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Research exposes information stress
By Toni Chambers
THE vast amount of information at people’s fingertips is causing stress, indecision and in extreme cases, illness.
QUT IT researcher Dr Neville Meyers said information overload had been around for decades, but “info-stress” was a new phenomenon brought about by increased access to information via the internet.
“More than 50 per cent of Australian managers say they are unable to handle the information they have to deal with, while one third say they are victims of ‘information fatigue’,” he said.
“Info-stress is the stress we feel when there’s too much information, we can’t cope with what’s there, decision- making becomes clogged and we can’t move forward – that’s when we can really start getting into a mess – even get sick.”
Dr Meyers said many people were, in effect, their own worst enemies, forever seeking more information but then being unable to process or use it.
“It leads to information paralysis – we can’t get to analysis because we’re bogged down in paralysis, we’ve got all this stuff and it’s clogging our neuron pathways,” he said.
He said the effect was a loss of efficiency at work, an inability for managers to undertake strategic planning and at its very worst, information overload has formed the basis for wars and other conflicts such as the recent war in Iraq.
“The US intelligence apparatus convinced the US president that it had tonnes of evidence that Iraq was concealing weapons of mass destruction by oversimplifying vast amounts of information – but where are the weapons?”
he said.
“Somehow we convinced ourselves that a pile of information equates to facts or actual knowledge. When we oversimplify complex situations we face the risk of selecting the wrong alternatives.”
Dr Meyers is embarking on a study with psychologist Paul Baxter to more clearly quantify the problem.
Dr Baxter’s speciality is in correcting “bad habit” thinking ranging from re-training helicopter pilots to avoid risk- taking to helping people think through the best solutions to their problems in a wide variety of work, sport and educational situations.
See David Hawke’s cartoon page 6 Dr Neville Meyers
Second year fashion student Gail Reid steps out at Old Government House in a revamped style by Melbourne designer Toni Maticevski, as part of Fashion’s Echo project.
FASHION at QUT Creative Industries has drawn together some of Australia’s top designers, including Easton Pearson and Akira Isogawa, to be part of an innovative project to revive and re-engineer a heritage clothing collection.
The clothes are part of a selection from several hundred pieces discovered two years ago in Old Government House by the National Trust.
Under the direction of QUT fashion head Ms Suzi Vaughan, each of 24 old pieces was distributed to QUT students, fashion designers and researchers in Brisbane, Melbourne and London, along with a brief to use the assigned piece to create a garment.
Called Echo, the project attracted high-profile collaborators, including the Country Road design team and fashion designers Akira Isogawa, Easton Pearson, Daniel Lightfoot, Dogstar and Toni Maticevski as well as the London College of Fashion and
Otago Polytechnic in New Zealand.
“The idea was to re-engineer the original piece into something that has an echo of its value and meaning, but in a new context,” Ms Vaughan said.
Echo was unveiled this month before a 300-strong audience at a dazzling show at Old Government House in QUT’s Gardens Point campus.
Fashion, music and technical production students from Creative Industries staged the event, which also helped launch a three-day international fashion conference jointly hosted in Brisbane by QUT and the University of Queensland.
Ms Vaughan said she hoped the project would encourage people to think about different ways of responding to fashion.
“The outcomes and the record of this process will help us understand how we use clothes to communicate and express meaning, and how we draw meaning from them,” she said.
Echoes of old in new fashion collection
QUT Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter Coaldrake last month announced a 4 per cent salary increase for all academic and general QUT staff, effective December 1 2003.
This increase, ahead of the university’s next round of enterprise agreements, is in addition to the 1.5 per cent increase paid last month as the final instalment under the latest enterprise agreements, which expired on June 30.
“QUT is committed to ensuring that the salary and conditions available at this university continue to attract and retain highly-qualified and committed staff,” Professor Coaldrake said.
“The hard work, loyalty and quality of endeavour of our staff means that every reasonable effort should be made to provide a level of certainty regarding salary
4% salary increase for QUT staff
movements.
“While the university is committed to working with the unions, and confident of their goodwill toward the process, it is important that staff not be disadvantaged by a process that can take some time.”
He assured staff that the total pay rise, to apply during the life of the next agreements and to be negotiated with the unions, will be both attractive to staff and financially responsible, especially in light of the uncertainty of the impact of the Nelson package.
