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NewSpaper
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Issue No 84 Gardens Point, Kelvin Grove, Kedron Park, Carseldine Campuses and Sunshine Coast
·versities - criticised
Inside QUT photographer Su- zanne Burow is off to Spain at the end of this month to turn her lens onto Expo '92 in Seville.
Her trip grew out of her last year winning the Queensland College of Art, now part of Griffith University, 1991 portraiture award.
Ms Burow won the award with a series of six portraits in colour and in black and white. It was announced November last at the opening of the final year photography students' ex- hibition, held at McWhirters Art Space, in Fortitude Valley.
The award is sponsored by Hanimex/Fuji. Ms Burow's prize was
$500 worth of Fuji photographic materials. She still is finalising some sponsorship of her trip.
Ms Burow said the $500 prize would provide materials for her Spanish adventure.
'The images I shoot in Spain could be used either by Fuji or by myself,"
she said.
"When I come back I have to give the Photo Society of Queensland a two-hour lecture at their annual con- vention in Toowoomba, in June."
Her work in Spain would not be re- stricted to portraits. She said she would concentrate mainly on the Expo but also would strive to capture some traditional Spanish images.
"A lot of the photographs will be saleable once I return, either as indi- vidual studies or to stock photo-librar- ies," Ms Burow said.
"I have not travelled overseas be- fore. Any travel and photography is a bonus. It's a great life experience and I think it will help my photography tre- mendously to get out and get some dif- ferent images," she said.
"It helps to keep you creative. It is
very important that your creativity does not become stifled by working in the one environment for too long."
Ms Burow said she was very much a
"people" photographer rather than one who captured landscapes or just pretty scenes.
"But I don't want to be labelled as any particular type of photographer. I think the best thing about working at QUT is that I don't have to be labelled a fashion photographer, or a portrait and wedding photographer. I can be anything I want," she said.
QUT Central Administration 2 Geor:geiStreet Brisbane 4000 Telephone (07) 864 2999
Selection procedures . . need urgent overhaul
A senior academic has criticised Queensland's universities for not taking action to update student selection procedures.
He has accused the universities of 25 overall positions (OP) bands.
"sitting on their hands" for nearly two The students' OPs will be supple- years since the Viviani report was mented by up to five groups of field handed down. positions designed to separate students
QUT associate pro-vice-chancellor within an OP band.
(acadernic)ProfessorRonGardinercalled There also is a new "core skills" test for urgent action to overhaul selection based on the Queensland school cur- procedures before the end of this year. riculum which will be undertaken this
A member of Queensland's Tertiary year by every Year 12 student in the Entrance Procedures Authority state.
(TEPA),ProfessorGardinersaidhewas But, despite the changes, Professor appalled that the three-digit TE score Gardiner said the system still tried to system was in danger of being replaced judge all applicants at the level of a with "totally inappropriate mechanical Queensland Year 12 school-leaver. In selection procedures". fact, Queensland Year 12 school-
He has proposed that students ap- leavers now make up less than 40 per- plying for entrance to university should cent of those entering universities.
be assessed on more than their formal "We have a Jot of applic~tions from- educational
e- at qu ,
submit a written explanation of their reasons for applying for a specific course, undertake aptitude tests and at- tend interviews prior to the allotment of places.
Professor Gardiner's ~uggestions are detailed in a paper: Some Thoughts on Tertiary Selection, which he submitted to TEPA-a body set up following the Viviani report.
In 1990, tertiary entrance selection procedures were reviewed by Profes- sor Nancy Viviani for the Queensland Government. This has led to the scrap- ping of the TE score system and its replacement with a process based on
wor n ear or two, a growmg number of mature-age students some of whom could have been working for 20 years and, of course, a significant percentage of students with interstate and overseas qualifications," he said.
"The concept of pretending for the sake of 'Selection that all these people are Queensland Year 12 school-leavers is ridiculous."
Professor Gardiner recognises that improved selection procedures will cost more but argues that continuing intense competition for insufficient numbers of tertiary places makes such improve- ments imperative.
Other than a few areas such as the School of Social Science and in the creative and performing arts, he was not aware of existing selection proce- dures at QUT based primarily on multi- faceted criteria.
"In the past the computer at the Queensland Tertiary Admissions-cen- tre (QT A C) has done it all but now we have to take a more interventionist ap- proach, and I'm not aware of any area at QUT or in any other institution in Queensland where this is happening,"
he said.
"My perception is that the universi- ties are sitting on their hands. They know there's a problem. They know the solution is going to be expensive and don't know what to do about it."
Another change introduced by the Viviani report was more openness and accountability in the selection proce- dures.
"Everything is going to be very much more public. We must, then, have sys- tems that are effective, equitable and will stand up to public scrutiny," Pro- fessor Gardiner said.
• Social Science School leads way Page 4 ·
Inside:
Intellectual fascism threat
• Page 3
Registered by Australia Post- Publication No. QBF 4778
Vice-chancellor's comment
Vice-chancellor Professor Dennis Gibson is ill. His comment will re- appear in the next edition of Inside QUT.
Communication Centre ::
~--·:-~~- .. ..
·~.~-t receives . _ $4. 6000 grant
QUT's Communication Centre has won $46 000 from Telecom to help people come to terms with the latest in hi-tech communications.
The grant has been made under the Telecom fund for social and policy research in telecommunications. ·
The fund will provide $750 000 a year to academic institutions and com- munity organisations for research into social and policy issues related to tel- ecommunications.
