Student union Bill 'could cost millions'

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Suzi Q thrills the crowds

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QUT Central Administration 2 George Street Brisbane 4000 Telephone (07) 3864 2111 Registered by Australia Post – Publication No. QBF 4778

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Serene approach to art

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Study secrets are revealed

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By Amanda O’Chee

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niversity student unions could face crippling multi-million dollar redundancy packages if the Voluntary Student Unionism Bill is passed, QUT’s Student Guild has warned.

Banning compulsory student unionism could slash millions from student union budgets, forcing cuts in many or most of their services and compelling unions to sack many of their staff, the Guild said.

QUT Student Guild president Makelita Cull said it would cost her organisation millions of dollars in redundancy pay-outs if the Federal Government’s Voluntary Student Unionism (VSU) Bill, which is expected to go to the Senate in April, is passed.

Across Australia, the job losses and redundancy packages would stretch into the tens of millions of dollars, Ms Cull said.

“What we’re concerned about is trying to work up a surplus to pay out the redundancies if it comes to that,”

she said.

“We’ve got 168 staff and some of them have been here for a long time.

That could cost millions.”

Ms Cull said she was also worried that VSU would effectively “silence the collective” voice of students, by weakening the membership of student unions.

Student unions, universities and the Australian Vice-Chancellors Committee (AVCC) have denounced the move.

AVCC president Professor John Niland said VSU would “undermine the

Student union Bill

‘could cost millions’

capacity of universities to provide essential services to students” and significantly downgrade the quality of campus life.

The Guild is targeting independent Senator Brian Harradine – who holds the balance of power in the Senate – with student petitions and letters. They are also urging the general public to join the effort.

The VSU Bill forbids universities from forcing students to pay student

union fees, and gives students the freedom to choose whether or not to join a student union.

Technically, this is already available under conscientious objection rules.

However, conscientious objectors still pay universities a service fee.

Charging of service fees may continue under VSU, although representation by the student union may be lost, Ms Cull said.

Ms Cull said that over time, student unions have taken on fundamental

student services, such as free legal advice, child care, free student shuttle buses, and student advocacy in academic appeals. VSU would cut union membership fees and force the Student Guild to close many of its services.

QUT’s Secretary to Council, Registrar Ken Baumber, has written to both State and Federal Education Ministers, saying the QUT Council believed VSU would create hardship for both the university and its students.

The QUT Student Guild is protesting against the Federal Governmnent’s move to introduce Voluntary Student Unionism (VSU), and Student Guild president Makelita Cull (far left) was joined by Tomasz Machajski, Sonja Elliot and Shaun Weston to warn against the “gagging” of the student voice.

Theatre studies graduate Angela Betzien has won the coveted Queensland Theatre Company/Courier-Mail George Landen Dann Award for playwriting.

The award recognises new works by Queensland playwrights.

In addition to the $5,000 first prize, Ms Betzien will have her play, The Postcard, performed at workshops and it will be given a staged reading by Queensland Theatre Company later this year.

Angela’s success builds upon her already distinguished record as a dramatist. She was the winner to the Comalco Young Playwrights’ Award for three consecutive years from 1994 to 1996. In 1997, her comedy Dog Wins Lotto was produced by the Queensland Theatre Company as part of the Oz Shorts season of plays.

Ms Betzien graduated from QUT in 1998 with a Bachelor of Arts (drama).

Bright year 12s study at school and QUT

Five of the brightest Year 12 students from St Paul’s School at Bald Hills are getting a head start on their peers by studying first-year psychology at QUT.

Though they are still studying for an OP during the day, the students have been accepted to study university-level psychology one night a week at QUT’s Carseldine campus.

The innovative program, developed jointly by St Paul’s School and QUT, extends and challenges the school’s highest achievers, as well as providing them with a taste of university life, said QUT’s School of Psychology senior administrator Terry Cavanagh.

The high school students attend regular lectures and tutorials with other

university students and are assessed by the same standards. But the students can receive extra assistance from two mentors, Mr Cavanagh said.

“The biggest advantage is they are getting some experience of university as well as having their minds extended in another field, and because they are the brighter students, this excites them.”

St Paul’s Year 12 students (from left) Douglas Stockwell, Zim Chan (front), QUT’s Terry Cavanagh, Surya Subianto, Charissa de Costa (front) and Michael Wighall.

These top students are studing psychology at QUT’s Carseldine campus and will receive credit towards a degree.

Top theatre award for graduate

Q-Step has

record numbers enrolled in 1999

QUT has boosted its special entry program for socio-economically disadvantaged students by 40 per cent this year.

The number of students entering QUT through its Q-Step Program – most of whom live on incomes below the poverty line – has increased to 198 students in 1999.

The record intake comes after a funding boost to the program, which aims to increase the number of disadvantaged students who have traditionally been under represented at universities, Q-Step’s program co- ordinator Derek Bland said.

Queensland University of Technology Newspaper • Issue 187 • March 30, 1999

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From the Inside ... by David Hawke

QUT is celebrating 10 years as a university. Of course we’ve been around for a lot longer under other names going right back to 1849.

A word from the Vice-Chancellor

QUT Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor David Gardiner provides an overview of the university’s financial position two years after changes in Commonwealth funding policies:

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s 1999 gets in full swing, QUT is in a solid position in a fairly volatile financial environment.

At the end of 1998, QUT remained Australia’s fourth-largest university in terms of student numbers, with 31,235 students (behind Monash, Sydney and Melbourne, according to t h e C o m m o n w e a l t h H i g h e r Education 1999-2000 Triennium Report).

In 1997, the Howard Government commenced a series of cuts to government grant funding of 1 per cent in 1997, 1999 and 2000, and 3 per cent in 1998. In 1998 QUT’s grant income was the smallest in its history - down to $121.6m from $145.7m in 1996.

The cuts have been challenging enough but, when combined with the Government’s cessation of full supplementation of salary increases and the reality of overhead expenditure rises, the challenge has been much greater for QUT and all its central departments and academic schools.

By 2000, the disposable income gap (the sum which QUT had planned to receive from the Commonwealth prior to policy changes reducing grant income and terminating salary supplementation) will be $22.3million.

Although the Commonwealth did provide safety net salary supplementation which was 1.5 per cent in 1998 (dropping to 1.4 per cent in 1999), this barely covered normal incremental salary creep.

