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Queensland University of Technology Newspaper Issue XXX Xxxxxx 0 - Xxxxxx 0, 2005
www.news.qut.edu.au George Street Brisbane 4000 Telephone (07) 3864 2361 Registered by Australia Post – Publication No. QBF 4778. CRICOS No 00213J
Chemical sciences
QUT researchers have developed a novel way of removing harmful toxins from unclean water supplies, leaving it clean enough to drink.
Lead researcher Dr Wayde Martens, pictured left, said QUT had manufactured a material from titanium dioxide (TiO2) that had the potential to revolutionise the future of water purifi cation.
“Titanium dioxide is able to break down oil, organic matter, bacteria, viruses, mould and pesticides,” the post-doctoral research fellow from the School of Physical and Chemical Sciences said.
Dr Martens said under ultra-violet light titanium dioxide could detoxify and sterilize fl uids, including air and water, through the decomposition of har mf ul contaminants into environmentally acceptable by- products.
“The material developed by QUT has been demonstrated to have a greater effi cacy for the break down of toxic material, than the most efficient photocatalyst currently available,” he said.
Dr Martens said the titania material could produce purified water for areas in need of clean supplies such as Australia’s rural and remote areas, developing countries, as well as a wide range of industrial applications.
“Current materials suff er from an inability to be fi ltered from a water
solution or have a low surface area if applied as a fi lm,” he said.
“On the other hand this QUT product is deposited by a patented process called templating.”
He said this meant the material had an extremely high surface area and could be used in either a powder form or as a coating, avoiding the need for fi ltration of the powder from a water stream.
“In the case of our product, all that has to happen is that the water has to come into contact with the product under ultra-violet light or solar radiation for purifi cation to occur.”
He said QUT had conducted laboratory experiments proving the material and method worked.
“Using dye-coloured water we can show this product in action,” he said.
“What this experiment shows is that once the coloured water comes into contact with QUT’s product the purifi cation process occurs, and the water becomes clean and clear.”
Dr Martens said QUT was in talks with Warrego Wines, who were looking for an alternative to using reticulated water to clean their wine barrels.
“We are currently in negotiations with Warrego Wines with a view to setting up an on-site pilot plant.”
Dr Martens said it was hoped QUT’s revolutionary product would be developed to commercial stage within the next two to three years.
- Sandra Hutchinson
Coming clean on water
Country friends ease city isolation
Student networks
DESPITE the bright lights and bustling crowds, city living can be isolating for out-of-towners which is why a group of QUT students have set up Brisnet.
Brisnet, an expatriate network for students not originally from Brisbane, was established last year and is a group designed to help students deal with the transition from country to city living.
As one of the program leaders, Sarah Moran, said Brisnet was very much based around the “pay it forward”
concept.
Sarah, who is now a second-year journalism student, said she remembered feeling alone when fi rst starting at QUT in 2005.
“Everyone else seemed to have their
own cliques, they already had their group of friends and knew people,” the former Lismore resident said.
“I got involved in Brisnet and it really helped me settle into Brisbane and uni life and now I am helping other students who are facing the same problems that I did.
“It’s a meeting point for those of us not originally from Brisbane and who moved from somewhere else in Australia to study at QUT.”
Alisha Campbell has moved from Townsville to Brisbane to study mass communications at QUT.
“I came here straight from high school and I didn’t know anyone at all,”
Alisha said.
Continued page 2.
Helping regional students deal with the transition to city life are Brisnet members, from right to left, Patrick Sullivan, Sarah Moran, Alisha Campbell and Sharnee Rawson.
IQ insideQueensland University of Technology Newspaper Issue 264 May 16 - July 17, 2006
COMMENT
THIS year’s Federal budget provided some welcome additional funding for health and medical research, as well additional places to address skills shortages in the health workforce, particularly in nursing and medical education.
The need for increased public investment in these areas is undeniable, given the inevitable consequences of the ageing of the Australian population and escalating demands for health services.
However in a year when the Government has unprecedented resources at its disposal, universities received no additional support for the main part of their operations in teaching or non-medical research.
This continues a long-standing pattern in Australia of declining public investment in universities alongside a rapid growth in student contributions to the cost of their education.
The latter feature is common to many countries, but the scale of the fall in public support is not.
T h e c o n t i n u a t i o n o f t h i s trend poses major challenges for Australian universities, particularly at a time when both domestic and international demand is soft.
Australian universities need to make clear choices about their future to remain internationally competitive.
QUT has set out its choices in the Blueprint, an overarching strategic document which was fi nalised in 2003.
In a little over two years we have made major advances in the key areas of this plan, particularly in the building of our research profi le.
Over that time we have seen the roll-out of the Federal reforms to higher education, renewal of the Queensland Smart State strategy, as well as major shifts in the international scene.
This year we will be renewing the Blueprint in the light of these and other developments, and this renewal was the theme of the 2006 Senior Staff Conference, held shortly after the release of the Federal Budget.
In coming years QUT will be transformed as we engage new staff , build new relationships with industry, the professions and the community, and continue the rapid growth of our research activities.
Major shifts in strategic direction are not being proposed for the next phase of the Blueprint, but we must ensure that we are able to build on the very positive start we have made and continue to adapt to a constantly changing and challenging external environment.
Professor Peter Coaldrake Vice-Chancellor
COFFEE-sippers across three QUT campuses toasted the future success of the university’s students on May 5 during the inaugural QUT “Dollars for Scholars” Coff ee Day.