The Communication Centre will use the grant for an action learning project aiming to find out the social and policy implications of new technology serv- ices, in particular the intelligent Broadband Integrated Services Digital Networks (B-ISDN).
from a computer terminal, pay televi- Jiion and videotext information serv- ices.
QUT is among four research insti- tutions to receive Telecom grants. Oth- ers are the Victorian state government- funded centre for international re- search on communications and infor- mation technology (CIRCIT), the cen- tre for appljed social research at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technol- ogy (RMIT) and the communication law centre in New South Wales Uni- versity's law faculty.
A Telecom spokesperson said the fund aimed to increase the quality and diversity of telecommunications re- search particularly in the area of so- cial and policy-related issues.
Working with members of the com- munity the research will study the im- pact on services resulting from the in- tegration of computer and telephone lines, such as banking or shopping
Postgraduate awards made under the fund aimed to increase the number of people doing quality research and pro- mote the public debate on telecommu-
nications.
Work violence victims - see page 7
Q-Step project gives battlers new hope
The new Q-Step project at QUT has attracted enrolment from 55 school-leavers.
The students applied for special con- sideration on the grounds of socio-eco- nomic disadvantage. They are part of the normal quota in all faculties.
Developed in 1991, the Q-Step project aims to increase the number of such students at QUT by encouraging them to apply for enrolment, offering the possibility of special consideration for entry and providing support dur- ing their first year at university.
Q-Step project officer Mr Derek Bland said the students were all very capable academically and had dis- played a high level of enthusiasm.
"Life circumstances beyond their control have inhibited their secondary educational attainment and it is a real
credit to the students, as well as a sign of their determination to succeed, that they have gained tertiary places,"he said.
Mr Bland also praised QUT for its initiative in recognising the need for the project and providing the opportu- nity for students from low-income ar- eas to overcome many of the barriers to tertiary education.
Prior to Orientation Week the new students attended a three-day introduc- tory program to help their transition to QUT. They were welcomed by pro- vice-chancellor (academic) Professor Janice Reid, then given an overview of QUT and its facilities as well as practical advice on study skills.
A direct result of the program was the establishment of a strong peer sup- port network, which had developed
In brief
The civil and mechanical engineer- ing staff at QUT have made it possi- ble for 10 local high school girls to find what it is like to work as an en- gineer.
During the summer, the girls spent time on site with engineers.
Women in Engineering coordina- tor Ms Debbie Messer says many young women forego engineering careers because of macho stereotypes and a misunderstanding of the na- ture of the work.
She said she hoped the program
Obituary
A computer manager who completed a graduate diploma in computing at QUT last year died suddenly at his Brisbane home on January 28.
Mr Ulrich Kehren was com- puter manager in the genetic epidemiology section at Queens- land Institute of Medical Re- search (QIMR).
He began work at QIMR in 1987 after graduating from Bonn University, Germany.
A spokesperson for QIMR said Mr Kehren would be sadly missed. He is survived by Roberta and daughter Kerstin.
p~_2 INSIDE QUT, 14 April"'1992
would encourage more women into engineering studies.
0 0 0
Physical Infrastructure Centre (PIC) deputy director Associate Professor Rod Troutbeck has been invited to sub- mit a proposal for a $500 000 contract in the United States to conduct research on intersections not controlled by traf- fic signals. The offer was made during a recent US visit where Professor Troutbeck was developing a compre- hensive program for data collection re- lating to such intersections.
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PIC researcher Mr Him Wong is to take part in a joint research project with Hong Kong Polytechnic. The project will study large deflection and post-buckling analysis of frames with semi-rigid connections.
The results will be applied to Mr Wong's work at QUT on racking structures.
0 0 0
The Australian Institute of Steel Con- struction (AISC) has announced a scholarship for the best structural steel project or thesis by final-year civil en- gineering students.
A judging panel of structural steel experts will select the winner from among projects submitted by universi- ties for their top students. The prize is a six-week overseas working trip up to the value of $10 000.
into a formal association within the Student Guild, Mr Bland said.
Q-Step students saw the association as augmenting the "outreach" compo- nent of the project, and as a way of helping others and providing addi- tional support for the 1993 intake. The association also will have social and educational benefits.
Mr Bland said nearly 300 students were nominated for Q-Step by schools.
Eligibility was determined according to background information supplied by schools and the students, plus their Year 12 results.
The Q-Step steering committee was now investigating the phasing in of the project's second target group -so- cial security recipients, especially those receiving supporting parents benefits, he said.
Honour for QUT professor
Contributions to the informa- tion technology, industry by QUT's School of Information Sys- tems Associate Professor Alan Underwood have been recognised by the Australian Computer Soci- ety (ACS).
Professor Underwood has been elected a fellow of the society.
The ACS national council met in Sydney on 27 March to elect him on the bases that he:
• has made significant contributions to the information technology indus- try in the promotion of professional- ism in his work, and in his various roles in the ACS, particularly during his time as president,
• has made distinguished contribu- tions to the application and promotion of information technology in Australia.
In his role as immediate past presi- dent of the ACS Professor Underwood continues as a member of the national management committee and national council. He also is a director of the information industries education and training foundation (IIETF) which co- funded the recent discipline review of computing studies and information sciences education.
professional sport has become too violent.
ADRIAN SUTTON
Associate Diploma- Clinical Labo- ratory Techniques
"No, they have rules to prevent vio- lence and to tone it down.
