Public Relations and Corporate Communications Manager
John Kauter
(02) 6773 2779
Public Relations Specialist/Journalist
Jim Scanlan
(02) 6773 3049
Corporate Communications Officer
Leon Braun
(02) 6773 3771
Photographer
David Elkins
(02) 6773 3770
Events Coordinators
Kerry De Jong
(02) 6773 3955
and
Tracey James
(02) 6773 2768
Administrative Assistant
Kathleen Harper
(02) 6773 2736
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May 2005
March 2005Cicerone farm project: findings to be made public
April 29, 2005
There will be an opportunity, next week, to share the insights that graziers, researchers, and agricultural consultants have gained during their first five years of experimental farming in the Cicerone Project.
Established in 2000 on 150 hectares of land just south of Armidale, the Cicerone Project is working to help farmers on the Northern Tablelands make the most of local conditions. At a full-day symposium on Monday 2 May, Cicerone members and collaborators, including researchers from The University of New England, will present their findings and discuss the implications of those findings.
Long-term Board member of the Cicerone Project, Professor Jim Scott from UNE, said: "Members of the broader community, as well as producers from across the region, will have a unique opportunity, along with Cicerone members themselves, to hear brief summaries of everything we have learnt over the past five years - all packed into an exciting one-day program."
"The Cicerone Project, a producer-led initiative backed by Australian Wool Innovation and members' contributions, aims to understand how different management approaches affect the sustainability and profit of whole farms in the region," Professor Scott said. "Those attending the symposium will hear brief talks by producer members as well as by researchers and UNE postgraduates involved in studies on the Cicerone farmlets. They will cover all factors affecting the performance of the farmlets - from climate, soils, pastures, and animals, to grazing management, wool production and quality, worm control, and management decisions."
"There will also be a section when a number of growers will give their perspectives on how the three farmlets, with their different approaches to fertilizer use, pastures, and grazing management have been performing overall," he said. "An invited speaker, Mr. Geoff Saul, State-wide Leader of Livestock Systems for the Victorian Department of Primary Industries, will do the summing-up at the end of the day."
The event, titled "The Cicerone Farms Under the Microscope", will be held at the Armidale Bowling Club; registration will be at 8.30 am, and the symposium will run from 9 am till 5 pm. To book a place, contact Cicerone's Executive Officer, Caroline Gaden, on (02) 6778 3871 (or e-mail: cicerone@northnet.com.au).
The day is being co-convened by UNE's Centre for Sustainable Farming Systems, members of which are involved in the Cicerone Project. "This is Cicerone's most comprehensive symposium so far," Professor Scott said. "It will be your best chance to catch up on everything that has happened to date on Cicerone's learning farmlets." For more information on the symposium phone Professor Scott on (02) 6773 2436 or 0417 021 232, or Caroline Gaden on (02) 6778 3871.
Media contact:Professor Jim Scott, School of Rural Science and Agriculture, UNE (02) 6773 2436 or Jim Scanlan, Public Relations, UNE (02) 6773 3049.
Posted by Jim Scanlan at 03:40 PM
Respect Aboriginal intellectual property, researchers told
April 29, 2005
Keepers of Aboriginal traditional knowledge must be guarded from exploitation by pharmaceutical companies, among others, according to a prominent Aboriginal educator and commentator who visited The University of New England this week.
Aboriginal intellectual property rights have been neglected for too long, Jack Beetson told UNE academics and staff during his three-day visit.
“By and large Aboriginal people have shared their traditional knowledge,” Mr Beetson said. “But too often the Aborigine is still sitting beside the tree or the riverbank twenty years later while the pharmaceutical company is making millions of dollars.”
Examples of traditional Aboriginal medicines being used commercially include tea tree and eucalyptus oil and the smokebush plant, which is being investigated as a possible AIDS cure.
Mr Beetson is a former member of the councils of the University of Technology, Sydney and Southern Cross University and was a non-government member of the Australian delegation to the UN International Working Group on Indigenous Peoples. He has been commenting on issues surrounding research and Aboriginal people for about 30 years.
Mr Beetson was invited to UNE by the Human Research Ethics Committee and the Centre for Research in Aboriginal and Multicultural Studies. During his visit he spoke on a wide range of issues, including ethical practices in research in Aboriginal communities, Aboriginal intellectual property rights and water rights.
Mr Beetson said Aboriginal people needed to become equal partners in research conducted in their communities and that such research should be mutually beneficial. He said Aboriginal participants should be recognised academically for their contributions to university studies, in the form of honorary degrees or doctorates.
“In the past people conducting research [using Aboriginal knowledge] have benefited a great deal in terms of academic recognition, money and increased living standards. Unfortunately the people providing the knowledge have not moved on at all in terms of quality of life,” he said.
He also said research in Aboriginal communities must be done with an eye to possible benefits to those communities. “It can no longer just be research for research’s sake,” he said. “It’s now time for researchers to start asking these communities what sort of research they require.”
Mr Beetson said he was impressed with the ethical standards of research being carried out today at the University of New England. The researchers he met at UNE were highly sensitive to cultural and ethical issues surrounding indigenous research, he said.
“It’s a huge step forward from this university’s point of view to be inviting people like me onto campus to talk about these issues,” he said.
Mr Beetson is well-known to people in rural and regional Australia as a frequent commentator on ABC Regional Radio on Aboriginal issues. He currently works with the Port Macquarie Aboriginal Land Council and the Northern Rivers Catchment Authority, while also running programs for young offenders and homeless children at the Aboriginal Philosophy Farm outside Port Macquarie.
For more information phone Leon Braun (UNE Public Relations) on (02) 6773 3771.
Posted by Leon Braun at 01:38 PM
Rural crime and violence: worrying trend revealed
April 28, 2005
Communities perceived as perpetrators of crime are often the very people most anxious to prevent and control it, according to the latest research from The University of New England.
Professor Kerry Carrington (pictured here), from UNE’s School of Social Science, is compiling her research for a book, Policing the Rural Crisis, to be published by Federation Press later this year. She has just been employed by UNE specifically to research social issues affecting rural areas, and much of her work to date has been looking at crime and violence in such areas.