Real wage increases of 2 per cent in January 1998 and 3 per cent in December 1998, following an earlier 6 per cent salary increase, will make the future cumulative impact a real challenge for many schools and departments.

(This is before the next round of enterprise bargaining for academic staff, which has just commenced.)

Overhead expenditure increased in 1998 by 6 per cent, ranging from a 5.2 per cent rise in Local Government rates

to more significant rises for bank charges and other service charges.

Significant growth in student numbers and research activity is placing some strain on existing infrastructure, as is the rapid change and expectations in the areas of information and educational technology in which QUT needs to continue to invest.

“The real financial

challenge for the university over the next two years will be to increase its earned income beyond Government grants to support its ambitious but achievable plans.”

The real financial challenge for the university over the next two years will be to increase its earned income beyond Government grants to support its ambitious but achievable plans for teaching, learning, and research, and at the same time continue to further develop its capital facilities and to keep pace with technology particularly information technology.

Expenditure of 25 per cent of its operating funds on non-salary items will

be essential. This will be a real challenge for many of QUT’s academic schools.

Salary expenditure already represents 80 per cent or greater for four-fifths of QUT’s schools, and some 30 per cent of schools are already expending more than 90 per cent of their budgets on salary costs.

QUT will continue to upgrade the environment and services for students but the Howard Government’s proposed move to voluntary student unionism appears to ignore the significant services to students which were provided by the various guilds and student unions around Australia.

Having said these things, I am in agreement with QUT’s Director of Finance and Facilities John Nelson, that the university remains in a financially sound position.

Although the university’s 1998 financial statements have yet to be audited and the budget outcome position considered by all the relevant committees of the university and Council, in 1998 QUT earned 56 per cent of its income from non-grant sources (including HECS) and had no external debt.

On the basis of a Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu financial analysis of university financial statements commissioned by DETYA, QUT had an adequate safety margin and solid current ratio (sufficient liquidity to meet short-term obligations).

Some of the immediate challenges facing us in the short-term are the eventual true costs of the Y2K problem, the final cost of QUT’s investment in significant administrative systems upgrades and our contingent liability for long-service leave.

Some of the real successes in earned income in 1998 were the significant increase in successful fee-paying postgraduate courses (up 66.2 per c e n t i n f i n a n c i a l t e r m s ) , t h e maintenance and slight increase (0.3 per cent) in our international student position, not withstanding the Asian financial crises and the reputed impact of the Hanson factor, and the f a c t t h a t – u n l i k e m a n y o t h e r Australian universities – QUT had no unfunded student load.

QUT has welcomed 15 new AusAID scholarship winners from Asia, Africa and the Pacific Rim this year.

At an informal ceremony to mark the end of their intensive, four-week a c a d e m i c p r e p a r a t i o n p r o g r a m , Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter Coaldrake said the program w a s p a r t o f Q U T ’ s i m p o r t a n t international links.

“Australia understands that in order to understand the world we need to reach out,” Professor Coaldrake said.

Mr Frank Haly AO and Dr Doug McTaggart have been appointed to QUT’s Council, to the two positions which Council can nominate.

Mr Haly is a chartered accountant and company director. Dr McTaggart, CEO of Qld Investment Corporation, is a former Queensland Under-Treasurer and economics professor at Bond University.

QUT is trialing 10 information stations designed to provide students with fast and easy access to important university information.

The information stations are an Australian first, enabling students to download their exam results, access their timetables, print out campus maps and speak to the Student Helpdesk or to Security.

In the coming months, the university will conduct its first comprehensive survey of the views of staff about their experience of working at QUT.

Employee opinion surveys are increasingly being used in many organisations, including universities, both to give staff the chance to express their views and to provide information to improve the organisation.

The survey will be a chance for all staff, including part-time and casual staff, to let us know about both the positive and the negative aspects of their work experience.

It will take the form of a detailed questionnaire that staff will receive around the middle of the year.

In developing the questionnaire, the consultants who are managing the project will conduct detailed preliminary interviews to ensure that the survey instrument is appropriately designed to elicit staff views.

The results of the survey will provide an important tool at both university and unit level. The results will also inform our annual strategic planning process.

Getting staff views

Staff will receive more information about the employee opinion survey in the next few weeks.

I strongly encourage all members of staff to take advantage of this opportunity by completing the survey instrument when it is circulated.

Professor Dennis Gibson

Finances are solid in a

fairly volatile environment

Opinion:

Professor David Gardiner.

Winners are welcomed

The undergraduate and postgraduate students are studying engineering, law or health degrees.

The AusAID academic program has been designed to help students adapt to life in Brisbane and QUT.

Language and learning sdviser to International Student Services Margaret Ketch said the students had chosen QUT because the courses met their needs and because of “word-of-mouth about the excellent teaching and support services here”.

Council appointments

Information stations for QUT

Information station capabilities will be extended over a 12-month trial to enable students to pay university fees, print out their booklists and, in the future, conduct a conversation with a student administration officer in real- time (via two-way video).

Entertainment providers will be advertising special student deals on the information stations.

QUT students and staff supported the Orange Ribbon Campaign during International Week of Solidarity against Racism. The Equity Section made 5,000 ribbons available to people on all campuses.

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Fulbright postgraduate scholarship winner Jacqueline Peel will leave Brisbane in August to study international environmental law in the United States. Jacqueline, who studied a graduate certificate in environmental law at QUT, will specialise in environmental issues that cross national borders, such as greenhouse gases and marine pollution. Jacqueline works in the Environment and Planning section of legal firm Allen, Allen and Hemsley.

By Andrea Hammond

International students have been given extra units of QUT Internet access to enable them to read their local newspapers online and keep in touch with their home countries.

The changes are part of the university’s revamped Internet Access Service, newly christened after a wide- ranging review late last year.

Under the new-look service, full-time students are entitled to 1,000 units of access annually, research students to 3,000 units and international students to 5,000 units.

Faculties have also been allocated an additional 200,000 units to distribute to students who have used up their access units through coursework. The changes came into effect from Semester One.

T

he United States Ambassador to Australia emphasised the close relationship between her country and Australia when she addressed the recent QUT Business Leaders Forum.

Ambassador Genta Hawkins Holmes told almost 400 business leaders that Australia and the US had a common approach to globalisation, involvement in international issues and maintaining a healthy military budget.

“It (Australia) is not only a close ally, it is the closest ally we have and I have had, in the past week, a plethora of four- star generals come through this country who have corroborated my judgment on that,” she told the luncheon at the Hilton Hotel.