In addition to competitive remuneration, Professor Coaldrake said a number of initiatives relating directly to conditions of employment would also be progressed including enhanced parental leave arrangements.
Queensland University of Technology Newspaper Issue 235 July 15 - August 4, 2003
By Janne Rayner
QUT researchers have been awarded more than $69,000 in federal funding to improve the safety and security of taxi drivers across Australia.
“Taxis have a 22 times higher crash rate than private vehicles and one third of all taxi drivers have experienced physical assaults,” said Associate Professor Richard Tay at QUT’s Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety Queensland (CARRS-Q).
“This grant over four years will enable CARRS-Q to undertake an innovative study that will look at ways to improve the safety and security of taxi drivers,” he said.
“In partnership with the Taxi Council of Queensland we will be evaluating a range of technology-based changes such as security cameras in taxis or the installation of collision- avoidance systems.
“Taxi drivers have not been the subject of much research in the past, but statistics show they are a very high-risk group of road users,” said Professor Tay.
The transport project was one of 11 QUT research projects that attracted Researchers will work with Brisbane cabbies to improve the safety and security of taxi drivers across the nation
University wins federal grant to
$1,834,992 in the latest round of funding allocations by the Australian Research Council under the Linkage Projects scheme.
Commonwealth funding for linkage projects helps academic researchers develop strategic research alliances with industry.
Acting Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research and Advancement) at the time of the announcement, Professor John Gough said QUT had performed strongly in the funding distribution.
“Over 12 months QUT has attracted 25 new grants and we continue to be listed in the top 10 universities across Australia in terms of successful applications,” Professor Gough said.
“The university’s success reflects the ongoing close engagement we have with industry across all faculties and confirms our reputation as a university for the real world.”
Partner organisations for QUT’s latest project grants include Kids Help Line, TransGrid, Emu Design, Hunt & Hunt, Mayne Health Pathology, Brisbane City Council, Arts Queensland, Industrial & Technical Services and the Department of Natural Resources and Mines.
help high-risk taxi drivers
A word from the Vice-Chancellor
Technology and the future of learning
WE have recently received the Report of the Review of QUT’s Online Teaching Activities.
This is an extremely important report for QUT, and we are grateful for the guidance and recommendations of the largely external Review panel, which comprised:
Ross Daniels (Council member and chair), Dr Michael Zastrocky (Vice President for Academic Strategies of the US- based Gartner Group), Professor Robin Mason (Institute of Educational Technology at The Open University), Dr Ian Barnard (until recently PVC, Learning and Student Support at Charles Sturt University), Professor Brian Fitzgerald (Head of QUT’s Law School), and Ms Robyn Daniel (Review Manager).
The Online Teaching Review Panel’s findings and recommendations commend QUT on the very significant progress made with technology over recent years to enhance QUT’s learning environments.
In particular the Review supports the development which has taken place of our home-grown Online Teaching (OLT) system, and acknowledges the excellent and creative work of many of our academic and professional staff in striving to enrich the learning experiences of our students.
Importantly, the Online Review has gone beyond providing an assessment of QUT’s progress to date.
The Review panel has reminded us of the great challenges which await.
We have succeeded in adding a level of technological sophistication to our traditional approaches to teaching and learning but we also recognise the need for a broader
reconceptualisation of how the technology can be integrated further into the learning environment.
QUT places great value on the importance of “campus”
to our students, and in particular we acknowledge the role of the physical campus in encouraging face-to-face contact between students and staff, and for students interacting and engaging with one another as part of their learning experience.
But we also know from the important input of our students to this Review (over 80 students participated in the deliberations) and from other evidence, that students have widely varying needs in terms of their interaction with the physical campus.
And so, while QUT will continue to invest significantly in creating the best possible physical places for learning, we are equally aware of the high expectations of our students of the campus as a virtual space.
As an institution proud of its claim to be a leading university of technology, our obligation is to provide a learning environment enriched by the effective deployment of that technology.
Professor Peter Coaldrake Vice-Chancellor
By Toni Chambers
QUT students are joining with industry and government partners to develop Queensland’s first sustainable housing development at Springfield in Brisbane’s southwest.
Project leader Dr Jay Yang said in the past, individual architects, builders or homeowners had experimented with one or several sustainable features but never before had there been a development dedicated to the practice.
