allowing them to view all documents referred to during the course of cases.
Ms Stanfield said it would greatly reduce the amount of paper required.
“The recording of transcripts, evidence and documentation will be instantaneous,”
he said. “And both judges and barristers involved in litigation will not only have
“It’s paper on demand rather than paper for paper’s sake,” she said.
Professor Cope said it would also cut the cost and time associated with litigation.
Education gets
‘big brother’
technology
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http://www.corpcomm.qut.edu.au/insidequt 2 George Street Brisbane 4000 Telephone (07) 3864 2111 Registered by Australia Post – Publication No. QBF 4778
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University launches
QUT Carseldine
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Queensland University of Technology Newspaper • Issue ... • Month, 1999 Queensland University of Technology Newspaper • Issue 215 • July 17-Aug 6, 2001
Alumni return to check out their campus
P 6-7
QUT Chancellor Dr Cherrell Hirst officially launched the university’s Reconciliation Statement at a colourful ceremony attended by staff, students and representatives from Queensland’s Indigenous community.
A signed copy of the statement was handed to Indigenous leaders, including Dr Bob Anderson and Dr Colin Dillon, on Wednesday May 30 at a launch held at Old Government House, on the university’s Gardens Point campus.
The ceremony, which was held d u r i n g R e c o n c i l i a t i o n W e e k , included dances by Murri School s t u d e n t s , t h e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f m e s s a g e s t i c k s t o u n i v e r s i t y representatives, and the handprint
“signing” of QUT’s Reconciliation canvas by participants.
QUT’s Reconciliation Statement c o m m i t s t h e u n i v e r s i t y t o sustainable reconciliation between Indigenous (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) and non-Indigenous Australian people and recognises the p a r t i c u l a r r e s p o n s i b i l i t y o f
University formalises its pathways to reconciliation
Watched by children from The Murri School, the Vice-Chancellor Professor Dennis Gibson as well as broadcaster and compere Wayne Coolwell, QUT Chancellor Dr Cherrell Hirst launches the university’s Reconciliation Statement at a special ceremony held at Old Government House.
e d u c a t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s i n r e d r e s s i n g d i s a d v a n t a g e a n d overcoming prejudice.
Dr Dillon – a graduate who has received an QUT honorary doctorate – told the audience he believed a declaration of reconciliation from the national Government was inevitable.
Dr Dillon is chair of QUT’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Committee and ATSIC regional councillor for South-East Queensland.
“Make no mistake, reconciliation is a po¡werful movement, one which is changing forever the way this nation thinks about itself, and its relations with the original inhabitants of this country – a movement that the national Government continues to lag behind and remains obstinately out of touch with.”
Dr Dillon commended QUT for adopting a formal Reconciliation Statement and program of action during Reconciliation Week, and said the initiative was part of the process of
“institutional reconciliation”.
To Page 9
E-moot court a first in southern hemisphere
by Toni Chambers
QUT is leading the way in the legal profession with the establishment of the first specially designed electronic court in the southern hemisphere.
The <e.law> QUT Moot Court was officially opened by State Attorney-General Rod Welford, watched on by Chief Justice Paul de Jersey, the Honorable Tom Shepherdson, QC, and the Dean of QUT’s Faculty of Law, Professor Malcolm Cope on Wednesday, July 4.
Allison Stanfield – a QUT graduate working at <e.law> Australia, the company which helped to design the court – said that, while the technology had already been used for large cases in the Federal Court and the Supreme Court in New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia, there were no specially designed e-courtrooms in the country.
“The technology is installed in old courtrooms, there are cables everywhere and there’s no way for the technology to become part of the courtroom,” Ms Stanfield said.
“This facility will be a showcase, a place where lawyers from around the country can go to receive training in the use of the technology.”
Judges, juries, lawyers and the public have access to computer screens,
immediate access to case material, but they’ll also be able to access statutes and cases during the course of the proceedings.”
Professor Cope said the technology would be in wide use in all courts within the next five to 10 years, forcing a re- assessment of funding arrangements for infrastructure in public courts.
The dean said students would enter the profession armed with experience in using the most up-to- date courtroom technology.
State Attorney-General Rod Welford said there was no question that technology was fast-becoming an important part of the legal process and could help improve access to justice for many people in the community.
“The courtroom of the future will rely heavily upon electronic r e s e a r c h , c o m m u n i c a t i o n a n d m u l t i - m e d i a t e c h n o l o g y , ” M r Welford said.
“It’s essential our young legal professionals are trained in this technology if they’re going to operate effectively in the legal arena of the 21st Century.”
The only other e-courts in the world are located in the United States and in Singapore.
The new moot court monitor shows action throughout the high-technology courtroom with, clockwise from top left, the 'full bench', the 'accused', 'defence counsel' and the 'prosecutor' all framed within the one screen.
From the Vice-Chancellor
From the Inside by David Hawke
QUT has invited comment from the public, staff and students on designs for a new face to the South-East Freeway for the Gardens Point (city) campus.
The campus is at the southern gateway to Brisbane’s CBD, influencing visitors’ first impressions of the city from the freeway.
The south-east aspect of the campus, comprising buildings from the late 60s/early 70s – L, P, Y & I Blocks – is to be redeveloped in stages over the next several years.
QUT Vice-Chancellor Professor D e n n i s G i b s o n o p e n e d a n exhibition of concept plans for the site on July 11 which were entries in a commercial design competition run by the university.
Professor Gibson said the prominence of the site demanded the best design solution from a public perspective, as well as functionality for the university.
“This is a landmark project for Brisbane, adjacent to the Botanic Gardens’ River Stage, Old Government House and the city access to the new pedestrian bridge to South Bank,” Professor Gibson said.
“At a functional level, the Information Technology Faculty is overflowing on campus; specialist space is required to teach engineering and to accommodate our growing research activities; and our student services like the refectory are in dire need of upgrading.
“The project, to be staged over a number of years, will solve these
Designs foretell revamp for city gateway
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT:
•˜The south-east precinct (defined by the shaded buildings) at QUT’s Gardens Point campus.
• Peddle Thorp/Donovan Hill’s design has a building facing Old Government House.
• Hassell Pty Ltd’s design features a treed walkway from the campus to the pedestrian bridge.
• Powell Dods & Thorpe/Denton Corker Marshall’s design would give QUT a futuristic outlook.
Efforts rewarded with record intake
problems with facilities for modern teaching, high-technology research and a community focus.”
Professor Gibson said that, over the past decade, a great deal of attention had been paid to QUT’s facade to South Bank and its relationship with the City Botanic Gardens.
