IQ inside
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Queensland University of Technology Newspaper Issue 282 April 1 - April 21, 2008
Education
QUT student Todd Phillips made a real impression on Bill Clinton when he attended a forum run by the former US president in New Orleans in March, and not just because he dropped a shovel on his foot.
Todd took his message about improving Indigenous education to a global audience at the inaugural Clinton Global Initiative University (CGIU) meeting.
The fi nal-year education student spent time with President Clinton, actor Brad Pitt, and cyclist and cancer-survivor Lance Armstrong at the meeting.
The 27-year-old was one of 500 student delegates from around the world – and one of just fi ve Australians – invited to attend the forum which c h a l l e n g e s u n i v e r s i t y students to tackle global problems
with practical, i n n o v a t i v e
solutions.
To d d s a i d some of the
h i g h l i g h t s o f h i s t r i p
i n c l u d e d s p e a k i n g w i t h P r e s i d e n t C l i n t o n three times, meeting Lance Armstrong and working side-by- side with Brad Pitt on clearing drains and rubble at an area of New Orleans still recovering from Hurricane Katrina.
“It was so good. Bill Clinton was very encourag ing about seeing the bigger picture and taking the commitment seriously,” he said.
“The next time I saw him, he recognised me and came over and thrust his hand out for me to shake so quickly that I accidentally dropped a shovel on his foot.”
Todd said he was very inspired by the motivational speeches from the former president and other
Philanthropy
THE personal wealth of Australia’s richest people has grown at a much faster rate than their charitable giving, according to a QUT study.
Charitable contributions by the rich rose to just under a half per cent from 0.36 per cent in the last decade despite their average household income rising by 36 per cent, research by The Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies shows.
Researcher Dr Kym Madden said while many of the wealthy were very generous, a lot of others gave little if anything to charitable causes and some who did give did so at
a lower level than the rest of the community.
“Australia’s affl uent continue to give at a lower level on average than their counterparts in the UK, USA and Canada despite comparable wealth levels,” Dr Madden said.
The World Wealth Report of 2007 estimates that the top 17 per cent of ultra rich donors globally give away about 10 per cent of their assets annually.
Dr Madden said only about six in 10 of the wealthiest Australians claimed deductions for their charitable giving.
“This indicates 40 per cent of the wealthy appear to be engaged in minimal – if any – giving,” she said.
“But the report’s good news is that the culture is chang ing and an increasing number of Australia’s rich are beginning to think philanthropically.
“ We a l t h i e r Au s t r a l i a n s a re extremely well-placed to make a huge diff erence to our community.
“They not only have the money but the talent and energ y that charities can tap in to address longstanding social problems in innovative ways.
“A g reat example of this is Queensland entrepreneur Clive Palmer who recently pledged $100 million to medical research and Indigenous causes.”
The centre has called for measures
to encourage more philanthropy including more tax incentives, increased profi le of philanthropy in the media, more guidelines for giving and increased transparency of the nonprofi t sector to allay potential concerns about misuse of funds.
The Good Times and Philanthropy Re por t, f u n d e d by t h e Pe t re Foundation, was launched in conjunction with Social Ventures Australia. Petre is a family foundation launched by Daniel Petre, an Australian who worked for many years as a Microsoft executive in the USA.
The report is at www.cpns.bus.
qut.edu.au.
- Sue Gardiner
Co-authors of a new report on charitable giving (l-r) Dr Wendy Scaife and Dr Kym Madden.
Wealthy Australians giving more - but only just
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www.news.qut.edu.au George Street Brisbane 4000 Telephone (07) 3138 2361 Registered by Australia Post – Publication No. QBF 4778. CRICOS No 00213J speakers during the forum’s three days of lectures and workshops.
“Bill Clinton spoke about how this generation has the most influence and more power than any previous generation and that we have an opportunity to work for the greater good and turn things around in terms of poverty, human rights and peace,” he said.
Todd said his greatest inspiration, however, came from meeting other students like himself.
“I met people from Africa and South America doing education programs like me. A lot of these guys are working in areas where there are wars and they’re really putting their lives on the line.
“That inspired me to do a lot more and take my work a lot more seriously and it’s extended my vision of what can be accomplished. I feel like if I don’t do something, then who is going to do it?”
Todd, who works as a student mentor with QUT’s Oodgeroo Unit, was selected for his civic engagement work in Indigenous communities.
As part of a project run by Professor Tom Cooper from QUT’s School of Maths, Science and Technolog y Education, Todd and other students visit 18 Indigenous communities around Queensland to improve numeracy and literacy.
“We’re not just going in and talking with the kids; it’s a whole-of-community approach, getting parents in to get on board with teachers, and doing teacher aide jobs, empowering the community to help with numeracy and literacy,” Todd said.
As part of the CGUI meetings, students had to commit to one action before they left.
“My commitment is to go from being someone who goes into communities, to take it to new levels and actually formulate some working manuals, booklets and implement them in the communities,”
he said. “I want to pioneer things to happen.”
Todd said he was inspired to study education by his own experiences growing up in a small Aboriginal community, Baryulgil, in NSW.
“It was just that there was no high school, no Indigenous teachers and so, long before I enrolled in university, I always wanted to be a teacher so I could help other kids. It’s my passion.”
Todd’s costs were covered by the Talloires Network, which is committed to promoting civic roles and social responsibilities of higher education.
- Carmen Myler QUT student Todd Phillips took
his message about Indigenous education to a forum where he met Bill Clinton and Brad Pitt (pictured).
Global initiative
Business
PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd announced measures to ease the nation’s housing crisis at a QUT luncheon marking his 100th day in offi ce.
