle and strategic manage- ment skills," he said.
"We need people who have an un- derstanding of not only the operations of the hospitality and tourism industry but the economics, development and marketing of it.
"We can see that in the past there was a need for better strategic plan- ning because of the number of tourist resorts that are currently in receiver- ship."
Other areas covered by the bach- elor course will be business planning, financing, demographic aspects, na- tional and international marketing and the creation of tourist packages.
Associate pro-vice-chancellor (aca- demic) Professor Ron Gardiner said the new course was one of the front- runners in a trend which would see increasing cooperation between QUT and T AFETEQ. He said such a trend would open up tertiary education and provide a potential solution to areas of great educational disadvantage.
With an increase in combined courses, and other areas of coopera- tion, TAFE's network of some 30 col- leges throughout Queensland offered a valuable potential resource in taking tertiary education to distant parts of the state.
Professor Wolff said the course would keep QUT at the forefront of business training for the tourism in- dustry. QUT's Sunshine Coast cam- pus could provide an ideal base for such a course in the future.
Estonian parents were forced to flee "Historically, the 1970s were a their homeland at the end of World down period for Australian sport. The
War II. Commonwealth Games was the cata-
Thanks to Lutheran sponsors the lyst for its revival, followed by"the family settled in Canada, where Reet 1983 America's Cup win and Austral- waseducatedbeforeshecompletedher ia's Davis Cup tennis victory," she doctorate at the University of Cali for- said.
nia Berkeley. "Queensland's dominance in the There she met and married Austral- State of Origin series from 1980 was ian Max Howell, who shared Reet's part of the trend. Suddenly passion for sport history. Max was a Queenslanders were saying: 'Hey, former top class rugby union player, we're as good as anyone else'."
who toured Britain and New Zealand But of course a great sporting con- with the Wallabies national team in test needs a great rival, and after five the late 1940s. years of domination· by Queensland, The couple moved to Brisbane in NSW regrouped to win its first State 1981, when Max was appointed Pro- of Origin series in 1985.
fessor in the Department of Human Professor Howell compares Queens- Movement Studies at the University land's early Origin triumphs with Aus- of Queensland. tralia Il's victory in the America's Cup.
They then turned their talents to "The Americans had won the cup writing, and have produced about a for so long, they were shocked when dozen books on sport and related top- these upstarts from Down Under came
ics. and took it. It jolted their sense of in-
In 1987 they were commissioned vincibility," she said.
by the Queensland Rugby League "Similarly, NSW had trounced (QRL) to compile a detailed history of Queensland in state league clashes for the sport in Queensland, as part of the years. When Queensland suddenly be- Bicentennial celebrations. came dominant, it took NSW a while
"The person who first approached to realise they had to get serious.
us about that book was the late former "Also fans on both sides of the border senator Ron McAuliffe, who was a fan- began to identify the players on more tastic man," Professor Reet Howell said. than a club level. A real ~ense of state
"He was absolutely determined to pride developed. So it wasn'tjust a game, have the work finished in time for the it transcended the sporting arena."
Bicentennial. It was his baby, as of The fanatical following of the Ori- course the State of Origin concept had gin concept combined with aggressive
been. marketing by the Australian Rugby
"He was certainly the most influen- League (ARL) resulted in unprec- tial figure in the sport over the past edented popularity for the sport.
decade. Tragically, he didn't live to Professor Howell and her husband see the QRL book published." spent countless hours reviewing news-
Professor Howell's work on the paper reports and match videos to en- book fostered her own interest in rugby capsulate the Origin phenomenon in league, and the State of Origin series their latest book.
in particular, from a sport historian's They were greatly assisted by Dr
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PeterHastie,ahumanmovementslec-
Management development book
The wide range of skills in management available within QUT are highlighted in a recently published book edited by senior lecturer Mr Barry Smith.
Mr Smith, of the human resource management and labour relations school, said the need for a book on Australian management development grew out of the different context in which local organisations and managers operated.
"Australian organisations are much more likely than Japanese or US organisations to emphasise the reduction of labour costs, primarily by discharging employees," he said.
