UNE wraps up a year of success

December 22, 2006

2006 was a year of success for The University of New England with a series of major accolades and funding announcements recognising UNE's excellence in teaching and learning.

At the beginning of the year, the University welcomed a new Vice-Chancellor and CEO – Professor Alan Pettigrew – who led UNE through the successful year. Professor Pettigrew and his wife Ann quickly became welcome, familiar identities in the Armidale area.

UNE achieved top rating (five stars) for all three primary categories of students' "educational experience" in The Good Universities Guide for 2007. It has maintained this maximum rating for seven of the past eight years, out-performing every other university in Australia. The University's teaching and research strengths were acknowledged by similarly "stellar" results in the corresponding national guide to postgraduate courses.

Teaching and learning tools are continually being developed and introduced at UNE, and in 2006 there were some quantum leaps forward. New Internet-based technology allowing information delivery methods such as "podcasting" were introduced during the year, enhancing flexibility for both distance-education and on-campus students.

UNE's commitment to its students was recognised by the Commonwealth Government when it received 10 out of 10 possible Carrick Citations for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning. As each university had been invited to make up to 10 submissions, UNE achieved the best possible result.

UNE entered a new era of development with the announcement in July that it had made the final payment on a $26 million loan taken out 10 years before. Professor Pettigrew said it was "a significant step forward for the University". "The interest payment on the loan was $1.4 million a year; now we will be able to redirect those funds in the pursuit of new strategic goals," he said.

The new financial year brought the impact of Voluntary Student Unionism, and the University announced a commitment of more than $700,000 a year towards the continuation of services that not only contribute significantly to the life of the University, but extend out into the Armidale community. Student services related to welfare and advocacy, the renowned Sport UNE facilities, Services UNE (including The Booloominbah Collection’s restaurant, café and bar), and the oldest student radio station in Australia – Tune! FM – were all catered for in the University's funding package.

UNE attracted wide attention with the success of its Rural Medical School proposal in conjunction with the University of Newcastle. The two universities and the Hunter New England Area Health Service had presented the proposal to the Commonwealth Government earlier in the year. The Government will provide 80 additional Commonwealth-supported medical student places each year from 2008 for the joint medical program, of which 60 will be enrolled at UNE and 20 at the University of Newcastle. It is also providing $3 million in capital funding to establish the program.

The good news kept coming as the year drew to an end. The Commonwealth Government granted funding of $4.8 million to UNE under its Workplace Productivity Program (WPP) – the largest WPP grant to any Australian university in 2006. And at the beginning of December the Minister for Education, Science and Training, the Hon. Julie Bishop MP, announced the award of $1.5 million to UNE under the Government's Learning and Teaching Performance Fund. The award recognised UNE's achievements in teaching and learning generally, and its ranking among the top seven universities in the country in disciplines such as science, computing and agriculture.

UNE maintained its national and international reputation as a centre for leading-edge research during the year. Traditionally recognised for research in Rural Science (which celebrated its 50th Anniversary at UNE during the year), the University now conducts world-class research in a multitude of disciplines – from ecology and animal behaviour to history and children's literacy. Dr Karin Meyer, a Principal Scientist in the Animal Genetics and Breeding Unit at UNE, was added to the list (maintained by the international Institute for Scientific Information) of the world's most highly cited researchers.

Another international accolade was UNE's inclusion in the Shanghai Jao Tong University Rankings list of the top 100 universities in the Asia-Pacific region. Its reputation in this region – and farther afield – was reflected in its increasing number of partnerships with overseas educational institutions.

Throughout 2006, as in previous years, UNE joined the Armidale community in its involvement in annual events such as the Autumn Festival and Wool Expo, and extended its expertise into the community with the presentation of numerous public lectures.

Posted by at 04:41 PM

Educators can profit from 'lessons of the past'

December 21, 2006

Scholars from Australia and New Zealand gathered in Armidale earlier this month for a meeting that contributed to the future of education by preserving memories of its past.

More than 30 delegates attended the annual meeting of the Australian and New Zealand History of Education Society, held this year at The University of New England. It was the first time since the 1970s that the Society's annual meeting had been held at UNE.

One of the delegates, Associate Professor Craig Campbell from the University of Sydney, said UNE had "a long and honourable tradition in the study of the history of education", and placed the convener of this year's meeting – Dr Susan Davies from UNE – within that tradition. (Dr Davies is pictured here.)

Dr Campbell (who is the Secretary of the Society) explained the importance of the enterprise. "Institutions are constantly being 'restructured'," he said, "and are losing their memories of where they came from. If we lose those memories, we condemn ourselves to repeating a lot of the mistakes of the past."

"There's a lot to be learnt from what happened in the 19th century," he continued. "For example, the division between public and private education that characterised that era is back with us again."

The delegates agreed that historical memory was often lacking in responses to "crises" that were really just a periodical focus on chronic problems. (An example mentioned was the relatively poor academic performance of boys at school – the "boy crisis".) The President of the Society, Associate Professor Kay Whitehead from Flinders University, commented: "In the absence of historical perspective we get into panics, and throw millions of dollars at short-term solutions."