“The campus is now a more attractive environment for students, staff and visitors, and it includes a public art museum and theatre,”
Professor Gibson said.
“ T h e p e d e s t r i a n b r i d g e w i l l bring many more visitors through our campus.”
From more than 50 consultants who lodged expressions of interest, QUT selected three design teams to submit broad concepts for the project – Hassell, PeddleThorp/Donovan Hill, and Powell Dods & Thorpe/Denton Corker Marshall.
“The design competiton has generated a great deal of energy and enthusiasm,” Professor Gibson said.
“Ideas for the project and concept plans will be on display for public comment from July 11 to 22 in the QUT Art Museum.”
Professor Gibson said that, subject to financial approval, one design team would be engaged to follow through with its ideas to design Stage 1 of the three-stage project.
The QUT Art Museum is open Tuesdays to Fridays, 10am to 4pm, and weekends between Noon and 4pm. Comment forms are available at the venue.
by Toni Chambers
Picture this … you’re sitting at a café sipping coffee at Kelvin Grove’s new Urban Village and you strike up a conversation with the person at the next table, but it’s not immediately apparent why that person is there.
This is the future, according to the director of Creative Industries Advancement, Professor Peter Lavery.
“Is this person establishing a start-up company, taking a short course, involved in a research and development project,
New faculty targets tomorrow’s technology trendsetters
or are they a software supplier?” the professor asks.
“The type of person I am talking about is, probably still in their 20s.
“Our thinking in the past 18 months has been about these creative and innovative people. That’s where the industry is, where the students and the projects are and where the lifestyle is.”
“We are targeting young people, or people who think young.”
The “industry” he is talking about is the production of creative content for the new economy – the creative industries.
To take advantage of the information revolution which has seen the convergence of broadcasting, telecommunications and computer communications, QUT has established a Creative Industries Faculty.
It came into being on July 1 with all new courses to be offered for the first time in Semester One next year.
Professor Lavery is quick to point out that it’s not just a reshaped Arts Faculty.
“At first glance it reconfigures the activities of that faculty in ways that make much more sense,” he says.
“It pulls together two elements of the former Academy of the Arts and Media and Journalism and gives them a creative industries focus, while Humanities and Human Services are based at Carseldine, allowing them to pursue their priorities and imperatives.”
But the shift in philosophy is more fundamental, with a new emphasis on flexibility, responsiveness to change and partnerships. The school-based system has been replaced with 10 or 11 discipline staff teams – and even this is flexible – offering a new range of undergraduate programs.
“A major change is that there’s an entirely new set of core units within which all students will learn about the creative industries – they will all get hands-on experience with new media and new technologies,” Professor Lavery says. “Students will have the chance to do units from other faculties, like Business, if they are interested in starting up a new company or Law to help them get into new media copyright issues.”
All elements of the project will come together in just over two years with the construction of the Creative Industries Precinct in the Kelvin Grove Urban Village.
According to data from the Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre, QUT continues to be the most popular choice for mid-year university applicants in the State.
Indeed, this is our biggest mid-year intake ever and, while mid-year applications to all institutions were up by about 10 per cent on last year, the number of first preference applicants to QUT rose by 28 per cent – or one third of all such applications in the State.
This follows QUT’s number one position for first preferences for February entry this year.
Clearly mid-year entry is one area we are responding well to student need and there are several reasons for that.
Only about 40 per cent of our incoming students come directly from school and so many of our domestic undergraduate students have no preference between mid- year and start-of-year entry.
Indeed, for many students graduating mid-year means they enter the job market mid-year when the field is not flooded with other graduates looking for work.
It is difficult to restructure courses to accommodate several entry points, but those faculties that have changed are seeing significant increases in demand.
Our postgraduate students mainly study on a part-time basis while they work so more flexibility in entry is important for them.
Our international students are mainly from countries that complete the academic year in June, so they are looking for mid-year entry which has been traditionally provided by US and UK universities. In fact, our February intake is not suitable for many of these students.
I'm certain the trend will continue.
Professor Dennis Gibson Vice-Chancellor
Japanese doctors visit
A delegation of private psychiatrists from Aino Hospital in Osaka recently visited QUT’s School of Nursing as part of an educational study tour.
Their tour focused on geriatric psychiatry and provided the 11 visiting Japanese doctors with the opportunity to see how mental health is managed in Australia.
QUT’s School of Nursing principal education consultant Robert Thornton said the study tour provided information to the group on aged care and was a wonderful opportunity to exchange ideas between Japan and Australia.
– Lily Cheung by Margaret Lawson
Student teachers at QUT are about to become the first in Australia to experience the reality of the schoolroom without leaving their lecture theatres.
A new “virtual workplace” project that was launched earlier this month will give education students a live window on real classrooms using the latest videoconferencing technology.
The project will involve cameras and microphones being installed in six schools around the State, with live links being provided during classroom management lectures so education students can watch and learn from real classes in action.
Virtual workplace director Dr Roy Lundin said a camera and microphone would also be installed at the university’s large lecture theatres so students could ask questions and interact with the remote classes.
He said the project had the full support of schools, parents and Education Queensland, and would open up “a new realm of possibilities” in teacher education.
“The ‘virtual workplace’ will be used before and while our students go out on
‘Big Brother’ technology helps educate teachers
their practical placements and will be a supplement to that real-world experience,” Dr Lundin said.
“It will offer all students a previously unavailable window into rural and remote schools and the opportunity to gain knowledge about students with special needs, as well as a shared experience that we can use for tutorial discussions.”
Dr Lundin said the project would use digital technology that had typically been the domain of the business world – 384 kilobit per second video, which has a resolution almost as clear as television – and, for the first time in Australia, apply it to education.
“As well as videoconferencing with QUT, participating schools can use the technology – which was provided by a
$150,000 QUT Teaching and Learning Grant – to communicate and share experiences with each other,” Dr Lundin said.
Schools participating in the project, he said, were Aspley State High School, Eatons Hill Primary School, Kelvin Grove Pre School, Kelvin Grove Primary School, Kelvin Grove State High School and Muttaburra State School.
He said schools participating in the activity had received parental permission for all children likely to be filmed, and
strict guidelines would govern the use of the technology and how any recorded footage could be viewed.
Dr Lundin said the exercise was the beginning of a long-term project to extend QUT’s partnerships with schools.
QUT Faculty of Education student and staff member Carmen Myler, left, tries out the new technology with colleague Tara Hinxman by communicating with teachers at Eatons Hill Primary School.
by Toni Chambers
It’s whisper quiet, environmentally friendly and could cut the cost of running a car by half.