“On average, violence in rural areas is higher than the State average and we are uncovering a very big and hidden problem of family violence,” Professor Carrington said. She is collaborating on the book with her husband, Adjunct Professor Russell Hogg from UNE’s Institute for Rural Futures.
The main findings of their research to date include:
(1) Violence is certainly no less of a problem for rural communities than it is for urban ones. Some rural communities have rates of violent crime well in excess of the State average.
(2) Sexual assaults and other kinds of physical violence are not necessarily perceived as “crimes” in some isolated areas, especially where there is a “masculine” rural culture that sees nothing wrong with the use of force in interpersonal encounters.
(3) Women living in rural areas are loath to report domestic or sexual violence lest they lose their anonymity, or because they are unable to access appropriate support, fear social ostracism, or are too financially dependent on their partners to seek outside help.
Professor Carrington said she was not exactly sure why family (or domestic) violence was more common among rural communities but said there were a number of reasons why groups were blamed, en masse, for crime.
“In rural areas and sparsely-settled towns,” she said, “many residents will blame particular groups for a crime wave: Indigenous groups, or people who live in a particular area, or newcomers, or fringe-dwellers.
“In fact, it is these very groups that have most at stake in preventing violence and that are usually actively working to prevent crime. Scapegoating groups for crime serves only to increase tension within the community. Politicians who perceive the issue simply as one of ‘law and order’ are providing scapegoats rather than solutions to these complex problems.”
As well as her academic career, including positions at Charles Sturt University, the University of Newcastle and the University of Western Sydney, Professor Carrington has worked as an executive in the public sector and as a senior researcher for the Australian Parliament. She has attracted a number of grants from the Australian Research Council (ARC) to study a variety of sociological and criminological issues, including a $186,000 grant for her work on “Violence, Rurality and Civilising Processes”. Her research at UNE will focus on broader social issues affecting isolated communities, such as the difficulty of providing appropriate social services in country areas, rural models of preventing crime and family violence, and factors that harness the best from communities to promote social capital in rural and regional Australia.
Media contact: Professor Kerry Carrington, School of Social Science, UNE (02) 6773 3519 or Lydia Roberts, Public relations Manager, UNE (02) 6773 2779.
For a copy of the photograph of Professor Carrington displayed here, please contact Lydia Roberts on (02) 6773 2779.
Posted by Jim Scanlan at 03:26 PM
UNE researcher receives gerontology award
April 27, 2005
The Australian Association of Gerontology (AAG) has recognised a University of New England researcher for her hands-on approach to caring for older people.
Michele Chandler, a PhD candidate at UNE’s School of Health, was presented with the Association’s Award for Excellence in Gerontology by Dr Ruth Bright, a well-known practitioner in the field and a member of the NSW Council of the AAG.
Dr Bright said she was pleased that the award had gone to someone whose research had a practical bent, as people sometimes tended to see gerontology as an overly theoretical discipline. Ms Chandler’s approach to gerontology was extremely broad, despite her clinical background in nursing, she said.
“I was delighted with Michelle’s attitude to aged care,” Dr Bright said. “She has a very practical approach that looks at the social and personal needs of older people, as well as their medical needs. Michele cares for older people as individuals, and not just as a population en masse.”
Ms Chandler said she was proud to receive the award and pleased to see the AAG “getting visible in more areas, instead of sitting back and being this body nobody’s heard of.” She said the award was a good way to encourage beginning researchers.
When she is not conducting research, Ms Chandler works as a consultant to a number of local nursing homes and organises activities for their residents. She said she liked to “get to the bedside” and encourage the older people she worked with to “get out and live”.
“I like [the nursing homes] to be very lively. I hate walking into a place and finding nobody’s complained in years.”
Ms Chandler said aged care today was about much more than just providing the basics. She said, “I think the focus has now shifted from clean-dry-fed-type care to issues like sexuality, residence choice and lifestyle.” She said cultural sensitivity was also becoming more important in aged care. Almost a quarter of older Australians will be from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds within the next six years, according to government statistics.
The Australian Association of Gerontology has worked for almost 40 years to “improve the experience of ageing” through promoting research, education and informed debate. The Association provides advice to government on policies affecting older people and works alongside organisations such as the Council On The Ageing (COTA) to improve the lot of older Australians.
Posted by Leon Braun at 01:06 PM
Triticale breaks the ’10-tonnes-per-hectare’ barrier
April 26, 2005
Agronomists at The University of New England have broken the elusive barrier of “10 tonnes per hectare” for the yield of a wheat-related grain crop.
“We’ve done what we set out to do,” said Associate Professor Robin Jessop (pictured here), who leads the UNE team that has been working towards that goal for the past 25 years. “It’s a heck of a step up.”
Dr Jessop has always suspected that triticale, a hybrid cross between wheat and rye, had the potential to yield more than 10 tonnes per hectare. (Achieving this yield, for the grain producer, is somewhat analogous to “breaking the sound barrier” in aeronautics.) “For comparison, Australia’s average wheat yield is only two tonnes per hectare, and even in Europe the yield does not exceed six to eight tonnes per hectare,” he said.
While much of the UNE research has focused on developing high-yielding varieties of triticale, Dr Jessop emphasised the importance of “better management” in attaining this landmark yield. “You can do more with weed control, nutrition and timely sowing than you can with new varieties,” he said.
The record-breaking result was achieved on experimental plots at UNE’s Laureldale Research Station near Armidale. In a controlled experiment, the researchers planted 10 varieties of triticale on both irrigated and non-irrigated plots. (The irrigated plots received one 12-mm application of water at flowering, and all plots received the same amount of superphosphate.) Not unexpectedly, the irrigated plots produced about 20 per cent more grain than the non-irrigated plots, the highest-performing variety (as yet unnamed) producing 10.7 tonnes per hectare. Dr Jessop emphasised the point that these yields were from experimental plots, and that commercial yields would be expected to be lower (except under irrigated conditions where more than 12 mm of water could be applied).