"The majority of rules are obeyed and if not, they have penalties.
"Football isn't violent, it's a rough game.
"There is a fine line between being violent and going in hard and playing the game the way it is meant to be played."
RICHARD TUTTLE
Bachelor of Business - Economics
"The only professional sport I'm into is Aussie rules.
"Rugby union and league are vio- lent sports and violent by nature.
"It hasn't become more violent over recent years, it always has been.
"Compared to rugby, Aussie rules is definitely not as violent."
JOBURGESS
Bachelor of Business -Accountancy
"Yes, some sports are too violent.
For example, in rugby league fights break out on the field.
"I think that sometimes they forget it is just a game.
"There is a winner and a loser and
they just get too violent sometimes."
TANJA JOHANSON
Bachelor of Applied Science/ Bach- elor of Business
"Sport has been getting too violent.
A lot of emphasis is on winning, not playing sport as a team.
"Little kids see their idols being vio- lent and saying fighting is okay so they'll practise that when playing sport at school or on weekends.
"Idols influence their actions and it becomes a part of everyday life for them."
Danger of intellec ual
Volunteers coordinator Nicole Corbett busily answers phone donations. (Photo: Tony Phillips) graduates.
Nicole Corbett is coordinator of the student volunteers who have been giving their time to help raise money for QUT.
The QUT foundation has been running a phonathon as
· a follow up to a "mail-out" campaign. It is all part of the m foundation's annual appeal to QUT graduates and friends.
Senior development officer (alumni) Ms Kate McKeering said: "We are building an endowment for the [ future." She offered thanks on behalf of QUT to all those § who had pledged funds, and to all volunteer workers on iN the phones.
Potential supporters are told their donation will be used for research, equipment, library, computing, high quality teaching programs, students' prizes, scholar- ships and to improve the employment prospects of
Ms McKeering said the phonathon would be contin- ued two weeks after Easter. Volunteer callers would be needed. Anyone interested in helping QUT should call her on: (07) 864 1837.
Wbrld
· action
---=~.=,:~ More than 400 delegates from around the world will attend a ma- jor conference organised by a mem- ber of QUT's Academic Staff De- velopment Unit.The Second World Congress on Action Learning, Action Research and Process Management will be held at St John's College, University of Queensland, from 14-17 July this year.
Lecturer with the Academic Staff Development Unit Ms Tricia Weeks is convenor of the congress.
She said the theme would be Trans- forming tomorrow today: reflecting the philosophy of collaborative change in government, industry, edu- cation and the community.
Ms Weeks said she was on the com- mittee for the first congress which was held at Griffith University in 1990. She had been studying through
Deakin University, which she de- scribed as "the hub of action re- search".
"Action research" was taking tradi- tional research a step further. Where traditional research pinpointed prob- lems, action research went on to im- prove situations so that answers could be found to problems, she explained.
"The first congress was a success and drew together about 300 people from all around the world," Ms Weeks said.
Purpose
An association called Action Learning, Action Research and Proc- ess Management Inc (ALARPM) has been formed. Ms Weeks is the inau- gural chairperson. She said the inau- gural annual general meeting would be held during the second world con- gress. Attendance at the congress pro- vided automatic membership of the
Student in car smash
The School of Media and Journalism was stunned by the news last week that one of its students had been critically injured in a car smash.
Third-year journalism student Ms Elizabeth Deveney suffered severe injuries when the vehicle she was travelling in collided with a petrol tanker on the afternoon of Friday, 3 April.
She was admitted to Princess Alexandra Hospital and placed in intensive care. At the time of going to press last Friday, a hospital spokesman said Elizabeth was still in the intensive care ward. Her condition was described as poor.
Elizabeth's fellow students and teaching staff wish her a speedy recovery.
organisation.
Ms Weeks said the purpose of ALARPM was to "promote network- ing of like-minded spirits and pro- mote future congresses on a bi-an- nual basis". A third world congress already is planned to be held in Eire in 1994.
Keynote speakers at the second world congress will be:
• Professor Peter Checkland, pro- fessor of systems in the postgraduate department of systems at Lancaster University UK.
• Professor Orlando Fals Borda, emeritus professor leading private re- search and action programs dedicated to participatory projects. He is a lead- ing Latin American intellectual and deputy to the National Constituent Assembly of Colombia
• Professor Jim Mc~rnan, cur- rently (Martin Luther) King distin- guished chair at the University of East Carolina USA. Professor McKernan, who is renowned for his curriculum research, will host the third world congress
• Associate Professor Robin McTaggart, associate professor of curriculum culture and media stud- ies and acting director of Deakin In- stitute for Studies in Education
• Dr Brian Hall, associate profes- sor and director of pastoral counsel- ling at Santa Clara, California, USA.
fascis m 1n •
One of Australia's leading crime experts has warned against the rise of a new form of fascism known as the "politically correct movement" in Australian universities.
He claims the introduction of be- havioural codes to control racist and sexist attitudes threatens the demo- cratic right of free speech and can amount to government "thought con- trol".
In his inaugural lecture at QUT last Wednesday night, recently appointed dean of the arts faculty Professor Paul Wilson said the harms of free speech and unpopular ideas must be risked because the benefits far outweighed the disadvantages.
Professor Wilson, formerly of the Australian Bureau of Criminology, Canberra, took up his QUT appoint- ment early this year.
In his lecture he said faculties of arts at most Australian universities had in recent years been forced to defend their relevance in an age of economic rationalism and technical achievement.