The fundraising event saw $2 donated to the QUT Lear ning Potential Fund from every coff ee or hot chocolate sold on the day at Bar Merlo, Beadles and the Carseldine Guild Bar.
Spotted supporting the cause at Gardens Point were QUT staff members Claire Bennett, pictured
above left, and Deb Mansell, at right.
Claire is also a third-year QUT business student and Deb, also a third-year student, is studying for a Bachelor of Behavioural Science degree.
Th e f u n d p r ov i d e s s t u d e n t bursaries to low-income students, which range in value from $250 to
$1000 depending on need.
QUT distributed more than
$115,000 in bursaries from the Learning Potential Fund last year to 430 students.
Toasting scholars for dollars with cuppas
“Being part of Brisnet, knowing that you have a big group of friends you can call on, makes living in Brisbane much easier.”
This year Sharnee Rawson moved from the Sunshine Coast to Brisbane to study law at QUT.
“I know that I am not that far away from my home town but moving to Brisbane meant I didn’t have any friends around me.
“Brisnet is good because it is good to f ind people who understand what you are going through moving away from family and friends.”
Patrick Sullivan benefi ted from Brisnet last year and is now helping new students settle into city living and uni life.
He said he knows what it’s like moving to a new city and knowing no one.
The second-year business student said although he used to live in Bell, a town with 200 people, moving to Brisbane actually made him feel more isolated.
“Brisnet has g iven me the opportunity to meet people,”
he said.
“I saw it was a good project and something that I wanted to keep being involved in.”
Brisnet runs a number of social activities throughout the year and is open to all QUT students who are not from Brisbane and are looking for a friend. Anyone interested in being involved should email [email protected].
au for more information.
- Sandra Hutchinson
Friends ease city isolation
From page 1
Scholarships
QUT statistics student Joseph Kelly is counting his blessings after receiving a royal seal of approval from Denmark’s Princess Mary.
Joseph met the popular princess on Anzac Day in Denmark where she offi cially presented him with a Crown Princess Mary Scholarship which provides $2200 (DKK 10,000) toward his exchange studies at the University of Copenhagen.
Th e 1 9 - ye a r- o l d i s s t u d y i n g mathematics and statistics at QUT but is spending six months in Copenhagen on a student exchange.
“The princess was really great – she made me feel very welcome and asked me a lot about my studies and the
differences between Denmark and Brisbane,” he said.
T h e C r ow n P r i n c e s s M a r y Scholarship Program was introduced last year to help exchange students from Australia – the princess’s home country – and was a wedding gift to her from the University of Copenhagen.
Two scholarships are handed out each year to students from Australian exchange partner institutions, such as QUT, to help them support themselves while living in Denmark.
This year’s second recipient is University of Tasmania student Danielle Conlan.
Joseph said he’d been made to feel very welcome in Copenhagen, thanks to a royal boost to Australia’s popularity.
“It’s great being an Aussie in Denmark
Joseph can count on Princess Mary
Joseph Kelly is pictured with Princess Mary, above and left, after receiving his scholarship in Copenhagen recently. At left, centre is Tasmanian student Danielle Conlan.
THE search has begun for talented high-school students in the creative arts to join a new academy to be based at the Kelvin Grove Urban Village.
The Creative Industries Academy will provide learning opportunities for Year 10, 11 and 12 students pursuing studies in visual art, music, theatre arts and fi lm.
The Creative Industries Academy is one of two new Smart State Academies – the other will see the State Government partner with the University of Queensland to deliver training in maths, science and technology on the site of the Toowong College.
The fi rst students will begin the course next year.
New academy at Kelvin Grove
– everyone is really nice,” he said.
“I had an interview on the main radio station over here about what it’s like to live in Australia and the presenter cracked a few jokes about how we all claim the new prince to be Australian when he is really Danish.
“Another bonus about living in Denmark is the location. I’ve already been to Oslo and Stockholm and during spring break I went to Berlin, Prague, Vienna and Bratislava.”
Joseph said he could really recommend the QUT exchange program.
“It’s a great way to see the world and learn about another culture whilst still studying towards your degree,”
he said.
Joseph plans to visit Italy and France on his way home to Australia where he will resume his QUT studies in July.
T h e C r ow n P r i n c e s s M a r y Scholar ship is Joseph’s second scholarship. At QUT, he is studying under the university’s prestigious Dean’s Scholar program within the Faculty of Science which is open to the state’s highest-achieving school- leavers.
Joseph is studying mathematics/
statistics and expects to finish his studies early next year.
“After my studies at QUT I am contemplating either entering into an actuarial (insurance risk statistics) program in Brisbane or perhaps doing a masters at either QUT or a university in London,” he said.
- Mechelle Webb
QUT’s Counselling Services are available to help all students cope with university life. The service provides professional counselling assistance on three campuses and is available to students who want to talk about issues such as:
• Managing fi nances and welfare
• Dealing with exam stress and anxiety
• Mixing study and lifestyle
• Making the transition to university
Details:
Gardens Point 07 3864 2383 Kelvin Grove 07 3864 3488 Carseldine 07 3864 4539
Counselling help
is at hand too
Header
Business
COULD the mobile phone turn into a pocket-size casino?
A QUT research team has embarked on a study that will investigate the impact and risk to Queenslanders of mobile phone gambling, otherwise known as m-gambling.
Team leader Dr Judy Drennan from the Faculty of Business said the technology of new-style mobile phones meant m- gambling was accessible to anyone with a mobile phone including kids.
“ I n t e r n a t i o n a l e x p e r i e n c e demonstr ates that m-g ambling has developed three main styles of gambling – casino-style gambling, lotteries and sports betting,” Dr Drennan said.