The theme of the meeting was "Education, Leadership and Community". Dr Whitehead's Presidential Address was on the subject of "women as leaders" in the first half of the 20th century – that is, when only single women were employed as teachers. "Whereas early in the century single women were seen as 'heroes'," she said, by the end of the century they were regarded as 'problematic'."

THE PHOTOGRAPH of UNE's Dr Susan Davies displayed here expands to include Associate Professor Kay Whitehead (Flinders University) and Associate Professor Craig Campbell (University of Sydney).

Posted by at 04:50 PM

Research links CBD decline to extended shopping hours

December 20, 2006

Research at The University of New England shows that the extension of shopping hours leads almost inevitably to the decline of long-established, main-street shopping centres.

Associate Professor Robert Baker (pictured here) has been conducting research on the relationship between shopping hours and the location of shopping centres for the past 20 years in Australia and New Zealand. "It has involved a rigorous analysis of where, when, and how often people shop," he said.

This work has enabled him to produce a mathematical model of shoppers' trips to planned shopping centres and supermarkets. The picture that emerges is one that he believes town and city councils are ignoring at their peril. In simple terms, the extension of shopping hours makes it more possible for people to visit planned shopping centres on the outskirts of urban areas. The development of such centres – in the context of extended shopping hours – leads to the decline of main-street shopping precincts.

Dr Baker has studied this decline, which he refers to as "collateral damage", in several regional cities in NSW, including Maitland, Dubbo and Taree. (In his home city of Armidale he has fears that the current development of two planned shopping centres – although within walking distance of Armidale's "beautiful pedestrian mall" – could lead to "collateral damage" in the mall.)

When hard-nosed economists ask "So what?" Dr Baker responds: "There’s such a thing as community identity. Does a supermarket define a town? Or is it rather the main street, with all its historical connections?"

He lays the blame for these developments, ultimately, on what he calls "producer sovereignty" – the quest by business organisations for "market dominance" rather than for service to the community. He cites the 2005 referendum in Western Australia, in which a proposal to introduce Sunday trading (and extended shopping hours on other days) was defeated.

He has served as an expert witness in many court cases surrounding applications for extended shopping hours. His evidence before a Full Bench of the Industrial Relations Commission in Queensland last year – particularly evidence relating to the potential decline of central business districts – helped to halt a push for Sunday trading in that State.

Dr Baker has produced a detailed treatment of his mathematical model in a book titled Dynamic Trip Modelling: From Shopping Centres to the Internet (just issued by the international publisher Springer). One of the book’s most startling conclusions is that, just as the distance to the shop is an important consideration when someone is planning to go shopping, an analogous concern for distance applies to Internet shopping. "Distance does matter, not only in walking to shops, but also in defining the movement of Internet traffic," he said.

Posted by at 04:47 PM

Prospective students take the tour

December 19, 2006

Prospective students from as far away as far north Queensland have taken the tour at the University of New England.

Campus tours, which are being conducted three times a week during December and January, give prospective students and their families a close-up look at lecture theatres, laboratories, libraries and sporting facilities. They also visit UNE's historic Booloominbah homestead, where they learn about the heritage of Australia's oldest regional university.

More than 100 prospective students visited the campus in December alone, with many more expected in January. They have come from throughout NSW and southern Queensland, with one even making the trip from a property 300km north of Townsville.

Ryan Brown, 17, from Downlands College in Toowoomba, said he intended to study economics at UNE and was particularly impressed with the tour of Sport UNE.

“The facilities were great, and everyone was really nice,” he said.

Ryan said he liked UNE’s rural aspect. “I didn’t really want to go to a big city,” he said.

While many students were interested in sporting facilities and the university radio station, parents wanted to know about safety, security and transport, according to Abbey Johnson, one of UNE’s Schools Liaison Officers, who conduct the tours.

“Everyone wanted to know about the college lifestyle and see the size of the rooms,” she said.

“Many of them were impressed with the size of the campus and how green it is.”

While most of the prospective students taking the tour were school-leavers intending to study on campus, several mature-age and distance education students also visited the campus, she said.

“We even had a 16-year-old girl who’s coming to UNE next year,” she said.

UNE has the largest residential college system of any university in Australia. About half of all students who study on campus choose to live on campus as well. First-rate resources and support are within easy reach and there are significant cost advantages to living on campus.

Formal tours of the colleges and the university campus will continue until the end of January, and informal tours can be arranged throughout the year. To make a booking for a campus tour phone the Freecall number: 1800 818 865.

For more information contact Leon Braun (UNE Public Relations) on (02) 6773 3771. A photograph is available to accompany this story.

Posted by Leon Braun at 10:51 AM

Colleagues pay tribute to retiring Executive Dean

December 18, 2006

Professor Michael Macklin is looking forward to the next phase of a life that has seen him as a Franciscan friar, a philosophy lecturer, an actor, an author, National President and Parliamentary Leader of the Australian Democrats, Director of Development for the University of Queensland, a CEO in the private sector and, most recently, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at The University of New England.

Professor Macklin is retiring from UNE after four-and-a-half years as administrative head of one of the University’s four Faculties.