“Maybe a builder or a homeowner experiments with a particular aspect of sustainable features, for example, the use of solar energy or installing water tanks but these features have not been linked to the overall scheme of sustainable construction,” he said.
“We will also provide ongoing monitoring and evaluation of certain home performance indicators because a lot of the homes that are built look good and maybe they are good but as for how good or how much better hasn’t been tested.”
Dr Yang said the development would be constructed with affordability in mind – the estimated cost for a sustainable house at Springfield would be around $350,000 and aimed at second or third home buyers.
Design and architecture students are currently working with engineering students to come up with ideas for the development.
“We’re trying to encourage our students and trade apprentices to
Students work on sustainable development
Students work on sustainability at Springfield in Brisbane’s southwest.
Pictured l. to r. are QUT senior lecturer Dr Jay Yang, interior design student Katie O’Brian, landscape architecture student Andrew East, Springfield Land Corp. director David Henry and architecture student Shy Tay
take on these sustainable principles in pursuing their careers, so they’re responsible for what they build and what they do,” Dr Yang said.
Three students involved – interior design student Katie O’Brien, architecture student Shy Tay and landscape architecture student Andrew East said the experience was invaluable.
“The experience of working with other disciplines is great, it makes you look at problems and solutions in a different way,” Mr East said.
Ms O’Brien agreed and said the project had convinced her that a career in sustainable design was for her.
“Sustainable design is the way of the future and if taught well it can be a cheaper alternative to conventional design techniques,” she said.
Mr Tay said the project was invaluable in raising awareness among consumers about the benefits of sustainable living.
Houses will initially be built and tested on two blocks of land donated by the Springfield Land Corporation before they are applied to the rest of the development.
Dr Yang said the other important feature of the project was the collaboration between industry players like builders, regulatory bodies such as councils and educational institutions like QUT.
The project is supported by the Co-operative Research Centre for Construction Innovation.
debate in the area.
Also honoured were two members of the Business Faculty’s Centre of Philanthropy & Non-profit Studies.
Adjunct Professor Margaret Steinberg was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for service to public health and welfare policy through research in the areas of ageing, disability and social justice.
Dr Myles McGregor-Lowndes was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to the community by providing education and support in legal, financial and administrative matters to non-profit organisations.
THE contribution and service of QUT staff members to education, public health and the non-profit sector were recognised in this year’s Order of Australia honours list announced on the Queen’s Birthday in June.
Professor Mary Sheehan, director of QUT’s Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety – Queensland, was awarded an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for her service to education and to public health through research work into the causes and prevention of road, work and social accidents in Australia, and through the development of community awareness programs raising the level of
Professor Mary Sheehan - honoured for her work on accident prevention
QUT staff awarded
nation’s top honours
By Janne Rayner
QUT’s new Dean of Built Environment and Engineering is looking forward to sharpening the international focus of his new faculty.
A built environment specialist from the UK, Professor Martin Betts most recently headed the top-rated School of Construction and Property Management at the University of Salford, near Manchester.
“I am keen to drive new alliances with the real world – be it in Brisbane, Canberra, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur or Shanghai,” said Professor Betts, who spent five years at the National University of Singapore earlier in his career.
“It is important that QUT continues to grow its international reputation in construction, design and engineering.
“As a university, we have to set tomorrow’s agenda, not respond to yesterday’s.”
An early example of how the faculty might respond to Professor Betts’ international drive is a new strategic alliance between the CRC for Construction Innovation at QUT and the universities of Salford, Stanford, VTT Finland and CSTB France.
“This partnership will position QUT amongst the world’s leading players in built environment,”
he said.
Professor Betts is no stranger to pioneering the development of enterprising research centres. In 1994 he formed the Construct IT Centre of Excellence in conjunction with a consortium of UK contractors,
New dean aims to build global links
design consultants and ICT companies, which went on to win a prestigious UK higher education award, the Queen’s Anniversary Prize.
More recently, Professor Betts took a lead role in the UK Centre for Education in the Built Environment (CEBE), a national centre of excellence for built environment teaching and learning practices.
The move to Brisbane with his wife, Debra and three children, was prompted, says the new dean, by a desire to become more involved in academic management and to extend his discipline range beyond construction.
“The fact that this is a faculty of built environment – and engineering – is incredibly exciting to me,” he said.
“I used to describe built environment as being a rough and ready industry, not very precise, and certainly not rocket science.