But he warned that arts faculties could self-destruct as the new form of fascism threatened the integrity of the humanities, the social sciences and even performing and visual arts.
"Though most of the obvious
·manifestations of politically correct fascism come from the United States, it would be only the most incau- tious observer who believed the same ingrained ideology could not arise in this country," Professor Wilson said.
The humanities could be justified on three counts. Humanities subjects should transmit and explore cultural capital, they had the potential to teach people to think cogently and com- municate effectively and they could produce ethically literate public per- sonnel, he said.
Arguments
But academics had failed in Aus- tralia to publicly and assertively ar- ticulate these arguments.
The social sciences, performing and visual arts would continue to prosper, despite the "token public relations efforts".
Professor Wilson said the number of arts students in Australia had in- creased by 33 percent between 1980 and 1990, from 83 000 to II 0 000.
During the same period arts ac- counted for one-quarter of total enrolments.
In 1990, the arts share of enrolments stood at 23 percent, just ahead of business, administration and economics.
There were two opposing forces that could reverse the trend in arts enrolments, Professor Wilson warned. The first related to the em- ployability of graduates.
"If our graduates are not literate
and relevant then employers will look
Professor Paul Wilson
outside arts faculties for their gradu- ate recruits," he said.
The second danger was that arts faculties would "tear themselves apart" from within.
"The attempt in both British and American universities to make peo- ple virtuous- on matters of sex, gen- der and race - regardless of whether they like it or not, and silencing them if they object, is a contemporary form of madness. An intellectual fascism in the faculties which must be avoided at all costs," Professor Wilson said.
The political agenda was to enfran- chise formerly disenfranchised groups, an admirable aim and one which he had supported in his writ- ing over the past 20 years.
But new radicals said claims of a collective or racial nature were supe- rior to those of individuals and that individual rights, or civil liberties, were merely a coded defence of privi- lege, he said.
Professor Wilson gave examples where speech or behavioural codes introduced into US universities had been held to be unconstitutional by courts.
"It should not be forgotten that in
Australia we lack the constitutional guarantees that have protected free- dom of expression in America," he warned.
"Queensland, in particular, espe- cially given its appalling history for so many years on civil liberties, must never become sanguine about the im- portance of free speech."
As dean of arts Professor Wilson pledged to fight hard against censor- ship and a "fascist form of political and moral correctness".
"The individual's right to free ex- pression always has to be balanced against the public good," he said.
"The question is, where should the line be drawn?"
Campus quickies
Help at last for those who have postcode problems. You know, it's easy to look up the number in a postcode book but how about if you've got a number and don't know the town or suburb to which it belongs? Now there is a database of all Queensland postcodes and localities, so if you have a question the postcode book can't answer call Rick All berry on QUT extension I 788. In fact, if you believe you have sufficient use for the database, Rick can arrange a copy for you. It runs under MS Works.
0 0 0
QUT Office of Commercial Services project officer Keith Done thought all his birthdays had come at once when he took an inquiry from a woman about the resilvering of a mirror. Knowing the process could be carried out at the university, he asked where the mirror was located, simply trying to establish whether or not it could be brought here. In a husky, Swedish accent the woman told him the mirror was in a sex tent.
Silence from Keith. Thinking he had not understood her, she went on to explain she and her husband were circumnavigating the world by sea and the mirror was essential for them to get bearings from the sun. Our deflated hero realised she had meant to say "sextant".
• -Page3 INSIDEOUT,14April1992
:
-::::
I
:«: While Professor Gisela Kaplan ji is widely recognised as one of Aus-1,, tralia's leading social engineers,
m~,;· lecturing staff at QUT's mechani-
. cal engineering school associate the
· name more readily with giant tur-
1
bines.$ The new head of the social sci-
• ences school is the great-niece of fa-
Hi' mous European engineer Victor
~ Kaplan, who invented a turbine
1
widely used to create hydro-electric-% ity in rivers and locks.
01 The mechanical engineering school's turbomachine laboratory has two models and a mounted photo- graph of the propeller-like Kaplan
"' turbine.
Senior lecturer Dr Doug Hargraves said the turbine was suitable for low- elevation installations in ·which the -height of the dam wall was not much
above the level of the turbine.
It is used mainly in Europe although the Encyclopedia of the History ofTech- nology says it was also used by the Tennessee Valley Authority in the United States in darns constructed un-
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der Roosevelt's New Deal in the im- mediate post-Second World War years.
The encyclopaedia says Kaplan patented his turbine before World War I in Brno, Czechoslovakia, but it was neglected until the 1920s.
Its best-known application is in the
v
great tidal-power system of the Rance estuary near St Malo in France.
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Motivation factor in
select-io . n
Professor Gisela Kaplan says the School of Social Science already is using a student selection system along the lines being suggested by associ- ate pro-vice-chancellor Professor Ron Gardiner.
"We take everyone, whether they have indicated a QUT course from first to sixth preference, ·and give them a questionnaire," Professor Kaplan said.
"Completion of the questionnaire is already some pre-selection indicator of motivation and so forth because the return rate is about 50 percent."
Last year the school sent out 1200 questionnaires. Of the 50 percent re- turned and read, half were selected.
The questionnaires provided informa- tion on a student's academic standard and work experience.
"It has a motivational dimension,"
she explained.
"The students are asked to write a brief essay on why they want do to this course. So if somebody wants to engage in social work and writes 'be- cause I want a big house' that might not be the right reason."