"Managerial jobs are very seldom placed under such economic threat. There is, therefore, compara- tively little pressure for Australian managers to learn to adjust to changes in the economy."
Australia had relatively few tertiary educated managers and comparatively few of these were
trained in foundation science or humanities, such as social sciences or law, rather than applied sci- ence, engineering or business, Mr Smith said.
Australia placed great reliance on what he de- scribed as "front end" preparation for work (ie education) and invested relatively little in ongoing training, retraining and planned career develop- ment.
The book Management Development in Australia features chapters by QUT staff members from the schools of human resource management and labour relations, economic and public policy, marketing advertising and public relations, communication and organisational studies, social science, the Rural Management Development Centre and the Academic Staff Development Unit.
Contributions by academics from several other universities also are included.
turer at U of Q, who toiled through mountains of statistics to compile the most detailed assessment of Origin matches ever developed.
"Peter was the first person we've found who has been able to keep pace with us," Professor Howell said. "His contribution was tremendous and I don't think we could have made our deadline without his help."
State of Origin -The First Twelve Years was officially launched by ARL chairman Mr Ken Arthurson earlier this month at the home of Queensland rugby league, Lang Park.
Mr Arthurson said he felt "delighted and privileged" to be involved with the launch.
"This book is more than a compre- hensive collection of statistics. It gets to the very heart of what State of Ori- gin football means to the players and the fans," he said.
--rballing still a problem, says QUT criminologist
A leading crime expert has claimed that scores of prisoners in Queensland jails could have been convicted on concocted police evi- dence.
QUT dean of arts Professor Paul Wilson has called for the government to establish a Miscarriage of Justice Unit to investigate specific allegations of past police malpractice in obtain- ing confessional evidence.
Addressing a conference organised by the Queensland Watchdog Com- mittee on Methods to Reduce the Fab- rication of Evidence on Saturday 16 May, Professor Wilson argued that
"verballing" o(suspects by police was still a problem.
"Verballing" is slang for police al- legations of verbal admissions made by suspects during interviews.
In a survey conducted in NSW half the prisoners interviewed alleged con- cocted evidence had been used against them. Professor Wilson said he sus- pected that If a similar survey were conducted in Queensland the result would be the same.
"Unfortunately, in the country as a whole and in Queensland in particu- lar, verballing may still be more wide- spread than police executives care to admit," he said.
During the Fitzgerald Inquiry ma- jor witness Jack Herbert said it was accepted practice when a person was
New crime book
The latest in a series of crime pre- vention books has been published to help retail traders.
Written by QUT arts dean Pro- fessor Paul Wilson and Susan Geason, it is called Preventing Re- lllil Crime and published by the Aus- tralian Bureau of Criminology.
The book begins by identifying crime particularly associated with retailing. It describes the criminals and potential criminals working that area then canvasses steps to be taken to prevent their crimes.
Preventing Retail Crime is avail- able by mail order from the Aus- tralian Bureau of Criminology, GPO Box 2944 Canberra 2601, priced at
$15.
Budding professionals in the School of Civil Engineering were put to the test recently when the annual bridge building competi- tions were held on Gardens Point campus.
The young engineers tackled the problem of replacing concrete and steel with drinking straws, paddle pop sticks, balsa-wood and hat bands to construct miniature bridges strong enough to withstand a pre-deter- mined load.
Points were awarded for innova- tion, quality of construction, aesthet- ics and failure load/weight ratio.
The stress was too great for some of the constructions (and their build- ers), but several outstanding entries passed all tests with flying colours.
The overall winning entry in the post-tensioned balsa-wood category was built by students Mr Noel Perkins, Mr Peter Dunkley, Mr Greg Penhaligon and Mr Don McDonald. The best entries went on display in the foyer of the Civil Engineering building. For the remaining bridge- builders, it was a case of back to the
arrested that police would sit at a type- writer and "you would make up the story as you went along".
"This is damning testimony indeed.
We are left with the inevitable conclu- sion that scores of Queenslanders are in prison because of evidence by po- lice to courts that obviously was manu- factured," Professor Wilson said.
"What the Fitzgerald Inquiry failed to point out was that the miserable re- ality in Queensland prior to the change of government was that the police ver- bal was the biggest single issue of or- ganised corruption in the criminal courts, and neither the lawyers nor judges could do much about it."