“Well, now my faculty includes avionics and aerospace, so I am involved in rocket science,” he laughed.
On a serious note, Professor Betts said he felt very energised by the enormous diversity and richness offered by his new faculty.
“I believe passionately that the modern real world demands inter-disciplinary solutions.
“The real world doesn’t present problems in nice little defined boxes – it asks for answers from people coming together to share experience and knowledge to solve joint problems.
“And that is what we have to offer here at QUT,”
he said. Professor Martin Betts – energised by the diversity of his new faculty
FINANCIAL guru and international best-selling author, Professor Robert Shiller made the only Brisbane appearance of his recent whirlwind national tour at QUT recently.
The world-renowned economic commentator attracted almost 500 people to the QUT Faculty of Business Free Annual Public Lecture where he discussed his eagerly awaited new book The New Financial Order.
Professor Shiller is best known for his 2000 book, Irrational Exuberance, which predicted a world stock market crash at the peak of the technology frenzy.
Within one day of the book hitting the shelves, the stock market bubble
burst, thrusting Professor Shiller into the global media spotlight.
A Professor of Economics at Yale University and an expert on market volatility, Professor Shiller has been at the forefront of financial prediction and commentary for over 15 years.
He said society’s obsession with the stock market had created a financial roller coaster ride for those involved.
The New Financial Order looked at the rapidly changing global economy while offering a fresh vision for securing our economic future through “the hidden power of risk management”
This was Professor Shiller’s second visit to QUT.
Annual business lecture a sell-out
EMPLOYERS are being warned not to be complacent about the potential for compensation claims from staff suffering psychological damage at work.
The warning comes in a new book Employer Liability for Workplace Trauma by QUT Law lecturer Associate Professor Des Butler.
Workplace trauma covers a wide range of situations from staff such as emergency services personnel being traumatised by what they witness as part of their daily duties to those suffering psychological damage as a result of bullying, overwork or suspension.
Professor Butler said employers have been aware of the physical risks associated with some jobs for many years.
But he said the effects of environmental factors like bullying had only recently come to the fore with unions insisting on anti-bullying laws in many workplaces and an increase in compensation claims made
Workplace trauma – a serious business
to victims of trauma.
“There are a lot of places that have codes of conduct that outlaw things like bullying, the real difficulty comes in any sort of complacency in not following it through,” he said.
“Employers can’t afford to be complacent or overlook the potential for claims for psychological damage that could arise from their workplace.”
He said with some compensation claims reaching almost $500,000, insurance companies were particularly interested in the area.
“A prudent insurer will want any employer it insures to at least conduct a risk management assessment that covers both physical and psychological risk and to put in place practices that mean employees are not exposed to unnecessary risk,” Professor Butler said.
“They need some assurance they’re not going to get whacked with these huge damages claims.”
By Carmen Myler
IT may seem unlikely that a film depicting a pubescent male defiling an apple pie could be described as a modern-day sex manual, or that a blonde girl who slays vampires while wearing a halter top could be seen as a feminist icon, but these images prevail in a new text edited by two QUT academics.
Youth Cultures: Texts, Images, and Identities is certain to achieve the goal set by its editors, cultural studies lecturers Dr Kerry Mallan and Dr Sharyn Pearce, to provoke lively and provocative debate in university classrooms around the world.
The authors say they contrived the concept for the book because of a lack of published analysis on concepts of youth that did not take either a utopian view of youth or present images of negativity, despair and apathy.
“Youth studies is a growing area and there’s a lot of stuff on subcultures out there - about bogans and homeboys and goths - but there wasn’t anything that took that same spin on youth cultures more broadly,” Dr Pearce said.
Dr Mallan said the book focused on opening a range of perspectives on young people to readers through a largely text- centred approach.
“Texts often include subcultures but by focusing purely on a subculture you exclude other people who also interact with those texts.”
The essays in the collection investigate a range of texts available to young people including young adult fiction, television, movies, magazines, computer games, video clips and fashion.
The editors contribute their own critical analyses, with Dr Pearce critiquing teen flick American Pie as a new millennium sex manual which encourages the sensitive side of teenage boys, while Dr Mallan explores action femininity in cult TV show Buffy, the Vampire Slayer and action “chick flick”, Girlfight.
International contributors come from the United Kingdom, United States and Canada, while other QUT contributors include Dr Gordon Tait from the Faculty of Education and Professor John Hartley from Creative Industries.