“New technologies, applications and products mean that these m-gambling services will make gambling more
accessible and attractive to a wider group of consumers.”
She said mobile phones had transformed from a communication tool to an entertainment extravaganza with games, music and gambling just a few fi nger clicks away.
“This project focuses specifi cally on vulnerable mobile consumers.
“Tr aditionally the vulner able consumers have been the younger, less sophisticated, less well educated and less well off .
“However, there are now the newly vulnerable consumers who may be fast-tracked to gambling by virtue of the rapid diff usion of mobile phone services.”
Dr Drennan’s study will begin with an audit of Queensland’s m-gambling services.
“M-gambling is an emerging m- service which has been predicted to lead to high uptake rates. Overall it is expected to reach more than US$19.3 billion by 2009.”
Dr Drennan said the other concern
about m-gambling was that it did not require entry to special premises such as newsagents or betting shops.
“M-gambling can be undertaken spontaneously while engaging in other activities and is attractively packaged to encourage impulse buying rather than reasoned decision making.
“In addition forms of m-gambling allow credit betting with billing to a mobile phone account.
“We want to fi nd out how widespread m-gambling is in Queensland and what forms are the most popular,”
she said.
“This study will provide evidence- based research to allow proactive and preventative measures to be undertaken to ensure the well-being of consumers vulnerable to m-gambling in Queensland.”
As part of the project QUT is seeking mobile phone users who gamble and are interested taking part in focus groups. For details or to register your interest email [email protected].
- Sandra Hutchinson
‘Pocket-size casinos’
bring new temptation
Early childhood
RESEARCHERS from QUT need 400 sets of young twins to help them fi nd out how being a twin helps or hinders their experience when entering school.
Professor Karen Thorpe from the School of Early Childhood is leading a three-year study of twins’ social development, friendships and transition to school.
Professor Thor pe said the study was the fi rst to examine twins’ social lives outside the family environment.
She said the increasing rate of multiple births was mostly attributed to women delaying childbirth, as older women are more likely to have twins.
Hwever she said little was known about how being a twin might aff ect how competent they were socially.
“ T w i n s h a v e u n i q u e circumstances where there is always a child of the same age alongside them, and this includes when they start school
… our guess is for some this is an advantage and for others it’s a disadvantage,” she said.
Professor Thor pe said the research team was seek ing responses from 400 south- east Queensland families with preschool-age twins to complete a questionnaire.
“We will then follow some of these children through preschool and into Year One, watching their interactions and asking all the children in the class about who their friends are,” she said.
The study has received almost
$300,000 in funding from the Australian Research Council.
A n y o n e i n s o u t h - e a s t Queensland who is interested in taking part in the study can contact Professor Thorpe on (07) 3864 3200 or at k.thorpe@qut.
edu.au.
- Carmen Myler
Study seeks Qld twins
Urban development
INSTALLING on-site sewage systems in the wrong soil types can lead to potential environmental and health hazards, a QUT researcher has warned.
Dr Les Dawes, from the Faculty of Built Environment and Engineering, has found that many of the 20,000 on-site sewage systems located on the fringes of Brisbane, Logan and the Gold Coast performed poorly as a result of soil conditions.
“Due to ina ppropriate siting and inadequate evaluation of soil characteristics, the failure of these systems has become a common scenario,” he said.
“In order to achieve sustainable on-site wastewater treatment with minimal impacts on the environment and public health, there needs to be a more appropriate means of assessing the long-term performance of on-site dispersal areas.”
Dr Dawes said on-site sewage systems were used in areas where homes were not connected to a centralised wastewater collection system.
Suburbs where these systems are located include Jacobs Well, Cabbage Tree Point and Coomera on the Gold Coast; Mt Cotton, Forestdale, Park Ridge and Greenbank in Logan;
and Brookfi eld, Moggill, Aspley and Bellbowrie in Brisbane.
Dr Dawes said essentially on-site septic systems worked by settling the sewage and then allowing the effl uent (treated wastewater) to drain into the soil which acted as a fi lter and removed harmful bacteria and nutrients.
“Soil can be a wonderful cleaning agent,” he said.
However, Dr Dawes warned that not all soil types were suited to adequately remove the unsafe bacteria and nutrients.
“Sandy soils are the worst and the Gold Coast is built mostly on sand which is a concern,” he said.
“In some of these built up areas the on-site systems are on small 600sqm lots of land and if the effl uent is not being properly treated by the soil, it has the potential to cause health problems.”
Dr Dawes said when high levels of nutrients reached surface water such as streams and creeks it could lead to outbreaks of algae.
“The best soil types to site on-
site systems are the well structured moderately permeable clay soils yet many areas of south-east Queensland have very sandy or heavy clay soils.”
Dr Dawes said the only way to fi x the thousands of existing systems was to retrofi t septic tanks with effl uent fi lters before the effl uent reached the soil.
This is currently done on new installations.
“But the problem with this is monetary and a lack of resources at council level,” he said.
“Instead what councils need to be doing is selecting the right areas to allow on-site sewage systems to be sited. If we get it right fi rst and place on-site systems on soil that is capable of fi ltering wastewater then we won’t have this problem.”
Dr Dawes has recently completed his study and graduated with his PhD on April 20.
He is also a lecturer with QUT’s School of Urban Development and is a trained geotechnical engineer with a wealth of experience in fi eld investigations.
- Sandra Hutchinson
Danger soils for sewage
Researcher Dr Les Dawes takes a close look at the water quality of streams and creeks which may be impacted by poorly treated sewage run-off.