Addressing the QUT Business Leaders’ Forum, Mr Rudd, pictured, said the Government was elected three months ago to meet future challenges, to secure the future for the nation and for working families.
“After three months in off ice, implementation of that program is underway...and we are doing so in the face of economic challenges of a complexity that Australia has not seen in recent economic history,” Mr Rudd told the 750 guests.
Mr Rudd said housing aff ordability was a signifi cant challenge.
“Across Australia, there is no greater
source of fi nancial stress for working families than housing,” he said.
“It is no exaggeration to say that in early 2008, housing aff ordability is the worst it has been in living memory.”
Mr Rudd said to ease the housing crisis, the Government had committed to create more affordable rental proper ties around Austr alia by encouraging private investment in the provision of rental stock.
“The gover nments (state and federal) will establish a National Rental Aff ordability Scheme under which the Commonwealth will provide private investors with tax credits of $6000 per year for 10 years, for building new properties that are rented out at 20 per cent below the prevailing market rate,” he said.
“The Government’s initiative begins with encouraging the construction of
3500 aff ordable rental properties in 2008-09, and add to the stock to reach 50,000 within fi ve years.”
In addition, Mr Rudd also announced the establishment of a $500 million Housing Aff ordability Fund to help drive housing construction activity.
“The Housing Aff ordability Fund will form a partnership between t h e C o m m o nwe a l t h a n d l o c a l gover nments – to invest in this infrastructure to reduce the cost of new homes,” he said.
Mr Rudd said the Labor Government would not lose sight of the fact it had been entrusted with the “great responsibility of public offi ce”.
He said the Government would now seize the opportunity to build a modern Australia to tack le the challenges of the future and to secure the future of working families.
Rudd’s housing relief
COMMENT
DEPUTY Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who has ministerial responsibility for the nation’s universities, recently announced a major review of higher education, with a panel established to report by the end of the year.
Many in the university sector will recall the detailed reviews conducted under Brendan Nelson’s tenure as Minister, and before that the West Review which took place in 1997.
Some might say that another review is unnecessary, that additional public funding is warranted and needed now, and that it is unlikely that this new exercise will uncover anything fundamentally new.
There are, however, good reasons to welcome and support the new government’s approach.
To begin with, the context for this review is quite diff erent to previous exercises. Minister Gillard has made clear her intention that this review, unlike some of its predecessors, will be “evidence-based”, independent and conducted by people closely familiar with the sector.
The review’s expert panel will be chaired by Emeritus Professor Denise Bradley, former Vice-Chancellor of the University of South Australia, with the other members being vocational education consultant Peter Noonan, company director Dr Helen Nugent AO, and businessman and Chancellor of Swinbur ne University, Bill Scales.
The Rudd Government has also explicitly acknowledged the chronic funding problems of Australia’s universities, as well as the need to support a world-class university
system – as opposed to an elite few – and the need to prepare for major demographic shocks as academic retirements escalate over coming years.
Further, the review will encompass important areas such as student support, widening access, and assessing standards.
Even an evidence-based review will not point unambiguously to a particular desirable level of public funding for universities.
That will ultimately be a matter for informed judgement, political will, and recognition that universities cannot indefi nitely manage their way out of problems which arise from delivering education and research that is underfunded in comparison to costs and public expectations of quality.
We welcome the new Federal Government’s acknowledgement of the inadequacies of inherited funding levels for universities, and their expression of intent to address the situation.
Deferral of action on core funding for another one or two years will exacerbate current pressures, but this is manageable and is a price worth paying if more sustainable approaches are adopted for the long- term support of our universities.
Professor Peter Coaldrake Vice-Chancellor
International
EDUCATION innovator Mr Wang Bintai has been recognised for furthering the learning of young people, when he was awarded an honorary doctorate from QUT.
Mr Wang has been awarded the title of Doctor of the University, which is
QUT’s highest honorary award.
Mr Wang has a long and infl uential career as a senior educator and educational administrator.
For the past fi ve years as Director General of the Jiangsu Provincial Education Department ( JED) PR China, Mr Wang has been responsible for leading many reforms of the education system.
Jiangsu is the third biggest province in China with 75 million people and produces some 15 per cent of China’s GDP.
Mr Wang led the development of the Jiangsu-Australia Education Centre, which is based at QUT.
The Centre has trained close to 1000 English teachers and teacher educators from Jiangsu.
Mr Wang was honoured at a ceremony in Brisbane where the Chinese Consulate-General also presented QUT with resources for the Mandarin Chinese Program in QUT’s Faculty of Business Languages Centre.
QUT has once again been recognised for its support of women in the workplace with a 2008 Employer of Choice for Women citation.
As one of a select group of organisations Australia-wide, QUT has earned the Federal Government award for its women-friendly policies and practices.
T h e s e i n c l u d e p o l i c i e s to improve remuneration and career development to increasing the representation of women
at executive levels and helping employees maintain work/life balance.
H a n d e d o u t by t h e E q u a l Opportunity in the Workplace A g e n c y, t h e c i t a t i o n a l l ow s organisations to differentiate themselves from their competitors and achieve public acknowledgment of their eff orts in the area of equal opportunity for women.
This is the seventh time QUT has won this award.
QUT a good career
choice for women Education innovator awarded
First-year questions answered
From left, L (Boeing), Do (Phantom W Minister De and QUT’s P Arun Sharm
Student experience
FIRST-year QUT students with questions about fees, student loans, course enquiries or just about anything uni-related had the opportunity to ask their questions last month as part of the ‘Ask Me’ program.
From March 17 to 20, QUT staff and student mentors sporting “Ask Me” badges were on hand to answer questions.