It’s the new electric car developed by students and staff in QUT’s Faculty of Built Environment and Engineering (the schools of Electrical and Electronic Systems Engineering and Manufacturing, Mechanical and Medical Engineering).
The car is powered by an advanced AC motor and 12 batteries which will push it to speeds of greater than 110km/h. It requires no petrol nor oil and produces no sound, smell nor pollution.
State Transport Minister Steve Bredhauer and QUT Vice-Chancellor Professor Dennis Gibson launched the Electron car recently, taking it for a test-drive along Main Drive at the Gardens Point campus.
Mr Bredhauer said the Electron was far quieter than the 4WD he had used on his travels around remote communities in Cape York Peninsula.
“However, the Electron wasn’t designed with the bush in mind. The students were looking to a future where families would use an electric car as a second family car for short trips,”
the Minister said. “Their efforts in responding to the challenge to create an ecologically-sustainable society are commendable.”
Project leader Dr Kame Khouzam said the need for alternative energy for the transport sector would increase as petrol prices spiralled.
“The price of petrol will continue to go up to compensate for the dwindling supplies of oil,” he said.
“If we continue with current oil usage patterns, Australia’s supply of oil will only last until 2010, but coal supplies will last until 2340.
QUT’s new electric car proves a big energy saver
“With this in mind, we need to conserve oil for essential uses only such as running aircraft.”
Dr Khouzam said the financial savings to consumers were substantial.
An electric car could save a driver who travelled 20,000 km a year around $1,800 in fuel costs and a further $300 in maintenance costs, he explained.
The car also had an energy efficiency rate of 60 per cent, he said, compared to a 19 per cent efficiency rate for a petrol-driven car.
Overall, the cost of running the electric car was 6.5c/
km, compared to 12c/km for a conventional car.
Dr Khouzam said that, if all two-car families replaced one vehicle with an electric car, the savings to the environment would also be substantial.
“The widespread application of this technology would reduce sulphur, nitrogen, hydrocarbon and carbon dioxide emissions by more than 50 per cent, thus improving the quality of air in our cities,” Dr Khouzam said.
While larger manufacturers had already developed electric cars, he said, they were not affordable for the average consumer.
“This car costs less than $30,000 to produce, which proves the use of alternative energy sources can be affordable.”
The student group was led by Andrew MacAulay a n d D r V l a d i s K o s s e f r o m t h e S c h o o l o f Manufacturing, Mechanical and Medical Engineering.
Dr Keith Hoffman from the School of Electrical and Electronic Systems Engineering was also involved in the project.
Queensland Transport Minister Steve Bredhauer tries out the new, whisper quiet QUT electric car.
Cafe
Chantahn ad
******
PRINTER TO STRIP IN FILM FROM
PREVIOUS EDITION
by Margaret Lawson
When human services student Joe Miller took on his first foster child back in 1996, he described it as a somewhat accidental situation.
He had no idea at the time that for he and his wife Roslyn, it would become a vocation.
“My son came home one day feeling sorry for this kid from school who was having trouble with his foster parents,”
Mr Miller recalled.
“Our son asked us if we could foster his friend and we said ‘no’. After thinking about it, we joined up to become foster parents.”
The next thing his home was bursting at the seams with his family and the fostered boy, his two brothers and sister.
T h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n A u s t r a l i a n a r t i s t s a n d t h e landscape is the subject of a National Gallery of Australia travelling exhibition, which will premiere at the QUT Art Museum this month.
Landscapes in Sets and Series:
Australian Prints 1960s-1990s will be on display from July 20 to September 16.
The National Gallery of Australia’s Senior Assistant Curator of Australian Art, Anne McDonald, said the e x h i b i t i o n d e m o n s t r a t e d Australian artists’ continued interest in representing the l a n d s c a p e a n d t h e contributions that different
System short of special families – foster father
“It’s just gone on from there,” Mr Miller said.
Some 14 foster children later, the Millers have recently received western Queensland’s “Foster Care Excellence Award” for their outstanding care and support of needy children.
Despite this, and the fact that some children have been with his family for four years, Mr Miller said he still felt like he could be doing more.
“After dealing with some of the issues, I have identified a lot of problems with the system and that made up my mind to come to university,” Mr Miller said.
“I’m majoring in children and families and hopefully later I might be able to get a job within the department to think about changing some things I think are not right.”
Mr Miller said a lack of support for fostered children was a big problem and he would like to see a network set up to help them get basic skills training and jobs.
“Once they end up in the system, it’s very hard to get out again and I would like to help with that,” he said.
Mr Miller attributes his work as a s u c c e s s f u l f o s t e r p a r e n t t o t h e
“exceptional” efforts of his wife and h i s u p b r i n g i n g b y p a r e n t s w h o themselves went out of their way to help others.
“It can be a very drawn out, slow process building up (the children’s) confidence, self-esteem and self-respect,”
Mr Miller said.
“You have to have a lot of patience.
But the reward is the friendship and
care you give out and, in our case, it’s been given back tenfold.
“We have three children now who have gone out of care, and they’re back at Christmas, our wedding anniversary, and they ring up every week to see how we are … that makes it all worthwhile.”
Mr Miller said there was a shortage of carers in the system – particularly for Aboriginal children – and he would like to talk to anyone interested in becoming a foster parent.
He can be contacted through the Oodgeroo Unit at Carseldine on (07) 3864 4874.
RIGHT: Award-winning foster dad Joe Miller ... recent experiences spurred him on to study at QUT.
Business
cultures meet
Companies in Australia are more hierarchical in structure than in Scandinavia, and the power distance between the manager and subordinates are high in Australia while low in Scandinavia.
These were the main cultural differences between Australia and Scandinavia, according to Stein Haugan from Norsk Hydro and Ole Thomas Joergensen from Wallenius Wilhelmsen.
The two Scandinavian businessmen were guest speakers at a recent Scandinavian Network Association’s business seminar, held at Gardens Point.
The seminar – Business Culture in Australia versus Scandinavia – was SNA’s first engagement, attracting more than 100 people.
One participant, Information Technology student Eirik Haaland, said the speakers gave an interesting insight on the cultural differences between Australia and Scandinavia.
“As an international student, it is inspiring to meet and talk to people from home who work in Australia and who have knowledge about how it is in the
‘real world’,” Mr Haaland said.
SNA was founded in October 2000 by Scandinavian students at QUT and has about 75 members.
Its main objectives and aims are to promote Scandinavian students at QUT for future employers, create and promote a network between students in Brisbane and companies, establish an alumni and arrange presentations, job interviews and happenings at QUT for Scandinavian students with companies and the local Scandinavian community.