Dr Judy Drennan is investigating the impact and risks of mobile phone gambling.
Q
Accountancy
WOMEN in their forties from non- accounting backgrounds are the most likely to commit fraud in not-for-profi t organisations, according to QUT researchers.
A study funded by BDO Chartered A c c o u n t a n t s, a n d p r o d u c e d i n conjunction with QUT and the Not- For-Profit Network, is Australia’s f irst fraud survey into nonprof it organisations.
Researchers Professor Peter Best and Sherrena Buckby from the School of Accountancy said even though nonprofi t organisations were largely staff ed by volunteers, the survey found volunteers were not the common fraudsters.
“The most common fraudster in not-for-profi t (NFPs) organisations was female, in her forties and holding a paid non-accounting position,” Professor Best said.
Professor Best said the results of the BDO survey were quite diff erent from earlier studies focusing on large public and private organisations which
revealed the typical fraudsters as male, in their early 30s and who were non- management employees.
Professor Best said the BDO Not-for- Profi t Fraud Survey 2006 surveyed 547 nonprofi t organisations in Australia and New Zealand.
He said, of the organisations surveyed, almost one in fi ve (19 per cent) admitted to experiencing fraud.
“This is much lower than that reported in surveys of large public and private organisations which have found 45 per cent of respondents had experienced fraud.”
The survey also found the most common fraud methods were cash theft, expense account theft, theft of assets and kickbacks and bribery.
“Most frauds were detected through tip-off s and strong internal controls,”
he said.
Professor Best said the not-for-profi t sector was quite significant to the economy and recent reported fraud cases had raised questions about the extent of dishonesty within the industry.
“There are over 740,000 NFPs across Australia and New Zealand with a
combined income of $33.5 billion and employing 600,000 people plus a host of volunteers,” he said.
“The sector covers a diverse range of organisations in areas such as culture and recreation, education and research, health, social services, environment, development and housing, law and politics, philanthropy, religion, and business and professional associations.”
Professor Best said there was concern within the sector about the damaging effects that fraud could have on nonprofi t organisations.
“The community already has questions about what portion of public and donated funds actually benefi t the intended recipients,” he said.
“Reports of fraud can not only aff ect the community’s willingness to donate funds but also reduce their ability to obtain funding and grants from various agencies.
“It is also important to establish a whistle-blower policy given the effectiveness of tip-offs in fraud detection and to implement and monitor internal controls.”
- Sandra Hutchinson
Women are most
common fraudsters
Psychology
IS your manager the k ind of person who couldn’t tell the diff erence whether you’re angry, simmering with frustration, plain anxious or satisfi ed with your lot at work?
A major factor contributing to how managers relate to others in the workplace is their capacity for empathy.
QUT honours psychology student Mark Sykes is seeking 150 managers and staff volunteers for a free onsite survey to conduct Australia’s fi rst study to measure empathy in the workplace.
Mr Sykes said he was looking at managerial empathy because it was associated with high productivity and yet had not been accurately measured in depth before.
“Empathy is the most critical factor in the relationship between people, and it has been shown that outstanding managers have big doses of it,” he said.
“Some managers report that they completely don’t “get” other people. They don’t interpret body language; they misunderstand the point of communication and are unable to sense how others are feeling.
“But the managers who are in tune with their staff produce higher job satisfaction which leads to less workplace stress and lower staff turnover and thus increased productivity.”
Mr Sykes will administer a test at the volunteers’ own workplace to measure three major components of empathy related to feelings, thinking and communication.
Ideally, a person should have the right balance of each type of empathy.
“The best counsellors, for example, have the highly-developed understanding dimensions of empathy (emotional and thinking) and combine this with strong communicative empathy.
“Lack enough punch in one of the empathy dimensions and dealing with issues in the workplace
can be a lot more challenging,” Mr Sykes said.
Mr Sykes said study participants would complete an innovative DVD based test that would take less than an hour. And for those whose empathy scores are low, Mr Sykes said empathy could be learned.
QUT psycholog ist Dr Herbert Big gs is supporting the testing program with an optional empathy training program for organisations and individuals who desire to increase their levels of empathy.
“The most outstanding managers are referred to as transformational leaders, who understand people and their aspirations. Research shows that transformational leaders such as Richard Branson and Nelson Mandela have are likely to have high levels of empathy,” Mr Sykes said.
If you would like to volunteer yourself or your organisation for the free testing, please contact Mark Sykes on 0416 157 751 or visit www.empathy.
com.au for more information.
- Niki Widdowson
Design
DESIGN students from QUT are putting theory into practice as part of a project to design homes for medium-density developments on the Gold Coast.
The project is part of a joint initiative with the Queensland Development Research Institute, and brings together research, teaching and application.
The Faculty of Built Environment and Engineering’s Leigh Shutter said QDRI was a non-profi t organisation set up to fund state university research in civil engineering architecture and urban design.
Mr Shutter said QUT had received
$15,000 for two architecture design studios.
“The studio provides students with the opportunity to extend their knowledge of the relationship between housing type and density by using real -world cases from Emerald Lakes, a master-planned community situated on Queensland’s Gold Coast,” he said.
Fourth-year design student Sinisa Ostojic said the project off ered a great
opportunity to take a hands-on role in property development.
“We get the chance to implement some of our ideas on proper ty development and offer alternative solutions to what’s currently in the market,” he said.
QDRI is also providing funding for three research masters scholarships to look at the environmental, social and aesthetic challenges in master-planned communities.