Director of the First Year Experience, Associate Professor Karen Nelson, said the campaign was timed to come before the main census date of March 21.
“At QUT we are doing everything we can to make sure our new students stay and be successful in their studies.
This is an important time of the semester and leading up to the early break we want to provide an opportunity for our students to ask any questions they may have,” she said.
“Assessment and other requirements are now clearer and it is quite normal for students to start to feel overwhelmed by their new commitments. It is also the last week to withdraw without fi nancial penalty.
“Students may have a variety of other questions including basic course admin questions, things they’ve forgotten from O Week, they may be worried about their fi nances or may now need to access a particular support service - nothing is off limits,” she said.
“Of course students can ask questions at any time but we want our new students to know we’re all here to help make their transition to university easier.”
Third year student Aarti Sharma assists Brad Martin, a fi rst year business student as part of QUT’s ‘Ask me’ program.
Science
A QUT researcher has advanced the use of coral to measure the rate of climate change.
Studying coral at Heron Island, at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef, QUT natural resource sciences PhD researcher Luke Nothdurft has greatly improved the accuracy of coral analysis, keeping it up-to-date with recent advances in technology.
“Analysis of coral can tell us about the changes in water temperature over time and the rate of global warming,”
Mr Nothdurft, pictured, said.
“Cor als are g reat continuous recorders of past sea conditions. A single colony can grow for several hundred years.
“Their skeletons contain trace elements incorporated from seawater
as they grow, and these trace element concentr ations change as water temperatures fl uctuate.”
Mr Nothdurft said recent technology used to analyse coral chemistry was so advanced that new sampling strategies had to be developed to ensure accuracy.
“Existing sampling strategies were impossible to use with this new technology because they could lead to great inaccuracies,” he said.
“In the past, we could only see the annual density bands of coral, which are superfi cially similar to tree rings, but now, powerful microscopes have made it possible to see seasonal, weekly and even daily variations in coral growth.”
Mr Nothdurft studied the skeletal structure of diff erent coral species and found that coral skeletons are more
Carseldine - copy to come - no pic
rom left, Lindsay Pears Boeing), Don Winter Phantom Works), Minister Desley Boyle
nd QUT’s Professor run Sharma.
Coral key to climate change
complicated than previously thought.
“Coral skeletons have different microstr uctures, which g row at different times. You need to look at how the structure is built before analysing the sample, otherwise you may mistake new growth for old,”
he said.
“The coral animal is only a thin living polyp on top of the skeleton.
As it grows it leaves the skeleton base beneath it.
“The skeletons are complex and there are variations between species.”
Mr Nothdurft also discovered that minerals deposited from seawater and by organisms living within abandoned parts of coral could mislead scientists.
- Rachael Wilson
Talking yourself out of depression
casual positions available
Inside QUT is looking for two students to assist with distributing the newspaper.
The job involves filling and refilling news stands at Gardens Point and Kelvin Grove campuses to coincide with the publishing of the paper.
Hours are fairly flexible (an estimated 4–5 hours per issue), and some heavy lifting is required.
Pay rates at HEW2 ($13.77–$23.49 per hour, depending on age).
More information For further details or to apply, please e-mail Janne Rayner at [email protected]
Queensland University of Technology GPO Box 2434 Q 4001 qut.com GEN-08-875 CRICOS no. 00213J
Carseldine to move to KG and city
Pyschology
PEOPLE suffering depression are invited to benefi t from a program of nine free sessions as part of a QUT study into narrative therapy.
Narrative therapy is an innovative therapy that delves into the way people talk about their lives, says QUT clinical psychology researcher Mary Boles, pictured below.
“People’s lives are made up of numerous stories all working together to form a bigger or a dominant story,”
Ms Boles said.
“When people talk about themselves and past events they tend to focus on certain things.
“They build up a story about themselves and will fi nd evidence and examples from their lives to reinforce that dominant story. The more we talk about ourselves in a particular way, the more we will view ourselves in that light.”
Ms Boles said what was left out of the story was also important.
“When talking about ourselves, we
may focus on the problems but leave out other important aspects of our lives,” she said.
“We may not talk about better times and times when we weren’t feeling down.
“Narrative therapy helps us to weave a diff erent story that includes the whole picture.”
Ms Boles said the study would help encourage more mental health professionals to utilise this type of therapy.
“Diff erent people suff er in diff erent
ways, and may need diff erent types of therapy. The more therapy options there are, the better it is for people suff ering depression,” she said.
“Nar r ative ther a py has g reat potential. It’s relatively new, with its roots in family therapy,” she said.
“It is a collaborative therapy that follows the lead of the patient with guidance from the therapist.”
Ms Boles said study participants would be assessed for clinical depression.
People for whom the study was not appropriate would be referred to the QUT psychology clinic.
For more details and to volunteer, email [email protected].
- Rachael Wilson QUT has decided to consolidate its
Carseldine-based courses, programs and support areas into QUT’s Kelvin Grove and Gardens Point campuses from the start of the 2009 academic year.
QUT Vice-Chancellor, Professor Peter Coaldrake said the university had been considering ways in which it could better utilise the Carseldine campus.
He said the campus had experienced declining student numbers, despite signifi cant investment in the campus
over recent years, in terms of courses of study and new facilities.
“It is essential that QUT continues to assess its physical resources to ensure they meet the needs and expectations of students,” Professor Coaldrake said.
“In 2004, there were 2731 students enrolled at Carseldine campus, but by 2007, numbers had dropped to 2014 students,” he said.
“In making this decision, which has been endorsed by QUT Council, the university has also taken into account
that a number of courses at Carseldine are closely aligned with or part of faculties and programs based at Kelvin Grove and Gardens Point.”