“With no one else do we share the amount of intelligence, do we share such a commonality of viewpoint, as we do between our two countries.”

However, her comments have since received criticism in the media for

“scorning” the special relationship between the US and Britain.

When questioned about her remarks in a subsequent press conference though, Ambassador Holmes said she had not meant to “disparage” Britain.

Members of the local film industry have applauded QUT film and television students for their unconventional approach to short films.

More than 400 people enjoyed a night of short films and documentaries at the Tivoli Cabaret & Bar in Fortitude Valley at the first off-campus film festival screened by the School of Media and Journalism.

Women in Film and Television spokesperson Nicole McCuaig said the series of shorts confirmed her belief that students wre the most creative and free- thinking filmmakers.

Ambassador highlights US, Australia ties

“There is a comfort level between Americans and Australians that is greater than that between Americans and Great Britain, in spite of the fact that Great Britain is our oldest and dearest ally,”

she said.

Ambassador Holmes praised the entrepreneurial spirit of the local business community which has seen Queensland become the fastest-growing State.

She told the forum that the US was committed to providing global leadership in world peace, political stability, world trading and democracy.

Doing this, however, required the US to commit greater funds to international bodies, such as the UN, IMF and the World Bank, which was often an unpopular “demand to make of Congress or the US public”.

Likewise, she said many Americans and Australians were alarmed at the evaporation of national borders because of trade liberalisation, capital flows and the information revolution.

Globalisation and trade liberalisation offered the world economy significant benefits, she said.

But the US and others should guard against slave labour, global disparities in workers’ rights and exploitation of environmental protection, she said.

US Ambassador Genta Hawkins Holmes addressed 400 business leaders at the recent QUT Business Leaders Forum.

Internet access is increased

Young filmmakers draw accolades

The new head of Film and Television John Hookham with film students (from left) Tanya Schneider, Holly Smith, Alison Wood and Dan Cameron whose work was recently showcased.

“It is here (at university) that most free-thinking films exist, with experimentation in form, style and story- lines,” she said.

The 12 films presented ranged from the light-hearted comedy Perfect Ties to a string of gripping dramas.

Local producer Damien Parer praised several of the expressive films.

“I would like to see more experimental pieces come out of the woodwork for this is the only opportunity in the filmmakers’ lives to be able to play with the medium,” he said.

“The work from QUT has certainly improved over the past five years, but it still has to keep focusing on ‘outside of the box’ ideas,” he said.

New head of film and television John Hookham said that the School of Media and Journalism planned to show graduates’ talent in Singapore in May during QUT On Show.

The short film showcase is set to become an annual highlight at future QUT Orientation Week festivities and other events.

Kylie Thompson

Division of Information and Academic Services Pro-Vice-Chancellor Tom Cochrane said the university recognised that students with coursework who required the downloading of graphics, sound and computer programs were likely to need extra units.

The standard student allocation of 1,000 units of access equated to approximately 90,000 standard length (A4 page equivalent) national emails, 14,000 international emails, or 1,500 international web page (with graphics) retrievals.

“These are guidelines only, as the range of information on the Internet varies greatly, especially the way it is measured in megabytes,” he said.

“In addition to the extra access units available through faculties, all students

have the option of buying additional units should they use up their core entitlement allocation.

“The university’s perspective is that electronic services to students are becoming a natural part of student and everyday life,” Mr Cochrane said.

“Most students enrolling in the university now expect Internet access.

“This is the reason why we took steps in 1998 to introduce a system o f i n t e l l i g e n t a c c o u n t i n g o f consumption of Internet material,”

Mr Cochrane said.

He said the review indicated that the old title of “Internet volume charging”, and telling students they had the equivalent of $10 worth of access, had led some students to mistakenly believe the university had given them “real” money.

Scholarship winner heads for US

Computers help to improve, rather than stifle, students’ creativity and problem- solving abilities, a new QUT doctoral study has shown.

The 12-month study of 580 Brisbane primary school children found that students who regularly used computers as an integral part of their classroom studies displayed greater creativity and more “higher level thinking” during problem-solving activities.

QUT senior research assistant and PhD Education student Romina Proctor said the findings debunk fears held by some groups that computers stifled imagination and creativity.

“The group with the computers displayed significantly greater characteristics of creativity at the end of

Computers found to improve

students’ problem-solving skills

the 12-month study than they did at the start,” Ms Proctor said.

“It is my belief that computers assisted the students by providing them with a tool with which to display their creativity and problem-solving abilities.

“Higher level cognitive functioning, like

creativity, is going to take Australia into the next century.”

“Higher level cognitive functioning, like creativity, is going to take Australia into the next century. Children who can take a problem and deal with it creatively

– that’s what our schools are trying to foster.”

Ms Proctor’s study examined new classroom activities designed to tap into the seven intelligence domains.

Two of the three student groups who took part in the research undertook the new intervention program – in which they had to design, make and appraise a solution to a novel problem – with one of these groups using classroom computer technologies in all aspects of the creative process.

However, the study also found that all three groups – regardless of whether or not they used computers as an integral part of their classroom work – liked classroom computers less by the end of the year. The students had expected to be able to use their classroom computers for playing games, she said.

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First year mechanical engineering student Adam Cook won the $100 cash prize in the 1999 Orientation Treasure Hunt competition which tests new students’ knowledge of QUT.

Other commencing students who entered the competition were awarded consolation prizes of double passes to the Academy of Arts productions at the Woodward Theatre.

Suzi Q disorientates the crowds

Students turned out in their thousands for the QUT Student Guild’s Disorientation Festival ’99 held at the City Botanical Gardens in March. Bands filled three stages from early in the morning to late at night, and included veteran rocker Suzi Quatro, Primary and The Whitlams.

Mixed views on voluntary students unionism

SKYE JACKSON (2nd-year business management):

“I don’t think it is such a bad idea to make student union membership voluntary. At the moment I would prefer if it was voluntary, but if it was shown what the union actually did for me then I might have a different opinion.”

HAISON TRAN (2nd-year banking and finance):

“Student union

membership should be voluntary, then students would have the option to pay or not pay, and only those who pay could use the facilities. I don’t think I get value for the fees that I pay.”

KATHRYN ALLARD (1st- year medical science):

“Initially I thought the introduction of VSU was a good idea but now I think we will lose a lot of the services we receive.