The “next phase”, he explained, would involve “writing and travelling”, with an initial emphasis on the European pilgrim walks that he had been researching for some time. “One has to take every opportunity to fulfil one’s dreams,” he said last week during a farewell function in his honour, adding that his 36-year partnership with his wife Jenny had “helped both of us to realise some of our dreams”.

His colleagues acknowledged his “supportive, open-door policy” as a manager of people, and his “positive approach” to challenges. A fellow Executive Dean, Professor Victor Minichiello, confirmed that he was “much loved by his administrative staff”, and Professor Majella Franzmann, the Faculty’s Associate Dean (Research), said he had allowed his staff to thrive “by giving them space”.

“I believe in management by walking about,” Professor Macklin said, adding that, after a walk had led him into a stimulating research seminar, he had always emerged “with renewed vigour”. He thanked his colleagues within the Faculty – particularly the Heads of Schools and Associate Deans as well as the “loyal Faculty staff” – for their dedicated work.

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Alan Pettigrew, said Professor Macklin had made a significant contribution not only to the Faculty, but also to the University as a whole. “He has been a very effective senior member of the University’s staff,” Professor Pettigrew said, “and has worked tirelessly for the benefit of UNE.”

Professor Pettigrew acknowledged the support that Jenny Macklin had given to her husband and the University over the years. Professor Macklin’s tribute to his wife – who was with him at the farewell function – was a love song performed by musicians during the proceedings and dedicated to her. The couple celebrated their 36th wedding anniversary last week.

Mrs Jenny Post, who served as Professor Macklin’s Executive Assistant until her retirement four months ago, said it had been “an honour and a privilege” to work for him. On behalf of the University, she presented him with a magnificent painting: “Wollomombi Dreaming”, by local artist Joy Kirby. Both he and his wife received other farewell gifts – among them an album containing photographs relating to Professor Macklin’s UNE career and appreciative messages from his colleagues. As Professor Pettigrew pointed out, those colleagues had also shown their appreciation of him and his work for the University by coming from “every corner of the campus” to the farewell function.

THE PHOTOGRAPH displayed here shows Professor Alan Pettigrew (left) Jenny Macklin and Professor Michael Macklin at Professor Macklin's farewell.

Posted by at 12:41 PM

Students enrol online at UNE

December 15, 2006

Paper-based enrolment may soon be a thing of the past at the University of New England, following successful trials of online enrolment in 2006.

In November, more than 2000 continuing internal students re-enrolled for 2007 via the university’s student Web portal. This followed a successful trial of online enrolment with 300 students in early 2006.

Assistant Registrar Trevor Edgar said that by 2008 he expected all students would be using online services, including completing their enrolment online.

Enrolling online generally took just 5-10 minutes and could be completed from anywhere in the world, Mr Edgar said.

The new process meant considerable savings in paper and administration, he said.

Daniel Gooch, who supervised the Web portal’s development, said online enrolment had been very well received by students who participated in the trials, some of whom offered their opinions in focus groups.

“We have actually had students from outside the trial groups who, for a variety of reasons, have requested to do their enrolment online,” he said.

“We let them into the trial because they were so keen to be a part of it.”

Online enrolment was about more than just reducing administrative overheads, Mr Gooch said. Today’s technologically-savvy students expected to be able to interact with their university online.

“They use the Web to do their shopping, stay in touch with their friends and manage their bank accounts. It seems a bit incongruous when they receive a big stack of paper forms to enrol in a course that they’re probably going to do online.”

Mr Gooch said enrolment was one of many services the university was now offering online through its student Web portal. He said by logging on once with their username and password, students could access their email, change their mailing details and check their results.

UNE was also looking at introducing an SMS service to notify students of their results as soon as they became available, he said.

Posted by Leon Braun at 01:06 PM

Government funding recognises UNE’s achievements

December 14, 2006

The Commonwealth Government continues to recognise and reward The University of New England’s achievements in both teaching and learning, and workplace changes aimed at improvements in student services.

UNE has just been awarded $1.5 million from the Government’s Learning and Teaching Performance Fund, and a grant totalling $4.8 million through its Workplace Productivity Program (WPP).

The Minister for Education, Science and Training, the Hon. Julie Bishop MP, announced the Learning and Teaching Performance Fund award during a function at Parliament House, Canberra, last week. The Fund recognises excellence in learning and teaching for undergraduate students.

This award follows the announcement of the WPP grant. After an initial grant of more than $1.8 million in September, extra funding has been awarded, taking the total WPP funding for UNE to $4.8 million – the largest amount allocated to any individual university in Australia for 2006. The Vice-Chancellor of UNE, Professor Alan Pettigrew, said the money would enable the University “to establish the necessary business systems to support and sustain academic renewal, and to deliver high-quality administrative services to students”.