To eff ect the transition, the university has formed a relocation work ing group, which will be responsible for the development and implementation of a change management plan that will be rolled out during the course of 2008.
Professor Coaldrake said QUT had undertaken consultation with students and staff of Carseldine through a
number of briefi ng sessions and these would continue throughout the year to ensure the campus community was fully informed about the change and what it would mean for them.
“The majority of courses and programs will be relocated to Kelvin Grove, which can comfor tably accommodate transferring students, staff and resources,” he said.
“I believe this relocation is a prudent measure that will enable the university to continue to meet the broad expectations of students, staff
and the community and the move will be carefully planned to streamline the transition.”
Professor Coaldr ake said the university would continue to investigate alternative uses for the campus and it was hoped QUT could retain the option to reoccupy the campus at a later date.
He said the decision had no impact on QUT’s Caboolture campus. “QUT will continue to fund its services and facilities, while also undertaking activities that will assist it to grow.”
Road safety
OLDER drivers are less likely to crash but more likely to die when they do, a QUT academic says.
Dr Mark King, from the Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety – Queensland (CARRS-Q) at QUT, said the ageing Australian population meant a new approach to road safety was required.
“Young drivers are much more likely to crash their cars, but the issue for older people is that they are much more vulnerable if they are involved in a crash, either as a driver or as a passenger,” Dr King, pictured, said.
“While older people are less likely to be injured when driving, they are more likely to be killed because they are more fragile.”
Dr King discussed the eff ect of an ageing population on road crash patterns at a CARRS-Q-sponsored Older Drivers seminar on March 28.
“Currently, for every two people in the 17- to 20-year-old age group, there is one person over 80, however, in 2050, for every two 17- to 20-year- olds, there will be 10 people aged over 80. Many of them will still be driving, and virtually all will be passengers in cars,” he said.
“ W h e n yo u n g p e o p l e a r e considered to be at fault in a crash, it often involves a high-risk behaviour like speeding or drink driving, whereas when older people are considered to be at fault it is often because they failed to see something or made a poor decision.
“Older drivers are less able to process information quick ly and respond to situations more slowly.”
He said some ways to make roads safer for older drivers were improving road signage and increasing the number of intersection traffi c lights with right turn arrows.
“Older drivers tend to have more trouble judging breaks in the traffi c big enough to make the right turn and their reactions are slower,” he said.
“They also tend to have trouble with multi-lane roundabouts and merging onto busy highways or a reduced number of lanes after traffi c lights.”
Dr King said another challenge for older drivers was recognising when their on-road abilities were deteriorating.
“Everyone will have to be a lot more patient with each other on the road, and not use threatening behaviour like tailgating or beeping the horn to rush people.”
Older Drivers was an Australasian College of Road Safety event.
- Rachael Wilson
Law
HE’S got a successful legal career and holds an Australian 100m sprint record, all without using his eyes.
Paul Harpur, pictured above, lost his eyesight in a train accident at the age of 14, but that did not hold back the lawyer and QUT PhD researcher.
When he was asked by QUT to write a manual that would help other visually impaired students at university, he took the opportunity.
“It took me a while to get my feet on the ground and understand what was expected of me at uni,” he said.
“I didn’t ask for help, so it took me a long time to learn how to use databases to fi nd the information I needed and I missed informal cues from my lecturers. My GPA (grade point average) suff ered accordingly.”
Mr Har pur said the manual, Educating Law Students with a Vision Impairment, which would be incorporated into QUT law programs for the fi rst time this semester, would
benefi t students and lecturers.
“The fi rst part of the manual is general information for the faculty about how to provide a positive learning experience for students with vision impairment,” he said.
“For example, some lecturers may rely on PowerPoint presentations to teach classes and don’t read out what’s on the screen, which is extremely diffi cult for those who can’t see.
“Also, providing e-resources that are compatible with ‘screen readers’, (computer programs that read text
aloud), greatly improves student’s access to learning materials.”
He said it would also give students valuable study information.
M r H a r p u r i s a n i n d u s t r i a l relations lawyer and QUT law tutor, undertaking a PhD in employee safety in Australian-based supply chains.
He is also a world-class sprinter, dual Paralympian and holds the Australian 100m sprint record for Elite Athletes with a Disability, from the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
- Rachael Wilson
Public health
BREASTFED babies could be misdiagnosed as “failing to thrive”
because their normal weight gain does not comply with growth charts based on bottle-fed babies.
QUT public health researcher Jan Payne said mothers of breastfed babies deemed to not be meeting growth targets might be discouraged from breastfeeding or encouraged to supplement with artifi cial formula.
“It is unnecessary for breastfed babies to be given artifi cial formula in many cases because there is a distinct diff erence in weight gain in the fi rst 24 months between breastfed and bottle-fed babies,” Ms Payne said.
“Babies who are fully breastfed and growing normally can be mistaken as not thriving if their weight over time is compared to current growth charts. This is because their weight for age tends to fall below that for artifi cial formula fed infants after about six months of age.”
Ms Payne said a new WHO (World Health Organisation) chart, based on the growth rate of breastfed infants, depicted the biological pattern of growth of human infants in ideal conditions and should be used as a reference for growth of both breastfed and bottle-fed babies.
“We have to consider whether there is something wrong with the amount or content of formula recommended for infants if they are putting on weight faster than the norm,” she said.
“Another concern is overfeeding babies who are growing normally could predispose them to developing overweight and obesity.”
Ms Payne said growth reference charts from the US and UK gave an inaccurate guide to normal weight gain for breastfed infants as they were based on a mixed population of breast and artifi cially fed babies.