Buffy – her status as a feminine action hero explored in new book
Youth cultures explored
East meets West in student’s new CD
QUT Creative Industries masters student Nok Thumrongsat has successfully blended the unique sounds of electronic music with Thai and Western vocals for her debut CD, to be launched as part of the Queensland Biennial Festival of Music.
The 24 year-old Thai national completed a Bachelor of Music (Voice) at QUT, but embarked on a masters to develop her own style.
“I’ve done a lot of jazz and pop, and after listening to a lot of Bjork and Massive Attack I fell in love with electronic sounds,” she said.
“So I decided to combine these sounds with my traditional nasal Thai vocal sounds and the Western sounds I’ve learnt at QUT – the result is an electric mix of Thai and Western cultures.”
Nok said her father’s death was the inspiration for her journey to find her own style of music.
“Dad died three years ago. I was really sad and lost and I found that by listening to songs and writing my own work I created a new life for myself,” she said.
“It helped me grieve and I found that eventually instead of crying, I used my own sound to convey how By Toni Chambers
OLD Government House has played host to the songs of renowned Australian music figure Nick Cave, presented by Frank Theatre.
Frank Theatre artistic director Jacqui Carroll said Cave was a shaman of the musical world.
“He drives a hard line about human relationships,”
she said.
“I am drawn to that kind of musical extreme – the actors are like protagonists in a folly, drawn into it because of the extreme nature of his view of the world.”
Singer Amy Cutler performed arrangements of Cave’s songs by composer Toby Wren with projected set and
Frank Theatre twists Nick Cave’s neo-gothic songs into a wild theatrical presentation at Old Government House
Wild scenes at the House
costume designs by architect Shane Thompson and John Nobbs and Glen Brown.
QUT Cultural Precinct director Sue-Anne Wallace said,
“the walls of Old Government House have witnessed many political, educational and controversial events over the past 140 years, but none quite like this Cave piece.”
The proceeds from The Nick Cave Project went to War Child, an international network of independent organisations that work to help children affected by war.
The Nick Cave Project was supported by QUT Cultural Precinct, QUT School of Design and Built Environment, and Arts Queensland.
Workplace trauma – a serious business
By Greg Davis
QUT industrial design students have been honoured for their cutting- edge work with recognition at prestigious national and state award presentations.
Chris Townsend and Ian Everest scaled lofty heights to be two of the 16 finalists in the student category (the Dyson Award) at the Australian Design Awards.
More than 120 entries were received for the coveted Dyson Award however Townsend’s scooter design and Everest’s extreme sport motorbike design caught the eye of judges.
Townsend’s scooter – the “Mantic Personal Transport Device” – has been designed for commuters, as a link between home, public transport and the workplace.
It can be folded into a compact form that can be easily carried and stored and is constructed using high quality, lightweight materials and components.
The battery-operated Mantic can be used on paved footpaths, bikeways and suburban streets and encourages the use of public transport as the scooter turns previously prohibitive long walks to the bus stop or train station into comfortable journeys.
Winning design – a graphic illustration of Chris Townsend’s handy battery-operated scooter known as the Mantic Personal Transport Device
Students
have designs on awards
Everest’s ‘Airslave’ motorcycle is designed purely for use in the growing extreme sport market.
The design features allow the motorcycle to achieve high levels of in-flight manoeuvrability and rider mobility.
It will allow riders to perform existing freestyle motocross tricks more effectively and to push the boundaries to create new and inventive in-flight manoeuvres and stunts previously impossible.
Meanwhile, QUT students also shared the limelight at the DIA Queensland Design Awards.
The trio of Chris Lomath, Andrew Peterson and Adam Gallagher received a commendation in the industrial design category for their “Super Duper Space Scribbler” project.
The project was part of a joint venture with the Starlight Foundation at the Mater Hospital that features a whiteboard that plays music with every stroke of a pen.
Meanwhile, in the Emerging Student category, Caroline Frances received a merit award for her “Base Beetle Back Pack” design while Patrick Shirley was given a commendation for his
“Phrasestick” design.
I was feeling.”
Nok said her dream was to remain in Australia as a singer and be appreciated for her unique sound.
“I know this will be really tough and I’ll have to be in the right place at the right time. I’ll also write Thai lyrics to give to a recording company there,” she said.