There are a lot of things funded by the union and without fees we will lose a lot of them.”

DEREK ORR (2nd-year landscape architecture and built environment):

“I think it should be voluntary, because it depends on the finances of each student and how much their parents earn. I think it should come down to what the students have in their pockets.”

The Federal Government has introduced Voluntary Student Unionism (VSU) legislation. In terms of the Bill, students would not be compelled to join unions or to pay union fees for the many services which student guilds commonly provide. We asked QUT students for their views on VSU:

A

ll QUT staff will be asked to complete a questionnaire in June on what it is like working for the university.

The employee opinion survey will provide staff with the opportunity to express their views.

Survey results will provide QUT with feedback on the quality of the work environment. The results will be used to establish benchmarks which can be monitored in future, enabling evaluation of actions taken to improve the environment.

The project is being managed by QUT’s Human Resources Department. Melbourne-based Sicore International will design the questionnaire and analyse the results. An internal reference group from across the university will help guide the project.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Dennis Gibson said QUT was not the first employer to ask staff “how’s the job going?”.

“I am aware of similar programs at several Australian universities, as well as in Government and business,” Professor Gibson said.

“It will give us a macro picture of the work environment to complement fractional snapshots from six-yearly faculty and divisional reviews.”

Over the next few weeks, a consultant will be conducting staff focus groups to identify important issues which will contribute to the design of the questionnaire.

Professor Gibson said a summary of the survey results at university level would be made available to all staff in July.

Access to comparative results for individual faculties, divisions, schools, or departments would be made available to staff in those work groups. The results would provide valuable input to the annual strategic planning process.

QUT to survey staff on work environment

A new Graduate Certificate in Education (Leadership and Management), has been introduced at QUT.

It has been developed by the Faculty of Education to meet the needs of both school, and non-school, based administrators and aspiring administrators, including teachers, deputy principals, principals and heads of departments.

The course, which can be completed in one semester full-time or over a longer period part-time, will provide a valuable higher degree qualification in leadership and management as well as providing direct articulation to the Master of Education.

Further information about the new certificate is available from School of Cultural and Policy Studies senior lecturer Neil Cranston via [email protected] or 3864 3428.

New education certificate

A program which aims to increase the participation rate at QUT of students from rural and remote areas has won a Queensland Information Technology and Telecommunications Award for Excellence.

The Uni-Talk program uses modern telecommunications applications to enable students from these areas to learn about university and city life. Eight staff and 15 students from across QUT produced an interactive television broadcast via satellite which involved 2,000 participants at 65 sites.

Uni-Talk is funded by QUT's Equity Section.

Uni-Talk program honour

International students at QUT are increasingly looking for part-time employment, partly because of economic difficulties in their home countries, according to Ely Stirrat at QUT’s International Student Services (ISS).

Ms Stirrat said the office had established a part-time employment support service which offered a registration system, fact sheets, workshops and a series of networks to co-ordinate employment offers.

Ms Stirrat said that in 1997 demand for part-time work by international students had been low but this had steadily increased.

“Prospective employers are now actually contacting us for their requirements,” Ms Stirrat said.

“We had a call for a number of Papua New Guinea students needed for three days of filming as extras on the Gold Coast. Another call came from Cairns, asking for a Mandarin-speaking student with underwater diving experience.

“We actually knew of someone who might be interested, and we were able to put the two parties in contact with one another,” she said.

Noel Gentner

Demand for part-time jobs grows

Staff donate

$24,000

Cheques worth a total of $24,000, donations made by staff to the QUT Staff Community Welfare Fund, were presented to worthy causes at a ceremony late last year.

Cheques were handed over to 12 community projects at the ceremony.

Community groups to benefit last year included the Paraplegic and Quadriplegic Association, Blue Nursing, Lifeline, Karuna Hospice, Autism Association, Youth Enterprise Trust and Family and Kids-care Foundation.

Orientation winner

• Members of the University Academic Board debated the definition of flexible delivery of units at its last meeting. Persuasive arguments were put from the broadest to relatively narrow definitions with participants even producing thick dictionaries to back up their argument!

• In response to an email request, Kelvin Grove staff have come up with 160 name suggestions (not all of them serious) for the new coffee shop being built on the campus. Suggestions include: Kelvineaters, Lavery’s Lifestyle Lounge, and Lord Cumming’s.

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C

ouples in strong marriages share household chores more equitably than other people, but women still do more at home, a QUT study has found.

The study of 90 Queensland couples by School of Early Childhood lecturer Dr Barry Burdon found women still do more housework and have more childcare responsibilities than their partners.

None of the men did more domestic chores than their wives, with men only matching women at weekends on the amount of time spent playing with their children.

Dr Burdon found that when women and men shared a deeply loving and supportive relationship, men undertook a greater role at home, doing more housework and child- raising activities than in families where the relationships were not as strong.

“Men’s working hours did have an effect on the amount of time they spent on domestic work, but that did not explain everything because you’ve got men that work fewer hours and do very little around the house,” Dr Burdon said.

“Where there’s strong, positive, mutually reciprocated support and love in its true sense, then the men are more likely to be involved in domestic work.

Chores shared equally in strong relationships

“A positive relationship had a positive effect on housework and childcare on both weekends and weekdays.”

Dr Burdon said the study showed that men’s working hours had an effect on the amount of time they could spend on domestic chores.

Men who worked full-time spent more time at work than their wives who also worked full-time.

On a positive note, some men who worked fewer hours devoted more time to housework and child-rearing, and most men also shouldered more domestic chores if their wives were working full-time.

“If the woman’s working in paid employment, then he’ll be more involved around the home, basically because he has to be, Dr Burdon said.

“It is a pragmatic thing; he knows it’s helping the income,” he said.

The couple’s attitudes towards what was deemed to be “male” or “female”

work also affected the share of domestic duties, he said.

The study also found that a quarter of the men surveyed had promised to spend more time with their families and to contribute more time to the household, because their fathers had been unwilling or unable to do so.

QUT’s Human Movement Studies Clinic is running fun, after-school workshops as part of an initiative to break the cycle of inactivity in primary school children.

The PhysKids program caters for children aged six to 12 who are overweight, or who don’t normally take part in physical activity.

School of Human Movement Studies Associate Professor Andrew Hills said lifestyle changes – including the demise of physical education in many schools and an overreliance on sedentary activities such as television and computer games – meant children were far less active than they were 20 years ago.

