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Additional Reports for Council Meeting 30 October 2009
If any Council member would like to star any item here for discussion at the meeting, please contact the secretary by emailing uni.council@utas.edu.au
Hard copies of these reports are available on request to the secretary.
Additional reports-
This report lists significant media activity from September to October in relation to events at the University of Tasmania.
Nominations are now open for the 2009 Vice-Chancellor's Awards for Exceptional Performance by General Staff. The Vice-Chancellor offers up to 3 annual awards in recognition of exceptional performance by members of general staff. An award may be offered to an individual or may be shared by a team or members of a team. These awards recognise general staff who make an outstanding contribution to the University's mission and objectives through innovation or improvement in services and/or sustained exceptional performance in an area or areas within the University. Nominations close on Friday 6 November.
The Commonwealth Government is encouraging all Australians to protect themselves and their community by being immunised against the new pandemic strain of influenza (‘swine flu’). The new vaccine became available on 30 September.
While there will be enough vaccinations for every person in Australia, priority is being given currently to those considered to be in high risk groups. A bulk email has been sent to UTAS staff advising them to speak to their GP if they fall into one of those categories.
In addition, UTAS will also be running an onsite bulk vaccination program for any interested staff in mid-November. The onsite vaccinations will run over a couple of days and sites and use an online booking system. Information on obtaining the vaccine from GPs has been placed on the plasma screen network for students.
~ Deputy PM opens $10m maritime research facility at AMC
On Thursday 1 October the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Education, Julia Gillard, opened the new $10m Cavitation Research Laboratory at the Australian Maritime College. The new world-class hydrodynamic facility is unique to the region and will make a major contribution to the development of naval defence platforms and the commercial high-speed vessel industry. Developed with the assistance of the Defence Science Technology Organisation (DSTO) the lab represents a major step forward in Australia’s research capacity. In opening the facility, Ms Gillard said Australia now had access to a world class facility that strengthened its expertise in hydrodynamic research for the Navy as well as for the commercial maritime sector.
~ AMC has received the first order for training from Australian Customs and Border Protection. This order was won against stiff competition from training providers on the mainland and followed an extensive competitive tendering process earlier in the year. AMC is hopeful of further work orders before the end of 2009 and throughout 2010.
~ Captain John Lloyd, Director, National Centre for Ports & Shipping is currently in the Middle East and is honoured to have been invited to celebrations held by the National Gas Company of Abu Dhabi (NGSCO - ADNATCO)in recognition of their 150th natural gas export load through the Port of Fujairah. NGSCO-ADNATCO remains the single biggest source of seafaring students trained at the AMC.
School of Government
School of Visual and Performing Arts
Tasmanian School of Art
School of Asian Languages and Studies
School of History and Classics
School of Sociology and Social Work
The following CI's from the School of Sociology and Social Work received IRGS funding:
Conservatorium of Music
Broadway to Australia
Internationally acclaimed music director and conductor, Kevin Purcell, in his role as Professor of Music and Head of the Conservatorium of Music, brokered a unique arrangement with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) in association with the Australasian Performing Rights Association (APRA) to bring Broadway’s most illustrious composers, writers and performers to Australia for concerts and associated events over a three-year period from September 2009.
The first artists to visits were Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens writers of the acclaimed Musicals including, Ragtime, Seussical and the 20th Century Fox animated feature, Anastasia in 2003. They were accompanied by the 'Broadway to Australia' Orchestra and the amazing 'Southern Gospel Choir which comprised staff and students of the Conservatorium.
Broadway to Australia consisted of 3 main performances in Melbourne, Sydney and Hobart, to capacity houses in each venue.
In June 2010, the Conservatorium will host Stephen Schwartz: composer of the worldwide phenomenon Musical, Wicked, as well as the 2007 blockbuster Disney feature film, Enchanted in a career that has spanned over 30 years.
IRGS Submission Approvals
The Launch of the Southern Gospel Choir’s High On A Mountain CD Concert will be held on 21 November 2009.