The experimental triticale met every expectation that, despite its abundant growth, it would not fall over (or “lodge”) before harvesting. “Harvesting was dead easy,” he said. “It’s been specially bred with this in mind. In comparison, many wheat varieties will lodge at high yields like this. ”
Dr Jessop admitted that, during the experiment (between July last year and January this year), “conditions were in our favour”. “We’ve shown that, given the best conditions, triticale has the potential to produce very high yields,” he said. “One of our aims now is to develop and distribute a management package for the newer varieties of triticale that will enable producers to achieve big increases in yield. This will complement our continuing effort to develop varieties that have high-yield potential.” (While most triticale is grown in southern NSW and northern Victoria, there are already about 20 producers in the New England region.) Another important aim of the researchers is to contribute to the growth of Australia’s pork industry, which is a major consumer of triticale. The UNE research is done in conjunction with the Corowa-based pork producers QAF Stockfeeds.
Media contact: Associate Professor Robin Jessop, School of Rural Science and Agriculture, UNE (02) 6773 2502 or Jim Scanlan, Public Relations, UNE (02) 6773 3049. Please contact Jim Scanlan for copies of the photograph displayed here.
Posted by Jim Scanlan at 03:05 PM
Business gives helping hand to university scholars
April 22, 2005
More than 200 undergraduates at The University of New England were awarded a range of scholarships at a special ceremony on Thursday, April 21.
The scholarships total more than $2.1 million. Many of the scholarship donors personally presented the scholarships to the recipients at the ceremony.
Special guests included Mr Tony Windsor, MP, Independent Federal Member for New England, Professor Ingrid Moses, Vice-Chancellor of UNE and Mr Tom McMaster, a direct descendent of the late Douglas McMaster, donor of the Inaugural Douglas McMaster Undergraduate Scholarship.
The ceremony started at about 5pm and was held at Lazenby Hall. Friends, relatives, students, donors and academics were greeted with champagne and canapés before being ushered to their seats for the presentation of scholarships.
(Pictured is one of the scholarships recipients, Ms Wendy Swain, receiving her award from Professor Moses).
A key scholarship offered annually is the UNE Country Scholarships. Established in 1999, a total of 190 students have received about $4.75 million in scholarship funding to date. The total value of each scholarship funding is up to $25,000.
These scholarships were set up to help students from rural and remote areas and who have achieved outstanding academic achievement and leadership skills to fulfill their academic studies at UNE.
This year, Country Scholarships helped 33 undergraduates to study in a variety of disciplines, such as Teaching and Nursing, Urban and Regional Planning and Natural Resources and Engineering.
Some of the donors who chose to contribute to the Country Scholarships include the New England Credit Union, Tamex Transport, TransGrid and Fuji Xerox.
UNE’s four faculties and seven colleges also contribute towards a number of scholarships, each valued at $6,500, to help recipients cover accommodation costs for one year. A total of 16 scholars received these scholarships on Thursday.
A number of sporting scholarships were also awarded to students for rugby, touch football and soccer.
The ceremony concluded with a vote of thanks from Mr Thomas Fell, a UNE Country Scholarship Recipient in 2002 who is in his final year of studies for a Bachelor of Natural Resources.
“My scholarship has opened up opportunities for me and allowed me opportunities I may not have otherwise been able to pursue,” Mr Fell said.
For more information phone Lydia Roberts on 6773 2779
Posted by Lydia Roberts at 01:26 PM
Academics honour a life’s service to political thought
April 21, 2005
Distinguished historian and leading social scientist Professor Hugh Stretton AC launched a book honouring the work of Emeritus Professor Graham Maddox at The University of New England on Wednesday, April 20.
More than 20 academics from around the world contributed chapters to the book, A Passion for Politics: Essays in Honour of Graham Maddox.
Edited by fellow UNE academic Dr Tim Battin and published by Pearson Education Australia, the book was launched on Professor Maddox’s 65th birthday.
About 100 colleagues and friends gathered at Booloominbah for the launch.
“[Professor] Graham [Maddox] is a persistent, subtle and creative explorer of human nature,” Professor Stretton said at the launch.
“He is a vivid and wonderful defender of the best of academic traditions. The book is a remarkable academic success.”
The book, which includes 24 chapters, covers a breadth of topics with which Professor Maddox’s work has dealt over his 40-year academic career at UNE, including Australian politics, political theory, music and the role of education in a democratic society.
Emeritus Professor Milton Cantor, from the University of Massachusetts in the US, examines Professor Maddox’s work in the context of Executive War Power in the US; Professor Stephanie Lawson, from the University of East Anglia in the UK, contributes an essay on the necessity of political opposition, while UNE colleague Associate Professor Jeff Archer, in his essay, examines how Professor Maddox has followed George Orwell in holding “a warm sympathy for the underdog and a deep attachment to the constitutional state”.
Dr Battin, in his preface to the book, said the tome was “another way of honouring this wonderful scholar, teacher and friend”.
While Professor Maddox retired from UNE in 2003, he remains an Emeritus Professor at the university.
He spoke at the launch and said: “The Politics Department at UNE is a most harmonious and supportive atmosphere to work in.”
Among those who were invited to the launch but sent their apologies was former Australian Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam.
For more information, phone Lydia Roberts on 6773 2779 or (0438) 234 152.
Posted by Lydia Roberts at 11:24 AM
Strong seedlings help combat weeds in native forests
April 20, 2005
A project aimed at boosting biodiversity and reducing weed invasion in a regional National Park has produced strong results, according to scientists from the University of New England.
Ben Villa-Castillo, a PhD student on an international exchange program, has driven the project with the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). The project’s aim is to identify effective means of accelerating natural succession in the eucalypt plantations following disturbance.
To do this, the project team planted more than 2,750 seedlings of 11 native species, including acacias and eucalypts, over an area of 2.5 hectares in Bongil Bongil National Park, just south of Coffs Harbour. In three months, 90 per cent of the seedlings have survived, a 30 per cent improvement on seedlings’ normal survival rate if left on their own, Mr Villa-Castillo said.
“We want to improve biodiversity, reduce weed invasion and promote native animal habitat values,” he said.
Mr Villa-Castillo attributed much of the seedlings’ success to the team’s planting efforts, the quality of seedlings and good weather conditions.
He will now monitor for a further year the seedlings’ progress before analysing his data and completing the project next year.
Mr Villa-Castillo told how introduced species, such as Paspalum grass and Lantana, were highly competitive in Australian forest areas and strangled the germination of native species.
“One of our goals is to know if planting native species can reduce or eliminate these weeds,” Mr Villa-Castillo said.
