Dawkins recalls ‘salad’ days

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

Queensland University of Technology Newspaper ■ Issue 160 ■ April 8-21, 1997

by Andrea Hammond

A vaccine for Ross River virusdeveloped at QUT may be ready fortesting on Queensland patients withintwo years.

School of Life Science researcher DrJohn Aaskov said the world’s firstvaccine for the virus – which affectsthousands of people each year – couldbe sold commercially within five years.

An agreement had been signed lastmonth with Austrian manufacturerImmuno AG to develop the vaccinecommercially, he said.

Ross River virus vaccineto put the bite on mozzies

Queensland Health has also pledgedto provide hospital beds and laboratorytesting facilities for initial clinical trials,expected to get underway in late 1998.

“What we’ve got to do is go frommaking a litre or two of the vaccine inQUT laboratories to making hundredsof litres,” Dr Aaskov said.

“If there are no glitches, it couldthen be sold in Australia, Papua NewGuinea and New Caledonia in four tofive years.”

Dr Aaskov, a senior lecturer at QUT,is also director of the World HealthOrganisation’s Queensland Arbovirus

Reference Centre which is a joint QUT/Queensland Health facility.

Australia had just experienced a“bumper year” of Ross River virus withmore than 7,500 cases – about 2,500more than usual – diagnosed in 1996,he said.

The disease, frequently called RossRiver fever, but more accurately knownas Epidemic Polyarthritis, causes fatigueand arthritic-type pain in the joints andcommonly lasts 30-40 weeks.

“These people are going to be sickon average for nine months and we haveno idea what the social and economic

costs are. It has been estimated thateach case costs about $2,500 inmedication and lost workproductivity,” Dr Aaskov said.

“In addition, we (in Australia) spendabout $6 million a year diagnosingRoss River virus infections.

“The current vector controlprograms (spraying waterways etc) maybe controlling the disease, but theypatently can’t prevent it. It’s also notgood public health to try and treatdisease after people get sick.

Continued page 3

Graduatesmust considersocial justice

Page 5

Internettraining facilitylaunched

Page 4

by Andrea Hammond

Former Labor Education MinisterJohn Dawkins recalled the days whenhis reception at universities was morelikely to attract a hail of abuse androtten vegetables than academichonours, as he accepted an honorarydoctorate from QUT last week.

Mr Dawkins told graduatingeducation students he had strongmemories of the torrid days ofoverhauling Australia’s highereducation system in the late 1980s,and how the policies were not alwaysgreeted with “enormous enthusiasm”at the time.

“It is not unusual for the sponsor ofreform to encounter hostility of thekind I experienced,” Mr Dawkins said.

“What made it worthwhile was thatthe reforms achieved much of theirintended purpose and it’s a wonderfulbonus for this achievement to bepublicly acknowledged as it is today.

“QUT is perhaps the leadingexample in Australia of the expansionof and change in the university system.”

Mr Dawkins also told students hebelieved (Federal Education Minister)Senator Amanda Vanstone’s “bright idea”of raising the cut-off score for entry intoeducation courses would result not inbetter teachers, but in fewer enrolments.

He was awarded the doctorate inrecognition of distinguished service tothe community at the April 2 EducationFaculty (in-service and graduatediploma) graduation ceremony.

He joined three other high-profileAustralians — Sister Angela MaryDoyle AO, Lois O’Donoghue AM andRonald Desmond Paul AM — whohave also been awarded honourarydoctorates in the latest round of QUTgraduation ceremonies.

Continued page 2

(left) Former FederalEducation Minister and QUThonorary doctorate recipient

John Dawkins

Parole not prison- researcher

Page 3

Page 2 INSIDE QUT April 8-21, 1997

From the Inside… by David Hawke

Advertising senior lecturer Alan Halesresigned from QUT on February 25.

Mr Hales, who had taughtadvertising full-time in the Faculty ofBusiness since the early 1990s, wasunable to substantiate earlier verbal andwritten claims of qualifications duringa recent audit of al l academicqualifications.

Mr Hales had claimed to hold aBachelor of Arts (Hons) from theUniversity of Sydney. However, thatinstitution had no record of Mr Haleshaving been awarded any degree.

QUT Vice-Chancellor ProfessorDennis Gibsion said it was regrettablethat QUT should lose a teacher withMr Hales’ industry experience.

“This situation is extremelyunfortunate, because Mr Hales is a veryexperienced advertising executive and isextremely highly regarded by both hisstudents and by the advertising industryin general,” Professor Gibson said.

He said the audit process had requiredall academics to give written authorityfor QUT to check their qualificationswith awarding institutions, a stepintroduced for all new staff in the yearsfollowing Mr Hales’ appointment.

Following Mr Hales’ resignation,QUT was approached by a journalistseeking confirmation of the allegationsagainst Mr Hales which became publicin a front-page article in Brisbane’s TheCourier-Mail on March 21.

Advertising academic resigns

A text on career development and theorywhich specifically addresses Australianconcerns has been published by twoQUT academics.

School of Learning and Developmentsenior lecturer Dr Wendy Patton andassociate lecturer Mary McMahon haveco-edited Career Development in Practice:A systems theory perspective.

“For too long, Australiancareers practitioners have hadto rely on theoreticaldiscussions generated in theUnited States and Britain —this book will offer anAustralian perspective on arange of theoretical andpractice considerations,” DrPatton said.

“The book applies a systemstheory framework of careerdevelopment to the issue oftheory and practice integration.

“We have gathered togetherwriters working with clientsfrom diverse backgrounds toillustrate the effectiveness ofthis framework.”

Launched in Brisbane on April 3,Career Development in Practice: Asystems theory perspective, promises tobe a valuable resource for peopleundertaking further education incareer theory and practice as well ascareers practitioners in schools, tertiaryinstitutions and human resourcemanagement.

Text targets career development

Continued from page one

Mr Dawkins’s reforms as Employment,Education and Training Minister in theHawke Ministry from 1987-91revolutionised Australia’s higher educationsector and ushered in a new era which sawfewer and larger institutions working moreefficiently and effectively.

He told graduating students that bythe mid-’80s there were too few placesavailable for the qualified studentscompeting for them and that the placesthat did exist were frequently in thewrong locations.

“On top of that, the divisions betweenuniversities and those institutions fromthe old college sector were becomingincreasingly irrational and there weretoo many separate institutions, some ofwhich were far too small,” Mr Dawkinssaid.

“All those defects were the result ofCommonwealth regulation anddifferential funding mechanisms which,while appropriate 20 years earlier, wereno longer so.

“The important aspect about thereform process of the ’80s was theremoval of much of this regulation. Withmore funds for growth and new methodsto distribute the funds, the systemrapidly took on a new character.

“For QUT it allowed the broadeningof its academic profile partly throughamalgamation, the opportunity todevelop campuses closer to where thestudents lived, an ability to extend itsresearch and consultancy base and anopportunity to attract moreinternational students.”

Mr Dawkins warned graduatingstudents to expect a major review ofschool education at least once a decadeand that, at the conclusion of eachreview, teachers would be expected todo things differently.