Nok will launch her CD at The Healer in Fortitude Valley on July 19 from 7:30pm.
Masters student Nok Thumrongsat – her music a blend of cultures
QUT Nightline launched
STUDENTS and staff can now access continuous information support from 6:00am till one o’clock in the morning, with the introduction of an expanded service called QUT Nightline.
Provided by the Technology, Information and Learning Support division the new telephone information
service will now offer extra service from 6:00am to 8:00am and 10:00pm to 1:00am weekdays.
Normal daytime help desk numbers for IT, Library and OLT matters apply.
The serice will be trialled for six months.
David Hawke’s Eyeview
Staff remembered
QUT students and staff are mourning the deaths of Library Services Associate Director Jan Novak and School of Natural Resources researcher Stephen Caldwell who both passed away recently.
Mrs Novak succumbed to a long battle with cancer while Mr Caldwell was involved in a single vehicle accident 100km east of Weipa in far north Queensland.
Originally from the United States, Mrs Novak joined the Resource Centre of the Brisbane College of Advanced Education in 1987 as the Manager of User Services and when the College merged with QUT in 1991, she became an Associate Director of the Library.
In addition to coordinating the library’s user services, she played a leading role in developing a strong client service culture and quality management process that will be her lasting legacy to QUT.
Mr Caldwell completed his undergraduate and honours degrees at QUT and was undertaking his PhD research into a comparison of three northern Australian freshwater fish.
Japanese scholarships on offer
QUT students have the chance to be part of an 18-day
educational and cultural tour of Japan.
Scholarships are being offered by Mitsui Educational Foundation (MEF) to eight students from around Australia and include return airfares, accommodation, transport, attraction admissions and most meals.
The successful students will be chaperoned and will spend
time with Japanese university students as well as getting a close-up view of Japanese culture through a short homestay with a Japanese family.
They will travel to Kyoto and Nara to see original shrines and temples, and visit plants and offices of Japanese corporate giants Mitsui Petrochemical, Nippon Steel Corporation, Toyota Motor Company and Sharp Corporation.
For more information please contact the Exchange Officer, Level 3 O Block Podium, Gardens Point campus, or email [email protected]
Overseas work honoured
School of Psychology and Counselling senior lecturer Dr Kathryn Gow has received an award in Vietnam for her work in microfinance reform for women.
Dr Gow was presented with the award, the highest that can be given at a provincial level, from the People’s Committee in the Ba Ria - Vung Tau province where, for more than nine years, she has conducted voluntary work in education, training and poverty reduction.
Dr Gow’s work was partly funded by a QUT Community Service grant.
Her colleague from the school and fellow community service grant recipient, Adjunct Professor Heather Mohay, has also been honoured this year for her work overseas.
Professor Mohay recently returned from India where she was invited to be Nehru visiting professor in human development at MS University in Baroda, a prestigious invitation resulting from her work with a group that runs community preschools in Indian slums.
In Brief... New building…
new heart
Artist’s impression of the redevelopment of Carseldine campus
By Greg Davis
QUT’s Carseldine Campus is about to enter an exciting new era with the construction of a state-of- the-art building and an extensive redevelopment of facilities.
Work on the expansive project started in early June with Leighton Contractors set to bring the innovative design of Bligh Voller Nield architects to life.
The transformation of the Carseldine campus will be complete by March next year and Director of Northern Campuses Professor Ruth Matchett said it was an exciting time for the university.
“We will have a brand new front entrance for the campus on Beams Road and be able to provide more teaching space to cater for the growing number of people who choose to study at Carseldine,” Professor Matchett said.
“It will be a state-of-the-art facility that will benefit staff and students alike.”
She said the project – which also includes landscaping designed by landscape architects EDAW – would give the campus a “new heart”.
“It will provide a central focus for campus life and allow easy access to all areas of the campus,” Professor Matchett said.
The new cutting-edge teaching
areas will include a large computer room for students that will operate for extended hours while group work areas and rooms incorporating the latest technology will also be available.
“All key student facilities would be located on the entrance level for easy access” Professor Matchett said.
A spacious food court for meeting, dining and socialising will form part of the upgrade along with an expanded range of food and dining options.
A new Student Guild area including a licensed club, gym and specialised services as well as an enlarged bookshop and strategically located Student Centre will be included in the redevelopment.