Children have fun and get moving

Children get moving in fun activities in the School of Human Movement Studies’ PhysKids program.

“Along with a decrease in physical activity and an increase in sedentary behaviour we are seeing an increase in obesity levels in children,” Professor Hills said.

“It is critical that all youngsters, irrespective of their size and shape, are encouraged to be active from a young age.

“We know that if you’re an overweight child there is a distinct possibility that you are going to be an overweight adult. So it is crucial that we encourage and support good exercise habits in children.”

PhysKids focused on playing games for fun, rather than winning or losing, and included short “sit-down-on-the- grass” lessons in health education.

“The PhysKids program provides situations where children who don’t normally take part in physical activity – because they may think they are not as capable as other people – can be physical in a non-competitive and supportive environment,” Professorº¡ Hills said.

“If they have fun being active it may put in place a change to their perception of activity that they hopefully will carry through their childhood, adolescence and into adulthood.”

The PhysKids program runs every Thursday afternoon, 4-5pm, at QUT’s Kelvin Grove campus.

For enrolment details call QUT’s Human Movement Studies Clinic on 3864 5819.

A combination of art and electronics came together earlier this month at a successful exhibition by QUT Fine Arts masters student Cyntia Franco.

The theme of the interactive exhibition, Capoeira, is based on a life- sized human robot representing ancient rituals in Brazilian culture and folklore.

Held at the Metro Arts Gallery in Brisbane, the exhibition involved the use of various media to encourage spectator participation.

Ms Franco said the exhibition’s main objective was to create interactivity between the artwork and the spectator.

Art and electronics join for Cyntia

Cyntia Franco with (clockwise from left) James Miller, robot Capoeira, Robert Rae and Fraser Wright.

“It’s more like an entertainment with the spectator participating in the exhibition, with the most important aim being to interact,” Ms Franco said.

“Many never participate in anything. We watch TV but we don’t get involved.”

During the exhibition, spectators passed through a dark room where their progress activated infra red sensors which switched on 3D animation on three computer screens and a video clip on a television set.

The spectators then entered a second room where the robot (an interactive sculpture made of foam, steel, latex and

electronic equipment) could move its arms and mouth.

The idea for the exhibition began in late 1997 and Ms Franco was assisted by three final-year school o f E l e c t r i c a l a n d E l e c t r o n i c S y s t e m s E n g i n e e r i n g s t u d e n t s , J a m e s M i l l e r , R o b e r t R a e a n d Fraser Wright, who were involved in the design and installations of the electronic interfaces, sensors and robot movement.

Academic assistance was also provided by a senior lecturer Dr Neil Bergmann.

Noel Gentner

High school students get a taste of university life

QUT’s John Liston with Nashville State High School students (from left) Rebecca Hadden, Coby Wise and Sarah Chilcott.

The Counselling and Health Department within the Division of Administrative Services has been disbanded and new reporting relationships put in place.

The Careers and Employment Service and International Student Services will now report to the Student Administration director Ray Morley.

Counselling and Health changes

Health Services and Counselling Services will report directly to the Registrar Ken Baumber.

The restructure follows the decision of the Counselling and Health Department director Dr Brian Whitelaw to leave QUT and a subsequent review of the unit’s reporting relationships.

A dozen Year 12 students from Nashville State High School in Brighton recently

“graduated” from a five-week university course held at QUT.

The students attended lectures, seminars and tutorials during the slice- of-university-life program. The course was designed by QUT and Nashville State High as part of a school project to introduce Year 12 students to post- school options, and was hosted by the School of Psychology.

It was developed to provide an overview of university life to those contemplating higher education, said

the school’s senior administrator Terry Cavanagh.

Students attended lectures and workshops, and were introduced to university research projects, library and research skills, student support services, effective career planning and a guide to QUT’s application, admission and enrolment processes.

“It’s like an orientation program specially tailored for the students,” Mr Cavanagh said.

“The benefit to students is that they feel more comfortable and know more about university life and what universities and academics do.

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Serene approach to art makes nice touch

Li Juan Sabag with her work ‘Sunset’, one of many works using traditional ink and rice paper in her solo exhibition called ‘Serenity’, held at Kelvin Grove, March 8-19. Ms Sabag, who has studied, taught and practised Chinese art in London, China, Israel and now Australia, said her works were designed to be peaceful.

Study looks at impact of wealth on exercise

A

round 3,000 Brisbane residents will be surveyed by QUT to determine what factors hinder or encourage people to be active and how these factors vary between different socio-economic groups.

The two-year study, “Why do socio- economic groups differ in their participation in leisuretime physical activity?” is funded by a National Heart Foundation grant worth $65,000.

Head of the School of Public Health, Professor Brian Oldenburg will lead the research team comprised of fellow QUT researchers Nicola Burton and Dr Gavin Turrell, as well as Professor James Sallis from San Diego State University.

Ms Burton said the data would help tailor health promotion programs which address the specific needs of different socio-economic groups.

“Some health promotion programs have been criticised as being designed by educated people for educated people, and for not addressing the needs and speaking in the language of the people that need it most,” Ms Burton said.

“We know that people who have a secondary education and are in blue- collar occupations tend to be least active in the population, and that people who tend to be active are those who are tertiary-educated or in professional jobs.

“This is important because people from blue-collar groups also suffer from

higher rates of heart disease, stroke, obesity, diabetes and cancer, and being physically active will help protect them against poor health.”

Research has shown that about 50 per cent of Australians are not active enough to lead a healthy life.

M s B u r t o n s a i d b e i n g a c t i v e improved people’s physical and psychological health and that the large proportion of people who were inactive had created a significant public health problem.

“Many people think that because they are busy during the day, always on the go, or are employed in a job involving physical work that they are active enough for their health, but this is not always the case,” said Ms Burton

The study will ask people about their activity levels and what factors influence this.

A preliminary study of 60 people from three distinct socio-economic groups – funded by a QUT seeding grant – has been completed and although results were yet to be formally analysed, Ms Burton said a number of early impressions had been formed, including:

• High income earners with a tertiary education tended to be the most active, saying exercise was vital to keep them physically, psychologically and intellectually primed for work.

They said they enjoyed the competitiveness of physical activity

and that being active and healthy was one of their top five life priorities and helped them balance their life.

Often, their workplace provided gyms, events, and incentives to encourage them to be active;

• People in administrative or service jobs with a secondary education tended to be less active than those in managerial positions.