“But it’s not only planting, we have to also log and burn and protect seedlings using fences. Wallabies like the native seedlings.”
Mr Villa-Castillo has been sponsored by the Mexican Government to pursue his studies in Australia. He is a professional Forester with the Mexican Forestry Commission
“Eucalyptus species are becoming a major weed problem in Mexico. My studies in Coffs Harbour will hopefully benefit my abilities to manage native species regeneration in eucalypt plantations back home,” Mr Villa-Castillo said.
For more information phone Mr Villa-Castillo on 6773 3690 or
Lydia Roberts on 6773 2779
Posted by Lydia Roberts at 12:29 PM
Vice-Chancellor of UNE announces retirement
April 19, 2005
Professor Ingrid Moses, Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of New England, will retire from her position as Vice-Chancellor in early January, 2006.
Professor Moses made her announcement on Monday, April 18.
She took up the position as Vice-Chancellor on July 1,1997 on a five-year contract, which was extended in 2002 and, again, in 2004. By January next year, Professor Moses will have served eight-and-a-half years as Vice-Chancellor of UNE.
“With my husband's 75th birthday fast approaching, we both feel that it is time to resettle (in Canberra) and start another stage in our lives,” Professor Moses announced to the UNE community.
“It has been a privilege being Vice-Chancellor of a University with highly talented and committed staff within a wonderful community.
“Over the next eight months we will lay the groundwork for positioning the University in a very different environment from the one we have lived in so far.
“There will be more private higher education institutions, foreign-owned universities operating in Australia, and teaching-only universities. There will also be fee-paying courses at nearly all universities, including UNE, Voluntary Student Unionism (VSU) and changes in workplace relations.”
Professor Moses, 63, was born in Aurich, Germany and settled in Australia in 1966 as the wife of Dr John Moses. Her early career was at the University of Queensland. She has served as Founding Director of the Centre for Learning and Teaching at the University of Technology Sydney (1988 to 1993) and Professor of Higher Education from 1990. Before taking her position as Vice-Chancellor of UNE, Professor Moses served as Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic) at the University of Canberra from May 1993 to June 1997.
She is President of the International Association of University Presidents (IAUP) and a member of the Regional Women’s Advisory Council (to the Deputy Prime Minister). She will continue as Australia’s representative on the Council of the University of the South Pacific and as Director of the Australian Universities Quality Agency during 2006.
Professor Moses has received numerous awards, including, in 2003, the Centenary Medal for her contribution to rural education, Honorary Life Membership in the Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia Inc, a Fellowship of the Society for Research in Higher Education (UK) and the Australian College of Educators. She was also awarded a Doctor of Letters (honoris causa) for her contribution to higher education research by the University of Technology, Sydney, and for her international work by the California State University – Sacramento.
Professor Moses’ research areas are the academic profession and environment, and the evaluation of academic performance.
Professor Moses said she intended to keep her affiliation with the university sector in an honorary role.
The Chancellor of UNE, Mr John Cassidy, said the UNE Council was unanimous in its support for the hard work and dedication that Professor Moses has brought to the University and said he looks forward to working closely with the Vice-Chancellor during the remainder of her term.
For more information phone Lydia Roberts on 6773 2779 or
(0438) 234 152.
Posted by Lydia Roberts at 12:26 PM
Program helps stave teacher haemorrhage
April 18, 2005
A pilot program providing teaching graduates with vital support during their first year of teaching has been launched by the University of New England.
The Education Alumni Support Project was implemented after government statistics showed one in four teachers quit within their first year of posting.
About 500 beginning teachers from government, Catholic and private schools are participating in the support project, which offers beginning teachers specialist support in such areas as behaviour management, curriculum development and dealing with “culture shock”.
Many of the teachers’ first postings are in particularly challenging schools, as well as rural and remote schools in western NSW.
The Education Alumni Support Project allows these teachers to talk over their problems with other teachers and UNE lecturers in an online forum.
One of the program’s architects, Associate Professor Tom Maxwell, Head of the School of Education, said the project would help new teachers make the transition from university to the classroom.
“There’s currently a dislocation between universities producing teachers and thrusting them out into schools,” Dr Maxwell said. “This is an attempt by UNE as their alma mater to support beginning teachers as they go out into the field.”
The online forum was the best way of reaching out to the greatest possible number of teachers, Dr Maxwell said. “These beginning teachers are often socially and geographically isolated. Having the program online means they can log on at hours that suit them, when they need help most, and get support from their peers and advice from academics at UNE.”
Dr Howard Smith, the program’s co-creator, said: “It’s about teachers helping teachers. Teaching is a lonely profession. You’re the only adult in the room. It helps to have an on-line forum where you can get things off your chest.”
Dr Smith said many new teachers felt overwhelmed by what was expected from them and that it helped to know that other teachers were going through the same thing.
Behavioural problems among pupils were a particular cause of distress, Dr Smith said. “I had a phone call the other day from a girl who couldn’t even get through calling the roll, because kids were jumping out of their seats and climbing the walls,” he said. Teachers who participated in the project were given specific strategies for dealing with unruly behaviour such as refusal to sit down and talking out of turn, he said.
The program has the support of the Department of Education, Science and Training, which has given UNE a Higher Education Innovation Program (HEIP) grant to fund the program through its first year. Dr Maxwell said he hoped the project would be a success, and that funding would be ongoing. But even if only a handful of extra teachers stayed on because of the program it would have been worthwhile, he said.
For more information phone Dr Maxwell on 6773 2583 or Leon Braun on 6773 3771.
Posted by Leon Braun at 02:47 PM
UNE holds graduation ceremonies in Vietnam
April 15, 2005
The University of New England has held two graduation ceremonies in Vietnam.
The first was held in Ho Chi Minh City, where 28 postgraduates received their Master of Educational Administration. The second took place in Hanoi, where 22 graduated with the same award.
The Masters course is offered in Vietnam by the Faculty of Education, Health and Professional Studies, in collaboration with the Faculty of Education at the Vietnam National University.
To receive their degrees students completed eight units, two taught by academic staff from the Vietnam National University and the other six by staff from the School of Professional Development and Leadership at UNE, with intensive residential schools taught in Vietnam.