Teaching excellence rewarded
A NATURAL resource sciences lecturer who already boasts a string of teaching accolades, an associate professor with national and international standing in statistical and mathematical education, and an education lecturer who has a passion for teaching, have won this year’s QUT Distinguished Teaching Awards.
The winners – Dr Noel Meyers from the Science Faculty and Associate Professor Helen MacGillivray, also from Science – will each receive $10,000 for teaching and learning projects.
Dr Jackie Stokes from the Faculty of Education at Kelvin Grove received a commendation award.
Dr Meyers and Professor MacGillivray will now join previous winner Ms Sally Kift from the Law Faculty to become QUT’s nominees for individual honours in the Australian Awards for University Teaching.
Dr Meyers was also recently awarded the 2002 QUT Student Guild Gardens Point lecturer of the year for the second year running – in addition to being named the overall lecturer of the year in 2001.
“I am extremely proud to be honoured in this way, but everyone needs to recognise that I am just one of the many QUT academics trying to maximize the quality of student learning for now and the future,” Dr Meyers said.
“We know our graduates need skills and abilities to confront challenges that we can barely imagine and some we cannot conceive.
Associate Professor Helen McGillivray – enjoys the challenge of teaching maths and statistics
QUT Art Museum is playing host to an exclusive exhibition of photography from some of the world’s best fashion photographers.
Architects of Glamour and Masters of Style: Excerpts from a Century of Fashion Photography which opened late last month with a cocktail party for more than 200, is now on show until September 7 and celebrates the relationship between fashion designer, photographer, model and magazine.
The development of fashion photography during the twentieth century will be shown in works from the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney; the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney; and the Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane.
The exhibition features works from 20 international and Australian fashion photographers including Horst P. Horst, Henry Talbot, William Klein,
Style and glamour… Robin Beeche’s Sonia, from 1983, one of the photographs on display at the QUT Art Museum
Haute couture in focus at QUT
“We try hard to ensure that our students have the capabilities they will need.
“I feel very fortunate in helping students to learn, because I personally reap enormous rewards from seeing them succeed.”
For Professor MacGillivray, from the School of Mathematical Sciences, helping students across all disciplines and all levels of education appreciate the value of maths and statistics in their lives and careers is very worthwhile.
Professor MacGillivray recently chaired an international forum on statistical literacy, and is in demand for assistance with statistics syllabi, resources and professional development from primary to tertiary levels in Queensland and the UK.
“I would like to pay tribute to all teacher colleagues and all students, no matter what level or area, with whom it has been a pleasure and a privilege to share learning in maths and stats,”
Professor MacGillivray said.
“The challenges in teaching these subjects never decrease, but meeting them is always rewarding because they’re so important.”
The third winner, Dr Jackie Stokes said her passion for teaching was evidenced in her willingness to embrace change.
Over 10 years at QUT, Dr Stokes has implemented a range of initiatives, the combination of which have led to her recent work on the cluster school model of professional partnership.
TO succeed in today’s job market, IT graduates must be equipped with not only top technical but excellent social skills, QUT research has found.
“It’s not enough to have the technical know-how – today’s employers in the IT sector are looking for staff that can add value to their organisation,” said Ms Melanie Fleming researcher in QUT’s Faculty of Information Technology.
“Employers want people with good communication skills - staff that can rapidly adjust to the constantly changing IT environment and fit easily into a work team.”
Ms Fleming’s findings are the result of a program of focus groups run through QUT’s IT Faculty involving industry professionals, academic staff, working IT graduates and current students.
“This research is exploding the myth that IT graduates are insular non-communicative professionals that don’t need to possess good people skills to succeed.
“In every session, the overwhelming response by employers was the need for graduates to be able to communicate well in a business context.
“Even if IT workers don’t liaise directly with clients or customers, they have to be able to contribute effectively to information sharing with other staff and management to help achieve good outcomes.”
Ms Fleming said QUT had already responded by leading the way in providing coursework that helped build the skills IT students need to eventually gain employment in the profession.
“First year Bachelor of IT students are not only asked to work in groups but are taught how groups function and how to build a successful team by developing good conflict resolution skills.”
Ms Fleming said new computer labs at QUT were specifically configured to assist in group work.