“It is hoped Australia will universally adopt the new global WHO Child G r ow t h S t a n d a rd s, ” s h e s a i d .
“Queensland is waiting for a national decision on which charts to use but at the moment uses the CDC2000 charts developed in the US.
“ T h e W H O C h i l d G r ow t h Standards are based on a longitudinal international study of the growth of infants in good health who were exclusively or predominantly breastfed for at least four months.
“It is based on scientifi c evidence that infants from anywhere in the world have similar growth patterns when their health and nutrition needs are met.”
- Niki Widdowson
Baby charts misleading
Senior drivers
in question
Vision impairment no hindrance
Jan Payne
Equity award
WHEN Juliao Dos Reis takes a sip on his cappuccino at QUT’s Kelvin Grove campus, he closes his eyes against the café din to soak in its smell and fl avour.
Despite plenty of fair trade coff ee coming from Juliao’s home, East Timor, the public health student says his family there would never have the opportunity to enjoy a coff ee like this.
“Every time I have a coff ee here, I really appreciate it,” the Graduate Diploma of Environmental Health student said.
Juliao’s family are never far from his mind and his decision to come to Australia in 2002 after winning a scholarship was bittersweet.
Juliao’s father was a freedom fi ghter who left home when his son was just four years old, and lived in the jungle outside Dili for 13 years.
“My mother was a housewife with a small business, a little store selling groceries such as sugar, rice, biscuits, etc., which gave her enough money to feed us but not to send my brother and sister and I to school,”
Juliao said.
“My sister and brother gave up the idea of going to school but I had something pushing me … I wanted to learn, even if it wasn’t going to take me anywhere I wanted to know how to read and write.”
Juliao’s family lived in the same village as his uncle, a civil servant for the Indonesian
government, and he attended school until he said it became too diffi cult due to the hatred the uncle has against his whole family being pro-independent.
“People knew my dad was in the jungle and I was living in a society where everyone was against what he was fi ghting for, so every day was just about surviving to the next day, not about learning.”
Fearing retaliation and becoming increasingly uncomfortable around his pro- Indonesian uncle, Juliao left his home aged 10 to work for a family in another village
where he was not known as the son of a freedom fi ghter.
When independence was declared in East Timor in 1999, Juliao and his friends were forced to fi nd sanctuary in the jungle where, remarkably, he resumed contact with his father after 11 years apart.
“I had heard rumours he was dead … but there was this guy with long hair down to his hips and he held my hand and said ‘my son’.
I looked at him and I recognised him. It was a moment that changed everything.”
When the unrest that erupted during independence calmed down, Juliao’s family was reunited.
“From that moment, I knew I’d learnt
nothing. I had stopped going to school at 11 and just wanted to go back and work hard to achieve something, now that I had my family and the country had its freedom,” the 24-year-old said.
“My dad doesn’t work now and when I’d ask him why he used to say to me: ‘If there is a war, I’ll take my gun and go to work but my work is done. It was my duty to take the girl back from the enemies, now it’s your duty to dress her up’.
“I couldn’t understand what he really meant. Now I realise he was saying that he
was fi ghting for this country his whole life, and now it’s my duty to go to school and learn how to make the country better.”
Since then, Juliao has been doing his father proud. He went back to school in 2000, getting straight As in 15 subjects and topping his school.
In 2002, he was selected by Education Queensland as one of four East Timorese students to attend Nudgee College as part of a scholarship program.
Despite recognising an “amazing”
opportunity, he found it very hard to leave his family after they’d had just a couple of years together.
Juliao said attending Nudgee College was
initially “a nightmare” as he struggled to learn things in English and tried to adjust to a diff erent culture and food.
However through persistence – including studying for six hours each day after school – Juliao graduated from Nudgee College at age 21 and enrolled in a Bachelor of Public Health at QUT.
He completed that successfully in 2007 and is now immersed in his postgraduate studies in environmental health, as well as working 10 hours a week at the Jade Buddha restaurant and up to 17 hours a week as a
dorm supervisor at Nudgee College.
“Doing public health, I can teach people about the environment they live in and how to care for it … it breaks the cycle.”
Last month, Juliao received the 2008 Health Equity Award from the faculty for demonstrating exceptional application, determination and enterprise in his course.
“I do think about going home when I fi nish but I’m also looking out for other opportunities because, since this is an opportunity of a lifetime I want to make sure I take as much as I can before I leave,”
he said.
- Carmen Myler
I just wanted to go back and work hard to achieve something, now that I had my family and the country had its freedom.
Healthy
determination
From the Timorese jungles to QUT’s lecture
halls, Juliao Dos Reis is on a learning
journey that will help change his
country.
Social research
WHILE seachangers are downsizing their lifestyles, regional councils are upsizing their facilities to attract them to stay.
QUT PhD social researcher Nick Osbaldiston from the Humanities Research Program, said his research, so far, had found that seachangers were being attracted by aesthetic natural values rather than a desire to lower their carbon footprint.
“They want to live next to the beach or in wide open spaces which
they consider more attractive than built-up suburbs,” Mr Osbaldiston, pictured, said.
“But seachangers tend to want the best of both worlds – while they want to live in a place that doesn’t look like a big metropolis they want it to have the lifestyle benefi ts.
“They want to leave traffi c congestion and built-out views behind but fi nd creature comforts, namely cafes, restaurants, art galleries, cinemas and shopping, within their reach.”
Mr Osbaldiston, who’s conducting research in the Clarence Valley Region
of Northern NSW and in South-East Queensland’s Noosa Shire, said seachange councils were responding to the desires of new residents.