Despite having access to facilities, most did not cite activity or health as a life priority and thought exercise was toodemanding on top of other responsibilities.

Those who exercised said they had been active all their lives;

• Low income earners and welfare recipients said the lack of transport and access to appropriate facilities was a significant obstacle to being active.

Others were reluctant to walk in their neighbourhoods, fearing for their safety.

However, some were active because they walked or cycled as their means of transport.

They also wanted an immediate health-related reason to be active; and

• Women typically exercised to lose weight and said support from their partners was crucial in determining if they were or were not active.

Many had been prompted to take up activity after a health scare.

QUT played host to a group of German civil engineering students during March to break down the cultural and physical divide between Australia and Europe.

Professor Helmut Kohl, Brigitte Black and 17 students from the Fachhochschule Frankfurt (University of Applied Science in Frankfurt) spent a week at QUT, familiarising themselves with Australian building and engineering conditions and procedures.

With the guidance of QUT experts, the students designed either a four- bedroom house or a ramp and tunnel entrance to an underground car park, which were suited to the conditions of the City Botanic Gardens alongside the Gardens Point campus.

Professor Kohl, who visited QUT two years ago with another group of students, said the project taught the students valuable skills in intercultural communication.

“The aim of such a project is to learn teamwork and to combine different subjects. In addition, we learn to use your language,” Professor Kohl said.

“Civil engineers undertake projects all over the world. Civil engineering projects go to foreign countries and we have to be able to adapt.”

Professor Keith Wallace from the School of Civil Engineering said the German visit kept staff up to date on current teaching and research in European universities.

He also said QUT engineering students would benefit from future visits where he hoped to have QUT and German students working on joint projects.

“To be competitive, graduates must now be able to provide solutions to technical problems anywhere in the world,” Professor Wallace said.

“We hope that this will be the model for subsequent projects in which our students travel overseas to work with local students as part of their QUT coursework.”

Breaking down cultural barriers

Visting Germans (from left) Franz Josef Gorka, Professor Helmut Kohl, Tatjana Zirdum, Sasa Celia and Murat Cosgun inspect Australian buildings during their QUT visit.

It was all work and little play for Dr Barbara Piscitelli and Dr Rosemary Perry when they travelled to Vietnam to lead a four-day seminar on incorporating play in pre-school curriculum.

The seminar outlined integrated approaches to early childhood education and training at the National Teachers Training College of Early Childhood Education, in Ho Chi Minh City.

It was attended by more than 80 representatives from the Ministry of Education and Training, the provincial college training system and the private service providers.

Dr Piscitelli said Vietnamese pre- school curriculum was highly structured, with teachers in control of children’s learning activities, and with very little play incorporated into everyday lessons.

“If you imagine play on a continuum from totally free play at one end, to a

No time for play in these pre-school workshops

midpoint where there is structured play with the teacher setting the agenda and the children doing what the teacher wants them to do, to having no play at the other end, the Vietnamese programs are somewhere between midpoint and no play,” she said.

“Our seminar pointed out that through play you can meet two goals: children’s interests can be pursued and national curriculum objectives can be achieved.”

Dr Piscitelli said seminar sessions included practical workshops to draft daily teaching plans to include up to 60 percent of play activities such as story- telling, dramatic play and art making.

The two academics were invited by the National Teachers Training College of Early Childhood Education for 12 days to conduct the seminar, hold discussions with college staff concerning teacher education reforms and visit six local pre-schools.

A new major in Geography and Environmental Studies is available within the Faculty of Arts’ School of Humanities.

Joint co-ordinators of the geography program, Dr Iraphne Childs and Dr Peter Hastings, said geography covered a variety of research interests which included topics such as El Nino, surfing and life in Japanese cities.

Major news in Geography program

Geography units may be taken as part of a major or minor by students in the BA, BA/B.Ed (Secondary, Primary or Early Childhood) and BA/LLB degrees, and can also be taken as electives by students in other faculties. For more information about geography studies contact Dr Iraphne Childs at [email protected] or 3864 4787.

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Y

2K scare stories have desensitised the public to the very real likelihood of power disruptions in the year 2000, says a QUT MBA graduate.

Susan Hutchison was commissioned by Consultel Australia (Pty) Ltd to investigate the attitudes of Queensland electricity consumers towards the Y2K issue and to establish whether businesses would consider litigation in the event of power failures.

Ms Hutchison found the business sector’s awareness of Y2K-related issues to be low – most managers still regarded the problem as an “IT issue”.

“Although the Australian public has been inundated with media coverage, consumers still do not grasp the reality that there will be disruptions,” Ms Hutchison said.

Companies need joint action on Y2K bug

The Y2K or Year 2000 bug will occur at the end of 1999 when many computers will recognise “00” as 1900 instead of 2000, causing computer failures or shutdowns. Ms Hutchison warns in her report that Queensland utility consumers showed a tendency to be litigious.

Ms Hutchison also surveyed utility providers and legal firms and found the latter group divided about whether Y2K- related litigation would be commonplace.

Utility providers across Australia are taking action to address possible problems, but there was a need for co-ordination, she said.

“Utility companies need to form task forces to mount co-ordinated publicity campaigns. The message needs to come out the same so that consumers are

prepared for possible disruptions,” Ms Hutchison said.

T h e r e c e n t p o w e r c r i s e s i n Victoria and Auckland confirmed that many big consumers would consider suing utility companies if production was disrupted.

Ms Hutchinson surveyed legal firms in Australia, the UK and the United States and found American lawyers were handling the greatest number of enquiries about litigation prevention.

Utiltity providers from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Europe and Asia were polled.

Ms Hutchison graduated last year from QUT’s Graduate School of Business. Her reserach was supervised in her project by business consultant and part-time lecturer Gary Fooks.

Researchers need to be aware that some long-running experiments may be vulnerable to the Y2K bug.

Division of Information and Academic Services Pro-Vice-Chancellor Tom Cochrane said that experiments which relied on old computer technology or timing equipment could be at risk.

While a five-member team was working full-time with QUT faculties and divisions across three campuses, there

Bug warning for ‘quiet corners’ research

might be “quiet corners” that escaped their attention, Mr Cochrane said.

“At first glance, research centre supervisors might think that their projects are not vulnerable because no computers are involved,” he said.

“What everyone needs to remember is that anything with embedded technology in it somewhere is vulnerable.”