Mr Shutter said the scholarships worth $20,000 each would be awarded to students this year, with applications opening soon.
In addition, QUT is also working with QDRI to apply for a joint linkage project through the Australian Research Council.
QDRI director Darren McLean said the funded projects would go a long way to providing essential information on the scientific background, and f uture g rowth and development of the Gold Coast and south-east Queensland.
- Sandra Hutchinson
Students have designs on the Gold Coast
Fourth-year architecture students Kent Pinel, left, and Sinisa Ostojic, right, with QDRI director Darren McLean at Emerald Lakes on the Gold Coast where the students will work on the new property development.
Empathy at work – who’s got it?
Researcher Mark Sykes says the most outstanding managers have high levels of empathy.
Design
AUSTRALIANS need to embrace climate change and start applying common sense to their homes and workplaces, according to the coordinator of QUT’s Centre for Subtropical Design.
Rosemary Kennedy said last year was Australia’s hottest on record – something that should be a big incentive for people to design their new homes, or renovate existing homes, appropriately for our weather conditions.
And with no sign of the drought ending, our gardens also need to be re-thought.
The Centre for Subtropical Design is a partnership between QUT and the Brisbane City Council and aims to encourage environmentally-sustainable planning and design, through research and education.
Ms Kennedy, a senior lecturer with QUT’s School of Design, said homes with poor ventilation, no insulation and which paid little attention to the sun’s path were simply not suited to our subtropical climate.
“The more solid the enclosure the greater the need for energy-consuming cooling or heating,” she said.
“We live in Australia and we need to design and build to Australian conditions.”
Local experts visited QUT this month for a public lunch debate on the merits of subtropical design.
And in September, leading international experts from cities around the world will gather at QUT for the Subtropical Cities 2006 conference.
- Mechelle Webb
Climate of design
Prolonged drought, blistering summer heat, chilly winter nights ...
does your home withstand our climate as well as it could?
BRING back timber in the shape of the
“New Queenslander”.
That’s the call from the Centre for Subtropical Design which has created a new, more sustainable version of that state’s most traditional home through a joint research project between QUT’s new Institute for Sustainable Resources and Timber Queensland Limited.
Centre coordinator Rosemary Kennedy said the average project home – which constitutes 88 per cent of detached houses built in Queensland – was not well-suited to the Queensland climate.
She said many modern houses were too big for their blocks and devoured electricity in an eff ort to keep cool in a barren urban landscape.
Her research breaks down some of the myths about timber being too much trouble, high maintenance, expensive and susceptible to insect damage and rot.
“We found timber is in fact an excellent resource as a building material,” she said.
“In particular it has a low thermal mass – it does not absorb and hold heat.
“In addition it is a renewable resource that requires very little energy to produce and absorbs far more carbon dioxide than would ever be required in its production.”
So what is the New Queenslander?
As par t of the project, six New Queenslander designs have been developed that maximise the use of internal space with open-plan design and minimise house
size through the use of external living environments.
They range from a single-storey detached home for a small block through to a multi- unit development for an 800-square-metre block to replace the “suburban six-pack”.
The New Queenslander concept is designed with the organic qualities of wood in mind and its need to be protected from sun and rain.
It has wide eaves to protect the upstairs walls and an upper fl oor which overhangs the lower fl oor to off er the same protection.
The New Queenslander has steel posts and timber fl oors, which make it suitable for steep slopes without the major cut and fi ll of slab construction.
Dawn of new Queenslander
1 Face living areas towards the north or east, preferably looking out on a subtropical garden.
2 Plant shade trees on the western and eastern sides of your property.
3 Use ground cover plants instead of water-consuming grass. (Plants create a cooler environment than pavers.) 4 Use lightweight construction materials
which do not store heat. Avoid massive materials such as concrete fl oors or thick brick walls, unless they are fully shaded on summer days.
5 Wide eaves are essential for walls, windows and outdoor living areas - they block direct sun in summer but still let light in during winter.
6 Adjustable external screens keep the heat out and let breezes in.
7 Good cross ventilation can be achieved with louvres or window systems which allow windows to be 100 per cent open or adjusted to encourage breezes.
8 Roof ventilation allows heat and moisture to escape so try to place vents at the highest part of the roof.
9 Insulate walls and ceilings to keep your home cooler in summer and warmer in winter - and save money on power bills.
10 Make the most of our abundant sunshine by installing a solar hot water system.
Electric hot water systems account for most of the energy used by Qld homes and are the most expensive to run.
For more information on subtropical design, visit the centre’s website at www.
subtropicaldesign.bee.qut.edu.au.
We live in Australia and we need to design and build to Australian conditions.
10
10 tips
for a subtropical home
Image courtesy Husband Leith Architects
in BRIEF... Paramedic data sought
Public health
AMBULANCE offi cers’ fi rst-on-the- scene experience could prove a vital factor in lowering Australia’s $2.6 billion annual accident treatment bill, a QUT public health researcher believes.
Emma Enraght-Moony, from QUT’s Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, said ambulance offi cers could provide vital infor mation currently missing from the hospital records that are used to formulate injury prevention strategies.
She said almost 75 per cent of Queensland hospital records of injuries did not contain information on what the person was doing at the time of the injury.
“These gaps in information are very frustrating for injury researchers who are searching for ways to prevent injuries,” she said.
For her PhD, Ms Enraght-Moony is investigating ways to enhance injury data by tapping the knowledge of paramedics who treat accident victims at the scene of the injury.
“By the nature of their work, paramedics’ records are ‘done on the run’ and so I am looking at how to facilitate use of the valuable information they gather to enhance current hospital- based data collections.”