– Veslemoey Sandvik, visiting international journalism student
Exhibition explores relationships between artists and the landscape
printmakers have made to our thinking about landscapes.
“Landscape has been the p r i m e s u b j e c t m a t t e r f o r Australian artists, whether indigenous or those who have come to Australia since 1788,”
Ms McDonald said.
“ B o t h i n A u s t r a l i a a n d o v e r s e a s , t h e p o p u l a r c o n c e p t i o n o f A u s t r a l i a n landscape has been formed by paintings and prints of artists like John Glover, Eugene von Guerard, Arthur Streeton, Tom Roberts, Sidney Nolan, John Olsen and Fred Williams.
“This exhibition, however, focuses on prints produced by Australian artists from the 1960s,
when Australian printmaking came to maturity and artists extended the possibilities of the medium by producing sets and series of prints,” she said.
“And it is only in recent years that the importance of Aboriginal depictions of the landscape has been acknowledged and their images have become part of the popular imagination,” Ms McDonald said.
Ms McDonald will present a floor talk in the exhibition on Friday July 20 at 12.15pm.
The QUT Art Museum is open from 10am to 4pm Tuesday to Friday and Noon to 4pm on Saturday and Sunday.
– Celestine Doyle QUT Cultural Precinct Early results of a new study of
Australian businesses have revealed that one third of the nation’s small businesses – those with one to nine employees – are struggling under the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
Conducted by QUT researchers, the Australian National Organisation Survey (AusNOS) is the first nationwide survey asking Australian businesses and non-profit organisations about the effects of the GST.
It has shown that the smaller the business the more damaging the effects of the GST.
No election GST solace for Government – research
Only 13 per cent of Australia’s largest organizations – those with more than 500 employees – reported that the tax has impacted negatively on their business.
Chief investigator Professor Sandra Harding said there was a warning in the figures for the Federal Government.
“Despite changes made to the Business Activity Statement, smaller organisations are reporting problems with the new tax due to the high cost of compliance,” she said.
“The Government must focus on the discontent among the very smallest of
businesses so as to secure votes from these traditional supporters in the lead- up to the election.
“If they don’t, they could very well send crucial votes to the Opposition.”
Professor Harding said one third of non-profit organisations were also feeling the negative effects of the new tax, with 37 per cent of the small non-profit organisations the hardest hit.
Non-profits (32 per cent) are also finding it more difficult than private organisations (26 per cent) to cope with the GST.
“While the results aren’t surprising, we haven’t really known directly how big the problem is – right now we can put some numbers around it,” she said.
Professor Harding said an interesting finding was that for two-thirds of Australian organisations, the GST was making no difference, negative or positive, on their plans for growth.
“This GST is running dead for the Government which would have originally been expecting a boost from the tax based on the expected benefits for the economy in general,” she said.
– Toni Chambers
Award-winning graduate Adam Ladhams has put mapping on the web with the launch of the MSIA Academics Online.
An initiative of the Mapping Sciences Institute Australia (MSIA), Map-Sci houses articles, subscriber profiles, industry-related links, an online discussion board, newsletters and information on research and projects being conducted in the field Australia-wide.
Graduate builds online academic mapping resource
Mr Ladhams, who was Young Surveyor of the Year in 2000, said the site would provide students, academics and professionals in the mapping sciences a forum for discussion for their research.
“This is a first for the spatial information industry,” he said.
The site has been designed to serve academics, students and mapping science professionals and offers a unique forum
for discussion on industry-related topics.
Its discussion group aims specifically to promote the mapping sciences in the higher education sector.
“Those standing to benefit most from this initiative are research and postgraduate students looking to promote their studies,” Mr Ladhams said.
“Eventually the site will be a repository for research, discussion
papers, industry reports, media releases and other documents relating to mapping sciences.”
Map-Sci was officially launched by MSIA National President and QUT lecturer Dr Sue Buzer, with a n a d d r e s s b y t h e M i n i s t e r f o r N a t u r a l R e s o u r c e s a n d M i n e s Stephen Robertson.
– Leanne Bensley
The meaning and interpretation of competence in the workplace have been examined in a new international book edited by a QUT School of Professional Studies senior lecturer.
Dr Christine Velde’s book, International Perspectives on Competence in the Workplace: Research, Policy and Practice, provides readers with perspectives about competence in different situations and contexts.
The book, published by Kluwer Academic Publishers, focuses on industry and vocational education, s c h o o l s a n d c o l l e g e s , s m a l l b u s i n e s s e s a n d c o m p a n i e s , a n d health and global contexts.
New book explores workplace competence
B r a c e y o u r s e l f f o r a w e e k - l o n g e x t r a v a g a n z a o f m u s i c a l indulgence in late July, when QUT music students present Stuff as part of the Queensland Biennial Festival of Music.
QUT musicians will break away from tradition and take their talents and imaginations to the limit in this fresh, contemporary season.
Biennial musical extravaganza exposes a wealth of ‘hot’ stuff
With a mixed bag of electronic, jazz, pop, classical, swing, dance and rave creations on offer, Stuff offers musicians, composers and audiences a melting pot of style and sound.
Big stuff will see QUT Wind S y m p h o n y s t r i k i n g o u t i n n e w directions, weird stuff will see a fusion of music and technology, body stuff will see original songs from the
cream of the next generation’s music charts, hot stuff will feature an assortment of bands too hot to handle, while cool stuff will have NoOsphere supporting United States group The Core Ensemble.
The season runs from July 19 to 28 at The Gardens Theatre, QUT Cultural Precinct (George Street) with daily and evening performances.
Prices vary for different programs, so check the Q u e e n s l a n d B i e n n i a l F e s t i v a l o f M u s i c website at www.qbfm.com.au for more full details or call QTIX on 13 62 46.
In addition to this program, the QUT Choir will be performing in St Mary’s Church, 20 Merivale Street, South Brisbane, on July 27 to 29.
Lily Chang literally has the world at her feet as she prepares to graduate with a Master of Fine Arts (voice) from QUT later this year.
With a strong, rich voice that suits operatic works, Ms Chang – pictured at right – made her farewell performance as a student recently at Customs House in the city.
Now she is pondering some key decisions as she awaits her graduation ceremony.
The talented vocalist from Shandong Province, south-east of Beijing, has spent the past two-and-a- half years in Brisbane polishing her rich, round, well-modulated voice, at the same time wowing many who have heard her perform works with a voice that ranges over more than three octaves.
What many would not know is that the outgoing, friendly postgraduate student was already an associate professor in voice and piano at Yentai Art College in China, where her husband, Li Yi – a talented baritone singer – remains dean of the Department of Music.
