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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July 2005
May 2005Student’s research backs “consumer is always right” theory
June 30, 2005
A PhD student from The University of New England has won an international award for his research into customer complaints and companies’ reaction to these.
Chilean-born Fredy Valenzuela, 36, received Best Paper Award for the article he will deliver at the International Conference on Business and Information (BAI) to be held next month in Hong Kong.
A total of 218 manuscripts from 25 countries were submitted for the conference. The best of these – including Mr Valenzuela’s paper on “The Influence of Service Recovery as Evaluation on Customer Post-Complaint Behaviour” – will be published in the International Journal of Business and Information.
A second paper authored by Mr Valenzuela, “Consumer Complaining Behaviour: The Case of a South American Country, Chile”, and that will also be presented at this conference was already accepted for publication in the journal of Contemporary Management Research.
In addition Mr Valenzuela was invited to sit on the BAI board when it meets in Singapore next year.
“This is a great opportunity to show an international audience the importance of research into consumer behaviour and why it is important for companies to respond effectively,” Mr Valenzuela said.
He said whereas many Chileans preferred not to complain, due to embarrassment, Australians “had a different personality and are not shy to complain”, Mr Valenzuela said.
“Also, customers in Australia are more protected than in Chile by the law and know their rights.”
While his research is concentrated on Chile, Mr Valenzuela said there were important general conclusions to be drawn from both his papers. These include:
* Compensation and employee behaviour are directly related to a customer’s trust and indirectly to commitment and loyalty.
* Companies should concentrate on compensation to build consume trust and ensure the customer will use the company again. “The benefit of such an expense can outweigh its cost when customers gain trust
in the product and the company and, as a consequence, become committed and loyal customers.”
* Promptness in solving the problem is not important for customers as long as the problem is solved.
“My future research will look at refining the concept of compensation, exactly what it is and whether it always has to relate to money,” Mr Valenzuela said.
Mr Valenzuela’s PhD is on marketing and looking at service recovery.
More than 130 academics from around the world will take part in the BAI conference next month, presenting papers on an array of topics, from conflict management web technology.
For more information phone Lydia Roberts on 6773 2779 or
Fredy Valenzuela on 6773 3398
Posted by Lydia Roberts at 09:51 AM
Music academic scores international award
June 29, 2005
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Pioneering a music festival which promotes positive ageing has helped an academic from The University of New England secure a prestigious Churchill Fellowship.
Dr Terrence Hays, a lecturer in UNE’s Faculty of Education, Health and Professional Studies (FEHPS) plans to use the Fellowship to develop “an innovative festival which uses music to improve the experience of ageing”.
The Fellowships are awarded annually by the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust to Australians from all walks of life to study overseas.
Thousands of people apply each year for such a chance, with only a fraction of that number successful in their bid; last year, just 83 awards were given to talented and deserving Australians.
“I am delighted with the award and will ensure my findings from the Fellowship go towards making the bi-annual festival a great success,” Dr Hays said.
Central to securing the Churchill Fellowship was Dr Hays’ efforts in establishing an inaugural, bi-annual National Choral Festival for Older People.
This will be held at the Conservatorium School of Music and Drama at Newcastle University mid-next year and is a collaborative venture between the two educational institutions.
“The festival is unique to Australia and my aim is to ultimately make it a festival of creative arts for older people,” Dr Hays said.
Up to 120 older people from across Australia are expected to attend the festival. Leading Australian composer Dr Peter Sculthorpe has agreed to be patron of the festival and a number of key Australians have also lent their expertise, including Dr Ruth Bright, Secretary of the Australian Gerontology Association, Mr Neil Tucker, Executive Director of the Council of the Aged (NSW) and Mrs Merle Everrad, representative for the NSW Council of the University of the Third Age (U3A).
As part of the Fellowship, Dr Hays will embark on a seven-week, fact-finding mission in February next year, visiting the UK and the US before returning to Australia and writing a report on his journey for the Trust.
In the US, he will be visiting the Centre for Creative Ageing in New York and Miami, then traveling to Winchester, in the UK to visit a special centre for music therapy and older people and then on to Aberdeen to see how a specialist arts festival is administered.
Dr Hays’ academic career has focused on music and its meaning and importance for older people. He has worked closely with colleagues such as Dr Bright, who is also an Adjunct Lecturer at UNE, to show how music for the older generations should be an engaging and active rather than a passive experience. Music for many older people is about connection, spirituality, psychological and physiological well-being For more information phone Lydia Roberts on 6773 2779 or Dr Terrence Hays on 6773 3649.
Posted by Lydia Roberts at 03:19 PM
Japanese students enjoy UNE, and some hope to return
June 29, 2005
Some of the 20 university students who have just returned home to Japan after a semester's study at The University of New England are hoping to come back to UNE.
This could happen as soon as next year, because UNE is negotiating with their university in Japan for a student exchange program to begin in 2006.
The 20 second-year students from Chubu University (near Nagoya) came to UNE to fulfil the compulsory overseas-study component of their English language program. They arrived at UNE's Language Training Centre (LTC) at the beginning of the academic year, and by the time they left at the end of last week they had completed 288 hours of language-oriented class work. Professor Tadashi Shiozawa, Chairman of the Department of English Language and Culture at Chubu University, said he had chosen UNE for the program after visiting several other universities in Australia. "I really liked the UNE environment," he said. "Armidale is a 'college town', and the University combines world-class research with really good teaching."
As well as attending their classes at LTC, the Japanese students joined UNE linguistics students for lectures and discussions in an undergraduate unit called "Cross-cultural communication study". "That was really tough for them," said Professor Shiozawa, explaining that before each session in the unit the Chubu students had attended a preparatory class conducted by Dr Kumie Fujimori. Activities at Sport UNE (for which their home university will give them credit) were also a part of their compulsory program.
Professor Shiozawa, along with Professor Taijiro Nonaka, the Director of Chubu University's Centre for International Programs, travelled to UNE for the students' farewell ceremony, at which each of the students received a certificate of achievement. (The photograph displayed here shows several of the students at the ceremony.) Professor Shiozawa said the students' semester of study at UNE had "really changed their lives". He thanked Ms Daisy William, the former Director of LTC who had worked with him in organising the program, Professor Robin Pollard, UNE's Pro Vice-Chancellor (International and Entrepreneurial), the staff of LTC, and everyone else at the University who had helped to make their visit a success.
Professor Pollard, before presenting the students with their certificates, thanked them for their "tremendous contribution" to the UNE community in bringing their "liveliness and culture" to the campus. "We will now start to broaden our relationship with Chubu University to include student exchanges (and even staff exchanges)," he said.
Ms Kiyomi Yamada of LTC, who met the students every week as an adviser and organised excursions for them to study Australian history and culture, outlined some of the contributions they had made to cultural events in Armidale and at UNE. These had included their colourful participation in Armidale's Autumn Festival parade and in the recent Japanese Festival week, she said. Ms Yamada organised frequent meetings between the Japanese students and Australian students acting as "buddies". This gave the visitors a chance to talk to Australians in a relaxed atmosphere, and great friendships were formed. A special morning tea was held during the students' last week at UNE to thank the "buddies".