“Occasionally we see bright ideasabout how we might have better teachers– one such idea came from Senator(Amanda) Vanstone along the lines ofraising the cut-off score for entry intoeducation courses,” he said.

“Cut-off scores are a means of rationingdemand. They do not affect the qualityof those seeking places,” he said.

Vice-Chancellor Professor DennisGibson said the Dawkins’ reforms saw85 institutions become 36 throughamalgamations which – combined withextra funds – provided many moreopportunities for university participation.

“Under the Dawkins’ vision forchange, the Queensland University ofTechnology amalgamated with theBrisbane College of Advanced Educationin 1990 to become Australia’s fourth-largest university and a truly multi-disciplinary university.”■ On April 1 – the day before MrDawkins took the stage – the director ofQueensland’s Board of TeacherRegistration, Dr Marie Jansen, was guestspeaker at the Faculty of Education’s(pre-service primary and earlychildhood) graduation ceremony (seestory page 5).

For the third Faculty of Educationgraduation on April 3 (pre-servicesecondary plus Bachelor of Education),Queensland Education Minister Mr BobQuinn, was the official guest speaker.

. . . Dawkins recalls torrid past

When members of the WestCommittee visited QUT on March26, one of the questions they askedwas what the higher education sectorwould look like in 20 years time.

The fashionable answer to thisquestion usually involves somevariation on a brave new world of hightechnology and borderless interactionas students sitting in front of computerscreens giving access to informationand university programs around theworld. Perhaps in thinking about thenext 20 years, however, we should paymore attention to what happened inthe last 20.

Looking back recently at marketresearch since the early 1980s, I wasstruck by the consistency of the reasonsgiven by students for choosing aparticular tertiary institution.

Both QUT and national researchshows that the factors influencingchoice are availability of a particularcourse (and its employment outcomes),prestige of the institution as a whole,location of the institution, and facilitiesavailable, roughly in that order.

Prestige is an elusive quality whichresearch suggests changes very slowlyover time. Newer universities like QUThave an historical handicap, but thiswill diminish if they can produceoutcomes comparable with the olderuniversities.

QUT’s strength, which it inheritedfrom its highly vocational predecessorinstitutions, is its practical courses.

This has been reflected in excellentgraduate employment outcomes.

Our location in the rapidly growingSouth-East Queensland megalopolis isalso a precious advantage.

The challenge for QUT in the next20 years will be to improve our facilitiesfor teaching, research and recreationto a point where they can challengethose of the historically better funded“sandstone” universities.

The move to a more market-oriented,consumer-focused higher educationsystem will only increase the importanceof these four crucial factors in decidingthe success or failure of universities.

Professor Dennis Gibson

The future of universitiesQUT staff with family responsibilitiescan take advantage of a wider variety ofleave provisions following the launch ofa new maternity and parental leave policy.

Work and family co-ordinator JaneBarker said the new consolidated policycontained a number of entitlements notincluded in the previous accouchementand parental leave policies.

“There is now a provision for long-term, unpaid parental leave — up to 12months in a two-year period for bothmen and women — which didn’t existbefore,” Ms Barker said.

“This is for people who become theprimary care giver for a new child.”

The change brings QUT into linewith Federal legislation.

“The existing entitlement of 12 weeksof paid maternity leave will remain,”Ms Barker confirmed.

She said the entitlement to five days’paid leave for new parents had beenextended to include people who adopteda child or fostered a child, with a viewto a long-term arrangement.

Arrangements are in place toaccommodate staff currently on leave.

“All of the new and existingentitlements are available to staff with12 months of service or pro rata for staffwith between nine and 12 months ofservice,” she said.

A copy of the full maternity andparental leave policy is available on-lineat http://www.qut.edu.au/daa/equity/matpat.html

– by Tony Wilson

Changes madeto family leaveentitlements

A word from the Vice-Chancellor

INSIDE QUT April 8-21, 1997 Page 3

Continued from page one

“It’s far better to prevent it in thefirst place. These sorts of rationales allpoint to developing a vaccine – whichwe have done.”

The vaccine developed by QUTresearchers appeared to be safe, with

laboratory animals developing agood immune response, Dr Aaskovsaid.

“We began working on a vaccine forthe Ross River virus about four yearsago,” he said.

“Immuno AG will now prepare largestocks of the vaccine and conduct

toxicology studies. Then we can startplanning clinical trials on humans.”

Immuno AG had already successfullyproduced and marketed a vaccineagainst Tick-borne Encephalitis virusand had recently built a new vaccine-manufacturing facility outside Vienna,Dr Aaskov said.

. . .vaccine fights airborne ills

Researcher Dr John Aaskov … Ross River vaccine to be commercially available in five years

Queensland can reduce the escalatingcosts of incarcerating criminals bydeveloping better parole programs,according to a QUT economist.

School of Economics and Financelecturer Glyn Edwards said the costof maintaining a prisoner on parolewas a fraction of the $100-or-more-per-day spent keeping them in jail.

Mr Edwards has identified a range ofindicators for parole success and failure.

“My research looked at data collectedby the Queensland Corrective ServicesCommission on more than 1,400 peoplereleased from prison and whether theywere readmitted to prison,” he said.

“Readmission of parolees could be fortwo reasons — 5.7 per cent of paroleesare readmitted because they committeda criminal offence and 27 per cent becausethey breached the conditions of theirparole some other way.

“I used statistical data to compare thosereadmitted to those whose parole wassuccessful and indentified a number ofpredictors which can be addressed toimprove the likelihood of success.”

Mr Edwards said important variablesincluded age, ethnic background,education level on admission to prison,marital status, number of children,employment prior to prison and whilein custody, number of prisons where

the sentence was served and the prisonfrom which the prisoner was released.

“Those most likely to be readmittedincluded younger, unmarriedprisoners, Aboriginal people, peoplereleased straight from high-securitydetention and, surprisingly to me,people with greater numbers ofchildren,” Mr Edwards said.

“Other predictors of failure werepoor behaviour while in custody —those prisoners in frequent breach ofprison rules usually performed badlyon parole — and prisoners who weremoved frequently while in custody.

“You need to be careful because, therecan be a crossover between variables.

“For example, if a prisoner is movedfrequently, it might be because therehas been a discipline problem whichreflects the other variable about conductwhile in custody.

“Parole was more likely to be successfulfor older, married people, people with agood educational background, peoplereleased from lower-security custody,people who had jobs when admitted tocustody and people serving longer paroleperiods, who consequently are supervisedfor a longer period.”

Mr Edwards said he believed thechances of successful parole, andconsequently significant cost-savings,could be improved through changes topolicy and systems.

“It might be desirable to avoid releasingparolees from high-security prisons andto minimize the number of movesbetween prisons during custody,” he said.

“Closer supervision would improvethe chances for younger inmates whomight also benefit from special programsor support, as might Aboriginal paroleesand parolees with large families.

“Increasing education and labour-market skills while in custody couldimprove chances for a job and moreparole success,” Mr Edwards said.

Study shows better paroleprograms could slash penal costs

by Tony Wilson

Glyn Edwards

Over the past few weeks, QUT’ssecurity slogan — Be aware, take care— appears to have had a limited impacton some students and staff.