School of English, Journalism and European Languages
IRGS Submission Approvals:
In August, RHD student Stephanie Pfennigwerth won the William T Stearn Student Essay Prize, an annual competition run by the UK-based Society for the History of Natural History. The title of her essay is ‘The Mighty Cassowary': the discovery and demise of Dromaius ater (Vieillot), the King Island emu.’ The essay will be published in the Society's journal Archives of Natural History in April 2010.
Professor David Adams of the School of Management handed his Social Inclusion Commissioner Report (A Social Inclusion Strategy for Tasmania) to the Premier on 23 of September. University aspects of the report include:
All 3 political parties have endorsed the Strategy. Premier David Bartlett says, amongst other recommendations, he will adopt a happiness index in Tasmania.
Dr Megan Woods of the School of Management has co-authored a book which explains the Global Financial Crisis to undergraduate business students. It is published by Pearson Australia and will be available as a teaching resource for 2010.
Dr Kim Lehman of the School of Management has been invited to teach at the Bordeaux School of Management in France in December. He will join the teaching team for an EU-funded program aimed at providing early career French artists with marketing and management skills.
Dr Martin Grimmer of the Faculty of Business was interviewed for a story which was aired on ABC’s Stateline program on Friday 4 September regarding the public’s reaction to political advertising.
The Australian Innovation Research Centre (AIRC) has recently hosted a number of seminars featuring key Australian thinkers:
On 1 October 2009, the AIRC made a submission to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet for consulting and professional contracting services in the areas of: Strategic planning and policy advice, program management, implementation and delivery, and Economic analysis, modelling and forecasting.
While on a research trip to Europe, Professor Peter Carroll of the School of Accounting and Corporate Governance held a number of meetings with senior staff of the WHO, WTO, WIPO and UNCTAD, plus the Swiss Department of Health in relation to future research projects.
Tom Baxter of the School of Accounting and Corporate Governance chaired the Chartered Secretaries Australia’s Annual Public Sector Update at the Henry Jones Hotel in Hobart on 2 September 2009. Speakers included the Secretary, Department of Premier and Cabinet, plus representatives of the CPSU, Tasmanian Polytechnic, Tasmanian Skills Institute, DIER, Department of Treasury and Finance, Department of Education, LGAT, and the new Water and Sewerage Corporation.
Dr Sarah Jennings of the School of Economics and Finance attended a meeting on 29 September in Melbourne to discuss involvement in the South-Eastern Australian Program: Adaptation of fishing and aquaculture sectors and fisheries management to climate change with other partner institutions. On 1 October, Dr Jennings also attended the UTAS-State Government Climate Change Research Meeting. Further, Dr Jennings co-authored the recently-released East Coast Tasmanian Rock Lobster Fishery – vulnerability to climate change impacts and adaptation response options report for the Australian Government Department of Climate Change.
On 7 October Dr Jennings gave evidence to the Parliamentary Standing Committee of Public Accounts “Inquiry into the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Fox Eradication Programs in Tasmania”.
Dr Paul Blacklow of the School of Economics and Finance represented the Tasmanian Branch of the Economics Society of Australia at the Central Council of the Economic Society September meeting on 30 September and continued to serve as president, hosting presentations by Andrew Scobie (TCCI) on ‘Education: The Foundation for Tasmania's future well-being’ and Phil na Champassak (DFAT) on ‘Australian Trade Policy and the Global Economic Crisis’.
During Professor Mardi Dungey’s (of the School of Economics and Finance) visit to Cambridge University August 31 - October 16, she engaged in the following activities:
The following Faculty of Business staff were successful in receiving IRGS grants (1 from each School in the Faculty): Professor Peter Carroll, Dr Wayne O’Donohue, and Associate Professor Graeme Wells and Dr Paul Blackwell.
Chris Rayner recently attended and presented a paper at the Asia-Pacific Autism Conference 'APAC 09'. The conference was held in Sydney from 20-22 August, with over 1600 attending from Australia and overseas representing researchers, educators, other professionals, parents as well as individuals with an autism spectrum disorder. Chris' presentation, 'Video-based intervention for individuals with autism: opportunities, considerations and unanswered questions', summarised findings from his review paper and preliminary data from current pilot studies.