Media contact: Mark Cooper, Language Training Centre, UNE (02) 6773 6412 or Jim Scanlan, Public Relations, UNE (02) 6773 3049. Please contact Jim Scanlan for PHOTOGRAPHS.
Posted by Jim Scanlan at 10:15 AM
Academics’ wishes granted to research array of topics
June 28, 2005
Nine academics from The University of New England have been awarded nearly $800,000 in funding to research topics as diverse as water ecology and Queensland museums.
The money is from the Australian Research Council’s Linkage program, which aims to support research with economic, social and cultural benefits.
The money will fund an array of research at UNE until 2008. Some of the recipients of the funding and their research are:
* Professor Andrew Boulton (Ecosystem Management, UNE) and Dr Ivor Growns (NSW Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources). These researchers will spend their grant on how a river’s water flow affects the food web between fish and aquatic invertebrates. To do this, the researchers will study the impact of human regulation on six tributaries of the Hunter River. Total cost of funding over four years: $144,888.
* Professor Iain Davidson and Associate Professor Russell McDougall, from the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. These academics will look at the role played by Queensland Museums in producing knowledge of Aboriginal people. Ultimately, the academics’ work will help in the design of new exhibitions that will show the complex nature of cross-cultural exhibitions in museums’ collections. Total cost of funding over four years: $114.696.
* Professor Andrew Boulton and Dr Peter Hancock (Ecosystem Management, UNE). Working with colleagues from the Western Australian Museum, the scientists will study groundwater fluctuations associated with mining and increased irrigation demands. From this they hope to develop a system of protocols to monitor and protect essential groundwater invertebrates. Total cost of funding over four years: $342.978.
* Professor Len Unsworth, from the UNE’s School of Education. Professor Unsworth will work with the NSW Department of Education and Training to develop a model to assess readers’ comprehension of materials from both images and print. Total cost of funding over four years: $192.764
Professor Peter Flood, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research and Development) congratulated UNE’s academics in their success and pointed out the university’s success rate in securing such funding was ahead of the national average and higher than many other institutions, including Canberra, Newcastle and Macquarie Universities.
To interview one of the academics, or for more information,
phone Lydia Roberts on 6773 2779.
Posted by Lydia Roberts at 10:13 AM
UNE moves to safeguard Union services
June 27, 2005
The University of New England is safeguarding essential services for its students and staff by creating a new University-controlled company to manage the current activities of the UNE Union.
This move, ratified at a meeting of the UNE Council on Friday 24 June, follows the advice of an administrator appointed last month to ensure the successful future of the UNE Union operations. It will provide both the University and its students and staff with greater protection in a time of considerable change for tertiary education.
The new "controlled entity" will have a governing board that will comprise five members appointed by the University and two elected by students. The new arrangements will allow the operations of the UNE Union to continue trading from a position of financial strength.
"UNE has had little or no representation on the decision-making body of the UNE Union," said Mr Graeme Dennehy, UNE's Executive Director (Business and Administration), "but has carried the risk for several of its operations." The new arrangements, in addressing this anomaly, will give the University a more clearly-defined position from which to protect the rights of student and staff members.
Mr Dennehy (pictured here) said the clarification of this relationship was necessary in the light of National Governance Protocols and recent changes to the University of New England Act (1993) requiring clearly defined relationships and appropriate controls of student and staff organisations.
He said the relationship to the University of the new controlled entity encompassing the operations of the UNE Union followed the recommendations of the administrator, and would allow the controls required by the Act to be put in place.
He said the safeguarding of student services in particular had become a priority because of impending Commonwealth legislation that, in abolishing compulsory fees for students, could affect the funding of such services.
Media contact: Graeme Dennehy, Executive Director (Business and Administration), UNE (02) 6773 3895, Ingrid Rothe, Director, Marketing and Public Affairs, UNE (02) 6773 3402, or Jim Scanlan, Public Relations, UNE (02) 6773 3049.
Posted by Jim Scanlan at 12:10 PM
Global Internet analysis: Australia possibly 'out of phase'
June 24, 2005
Scientists from The University of New England who have developed new ways of analysing and modelling Internet congestion around the world say Australia needs to address possible communication deficiencies that their models have revealed.
Dr Robert Baker, the leader of the UNE research team, said initial statistics from 37 monitoring sites around the world, including one in Australia (in Melbourne), indicated that Australia’s Internet connections were relatively inefficient in dealing with traffic from different time zones.
"We’re basically out of phase with global traffic," Dr Baker said. "We are an island nation, and 'the tyranny of distance' still applies. It’s something we as a country have to deal with if we don’t want to be disadvantaged."
The UNE researchers, working in collaboration with scientists at Stanford University in the United States, have been able to measure the amount of information lost at the monitoring sites during congestion at peak periods. They have developed a computer-graphic model (pictured here) that shows the changing levels of Internet congestion at the 37 sites as the earth revolves through a 24-hour period. Several of the sites, including those in Moscow and Kazakhstan, stand out dramatically in terms of congestion at certain times of day. Another method of analysis produces statistics on how successfully each site deals with traffic from different time zones; these statistics show the monitoring site in Australia doing as poorly as that in Kazakhstan.
"We’re reasonably well served within Australia," Dr Baker said, "but we have to do better in terms of global traffic."
"Some other island nations, such as Britain and Japan, have been able to improve their handling of international traffic over the four years we have been monitoring the Internet," he explained. "The roll-out of broadband connections is a vital issue for Australia, including the discrepancy between what we in this country call 'broadband' (1.5-2.5 MB bandwidth) and the 2.5-8 MB bandwidth in the United States."
He emphasised that communication delays across time zones of even a fraction of a second could have serious consequences, such as the potential for exploitation of such delays in international stock market transactions. "Our Stanford University collaborators are based at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Centre," he said, "where their research is focused on strategic defence. They need to move the largest possible amount of information in the shortest possible time."
Dr Baker’s UNE colleagues are Troy Mackay, Brett Carson and Dr Rajanathan Rajaratnam. Their work has been funded by a Discovery Grant from the Australian Research Council. They, together with their Stanford University collaborators, presented their Internet models, to great acclaim, at a Supercomputer Conference in Pittsburgh, USA, last year and the International Computational Science and Applications Conference in Singapore last month.
Australia’s second monitoring site, at UNE itself, began operating about a month ago, and will contribute local detail to the global picture the researchers are assembling. "We’re very interested to see how regional Australia fits into the picture," Dr Baker said.
Media contact: Dr Robert Baker, School of Human and Environmental Studies, UNE (02) 6773 2884 or Jim Scanlan, Public Relations, UNE (02) 6773 3049.
Posted by Jim Scanlan at 11:52 AM
Girls go online to explore ICT career options
June 23, 2005
Girls from secondary schools in the New England region are taking part in a project aimed at understanding why so few women pursue careers in Australia's Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry, and at encouraging them to do so.