She had already completed advanced studies at the Chinese Academy of the Arts in Beijing
International MBA a first for nation
QUT’s Brisbane Graduate School of Business has formed an alliance with China’s Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the ESC-Grenoble University in France to offer a unique international MBA program.
BGSB Head of School Professor Evan Douglas said the 15-month program would provide the best that each of these leading business schools had to offer.
“The International MBA offers the best management and leadership skills for today’s global business environment,”
Professor Douglas said.
Students will have a semester’s study in each country, with the first round of Australian students beginning their QUT component in July.
Professor Douglas said the course had been designed with a planned sequence of core and elective units that satisfied the requirements for graduation from their home universities.
He said that the program was the first of its kind in Australia and demonstrated the BGSB’s commitment to providing up-to-date management education.
Students will undertake two, 12-credit- point units at the outset of the course on doing business with China and doing business in Europe. The school is also encouraging students to undertake some introductory language tutorials.
The tri-nation consortium will begin its program with two to five students from each country, with the program expected to grow in future years to incorporate 10 to 15 students from each country.
– Leanne Bensley A team of four QUT Master of
Information Technology students has been making a valuable contribution to the organisation of travel for a section of the Queensland Government.
The School of Information Systems students – working under the supervision of senior lecturers Glenn Stewart and Dr Michael Rosemann – have been contributing to the streamlining of travel arrangements for thousands of public servants utilising the enterprise application SAP R/3 that is probably better known for its financial management modules.
Their work has been for the Corporate Services Agency (CSA) which organises travel for the departments of Natural Resources and Mines, and Primary Industries.
Corporate information systems’ general manager Craig Vayo said the students had developed useful solutions for CSA.
“We’re pleased to see students have had real-life consulting experience with our departments,” Mr Vayo said.
“Already we’ve had savings through business process improvements and there’s more in the pipeline. The students have really challenged the way we do business and use SAP R/3.”
A working prototype of their new system is due to be running in October.
Mr Stewart said the project was just one of several being conducted by students in the same course with a range of private and public sector organisations.
IT students streamline travel management for State agency
School of Information Systems’ senior lecturers Dr Michael Rosemann and Glenn Stewart preview the travel management system being developed by the four Master of IT students for the State Government.
by Margaret Lawson
NASA has chosen QUT to manage the installation of the space agency’s first sponsored, remote-controlled educational telescope in Australia.
The telescope, to be built at a site in Nanango Shire north-west of Brisbane, will provide students from Queensland and around the world with their own window to the stars when it is launched later this year.
It will form part of a network with sites in the United States and Chile, allowing international collaboration between school groups and advanced learning for QUT’s astrophysics and engineering students.
NASA-sponsored Telescopes In Education Foundation director Gilbert Clark said students would control the
University to manage NASA’s first remote educational telescope in Australia
telescope remotely via an internet connection and then could exchange the data with their counterparts overseas.
“The potential for students is limited only by the imagination of those involved,”
Mr Clark said. “We have already had two variable stars discovered by students [in the United States], so anything is possible. The Telescopes In Education program enables students to increase their knowledge of astronomy and astrophysics and to strengthen their critical thinking skills.”
QUT lecturer in electrical and electronic systems engineering Dr Duncan Campbell said the telescope would be installed by a team of staff from his school on land made available by local astronomy enthusiast Jim Barclay.
Dr Campbell said the team had been developing new technologies to help the telescope function effectively,
some of which, potentially, had commercial spin-offs.
“To ensure 100 per cent power supply to the site, one of our team has developed a unique solar power system so the telescope can go several days without power and disconnect and reconnect itself to the State grid as required,” Dr Campbell said.
“There will also be an automated computer system to analyse the w e a t h e r a n d to c o n t r o l t h e telescope’s positioning and to open or close the roof.”
Dr Campbell said students from QUT’s Faculty of Science would have the opportunity to use the telescope, and students in Built Environment and Engineering would work on the technology systems during their studies.
He said that use of the telescope would also be built into the “new basics” science curriculum, with Education Queensland providing f u n d i n g t o f a c i l i t a t e a c c e s s f o r participating schools.
“This project is really a unique partnership between a number of dedicated and enthusiastic groups, and it will have a whole range of benefits for all Australians,” Dr Campbell said.
“The facility will have provision for additional telescopes. There is an opportunity for sponsors to provide extra telescopes to further enhance accessibility to students,” he said.
“We are also hoping to get some funding to provide for long-term technical support and maintenance of the facility.”
Talented vocalist delivers stunning swansong
before coming to Brisbane to further her musical education.
To complete her latest degree, though, Ms Chang has had to spend large amounts of time apart not only from her husband but also her nine-year-old daughter Duo, who is continuing her schooling in their seaside hometown of Yantai.
Yet Ms Chang has made many friends and won plenty of admirers in Australia as she mastered works meant for both soprano and mezzosoprano voices.
So impressed have her audiences been that she has been asked to audition for a contract with Opera Queensland, an opportunity she would dearly like to pursue.
“I really would like to return to China, but I have also a lot of friends now in Australia,” Ms Chang said during rehearsals this week. “So this decision could be very difficult for me.”
She said her ultimate aim was to be part of
“building a bridge of culture and the arts between Australia and China”.
– Trina McLellan
The QUT Student Guild’s Gardens Point Creche has reached full capacity for the first time since opening in March of last year.
Newly appointed director Susan Jerome said that, with 30 children in their care, her staff described their role as a partnership process – “we’re learning alongside the kids”.
Along with the Gardens Point Creche’s two group leaders, Ms Jerome studied Early Childhood at QUT’s Kelvin Grove Campus, and has helped to establish the unique culture of the child-led teaching program for mixed ages.
Creche popular
Happy faces abound as alumni return to v
More AlumniFest action on-line at www.corpcomm.qut.edu.au/insidequt
visit their alma mater
Memories and laughter shared
CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP RIGHT:
• Queensland Teachers’ Training College graduates Vivienne Reddy, Audrey Ponton and Pam Gasteen exchange experiences from their days at the Kelvin Grove campus.
• The Leave My Genes Alone forum which featured current science PhD student Len Pattenden, humanities lecturer Dr Astrid Gesche and senior science lecturer Dr Grahame Kelly was moderated by ABC science
commentator Bernie Hobbs (science).
• Recent graduate and Young
Queenslander of the Year 2000 James Moody (engineering/IT) talks to an enthusiastic audience about Australia’s re-entry into the space race.