Rowena MacKean was selected as a presenter at the forthcoming Melbourne conference for Emerging Researchers in Ageing, and to have the accompanying paper picked to be refereed. The topic, based on her MEd research, is the special benefits that older people derive from membership of a community organisation run by their peers, including the friendships, activities and support that help them maintain their wellbeing and independence. The conceptual framework uses Alvin Toffler’s ‘Community, Structure and Meaning’.
Thao Le and Megan Short who have successfully signed a contract with Nova Science Publishers for the new book ‘Language and literacy education in a challenging world’.
Throughout August functions were held on each campus to celebrate the achievements of the Faculty’s top students who have been identified for inclusion on the Dean’s Academic Honour Roll.
During August, final year Outdoor Education Teaching Specialisation students planned, implemented and collaborated in the teaching of a weekend introductory course in Outdoor Education to second year Human Movement students. The weekend started at the ropes course on the Newnham campus, and finished at the Fingal Valley Campus – Scotch Oakburn College. Students were involved in the development of the theme for the course, individual lessons, and leadership of the overall weekend course.
An anonymous donor has established a $5000 scholarship to encourage teachers to integrate Dance and Music into their classrooms to assist those with special learning needs. The donor, who devoted the major part of her working life to teaching students with special learning needs by incorporating music and dance into education programs, has provided this scholarship through the Faculty of Education at UTAS. The scholarship will be awarded to a qualified Teacher who believes in the integration of music and/or dance into their curriculum practice to help students learn.
In August Professor Ian Hay presented the public lecture, Enhancing Literacy: A Family Perspective at the UTAS Cradle Coast campus. Professor Hay’s presentation highlighted practical strategies families could use to help improve their child’s literacy skills.
Law Council of Australia, National Family Law Moot Competition
The Law Faculty fielded 2 teams in this competition. Both teams scored highly in the initial rounds (82% and 85%) and one of the teams, comprising Charlie Rae (President of the Law students body TULS) and Brad Wagg, reached and subsequently won the national final. This was judged by a full bench comprising 2 current Family Court judges (Justices Cronin and Young) together with former Family Court judge, Joseph Kay.
Lexis/Nexis High Court Moot Constitutional law Moot Competition
The Law Faculty also fielded 2 teams in this competition, 1 of which, made up of Simon McKenzie, Ashlee Luck and Lucy Bastick, reached the semi-finals with the highest score (out of 19 teams) and were knocked out by the winning team.
Alumnus, Mrs Helen Wood, currently Magistrate and Chair of the Anti-Discrimination Tribunal, has been appointed as Judge to the Supreme Court of Tasmania.
An Alumni event is scheduled in London for 29 October, co-ordinated by the Reverend Professor Michael Tate and Professor Kate Warner who are currently both overseas. The event will be attended by Law Faculty Alumni from around the United Kingdom.
The Honourable Michael Kirby AC CMG has accepted appointment as Adjunct Professor at the Law School.
Professor George Williams, the first Law Professor to be awarded an Australian Research Council Laureate Fellowship, visited the Law School and spoke to a gathering of staff and students on his terrorism project for which he was awarded the Laureate Fellowship.
Professor Dianne Nicol is currently on a 6 month Visiting Fellowship at ANU.
Professor Margaret Otlowski has been appointed to 2 of the National Health and Medical Research Council’s Principal Committees: the Australian Health Ethics Committee and the Human Genetics Advisory Committee.
Dr Emily Hilder recently received a national Young Tall Poppy Science Award and she also won the Tasmanian category of these awards.
Dr Robert Shellie has established a major new technical collaboration with Restek in the US. This collaboration provides access to consumable items as well as access to Restek prototypes in the area of gas chromatography - mass spectrometry.
Dr Joselito Quirino has established a new collaboration with Professor H Cottet (University of Montpellier, France) in the area of cell analysis by capillary electrophoresis. Dr Quirino will visit France for several weeks in December to initiate experimental work on this collaboration.
Dr Robert Shellie and Dr Rosanne Guijt received UTAS Rising Star awards.
CODES, in conjunction with the School of Earth Sciences, held a workshop on 9 and 10 October as part of the Teacher Earth Science Education Programme (TSEP). TSEP is a series of professional development workshops, aimed at local teachers, covering earth and environmental sciences.
Professor Ross Large is to receive an Honorary Doctorate from Luleå University of Technology, Sweden. The doctorate has been awarded in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the earth sciences.