The university’s security manager,Mr Fergus Ross, said a recent spate ofminor thefts on campus was evidencethat not everyone was heeding the well-publicised advice.

Mr Ross said in most recent casespeople had just become careless andprovided an opportunity for thieves.

“We have people on campus who preyon other people, but that doesn’t meanwe have roving bands of pillagingbrigands,” Mr Ross said.

“Most victims are shocked andhorrified to discover, to their cost,common criminals would dare invadethe cloisters of the university.

“But they do, because the universityis very much a part of the broadercommunity in which we live andwork.”

Mr Ross said that, while theuniversity had an overall populationof more than many country towns, itonly had a fraction of the problems asmall town would face.

However, he warned that peoplehad to be mindful that while QUTwas a safe place to work and studythey could not leave their street-wisecaution behind them when they cameon campus.

– Noel Gentner

Thieves active at QUT - security

by Noel Gentner

After recent price rises of around 30 percent at the university’s three refectories,the QUT Student Guild plans to dosomething about food quality and prices.

This year’s guild president, LanceMcCallum, said the guild planned tosubmit a tender for the managementcontract for QUT’s three refectories laterthis year.

Mr McCallum said the Student Guildwould be able to supply the necessaryexpertise if successful in the tender.

He said the guild had madeapproaches to refectory managementearlier this year concerning food qualityand the prices of some food itemsfollowing student complaints at thebeginning of the semester.

“Our initial response was outrage —and we sent off some letters askingexactly what the situation was in relationto prices being charged — and, to myknowledge, various prices have now beenreduced,” Mr McCallum said.

Mr McCallum said the situationcould have been different if an efforthad been made to explain to studentsthe reasons for the increases .

“There was no effort to tell peoplewhy prices went up and there had beensignificant across-the-board price rises,so people were left wondering,” MrMcCallum said.

QUT’s business services manager AllanSutton admitted that, initially, refectoryfood price variations for 1997 “mighthave appeared excessive in some areas”.

However, he said, prices were reviewedin response to several approaches fromstaff, students and the guild.

Mr Sutton said QUT was responsiblefor setting prices and policy as well asoutcomes in all three refectories, notthe current management contractors,Spotless Services Limited.

He said that, irrespective of pricefluctuations and volume of trade,Spotless received a fixed annual fee, withthe profits or losses borne by theuniversity.

Thus, he said, refectory priceswere set to ensure a “break-evenbudget”.

“To do this, we have to set priceswhich cover (the cost of) all of the hoursthat it is necessary to open to provide aservice, despite the fact that thoseopening hours might operate at a loss,”he explained.

He said the cost of rent, capitalreplacements, equipment repairs andreplacement, electricity, gas and wastedisposal also had to be factored in asoverheads for the refectories.

Mr Sutton also said the Carseldinerefectory had proven a “considerablestrain on resources” in that it operatedat a substantial loss.

“This loss must be offset from theoperations at Kelvin Grove and GardensPoint,” he said.

He said that, if the refectories onlyopened from 10am until 2pm each day,prices would be considerably lower.

Mr Sutton explained that QUT hada policy of only instigating one pricerise a year for food items which wereprepared on site whereas, for itemspurchased from outside suppliers, theprice was varied in accordance withmanufacturers’ recommended retailprices.

“To further ensure QUT staff andstudents are not disadvantaged, visits toother universities in the area areundertaken to ensure that pricing is inline with similar markets,” Mr Suttonsaid.

He said the loss-making Carseldinerefectory was recently refurbished, anexercise funded by adjustments torefectory pricing policy.

Guild presidenttakes aim at QUTrefectory prices

Page 4 INSIDE QUT April 8-21, 1997

More than 40 medical engineeringstudents at QUT recently spent a morningin wheelchairs getting a feel for equipmentthey may one day have to design.

Regular lectures were set aside for awheelchair “obstacle course” which saw thestudents negotiate ramps and lifts, exits andentrances at the Gardens Point campus.

Biomedical engineering lecturer DrTim Barker said the session aimed to

by Tony Wilson

A $500,000 Internet trainingfacility has been established atQUT’s Gardens Point campus toeducate the Internet engineers oftomorrow.

The Queensland Web LearningCentre will provide up-to-the-minute instruction in coretechnologies which supportmultimedia and Internetcommunication.

The facility is a joint initiative ofthe Distributed SystemsTechnology Centre (DSTC), ofwhich QUT is a member, andcomputer hardware giant SiliconGraphics.

DSTC technology and trainingservices manager Mark Herbert saidQUT was chosen as the site for theWeb Learning centre for a numberof reasons.

“QUT is close to our base ofcommercial clients and industryparticipants and has new buildingswith suitable technologyinfrastructure,” Mr Herbert said.

Mr Herbert said the centre’scourses were pitched at the higherend of information technologypractitioners.

“It is geared toward Internettraining – programming skills,Internet security skil ls andmultimedia applications,” he said.

“What we will be teaching arethe technologies and infrastructurethat enable people to haveinteractive applications, rather thanhow to design snazzy Web pages.

“Many Information Technologyprofessionals are looking to reskillin Web skills and technologies –that is a huge market that is coming

from both government and largeorganisations as well as small, nichemultimedia firms.

“What you will come away with fromthe Web Learning Centre is a completeset of skills that will allow you to goback to your workplace and deploy webtechnologies and make intelligentdecisions about how to deploy thetechnology.”

Mr Herbert said the QUT facilityhad been invited to be a node of anationwide bandwidth system whichwould radically increase data capacity.

“We are about to become a node ofTelstra’s experimental broadband

Students spend valuable time in the ‘wheel’ world

give first-year students a “real life”understanding of what it was like tospend time in a wheelchair.

“This will be an opportunity for themto get a very brief perspective on whatit’s like to be in a wheelchair, to thinkabout some of the difficulties and theenvironment (in which they are workingor studying) from that perspective,” hesaid.

Dr Barker said students were set taskssuch as making a phone call, borrowinga library book, buying an ice-cream fromthe refectory and collecting tutorialtimes off notice boards.

Students doing the first semester subjectEngineering in the Medical Environmentused manually-operated wheelchairsdonated by Morris Surgical Pty Ltd.

– Andrea Hammond

Engineeringstudents get a

taste of life in awheelchair

which shouldhelp to prepare

them forpossible futures

as medicalequipmentdesigners

Internet learning centrehas plenty of byte

network, which is the next generationof Internet structure,” he said.

“The scale we are looking at there isthat people currently use modems thatreceive data at 28.8 kilobytes persecond while the new system will carrydata at about 150 megabytes – so weare talking about very fat pipes.

“That will give people at the WebLearning Centre an idea about the typesof applications you can run when youhave increased bandwidth.”

The centre was officially opened byState Tourism, Small Business andIndustry Minister Bruce Davidson inlate February.

Pictured on-screen on one of the Web Learning Centre multimediaterminals are (l-r) Tourism, Small Business and Industry MinisterBruce Davidson, DSTC head David Barbagallo, Silicon Graphicsrepresentative David Webster and QUT Deputy Vice-Chancellor

Professor Peter Coaldrake

by Noel Gentner

Brisbane’s public and road transportsystems compare favourably with manysimilar cities in the United Statesaccording to a visiting American professor.