The students were mostly senior administrators from organisations in government, higher education, the school system and a range of public and private agencies.
The Officer Manager of the Ho Chi Minh City Foreign Language Centre, Nguyen Thai Bihn Long, delivered a speech on behalf of the Ho Chi Minh graduates.
Mr Nguyen said: “For the academic staff of the two Universities there is great satisfaction in seeing us sucessfully complete our studies. It gives a public profile to the University of New England and the Vietnam National University to provide us with opportunities to pursue a range of educational qualifications that will assist us in making an ongoing contribution to the communities we are working in. The University of New England has a long, distinguished tradition in offering postgraduate qualifications to educators, and we are proud to be among the first students of this program in South Vietnam.”
Attending the ceremony from UNE were Chancellor John Cassidy, Pro-Vice Chancellor (International) Professor Robin Pollard, Dean of the Faculty of Education, Health and Professional Studies Professor Victor Minichiello and several academic staff from the School of Professional Development and Leadership. They were joined by senior colleagues from the Vietnam National University, including Professor Loc, Dean of the Faculty of Education at VNU, who delivered the occassional address, celebrating the achievements of the students at these two ceremonies.
UNE Chancellor John Cassidy said: “UNE is very proud to work together with one of Vietnam's leading tertiary institutions, the Vietnam National University, to produce leaders in the field of educational administration in a country that is experiencing tremendous economic and social growth.”
He also paid tribute to the academic and administrative staff from UNE, who were given high praise by their Vietnamese counterparts. The academic staff who teach in this program are Professor Grant Harman, Associate Professor Kay Harman, Associate Professor Larry Smith, Dr Fiona Wood and Adjunct Associate Professor Brendan Nolan.
The UNE team also held talks with the Ministry of Higher Education and the President and senior administrators from the Vietnam National University to explore other forms of collaboration between the two universities.
Posted by Leon Braun at 11:27 AM
Uranium helps date Mass Extinction in Australia
April 14, 2005
International pioneers in geological dating are working with academics from the University of New England to determine precisely when the world’s biggest mass extinction happened.
Their findings could force a rethink among academics about whether Australia bore the initial brunt of such an extinction, commonly known as “the mother of all extinctions” and which occurred more than 250 million years ago.
Professor Ian Metcalfe, deputy director of the UNE Asia Centre, is leading a million-dollar, international research team investigating the Permian-Triassic Mass Extinction, which was probably caused by thousands of volcanoes erupting and which eventually led to the extinction of 98 per cent of the Earth’s species.
It is an extinction which has intrigued scientists worldwide, particularly Australian scientists, whose research in the late 1990s led them to believe the extinction happened later on land in Australia, compared to the extinction in the sea in the northern hemisphere.
But Professor Metcalfe (pictured) is calling this theory into question and has secured the professional assistance of world authorities.
Dr Roland Mundil, from the Berkeley Geochronology Centre in the US and Professor Robert Creaser, from the University of Alberta, Canada, are pioneers in using cutting-edge, Uranium-lead and Rhenium-Osmium isotopic techniques to date volcanic and sedimentary rocks.
The academics have been using their technology with Professor Metcalfe to date volcanic rocks in Queensland, home to some of the richest deposits of volcanic ashes containing zircons and other minerals critical in dating the age of the Earth.
Said Professor Metcalfe: “It is hoped this work will reveal if the mass extinction occurred at the same time in the sea and on land or at different times.
“This will provide vital constraints for suggested causes for this near annihilation of life on Earth.”
Professor Metcalfe’s work was published in the prestigious Science journal late last year.
“The most significant part of the research is developing a technique for pre-treating mineral specimens from millions of years ago which allows a more accurate dating using uranium-lead and the new exciting Rhenium-Osmium dating technique for dating sedimentary rocks,” Professor Metcalfe said.
He believes that has been achieved and with the help of Dr Mundil and Professor Creaser that results will soon reveal, once and for all, the exact time the Mother of all Extinctions happened in Australia and whether it happened first in the sea or on land.
For more information phone Professor Ian Metcalfe on 6773 3499 or Lydia Roberts on 6773 2779.
Posted by Lydia Roberts at 01:22 PM
Dutch student shines light on new research
April 13, 2005
A visiting Dutch student has just completed a research project at the University of New England investigating the use of inexpensive, and robust, plastic optical fibres in chemical sensing applications.
Martijn Boerkamp, 24, presented his research at a video-conference, connecting his supervisor at UNE with family, his examiner and tutor at Hanze University for Professional Education in Groningen The Netherlands.
The video-conference was the culmination of five months work at UNE. As well as presenting Mr Boerkamp’s findings to his Dutch and Australian supervisors, the video-conference also allowed the countries to compare how chemistry is taught in universities here and overseas.
Dr Peter Lye, who supervised Mr Boerkamp (pictured) during his time at UNE, said the research has expanded our understanding as to how exposed plastic optical fibres are able to interact with coloured compounds in a solution.
The project has focused on the use of plastic optical fibres as chemical sensing probes.
“The application of plastic fibres outside that of novelty products such as lamps and Christmas trees are uncommon,” Dr Lye said.
“Glass fibres are used more extensively, particularly in communications, however when the protective cladding material is removed they are extremely brittle.”
He said Mr Boerkamp’s work has shown that plastic optical fibres can be used as a chemical probe and that applications such as an on-the-go red wine grape colour sensor could be realised.
Mr Boerkamp said he decided to carry out his fourth-year project at UNE because he was interested in the multidisciplinary nature and the applied focus of the research being conducted within Chemistry and Physics.
“I have had a great time since arriving here and think very highly of the university and the New England region,” Mr Boerkamp said.
This project completes his undergraduate studies and thus on his return to The Netherlands, later this year, he will graduate with a Diploma in Chemistry.
Research into optical fibre sensors at UNE is ongoing within the Photonics group of which Dr Lye is a member.
For more information phone Dr Lye on 6773 3018 or
Lydia Roberts on 6773 2779.
Posted by Lydia Roberts at 11:24 AM
UNE lecturer represents Australia on health reform
April 12, 2005
A political scientist from the University of New England is the only Australian invited to speak in Canada at an international conference on health reform.