Professor Kaplan said these were some of the pre-selection procedures then the students who had been se- lected from the questionnaires were invited to the school for interviews.
There were two kinds of interviews.
One was a group interview and the other individual. There were 12 staff involved, each working for two days on the direct selection procedure.
"So every staff member does a maxi- mum of four interview sessions," she said.
"First, the group interviews take one and a half hours, then the individual interviews may take that long again."
The group interviews were useful for seeing how students interacted with each other. If for example; a student talked constantly and failed to listen to anyone else it would point to a lack of talent for counselling or listening to other peoples' problems.
"We are all trained psychologists here so we are in a position to give ourselves some guidelines. Nothing is 100 percent," Professor Kaplan said.
Following the individual interviews at which there always were at least two staff members, there was a meet- ing and a round of first offers made.
Professor Kaplan said the system enabled the school to control the qual- ity of students selected.
Employers on campus
Business students attended a pres- entation at the Hilton hotel late last month for the Coopers and Lybrand launch of the 1992 Employers on Campus program.
Employers taking part in this year's program are: Arthur Anderson, Aus- tralianPublic Service, Bentleys, BHP, Ernst and Young, Esso Australia, De- partment of Finance, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Honeywell, KPMG Peat Marwick, Pioneer Con- crete, Price Waterhouse, Westpac and Woodside Offshore Petroleum.
Doubts over _.port rail link offer
The program consists of employer presentations and recruitment inter- views, with the opportunity for students to meet employers.Coordinator of QUT careers and employment Ms Eve Wicks said final year students had to take the initiative to gain the leading edge in the graduate market.
QUT's chair of urban studies Pro- fessor Bob Stimson welcomes Prime Minister Keating's One Nation fund- ing offer for rail links to the Port of
"Brisbane and the Gold Coast but fears they are not part of a cohesive regional develop~ent plan.
Professor Stimson, formerly project director for the Brisbane City Coun- cil's Brisbane Plan project, said the port rail link in particular was "essen- tial".
It was a major recommendation of The Stimson Report, Brisbane -'Mag- net City which proposed a set of strat- egies for the development of Brisbane and its role in the south-east Queens- land region for the coming 20 years.
The report also said Brisbane's inter- national airport must be "fast-tracked".
Professor Stimson said while the One Nation statement's recognition of the need for transport infrastructure projects was timely he was concerned it resulted from a "knee-jerk reaction to falling electoral popularity".
"While it's pleasing to see the im- portance of infrastructure is now being recognised, the small amount to be spent on the (port) rail link is only a drop in the ocean in comparison to what has to be spent," he said.
''I'm not so sure it has been devel- oped in the context of a cuherent na- tional plan for transportation, commu- nications and infrastructure."
While there needed to be improved transportation links to the Gold Coast comparative feasibility studies on dif- ferent modes of transportation should have been done before a specific com- mitment to rail was made. Transport planning for the Brisbane-Gold Coast corridor also needed to be integrated fully into planning for the future urban form and structure of the south-east Queensland region.
Professor Stimson said that since the 1970s there had been "an unfortunate abrogation of responsibilities at all lev- els of government on infrastructure in- vestment, especially transportation in-
frastructure".
"We don't have a proper nation~!
rail net, we don't have an integrated intercity freeway network," he said.
"It's a matter of priorities. We've gone the welfare state direction rather than the infrastructure investment di- rection in our public policy priorities.
On an international comparison basis there's been a downward trend in the proportion of g,ross domestic product (GOP) spent on infrastructure in the past 20 years."
Professor Stimson said completion of the standard gauge rail link to the ' Port of Brisbane would result in the port's expansion. It would allow the fast turnaround of ships and take three days off shipping times to Sydney.
A streamlined operation for container ships would allow national distribution by rail from Brisbane.
"For an efficient trans-shipment you've got to be able to take containers from the container wharf straight onto interstate overnight trains," he ex-
Academic service awards
Eight academic staff members from six faculties will receive QUT's first distinguished service awards since amalgamation at this year's graduation ceremonies.
A revised format for selection was adopted following the amalgamation in
1990.
The awards for distinguished aca- demic service are made in recognition of excellence in one of four categories - re~earch and scholarship, teaching performance and leadership, academic leadership and professional leadership.
Achievements must reflect a degree of excellence beyond that normally ex- pected by the university.
Page 4 INSIDE QUT, 14 April1992
A maximum of 10 awards are of- fered in one year. A total of25 nomina- tions was considered for this year's awards.
The awards are made by the Aca- demic Committee on the recommenda- tion of the Award for Distinguished Service Committee. This committee comprises the pro-vice-chancellor (aca- demic) as chairperson; the director of the Academic Staff Development Unit;
president of the student guild; presi- dent of the academic staff association;
a dean of faculty; and an academic staff member of the Academic Committee.
A grant of $5 000 is presented to each award recipient to be used for work-
related purposes.
Distinguished academic service award winners are:
• senior law lecturers Ms Gay Clarke, and Mr Peter MacFarlane,
• senior chemistry lecturer Dr Graham Smith,
• senior civil engineering lecturer Mr Robin Black,
• senior mathematics science and education lecturer Dr Calvin Irons,
• senior public health lecturer Mr Alan Crawford,
• public health lecturer Ms Jennifer Mitchell, and
• senior media and journalism lec- turer Dr Stuart Cunningham.
plained. "If Brisbane isn't linked into the national standard-gauge rail net it can't be a significant player in the dis- tribution of goods."