The project, called "e-girls connect", focuses on girls in Year 10 who are considering studying an ICT subject for the Higher School Certificate. Dr Chris Reading, from the National Centre of Science, ICT and Mathematics Education for Rural and Regional Australia (the SiMERR National Centre), who is managing the project, pointed out that fewer than five per cent of employees in Australia's ICT industry are women.
The SiMERR National Centre, based at The University of New England, has provided $5,000 to fund the project, which will allow researchers to keep track of the girls (and the girls to keep in touch with each other) over the next eight years. "We want to find out what sorts of decisions the girls are making that steer them either towards or away from ICT careers," Dr Reading said. "Information such as this will be useful to ICT teachers, as well as to careers advisers, in encouraging girls to develop an interest in ICT into a vocation."
The project got under way last week during a special "e-girls" day of activities and information for Year 10 ICT students that was presented jointly by the Zonta Club of Armidale, the NSW Department of Education and Training, The SiMERR National Centre at UNE, the Catholic Schools Office, and Armidale TAFE College. Thirty-four girls from schools in Armidale, Uralla, Tamworth, Inverell and Glen Innes took part in the day, during which they met eight "mentors": young women who are working successfully within the ICT industry. One of those, Cathryn Lak, who is a Senior IT Architect with IBM in Sydney, will be the first "mentor" on the "e-girls connect" Web site; for the next two months the girls will be able to communicate with her via Web-CT. The "mentors" who follow Ms Lak will come from a variety of IT-related positions and educational backgrounds, giving the girls a broad perspective on job opportunities.
A second-year UNE education student, Katrina Bock, is the online facilitator for "e-girls connect". She will coordinate the communication between the girls and the mentors, and will assist in directing the girls' general inquiries about ICT-related study and career choices to the relevant sources. She is pictured here (left) with "e-girl" Alesha Williams from McCarthy Catholic College, Tamworth.
Dr Reading emphasised that "e-girls connect" was a secure Web site. "Each girl has a user name and a password," she said. "Their first online task was to complete a survey form before last week's event. Several of them commented on how quick and easy it seemed to be, so they're already getting a positive experience of working in an online environment."
The girls are now in the process of completing a post-event survey, and personal profiles that they will update every six months. There will also be a tracking survey for them to complete every six months. "This will not only provide data for our research," Dr Reading said, "but will allow the girls to follow and keep in touch with their friends from other schools." She said her co-worker on the project, Anne Parnell from the SiMERR National Centre, had collaborated with Malcolm Abel from UNE's Teaching and Learning Centre in setting up the framework for the online surveys.
"Part of the funding from the SiMERR National Centre will provide a prize for the girl who, among all the 'e-girls' who enrol in UNE's Bachelor of Computer Science degree program in 2008, will have achieved the highest result in an ICT subject in the previous year's HSC," Dr Reading announced.
Media contact: Dr Chris Reading, SiMERR National Centre, UNE (02) 6773 5060, Anne Parnell, SiMERR National Centre, UNE (02) 6773 2280, or Jim Scanlan, Public Relations, UNE (02) 6773 3049.
Posted by Jim Scanlan at 09:04 AM
Students get free kicks at study goals thanks to NRL
June 22, 2005
Scholarships for The University of New England have received a free kick, thanks to the efforts of a rural resident and the National Rugby League (NRL).
Mr Rob Chapman, from Abroi, Wollomombi, paid $475 for a Golden Indulgence package, organised by UNE and donated by the NRL, that took him to the second State of Origin match.
“It was a tremendous deal and I met ‘man of the match’ Andrew Johns, as well as some of the other NSW players,” Mr Chapman said. (He is pictured here with NSW players Nathan Hindmarsh and Mark Gasnier.)
It all started in October last year, when UNE held a Spring Ball, a main feature of which was the charity auction of six Golden Indulgence packages. At the ball, guests were given the opportunity to bid for a number of one-off prizes, such as a business breakfast with the Chancellor of UNE, Mr John Cassidy, and the opportunity to be taught archery by Olympic gold medallist and UNE alumna, shooter Suzie Balogh. In all, more than $2,000 was raised on the night of the ball, all of which went towards UNE’s Scholarships Program.
NRL’s Director of Media and Communications, Mr John Brady, agreed to support the charity auction by donating a State of Origin package. This included two tickets to the second State of Origin match on June 15, the chance to meet the NSW Rugby League players, and a night’s accommodation at The Carlton Hotel in Parramatta, where the NSW rugby stars were staying.
Mr Chapman said he was delighted the money he paid for his Golden Indulgence package went towards helping students achieve their dream of studying at UNE. He and his wife Margaret have enjoyed an ongoing association with UNE over many years.
Mr Chapman’s package began on the Tuesday night before the big game, when he flew to Sydney and met some of the Blues players, including Andrew Johns (who had been recalled to play in the State of Origin series at short notice and at that match scored three goals). He also met NSW Captain Danny Buderus. “The players said ‘g-day’ and were very polite,” Mr Chapman said. “It was a pleasure to meet them.” Later, he escorted the players on a short walk along the banks of the Parramatta River before taking prime seats at Stadium Australia to watch the match with his son Christopher, seeing NSW defeat Queensland by 32 goals to 22.
Media contact: Lydia Roberts, Public Relations Manager, UNE 6773 2779.
Posted by Jim Scanlan at 09:47 AM
UNE’s living-and-learning experience now available to mid-year students
June 21, 2005
Students enrolling mid-year at The University of New England will be able to find warm, secure and clean accommodation on campus.
Places have become available due to the successful completion of an international program and now UNE is in the fortunate position of being able to offer a small number of places in the residential colleges.
This is a unique opportunity to experience college life, an integral part of the UNE experience and now students starting their studies in Semester 2 will be offered the chance of on-campus accommodation.
From just $215 a week, UNE students can choose to live on campus in one of seven residential colleges, or in neighbouring Wright Village, according to Residential System Manager Michael Maas.
Cost of College accommodation includes breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week, he added.
“This is great news for students who have decided to start their studies at UNE from Semester 2,” Mr Maas said.
“It means they won’t miss out on the unique experience that is UNE.”
All rooms in UNE’s colleges include:
* Internet access
* Telephone
* Full laundry service
* Fresh linen
* 24-hour Security
* Peer support
Each room is furnished with a bed, cupboard and desk, Mr Maas said. The University can accommodate 2000 students and has space available for about 150 students beginning their studies on July 24.
The colleges – Austin, Drummond and Smith, Duval, Earle Page, Mary White, Robb and St Albert’s – all have strong traditions and an alumni network which remains with graduates for life.
There is a regular bus service into Armidale and the colleges are a short walk to the main campus. Security phones and street lamps line the main footpath, while a special night coach provides a free service to and from the main campus for social evenings.
Sporting facilities, including a heated, 25-metre swimming pool, squash courts, playing fields and gymnasium are also within walking distance of the colleges.
Mr Maas advises students to apply on-line if they are interested in college accommodation. Go to www.une.edu.au and follow the prompt to “Accommodation”
For more information phone Lydia Roberts on 6773 2779 or
Michael Maas on 6773 1701.