Dr Jim Maher, Convener of Political and International Studies in UNE's School of Social Science, will join speakers from the UK, France, Canada and the United States who will talk about health reform in their respective countries. "This should enlighten Canadians about the range of possible options for reform and the successes and problems experienced in these countries," Dr Maher said.
The Friends of Medicare, Canada, have organised the conference, Weighing the
Evidence: International Experiences with Health Care Reform, at the University of Calgary at the end of this month. The Friends of Medicare have also recommended Dr Maher as a speaker at the Alberta Government's Symposium on Health Reform in early May.
"The Canadian health system has been under similar pressures to those experienced in Australia, including the ageing of the population, increased consumer expectations and rising costs driven by a range of factors including technology," Dr Maher said. "I think Canadians will be interested to hear of our experiences as they ponder health reform."
"I will also be interested to talk with Canadians first-hand and learn more about developments there in aged care, regional health authorities and public participation, as well as the North American Free Trade Agreement and its impact on the Canadian health care system," he continued. "I am sure there are lessons there for us to pick up."
Dr. Maher, a serving councillor on the Armidale Dumaresq Council, was the Foundation Chairman of the former New England Area Health Service. In 2002 he made a submission to Canada's Royal Commission into Healthcare headed by a former Saskatchewan Premier, Roy Romanow. The Commissioner's Report to the Canadian Parliament recommended that Canada retain and support its public health system and that the federal government provide more resources to the provinces to enable them to deliver services. This has started, with the Liberal government of Canada recently announcing a significant increase in funding for public health care.
According to Dr Maher, the original concept of Medibank in Australia, the forerunner of Medicare, came from Canada. "Medicare in Canada got its start in the province of Saskatchewan and was then taken up across the country,"
he said. "The Canadian model gave Australian health planners plenty of ideas when designing Medicare during the Whitlam years."
While in North America, Dr Maher will also present a paper on "Healthcare Governance in Australia and Canada", and chair a panel, at an international conference for social scientists in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Posted by Lydia Roberts at 10:05 AM
Line honours for a prestigious wool journal
April 11, 2005
The world's most comprehensive sheep and wool science journal, managed from the University of New England, has been reborn on the Internet.
UNE's Professor of Sheep and Wool Science, David Cottle, is Managing Editor of the International Journal of Sheep and Wool Science, which sprang to life on the Internet at the end of March. "We're using Web publishing technology developed by Berkeley Electronic Press, California, to make the information more readily available to people everywhere," Professor Cottle (pictured) said.
The electronic publication replaces (and continues the tradition of) the journal Wool Technology and Sheep Breeding, which, over the past 50 years, has built an international reputation for publishing papers on all aspects of the industry.
Professor Cottle, who was Editor of Wool Technology and Sheep Breeding from 1992, said: "By going online we're making our publication even more international."
As Managing Editor, Professor Cottle manages a group of 12 editors located around the world. He pointed out that editing technology employed for the electronic journal allowed papers to be reviewed and published very quickly, "so research results are made available as soon as possible".
"A subscription of $50 a year allows easy access to the journal, including both current papers and those from our 50-year archive," he said. "Non-subscribers are able to request and download a paper by filling in a form."
Professor Cottle commended the work of Mr Klaus Altmann, librarian at CSIRO's Livestock Industries laboratory at Chiswick near Armidale, who (with the support of the Australian Sheep Industry Cooperative Research Centre) scanned in the journal's entire archive. Australian Wool Innovation funded the transfer of publication from print to the Internet.
The Web address of the journal is: http://www.une.edu.au/sheepjournal.
Media contact: Professor David Cottle, School of Rural Science and Agriculture, UNE (02) 6773 2178.
Posted by Lydia Roberts at 12:37 PM
Golden opportunity for UNE staff, students
April 08, 2005
Fancy meeting swimming legend Ian Thorpe, or planting a tree, or helping people read? These are just some of the achievements of students who are members of the University of New England’s Golden Key chapter.
The Golden Key International Honour Society is a non-profit academic honours organisation which recognises and encourages scholastic achievement and excellence among undergraduates. Membership is offered to students who are in the top 15 per cent of their discipline. It also aims to unite faculty and administrative staff in developing and maintaining high standards of education.
BA (Hons) graduate Faye Wheeler is one of several students who have formed an interim management committee, to work together with UNE’s Careers staff, Airlie Bell and Rhonda Leece, to reinvigorate the Society on campus. A Trivia Night is planned for next month to bring together current Golden Key members, and encourage them to become actively involved in the Society
Three of UNE’s Golden Key members, Faye Wheeler, Amanda Williamson (pictured, with Ian Thorpe) and Abigail Andrews attended the Golden Key Asia Pacific Conference at Manly’s International College of Tourism and Hotel Management in January this year, where they met Ian Thorpe.
“He was great, a real inspiration and he talked about making a difference in society, Ms Wheeler said. “Ian talked about the Ian Thorpe Fountain for Youth, where specialists work with communities in the Northern Territory to help prevent ear and eye infections.”
Ms Wheeler told how members of the Golden Key Chapter undertake voluntary work in the community, such as planting trees and setting up reading programs.
The Society also offers scholarships and provides opportunities to study abroad.
Golden Key has chapters on most Australian campuses, including Universities of Sydney, Woollongong, Macquarie, Curtin, ANU and Edith Cowan. There are more than 300 chapters around the world in several continents.
Anyone who would like more information should contact Airlie Bell at the Careers Office on 6773 2897.
Posted by Lydia Roberts at 11:48 AM
School students engage celebrities for youth forum at UNE
April 07, 2005
The University of New England is to host the New England region’s first event in a national series of youth forums that has had a profound impact on teenagers around Australia.
Called “Step to the Future”, the program engages local high-school students themselves in organising the forums, at which prominent Australians speak about their road to success.
The 40 members of the student organising committee, from secondary schools in Armidale and Tamworth, met (as pictured here) at UNE last week to plan the content, management, sponsorship and promotion of the event scheduled for May 26. The day of lively discussion and creative planning has already resulted in the commitment of Hugh Evans (last year’s Young Australian of the Year, and recently named Young World Person of the Year), Barbara Holborow (author and former Children’s Court magistrate), and Julian Burton (AFL player and a hero of the Bali bombing) to speak at the forum. There will be six speakers altogether.