He said it had been argued that many allegedly verballed people were guilty of crimes and deserved to be convicted.
But that view cynically ignored the fact that Australia's justice system was predicated upon accused people being considered innocent until lawful evi- dence convinced a court they were guilty.
Professor Wilson warned the uncer- tainty caused by verballing could work both ways.
"Given the concern and publicity about verballing in Queensland in re- cent times there is a real danger that guilty people who confess will go free, because of the general suspicion about the methods used by the Queensland police," he said.
He said he had no doubts that verballing had been reduced in Queensland because of the genuine attempts by Commissioner Noel Newnham and other senior officers to rid the service of corruption. The risk of being v.erballed in Queensland now was far less than at any other time.
"But we are left with the unpalat- able fact that probably scores of pris- oners should, as a matter of Jaw, not be inside jail, and as a matter of jus- tice, some of these are undoubtably innocent of the crime for which they are incarcerated," Professor Wilson said.
"There is a compelling argument for the government to establish a Miscar- riage of Justice Unit to look at specific allegations of past police malpractice in obtaining confessional evidence."
Final- -year · students impress as tutors
By Steve Burke The employment of final-year stu- dents as tutors for their first-year counterparts in the School of Elec- trical and Electronic Systems Engi- neering is proving to be a resound- ing success.
Lecturer Mr Ian Vosper introduced the practice for the first semester of his circuits and measurements course this year, and the students have voted it a winner.
More than 400 first-year students are participating in the course, which had proven to be quite demanding in previ- ous years.
To help the new students cope with the rigours of the course and settling into their surroundings, Mr Vosper ar- ranged the employment of 16 final-year students as tutors.
Five of the student tutors are on a daily roster basis, and are available for consultation between noon and 3pm.
The remaining ll work with the first- year students during classes, assisting with tutoring and equipment demon- strations.
Mr Vosper said the reaction from students had been very positive.
''The students say the situation is ideal. They are having no trouble gain- ing information for this subject·
anymore," he said.
"Not only do the first-years get in- formation from the final-year students, they regard them as mentors. They ar- rive at QUT knowing nothing about the place and find they are able to talk to their tutors on a student-to-student basis.
''They are able to ask them things they wouldn't feel comfortable asking their lecturers."
Mr Vosper said the senior students also gained benefits from the arrange- ment.
"It provides money for our final-year students to help them cope with their expenses, and they fmd that going over some of their earlier work again helps them with their studies," he said.
Overall, the scheme has been even more successful than Mr Vosper had hoped.
"I knew the final-year students would make excellent tutors but I have found them to be much better than people brought in from outside to do the job,"
he said.
First-year student Bruce Waghom (left) is tutored by fourth-year student Phillip You/. (Photo: Tony Phillips)
"They know exactly what's ex- pected in the course and how to go about it. I think we could make much more use of their ability, even in the second year.
"I'd Jove to see a first-year 95 per- cent pass rate in this subject, to high- light the benefits of these tutors."
Student counsellor Ms Elizabeth Wallis said she had also received posi- tive feedback from students involved in the course.
Ms Wallis praised the arrangement, and said she would like to see other schools and faculties follow suit.
"The reaction we've had from stu- dents is that this course, although diffi- cult, is no longer a problem for them,"
Ms Wallis said.
"The students now have someone they can go and see on an individual
basis if they're having trouble.
''I'm very much in favor of peer tu- toring. It's not just the help with the work, it's having someone they can talk and relate to."
Many new students straight from high school suffer from a type of iden- tity crisis at university, consumed by the environment of a lecture theatre with hundreds of students.
Ms Wallis said the practice of peer tutoring helped to personalise the learn- ing process.
"With peer tutoring the students have someone who is not in the faculty who they can really complain to, which dis- sipates the anger," she said.
"Often they find out things are not really as bad as they thought. But the personal contact is there and the ben- efits are more than just academic."
drawing board. Anxious engineers hold their breaths as their bridge is put to the test. (Photo: Tony Phillips)
Page 5 INSIDE QUT, 26 May 1992
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A scientific paper on metal form- ing by two QUT academics has been presented at a major conference in Manchester, UK.