Posted by Lydia Roberts at 10:22 AM
Vice-Chancellor hands over money to Boxing Day tsunami victims
June 20, 2005
Two students affected by the Boxing Day tsunamis have received financial assistance following fund-raising efforts by staff and students at The University of New England.
The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ingrid Moses, handed over a cheque to one of the students at a special ceremony today (Friday, June 17). Thousands of people were affected by the devastating tsunamis that hit several countries in south-east Asia on December 26.
"When the tsunami happened, I started the UNE Tsunami Relief Fund,"
Professor Moses said. "Many staff had already given to charities but I asked them to give a little more to the UNE fund.
"Originally I had intended to give the money to international aid agencies, but when we heard that UNE students had been affected by the tsunami, we thought it would be appropriate to use the money raised to help those students."
Over the past six months staff and students have donated more than $10,000 to the UNE Tsunami Relief Fund.
PhD candidate Sithy Zulfika of Sri Lanka received a cheque for $3050 from the Vice-Chancellor at the ceremony. Ms Zulfika is studying at the School of Education at UNE. The money donated to Ms Zulfika will be used to replace equipment for her PhD studies that was lost in the tsunami, such as a laptop computer and recording equipment. Ms Zulfika lost six months' worth of notes in the tsunami, including lengthy interviews with teachers and students at the school where she was working in Sri Lanka.
Ms Zulfika said she was very happy to receive the money, and that it would go along way to helping her resume her research. "It will replace my instruments, which are essential to my research," she said. "The research I am doing is community-based, focusing on the needs of primary school children after the tsunami."
Ms Zulfika was working in a primary school in Kalmunai in eastern Sri Lanka when the tsunamis struck. More that 300 students were killed by the tsunamis and a further 1,142 were affected. Ms Zulfika will return to Kalmunai early next year to resume her research.
The other recipient of funds raised by UNE was Thai student Pornpimon Boonyuen. She received money for her accommodation costs at Wright Village while she completed her English language studies at UNE's Language Training Centre. Thousands of people were killed when the tsunamis hit Ms Boonyuen's hometown of Khao Lak in southern Thailand. Although her family escaped injury, their home was destroyed. Her parent's guesthouse, their sole source of income, was also destroyed.
A cheque for the remainder of the funds raised for the UNE Tsunami Relief Fund will be distributed later this year.
For more information phone Lydia Roberts on 6773 2779.
Posted by Lydia Roberts at 10:17 AM
Sea changes and rural festivals at national conference
June 17, 2005
Australian geographers will discuss topics as diverse as tsunamis and the Parkes Elvis Revival Festival during their annual conference to be held next month at The University of New England.
One of Australia’s leading experts on tsunamis, Professor Ted Bryant, will take part in the plenary session on “tsunamis and sea level change” at the 34th Annual Conference of the Institute of Australian Geographers. The conference, to run from Tuesday 19 to Friday 22 July, will also include a session on rural festivals that will feature studies of the Tamworth Country Music Festival and the Parkes Elvis Festival, among others.
Some of the other sessions at the conference will deal with Indigenous issues, rural communities, urban change, leisure and tourism, physical geography, environmental sustainability, and geographical education.
Professor Bryant, from the University of Wollongong, believes the Pacific Rim has experienced tsunamis for as long as it has existed, including some caused by asteroid impacts. He will be joined in the tsunami session by UNE’s Professor Peter Flood, Dr Robert Baker and Dr Bob Haworth, who will discuss their discovery of compelling evidence that sea levels have changed rapidly in the recent past.
The convener of this year’s meeting, UNE’s Professor Jim Walmsley (pictured here), said the overall theme of the conference changed every year. “The title of the 2005 conference, ‘Geographies for Sustainable Futures’, reflects this year’s theme of sustainable development for urban and rural communities,” he said.
Professor Walmsley said that more than 100 people from all over Australia, as well as visitors from the UK, South Africa and New Zealand, would present papers at the conference. He said the day before the conference, Monday 18 July, would be devoted to a “postgraduate workshop”, in which postgraduate students would discuss (and receive advice on) topics such as ethics issues for researchers and the writing of theses, academic papers and grant applications.
The Institute of Australian Geographers, founded in Adelaide in 1958, promotes and supports Australian geography both in Australia and overseas. Its annual conference was last held at UNE in 1990.
Media contact: Professor Jim Walmsley, School of Human and Environmental Studies, UNE 6773 2863 or Jim Scanlan, Public Relations, UNE (02) 6773 3049.
Posted by Jim Scanlan at 10:07 AM
Islanders should come as paid, working “guests”, says academic
June 16, 2005
Pacific Islanders should be allowed into Australia to work in jobs that many Australians shun, an academic at The University of New England will argue at her Inaugural Lecture.
Professor Helen Ware says Islanders should be employed as “guest workers” to do a variety of jobs, such as fruit-picking and working in nursing homes. This, she says, offers employment to Islanders and is far better for Pacific Island economies than continually giving them aid. “This is a targeted migration scheme to promote peace for the region and development for our Pacific Island neighbours,” Professor Ware says.
She is due to deliver her lecture, “Promoting Peace through Development: Is Australia Doing Enough?”, at Armidale Town Hall on Thursday, June 23.
Professor Ware (pictured here) began her academic career as a researcher in Nigeria at the close of the civil war. She has variously served as Director of Research for the Human Rights Commission and as Australia’s High Commissioner to Zambia and “ambassador” to the African National Congress. In her Inaugural Lecture she will show how Australia’s “hands-off” foreign policy in the Pacific Islands has changed in recent years to being far more actively interventionist in the light of concerns about the consequences of these states’ economies (and governmental structures) failing.
One way to help these economies, she will argue, is to offer all Pacific Islanders who are interested the chance to work, under a new visa scheme, in Australia. “That would be better than giving these countries aid, and would allow their citizens to earn cash,” she says. “It would also help Australia’s economy, since these workers would take up employment where Australians do not necessarily want to work, such as in nursing homes.”
Professor Ware points out that Australia lets Britons and people of other nationalities, such as Estonians, come to Australia on working holiday visas. “It is simple racism not to allow our Pacific neighbours the same access to work in Australia”, she says. “Australia is all for free trade in goods – where we are the ones who benefit. Why not free trade in people where the benefit is equal on both sides? The Pacific Islanders supply the labour and earn money to take home, and Australia gets the work done and forms closer bonds with its neighbours.
“As sea levels rise we will have to take the Islanders in in any case,” she says.
Media contact: Professor Helen Ware, School of Professional Development and Leadership, UNE 6773 2442 or Lydia Roberts, Public Relations Manager, UNE 6773 2779.
Posted by Jim Scanlan at 10:38 AM
School students see that science is exciting
June 15, 2005
Year 10 students from nine schools in the New England region had a first-hand experience of scientific discovery and teamwork at the annual Armidale Science and Engineering Challenge.
The Armidale Challenge, staged for the third successive year at The University of New England, engaged the students in competitive activities that included designing, building and operating aircraft, bridges and catapults.
About 230 students from nine schools in Armidale, Inverell, Tenterfield Uralla and Walcha took part in the closely-contested Challenge last week, with the team from The Armidale School (TAS) finally emerging with the most points. “It was an exciting finale,” said Dr Sarah Pearson of UNE, one of the organisers of the event. “TAS and the runner-up, Armidale High School, were very close.”