Speakers at previous forums have included General Peter Cosgrove, Dr Pat O’Shane, Wendy Harmer and Louise Sauvage. “I left feeling very inspired” is a typical comment from student participants in the forums.
The National Executive Director of Step to the Future, Robert Van Houten, said the event at UNE would be one of 21 throughout the country in 2005-6. He explained that the program had begun in Sydney as a pilot project in 2002, and that its immediate success had led to events in other State capitals and Canberra (as well as its debut in regional NSW) in 2003. The program aims to provide 15-18-year-olds with positive role models, motivation, and an insight into the lives of people prominent in a wide variety of fields, including business, politics, entertainment and sport.
“They’re able to invite anyone they like to be a speaker,” said Mr Van Houten, explaining that the students plan the program themselves and arrange for the speakers’ expenses to be covered, while the speakers donate their time on the day. “The speakers talk frankly about both success and failure,” he said. “And, in the 25 minutes of question-and-answer after each talk, the students are not afraid to ask the hard questions. Comment from the students can become very emotional.”
One of the student organisers, Mim Gardiner from Calrossy School, Tamworth, said the day of planning and discussion had “empowered” the members of the organising committee, giving them the freedom to make their own decisions. The event would “give the youth of the district a bit of a voice”, she said.
Mr Van Houten and his colleague Diane Allan, National Forum Convener for Step to the Future, visited Armidale for the day of the planning meeting. “They’re a great bunch of young people,” Ms Allan said at the end of the day.
For more information on Step to the Future at UNE, contact John Kauter, UNE Marketing Officer, on (02) 6773 2490.
For photographs contact Leon Braun on (02) 6773 3771.
Posted by Jim Scanlan at 03:47 PM
Weed Warriors release secret agent on field of battle
April 06, 2005
School children in the New England village of Kentucky are rallying to the support of a local farmer who has spent about $20,000 over the years in a vain attempt to rid one of his paddocks of Paterson’s curse.
The primary-school children believe that a tiny beetle has a better chance of controlling the noxious weed than the chemical sprays the farmer has been using.
Last week, in the guise of Weed Warriors, they released their “biological agent” (600 Paterson’s curse crown weevils) on the farmer’s paddock. They understand that the weevils, like Paterson’s curse itself, are native to the shores of the Mediterranean, and they expect them to do their ecological duty in devouring the tender “crowns” of the weeds. Their project is part of the “Weed Warriors” program supported by the Cooperative Research Centre for Australian Weed Management (Weeds CRC), in which the University of New England is a partner.
Weeds CRC staff based at UNE accompanied the children on their mission. One of them, Dr Susan Hester, explained that the Kentucky project was the first “Weed Warriors” venture in northern NSW. “Here in the New England region, weeds are a particular problem in our national parks and other reserves,” Dr Hester said, “and we need to get schools involved there.” The Weeds CRC’s Education Officer, Susanna Greig (pictured here with several of the Warriors), who is also based at UNE, was delighted by the children’s enthusiasm for the project. She and the Principal of Kentucky School, Mr Phill Roberts, discussed a unit of study about weeds that Ms Greig has devised and written, and that Mr Roberts intends to use in the classroom.
The farmer, Mr Dan Ward, told the children that his problem with Paterson’s curse had begun when he bought and planted a 12-acre paddock with a contaminated batch of seed oats 20 years ago. “I had a paddock full of Paterson’s curse just overnight,” Mr Ward said. “I’ve put a terrific effort into trying to control it, and of course I’ve been unable to sell hay from that paddock. It’s made life very difficult.”
Mr Paul Sullivan, Coordinator of Biological Weed Control for the NSW Department of Primary Industries, spoke to the children in their classroom, preparing them for the task ahead, before leading them into the field. (Mr Sullivan, based in Tamworth, has been asked to coordinate the “Weed Warriors” program throughout NSW.) His colleague, Mr Phil Christian, helped the children arm themselves with the tiny “biological agents” that they then carried off and placed carefully onto the green rosettes of Paterson’s curse. Mr Christian will return to the paddock with the children in six weeks’ time to check the effectiveness of the weevils’ onslaught.
The program also has the support of Landcare, and Sonia Williams, from the local Harnham Landcare Group, was there to urge the young Warriors forward. Ms Williams, who coordinates Landcare groups in southern New England, linking them with the schools, said the Harnham Group was paying for expenses involved in the Kentucky project. “A lot of our farmers will be interested in the Weed Warriors program,” she said. “And they’ll find out about it when their children come home from school.”
Media contact: Dr Susan Hester, Weeds CRC, UNE (02) 6773 2373 or 0423 523 044 (e-mail: shester@une.edu.au), or Susanna Greig, Weeds CRC, UNE (02) 6773 2809.
For photographs, please contact Jim Scanlan, UNE Public Relations, on (02) 6773 3049.
Posted by Jim Scanlan at 11:01 AM
Septuagenarian launches her first book at Parliament House
April 05, 2005
Murders, rapes and kidnappings feature in a frank book written by a graduate of the University of New England to be launched this evening at State Parliament.
The author, Marion Hosking, who graduated from UNE at the age of 74 with a BA degree (as pictured here), has received critical acclaim for her book “Why Doesn’t She Leave?” about the history of Taree Women’s Refuge, known as “Lyn’s Place”.
The Hon. Reba Meagher, NSW Minister for Community Services, attended the launch of Ms Hosking’s book, which has a foreword by the author and journalist Dr Anne Summers AO. Dr Summers, who also launched the book, said today: “This is a very important book that spells out, in quite horrific detail, the scale of violence against women in Australian society. What is particularly important and new about this book is that [Ms Hosking] focuses on women in rural areas. The isolation of so many women exacerbates the situation of domestic violence.”
Ms Hosking told how she wrote the book after working at Taree Women’s Refuge for more than 20 years, an experience that exposed her to the “overwhelming problem of domestic violence”. “In my time spent working at the refuge I have been in contact with the victims of at least three murders, a kidnapping and rape, and a kidnapping and murder,” she said. “I wrote about these tragedies in the book as a way of exploring the evil of domestic violence.”