“IT students at QUT who succeed well in their studies
IT graduates must talk the talk
Dr Noel Meyers – reaping honours in teaching excellence
Helmut Newton, Robyn Beeche and Bettina Rheims and rarely seen couture by Balenciaga, Dior, Dessès and Courrèges.
Exhibition curator Robyn Daw said “these exquisite garments will be interspersed with works from the elegant, aristocratic fashion of the 1930s and 40s and the lively, colourful and raunchy street scene of the 1960s, to the alternative fashion and contemporary ideals of the 90s”.
“This exhibition celebrates the
‘coming of age’ of Brisbane’s fashion scene.”
Brisbane-based architects Bligh Voller Nield are the exhibition’s major sponsors.
An illustrated catalogue is available and a series of public programs, including talks, are scheduled.
Visit the QUT Art Museum for this free exhibition.
are then well positioned to participate in the Faculty’s Cooperative Education program,” she said.
“ Successful students spend a year’s paid industry experience and gain valuable insights into how to apply their knowledge and skills in complex projects.”
IT honours students (l to r) Tracey (TienThuy) Nguyen and Yoshiko Osawa - learning the value of good communication skills for their future careers in IT
About iNSiDE QUT
Janne Rayner (editor) 07 3864 2361
Greg Davis 07 3864 1841
Carmen Myler 0400 791 148
Mechelle Webb 07 3864 4494
Tony Phillips (Photography) 07 3864 5003 Stacey Lorraway (Advertising) 07 3864 4408
Fax 07 3864 9155
By Carmen Myler
STORY time for the children at Kelvin Grove Preschool has become a richer and more exciting activity thanks to the design expertise of secondary home economics education students from QUT.
As part of a joint project between the preschool and the university, preschool teacher Sue Thomas challenged the first- year education students to envisage, design, produce and install an “under the sea” themed reading space for the children.
QUT lecturer Joanne Jayne said the goal for the students was to create a space which made the preschoolers feel safe and motivated to extend their own learning.
“Sue Thomas wanted to create an imaginative and stimulating environment for the children’s learning and I wanted the same thing for our students so it presented an ideal opportunity for us to work together on a real project,” Ms Jayne said.
Ms Jayne co-ordinated the students into 20 teams to come up with designs
Education student Liam Christensen was part of a team that designed a starfish beanbag for children at Kelvin Grove Preschool, one of 20 designs for the preschool’s reading space.
Kids ‘sea’ future designs
including a treasure chest full of costumes such as mermaid tails, jellyfish hats and octopus skirts, a life-size turtle for children to ride, hanging schools of fish, and more.
“This project was about making a real difference to the everyday lives of others and although it was rigorous and demanding, and at times difficult, by working together to produce something useful and rewarding, we all learnt a lot, completed a major assessment piece and had fun,” she said.
One QUT student who took up the challenge was Liam Christensen who, along with fellow students Lana Ribinsky and Kardia Peacock, designed a giant starfish beanbag.
The former pastry chef said the project gave him experience with the kind of design activities he would one day set his high school students.
“Before doing this I had no idea of the process involved in design and I thought it was just about coming up with an idea and then producing a product, but it’s a much more dynamic creative process,”
Mr Christensen said.
By Greg Davis
ANY rugby player, coach, trainer, administrator or supporter knows that playing on your own turf can only help achieve the desired result.
The Centre for Rugby Studies at QUT is providing a unique opportunity for rugby enthusiasts around the globe to advance their understanding and knowledge of the sport without leaving the comfort of their own home.
In conjunction with QUT, the centre is offering its Graduate Certificate in Rugby Studies course to external students who could be located anywhere from Twickenham to Toulouse and Tokyo to Taranaki.
The option to study externally will provide the facilities to complete the course via distance education, which gives the convenience and flexibility of studying at home.
This innovative course is designed to cater for coaches, strength and conditioning experts, referees, administrators and rugby enthusiasts alike.
It aims to provide advanced knowledge and practical experience in rugby coaching, performance assessment and fitness development.
The course presents students with the opportunity to pursue a professional and structured career in rugby coaching, strength and conditioning or administration.
The graduate certificate in Rugby Studies was established in 2002, as an initiative of the QUT Centre for Rugby Studies, which has affiliations with the Queensland Rugby Union and the Australian Rugby Union.
More details on the external distance mode of the Graduate Certificate in Rugby Studies can be found at www.rugbystudies.com
Nothing
like a home ground
advantage
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