Professor Stimson said Sydney's congestion problems offered Brisbane significant potential for growth.
"Without this opportunity Brisbane is likely to lose out to Newcastle," he warned. "In fact, it has already started to do that because Newcastle bas elec- tric rail links and new freeway links into Sydney."
Professor Stimson said south-east Queensland was one of the most rap- idly growing urban regions in Australia.
Within 30 years it would probably have a population of more than four million people. The biggest long-telll) issue for the region was getting a decent regional freeway network in place. ,
He said a significant upgrading of the Gold Coast road link to freeway status, and incorporating 'public trans- port, might have been more cost effec- tive than the rail link.
•
"1992 is not going to be an ea&y year for new graduates with employers more concerned about the economic down- tum," she said.
"At careers and employment we are dedicated to assisting students to de- velop strategies for career success."
· Employers on Campus will run from April to May and again from July to August. It is open to all final year stu- dents.
The program encompasses all QUT campuses but separate events are-being organised for Kelvin Grove ancf Carseldine .
Other services being offered by QUT careers and employment help students to prepare themselves for the job search.
They include workshops and seminars, a careers library with resource material on employers, and career planning ad- vice from professional counsellors.
"
Flinders· Univers ity of SA ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
I·
Are you a graduate or past-student of FLINDERS UNIVERSITY
or
STURT COLLEGE?
Are you interested in maintaining contact?
For details:
Tel:(08) 201 2574 or write to: Flinders University Alumni Association
PO Box 21 00, Adelaide 500 I
/
QUT marine biologist Dr Peter Mackey is leading a research project to ensure the survival of the Brisbane River's last mangrove forest.
The forest, located at the mouth of the river, borders the BP oil re- f"mery at Bulwer Island.
BP Oil has pledged $135 000 over three years to enable QUT's Centre for Biological Population Manage- ment to conduct a full environmen- tal study of the mangroves.
The study, which began in March, 1991, is analysing vegetation, fish, invertebrates and soil composition in the area.
Dr Mackey's final report, to be released in late 1993, will be used by BP 0il to establish an environmen- tal management plan for the man- groves.
Initial results have indicated that despite. traces of chemicals in the soil on Bulwer Island, the mangroves are flourishing.
Common mangrove wildlife such as birds, fish, crustaceans and mol- luscs also appear in large numbers.
Dr Mackey and his QUT research team are being assisted by students from Pine Rivers State High School, who are taking part in BP's "School and Industry Links" program.
The team's findings during the first 12 months of their research have been encouraging.
''It's been a very successful year's study," Dr Mackey said.
"The mangroves appear to be growing well and are healthy. There are quite a few pollutants in the sediments but they are the sort of pollutants you will find in any in- dustrialised estuary such as the Bris- bane River.
"There's stuff coming in from the airport, the Port of Brisbane, Lug- gage Point and from runoff around roads and storm water drains, so aU that material filters down through the estuary and becomes trapped in the sediments.
"But there do not seem to be any problems as far as the refinery is concerned."
Dr Mackey said it was refreshing that a multinational oil company was willing to sponsor an independent research project.
"Mangrove forests around Queensland are being reduced mas- sively through new shoreline con- struction and pollution," he said.
"Our estuaries and rivers cannot cope with this destruction as the for- ests are such a vital source of food for animals.
QUT Faculty of Business bas ac- cepted the first intake of students to its Master of Business Administra- tion (MBA) via the graduate certifi-.
cate program.
The business faculty, in conjunction with the Key Centre in Strategic Man- agement, offers the opportunity to ob- tain management certificates at under- graduate and postgraduate levels.
The management certificate is a short course which helps students come to grips with managerial fields such as marketing and accounting to improve their work performance.
It was introduced in response to the demand for a course which can be com- pleted within one year of part-time study.
Postgraduate certificate courses have been designed for people in the workforce with undergraduate degrees
in any discipline who find themselves in managerial positions without formal training in that area.
The courses are also open to students without undergraduate degrees_, de- pending on their work experience.
Management certificate program administration officer Ms Veronica Horgan said the demand for the courses was increasing.
"Many people hold responsible-po- sitions in the workforce but don't have that tertiary qualification to enable them to progress further in their chosen field," Ms Horgan said.
"So we cater for those people be- cause we're quite confident they will meet the faculty's expectations of a postgraduate student."
The majority of subjects available in the postgraduate certificates are also studied in the MBA program. There-
fore, canagement certificate students accepted into the MBA can apply for credits for the subjects they have al- ready completed.
"Management certificate students sit alongside MBA students in lectures and tutorials and their assessment is identical.
A total of 19 management certifi- cates (seven undergraduate and 12 post- graduate) are available in a number of areas. Each certificate requires the com- pletion of four subjects within a maxi- mum time of two years.
The 1992 tuition fee is $600 per 12 credit point subject, resulting in a total fee of $2400 for each management cer- tificate:
The closing date for semester two applications is 3 July. Anyone inter- ested should contact Ms Veronica
·Horgan (Tel: 864 2048).
Guide to conflict · management
Justice Studies lecturer Mr Peter Condliffe has tackled the complex issue of how to manage conflict in society with a comprehensive new book.
The book Conflict Management: A Practical Guide was aimed at helping students and practitioners learn about conflict- and apply the principles relating to it- for their working, professional or personal lives.
Mr Condliffe -a barrister, social worker and teacher - was prompted to write the book while manager of a research team preparing curriculum for conflict man- agement courses.