This was the second successive win for TAS in the Armidale Challenge. A team from TAS will travel to Newcastle in August to compete in the Super Challenge Series with winning schools from more than 20 local Challenge events. (The University of Newcastle coordinates the Science and Engineering Challenge nationally.)
“It was an exciting day for the students,” Dr Pearson said, “and for us as organisers it was great to see them all focused on what they were doing and achieving outstanding results.”
About 25 people, including UNE lecturers, technical officers, postgraduate students and science-teaching students, and Rotary members, guided the teams through the activities in UNE’s Lazenby Hall. At the end of the day the Regional Chair for the Armidale Challenge, David Steller of Armidale Central Rotary Club, presented the trophies. He was assisted by Dr Bob Patterson, Chair of the Northern Group of the Institution of Engineers Australia. UNE, Rotary, and Engineers Australia are among the sponsors of the event.
Kathleen Mullen, a UNE science graduate and PhD student, spoke to the students about her passion for (and experience in) science. “You’ve seen today that science can be great fun,” she said. “In research you’re doing something that no one else has ever done before. You could find a cure for cancer or win a Nobel Prize.”
Media contact: Dr Sarah Pearson, Physics and Electronics, UNE (02) 6773 2061 or Jim Scanlan, Public Relations, UNE (02) 6773 3049.
Posted by Jim Scanlan at 11:09 AM
Seminar reinforces international green treaty
June 14, 2005
An international declaration committing The University of New England to a greener, cleaner environment has been signed by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ingrid Moses.
The university has signed the Talloires Declaration, which commits universities around the globe to work towards an environmentally sustainable future.
Pro Vice-Chancellor, Professor David Rich, will chair a seminar on the declaration and ways UNE can contribute to its environmental aims on Wednesday, June 15.
“The Declaration contains a series of ten recommendations whereby university institutions, Vice-Chancellors take action to focus university attention on environmental issues and good environmental practice,” Professor Rich said.
“We seek sustainability ideas relating to operational, curriculum and research matters and look forward to vibrant discussion at the seminar. This seminar will also consider the operational framework to be put into place in implementing the Declaration.”
The Talloires Declaration was the result of a 1990 gathering at Talloires, France, at which the Presidents/Vice-Chancellors of 22 universities around the globe met to consider what educational institutions could do to improve environmental performance.
Since then, more than 280 universities have signed the international environmental agreement, including eight other Australian universities.
UNE has already shown initiatives in ensuring the campus is environmentally sustainable, with its Environment and Sustainability policy approved by Professor Moses in December last year.
Under the policy, UNE committed students and staff to adopting a range of sustainable practices, such as recycling and photocopying on both sides of paper.
Signing the Talloires Declaration takes the University’s commitment to a sustainable environment one step further, Professor Rich said.
The Declaration aims to educate professionals and other university graduates in being environmentally responsible and to incorporate an awareness of sustainability issues into their academic programs. It also urges universities to be at the vanguard of environmental research and assist developing countries find new technology and skills for a sustainable future.
For more information phone Prue Bedford on 6773 3246 or
Lydia Roberts on 6773 2779
Posted by Lydia Roberts at 10:13 AM
Equity Award presented to 'an exemplary employer'
June 10, 2005
Dr Hans Graser, the director of a research unit at The University of New England that employs and trains a wide diversity of people, has received this year’s Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Equity.
The Animal Genetics and Breeding Unit (AGBU) recruits staff from all around the world because of the international shortage of people qualified to do its work. (AGBU, a joint venture between UNE and the NSW Department of Primary Industries, applies the science of genetics to livestock production in Australia.)
In presenting the annual award to Dr Graser this week, UNE’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ingrid Moses, mentioned AGBU’s need to recruit staff from abroad. “Consequently it has an international flavour,” she said, “with nearly 50 per cent of its staff originating from overseas. Appointing staff from overseas often entails long delays as immigration formalities are completed. Nevertheless, the best person is always appointed.”
“Hans also provides support to well-qualified scientists from overseas through temporary appointments,” Professor Moses continued. “And he actively pursues postgraduate students and organises funding for foreign students when they are unable to obtain scholarships for their tuition fees.”
She mentioned “glowing testimonials” from scientific staff, students, visiting scientists, and administrative staff (including trainees), and pointed out that “one-third of AGBU’s staff are women, two-thirds of its students are foreign, and training is provided to young people of all backgrounds”. She referred to Dr Graser’s skill in making working conditions flexible enough to allow AGBU to meet contract deadlines while “keeping funding bodies, the University, and the employees happy”.
“As Director of AGBU, Hans has been living our values of equal opportunity, equity, and being an exemplary employer,” she concluded. (Professor Moses is pictured here with Dr Graser on the day of the presentation.)
Dr Graser joined AGBU in 1980 and has been its Director for the past seven years. He thanked his colleagues and UNE’s Human Resources staff, saying he felt honoured by the award. “My reaction was one of surprise, however, because, as far as I could see, I wasn’t doing anything special,” he said.
Posted by Jim Scanlan at 11:10 AM
Scholars discover signs of life in a 'dead' religion
June 09, 2005
A scholar from The University of New England has been involved in a discovery that, for historians of religion, is as momentous as a well-documented sighting of a Tasmanian tiger would be for zoologists.
UNE’s Professor Majella Franzmann is one of a team of Australian scholars who have seen evidence that a once-powerful and widespread religion, thought to have died out around the world centuries ago, is still being practised in south-east China.
Manichaeism, a religion that spread from its native Persia to the Atlantic extremities of the Roman Empire in the west and to the coast of China in the east, rivalled Christianity itself in the early centuries of the Christian era. Although scholars know that it survived as a living religion in eastern China until at least the 16th century, no one in the scholarly world has ever suspected that it was still being practised there.
The Australian team, who have visited south-east China several times over the past few years to document Christian and Manichaean inscriptions dating from the period of Mongol rule, were shown, on their last visit in April this year, a household shrine with an image of Mani (the founder of Manichaeism) at its centre. They have documented the discovery in a paper to be published this week in the international journal "Rivista di storia e letteratura religiosa" (Review of Religious History and Literature).
Professor Franzmann said the household shrine was in a village near Huabiao Hill in Fujian Province, which had been a centre of Manichaean devotion, especially during the religion’s ascendancy in the 14th century (Yuan Dynasty). She said the original Manichaean shrine, with a large statue of Mani, had been preserved on Huabiao Hill as part of a later Buddhist shrine and was now a UNESCO heritage site. “The small statue in the centre of the household shrine appears to provide a direct link with the devotion once practised in the larger hillside shrine,” she explained. “If so, it is witness to a living line of devotion that stretches back to the time when Manichaeism was openly and widely practised in the area.”
She described how a villager had invited the team into his home to see the small Mani statue (pictured here), which he said had been handed down through many generations of his wife’s family. She said its decoration was so different from that of the large statue at the heritage site that it was unlikely to be a product of recent “cultural” interest in that statue. “We concluded that the household image reaches back to a time well before UNESCO provided funding to preserve the shrine, and represents an earlier tradition of decoration,” she said.