Late last year, UNE was one of only two regional universities to receive an initial award ($2.2 million) from the Commonwealth Government’s newly-formed Learning and Teaching Performance Fund. Professor Pettigrew pointed out that, in this latest round of awards, universities had been rewarded for their achievement in specific discipline groups: (1) Science, Computing, Engineering, Architecture and Agriculture; (2) Business, Law and Economics; (3) Humanities, Arts and Education; (4) Health. “UNE has been ranked among the top seven universities for achievement in teaching and learning in the first of these discipline groups,” Professor Pettigrew said. “This is an outstanding achievement that is testament to the hard work and dedication of all those in the Faculty of The Sciences. UNE’s success on this occasion adds to our reputation in the area of teaching and learning, where we have already gained a five-star rating for students’ ‘educational experience’ in the Good Universities Guide for 2007.”

Thanking all those involved in the achievement of both the Learning and Teaching Performance Fund award and the WWP grant, Professor Pettigrew said: “As we move through the organisational and course renewal process, I have no doubt that UNE will become even more successful in the vital areas of student satisfaction, with their learning experience and employment outcomes.”

THE PHOTOGRAPH displayed here shows the Minister for Education, Science and Training, Julie Bishop, presenting Professor Alan Pettigrew with a Learning and Teaching Performance Fund certificate during the recent function in Parliament House.

Posted by at 03:52 PM

The arts, humanities, and social sciences celebrate publications

December 13, 2006

The Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at The University of New England has celebrated an impressive output of books and journal articles over the past year. The Faculty’s Executive Dean, Professor Michael Macklin, said these publications were representative of “a tradition of scholarship going back to the foundation of the University”.

At the celebratory function last Friday [8 December], Professor Macklin outlined the Faculty’s achievements during what he called “another successful year for research”.

It had been a year, he said, in which research projects within the Faculty had received funding of more than $2.5 million from the Australian Research Council, and the Faculty’s research centres had attracted considerable amounts of funding from other sources. The number of students beginning postgraduate research in the Faculty had risen for the fifth successive year.

Professor Macklin acknowledged the contribution of the Faculty’s Associate Dean (Research), Professor Majella Franzmann, and included her recent election to the Council of the Australian Academy of the Humanities in a list of national accolades bestowed on members of the Faculty during the year.

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Alan Pettigrew, said he was “absolutely impressed” by the books on display, mentioning several on topics as diverse as the mathematical modelling of shopping trips and the fundamental principles of medical practice according to the ancient Greek physician Galen.

Dr Ian Johnston, the author of Galen On Diseases and Symptoms (published by Cambridge University Press), travelled from his home in Tasmania for last week’s event. Dr Johnston, a retired neurosurgeon, began his study of Classical languages and literature at UNE in 1980, and graduated with a PhD in 2003. The book on Galen, based on his PhD thesis, contains a translation of several texts by Galen hitherto unpublished in translation, and an introductory essay. “These works – focusing as they do on fundamental principles – still have relevance for present-day practitioners,” he said.

Another of the new books in the field of Classical studies also has a medical flavour. The Wounded Hero: Non-Fatal Injury in Homer’s Iliad by Tamara Neal (published by Peter Lang) is a study of the significance of the motifs of non-fatal injury and bloodshed in The Iliad. Dr Neal, who was a lecturer in UNE’s School of Classics, History and Religion from 2004 until earlier this year, said she had “always been passionate about Homer”. While the purely medical aspect of the topic had interested her at first, she said, the final product was a literary study.

Dr Johnston and Dr Neal are pictured here at the event.

In all, the event celebrated the publication of eight books written by members of the Faculty, 30 books that contain chapters contributed by Faculty members, and 81 refereed journal articles. The publications come from all parts of the Faculty – from History to Psychology; from Linguistics to Social Science; from Theatre Studies to Archaeology.

Posted by at 04:23 PM

Book reveals the essence of New England

December 12, 2006

New England, NSW, is celebrating the publication of a book that takes a new approach to history and heritage.

High Lean Country: Land, people and memory in New England is, according to one of its editors, “an experimental book. Nothing quite like it has been published in Australia before.”

That editor – the distinguished Australian historian Alan Atkinson – explained that High Lean Country was the first major publication of The University of New England’s Heritage Futures Research Centre (HFRC), founded in 2001. “The Centre is dedicated to showing the importance of the humanities and social sciences for the region, and for the sustainability of rural life throughout Australia,” he said.

Alan Atkinson, the author of The Europeans in Australia, is a Professorial Fellow at UNE, and his three co-editors – J.S. Ryan, Iain Davidson (the Founding Director of HFRC) and Andrew Piper – and most of the book’s 36 authors are UNE academics. Some of the authors, however, are members of the wider community. “There are chapters not only by historians, archaeologists and experts in literature, theatre, music, film and the visual arts, but also by geographers, a botanist, zoologists, and agricultural scientists,” Professor Atkinson said. “The aim is to show what is – and what’s not – distinctive about New England, what its natural and cultural assets are, how the way of life has changed, and what seems to be worth preserving. Running through most of the chapters are questions as to what it feels like to live here, and what it felt like in the past.”

The publishers, Allen & Unwin, say it is "a book that Judith Wright would have savoured". "It considers the way the land has shaped its people, their ideas about themselves, their way of life and their memories."

The Member for Northern Tablelands, Richard Torbay, will launch High Lean Country: Land, people and memory in New England in the Armidale Dumaresq Council Chambers at 12 noon on Monday 18 December. (For more information on this public event, ring Professor Alan Atkinson on 6773 2125 or Dr David Roberts on 6773 3794.)