Jointly authored by senior research fellow Dr Charles Szilvassy and head of the School of Mechanical and Manu- facturing Engineering Professor Walter Wong, the paper was selected for presentation at the 29th Interna- tional Scientific MATADOR Confer- ence early last month.
Professor Toth, of Misholc Univer- sity, Hungary, helped in the delivery of the presentation.
One of the most significant interna- tional conferences in the field of me- chanical engineering, the MATADOR conference was held in five sections.
They were:
1 CADCAM (computer assisted de- sign -computer aided manufacturing) for the 1990s
2 FMS (flexible manufacturing sys- tem), Robotics and CIM (computer- integrated manufacturing)
3 Manufacturing Metrology 4 Metal Forming
5 Cutting Technology.
The paper by Dr Szilvassy and Pro- fessor Wong was presented in the metal forming section in the field of math- ematical modelling of the complex re- lationships between microstructure and formability of the low deformable steels.
It dealt with the importance of crack (dislocation and cavity) initiation and development mechanisms during hot plastic deformation of high alloyed, low deformable steels.
Dr Szilvassy said the paper revealed fresh theoretical and practical infor- mation.
In view of the short length of the conference and the limited number of selected papers, it was prestigious for QUT's international reputation for the paper to be selected he said.
The conference was attended by re- searchers from universities and re- search establishments in Japan, UK, Germany, France, Italy, France, Swe- den, Taiwan, China, India, Brazil and other major nations.
As a result of the selection of Dr Szilvassy's and Professor Wong's pa- per, Australia was represented by QUT.
The International MATADOR Con- ference papers were collected each year in a high quality book which was one of the most significant publica- tions in the field of mechanical engi- neering, Dr Szilvassy said.
During 1991 Dr Szilvassy and Pro- fessor Wong produced eight papers for for journals and conferences, most of them in the field of mathematical mod- elling in materials engineering.
Construction work begins
Construction has started on a new
$9 million building to replace the old B block on Kelvin Grove cam- pus.
And before the end of this year work may begin on altering the Kelvin Grove sports oval.
University architect Mr Ron Goward said the oval presently had an east-west orientation. It was proposed to reorient it to run north to south.
"Obviously, that way, cricketers et aJ will not be looking into the sun," he said. "It also will enable us to site a sporting complex on the western side of what is now the oval."
The official title of the replacement forB block is: the multi-purpose teach- ing and administration building.
"It will house three of the education
faculty schools plus general teaching space," Mr Goward said.
The building would be ready for occupation early in 1993, probably part-way through the first semester, he said.
The contract to build it was won by John Holland Constructions Pty Ltd. Page 6 INSIDE OUT, 26'May 1992
Professor Greg Bamber experiences life on an assembly line.
Opportunity for tourism tO Jearn ~- from Japanese
Queensland's burgeoning tourism sector provides a prime opportunity to introduce Japanese management techniques into Australian industry, says a strategic management expert.
The newly appointed director of QUT's Key Centre in Strategic Man- agement Professor Greg Bamber said research for a book on the transfer- ability of Japanese management prac- tices suggested a cross-section of Aus- tralian workers - from the shop floor through to management - were in fa- vour of the Japanese style.
The data was collected from sur- veys and case studies in a number of manufacturing and tourism enterprises.
"In analysing the survey we found 60 to 70 percent of the respondents believed that the Japanese approach was transferable to Australia," ex- plained Professor Bamber.
"Greenfield" areas such as tourism offered the ~est prospects.
Changing practices in older, estab- lished operations was more difficult but not impossible, he said.
"Our research suggests that tech- niques can be adapted as long as man-
By Kathy Lund
agement doesn't adopt the attit.ude of a 'quick fix'," said Professor Bamber.
"In some instances companies have picked up a book of Japanese manage- ment ideas and announced thjlt 'To- morrow we're going to ·start' quality circles and the employees wili all wear uniforms and eat in the same canteen'.
"The idea of 'quality circles' for example is very successful in Japan.