“Much fieldwork remains to be done,” Professor Franzmann concluded. “We need to find out, for example, if the family has any other items that would provide further evidence of links to Manichaeism. What we do believe at this point is that the household shrine is a direct link from the family to the historic Manichaeism that we know was practised in the region.”
Media contact: Professor Majella Franzmann, School of Classics, History and Religion, UNE (02) 6773 3406 or Jim Scanlan, Public Relations, UNE (02) 6773 3049.
Posted by Jim Scanlan at 10:56 AM
Mathematics Day inspires country youngsters
June 08, 2005
A common interest in mathematics enabled school students from throughout northern NSW, including some from remote regions, to share their enthusiasm during the annual Year 8 Mathematics Day at The University of New England.
Eight students from Lightning Ridge Central School were among about 200 taking part in the day of competitive calculation last Friday [3 June]. This was the first time that Lightning Ridge had participated in the UNE event, now in its eleventh year. It was one of about 30 schools represented at the Mathematics Day.
Undaunted by the eight-hour drive, the Lightning Ridge contingent, accompanied by their teachers Deanna Willmot and Inna Skrypay, arrived in Armidale the previous day. They threw themselves with enthusiasm into the competition, answering a very creditable 23 out of 25 questions in one of the early sessions.
“They’re really happy with their achievement,” Ms Skrypay said. Ms Willmot pointed out that, for students from a relatively remote community such as Lightning Ridge, the Mathematics Day was an invaluable opportunity to meet students from other areas with a similar interest in mathematics. “The social-interaction aspect of the day has been good for them,” she said. “And, academically, it will definitely arouse their interest in mathematics and enable them to see the relevance of what they do in class.”
While Lighting Ridge was there for the first time, some of the schools have competed year after year. UNE’s Professor John Pegg, Director of the National Centre of Science, ICT and Mathematics Education for Rural and Regional Australia (SiMERR Australia), said: “Year 8 is a critical time in a student’s mathematical development, between consolidating primary-school learning in Year 7 and the more advanced studies of Year 9 and beyond.” SiMERR Australia (which is based at UNE), the New England Mathematical Association, and UNE’s School of Education jointly organised the event.
The team from Manilla Central School won the category for central schools, and the team from Bishop Druitt College, Coffs Harbour, won the high-school category. Each of the four members of the winning teams received a certificate and medallion, and the two teams took the Mathematics Day’s perpetual trophies back to their schools. A team from Dorrigo High School won the last task of the day, which tested the students’ practical application of mathematics in a bridge-building exercise.
“It was a really successful day,” said the convener of the event, Anne Parnell of SiMERR Australia. “Because of their long drive home, Lightning Ridge had to leave before the drawing of the lucky door prizes at the very end of the day,” she continued. “So now I’ll have the pleasant task of ringing them to let them know they won one of the prizes: a class set of 15 graphics calculators (plus one for the teacher), an overhead view screen and a professional development package, with a total value of nearly $4,000.” Four other schools won similar lucky door prizes (all donated by the sponsor Texas Instruments): Duval High School (Armidale), Armidale High School, Warialda High School, and Toormina High School (Coffs Harbour).
Media contact: Anne Parnell, SiMERR Australia, UNE (02) 6773 2280 or Jim Scanlan, Public Relations, UNE (02) 6773 3049.
Posted by Jim Scanlan at 01:35 PM
Workshop shows girls creative side of computers
June 08, 2005
A light-and-touch sensing robot with a motor and micro-controller will be built by a group of schoolgirls under the supervision of an academic from The University of New England at a workshop later this month.
The one-day event is aimed at giving schoolgirls a greater understanding of the creative side of the Information Communication Technology industry (ICT).
Dr Mark Evered, a Senior Lecturer in UNE’s School of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science, will help the girls construct the robot using a set of basic components.
“It will help students learn to apply the basic elements of computer algorithms, including sequencing, decisions and control loops,” Dr Evered said.
He is among a team of academics from UNE who will take part in the workshop, called Zonta Zonta e-girls, at Armidale TAFE on June 16, aimed at helping schoolgirls in Year 10 pursue ITC careers.
Organised by Zonta, an international women’s organisation aimed at advancing the status of women, the workshop will draw together about 40 schoolgirls from New England schools, including those in Inverell, Glen Innes and Armidale.
It is the first time such a workshop has been organised in rural Australia, according to Zonta spokeswoman Ms Cherry Stewart.
“Only about 20 per cent of ICT professionals are women and the number of women studying Engineering Science is in decline,” Ms Stewart said.
“I hope this workshop will show girls the creative and inventive side of engineering and by giving them a hands-on understanding of technology, will help them see computers not only as a tool, but as something to play with, which is how many males view computers.”
The workshop is involving a number of other workers from UNE and the broader community.
Dr Chris Reading, from the UNE-based National Centre of Science, Information and Communication Technology has pledged $2000 towards research connected with the project while an all-female team from the Armidale Film and Television School will film the workshop on DVD.
Senior IT architect for IBM, Ms Cathryn Lak, will lead a group of girls in creating digital media and programming HyperText Mark-up Language (HTML).
Pia Waugh of Linux Australia, the first female president of a computer society, has planned a workshop in networking and installing the Linux Operating System. While Gunilla Burrows, an electrical engineer, offers "Crypto Cracking Cronies", a workshop in security and code breaking.
Ms Stewart said Zonta e-girls came about after Armidale Zonta Club’s fundraising efforts in 2003. She said the society also hopes to provide scholarships for young women studying Engineering, Maths, Physical Sciences or ICT-related studies.
“Zonta e-girls is the first of its type in regional Australia and we hope will assist girls in the creative use of problem-solving skills,” Ms Stewart said.
“This will give girls the chance to interact with computers and see them not simply as tools, but rather the result of creative and inventive thinking of which they can be a part.”
Posted by Lydia Roberts at 12:44 PM
Roo skulls give students opportunity to scrutinize biology
June 07, 2005
A set of kangaroo skulls that show the marsupial’s evolution during climate and environmental change has been donated to a school by The University of New England.
Dr Paul Frazier, Senior Lecturer at UNE’s School of Environmental Science and Natural Resources Management (SESNRM), (pictured right with some of the students from O'Connor Catholic College) said the display was donated by the University to coincide with the opening of O’Connor Catholic College’s $780,000 refurbishment of its Science laboratories.
“The kangaroo skull display illustrates the various evolutionary adaptations made by New England region kangaroos as they developed in response to their environment,” Dr Frazier said.
The University also donated a selection of Earth Science reference and text books to complement the display, which is housed in a lit, glassed cabinet.
“The skull display will be a useful aid for the teaching of biology and natural history in the school science curriculum for students from Years 7 to 12,” Dr Frazier said.
He added the SESNRM has plans to extend this link with local high schools by developing and funding other displays in the future.
Said Dr Frazier: “We particularly want to develop resource material that is relevant to the high school science curriculum, so that we can assist local students to learn science.”