CODES’ Research Fellow, Steve Micklethwaite, has won the $25,000 first prize in the 2009 UTAS Business Competition. He won the prize for a proposal for the commercialisation of a concept that reduces risk in minerals exploration.
The GeM geometallurgy project, which is being conducted in conjunction with JKMRC at the University of Queensland, has been extended for a further 4 years. Over its initial four-year lifespan, the project became the fastest growing and largest foundation project in AMIRA International’s 50-year history, and is now one of the largest research collaborations at CODES, with life of project funding of over $8 million.
TAFI scientists have won a national award for their educational CD and web-based interactive guide at the annual Whitley awards, held at the Australian Museum in Sydney last month.
The “Guide to the Marine Zooplankton of south eastern Australia,” gained a Whitley commendation certificate for the best CD ROM Electronic Guide. The Guide features facts, figures, diagrams and photos of a wide range of tiny creatures from the sea.
The team of scientists who produced the website guide include Dr Swadling, Anita Slotwinski and Dr John Gibson of TAFI, Associate Professor David Ritz from the UTAS School of Zoology and Dr Graham Hosie of the Australian Antarctic Division.
The website has been used by researchers in more than 80 countries and receives an average of 5000 page downloads each month. The annual Whitley awards provide recognition for outstanding publications in print or electronic form relating to the fauna of the Australasian region. The Whitley awards commenced in 1979 and are a tribute to a renowned Australian zoologist, Gilbert Whitley and are hosted by the Royal Zoological Society of NSW.
Rising Star Award for Dr Gretta Pecl
Dr Gretta Pecl has been awarded a Rising Star Award. Much of Dr Pecl’s focus for the Rising Stars funding relates to her vision to establish a ‘Global Network of Marine Hotspots’. Regional global warming ‘hotspots’ (like the east coast of Tasmania) are typified by predicted above average ocean temperature increases. These regions provide the potential for early warning and evidence of the response by natural resources to climate change, and one of the first opportunities to detect the nature and pace of climate change induced impacts on our marine ecosystems. They are also the first prospect for validating species or ecosystem model projections against reality and the first opportunity for evaluation of adaptation options in fishery systems. Dr Pecl is convening an international workshop ‘Networking Across Global Marine Hotspots’, at the Change Effects on Fish and Fisheries: Forecasting impacts, Assessing Ecosystem Responses, and Evaluating Management Strategies’ conference in Sendai, Japan April 2010. The Rising Stars funds will be used to attend the Sendai conference and then strengthen the collaborations between the hotspots with a series of research visits to other fast warming marine areas over the subsequent years. Dr Pecl will already be working in Alaska, another hotspot, for 4 months next year as part of a Fulbright Fellowship.
TILES welcomes Dr Sally Kelty who joined the TILES research team in July. Dr Kelty has a PhD in Law and Psychology from Murdoch University, Western Australia and takes up a 3 year Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship on the ARC Linkage Grant, The Effectiveness of Forensic Science in the Criminal Justice System.
Another new member of the TILES team is Paula Broucek who is TILES’ Executive officer. Paula hails from Tasmania Police and has already demonstrated her considerable skills with website development and graphics.
Jenny Fleming and Roberta Julian will visit New South Wales Police at the end of October to discuss post-graduate qualifications for NSW Police in Forensic Science.
Jenny Fleming (with Tim Prenzler) presented a paper at the Australasian Council of Women in Policing Conference in Perth, WA in August. The paper, ‘Gender equity in Australasian Policing: 10 years on’ updated statistical data across Australian police jurisdictions about women in policing. Jenny also Chaired a Policing For Women panel and was the Conference’s official Rapporteur.
Jenny Fleming was invited to speak to Western Australian police at the Sellenger Centre at the Edith Cowan University in August. Her paper was entitled, The ‘Nature of the Beast – Negotiating Police-Research Relationships’.
TILES will hold a workshop in December – Public Expectations of Police. The workshop is funded by the British Academy and the Australian Academy of Social Sciences. Police practitioners and academics from around Australia will attend this 1 day event. TILES will also welcome Professor Eugene McLaughlin from City University, London who will also attend.