But it isn't successful in Australia and other Western countries because it's a quick fix, rather than a carefully thought out strategy supported system- atically with training and the develop- ment of managers as well as employ- ees."
Professor Bamber comes to QUT from the University of Queensland where he was reader in the Graduate School of Management. His first de- gree was from the University of Man- chester which he describes as "one of the oldest and best centres of manage- ment education in Europe".
He conducted postgraduate research at Imperial College and the London
South Bank ferry s ervice
A new Brisbane City Council ferry service will operate across the river from QUT to the South Bank from 20 June. This date coincides with the South Bank opening.
The ferry will run a triangular service QUT/South Bank/Dock Street.
Schedules and fares are not yet finalised but ferry operators River Con- nection say the service should be every 15-20 minutes, from 7am till mid- night. The fare will be about $1 one-way, with weekly ticket concessions available.
Park and ride fares also are proposed, from covered and open car parks adjacent to the South Bank.
For many QUT students and staff it will be a much shorter walk from the nearest railway station, Vulture Street.
The ferry terminal servicing QUT runs otT the bike track under the South East Freeway, in line with Alice Street. It can be reached directly from Gardens Point Road or via the bike track accessed from the Domain parking area.
On the South Bank, the terminal is located about two-thirds of the way from the Queensland Performing Arts Complex to the Maritime Museum, in front of Vulture Street railway station. The Dock Street terminal is on the downstream side of the Maritime Museum.
School of Economics and the Scottish Business School at Heriot-Watt Uni- versity, Edinburgh. His degrees fo- cused on management, especially or- ganisational behaviour and labour re- lations.
Before moving to Brisbane in 1988 he was director of research at the Busi- ness School of Durham University, England's third-oldest university. He had also held three visiting research fellowships, in Sydney and Melbourne.
Professor Bamber is researching the feasibility, merits and demerits of transferring Japanese-style manage- ment strategies to other countries with former U of Q colleague Dr Mark Shadur.
Some of the research is funded from Japan but a three-year large grant from the Australian Research Council (ARC) of more than $110 000 has also provided backing.
Japanese
An earlier publication International and Comparative Industrial Relations was co-edited with Professor Russell Lansbury, founding director of Syd- ney University's Key Centre on Re- search and Teaching in the industrial relations field.
Published in Japanese, and soon to be translated into Mandarin and Ko- rean, it looks at a number of leading Western industrialised countries and Japan.
An updated edition is underway.
Another of their joint publications is New Technology: International Per- spectives on Human Resources and Industrial Relations. It was launched at a recent world research congress in Brussels by president of the Interna- tional Industrial Relations Association Professor John Niland, vice-chancel- lor-designate of the University of
NSW. .
Professor Bamber said the success of Japanese-style management strate- gies could be measured by manufac- turing enterprises that typically were more productive, made higher quality products and experienced less indus-
trial disruption that their Western counterparts.
"The strategies are so effective be- cause (the Japanese) adopt a longer- term orientation and their arrange- ments for people-management are more closely integrated with other el- ements of management, including the management of capital and the broader corporate missions and goals," he said.
Apart from employing standard aca- demic practices Professor Bamber lit- erally worked from the bottom- as an assembly line worker in car plants in Australia and Japan -to gather mate- rial for his research.
In the process he gained a new re- spect for his work companions. They carry out tasks that are not easy but very important to manufacturing in- dustry and the economic wellbeing of the nation.
Professor Bamber says he is con- vinced Australian enterprises could learn much from the Japanese.
"In the major Japanese enterprises there is usually a much greater em- phasis (than in Australia) first on re- cruitment, selection, induction, train- ing, skill formation and career devel- opment, and second, on the notion of total quality management," he ex- plained.
He warned of serious consequences for industries such as tourism if due attention was not paid to management techniques.
"Tourism enterprises have been less than adept at training and development of employees," he said.
"One consequence of having casual labour is you cannot expect such a high degree of service quality. And if the customers do not find such a high degree of service quality they'll take their dollars elsewhere - maybe to Hawaii, or Fiji, rather than to Aus- tralia."
To promote Japanese management techniques Professor Bamber would like to encourage further funding from Japanese sources for endowments, chairs and research projects.