Assistant director of the TexasTransportation Institute (TTI), ProfessorKatherine Turnbull (pictured below), wasin Brisbane last month as part of aMemorandum of Agreement with QUTand the Queensland Transport and MainRoads Departments.

The institute is part of Texas A & MUniversity and is the largest university-basedtransportation research group in the US.

Professor Turnbull said Brisbane’stransport system was very positive andwell thought out .

“It is an operational system, on thecutting edge in many respects, with itsdown-town bus terminal tunnel, railsystem and an efficient bus routenetwork, including a number of arterialroad priority treatments,” ProfessorTurnbull said.

She said she was impressed by a visitto Queensland Transport’s operationalcentre which used cameras to monitortraffic flow.

“This is an area that many cities inthe States are moving towards,”Professor Turnbull said.

“Brisbane is very similar to many citiesin Texas, although these cities wouldprobably have a more extensive freewaysystem because they were developedduring the automobile era.”

Professor Turnbull said she had haddiscussions with Queensland Transporton High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV)and bus lanes which were proposals forthe South-East freeway along with somearterial street applications.

She said the peak-hour rush was amajor problem for most cities, “andthere is no single solution out there,you have to look at a whole host ofoptions and issues”.

“We have a lot of van-pools in theUS where companies will purchase a vanin which eight to 10 people will ride inon a daily basis to work and back. Idon’t think you have them here,”Professor Turnbull said.

“HOV lanes are another facility tomove people rather than vehicles,reserving lanes for buses, car pools andencourage people to ride the bus or takethe train by providing better facilities.”

Texas transport expertpraises Brisbane buses

INSIDE QUT April 8-21, 1997 Page 5

by Noel Gentner

As around 800 Faculty of Healthstudents prepare to graduate, guestspeakers at their graduation ceremoniesare drawing confronting parallels forthem to consider.

Both guest speakers are drawing onpersonal experience to comment on socialconditions in Australian health care at theFaculty of Health ceremonies last night(April 7) and tomorrow night (April 9).

One parallel being drawn is betweentoday’s plight of Aboriginal and TorresStrait Islander people and the earlyhistory of Ireland, another links therecent film version of Shakespeare’sRomeo and Juliet to the reality of modernday tragedies of the human condition.

Director of the Mater Hospitals TrustSister Angela Mary Doyle said that, withher Irish background, she felt a strongaffinity with indigenous Australians.

Addressing students at last night’sceremony, where she was awardedan honorary doctorate, Sr AngelaMary said similarities between thehistory of Ireland and that of thecolonisation of Australia — withits devastating impact on peopleof Aboriginal and Torres StraitIslander backgrounds — were bothstartling and painful.

“For almost 800 years, Irelandwas occupied by Britain,” SrAngela Mary said.

“Lands traditionally owned bythe Irish were confiscated, barbariclaws were enforced with diligenceand every effort was made todestroy culture, language and theCatholic faith.”

Sr Angela Mary said she recentlyreflected on the general Aboriginalcondition, particularly on theappalling health status of those inremote rural communities.

At tomorrow night’s ceremony,Queensland Health’s manager forthe Southern Public Health UnitNetwork, Dr Don Staines, will tell

students how the knowledge, attitudesand skills they take with them fromuniversity will be their tools of trade.

“These tools of trade will be a means ofconfronting the often terrible images andrealities of today’s public health problems,”Dr Staines said.

Dr Staines referred to the recent filminterpretation of Shakespeare’s Romeoand Juliet by the Australian director BazLuhrmann as an intimidating andconfronting piece of cinema.

“To many, this interpretation ofShakespeare was anathema, almost aperversion, that it was out of place in themodern world,” Dr Staines said.“Nothingcould be further from the truth.

“The themes of gang violence,alienation and youth suicide were, forShakespeare, the things of tragedy — asthey are today.

“The language of Shakespeare linksus in dealing with the tragedies of thehuman condition.

by Tony Wilson

Distinguished Aboriginal activist LoisO’Donoghue believes education canplay a vital role in helping youngindigenous people pursue their dreams.

Dr O’Donoghue — who will receivean honorary doctorate at this evening’sFaculty of Arts graduation — said manyAboriginal people were driven to pursuean education to counter discrimination.

“Education empowers people to feelgood about themselves and to have thenecessary qualifications to actually applyfor jobs,” Dr O’Donoghue said.

“It gives them (indigenous people) agreater sense of history, but I think they gothere as a result of seeing their own parentsand families discriminated against becausethey lacked the necessary qualifications.”

Dr O’Donoghue said her retirementfrom the Aboriginal and Torres StraitIslander Commission (ATSIC) — whichshe chaired from 1990 until late 1996 —was made easier by the knowledge therewas a group of young, educated indigenousAustralians ready to take her place.

“I recently attended a graduationceremony at the University of Adelaideand it was a source of pride for me to seenot only urban Aboriginal peoplegraduating, but also students from remoteareas, including some of my own people— the Yankuntjatjara of north-westSouth Australia,” Dr O’Donoghue said.

She said there were many highlightsduring her time with ATSIC, both onthe national and international stages.

“One of the highlights, of course, wasthe successful negotiation with theformer Labor Federal Government onthe 339 recommendations from theRoyal Commission into AboriginalDeaths in Custody,” she recalled.

“Another was successfully getting theUnited Nations to set aside a year forthe world’s indigenous peoples.

“I also had the great honour ofaddressing the UN General Assemblyin New York.

“In addition, for the past seven years,I have led a delegation to Geneva to beinvolved in drafting the UN Declarationof the Rights of Indigenous People.

“It was also a highlight to be a leadingmember of negotiations with theGovernment on the Native Titlelegislation in 1993.”

Dr O’Donoghue said the attitude ofthe Howard Government to Native Titlewould be tested by its legislative responseto the Wik decision (which found NativeTitle could co-exist with pastoral leases).

“The other test will be how theGovernment will treat the report of theInquiry into the Removal of Childrenfrom their Families, more commonlyknown as the ‘stolen generation’.

“I don’t hold out much hope because,already, the findings have been pre-emptedby Aboriginal Affairs Minister Senator(John) Herron and the Prime Minister(Mr Howard) when they said forciblyremoving Aboriginal children from theirfamilies benefited some children.

“I reacted very angrily to that.”Dr O’Donoghue is vehement in her

criticism of the Federal CoalitionGovernment.

“This Government has set back theprocess of reconciliation,” she said. “Ibelieve it is a mean-spirited Government.

“At the same time, though, there is agreat deal of support in the communityat large to find solutions that will rightthe wrongs of the past.

“That is where the momentum forreconciliation will come from — fromthe people.”

As well as receiving an honorarydoctorate from QUT, Dr O’Donoghue hasbeen recognised by many other institutionsand agencies for her role in advancing thecause of indigenous Australians.

She holds honorary degrees from anumber of Australian universities, wasawarded the Order of Australia in 1977,was made a Commander of the BritishEmpire in 1983 and in 1984 was namedAustralian of the Year.

“However, there is one greatdifference between our time andShakespeare’s time — and that isuniversity training.