His team prepared the training course for mediators who worked in the community-based Dispute Resolu- tion Centres throughout Victoria.
"I had never written a book before but I had toyed
with the idea of writing a resource book for the media- tors themselves and for the people teaching them," Mr Condliffe said.
"But over a period of about three or four years the idea snowballed and it developed into both a resource book for practitioners and a textbook for university stu- dents:
"Gaining a publishing contract was crucial, as it en- couraged me to carry on and complete the work."
The book was taken up by Tafe Publications, who
thought it would be a suitable text for their undergraduate students, but it was also well received by the professional community after its release late last year.
"I think it's a very topical subject at the moment and people are developing courses in this field, so the book has a wide appeal," Mr Condliffe said.
The book deals with the processes involved in all aspects of conflict management and explains negotiation,. mediation and other dispute strategies.
It also looks at interpersonal and organisational conflict, and demonstrates conflict management tactics with practical exercises and role plays.
Although the book involved a lot more work than Mr Condliffe had anticipated, it's success has inspired him to venture further into the publishing arena.
"A QUT colleague, Brett Mason, and I are researching a book on whistleblowers at the moment and I have another project in-the wings, so it's certainly given me a taste," he said.
Conflict Management: A Practical Guide is available from Tafe Publications, POBox 388, Abbotsford, Victoria, 3067 (Fax 03-416 0463).
The price is $27.95 for one copy, with discounts for additional purchases. Inspection copies are also available on request.
That Brisbane College of Ad·
vanced duca ion (B AE) Kelvin Grove was amalgamated with QUT in 1990 is common' knowledge but for those who know little of its_ear- lier history a book has been produced to fill in the gaps.
Called Telling Tales - an oral his- tory of Kelvin Grove College 1942 - 1990, the book is based on Interviews with former staff and some students.
The forward has been written by the associate dean of education Professor Paul Thomas. The book was edited by Ms Susan Pechey. An initial supply of 2000 copies is being printed by QUT publications section. It will be pub- lished in time for the education faculty graduation ceremonies on 22 and 23 April.
Among the better known students of Kelvin Grove College are long-time 60 Minutes reporter George Negus and the witty, sometimes acerbic television gourmet Bernard King.
In his foreword to the book, Profes- sor Thomas says: "The people inter- viewed here give fascinating insights into an institution that has been the most important of its kind in Queensland for over half a century."
There probably are more teachers in Queensland who were educated at Kel- vin Grove than from any other teacher education institute, he says.
"What emerges from the interviews, as with most oral histories, is a mixture of reminiscences, romantic reconstruc- tions, humour, nostalgia, cynicism and so many other human emotions and perspectives," Professor Thomas says.
"Some respected the institution and its teachers, some didn't. Some found what they learned valuable, others found they disregarded it."
Author and editor Ms Susan Pechey says the project began in 1989 when Mr Dennis Cryle was employed to in- terview staff but some interviews dated back to 1981, when they were con- ducted by Mr Frank Hyam.
Ms Pechey admits leaning "heavily"
for factual material upon Norman R Anderson's Kelvin Grove, Forty Years, 1942-1981. She said there were hun- dreds of people dotted all over who shared many of the experiences re- counted in the book.
Page's. . . -JNSlDEQUT, . . . . . 14 . April 1992 . ~ . . . . . . . . . .
Communicati' on futures study
QUT's Communication Centre has published its first book - deal- ing with the futures in communica- tion and information management and policy in Australia.
Called Australia's Communication Futures, the book has been edited by centre director Associate Professor Tony Stevenson and Ms June Lennie, research officer for the centre.
It was compiled from a series of papers by authors from Australia and overseas.
"The book was inspired by a sym- posium of the same name we held here four years ago," Professor Stevenson said.
"Much has happened since then and we've used some of those (sympo- sium) papers and brought in more material to look ahead at how Austral- ians might communicate in the next I 0 to 20 years."
The title made use of the word "fu- tures", using the plural form because there were a number of alternative fu- tures available to Australia.
"It depends on what action we take now to determine the future we end up in," Professor Stevenson said. "The papers look at public policy issues that will face Australia in the next decade or so in building its telecommunica- tions infra-structure and bringing in new technologies such as high defini- tion television (HDTV) and the intel- ligent electronic networks that will emerge from our current telephone system."
The book examined the implications for society of not having a communi- cation policy in Australia, except in telecommunications, he explained.
"We don't have a clear, comprehen- sive policy in broadcasting. We don't
-
.. 'Page 6 INSIDE QUT;.14 April1992
Professor Tony Stevenson have a clear policy in anything, really, except perhaps telecommunications,"
he said.
"We don't even have a policy in pay TV. We had a ministerial change recently and the direction in pay TV could change because of that, so obvi- ously there is no policy for the gov- ernment, there's simply a policy that goes ad hoc with the minister."
Other research being carried out at the centre would be published soon, sending more strong messages to gov- ernment. It was essential for govern- ments, both state and federal, to frame workable policies in the area of com- munications, Professor Stevenson said.
Australia's Communication Futures is available from universities book stores or by mail order from The Office of Commercial Services at QUT. Its recommended retail price is
$21-95 with a substantial discount to students.
Newest -- Roo deterrent
even better
The QUT electronics whiz responsible for the highly successful kanga- roo deterrent Shu Roo has launched an even better version onto the mar- ket.