In the fi rst part of her research, Ms Enraght-Moony studied the quality of coded data for all injury cases admitted to Queensland hospitals during 2001 and 2002 to identify information gaps on the causes of these injuries.
The data is coded using the Australian version of the international health coding system or ICD-10-AM and is an important source of information for injury researchers.
She found that specifi c detail was lacking in some areas that could have proven vital to understanding how the injury occurred and how it could have been prevented.
“I found, for example, that 38.6 per
cent of records on falls in Queensland lacked detailed information on factors that caused the event.
“This means we do not know whether the cause of more than a third of falls was the person tripping, or falling from objects such as a bed or playground equipment, or by some other means,” she said.
M o r e a l a r m i n g l y f o r i n j u r y prevention strategists, 72 per cent of
all hospital records for injuries had an
“other” or “unspecifi ed” code for the activity the person was involved in when they were injured.
M s E n r a g h t - M o o ny s a i d t h e infor mation was cr ucial to the development of eff ective strategies to prevent or mitigate the eff ects of injuries.
- Niki Widdowson
Study delves into death and the undead
Language studies
BUFFY the Vampire Slayer didn’t start it but she certainly cemented the popularity of the undead.
Although the fang-tastic television series spawned 150 books, Buff y is but one character around whom the ever- present spectre of death is presented to young adult readers, says QUT PhD literature researcher Anna Free.
Ms Free is investigating post- apocalyptic portrayals or “visions of the end” in books aimed at 15- to 19-year-olds.
In what is believed to be the fi rst analysis of young adult fi ction in this light, Ms Free has been immersing herself in a lot of angst-ridden books.
“Apocalyptic visions, or prophecies, have been present in adult literature from the Bible onwards,” Ms Free said.
“They have become more apparent since the nuclear arms race and after 9/11.
“We see it in adult books such as Don DeLillo’s White Noise and Toni Morrison’s Beloved which wrestle with life, death and the aftermath of knowing we are going to die.
“However it seems to be becoming an underlying theme in literature for young people as well.”
Ms Free said post-apocalyptic portrayals could be found in various guises in young adults’ books ranging from Helen Barnes’s popular Killing Aurora dealing with anorexia and
arson, and MT Anderson’s sci-fi read, Feed, to Isabelle Carmody’s Greylands and Nancy Farmer’s The House of the Scorpion about clones.
The prevalence of post-apocalyptic rhetoric in adult literature could be a factor of the growing sense of the end in literature for young adults, or it could be something to do with the
theme itself, Ms Free said.
“Vampiric story lines are strong.
Vampires are not dead and they are not alive. Perhaps it’s that ambiguity that appeals to young people who are neither child nor adult,” Ms Free said.
- Niki Widdowson
Researcher Anna Free is investigating post-apocalyptic portrayals or “visions of the end” for her PhD study with QUT.
Music takes Luke to Paris Composer and creative industries PhD student Luke Jaaniste has been selected by ABC Classic FM to represent Australia at the 2006 International Rostrum of Composers in Paris in July. The Rostrum is a gathering of national radio broadcasters from 50 countries, who present their country’s most outstanding new musical compositions.
Malaysia deal signed The Faculty of Education has entered into a new agreement with the Malaysian government to deliver Bachelor of Education Studies to 180 students in Malaysia. The agreement was signed in Kuching, Sarawak, this month.
New postgrad network Business postgraduate students can now share ideas about their research via a new Research Learning Network. Meetings are held each Friday afternoon at Bar Merlo and a mailing list and a website have been established. Contact [email protected].
au for more information.
Donation for children The Royal Childrens’ Hospital Gait Lab has benefi ted from a joint donation of
$22,000 from QUT and Baulderstones, the builders of the new Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation building. Baulderstone workers raised $11,000 and QUT matched the donation dollar for dollar.
about IQ
Janne Rayner
(Editor) 07 3864 2361 Toni Chambers / Carmen Myler
(jobshare) 07 3864 1150 Sandra Hutchinson 07 3864 2130 Mechelle Webb 07 3864 4494 Niki Widdowson 07 3864 1841 Erika Fish (Photos) 07 3864 5003 Natalie Johnson (Ads) 07 3864 4408 Richard de Waal (Design)
Emma Enraght-Moony is tapping into paramedics’ records to help inform researchers working on injury prevention.
Information technology
IT’S a dark and dangerous world fi lled with monsters, heroes, battles and quests. But every so often you also get bugs.
Now two QUT researchers are delving into the world of MMORPG – Massively Multiplayer Online Role- Playing Games – on their own quest to improve these complex online environments.
Ross Brown and Penny Drennan, pictured left, are developing a visualisation system that will enable them to watch and decode these games as they are being played online and see programming problems as they occur.
“MMORPGs allow thousands of players across the real world to exist in the same game world at the same time,” Dr Brown said.
“Because of the interactive nature of the games, these are very complex environments.
“They can go on for days or weeks and you can’t predict what is going to happen – and that makes it diffi cult for the designers who create them to test them.
“We’re developing visualisation techniques for game play data so that designers can look at how people are using their game environments and then use that knowledge to tweak the game design and make
improvements.”
Dr Brown and Ms Drennan are members of QUT’s Visual and Media Computing Research Group within the university’s Faculty of Information Technology.
They have received a $13,000 grant from Microsoft for the one- year project.
Microsoft Research Asia’s John Warren said innovation was critical to success and MSRA recognised this by supporting the best projects from around Asia with funding.