“Seachange councils are being clever and are adapting to offer the attractive parts of the city to newcomers,” he said.
“They are becoming more diverse and sophisticated and off er a lifestyle vastly diff erent from the traditional regional community.”
Mr Osbaldiston said the seachange phenomenon had prompted some councils to embrace the potential
of their area and encourage new industries which would feed the seachange lifestyle in years to come.
“They also recognise they must be proactive in managing growth and change to keep their aesthetic value so they are keeping control on when and how development is taking place,” he said. “Some councils, like Noosa, have branded them themselves as lifestyle economies and they are encouraging locals and migrants to retrain for lifestyle services such as alternative health or recreational activities.”
- Niki Widdowson
in BRIEF...
Survey winner
Carrie Robinson has won a
$100 gift voucher for taking part in the QUT orientation survey during March. The survey was conducted through QUT Virtual to gauge student views of their orientation experience.
Engineering scholarships QUT and the Queensland Resources Council are offering two $40,000 engineering scholarships to fi rst-year students starting at QUT this year. The scholarships are open to students who have completed Year 12 or were in a gap year in 2007, with an OP of 5 or better and who are studying full-time a Bachelor of Engineering (electrical, mechanical, civil, civil and construction, or civil and environment). For details visit www.bee.qut.edu.au/study/
scholarships/current/qrc.jsp
Resource targets dementia A new one-stop shop for dementia information, Dementia Education Online, has been launched targeting undergraduate students in health-related courses. QUT, Griffi th University and the University of Wollongong launched the resource through their involvement in the Eastern Australia Dementia Training and Studies Centre (EADTSC). The resource was designed by leading academics who are experts in dementia care and members of the EADTSC. The centre is funded as part of the Australian Government’s Dementia Initiative. The web address is: http://dementia.
uow.edu.au/understandingde mentiacare/.
Innovative collaboration The development by QUT and Toowoomba-based company Agridry of a crop dryer that relies on solar energy has been named a fi nalist in the 2007-08 DuPont Australia and New Zealand Innovation Awards. Known as the Agridry dehumidifi er, the dryer is used to preserve food crops which would otherwise spoil. The collaboration melds Agridry’s industry experience as a manufacturer of crop driers with QUT researcher Kame Khouzam’s engineering skills and experience in solar energy and technology development.
Careers & Employment Expo Prospective students can visit the QUT stand at the Careers and Employment Expo on May 23 and 24. The expo provides an opportunity for students to meet with education and training providers and prospective employers. QUT staff will be on hand to answer questions about courses, career outcomes, support services and scholarships. The expo will be held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, South Bank.
Education
AMERICAN education academics toured QUT’s Caboolture campus and visited two local schools last month in preparation for sending a group of students next year for practical experience.
QUT academic coordinator for education at the Caboolture c a m p u s S u e H u d s o n s a i d the university’s inter national reputation had brought a request from Minnesota State University to give their student teachers an opportunity to experience teaching in an Australian school.
“QUT’s Bachelor of Education has a wonderf ul reputation inter nationally and the nine students who come next year will be taking classes with our own students,” Ms Hudson said.
“They will be fourth-year students who will take part in classes one day a week on the Caboolture campus in Indigenous education, wellness and active citizenship or middle years schooling.
“The students will spend the other four days in the schools as part of their practical experience for their degrees.”
Caboolture
INSPIRED by the brilliant teachers who taught her, Bribie Island education student Tenielle Carmichael has stuck with the subjects she loves and been rewarded for it.
The high-achieving student at QUT’s Caboolture campus has joined the elite ranks of the Faculty of Education Dean’s Scholars for the second year running.
With a grade point average (GPA) of 6.5, she is one of the top-20 students of the QUT Education Faculty,
across all education
courses and all campuses.
Tenielle, 20, pictured, undertook the Bachelor of Education (Primary) course after developing an interest in teaching since high school.
“There were a few teachers at school who have stuck out in my mind, who were great educators.
I would like to be a teacher
who people
remembered,” she said.
“I’m in my element around kids.
I love them.
“When teaching on prac, I love the moment when the lesson ‘clicks’
with the students, the ‘I get it now’
moment. It’s a great feeling.”
Tenielle attributes her success to loving what she’s learning.
“After high school, I started a business degree, but I didn’t enjoy it, so I switched to education,” she said.
“Now I love all my subjects and I think that’s why I do so well. I’m a very dedicated student, always determined to do well on assignments.”
Being a Dean’s Scholar opens pathways to masters and PhD research for Tenielle, who is considering
undertaking further study to teach students with special
needs and disability.
QUT Dean’s Scholars may also be offered employment as research
assistants at QUT and receive invitations to events and seminars.
Caboolture conducts US tour
High achiever loves to learn and teach
Seachangers want the works
Engineering
OFFICE air-conditioning systems face collapse under the pressure of global warming unless steps are taken now to reduce both internal and external heat aff ecting buildings, a QUT engineering researcher says.
Dr Lisa Guan, from the School of Engineering Systems, said her PhD computer modelling study of indoor thermal environment and the cooling load faced by air-conditioners in offi ce buildings showed most units would not cope with global warming.
“If the outdoor temper ature increases by two degrees, the risk of overheating in an air-conditioned offi ce
building will increase signifi cantly,” Dr Guan, pictured right, said.
“The cooling load by air-conditioners will increase by up to 47 per cent in some Australian cities, based on CSIRO projections of potential temperature increase due to climate change.”
She said designing air-conditioning systems to cope with climate change had to take account of heat generated inside buildings as well as heat from the sun.
The number of people in office buildings, lighting and machines all produced a signifi cant amount of heat for air-conditioners to deal with.