“What was once tragedy, in an era ofignorance, has been replaced by apotential to reverse that tide of tragedythrough knowledge, attitudes and skills.”

Dr Staines will tell graduatingstudents that the pressures — and somefreedoms — of student life will give wayto the realities of health care delivery inall its complexities.

“One does not need to go too faracross this island continent to experiencethese challenges in health care,” DrStaines said.

“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanderhealth — on some indicators of mortalityand morbidity —␣ may be up to 10 timesthat of non-Aboriginal people.

“And, in Australia, we have one ofthe highest youth suicide rates in theworld.”

Health graduates urged toconsider social justice

Dean of Health Professor Ken Bowman discusses the social justice issues confronting the healthprofession with Sister Angela Mary Doyle

O’Donoghue believespeople can overcomeCoalition’s ‘mean’ spirit

by Andrea Hammond

Laughter was a celebration of lifeand the key to creative teaching,Board of Teacher Reg i s t ra t iondirec tor Dr Mar ie Jansen to ldgraduating students on April 1.

Dr Jansen was official guest speaker atthe education (Pre-service primary andearly childhood) graduation ceremony.

She told graduating students, friendsand relatives that laughter was the mostimportant of the six ‘L words’ that couldhelp teachers tackle a changing role in arapidly changing world.

“Laughter is probably the most humanof all our attributes. It is a way to reachout and touch kids - not physically, butwith humour,” Dr Jansen said.

“The ability to laugh can help usbounce back when we becomeoverwhelmed. It can provide a safetyvalve when the pressure gets too high. Itcan counterbalance the seriousness ofthe educational process.

“If we could all laugh with others,and laugh at ourselves, we could build anew world. And that’s what teaching issupposed to be all about.”

Dr Jansen, a former early childhoodteacher, said looking and listening,learning and leading, loving andlaughing were the ingredients that

teachers needed to draw on and modelevery day of their working lives.

“Look and listen through the eyes andears of children – they inhabit a differentworld and sharing it is one of the greatjoys and privileges of being a teacher.

“Life-long learning is not just a slogan– it must be modelled by a teacherbecause much of what children learn iscaught, not taught,” she said..

“Your excitement about learning isinfectious, your love of learning will beemulated if shared.

“Go on with postgraduate work – youmay be surprised, as I was, to find thatyou never really knew the joy of learninguntil you began asking your ownquestions and setting out to find theanswers through research.

“And as for leading, you are the futureof the profession of education, andeducation is the future of our nextgeneration. I firmly believe thateducation is the difference betweensavagery and civilisation.”

Dr Jansen said she believed the vastmajority of teachers were called to thework because of their belief in, andcommitment to, the next generation.

“Teaching is a vocation – an occupationoften chosen not for money but for love –because every day it brings the opportunityto make a difference,” she said.

Love life, love learningsays education speaker

Page 6 INSIDE QUT April 8-21, 1997

News in briefFOLLOWING successful internationaltours last year by various Academy of theArts troupes, QUT will host four groupsfrom Asia and North American over thecoming months.

Drama students from the Academy’spartner college La Salle-SIA Singapore willpresent Singapore Stories at the WoodwardTheatre at Kelvin Grove from May 21 to 24.

Postgraduate students from MontclairUniversity, New Jersey, will present theirexperimental theatre from June 9 to 14,while dancers from the Tsoying PerformingArts School Taiwan will appear in DanceCollections from July 29 to August 2.

Finally, members of Shakespeare & Co,Boston, will work on Westside Story inSeptember.

Further information about the tours orperformances can be obtained by calling(07) 3864 5998.

• • •QUT’s 1995 Annual Report recently wonan award of excellence at the QueenslandPublic Sector Annual Report Awards whichare run by the Institute of Internal Auditors— Australia (Queensland Branch).

The award of excellence is theuniversity’s second after a number of yearsof participation in the IIAA program.

At this year’s awards, QUT also receiveda special mention for addressingperformance indicators.

• • •STATE Cabinet recently approved thepurchase of QUT’s former Kedron Parkcampus by the Department of EmergencyServices.

Emergency Services Minister MichaelVievers said the department planned to relocateits headquarters as well as several ambulanceand fire brigade facilities on the site.

With the sale price for the inner-northernsuburbs campus still to be finalised, QUTVice-Chancellor Professor Dennis Gibsonsaid proceeds had been ear-marked to gotoward the university’s capital program.

• • •DISTINGUISHED American educatorCharles E. Glassick addressed a SeniorManagement Development Programluncheon on Thursday, March 20.

Professor Glassick, who is interimpresident of the Carnegie Foundation for theAdvancement of Teaching at Princeton,addressed the topic “Scholarship assessed:Evaluation of the Professoriate” before sharinglunch with senior managers from QUT.

• • •TEACHING staff looking to injectsomething new into their classes have beeninvited to attend one of this year’s VarietyIn Teaching and Learning (VITAL) sessionsbeing run by QUT’s Academic StaffDevelopment Unit.

One of ASDU’s Teaching ReflectionAnd Collaboration Network groups,VITAL meetings are to be facilitated bythe School of Language and LiteracyEducation’s Anne Russell.

According to ASDU lecturer Denise Scott,the VITAL group will explore what works inteaching, how students respond, whatmotivates students and how to make teachingand learning relevant, with participants takingaway at least one additional teaching strategyfrom each meeting.

Ms Scott said that, during 1997, it wasintended VITAL examine, among otherthings: examples of questions whichstimulate students to explore assumptions;student participation in planning, writingand reviewing units; and how to involvestudents in personal learning during largelectures.

For further details about the VITALsessions, contact Ms Scott ondc.scott@qut.edu.au or on (07) 3864 1906.

• • •THE inaugural annual general meeting ofthe Professional Association of Part-TimeAcademics (PAPTA) was held on Thursday,March 20.

Following elections, the new PAPTAcommittee is to be headed by Lexie Smilesfrom Built Environment and Engineering,with John Rigby (Science) as deputy andSue Keays (Arts), Catherine Manathunga(Education), Marion Mitchell (Health),Lawrence di Bartolo and Col Ivey (Law),Fran Finn (Business) and Josie Miller(teaching units) as faculty representatives.

No nominations were received fromInformation Technology for the committee.

For further information about PAPTA,contact Ms Smiles via l.smiles@qut.edu.auor your faculty representative.

• • •THE Academic Staff Development Unitis distributing new Student Evaluation ofTeaching (SET) and Student Evaluationof Unit (SEU) forms after substantialrevisions to both.

Teaching staff are reminded to use thenew order form when placing orders andto use the new student response formsinstead of the old pink ones.

• • •THREE QUT students were recentlyawarded scholarships to continue theirstudies by leading Queensland chemicalcompany Incitec Ltd.

At a recent presentation ceremony,Wayne Dearness received a postgraduatescholarship in tribology worth $10,000.

Final-year business management studentNeil Dwyer received a $5,000 businessscholarship, while final-year mechanicalengineering student Nathan Pash receiveda $5,000 engineering scholarship.

• • •MANAGING diversity at QUT is thefocus of a workshop to be held for managersand supervisors later this month.