“QUT have proved yet again that their academics are thought leaders in innovation with this unique and outstanding undertaking,” Mr Warren said.
Dr Brown said designers in the Brisbane off ices of two games companies – THQ and Pandemic – would also provide feedback to help the researchers.
He said the software systems that he and Ms Drennan ultimately came up with would be available to all designers.
“It’s an open source project – the tools and techniques we develop will be off ered from our website,”
he said.
Two of the world’s most popular MMORPGs are EverQuest and World of Warcraft.
- Mechelle Webb
Information security
WATCH out, (computer) worms! You are under counter attack.
QUT researchers are set to lift the potency of honeypots, the frontline internet security tools that both attract and examine internet nasties such as worms and denial-of-service attacks.
D r A n d rew C l a r k o f QU T ’s Information Security Institute (ISI) said a research team was developing an automated, real-time system to quickly analyse and generate signatures to stop worms and other malicious internet traffi c in their tracks.
Dr Clark, pictured right, said high profi le worms such as Code Red and Slammer had been reported to have caused over $1 billion in damage globally and honeypots were one of the best avenues for learning more about these potent threats.
Honeypots are the anti-hackers
“ s e c re t we a p o n ” t h a t p r ov i d e intelligence about attackers’ tactics to potentially allow the generation of attack signatures that can warn and protect other systems.
They are less visible to hackers than other security measures and in some cases hackers do not know they are being watched at all.
“Honeypots have a variety of security uses from gathering intelligence data about attackers’ tactics to generating attack signatures that can be recognised and dealt with promptly,” Dr Clark said.
“Our research is seeking techniques for discovering patterns of attacks and anomalies in the traffi c that honeypots gather.”
Stung by their own success, honeypots had had a lot of eff ort put into their development but not enough in turning the data they collected to good use in understanding how
hackers work.
“Honeypots are a more valuable source of hacker information than other techniques but approaches for analysing the data they collect are still immature,” Dr Clark said.
“Because there is so much traffi c, honeypots collect huge amounts of data so we are working to fi nd ways to rapidly analyse and identify new threats and trends within that data.”
The ISI research team will concentrate on low-interaction honeypots which gather data from worms, denial-of- service attacks and misconfigured computers on the internet.
“Worms present a continuous threat, they self propagate malicious code and can very rapidly span the whole internet,” he said.
“They may provide a backdoor to a compromised computer potentially giving hackers unlimited access.”
- Niki Widdowson
Why shape matters in metal fi res
Engineering
SHAPE, as well as size matters, when it comes to preventing metal f ires in the high-tech components found in everything from medical equipment to space ships, a PhD mechanical engineering researcher has found.
Terese Suvorovs’ research has demonstrated for the fi rst time that a diff erence in the shape of metal rods with the same cross-sectional area aff ects the speed at which they melt and burn.
“Metal fi res cause catastrophic accidents in many oxygen-enriched environments such as is common in medical equipment, aluminium regulators on oxygen cylinders and hyperbaric chambers where divers with the ‘bends’ are treated,” Ms Suvorovs, from the School of
Engineering Systems, said.
“Knowing how shape aff ects the burning rate of metals will assist designers in both their selection of materials and the design of components as well as clarify aspects of the complex phenomena of bulk metals combustion.”
Ms Suvorovs, pictured left, conducted her study using a cylindrical iron rod, the experimental standard for assessing metal fl ammability.
Using a high-pressure oxygen environment inside a purpose-built combustion chamber, she compared the burn times of the cylindrical rod with other shapes.
She found triangular and rectangular iron rods burned faster than a cylindrical rod with exactly the same cross-sectional area.
Ms Suvorovs said this fi nding was important in
the application of standard metals fl ammability test data to other shapes and suggested that each metal shape should be tested individually, rather than relying on an experimental standard.
It was not yet known why changing the shape produced this diff erence in burning times for metal rods.
“I suspect the speed at which the molten metal moves up the rod is related to the dynamics of liquid metal drop formation and the rod shape aff ects the way a drop is attached and what is occurring within this attached drop,” she said.
Ms Suvorovs’ research will have application in a wide variety of forms, in areas from aviation and aerospace technology to medical equipment and diving technology.
- Niki Widdowson
Refi ning honeypots for understanding hacker activity
On a quest for quality control
Art Exhibition
- International Digital Art Awards More than 60 digital artworks from leading Chinese digital media artists and international guests are on show at The Block, Creative Industries Precinct, until June 3, and at the QUT Art Museum until June 4, as part of the International Digital Art Awards.
The works include video, interaction media, installation and photo media.
Events
MAY 24
An MBA information evening hosted by QUT’s Brisbane Graduate School of Business is on at Gardens Point campus Level 4, B Block from 6pm to 7.30pm.
For details phone 07 3864 4145.
JUNE 2 – 4 The Careers and Employment Expo is on at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre. It opens 9am to 4pm on the Friday and 10am to 4pm over the weekend.
Entry is free.
JUNE 3 Create, Clarify and Connect is the theme of the 1st Annual Web Content Management Symposium at the OJW Room in S Block, Gardens Point. The C3 symposium will showcase the work of postgraduate students studying information management and IT.
The keynote speaker is John Allsopp of Westciv Sydney.
JUNE 26 – JULY 7 Highschoolers and their families can check out Gardens Point campus during free school holiday tours. The tours run half-hourly from 10am to 12noon each weekday and leave from A Block. Morning tours are also on at Kelvin Grove campus (meet at K Block) from June 26 to 30.