Bernie fires up GM debate
The “biotechnology equivalent of the industrial revolution” – genetic modification – was the subject of a lively public debate at QUT as part of the AlumniFest celebrations.
Its audience heard the opinions of life sciences senior lecturer Dr Grahame Kelly, humanities bioethicist Dr Astrid Gesche, science PhD student Len Pattenden and ABC science personality Bernie Hobbs as the group tackled a range of contentious GM issues.
Mr Pattenden – who is conducting research involving the structure of proteins (the molecules through which genes function) – said that with genetic modification scientists were doing
“essentially the same thing that’s been happening since the dawn of time …[it’s] just more precise”.
He argued that eating foods containing modified genes did not inherently put people at risk.
QUT plant biochemist Dr Grahame Kelly said the public had been misled by the outcry over GM safety which he said was overshadowing important issues such as biodiversity, soil loss and environmental sustainability.
“The argument is so blatantly unbalanced so as to be unrealistic,” Dr Kelly said. “These issues [of genetic modification and food safety] are very small compared to other issues that we are not paying attention to.”
Bioethicist Dr Astrid Gesche suggested genetically modified foods should be subjected to lengthy trials before they were released onto the market.
“This would demonstrate to the world that genetic modification does not have to be confrontational,” Dr Gesche said. “Openness, transparency and a cautious approach are the keys to success.”
– Margaret Lawson Drawing past graduates and staff back onto
campus can be a real challenge, but the payoffs are diverse and sometimes great fun.
Just ask more than 2,000 alumni who attended the Queensland University of Technology’s packed program of AlumniFest celebrations spread over nine days between June 16 and 24.
Public lectures, reunions, tours of current facilities, exhibitions of student works as well as a variety of sporting events, arts and cultural entertainment, information sessions and a whole lot of reminiscing drew back people who had studied at the university or one of its predecessor institutions as far back as the 1930s.
Some visitors had studied at QUT as well as several of its predecessor institutions, including the Queensland Institute of Technology, the Central Technical College and the Brisbane College of Advanced Education.
With the majority of the events clustered over the weekend of June 23 and 24 at its Kelvin Grove and Gardens Point (city) campuses, the celebrations climaxed with a hilarious celebrity debate centred around the topic of “If I put into practice half of what I learnt at uni I’d be a danger to society”.
Perth radio stars Zara Grose and Troy Swindells (both former arts students), poet and TV presenter Rupert McCall (a law graduate from QUT), emerging writer Paul Bodington (a current student), State politician Liddy Clark as well as author and QIT graduate Mary-Rose MacColl all strutted their stuff.
QUT Vice-Chancellor Professor Dennis Gibson said it was improtant that alumni start to feel a sense of ownership of the university.
“A university is only as good as its graduates. These people are powerful advocates in the community, so it is important to them feel they belong,” he said.
• Graduates from different institutions explore the Kelvin Grove campus.
• Nine Network sports commentator Chris Bombolas (journalism) chaired the Life After Sport forum which involved swimmer Julie McDonald, netballer Vicki Wilson (education) and QUT Centre for Rugby Studies’
Damian Hearne (education/business).
• Crowds on the Kidney Lawn were entertained by The QUT Big Band.
• The QUT Big Band (arts) in action.
• The Gardens Theatre hosted the celebrity debate, the final event.
• Graduate Zara Grose (arts) in full swing for the affirmative – or should that be alternative – team.
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Bike-riding QUT students and staff who travel to Gardens Point campus have a secure new option for parking their bicycles.
For a once-only fee of $5, cyclists can park their bicycles in an electronically locked under-cover compound and access the facility with a programmed “swipe” card.
Gardens Point campus parking administration officer Veronica O’Sullivan said the first compound – which is adjacent to Q Block – was opened in the first week of June and demand had been brisk considering there had been no advertising of the new facility.
Ms O’Sullivan said a second, larger compound located next to the “wall” at L Block should open at the end of July.
She said demand for the use of the secure compounds was expected to be high.
“For $5 to provide security for your bicycle – some very expensive, many
Security boost for cycle commuters at city campus
worth hundreds of dollars each – why wouldn’t you?” Ms O’Sullivan said.
“A number of bicycles get stolen on campus each year.”
Ms O’Sullivan said up to 150 bicycles would be catered for in the two compounds, with nearly 50 spots available in the Q Block compound and double that number near L Block.
Ultimately, she said, security of bicycles in the compound was dependent on card users.
“Theft is still possible, but only if users let the thief into the compound when entering themselves, or don’t secure the door after they leave,” Ms O’Sullivan said.
“Also, with electronic access, there is a record kept by the system which provides information as to which door was accessed, by whom and when.”
– Noel Gentner by Toni Chambers
A new book is set to guide health professionals and policy-makers on how they can improve the lives of people with leukaemia.
Director of research for QUT’s new Centre for Palliative Care Research and Education Dr Pam McGrath said her new book, Living with Leukaemia, aimed to reassure cancer sufferers and their families they were not alone in their journey with the illness.
While sections of the book translate highly technical clinical information into lay language, she said, this was the first non-clinical book available with a focus on emotional and social issues.
“I wanted something people could take home with them so that, in their spare moment, they can actually have a personal, quiet, private read and still have the sense that we’re not alone in this journey,” she said. It helps them to know that there are other people out there going through similar sorts of experiences.
“What I’m trying to do also is make the clinical information accessible in lay terms.
Primarily, however, this is a book about supporting people in their journey and we don’t have enough of that literature around.”
Cancer book helps those living with leukaemia
A comprehensive new website promoting vehicle fleet safety has been launched by QUT’s Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety (CARRS-Q) to help tackle a problem estimated to cost Australian fleet owners around
$1billion a year.
The online information is targeted at managers in the public, private and non- profit sectors who need to improve vehicle fleet safety.
CARRS-Q experts have identified fleet and logistics safety as a growing safety and management issue with recent research showing that:
• damage-only crashes are estimated to cost Australian fleets $1billion per year in repair costs alone, with hidden costs 4-20 times higher;
• at least one in every five to six casualty crashes on Queensland’s roads involve people driving for work; and
• almost 60 per cent of work-related deaths in Australia involve vehicles.
New fleet safety website launched
The site was designed by CARRS-Q visiting research fellow Dr Will Murray.
“There is a growing amount of research and practice available on fleet safety,” Dr Murray said.
“This, however, is the first comprehensive source of internet links to local, national and international research and projects.
“A growing body of evidence suggests that government and business organisations could be more pro-active in improving the regulation, management and improvement of fleet and logistics safety and CARRS-Q is actively striving for improvements in this area,” he said.