The refurbished laboratories were opened on Sunday by the Hon Pat Farmer MP, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Education, Science and Training.
They will assist the College’s 400 pupils access latest, state-of-the-art implements to learn science.
O’Connor Catholic College began in 1975 and takes its name from Bishop O’Connor, Bishop of Armidale from 1904 to 1930.
The College’s Acting Principal and a Science teacher, Mr Tony Spiller, said the college was “delighted” with UNE’s generosity.
“The kangaroo skulls will help us to teach our curriculum relating to Biology and Earth and Environmental Science,” he said.
“The skulls will be used to look at the classification of organisms and to show us what is distinctive about marsupials.”
For more information phone Dr Frazier on 6773 2404 or
Lydia Roberts on 6773 2779.
The photograph shows: Rebecca Partridge, Frances Spiller (UNE), Kate Gollan, Emily Hanlan, Ben Creagan, and Paul Frazier (UNE) (left to right) gather around the UNE display. Dr Frances Spiller is holding a Sabre Tooth Tiger Skull that was loaned to O’Connor School for the open day.
Posted by Lydia Roberts at 12:53 PM
Survey sets out to ‘right a wrong’ in education
June 06, 2005
Responses in the largest survey of its kind ever undertaken in Australia are beginning to arrive at The University of New England by mail and over the Internet.
The leader of the survey team, Professor John Pegg, said the survey on science, ICT and mathematics education in Australian country schools was designed “to right what I see as a wrong in our society”.
Professor Pegg, the Director of the National Centre of Science, ICT and Mathematics Education for Rural and Regional Australia (SiMERR Australia), which is based at UNE, was speaking during the official launch of the survey last week. The “wrong” he was referring to is the disadvantage of country school students in science, mathematics and ICT subjects as reflected in results that are generally poorer than those of their city counterparts.
"It is critical that we have accurate information about the issues facing teachers, students and communities in these subject areas if we are to address the disadvantage of students in rural and regional Australia in a coordinated way," Professor Pegg said. "This National Survey is a vital first step. The data will identify key issues facing rural teachers and important obstacles to students’ learning, and provide feedback on successful practices, teachers’ professional development needs, and the use of ICT in rural schools. It will also answer questions about how student diversity is addressed in these schools. The information obained will inform policy decisions about how to attract teachers to rural and regional schools, and how to support their efforts to help students achieve results in mathematics and science comparable to those of their city counterparts."
The last of the letters inviting schools and their communities throughout Australia to participate in the survey was mailed from UNE towards the end of May. The letters went to 5,669 primary and secondary schools and seek responses from about 50,000 teachers and community members. The National Survey is funded through the Australian Government, and is being carried out in collaboration with researchers from hubs of SiMERR Australia in all States and Territories.
In launching the survey, UNE’s Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research and Development), Professor Peter Flood, called it “a truly major undertaking”. He pointed out that it was “not a sample, but a census”, as it was targeting every school in regional Australia (as well as a sample of schools in the larger metropolitan areas for comparison).
Professor Pegg took advantage of the occasion to thank the many groups and individuals within UNE who had helped with the massive task of organising, printing and distributing the survey and placing it on the SiMERR Web site. “It really pushed everyone to the limit,” he said. He thanked, in particular, SiMERR Australia’s project manager for the National Survey, Dr Terry Lyons of UNE. “He has held the whole enterprise together in a way that has kept the project focused, and everybody happy,” Professor Pegg said.
For more information about the National Survey, please contact Professor Pegg or Dr Lyons at SiMERR Australia, The University of New England, on (02) 6773 5067, or by e-mail at simerr@une.edu.au.
Media contact: Professor John Pegg, Director, SiMERR Australia, UNE (02) 6773 5070 or Dr Terry Lyons on (02) 6773 2983
The photograph displayed here shows (from right) Professor John Pegg, Dr Terry Lyons, and Anne Parnell (Project Officer for the National Survey) with some of the returned survey forms.
Posted by Jim Scanlan at 10:24 AM
Rioters need more understanding, says Social Scientist
June 03, 2005
Labeling riots such as those witnessed at Macquarie Fields as “criminal” is limiting our understanding of community protest, an academic at The University of New England will argue today (June 3).
PhD candidate John Owen has been asked to present a paper at the Political and International Studies seminar series.
He has chosen to look at the riots that happened in the suburb on the edge of south west Sydney in February earlier this year.
Then, rioters took to the streets, clashing with police over four intense nights after Matthew Robertson, 19 and Dylan Rayward, 17 died as a result of a high-speed police pursuit through the residential streets of the Glenquarie housing estate. The driver of the stolen vehicle, Jesse Kelly, evaded police for 12 days before organising his surrender in bush land on the outskirts of Campbelltown.
In his seminar, titled “Moral Indignation, Criminality and the rioting Crowd in Macquarie Fields”, Mr Owen will argue that protesters held a “legitimate claim” to their moral indignation.
“What has been ignored in the stress on criminal behaviour, principally by media and politicians, is the possibility that protest might be seen as justifiable by the participants, if the normal protocols regulating police and community behaviour are not observed,” Mr Owen said.
“One way that we can better understand this type of social phenomena is to understand the history and relationship between different members of the community, and to take into account how they view such matters.”
He said media reports which portrayed the riots as “scenes of hysteria, clashes between young people and authority”, only served the limit Australians’ understanding of what actually happened.
“Using a framework that imposes criminality on rioters is one way of preventing a broader understanding on these issues,” Mr Owen said.
“I would like to encourage a broader understanding of these events. Rather than endorse the perspective typically carried in the media, we should be looking to further our understanding of community protest.”
The seminar will be held in Room 122 in the Arts Faculty and begins at 11am. All are welcome.
John Owen is a PhD student in his second year of candidature with the School of Social Science at UNE.
For more information phone Mr Owen on 6773 3553 or
Lydia Roberts on 6773 2779.
Posted by Lydia Roberts at 10:04 AM
Unlocking mind’s potential for better business practice
June 03, 2005
Picking up “business hunches” through yoga will be demonstrated by a visiting Swami at The University of New England today.
Swami Satyadharma will give some practical advice on posture, breathing practices, relaxation and meditation that can help achieve success in the business world.
“Businesses in India are embracing yoga in the workplace as a way of developing relations between employees and employers and also to help executives cope with stress,” Swami Satyadharma said.
The Swami will deliver her lecture, “The Business of Personal Development and Mind Management”, at UNE as part of her tour of Asia and Australia.
She has been teaching yoga for more than 30 years and was instrumental in establishing an undergraduate curriculum at India’s first modern yoga university.
“Yoga can be used to manage our mind and personality,” Swami Satyadharma said.
“Just as science teaches us to become aware of our environment, yoga teaches us to become aware of ourselves internally, our energy, our psyche and our personality.
“Yoga helps us listen to our mind and further, to unlock subtle ideas that come from a higher mind.
“For instance, in listening through yoga to our mind, we can train ourselves to pick up those subtle business hunches.”
As well as helping people cope with their daily business, Swami Satyadharma said yoga is also being used to complement Western health services.