It was one of the book’s editors, John Ryan, who had the original idea for High Lean Country. (Dr Ryan is an Associate Professor in UNE’s School of English, Communication and Theatre.) “The book is representative of John’s long and extraordinary contribution to UNE, and his concern with the way the University serves the people of New England,” Professor Atkinson said. “It builds on his strong sense of regional culture and identity, and of the world as a place made up of regions. The fact that human beings draw an enormous amount from their regional and local roots is, of course, a fundamental insight for UNE’s past and future.”

Professor Atkinson pointed out that High Lean Country was the first comprehensive book about New England since The Atlas of New England was published in 1977. “A recent survey by the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economics and Social Research shows that UNE is one of Australia’s top universities in the area of the humanities,” he said. “This book is a good example of the sort of thing we do.”

Posted by at 02:49 PM

Rural Science Honours prepares students for work and research

December 11, 2006

Twelve students from The University of New England have just completed an Honours program that has enabled them not only to conduct research projects of benefit to rural industries, but also to develop essential skills in communicating their research findings.

The students’ Honours program culminated last month when they presented their year’s work to each other, their supervisors and other academic staff members, and their industry partners in a series of talks that extended over two whole mornings.

Most of them will graduate early next year with either Bachelor of Rural Science (Honours) or Bachelor of Livestock Science (Honours) degrees.

Professor Acram Taji, Honours Coordinator in UNE’s School of Rural Science and Agriculture, emphasised the applicability to industry of much of the Honours research, and the high quality of the research results and their presentation. “Many of the talks would have fitted quite comfortably into a national or international conference,” Professor Taji said.

She said that some of the students would go on to postgraduate studies, and others would go straight into industry. “Two of this year’s students were working on industry scholarships, and have been given jobs by their industry sponsors,” she explained. “But whatever our Honours graduates do, they will need to communicate the results of their work to their peers and colleagues. The program is designed to help them develop the skills necessary for that.”

The 12 research projects covered a wide range of topics – from the behaviour, physiology and management of dairy cattle, sheep and horses to the environmental management of mining residues. There were also projects on various aspects of meat quality, and studies of pasture composition and weeds.

One of the students, Mark Barnett, who investigated “The effect of body condition on early-stage pregnancy in mares”, intends to go on to postgraduate research. “I’d like to continue with embryonic research in large animals,” he said.

Mr Barnett, who comes from Wallabadah, will be the first graduate of UNE’s Bachelor of Livestock Science degree program, which began in 2004. He said his strong interest in animals – particularly their physiology and nutrition – had drawn him to Livestock Science after beginning his Rural Science studies at UNE in 2003.

He referred to the Honours year as “an excellent program” that enabled students to develop skills in planning and conducting a project, researching the relevant literature, understanding and interpreting results, compiling a large report, and – finally – communicating their findings.

Another student, Christie Iker, pointed out that “scientists are in the public eye more and more”, making communication skills increasingly important. She said that preparing and delivering her Honours presentation had been good training for the postgraduate research she intends to pursue. Ms Iker comes from the small town of Comet in central Queensland; her Honours topic was “Selection for tenderness in tropically adapted beef breeds”.

Mark Barnett and Christie Iker are pictured here.

Posted by at 05:06 PM

Commonwealth Scholarship makes a big difference for Louise

December 08, 2006

Thanks to a Commonwealth Learning Scholarship, 20-year-old UNE student Louise Davidson, from Armidale, is not worried about money. She has, therefore, been able to devote more time to her studies, and is very pleased with her exam results.

Louise (pictured here) has just completed the second year of her four-year Bachelor of Education degree program, and intends to teach primary students - especially infants from kindergarten to Year 2. “I love it at UNE, as the lecturers and other students are really friendly and approachable,” she said. “It’s a good support network. But it would be difficult without a scholarship, which has helped me a lot this year, particularly with “prac” (practical experience in the classroom) expenses like travel and accommodation. The extra money has been a godsend.”

The former Duval High student said it was good news for students that the closing date for Commonwealth Learning Scholarship (CLS) applications had been extended to January 4th, 2007. These scholarships were established to increase higher education participation by students from low socio-economic backgrounds and from regional and remote areas.

Louise’s CLS – a Commonwealth Education Costs Scholarship – provides $2,120 tax-free per year over four years and is available to full-time students. “In first year I received the Youth Allowance,” she said, “but it was not enough. So when I heard about scholarships for continuing students, I applied. I was going into second year and received the news after university started. It was a big relief, and means less stress about paying bills and more time studying and getting good grades.” Louise also works part-time on a casual basis at The Athlete’s Foot, and is a keen sportswoman – playing hockey in the UNE Women’s A-grade team.

The other CLS – the Commonwealth Accommodation Scholarship – is valued at $4,240 per annum for a maximum of 4 years, and is intended to assist with accommodation costs for on-campus, full-time students.