The new website is at www.hlth.qut.edu.au/psyc/carrs/staff/
Murray.htm.
CARRS-Q will co-host a free symposium on Work-Related Road Trauma and Fleet Risk Management in Australia on Friday August 10, 2001, at Parliament House.
Dr McGrath said she hoped health professionals and policy-makers would read the book and gain an insight into what sufferers and their families were going through to help inform decisions and funding allocations for services.
“My book flags areas where I can hear what the problems are but we haven’t made it there in terms of service provision,” she said.
Such areas include the impact of the haematological disease on people’s sexuality, their finances and siblings (if it is a child who has leukaemia), as well as the lack of available palliative care services.
“My research shows that people who are experiencing haematological malignancy do not get appropriately referred to palliative care services,” she said.
“We know when people have access to palliative care, patients have a much more satisfactory dying experience and the carer and family are left in a much better position to cope with the process of grief.
“The outcomes for the family and the patient are excellent, but it’s not being addressed at all.
“The hope is that this book will go some way to ensuring these issues are appropriately addressed in the future.”
What is QUT Carseldine?
QUT Carseldine was created as part of the restructure of the Faculty of Arts. It is an organisational unit of the university distinct from, but equivalent in standing to, a faculty. It reports to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor like all other faculties and divisions.
Professor Ruth Matchett is the Director of QUT Carseldine, which will initially have one school – the School of Humanities and Human Services.
Courses offered through QUT Carseldine currently include humanities,
human services and social science. Other faculties will continue to offer courses at Carseldine.
Who will be affected by this changeover?
For most students and staff, it will be business as usual. The changes will mainly affect the administrative staff of QUT Carseldine.
How does QUT Carseldine differ from other faculties at QUT?
QUT Carseldine undertakes faculty functions as it has academic and administrative responsibility for the new School of Humanities and Human by Margaret Lawson
You will find an unusual accessory on Professor Ruth Matchett’s desk at Carseldine … a pair of binoculars.
The director of the new QUT Carseldine is not only a social worker with 20 year’s experience in human services policy, but also a keen ornithologist – or bird-watcher – in her spare time.
But while she admits to loving her location on the tree-studded grounds of the Carseldine campus, Professor Matchett is quick to point out that this is only a small part of the appeal of her position at QUT.
“I think Carseldine is sometimes thought of as ‘that place in the bush’
and people forget that people are engaged in the serious business of learning on this campus,” she said.
QUT Carseldine’s new director sets her sights on the future
“There is far more to Carseldine than just the trees. This is a campus with a range of offerings and quality services, good access to computer labs, staff who are welcoming and keen to provide support and an excellent library service.”
For the former head of the School of Human Services, her position as director of QUT Carseldine – which came into being on July 1 – will give her the opportunity to ensure QUT Carseldine is regarded as a dynamic part of the university environment.
“Key priorities initially will be growing our student numbers and working closely with staff to develop cross-sectoral linkages,” Professor Matchett said.
“We need to build on existing links with NorthPoint Institute of TAFE so we provide clear pathways for TAFE students and to develop close
relationships with secondary schools in the immediate area.
“We already have 45 high school students undertaking full units within our range of offerings, and I’d like to see those sort of programs expanded.”
As part of a commitment to involve staff and students in the development of QUT Carseldine, Professor Matchett is forming a Director’s Advisory Forum comprising six elected staff and six students to be her “eyes, ears and ideas” on campus.
“QUT Carseldine is not going to be one person’s vision, but a collective vision that will involve staff, students and some external stakeholders,”
Professor Matchett said.
“This is a really fresh approach that is saying, ‘let us look at what is happening on the campus and with the programs and let us see how we can work together and make things better’.”
New QUT Carseldine director Professor Ruth Matchett ... key priorities to lift student numbers and strengthen linkages with local education providers.
Some frequently asked questions about QUT Carseldine
Study areas offered at QUT Carseldine
• communication (Faculty of Business)
• environmental science (Faculty of Science)
• information technology (Faculty of Information Technology)
• humanities (QUT Carseldine)
• human resource management (Faculty of Business)
• human services (QUT Carseldine)
• management (Faculty of Business)
• psychology and Ccunselling (Faculty of Health)
• social sßcience (QUT Carseldine)
QUT Carseldine links
For further information visit www.carseldine.qut.edu.au If you have a question about QUT Carseldine e-mail [email protected]
Services. It also has two additional functions unlike other faculties: the co- ordination of academic and support activities at the Carseldine campus; and continued development of the campus and its relationships with community partners.
Is QUT Carseldine another name for the Northern Corridor Development Office?
No, although part of the brief of QUT Carseldine relating to development and community partnerships will build on the work done by that office over the past two years.
From Page 1
“Institutional reconciliation is what now needs to follow on from the declarations of reconciliation already made by many state governments, such as the Queensland Government – and from the one which will eventually come from the national Government.
“This will require all the institutions of the State … every one of them, just like QUT has now done, to take a fundamental look at the culture, the values and the operations of their organisations, in light of reconciliation and the role and place of our people in the fabric of this country.”
He said some Commonwealth agencies were already signing more formal agreements, or memoranda of understanding (MOUs), with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representatives.
ATSIC would welcome an approach from QUT, he said, to
“begin discussions on the possibility of a formal MOU or agreement with the ATSIC Regional Council”.
Dr Anderson said one of ultimate aims of reconciliation was for recognition of sovereignty of Aboriginal people over their traditional lands.
“That’s the hard nub of reconciliation we must confront,” Dr Anderson said.
Dr Hirst said that she was committed to reconciliation, both as Chancellor of QUT and personally, as a white Australian.
She said the ceremony marked an important moment in QUT’s history.
The Reconciliation Statement’s implementation policy would require long-term commitment.
“We intend to build on the excellent work of the Oodgeroo Unit staff in our recruitment and support activities,” Dr Hirst said. “With regard to curriculum reform, the university is considering an ambitious program which tries to ensure all our graduating students have sufficient knowledge and understanding of Indigenous issues to become excellent professional practitioners and involved citizens.”
QUT’s Council adopted the Reconciliation Statement as university policy earlier this year after consultation with staff, students and community members.
“We are in a unique position to raise the awareness of the professionals
of the future who are studying at QUT,” Dr Hirst said.
“By learning cross-cultural skills in their courses, our graduates have the potential to become excellent professional practitioners and involved citizens.”