To be run by the Equity Section of theDivision of Academic Affairs, the full-dayworkshop will be held in the ContinuingProfessional Education Seminar Room(B306) on Level 3, B Block at Kelvin Groveon Wednesday, April 16, from 9am to4.30pm.

For details, contact Michelle Taylor viam.taylor@qut.edu.au or call (07) 3864 2802.

• • •APPLICATIONS for the organisationalsection of the National TeachingDevelopment Grants from the Committeefor University Teaching and StaffDevelopment (CUTSD) will close onMonday, April 28.

Applicants wishing to rework earlierapplications to the Teaching and LearningDevelopment Large Grants Scheme shouldcontact the Academic Staff DevelopmentUnit’s Robyn Daniel r.daniel@qut.edu.auor Dr Jill Borthwick j.borthwick@qut.edu.au

QUT, in partnership with SkydomeIndustries, has won an award in thehotly contested buildings categoryof the National Energy Awards.

The award, presented by FederalResources and Energy MinisterSenator Warwick Parer, was for thedevelopment of a new style of laser-cut skylight which restricts searingmidday sunlight while allowing inmaximum morning, afternoon andwinter daylight.

QUT School of Physics seniorlecturer Ian Edmonds accepted theaward on behalf of thepartnership.

He said the award-winning“angular selective skylight” designflowed from an approach to QUTby Queensland’s Department ofMines and Energy for advice onhow electrical loads could bereduced in community buildingsbeyond the State’s electricity grid,so that remote power could beinstalled more effectively.

QUT’s daylighting researchgroup — which is part of theCentre for Medical and HealthPhysics — was already developingand applying advanced opticaltechnology for improved naturalillumination in buildings.

What eventuated, Dr Edmondssaid, was a collaborative projectinvolving Mines and Energy, theDepartment of Public Works’ BuiltEnvironment Research Unit, QUTand Brisbane-based manufacturersSkydome Industries.

“Daylight is a free and visuallyoptimum source of illuminationfor buildings,” Dr Edmonds said.

“However, bright Australiansunlight means windows often getshaded, typically with eaves,awnings, external louvres orcladding, to reduce overheating inadjacent rooms and eye glare.

“Consequently, and especiallyon overcast days, interiors can begloomy and in need of artificalillumination, sometimes all daylong, to bring light levels up toacceptable world health standards.

“As every square metre ofworkspace requires about 10Watts of electricity for artificialillumination, the potential forenergy conservation in displacingelectrical lighting with naturallight is enormous.”

Dr Edmonds said the award-winning, pyramid-shaped skylightwhich his team developed hadalready been installed in severalbuildings across Australia withgreat success.

The buildings, he said, weremainly single-storied — schools,supermarkets and office buildings— but they shared a commonfeature, severely shaded windows,which made them ideal forbringing natural light in throughtheir roofing.

“Skylights have greatadvantages in that they are easy toretrofit, illuminate naturally fromabove, work all day long and areexcellent for ventilation.

“In Australia, however,skylights are prone to overheatinterior rooms near noon insummer, when the sun is high,whereas in winter, when the

morning sun and afternoon sun arelower, there is poor penetration ofnatural light downwards.”

Prior to the skylight project, DrEdmonds had already invented a newtype of optical material which provedextremely effective in deflecting light,a material which could be producedas a thin panel in almost any shapeby an automatic, laser-cuttingmachine.

“When we began the project, weset about incorporating four suchlaser-cut, light-deflecting panels inthe form of a pyramid,” Dr Edmondsexplained.

“The skylight we developed suitsbuildings in sub-tropical to tropicalclimates which suggests a very largepotential market exists.”

He said the technology, which hasno moving parts, was fullycommercialised just a year and a halfafter its conceptualisation, with twolocal companies, Skydome Industriesand Laws Laser, responsible formanufacturing and marketing theenergy-conserving skylight.

“We are seeking patents coveringthe use of the panel to produce theangular selective skylight. Patentscovering the laser-cut light-deflectingmaterial have already been obtainedin the United States, the UnitedKingdom, Australia and NewZealand,” Dr Edmonds said.

The award-winning skylight hasbeen selected for trial in the UnitedStates by its Department of Energyfor use in schools.

“If it’s successful there, then weanticipate this will open up aconsiderable export market,” he said.

Energy team scores at national awards

A day devoted to the Eliminationof Racial Discrimination willbecome an annual event at QUTafter more than 2,500 studentsand staff donned orange ribbonsto support diversity.

The idea was an initiative ofQUT’s Cultural DiversityWorking Party and organised bythe Equity section as part of anation-wide campaign whichnominated March 21 as aninternational day in support ofmulticultural Australia.

Wearing an orange ribbon – acolour not aligned with anyAuatralian movement – was chosenas a means of expressing support.

QUT’s Cultural DiversityWorking Party spokesperson PatKelly said she was pleased withthe strong response from staff andstudents and the high demand forribbons that saw stocks run outbefore the end of the day.

“Symbols are important,” MsKelly said.

“Even though there’s a lot ofserious work being donethroughout QUT about culturallyresponsive curriculum, theprevention of socialdiscrimination and so on, the dayprovided a chance for individualsto show their support formulticultural Australia in aconcrete and visible way.”

Anti-racistribbons aroaringsuccess

Kids’ book lecture loomingThe annual lecture in children’s literature sponsored byQUT’s School of Language and Literacy Education willbe delivered on Friday April 18 by James Moloney inroom L101, Kelvin Grove starting at 5.30pm. Mr Moloneyis a teacher/librarian at Marist Brothers College Ashgrove.

INSIDE QUT April 8-21, 1997 Page 7

Building ContractorsProject ManagersConstruction ManagersQBSA Lic. No. 47894

482 Upper Roma StBrisbane 4000Ph. 3236 2322Fax. 3236 2235

Queensland Constructions

“Supporting QUT From the Ground Up!”

QPty Ltd

by Noel Gentner

QUT mathematicians, collaborating withBrisbane’s blood bank, have developed thebasis for an efficient, Australia-widedistribution system for blood and bloodproducts.

Chief scientist at the Red Cross BloodTransfusion Service Dr RobynMinchinton said the blood bank had beenimpressed by the pilot program developedby the QUT team.

Back in 1995, QUT’s School ofMathematical Sciences began developingcomputer-based data models for theefficient collection and distribution ofblood supplies across Queensland.

The blood inventory managementproject is aimed at improving the serviceto those who need blood by developingtechniques to analyse blood demand,storage and usage at hospitals and regionalcentres.

Project leader Dr Ehran Kozan said theresearch should lead to lower capital andoperating costs through the optimisationof resources, while achieving a desired levelof customer service.

He said the project had been supportedand funded by three bodies, the Red CrossTransfusion Centre, the pharmaceuticalgroup Merck Sharp and Dohme ResearchFoundation and an ARC collaborativeresearch grant.

The project’s team consists of DrKozan, a lecturer in the School ofMathematical Sciences, the Head of theSchool, Professor Tony Pettitt, chiefscientist at the Red Cross Blood

Transfusion Service Dr Robyn Minchintonand research assistants Ms Maree Wirth andMs Virginia Nichols.

More than 170,000 blood donations arecollected each year in Queensland, witharound 450mls collected from each donor.