Shu Roo, a vehicle-mounted device which emits high-frequency sound waves to frighten off kangaroos, was designed by QUT electrical engineer- ing senior lecturer Mr Ken Curwen.
Since the introduction of Shu Roo, the vehicles have covered 810 OOOkm and had no encounters with kangaroos whatsoever.
Mr Curwen said Shu Roo Mk II had proved effective against a wide range of animals, including foxes, feral goats and even fruit bats.
Mr Curwen followed up the project with the development of Roo-Guard, a unit which can be placed around pad- docks to prevent kangaroos from de- stroying crops and pastures.
The next stage of the product's de- velopment will be to implement the latest technology into Roo-Guard.
Now an updated version of the mo- tor vehicle unit has been developed - Shu Roo Mk II - which Mr Curwen says is more efficient than the original product, half the size and half the cost.
"One of the problems with the tech- nology I've developed for Shu Roo Mk II is that it isn't extendable," Mr Curwen said.
"The latest product is more irritat- ing to the kangaroos," Mr Curwen said.
"With the existing Roo-Guard you can double the number of loud speak- ers to extend the area covered and it wiJI still produce the same signal.
"We have found by trial and error that if the sound is intermittent rather than continuous, it is even more effec- tive."
"But the new low-power version is tuned to the speakers, and if you change the number of speakers you change the tuning. But it's something I'm working on."
Evidence to support the effective- ness of Shu Roo Mk II is qualitative rather than quantitive. The very fact that drivers report little contact with kangaroos on the road is the main proof of its worth.
Mr Curwen said Roo-Guard had at- tracted widespread attention from overseas farmers.
"We've had very strong interest from a New Zealand dairy coopera- tive, who want to use the product as a guard against possums, which are a major problem over there," Mr Curwen said.
Press Trans, a transport company based in Tamworth in western New South Wales, has used the original Shu Roo with great success on its four ve- hicles.
Before the devices were fitted, at least one of the vehicles was forced off the road for repairs every seven to eight weeks because of major 'roo strikes.
"It's not that the possums tend to eat anything anyone is particularly concerned about but there is the risk that they can carry tuberculosis onto pasture land where cattle graze."
A leading transportation engineer has criticised parts of Prime Minister Paul Keating's One Nation state- ment dealing with land transport.
Researcher in transport engineering at QUT Dr Luis Ferreira says Australia's road system needs a commit- ment to significant funding to avoid serious deterioration.
Dr Ferreira, of the Physical Infrastructure Centre, has released an analysis of the land transport aspects of the One Nation statement. His report says the statement rep- resents a $1.1 billion investment in Australia's road and rail network.
Earmarked for roads was $602 million which boosts current funding by only six percent over two years. The proposed road program emphasised interstate links and urban freight movement.
These projects could be expected to reduce the cost of moving raw materials and processed goods between sup- pliers and their outlets. This would make Australian goods more competitive on domestic and international markets, Dr Ferreira said.
But he questioned whether economic efficiency was the only or the most desirable goal in the allocation of scarce road resources.
Routine road maintenance, rehabilitation works and upgrading to keep pace with travel demand were all areas requiring a significant commitment of funds if the road system was not to deteriorate, the report said.
Dr Ferreira reported on a Queensland Department of Transport (QDT) survey conducted last year which re- vealed 16 percent of the state's national highways "had a level of roughness higher than the deficient and eight percent had roughness which was greater than the worst tolerable level".
The same study found 41 percent of roads adversely affected by cracking and 21 percent in a "worse than tolerable" condition.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics has forecast that Queensland's population will increase by .7 million to 3.6 miJlion in the year 2001. This represents an overaJI in- crease of 24 percent and an average annual boost of two percent.
Projected growth in resident and visitor populations over the coming decade would significantly increase the
, on eXpett N ' cttion
need for road maintenance given that 85 percent of all tourist visits involved road transport, Dr Ferreira found.
The QDT estimated annual expenditure of $650 million per annum would be needed for the next I 0 years just to keep up with urgent needs for construction, rehabilitation and maintenance of the roads for which it is responsible.
"There is a pressing need for a greater monetary commit- ment to roads than that outlined in One Nation," Dr Ferreira said.
"The allocation of $454 miJlion to railways may Jessen the strain on roads and hence relieve some of the road maintenance requirements. However, the One Nation rail projects are unlikely to result in a significant shift of freight from road to rail."
At best it would allow rail to hold its current market share, he said.
The One Nation statement would go some way towards relieving capital requirements identified by the National Rail Corporation (NRC) of about $1.7 billion over the next I 0 years. The ability of rail freight transport to become profitable and generate sufficient capital hinged partially on labour productivity gains. By tying future funding for rail infrastructure to new NRC labour agreements the One Nation statement is likely to facilitate the substantial workforce reductions which are already being planned.
Dr Ferreira noted the Adelaide-Melbourne gauge stand- ardisation would make future usage of the inland rail line through Broken Hill for Sydney-Perth and Sydney-Adelaide traffic unlikely. While 1500 kilometres of track would be effectively by-passed, savings would be made in recurring track maintenance and upgrading. This option could lead to significant gains in train productivity for the seaboard cor- ridor.
With the overwhelming majority of the proposed budget going towards track-related investment, the rail network would require investment in new rolling stock, train control systems, container transfer facilities and further track up- grading.
Dr Ferreira concluded that a package of improvements that placed greater emphasis on relieving urban congestion and accelerating road maintenance projects might well have yielded higher economic returns than the One Nation pro- posals.