Ms Hosking started writing the book after completing her BA at UNE in 2002. She acknowledged the spur to write the book she had received from Ms Norma Townsend, a Senior Lecturer in the School of Classics, History and Religion at UNE. Indeed, she was in an ideal position to write about the refuge, having served on the board of the refuge in an array of positions since 1984. “The refuge held a lot of archives, but there was no history, and so I set about amending that,” she said.
Her book begins with the murder of a 22-year-old victim of domestic violence who was stabbed to death in a car park in 2000. (Although the ultimate form of violence, murder is not an uncommon ending to some of the women who were counselled and received shelter at Lyn’s Place.) The book also gives a deeper understanding of domestic violence and outlines effective strategies in dealing with the problem. Ms Hosking said she was concerned that no new women’s refuge had been built in NSW in the past 10 years.
Raised in the Sydney suburb of Burwood, Ms Hosking left school at 13 and settled in the Taree district with her husband John in 1980. She said her husband had greatly encouraged her in her studies and the writing of her book. Her niece, Ms Robin Hammond, is studying for her Master’s degree at UNE, writing a thesis on her uncle, Clarence Thomas, an amateur poet and stand-over man who was shot dead in Sydney in 1937.
Media contact: Lydia Roberts, Public Relations Manager, UNE (02) 6773 2779.
Posted by Jim Scanlan at 03:34 PM
Positive approach helps “at-risk” children: visiting academic
April 04, 2005
Bullying, stubbornness and inattentive daydreaming in children may develop into positive attributes later in life, according to a Canadian educationalist visiting the University of New England.
Dr Ken McCluskey, an expert on Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), has been researching this and problems associated with “at-risk” gifted children with Dr Graham Chaffey (pictured here), a lecturer in Education at UNE.
Dr McCluskey and chemistry professor Dr Alaa Abd-El-Aziz, both from the University of Winnipeg, are at UNE for a week to further educational opportunities between the two universities. The visit will include a public lecture by Dr McCluskey, who will talk about his work with ADHD children and how it could be seen in a more positive light. The lecture will be at 4 pm on Thursday 7 April in Lecture Theatre 111 in UNE’s Education Building.
(Professor Abd-El-Aziz will also present a public lecture; sponsored by the Royal Australian Chemical Institute, and scheduled for Wednesday 6 April at 12.30 pm in the Riggs Seminar Room, the lecture will discuss large, iron-containing molecules used in the production of polymers.)
“Traits that can be negative in childhood could develop into positive attributes by adulthood,” Dr McCluskey said. “Stubbornness in a child may become determination later in life; similarly, inattentive daydreaming could later develop into creative thinking, while bullying may develop into leadership.”
Dr McCluskey said it was a positive attitude that helped him and his wife, Andrea, rear their ADHD daughter Amber and turn their experience into the internationally-acclaimed book “Understanding ADHD”. “Amber was the ‘poster girl’ for ADHD and we wrote extensively about the condition, and how we coped, in the book. Amber is now 29 and just completing her degree in education, so I know from personal experience how a parent’s positive attitude about ADHD can help reform the disorder.”
While at UNE, Dr McCluskey will be working closely with Dr Chaffey on The Winnipeg Project, a collaborative work aimed at identifying indigenous Canadian children with high academic potential using Dr Chaffey’s Coolabah Dynamic Assessment (CDA). This is a method developed by Dr Chaffey to identify “invisible” gifted academic underachievers (particularly Indigenous children) in Australian schools.
Dr McCluskey goes further to “reclaim” many of these children in Canada, actually approaching streets gangs and “drop-in centres” to find these gifted children and help them regain their studies. “We run a program that features creative problem-solving, that offers these children mentors, and that helps raise career awareness among them,” he said.
Dr Chaffey said he was particularly interested in this work. The pair hope to build on the Masters in Education program offered at UNE which specialises in gifted education. Four students from the University of Winnipeg are studying this at UNE through distance education, and the academics hope to expand on this.
Posted by Jim Scanlan at 02:24 PM
UNE smoothes path to Web-based purchasing
April 01, 2005
Internet-based purchasing systems can save organisations more than 10 per cent of expenditure and up to 80 per cent of transaction costs. The University of New England is conducting research that will help organisations implement such "e-procurement" systems more effectively.
As part of their project, the researchers in UNE's School of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science are conducting a national survey of organisations that have implemented e-procurement. "It's the first survey of its kind in the world on such a large scale," said Kishor Vaidya, a member of the research group.
More than 50 government departments and agencies have already participated in the pilot phase of the UNE study. These include Centrelink, the NSW Department of Commerce, Standards Australia, the Australian Government Information and Management Office, Australia Post, and CSIRO. Mr Vaidya said that a Commonwealth Government body, the Australian Procurement and Construction Council, had sponsored the research and had agreed to administer the survey on behalf of the research group.
"This unique collaboration of our University with the Government is sure to generate greater response to the survey," he said.
"Most organisations spend more than 30 per cent of their income on purchasing goods and services," Mr Vaidya explained. "E-procurement can reduce administration and transaction costs which, in purchasing materials such as office supplies, are often higher than the cost of the goods
themselves.
"E-procurement, which has been available in Australia for about the past four years, is very expensive to introduce," Mr Vaidya said. (A cost of about $10 million is typical.) "Thus only large organisations can afford to implement it, and in many cases it has not met their expectations."
"Our review of e-procurement initiatives both nationally and internationally," he reported, "indicates that the root cause of this inability to meet expectations is the lack of an effective framework for assessing all the relevant conditions within an organisation leading up to its adoption of e-procurement. While technological issues are always important, we have found that the most common problems in its adoption are related to organisational and 'people' issues.
"The aim of our project is to establish a holistic model for the assessment of e-procurement, and to validate that model by means of the survey. Profit may not be the only criterion an organisation needs to consider when implementing such a system; we are looking at the whole picture, including efficiency, quality, accountability and transparency. Such a model would, among other things, enable managers to have realistic expectations."
If you have more questions about the research, contact Mr Vaidya on (02) 6773 2302 (e-mail: kishor@turing.une.edu.au).
Media contact: Kishor Vaidya, School of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science, UNE (02) 6773 2302 or Jim Scanlan, Public Relations, UNE (02) 6773 3049.
Posted by Lydia Roberts at 11:18 AM