Mr Cochrane said computer software systems written for small office areas, or

particular groups of students, might also

“slip through the net”.

This year QUT established a Year 2000 Taskforce, chaired by Dean of Business Sandra Harding, to oversee the mammoth university-wide task of inventory collection, evaluation and remediation, testing and certification.

University costs for 1999 for remediation are likely to be more than $1million.

Susan Hutchison ... utility providers across Australia need to co-ordinate to avoid blackouts.

Visual Arts head Donal Fitzpatrick ... students just as competitive.

The secrets of Gary Crew’s remarkable success as a children’s author have been revealed in a book written by two QUT academics.

Detailing Crew’s family background, professional training and extracts from his private journals, Strange Journeys uncovers the influences contributing to Australia’s most highly-awarded children’s author.

Written by QUT humanities lecturer Dr Sharyn Pearce and business communication lecturer Bernard McKenna, the book explains how the author has captured the imagination of a generation of young readers.

Dr Pearce said the key to Crew’s success was to use the devices of high-quality literature to produce a novel revelling in popular culture.

“He seems to be able to do what the great American writers do, people like Steinbeck and Harper Lee; he appeals to both high culture and popular culture,” Dr Pearce said.

“He has an excellent structure to his novels;

he writes a really good narrative, he’s got great plots and he’s very pacey.

Book reveals secret of writing success

“The narrative moves so fast and you don’t get long ponderous paragraphs. At the same time he appeals to popular culture and seems to get into the minds of teenagers.”

Gary Crew, who has tutored creative writing at QUT, is the only author to have won four Australian Children Book of the Year awards.

As well as biographical information, Strange Journeys contains extracts from Crew’s writing journals, providing a rate insight into the author’s mind and writing process.

The book highlights Crew’s treatment of plot, characterisation, imagery and symbolism, as well as tracing the author’s development from a first-time novelist to an Australian literary icon.

Strange Journeys is the first full-length study of an Australian writer of children’s and adolescents’ literature. Dr Pearce said the book would appeal to teachers, academics, students and aspiring authors.The book is published by Hodder Headline and is available in bookshops.

Gary Crew ... remarkable success.

Brisbane no backwater when it comes to arts

QUT students help generate a lively visual culture in Brisbane that is every bit as exciting as that found anywhere in the world, according to new Visual Arts head Donal Fitzpatrick.

Mr Fitzpatrick, who lived and worked in Sydney for 17 years, said he had been delighted to find QUT visual arts students were just as competitive as those in Sydney.

“I’ve noticed that students here are very much aware that they need to work hard if they are going to have a place in what is an extremely competitive industry,” he said.

“I think it’s a feeling that you have to work at the cutting edge in order to be successful.

“Brisbane has always had a special place in Australian culture. It’s produced an enormous number of artists and people who are working in senior positions in arts infrastructure around the country.”

Mr Fitzpatrick grew up in Brisbane.

Before returning to join QUT as a lecturer in sculpture in February 1998, he was head of the Department of Fine Arts at the University of Western Sydney, Nepean.

Arts at QUT are likely to become a lot more visual if he has his way. He hopes to extend the school’s presence from Kelvin Grove to regular exhibitions at the Gardens Point and Carseldine campuses.

“Visual arts is not an isolated discipline.

We very much see ourselves as a part of QUT’s culture as a whole and I think we

certainly see ourselves within the Academy of the Arts as a kind of research engine,” Mr Fitzpatrick said.

“The work we do is very much at that level of experimentation and research into what visual media is now and what it will become in the next century.”

Mr Fitzpatrick said he had admired the QUT course, and the quality of the students and their work when he was invited to be an external examiner for QUT’s graduate show in 1995.

Primarily a painter/sculptor by discipline, he was working in Brisbane as a visiting fellow at Griffith University’s Queensland College of Art at the time.

He was also a member of the Queensland Art Gallery consultative group for the Asia-Pacific Triennial exhibition.

Visual arts students will directly benefit from his keen interest in blurring the boundaries using new media. Mr Fitzpatrick will work as a member of the teaching team in the first-year foundation course at the school’s Merivale Street studios.

Mr Fitzpatrick said he was also working to establish links with Zentrum fur Kunst and Media Technology in Karlsruhe, Germany; ARS Electronica in Linz, Austria; and the Intercommunications Centre in Tokyo.

“These are the three outstanding schools in the world that have taken the core components of study that formerly one would have found in separate courses in the visual arts, architecture, design or film and TV departments, and focused them on new technology,” he said.

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Check out What’s On at http:// www.qut.edu.au/pubs/02stud/whatson.html Send your What’s On entry to [email protected] or (07) 3210 0474.

Free seminars give new students a study edge

First-year Bachelor of Business student Judith Otto picks up some study tricks.

S

treet-smart students are learning the secrets of successful study in a series of free seminars presented on all campuses.

At the first seminar, students learned the tricks of time management, how to decide how much time to devote to study and ways to balance study, work, family and social commitments.

Seminars run weekly throughout the semester.

Topics include getting the most from lectures, assignment writing, active reading, oral presentations, preparing for exams and displaying higher level thinking.

Marian Butler, from the Teaching and Learning Development Unit, which runs the series, said students were often challenged by the higher-level thinking and writing requirements of university.

“Students often have trouble dealing with the increased demands of university study,” Ms Butler said.

“They can go through their entire Year 12 syllabus in one or two lectures, so there’s a much greater demand on their cognitive skills.

“And they often have a perception that because they have so few contact hours that’s it.

“They sometimes don’t fully realise how much work has to be done by them.”

Secrets to effective study management include:

• revise from the start so you are less stressed at exam time;

• think and talk positively to yourself;

• set a weekly time budget, allocating time for study, work, family and sporting commitments;

• be persistent and consistent with your study;

• set clear, achievable, realistic academic goals;

• create a semester plan outlining assessment for each subjects to plan better; and

• if your study technique isn’t working then be flexible and change it.

Gardens Point seminars are held in V771, on Tuesdays from 11am to noon, and are repeated from noon to 1pm. Kelvin Grove seminars are held on Wednesdays in B302, at 2pm to 3pm, and are repeated from 3pm to 4pm. Carseldine runs two different seminars on alternate Thursdays. Seminars are presented in R302 at 11am to noon and noon to 1pm.

F o r m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n v i s i t h t t p : / / www.qut.edu.au/admin/cah/learn/ or contact TALDU on 3864 3677.