Dr Kozan said the collection anddistribution of blood should be balanced withinventory-management procedures.

“If you keep excess blood supplies in theinventory levels, it will result in outdatedunits being discarded and, if you keep fewersupplies, it will result in a blood supplyshortage,” Dr Kozan said.

“There are also cost factors involved inthe oversupply and undersupply of blood.

“The Blood Bank will be able to schedulethe intake and distribution of blood with adata program which takes into account thecycles in the use of the certain blood types.”

However, Dr Kozan admitted it was toodifficult to solve some distribution scheduleproblems immediately because of a large database with 130,000 variables.

Dr Kozan said more work was being doneon the project.

At the moment, he said, the pilot programcovered only one blood type (O positive)but that, by the end of the year, all typeswould be in the program.

He said that, at that time, the systemwould be commercialised and, at the push ofa button, information would be available oninventory levels, the timing of blood-donation campaigns and advertisements aswell as individual hospital inventory levels.

Dr Kozan said interest in the project hadalready been shown from similarorganisations interstate.

Mathematicians iron outblood supply wrinkles

Pssst . . got any news?Inside QUT is always on the lookout for interesting stories. If you think you mighthave a hot tip, email some details to Inside QUT editor Trina McLellan -t.mclellan@qut.edu.au or phone (07) 3864 2361.

May 21 Lunchtime concert series. Rodolphe Blois, internationallyrenowned composer. Program of acousmatic music - an experiencein multi-speaker sound projection. KG/Music Studio, M Block,1.05pm-1.45pm. (Free) (07) 3864 3858.

Sep 2-13 Romeo & Juliet/West Side Story (drama, dance & musicdouble bill). Romeo & Juliet directed by Shakespeare & Co.,Boston; West Side Story directed by David Fenton. GP/new theatre.Bookings yet to open.

STUDENT GUILD

Apr 11 Free Movie Night. GPApr 12 Golf Course starts. AshgroveApr 13 Horse Riding Trip. CarbrookApr 15 Diversity Week. KGApr 16 Diversity Week. CApr 17 Diversity Week. GPApr 18 QUT Cup, 3 on 3 Basketball. CApr 23 Video Night. CApr 24 Lunchtime Band. GPApr 24 Sport & Fitness Centre Open Day. GPApr 26 NCUSA Aerobics Championships. CarindaleApr 26 Parachuting Course. GattonApr 26 Massage Course. TBAApr 29 Lunchtime Band. KGMay 2 Free Movie Night. GPMay 3-4 NCUSA Board Riding Championships. Stradbroke IslandMay 8 Lunchtime Band. GPMay 10 Golf Course #2 starts. AshgroveMay 13 Lunchtime Band. KGMay 14 Cocktail Party. CMay 22 Lunchtime Band. GPMay 23 QUT Cup, 5-a-Side Touch. KGMay 24 NCUSA Weight Lifting Championships.QUTMay 24 Parachuting Course. GattonMay 27 Lunchtime Band. KGMay 29 End of Semester Bash. Port Office

University of Queensland. KG/B302 1-2pm (Free) Margaret Kays(07) 3864 3660.

• Centre for Policy & Leadership Studies in Education

Nov 29 Pedagogy & the body conference (1-day). Conference willaddress complex & changing interrelationships between pedagogical& corporeal practices in contemporary cultural & educationalsettings. Waged participants $95, non-waged $60. KG. Venue TBA.Anne Wilson at a.wilson@qut.edu.au OR (07) 3864 5959.

• Computing Services

Apr 17 Data Warehouse seminar on levels of access, types ofinformation available and their uses. KG/BLT201 2-3pm (Free)Ross Hall at rv.hall@qut.edu.au OR (07) 3864 4293.

Apr 21&24 Dial-in seminar on connecting to the QUT network and Internetfrom home, installing and configuring software and making themost of your connection. GP/V771, 2-4pm (April 21) KG/H101,2-4pm (April 24) (Free) Ross Hall at rv.hall@qut.edu.au OR(07) 3864 4293.

• Science Faculty Colloquium

Apr 28 Meta-analysis: a Consuming Passions recipe for stewpresented by Dr Kerrie Mengersen. GP/Q601, 1pm (Free) DrRodney Wolff at r.wolff@fsc.qut.edu.au OR (07) 3864 5196.

FROM THE ACADEMY

Apr 17-26 The Three Sisters. A play written by Anton Chekhov, directed byMark Radvan. * $16 adults, $12 uni students, concession, groups(10+), $8 advance Guild tickets, $8 school groups. KG/WoodwardTheatre, 8.00pm. Dial ‘N’ Charge on (07) 3846 4646.

Apr 23 Lunchtime concert series. Jazz pianist Clare Hansson. Musicby Art Tatum, George Shearing, Oscar Peterson & Bill Evans,including the Rodgers & Hart classic ‘Spring is Here’. KG/MusicStudio, M Block, 1.05pm-1.45pm. (Free) (07) 3864 3858.

May 7 Lunchtime concert series. Trio Boulevard - Jenny Myers, DianaTolmie & Gabby Jarvis. A modern American work in the jazz idiomby Randy Navarre. KG/Music Studio, M Block, 1.05pm-1.45pm.(Free) (07) 3864 3858.

CONFERENCES, SEMINARS & WORKSHOPS

• Equity

Apr 16 Managing diversity at QUT workshop (1 day). Helpssupervisors & managers develop skills to manage diversity &maintain a supportive, inclusive work environment. KG/B3069.00am-4.00pm. (Free) Leanne Zimmermann at l.zimmermann@qut.edu.au OR (07) 3864 3653.

May 15 Resolving discrimination & harassment grievancesworkshop (3 hours). For staff in supervisory & managementpositions to focus on roles, responsibilities & strategies for handlingcomplaints of discrimination or harassment. KG/B306. (Free) LeanneZimmermann at l.zimmermann@qut.edu.au OR (07) 3864 3653.

• Staff Development

Apr 21 Start of 20-hour modules for Certificate IV inJun 16 Workplace Management (start dates for three terms).Aug 25 • Managing operations • Writing workplace documents •

Presenting reports • Customer service • Grievances & disputes• Managing finance • Negotiation skills. Own venue, ownpace. $50 per 20-hour module. Gailene Simpkins atg.simpkins@qut.edu.au OR (07) 3864 3123.

May 19 Start of 40-hour modules for Certificate IV in WorkplaceManagement • Managing effective working relationships •Managing & organising work for goal achievement • Managinggroup problem-solving & decision-making • Managing change.Own venue, own pace. $100 per 40-hour module. Gailene Simpkinsat g.simpkins@qut.edu.au OR (07) 3864 3123.

• Centre for Applied Studies in Early Childhood

Apr 11 Classroom discourse: A study of principles & practicepresented by Dr Rod Campbell. KG/B302, 1-2pm (Free). MargaretKays (07) 3864 3660

Apr17 Children’s learning and motivation in and out of schoolsettings presented by Professor Scott Paris, visiting researchfellow from the University of Michigan. KG/L101, 6pm (Free)Margaret Kays (07) 3864 3660

Apr 18 Story construction from a picture book: An innovativeassessment activity presented by Dr Christa van Kraayenoord,

Check out What’s On at http:// www.qut.edu.au/pubs/02stud/whatson.html Send your What’s On entry to t.mclellan@qut.edu.au or via fax on (07) 3210 0474.