The Statement identifies recognition, responsibility, and commitment as central to QUT’s efforts towards reconciliation. Key points in the document include:
• QUT recognises: that Indigenous Australian people are custodians of the land; the disadvantage Indigenous Australian people experience; the dynamic contribution made by Indigenous Australian people to the community;
the rights of Indigenous Australian people to self-determination; and the significance of the reconciliation process in building new relationships between Indigenous and non- Indigenous Australian people;
• QUT acknowledges that for reconciliation to be sustainable, local communities and institutions must support, and be involved in, the process.
• QUT is committed to pursuing its goals of teaching and learning, research, community service, and its other activities, in the spirit of reconciliation. In consultation with Indigenous Australian people, QUT will: recruit Indigenous Australian students;
incorporate Indigenous content and perspectives into the university’s curriculum and teaching practices; encourage appropriate research of Indigenous issues; engage in community service activities and public debate that are inclusive of Indigenous Australian people and perspectives; recruit and support Indigenous Australian staff; create a university environment that legitimises Indigenous knowledges, perspectives and practices, and counters racism.
The full Reconciliation Statement is at www.qut.edu.au/admin/equity/
reconciliation
... uni formalises its pathways to
reconciliation
New technology to control evaporation from dams – which began as a QUT student project – could be on the market before the end of this year.
Hex Dome devices – which are being developed in the School of Design and Built Environment’s “incubator” – will save water by cutting evaporation by up to 40 per cent.
Industrial design lecturer and project supervisor Dennis Hardy said water loss through evaporation from water storage areas was a significant problem for primary producers worldwide. He said the principle behind prevention of evaporation was simply to cover the water surface.
With a dam that was a few kilometres square in surface area, he said, a conventional swimming pool cover was not feasible.
He said this project had developed modules that could cover large areas and were transportable at a competitive price.
Mr Hardy said environmental studies had been carried out and the modules tended to reduce erosion of dam walls and assist in the prevention of green algae formation.
“The concept of the device has been well received by the Queensland Government, the Dalby Shire with its cotton interests, and the agricultural community generally,” Mr Hardy said.
“Further tests of the modules will be undertaken over the next six months.”
– Noel Gentner
Dome design set to protect precious water resources
Industrial design graduates Stoph Vanwensveen and Jonathan Conroy who were involved in the Hex Dome project. (Digital image supplied by Dennis Hardy.)
Highly distressing experiences – commonly associated with post traumatic stress – can also have positive outcomes for some emergency services personnel, a study by the Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety Queensland (CARRS-Q) has found.
Emergency services personnel witness horrific and distressing incidents in the course of duty and most studies have focused on the negative impact of traumatic experiences, with post traumatic stress disorder becoming widely acknowledged.
This unique study of Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) officers focuses on the positive aspect of traumatic stress.
Early findings show that the majority of officers surveyed have experienced post traumatic growth (PTG) – positive outcomes – from their experiences.
The study supports a positive correlation between PTG and personality traits such as extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, hope, optimism and self-efficacy.
CARRS-Q principal researcher Jane Shakespeare-Finch said the study would
Traumatic experiences can have positive outcomes – study
provide important data for improvements in training methods for new staff and instigate a review of current processes to deal with post traumatic stress in the workplace.
“Some of the officers first surveyed have since attended highly publicised incidents such as the Childers backpacker hostel fire and several air crashes in Central Queensland, so the follow-up investigations will provide powerful information for our analysis,”
Mrs Shakespeare-Finch said.
“We’ve all heard of people who’ve experienced a personal trauma, such as a heart attack or cancer scare, and their resultant re-evaluation of their life and priorities and commitment to make positive change. In the same way, emergency services personnel can experience the same positive life growth from attending to or witnessing a traumatic event,” she said.
She said the study did not aim to downplay any negative impacts of traumatic stress.
“There is an obvious need to recognise and attend to those who languish in the aftermath of a traumatic event.
“But there is also a need to recognise that positive growth can be experienced and to normalise the positive outcomes experienced,” she said.
The project has three phases.
In the first phase in May 2000, 523 QAS officers were surveyed regarding their personality characteristics, coping styles, experiences of trauma, and subsequent perceptions of post traumatic growth.
In the second phase of the study, from May to October 2000, researchers surveyed new QAS recruits prior to exposure to work related traumatic events.
A follow-up of this group is being done.
In the third phase of the study – to be completed later this year – a group of “seasoned” officers from the first study will be surveyed and interviewed to gain a deeper understanding of positive growth experiences.
Mrs Shakespeare-Finch, a PhD student and part-time academic based at QUT’s School of Psychology and Counselling, will release initial study results at the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS) Conference in New Orleans in December.
Mind your
language
■ Textbook manuscripts
■ Theses
■ Reports
■ Assignments
Edited and proofread to check that what you write is right.
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The legal implications for the State’s independent schools in relation to bullying by students will be available within the next few months.
A research project – titled Bullying as a Legal Issue in the Management of an Independent Girl’s School in Queensland – is being conducted by QUT postgraduate student Rebecca Dulhunty.
Ms Dulhunty already has a Bachelor of Education from QUT and is currently completing her Master of Education and studying for a degree in law at the university at the same time.
“I wanted, somehow, to combine law and education, so I talked to my supervisor, Doug Stewart, and got his advice,” Ms Dulhunty said.
At the time of her decision to do both programs simultaneously, in 1999, there was a great deal of school violence, particularly in the United States.
When it came to choosing a research topic, she gravitated towards the legal aspects brought up by bullying.
Report to uncover legal aspects of bullying
“A lot of research has been conducted on bullying as a form of harassment in schools but little has been done in terms of its legal implications,” Ms Dulhunty said.
Following the fieldwork stage of her research, Ms Dulhunty said she hoped data she had collected would identify for schools whether legal obligations were being met and pinpoint areas where shortfalls had occurred.
“I chose an independent school because the involvement of contract law would be more influential than if it occurred at a state school.”
Ms Dulhunty said there was a major legal difference between independent- and government-operated schools.
She said independent schools often issued prospectuses that might contain information concerning a safe environment for pupils, which could form part of a contract while State schools, were not bound by such contracts.
“I selected a girls school because there has not been a lot of research concerning bullying within girls schools while a lot of research had c e n t r e d o n b o y s s c h o o l s , ” M s Dulhunty said.
“Boys tend to be more physical in bullying while, with girls, it seems to adopt a more psychological form, including social exclusion.”
Ms Dulhunty has surveyed one class from every year level to Year 11 to sample what is happening in terms of bullying at the school.
Teachers were also asked their reaction to reports of bullying and to policies on the issue.
Ms Dulhunty said the school where she had done her research had been extremely co-operative and supportive.
She said many schools had become more aware of the problem and wanted to do something about it.
– Noel Gentner