Seminars
MAY 18
The Cyber Security Crisis is the title of a free public lecture at 4.30pm in QUT Gardens Theatre. QUT’s Information Security Institute has invited guest speaker Professor Eugene H Spaff ord (Purdue University, USA) to discuss some key aspects of the cyber security problem and its magnitude.
Reserve your seat on 07 3864 9573.
MAY 25
Join QUT Distinguished Visitor Professor Toby Miller for a free public lecture on cultural citizenship and
the implications for the citizen-consumer of deregulation and technological change.
The event will be held at QUT’s Gardens Point campus in room 214 in U Block from 6pm. For details visit www.cci.edu.au.
Conferences
MAY 24 The 13th National Women’s Professional Development Conference, hosted by QUT, will be held at the Hilton Brisbane from 8am to 5pm.
The conference aims to promote women’s career development by celebrating women’s achievement and recognising and addressing the challenges they face in today’s workplace.
Cost is $325. For more information visit www.
womenspd.qut.edu.au.
Visit www.whatson.
qut.edu.au for more event listings and to submit your upcoming event.
WHATS on... Clare jazzes up life
Creative industries
QUEENSLAND’S fi rst lady of jazz, Clare Hansson, has hit another high note in her already impressive career becoming QUT’s first “doctor” of jazz.
The Brisbane-based musician is the fi rst student to complete a PhD in jazz studies at QUT’s Creative Industries Faculty, and a bound copy of her thesis is now archived at the prestigious Institute of Jazz Studies in Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA.
Dr Hansson researched the musical career of New York jazz pianist Marian McPartland, now aged 88.
McPartland was not only Hansson’s study subject; the pair also shares a friendship through their mutual love of jazz.
“Initially I plucked up the courage to write to this lady because I had never heard another woman playing so powerfully. I also sent her my fi rst recording,” Dr Hansson said.
“I was so sur prised when she wrote back telling me ‘You play beautifully’. Since then we have kept in contact and by 1995 I found I had accumulated quite a bit of information and memorabilia.”
Dr Hansson said she both loved McPartland’s music and admired her as a female jazz pianist who moved with the times to remain contemporary.
“She was a rebel, a maverick, who defi ed her very proper British family to embrace an unsuitable occupation amid the somewhat unsavoury jazz scene of the 1940s by marrying an American jazz musician and heading to the United States,” she said.
“Her career, fi rst sponsored by her husband Jimmy McPartland, unfolded and blossomed throughout the decades because of her natural talent, her eagerness to seize opportunities and her willingness to take risks.”
Dr Hansson said her own musical career had witnessed similar challenges and triumphs.
“As a female jazz pianist I know the diffi culties of making it in the male-
dominated jazz scene,” she said.
“Even though jazz was my fi rst love, it was many years before I got the chance to share that in a professional environment.”
Dr Hansson is well-known to local music fans and has maintained her own jazz trio for the past 25 years. She is also a regular performer at jazz festivals around Queensland and interstate.
“I have always loved jazz,” said Dr Hansson.
In 1999, this passion came across strongly to American audiences when she was the fi rst and only Australian
guest on Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz, a radio program broadcast weekly to millions in the US.
As part of Dr Hansson’s musical journey, she was also the fi rst student to be awarded a Master of Fine Arts majoring in jazz studies at QUT in 1996.
“To me it’s a feeling, a rhythm that’s kind of soaked into my soul.”
Dr Hansson’s research is the fi rst doctoral study of the career of any white female jazz instrumentalist in the world.
- Sandra Hutchinson
“Doctor Jazz” Clare Hansson spent nine years researching jazz for her PhD.
The timetable for the 391 shuttle bus between QUT’s Kelvin Grove and Gardens Point campuses will extend into night from July 10. The 391 service is free for students and staff.
The evening service will be half-hourly while the daytime schedule will continue to be every 15 minutes during semester. The new timetable will also be available at
www.transinfo.qld.gov.auThe extended GP/KG service responds to growing demand during the full course of the teaching day, with passenger numbers approaching 440 000 in 2005. The KG/Carseldine service which carried 34 000 passengers in 2005 continues on the existing schedule.
391 Gardens Point/Kelvin Grove Intercampus Service
Extended timetable on trial 10/7/06 – 17/11/06.
Journey takes about 10 minutes.
Departs Kelvin Grove (Musk Avenue) inbound to Gardens Point (Alice Street)
391 391C 391 391C 391 391C 391 391C 391 391C 391 391C
MONDAY TO FRIDAY
07.50 08.05 08.20 08.35 08.50 09.05 09.20 09.35 09.50 10.05 10.20 10.35 10.50 11.05 11.20 11.35 11.50 12.05 12.20 12.35 12.50 13.05 13.20 13.35 13.50 14.05 14.20 14.35 14.50 15.05 15.20 15.35 15.50 16.05 16.20 16.35
16.50 17.05 17.20 17.35 17.50 18.20 18.50 19.20
19.50 20.20 20.50 21.20
Departs Gardens Point (Alice Street) outbound to Kelvin Grove (Musk Avenue)
391 391C 391 391C 391 391C 391 391C 391 391C 391 391C
MONDAY TO FRIDAY
07.35 07.50 08.05 08.20 08.35 08.50 09.05 09.20 09.35 09.50 10.05 10.20 10.35 10.50 11.05 11.20 11.35 11.50 12.05 12.20 12.35 12.50 13.05 13.20 13.35 13.50 14.05 14.20 14.35 14.50 15.05 15.20 15.35 15.50 16.05 16.20
16.35 16.50 17.05 17.20 17.35 18.05 18.35 19.05
19.35 20.05 20.35 21.05