Page 8 INSIDE QUT April 8-21, 1997

The deadline for next issue of Inside QUT (April 22-May 6) is April 10.

Letters to the Editor are also welcome viamail or email (maximum of 250 words).Media may reproduce stories from InsideQUT. Each story has been checked with thesource prior to publication.

This newspaper is published by thePublic Affairs Department, QUT(Level 5, M Block, Gardens Point), GPOBox 2434 Brisbane 4001.

Photography: Suzanne Prestwidge& Sharyn Rosewarne.

Advertising: David Lloyd-Jones 3880 0528.

The opinions expressed in Inside QUTdo not necessarily represent those of theuniversity.

Inside QUT has a circulation of 15,000and is delivered to the university’s GardensPoint, Kelvin Grove and Carseldinecampuses.

This newspaper is also circulated tobusiness, industry, government and themedia.

If you know of a story which should betold in Inside QUT contact one of thejournalists in the Public AffairsDepartment:

Trina McLellan (ed) 3864 2361Andrea Hammond 3864 1150Tony Wilson 3864 2130Noel Gentner (p/t) 3864 1841Fax 3210 0474E-mail t.mclellan@qut.edu.au

Publication details

by Noel Gentner

Student athletes specialising in water sportshave won the majority of the inaugural1997 QUT Student Guild’s SportScholarships.

The sport scholarship program offersfinancial support for the athletes while theyare attending and representing QUT.

Guild Recreation Manager Dr DonGordon said the first six scholarships —worth a total of $10,000 —␣ had beenawarded, including two “full” scholarshipseach worth $2,500 and four “half”scholarships of $1,250.

Dr Gordon said competition for thescholarships was strong, attracting 35 ofwhat he termed “high-qualityapplications”.

He said the six winners had proved itwas possible to be an elite athlete as wellas a tertiary student.

They represented the best of up andcoming athletes who might one dayrepresent Australia in world-classcompetitions, Dr Gordon said.

The winners of the full scholarships areGail Miller (waterpolo), a first-yearBachelor of Applied Science in PropertyEconomics student and David Lyons(diving), a third-year Business-Law doubledegree student.

Dr Gordon said Ms Miller’s sportingachievements included being a memberof the State open women’s waterpolo teamin 1994, 1995 and 1996, an AustralianInstitute of Sport Scholarship holder since1994 and a member of the silver-medal-winning team at the Olympic Yeartournament in Holland last year.

Ms Miller listed her future sportinggoals as representing Australia in theWorld Cup in France in June and in theWorld Swimming Championships inPerth early next year.

Dr Gordon said Mr Lyons’ sportingachievements included being a memberof the national open diving team from1991 to 1997, representing Australia inthe World Junior championships inSweden in 1991, and representingAustralia in the World University Gamesin Japan in 1995.

Mr Lyons said he hoped to representAustralia in the World University Games

in Italy in August and be selected for the1998 Commonwealth Games in KualaLumpur.

Dr Gordon said the winners of the Guild’shalf scholarships were Faculty of Healthswimmer Greg Shaw, a butterfly specialist;Faculty of Education touch footballer SharynWilliams; and Faculty of Health triathlonspecialists Greg Jordan and Leesa White.

Mr Shaw, a third-year health sciencestudent, is ranked second in Australia in the200m butterfly behind Olympic silvermedallist Scott Goodman.

Mr Shaw said his future goals were torepresent Australia at next year’sCommonwealth Games, in the WorldChampionships in 1999 and in the Sydney2000 Olympics.

Third-year physical education-accountingstudent Sharyn Williams has been a memberof the Australian Open Touch Team since1995.

Ms Williams was the youngest player inthe Australian team when it won the WorldCup in 1995.

She said she looked forward torepresenting Queensland in the State ofOrigin series at the end of this year and torepresenting Australia in world-classcompetitions.

Triathlon specialists Ms White and MrJordan are both international competitors.

Ms White’s achievements includerepresenting Australia at the WorldTriathlon championships in Ohio last year,finishing with the second-fastest Australiantime.

A fourth-year human movement studiesstudent, Ms White hopes to representAustralia in the World triathlonchampionships in Perth this year.

Mr Jordan, a second-year health science(nutrition and diet) student, also wants towin a medal at the Perth championships.

He represented Australia in the WorldUniversity Triathlon Championships lastyear and is this year’s Queensland OlympicTriathlon Champion.

Dr Gordon said that, faced with risinguniversity costs, students needed all the helpthey could get to be able to get on to theplaying field and that was why the Guildhad instigated the scholarships.

Sport as well as education, he said, shouldnot become only for those who could afford it.

Guild offersathletes ahelping hand

Swim stars sizzle at inter-faculty carnival

Students from QUT’s Faculty ofBuilt Environment andEngineering narrowly outclassedlast year’s swim champions fromthe Faculty of Health in the 1997Inter-faculty Swimming Carnivalheld late last month in the shortcourse Gardens Point pool.

Contributing half a dozen record-breaking swims, Pan-Pacific Trials starNathan Rickard also helped push BuiltEnvironment and Engineering to victory inthe men’s 4x25m and 4x50m relay events.

Rickard’s record-breaking swims werein the men’s 25m (10.47), 50m (23.12)and 100m (52.50) freestyle, 25m (13.47)and 50m (29.22) backstroke and 25m(11.72) butterfly events.

Built Environment and Engineeringamassed 4,070 points in the March 21

indoor carnival, with Health not far behind on3,840 and Education in third place with 3,160points.

Records were also broken by the Facultyof Education women’s 4x25m freestyle relayteam (56.09), Health’s 50m butterfly starMegan Nelson (30.47) and team mate GregShaw who set new QUT records in the men’s200m freestyle (2.01.60), 50m butterfly(25.88) and 100m individual medley(1.01.00) following recent successes at thePan-Pacs.

Megan Nelson won a total of five events atthe afternoon meet, with Education’s SusanTaylor lining up for four first places (in the200m, 100m and 50m freestyle and 50mbreastroke).

Education also took out both women’s relayevents with the aid of Jacki Sheehan (who alsowon the 25m freestyle event) and JennieSheehan (who won the 25m breastroke event).

Glenn McMaster from Law shone in themen’s 25m and 50m breastroke events.

And times weren’t the only recordsbroken, with QUT Student Guild Recreation& Sport officer Karen Bucholz confirming arecord 215 entries were received for the 26-event meet, up from just 96 entries last year.

Ms Bucholz said the inter-faculty carnivalwas the second leg in the ongoing QUT Cup,with overall standings seeing a fairly closetussle between Education (9,640) and Health(9,050), with Built Environment andEngineering trailing in third place on (4,890).

The next leg of the QUT Cup would be athree-on-three basketball event to be held onApril 18 from 1pm to 4pm at the CarseldineCampus.

For further information about theevent, contact Adam McNiven on(07) 3864 4716.

Karen Bucholz with Education’s Susan Taylor who won the women’s 200m freestyle