“For example, an adult male generates 140 watts of heat, and a
woman 85 per cent of that. Heat generated from lights, computers, printers and copiers all contribute to the internal load,” Dr Guan said.
“Cutting the internal load or heat generated inside the building will become as important as shielding buildings externally from the sun to reduce the future load on air- conditioning.”
Dr Guan said it was time to adapt to the new environment by reducing the internal and external load on existing buildings and build new ones that took account of the increased load on air- conditioners.
“If we do nothing to reduce the internal and external heat load, the
cooling capacity of air-conditioners will need to increase by up to 59 per cent,” she said.
“This will require more energy for the operation of larger capacity air- conditioning units than we have now.
“Obviously, this is not feasible and we need to fi nd ways to reduce both the amount of sun falling on our buildings and the heat generated within buildings.”
D r G u a n’s o n g o i n g re s e a rc h focuses on finding alternative and environmentally friendly design and operation of air-conditioning systems.
- Niki Widdowson
Climate change to heat up air-conditioners
Management
GAINING development approval is a much smoother process in South- East Queensland now that all 21 local government councils have adopted a revolutionary electronic process, a QUT researcher says.
A study by Craig Furneaux from the School of Management, who is a researcher at the CRC for Construction Innovation based at QUT, assessed the benef its to ordinary home-owners, developers and councils of the new ICT-enhanced development application process.
Mr Furneaux, pictured left, found the eGovernment “Planning and Development Online” and “Local Government Toolbox”
projects, had slashed red-tape and increased processing speed for many types of development applications (DA).
He presented his fi ndings at the CRC for Construction Innovation International Conference at QUT in March.
“This was the fi rst time all 21 councils
had worked together to implement a major reform of development application systems and the exciting thing is this could prove a model for future interactions within and between councils in South- East Queensland,” Mr Furneaux said.
“Both projects were funded by the Federal Government’s Regulation Reduction Incentive Fund (RRIF) and have remained a priority for the Rudd government which announced a $30 million rollout nationally of electronic development assessments for local governments.”
He said the two projects had resulted in big benefi ts for both councils and anyone lodging development applications.
“The changes have streamlined processes surrounding development applications in the south east, and made the whole process faster, easier and more convenient.
“The system also increases customers’
access to town planning information online no matter which council jurisdiction they belong to.”
He said there had been a huge reduction
in turnaround times for many types of DAs because the enhanced provision of information online meant that council’s were getting better quality applications, which reduced processing time.
“Council staff are also spending less time answering basic questions about town planning systems. Additionally, the better quality applications result in faster turnaround times for applications, so that staff are freed up for other tasks.”
Mr Furneaux said customers were also able to view and track the progress of DAs online which boosted transparency in the process. The processes were introduced in 2007 with the support of all SEQ mayors after the Council of Australian Governments identifi ed DA assessments as being in need of simplifi cation.
Mr Furneaux’s research was part of a larger research project on harmonising construction industry business processes led by Professor Kerry Brown at QUT’s School of Management.
- Sue Gardiner
Council cooperation slashes red tape
Research capacity
QUT has become a Linked Laboratory w i t h t h e n a t i o n a l Au s t r a l i a n Microscopy and Microanalysis Research Facility (AAMRF).
Q U T ’s A n a l y t i c a l E l e c t r o n Microscopy Facility at Gardens Point campus will join the comprehensive grid of microscopy and microanalysis platforms available to all Australian researchers through the AMMRF network.
QUT Faculty of Built Environment and Eng ineering Assistant Dean (Research) Professor John Bell said QUT was delighted to have access to the wide network of the AMMRF and its advanced research resources.
He said the new Focused Ion Beam (FIB) at QUT could be used on a range of research projects by AMMRF partners in materials science, nanobiotechnolog y and the development of new three- dimensional analytical tools.
“An initial project will involve using the FIB to research ways to improve the effi ciency of carbon nanotube-
polymer solar cells, one of a number of new generation solar cells which may be part of our future energy supply,” Professor Bell, pictured, said.
“The FIB will enable us to isolate a single carbon nanotube in a polymer matrix and pattern electrodes onto that nanotube in order to measure the eff ect on the system’s electrical properties of warping polymers onto nanotubes.”
Professor Bell said, in becoming a Linked Laboratory, QUT was part of Australia’s peak facility for nanometric analysis of the structure and chemistry of materials in both physical and biological systems.
QUT is part of a national research facility with research nodes at eight other universities.
AMMRF was established and f unded by the Commonwealth Government’s National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) under and the state governments of Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia.
- Niki Widdowson
Microsope facility links QUT to nation
QUT Art Museum
A GIFT of 49 artworks by major contemporary Australian artists and Japanese print masters will be on display at the QUT Art Museum from this month.
The prints, drawings and paintings were generously donated by little- known Brisbane art collector William (Monty) Howard, whose children studied at QUT predecessor institutions before its amalgamation in 1990.
Collected throughout the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s, the gift includes Japanese ukiyo-e prints from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and works by contemporary Australian artists such as Charles Blackman, Judy Cassab, Ray Crooke, Lawrence Daws, Lionel Lindsay and Jon Molvig.
QUT senior curatorial advisor Stephen Rainbird said the gift was a great addition to the art museum’s collection.
“All the contempor ar y ar tists represented in the donation have made major contributions to Australian art,”
Mr Rainbird said.
“The gift is important to the museum because it complements existing
works by many of the artists in the collection.”
The William (Monty) Howard Gift will be on display from April 3 to June 1 at the QUT Art Museum, located at Gardens Point campus. For more details, phone 3138 5370 or visit www.
artmuseum.qut.edu.au.