The Commonwealth Scholarships Higher Education Support Act 2003 has amended the Guidelines to include postgraduate students in specific “National Priority” courses. Eligible students may now apply for a Commonwealth Learning Scholarship to study for a Graduate Diploma in Education, Graduate Diploma in Adult Education, or Graduate Diploma in Educational Studies (TESOL) at UNE.

Further information and application forms are available from the Universities Admissions Centre (UAC) Web site:
http://www.uac.edu.au/equity/equityschols.html

Posted by at 03:16 PM

George Negus on sex, religion and politics

December 08, 2006

Growing up in Queensland in the 1950s, journalist George Negus was taught never to talk about sex, religion or politics. They made bad friends, his parents explained.

“As I got older, I came to realise sex, religion and politics were the only things worth talking about,” he says today.

He had a receptive audience at the University of New England last week, where almost 300 people turned out to hear him give the 18th Sir Robert Madgwick Lecture at the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.

After jokingly introducing himself as “an ageing sex symbol”, Mr Negus went on to give a “potted history” of the last two decades, drawing on his experiences as a globe-trotting television reporter for programs such as 60 Minutes, Dateline and This Day Tonight.

The world had undergone monumental change in that time, he said, and despite popular belief, much of it had little to do with the events of September 11, 2001.

“If I had said twenty years ago that in 2006 the communist bloc would no longer exist, you wouldn’t have believed me.”

“If I had said the Protestants and the Catholics would stop killing each other in Northern Ireland, you would have thought I was crazy.”

“If I had said in 1994 that the next president of South Africa would be Nelson Mandela, and Apartheid would be relegated to history, you would have thought I had lost my marbles.”

“I wonder, decades from now, will historians see September 11 or the fall of the Berlin Wall as more significant?”

While old conflicts had been laid to rest, Mr Negus said, new ones had arisen in their place. Islam had replaced communism as the so-called “enemy number one” of Western democracy, religious divides had deepened and religion had become enormously political, he said.

“In my opinion as a political observer, the biggest issue in the world today is the ‘R’ word – religion – and the most important person in the world is God.”

The vice-chancellor of UNE, Professor Alan Pettigrew, thanked Mr Negus for his lecture and said he had “communicated with us in the best Robert Madgwick tradition of a performance.”

For his part, Mr Negus said academics and the media should work more closely to publicise the good work done at universities such as UNE.

“We need people who can popularise academic knowledge without vulgarising it,” he said.

The Sir Robert Madgwick lecture is held each year in honour of the UNE’s first vice-chancellor. Sir Robert was vice-chancellor of UNE from 1954 until 1966, and chairman of the ABC from 1967 until 1973. Previous lecturers have included Manning Clark, Richard Butler and Tim Fischer.

For more information contact Leon Braun on (02) 6771 2428. A photo is available with this story.

Posted by Leon Braun at 10:47 AM

UNE set to expand Vietnam links

December 07, 2006

A distinguished University of New England graduate and University Medallist of 1997 returned to Armidale this week as Deputy Director of the Institute of Human Studies in Hanoi. Discussions included the potential for UNE in a burgeoning Vietnamese higher education sector.

Dr Tranh Nghi Pham received an AusAID scholarship in 1995 to study for UNE’s highly regarded Master of Educational Administration degree, and was impressed by the supportive UNE academic community and Australian culture. He later persuaded the University to offer the course in Vietnam and initiated negotiations with UNE’s Vietnamese partners.

He said Vietnam’s rapidly developing economy provided many opportunities for higher education providers, particularly as English became more popular. “There is already a certain level of English that may be improved, and new higher education services in regional areas will encourage that,” he added. UNE’s Pro Vice-Chancellor (Development and International), Professor Robin Pollard, agreed that UNE’s English Training Centre was well placed to capitalise on this growing demand.

Creating an environment for increased UNE involvement is Vietnam’s strengthening economy and regional presence; it recently joined the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and last month hosted an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Conference. Economic growth exceeding eight per cent is creating an immense demand for technical knowledge at a tertiary level, and UNE is well positioned to be a major player thanks to proactive planning by UNE administrators.

A catalyst for both economic development and the ensuing demand for qualified people has been the major shift in Vietnamese culture in recent years – from shared management and responsibility, to individual responsibility and the accountability of a Western-style market economy.

UNE’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Alan Pettigrew, recently returned from Vietnam after signing a 10-year agreement with the highly-regarded Vietnam National University (VNU) and officiating at two graduations: presenting 29 degrees at Hanoi and 22 at Ho Chi Minh City. “There are wonderful opportunities for UNE to work with our Vietnamese colleagues in a range of academic areas,” Professor Pettigrew said. “There is much for both sides to gain from effective partnerships.”

Dr Nghi will return to Hanoi next week hopeful of forming a UNE Alumni Chapter, and feels there are many opportunities for UNE to expand its operations in Vietnam. “There were 20 Vietnamese students on AusAID-funded scholarships while I was at UNE in the nineties,” he said, “and economic development is increasing demand for both local university study and world- class degrees offered overseas at universities like UNE.”