Amanda O’Chee

Good sports win Guild scholarships

National karate champion Kirsty Da Silva (left) and Australian Olympic softball pitcher Brooke Wilkins were among 12 students to receive a QUT Student Guild Sport Scholarship in March. Ms Da Silva, who is studying third-year physics, will represent Australia at the World Karate Federation championships in Germany this year. Ms Wilkins, a third-year Early Childhood Education student, has been a member of the Australian National softball team since 1993 and won a Bronze Medal at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996.

Inside QUT is published by QUT’s Corporate Communication Department. Readership includes staff, students and members of the QUT community.

Corporate Communication address: Level 5, M Block, Room 514, Gardens Point or GPO Box 2434 Brisbane 4001. Opinions expressed in Inside QUT do not necessarily represent those of the university or the editorial team.

Colleen Ryan Clur (editor) (07) 3864 1150.

Andrea Hammond (07) 3864 4494.

Noel Gentner (part-time) (07) 3864 1841.

Amanda O’Chee (07) 3864 2130.

Fax (07) 3210 0474.

Photography: Tony Phillips, Suzie Prestwidge Ads: David Lloyd-Jones (07) 3880 0528.

Our Internet site: http://www.qut.edu.au/

publications/05news/iqut.html

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STUDENT GUILD

Apr 1 I n t e r n a t i o n a l M a r k e t D a y . Noon. Kidney Lawn, GP.

Apr 16 QUT Cup Swimming Carnival.

Noon. GP Joint Sport Centre, GP.

Apr 19–21 D i s a b i l i t i e s W e e k . Noon.

Various activities on GP (Apr 19), KG (Apr 20) and Car (Apr 21).

Apr 26–28 Free Education Week. 12pm.

Various activities on GP (Apr 26), KG (Apr 27) and Car (Apr 28).

Recreation Courses. Everything from Carlton and United Brewery Tours to whale-watching. Further details in the Semester 1 Recreation Handbook. Contact Kirsten Fraser on (07) 3864 5536 or Natalie Mulvihill on (07) 3864 2928.

FROM THE ACADEMY

Mar 20 - A Handful of Stars. Directed by Apr 1 John O'Hare (nominated for Best Play for 1998 in Ireland for Much Ado About Nothing). Youths growing up in an Irish town stuck in another era. 8pm. Woodward Theatre, KG. Tickets $5 at the door.

May 6-15 The Jungle by Louis Nowra.

8 pm. Woodward Theatre, KG.

Contact Karen Willey on 3864 3453. or [email protected] Jun 8-12 Dance Collections. 7.30 pm.

Woodward Theatre, KG. Contact Leanne Cutler at [email protected] or on (07) 3864 5998.

Jun 25 T e n s i o n D a n c e T o u r . Two seasons in South Africa.

Woodward Theatre, KG. Contact Karen Willey at [email protected] or on (07) 3864 3453.

Aug 9-21 Cosi by Louis Nowra. Contact Karen Willey at [email protected] or on (07) 3864 3453.

SEMINARS, WORKSHOPS, CONFERENCES

CENTRE FOR ACCIDENT RESEARCH & ROAD SAFETY - Qld

May 9 -12 The Challenge of Integration – 3rd national conference on injury prevention and control.

Carlton Crest Hotel, Brisbane.

http://www.nisu.flinders.edu.au/

aipn/3ncipc/

CENTRE FOR APPLIED STUDIES IN EARLY CHILDHOOD

Mar 31 Is Developmentally Appropriate Practice for Everyone? Joint seminar by Associate Professor Sally Lubeck and Dr Sue Grieshaber.

1 – 2pm. B428B, KG.

FACULTY OF BUILT ENVIRONMENT &

ENGINEERING

Mar 31 Economic Development in a Master Planned Community.

Guy Gibson, development manager with Lend Lease Development, discusses the Mango Hill community in the Pine Rivers Shire. Noon – 1pm. OJW Room, level 12, S Block, GP.

SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION

Apr 29 How to Communicate Social Issues. One-day course run in association with The Society of Business Communication (Qld).

Costs $325. 8.30am –5.30pm. GP.

For bookings call June Gregory on 3864 5308.

CENTRE FOR COMMUNITY AND CROSS CULTURAL STUDIES

Apr 15 Irian Jaya. Seminar by Greg Poulgrain. 12.30 – 2.30pm. C319, Car.

May 6 Translating Culture: Examining the International Movements of Australian Literature.

Seminar by May Lara Cain. 12.30 – 2.30pm. C319, Car.

CENTRE FOR MEDIA POLICY & PRACTICE Apr 14 The Metasemiotics of Classical

Music and Film: The Retextualisation of Strauss &

Wagner in Pop Culture. Oral defence by Charles Leech. Noon–2pm. B509, GP.

Apr 20 H o w t h e M e d i a K i l l e d t h e Political Star. Presentation by Dr Peter Botsman, executive director of the Brisbane Institute.

12.30 – 2.30pm. Parliamentary Annexe, Queensland Parliament House. Contact Terry Flew on 3864 2276 or Danna Dale on 3864 2463.

Apr 30 W h o ’ s S o r r y N o w ? D r u g s , Sport and the Media. Seminar by Helen Yeates and Andrea Mitchell. Noon – 2pm. B509, GP.

STAFF & STUDENT COURSES Apr 7 Staff Orientation Program. For

new staff or any other interested staff members who would like to know more about QUT. It is essential to register beforehand for the orientation program. Training Room, First Floor, K Block, KG.

8.45am - 12.30 noon. Contact Human Resources Department on 3864 5610 or 3864 9605.

Apr 1 Assignment Writing. Free seminar for students. 11am–Noon. R302, Car.

Apr 1 Active Reading. Free seminar for students. Noon – 1pm. R302, Car.

Apr 13 Concept Mapping. Free seminar for students. 11am-Noon or Noon–

1pm. V771, GP.

Apr 14 Concept Mapping. Free seminar for students. 2–3pm or 3–4pm. B302, KG.

Apr 20 Writing a Literature Review.

Free seminar for students. 11am–

Noon or Noon–1pm. V771, GP.

Jun 24 University Management Development Program – Building and Sustaining an Effective Performance Culture. Program for academic course co-ordinators and general staff (HEW 9–11). Runs until October. Nominations close June 7.

Contact Jill Borthwick, TALDU, on 3864 2551.