STUDENTS and staff on all QUT campuses celebrated Harmony Day with a variety of activities to recognise the diverse cultures represented at the university.
Part of a national celebration, Harmony Day was designed to give the QUT community an opportunity to celebrate our success as a culturally diverse society and raise awareness about maintaining harmony and mutual respect.
Activities included performances from Indigenous dance group, Djurum, a Chinese lion dance and Indian Bollywood and folk dance and food stalls off ering an array of cuisines and readings from the Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh and Christian faiths.
Sport
WITH less than two seconds between start and finish, Olympic diving hopeful Scott Robertson knows that every moment counts.
That is why the QUT student has taken time off from his uni studies and is training 40 hours a week in the lead up to the selection trials for the Beijing Olympics.
This month Scott, pictured, who is undertaking a Bachelor of Construction Management degree at QUT, will go head-to-head with divers from across the country, all vying for one of four positions on the squad.
Currently placed fi rst in Australia in the men’s 3m synchronised springboard event and second in the men’s 10m platform and 3m springboard, the 20-year-old is hopeful of a spot on the Australia team and optimistic of an Olympic medal.
“I have just come back from the World Cup in Beijing where I got seventh in the 3m synchronised springboard event, then a couple of weeks later I got second at the Chinese Grand Prix.”
Scott competes in the synchronised event with his dive partner Robert Newbury.
“I have been diving with Robert for the past six months. I am looking forward to competing with him in Beijing because he has already won back-to-back bronze medals in that event at the last two Olympics.”
Scott said competing at the Olympic venue had been amazing.
“We were the fi rst competitors to basically use the Olympic venue since its construction and it was great.
If successful in the Australian team selection, Scott will compete in the springboard events only after a wrist injury forced him out of the 10m platform competition.
“My preparation hasn’t been perfect but I have been doing well in these latest competitions so I am confi dent,” he said.
Scott said his signature dive was the reverse twist, a dive which involved starting off forward facing but rotating backwards two-and-a-half times while incorporating a one-and- a-half twist.
“I am quite confi dent about making it into the Australian team and I think I can win a place on the winner’s podium at the Olympics. I think if you believe in it, it is possible.”
At 17 Scott was handpicked by the Australian Institute of Sport and is now based at the institute’s diving capital, the Chandler Aquatic Centre, and his list of diving accolades is extensive.
“I was named in the 2008 Diving Australia National Squad, and for the second time in succession named Male Diver of the Year for 2007- 2008.”
Scott is part of QUT’s elite athlete prog r am which offers flexible university options allowing athletes to pursue their sport and study.
- Sandra Hutchinson
Olympic dream
only a dive away
WHAT’S on...
Events
APRIL 3
The new Wound Healing Outreach Service at QUT will be offi cially launched at 10am at the Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation on Kelvin Grove campus. The event will include a wound care forum and is part of Wounds Awareness Week. for details phone 3138 6109.
APRIL 17-24
QUT fi nal-year acting students will perform The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, a play by Stephen Adly Guirgis. Set in a time-bending, darkly comic world between heaven and hell, the play re-examines the plight and fate of the New Testament’s most infamous and unexplained sinner. The event will be held at Gardens Theatre.
For tickets phone 3138 4455 or email [email protected].
APRIL 23
Students who are planning to study in the United States can attend a pre- departure orientation seminar run by the Education USA Advising Center from the US Consulate General. The seminar will be held at QUT’s Owen J Wordsworth room, Gardens Point campus. Details phone 3138 1217.
Public lecture
APRIL 2
Queensland Chief Magistrate, Judge Marshall Irwin will speak about A Vision for the Future of the Queensland Magistrates Court at the QUT Faculty of Law Free Public Lecture. The lecture kicks-off at 5.30pm for 6pm start. Details phone 3138 5344 or email [email protected].
Seminars
APRIL 3
Join QUT fashion lecturer Kay McMahon on her return from the L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival to discuss the latest design directions.
The free event will run from 5pm-6pm at The Shed 2 (Z3), QUT Creative Industries Precinct, Musk Ave, Kelvin Grove campus. Details phone 3138 5495 or email [email protected].
APRIL 24
Taking research to the real world - QUT bluebox commercialisation workshop for QUT researchers is a workshop for researchers to network with successful entrepreneurs, venture capital investors, patent attorneys and the bluebox team. The free event runs from 8.30am-4.30pm at the Stamford Plaza. Details phone 3138 9420 or email [email protected]
Visit www.whatson.qut.edu.au for more event listings and to submit your upcoming event.
Janne Rayner (Editor) 07 3138 2361 Sandra Hutchinson 07 3138 2130 Sue Gardiner (Thurs/Fri) 07 3138 4494 Carmen Myler (Tues/Wed) 07 3138 4494 Rachael Wilson 07 3138 1150 Niki Widdowson 07 3138 1841 Erika Fish (Photography) 07 3138 5003 Marissa Hills (Advertising) 07 3138 2999 Richard de Waal (Design)
about IQ
Inside QUT is published by QUT’s Marketing and Communication Department. Our readership includes staff, students and members of the QUT community. The paper is also circulated to business, industry, government and media. Opinions expressed in Inside QUT do not necessarily represent those of the university or the editorial team.
Gift from private art collection on show
Harmony Day
Peggy Shu and Megan Wang (above) and Nor Hidayah and Khaiml Azhor (below) enjoy Harmony Day at Kelvin Grove, where the Kh Van Yee Lion Dance Association group performed.
Charles Blackman’s work, Two Girls, was one of 49 artworks gifted to QUT Art Museum.