“Vietnamese students who travel to Australia to study at UNE will have no trouble settling in,” he said. “What I liked most about UNE was the ease of contact with lecturers. Many became good friends and really helped me adjust to my new Australian home. I also made good friends while studying and living in UNE’s Wright Village. During the holidays we went cotton chipping at Moree and, as well as earning good money, enjoyed learning Australian culture from the locals. Australians are interested in learning about Vietnam and I quickly made good friends.”

THE PHOTOGRAPH displayed here shows (from left) Professor Robin Pollard, Dr Tranh Nghi Pham, and UNE's Emeritus Professor Grant Harman.

Posted by at 05:35 PM

New book analyses health care reform in a rural community

December 06, 2006

A book that documents and analyses conflicting interests surrounding health care reform in a rural community has important implications for such communities throughout Australia.

One of the book’s authors, Associate Professor Jeanne Madison from The University of New England, said that the kind of “power struggle” analysed in the book could happen “anywhere where there are people”. “Health care is an issue that affects everyone in every community,” she said.

Healthcare Reform and Interest Groups: The Case of Rural Australia documents the conflict between doctors, government officials, and health care administrators when the small Victorian town of Corryong (population 3,200) had to make decisions about the future of its ageing hospital. The principal author of the book, Dr Frank Evans, was Chief Executive Officer of the hospital at the time of change, and wrote from his experience at the centre of the struggle. On one side were the doctors (supported by some members of the community), who wanted to maintain the hospital as an acute-care facility, and on the other were the government and health officials who wanted to replace it with a new, integrated health service (known as a “multi-purpose service”, or “MPS”).

The Right Honourable Ian Sinclair, former Federal Government Minister and Member for New England, officially launched the book during a function at UNE last week. Mr Sinclair said that MPS centres “suited to present demands” were an important development in rural communities, where populations were ageing more rapidly than in the cities. It was becoming more apparent that smaller communities were not able to staff and maintain an acute-care hospital, and the MPS was a more viable, alternative approach to the provision of health care.

In moving towards this more flexible type of health service, doctors (who often link their social status with the local hospital) “can be part of the problem”, Mr Sinclair said, “but are essentially an important part of the solution”.

Healthcare Reform and Interest Groups: The Case of Rural Australia (University Press of America, 2006) is written by Frank Evans, Gil-Soo Han, and Jeanne Madison. Dr Madison explained that she and Dr Han had supervised Dr Evans’s UNE doctoral thesis on which the book is based. “Our job was to help him to step back from the emotion of personal involvement, and keep him scholarly and analytical,” she said. Dr Madison is Head of the School of Health at UNE, while Dr Han is now an Associate Professor and Deputy Head of the School of Arts and Sciences at Monash University, Malaysia. Dr Evans is Chief Executive and Director of Nursing at Upper Murray Health and Community Services.

“The book addresses the issue of how much – and what kind of – health care is appropriate for small rural communities,” Dr Madison said, “and the struggle among interested parties to acquire and control services that each interest group thinks necessary. People in smaller rural communities across Australia are having to address these questions: How much health care is appropriate, and how accessible should that health care be?”

The MPS in Corryong became operational in 2002.

THE PHOTOGRAPH displayed here, taken at last week's book launch, shows (from left) Professor Victor Minichiello (Executive Dean of the Faculty of Education, Health and Professional Studies at UNE), Associate Professor Jeanne Madison, the Right Honourable Ian Sinclair, and Armidale Dumaresq Mayor Councillor Peter Ducat.

Posted by at 05:05 PM

Project helps students think more clearly in maths, science

December 05, 2006

After a 12-month trial, schoolteachers and their students have strongly endorsed the use of visual techniques that promote more systematic thinking in science and mathematics.

Surrounded by the “concept maps” and “vee diagrams” produced by their students, the teachers reported on the success of the project to a meeting of community, school, government and university representatives at The University of New England last month. The classroom trials took place at two Armidale schools – Minimbah Primary School (MPS) and New England Girls’ School (NEGS) – and involved students from Kindergarten to Year 10.

Jenny Brown, a teacher at MPS, was typical of all the participating teachers (two from MPS and six from NEGS) in her response to the project. “It was very successful,” she said. “The children coped with it far better than I thought they would.” She added that her students had understood the process so well that they had been able to teach it to younger children in Kindergarten and Year 1. “That was an outcome we didn’t expect,” she said.

UNE’s Associate Professor Karoline Afamasaga-Fuata’i (pictured here) coordinated the one-year project, which was conducted with Federal Government funding of $48,000. She explained that the visual techniques required the diagrammatic representation of theoretical principles underlying a procedure or experiment (using a “concept map”) or underlying the application of theory in context (using a “vee diagram”), in a way that exposed any gaps or inconsistencies in students’ understanding.

Dr Afamasaga Fuata’i, an international authority on these techniques, was assisted in the project by Dr Greg McPhan, who has extensive experience with concept mapping in science teaching. Dr McPhan is now a Research Fellow in the National Centre of Science, ICT and Mathematics Education for Rural and Regional Australia (SiMERR), which is based at UNE. SiMERR was a partner in the project, along with UNE's School of Education, MPS and NEGS.

Last month’s meeting marked the culmination of the project, and allowed the teachers to discuss – and exhibit – the work of their students. “We’ll definitely be continuing with it,” Ms Brown said. “The children love it. It helps them to order their thinking.”