“A strong mind can stay focused on one point for a period of time, gaining knowledge and insight. A concentrated mind has power, creativity and excellent memory,” Swami Satyadharma said.
The Swami’s presentation will be held in the Lewis Seminar Room at UNE’s Faculty of Economics, Business and Law.
The presentation starts at 11.30am and all are welcome.
For more information, phone Lydia Roberts on 6773 2779.
Posted by Lydia Roberts at 09:55 AM
Beef producers profit from funding genetic research
June 02, 2005
Beef producers will continue to fund a genetic research project that has increased the profit of the Australian beef industry by more than $200 million over the past 20 years.
Dr Hans Graser, the Director of the Animal Genetics and Breeding Unit (AGBU) at The University of New England, which conducts the project, said the industry-based funding had been renewed till the end of the decade.
The project provides the genetic research and software development for BREEDPLAN, a commercial package of programs that gives breeders access to genetic evaluations of individual animals and strategies for breeding. In Australia, performance data on more than 2 million animals have been recorded for BREEDPLAN since its inception in 1984.
“The renewal of funding allows our beef group under the leadership of Dr David Johnston to continue our work supporting the Australian beef industry in its quest for improved profitability,” Dr Graser said. He explained that Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) provided the funds from the producer levy for research and development together with a matching amount from the Commonwealth Government.
Dr Graser (pictured here) said the main aim of his Unit’s work on BREEDPLAN over the next five years was to assist breeders to increase the rate of genetic progress through improved analytical methods, the recording of novel traits, and a focus on advanced breeding programs. “Our first major objective is to include in the database and in the BREEDPLAN evaluation system an increasing amount of information obtained by the latest techniques in molecular genetics developed by the beef CRCs,” he said. “The second objective is to be able to evaluate animals of all major breeds on the same basis; this would allow valid comparisons of the genetic performance of any two animals from among those breeds. Another objective is to incorporate in breeding strategies the latest findings on environmental factors that affect reproduction.”
He said that breeding strategies were complicated by the differing requirements of production systems and markets: for example, the Japanese market’s interest in ‘marbled’ beef. By taking this into account, he continued, BREEDPLAN had helped to increase the rate of genetic improvement to more than $4 per breeder per year for Angus herds producing for the Japanese market.
AGBU, founded in 1976, is a joint venture between UNE and the NSW Department of Primary Industries. Dr Graser first came to AGBU in 1980 and has been involved with BREEDPLAN since its inception. While AGBU conducts research for the project and MLA provides funding support, the commercial aspects of BREEDPLAN are in the hands of the Agricultural Business Research Institute (ABRI), also based at UNE. “BREEDPLAN technology has been marketed to countries on all six continents, contributing significantly to ABRI’s bottom line,” Dr Graser said.
He pointed out that BREEDPLAN had also contributed significantly to the local economy, as its focus at UNE had prompted several of the major cattle breed societies to locate their headquarters in Armidale.
Media contact: Dr Hans Graser, AGBU, UNE (02) 6773 3332 or Jim Scanlan, Public Relations, UNE (02) 6773 3049.
Posted by Jim Scanlan at 11:36 AM
UNE leads world in practical control of chicken virus
June 01, 2005
Most of the one million chickens that Australians eat every day are vaccinated against the virulent Marek’s disease virus. This “blanket” vaccination strategy could be about to change.
Research at The University of New England has paved the way for “tactical” rather than “blanket” vaccination against the disease, a development that would enable Australian producers to save millions of dollars a year in vaccination costs. This saving by producers should lead, then, to reductions for consumers in the price of chicken.
The research team led by UNE’s Associate Professor Steve Walkden-Brown has developed a simple and inexpensive test that can detect the presence of the Marek’s disease virus in a poultry-farmer’s shed, identify the strain, and indicate the severity of the problem by measuring the number of copies of the virus in the sample. The beauty of the test is that it can do all this simply by analysing a sample of dust from the shed.
The ability of the test to quantify the presence of the virus in poultry shed dust is the researchers’ most recent and, according to Dr Walkden-Brown, most groundbreaking achievement. “Now you can collect a dust sample from your shed, send it in the mail to UNE, and we’ll tell you how many copies of the virus there are in it,” he said. Two Australian poultry companies are already using the test which, when fully commercialised, will probably cost between $50 and $80.
Previously, the only way to test for the presence of Marek’s disease involved the killing of a number of chickens from each shed, rapid transport to a laboratory, and very complicated and expensive virus isolation procedures based on cell culture. “Because of the cost and difficulties associated with such testing, it was not done at all,” Dr Walkden-Brown said. “In the absence of information about the presence and abundance of the virus, producers have often resorted to a conservative approach of blanket vaccination to control the disease. While vaccination is, generally speaking, an excellent way to control disease, in the case of Marek’s disease there is good evidence that the virus has evolved towards greater virulence in response to blanket vaccination.”
Marek’s disease, a viral infection that eventually causes tumours in chickens, is a disease of major concern to the international poultry industry, costing the industry between $US1 billion and $US2 billion a year, mostly in vaccination costs. “Blanket” vaccination of broiler chickens in Australia began about a decade ago, following the large-scale introduction of new poultry strains from abroad that proved to be highly susceptible to the disease and that were not protected by the available Australian vaccines.
Dr Walkden-Brown (pictured here in the Chicken Isolation Unit at UNE) arrived at UNE at the end of 1995, at the height of the Marek’s disease epidemic. In 1996 he began collaborative research with Dr Peter Groves of Baiada Poultry Pty Ltd. This developed into a three-year project (1998-2000), funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC), that succeeded in improving the diagnosis and control of the disease. The diagnostic tests developed during that project have been successfully transferred to the poultry industry.
“We found that we could extract DNA and test for the virus in samples of dust from poultry sheds,” Dr Walkden-Brown said. “The problem with those tests, however, was that they provided simply a yes/no answer. They gave no indication of the quantity of the virus present. A further ARC-funded project (once again in collaboration with Baiada Poultry) has resulted in the new test that can quantify the viral presence in a dust sample. “This has enabled DNA testing for Marek’s disease on an industrial scale,” Dr Walkden-Brown explained.
The availability of this test, and research by Dr Walkden-Brown and his colleagues indicating that some regions of Australia are free of Marek’s disease, allows a new approach to managing the disease. “The industry can now move away from a strategy of suppressing Marek’s disease by vaccinating every bird in the major poultry-producing regions of Australia,” he said. “It could, instead, monitor for the disease on a farm or regional basis, and vaccinate only where necessary. We’ve developed a routine monitoring system that will allow managers to make decisions from a position of knowledge rather than a position of ignorance.
“Our research group, with its combination of veterinarians, virologists and molecular microbiologists, appears to be the only group in the world to develop this approach to managing Marek’s disease to the point of practical application. I firmly believe this is the way the disease will be managed world-wide in two or three years’ time.”
Media contact: Associate Professor Steve Walkden-Brown, School of Rural Science and Agriculture, UNE (02) 6773 5152 or Jim Scanlan, Public Relations, UNE (02) 6773 3049.
Posted by Jim Scanlan at 11:34 AM