Her MPS colleague Carolyn Briggs, who teaches Kindergarten and Year 1, was also typical in reporting that children had been able to support each other when creating concept maps in small groups. She said they had “learnt a lot more from each other” – and from their “peer tutors” in Years 5 and 6 – than from formal instruction.

Dr Afamasaga-Fuata’i confirmed that group work was an important part of the process. “They’re constantly communicating: challenging each other and collaborating,” she said. “Through communication they clarify their own thinking."

“These techniques help students to become more independent learners and better problem solvers,” she continued. “And for teachers, they provide a snapshot of what students know. I wish all teachers could be exposed to them.”

Posted by at 05:45 PM

'Integrated management' of sheep parasites shown to be effective

December 04, 2006

A nation-wide project that has shown how sheep farmers can reduce the impact of parasites has come to a successful conclusion for its five New England participants.

They had a final meeting in Armidale last week with representatives of the funding body – Australian Wool Innovation Ltd (AWI) – and researchers from The University of New England.

Five New England sheep properties have been working with UNE researchers for the past three years on the integrated use of a range of parasite management procedures. These “demonstration farms” are at Armidale, Uralla, Walcha, Kingstown and Deepwater. There are 23 “demonstration farms” around Australia.

UNE initiated and developed the “Integrated Parasite Management – sheep” (IPM-s) project, which is managed and funded by AWI. UNE’s partners in the project are the University of Melbourne, the Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, and the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia.

The project aims to reduce losses to the Australian sheep industry caused by parasites such as worms, lice and blowflies – losses that total around $700 million every year. UNE’s Colin Scrivener, one of the project leaders for northern NSW, said the results demonstrated that a “package” of measures to combat parasites was more effective than a simple reliance on chemical drenching.

Mr Scrivener said this integrated "package" included grazing with other classes of livestock, pasture rotation, regular monitoring, nutritional supplements, and genetic selection – as well as carefully selected chemical treatments.

“IPM-s has shown that, if you integrate them all into a package, with a good knowledge of what each of them does, you can reduce the effect of internal parasites such as barber’s pole worm without increasing costs or suffering production losses,” Mr Scrivener said.

“We’re seeing increasing resistance to current chemicals,” he explained. “This means that some properties could be forced out of sheep. And there are no new chemicals on the horizon. However, even in these cases, we can keep sheep producers in the industry by introducing Integrated Parasite Management.”

Two years ago, a UNE-based survey of thousands of sheep farmers around Australia gathered information about their use of chemicals to control parasites in sheep. Lyndal Thompson, the UNE researcher who conducted that survey, is now convening focus groups of sheep farmers to reveal the reasons behind their decisions about parasite control. “Using that information, we can go on to develop an extension program,” Mr Scrivener said.

“After the conclusion of the current IPM-s program next February, we would like to begin a follow-up program looking at properties in wheat/sheep areas and producers of prime lambs,” he continued. “And to answer some of the questions raised during the current program.”

THE PHOTOGRAPH displayed here shows IPM-s Project Leaders for Northern NSW Colin Scrivener (left) and Dr Lewis Kahn (both from UNE).

Posted by at 04:55 PM

Workshop fosters a global perspective on migration

December 01, 2006

An international meeting at The University of New England on migration challenges facing the Asia-Pacific region “really got to the bigger picture”, according to one of the key participants.

“The whole issue of migration is one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century internationally,” said Father David Holdcroft, Director of the Jesuit Refugee Service (Australia). “In countries like Australia, with an ageing population, there is increasing pressure to relax restrictions on the flow of labour – with all the attendant questions of national identity.”

Referring to the UNE workshop as “a terrific initiative”, Father Holdcroft (pictured here) said it was “just crucial” to discuss the mechanics of these large-scale movements of people in an environment that was “not politically or ideologically driven”. “These kinds of meetings are important in making us think about Australia in terms of its relationships with other countries,” he said.

The workshop, titled “Migration Challenges in the Asia-Pacific in the 21st Century”, was on Tuesday 28 and Wednesday 29 November. It was convened under the auspices of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia, and sponsored by UNESCO.

Turning to the refugee issue in particular, Father Holdcroft referred to an element of “radical intolerance” in Australian Government policies aimed at deterring unwanted arrivals. He said government policies needed to allow “space for a fair and balanced response” to such arrivals, and scope to address the causes of refugee movements themselves. “We shouldn’t confuse refugee policy with immigration policy,” he said.

UNE’s Professor Amarjit Kaur (School of Economics) and Professor Ian Metcalfe (UNE Asia Centre) organised the workshop, the Asia Centre sponsoring Father Holdcroft’s visit to Armidale.

Immediately after the workshop, UNE hosted the 14th Colloquium of the Malaysia and Singapore Society of Australia (Thursday 30 November and Friday 1 December). The Colloquium, titled “Boundaries and Shifting Sovereignties: Migration, Security Issues and Regional Cooperation”, continued the theme of migration, and included contributions from some of the workshop participants. Speakers from India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore, as well as from around Australia, contributed to the two meetings.

Posted by at 04:53 PM