Archive for March, 2012

The last of the University of New England’s four Autumn Graduation ceremonies for 2012 saw about 280 people receive their testamurs today from the Chancellor, Richard Torbay.

The Occasional Address at today’s ceremony was given by Alan Beasley, who holds a Bachelor of Economics degree from UNE and has had a distinguished career in Investment Banking, Financial Services, and Investment Management. Mr Beasley said that his three years at UNE had been one of the highlights of a “most fortunate life”.

He congratulated all the graduands, urging them to use their “passion and enthusiasm” to “make a difference”. Noting that many of them were about to enter the health professions, he spoke about experiences within his own family that had made him “appreciate the contribution that health professionals make to society”.

During the past 10 years, he said, he had focused his career on raising capital for small, innovative companies – including several in the health and life sciences sectors – and had thus been “exposed to the professional, financial and administrative challenges and complexities of those sectors”.

In introducing Mr Beasley, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Jim Barber, said that he had “used his considerable expertise not just for his own gain but as a very charitable member of Australian society”.

Today’s ceremony was for those graduating in disciplines related to the sciences as well as medicine and health. Among the 21 people graduating with doctoral degrees were James Clayton and Melissa Danks. Dr Clayton, who works for National Parks  in central Australia, studied the possibility of reintroducing the mala, or “rufous hare-wallaby” (now surviving only in captivity), into the wild at Uluru. Dr Danks, who works at the Australian Museum in Sydney and in research based at the University of Sydney, examined the ecological importance of the relationship between the swamp wallaby and the truffle fungi it feeds on.

(THE PHOTOGRAPH of Dr James Clayton displayed above expands to include Dr Melissa Danks and UNE’s Dr Karl Vernes, who supervised the two PhD projects.)

Three University Medals were presented at today’s ceremony. One of the medal winners, Joanna Newton, who achieved First Class Honours in graduating as a Bachelor of Rural Science, also won the Edgar H. Booth Memorial Prize and Medal for her academic achievements, and a New England Award for her involvement in extra-curricular activities within the University and Armidale communities.

In delivering the Vote of Thanks on behalf of the graduates at the end of the ceremony, Ms Newton emphasised that it was “the people” who had “made the UNE campus so special” for her. “To the lecturers,” she said, “you’re not just another face in a crowded lecture hall”. And the living environment in the colleges provided “support and a sense of family”. She mentioned that one of the best friends she had made at UNE had flown back from Vietnam to see her graduate today.

The Hon. John Watkins, who worked as a teacher for 16 years before his election to the NSW Parliament in 1995, was the Occasional Address speaker at yesterday’s ceremony for people graduating from within UNE’s School of Education. He told the graduands that they were “part of that most precious national resource – Australia’s teachers”.

Mr Watkins (pictured here), who served as Deputy Premier of NSW from 2005 to 2008, held a number of Ministerial positions, including that of Minister for Education and Training. Now Chief Executive Officer of Alzheimer’s Australia NSW, he is involved in some of the major ageing and dementia challenges facing the NSW community over coming years.

“More important than mining infrastructure, more productive than any stimulus package – you are Australia’s walking, breathing future fund,” Mr Watkins told the graduands. “Your choice of education as a profession will bring lasting benefit to hundreds of communities and tens of thousands of students – many not yet born – over the next half a century.”

The Iraqi Cultural Attaché in Australia & New Zealand, Professor Dr Fadhil Farhood Makki Al-Joborae, who was visiting UNE, was the Chancellor’s Official Guest at yesterday’s ceremony.

Armidale school students who regularly visit the classrooms of their South Korean counterparts via the Internet met a special guest – the Australian Prime Minister – in a Korean classroom they visited on Monday.

Julia Gillard, in Seoul for the World Nuclear Summit, was at Gyeseong Girls Catholic School when students from four Armidale schools “dropped in” from a videoconferencing studio at the University of New England courtesy of the National Broadband Network and the UNE-based Australia-Korea ConneXion Project.

O’Connor Catholic College in Armidale is linked to Gyesong Girls School in the project, and the Prime Minister sat with the Korean students as they exchanged information with the O’Connor students about their respective countries’ singers, saints and sportspeople.

When Prime Minister Gillard joined in the conversation, students from Armidale City Public School, Ben Venue Public School and Duval High School had the opportunity, too, to ask her about her impressions of Korea. Those three Armidale schools are linked to three other Korean schools in the Australia-Korea ConneXion Project.

The Prime Minister said the classroom connection was an example of “the future of education” as the NBN opened the world to students.

Led by UNE’s Dr Myung-sook Auh, the Australia-Korea ConneXion Project is funded by the University itself and the Australia-Korea Foundation within the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. It also involves partnerships with technology companies that supply the hardware for the schools.

The University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Jim Barber, congratulated Dr Auh on her leading role in the innovative project. “Broadband is literally opening up the world to students,” he said, “exposing them to people and ways of life that would otherwise be mere abstractions to them.”

“In the months ahead,” Professor Barber said, “UNE hopes to extend broadband into the remote management of farms, the delivery of health care into retirement villages and the delivery of numeracy and literacy programs into the homes of children and adults at risk of being left behind.

“When the school students involved in the Australia-Korea ConneXion Program graduate from university they will take all these advances for granted, and they will have learnt to use the NBN in ways we haven’t even begun to imagine yet.”

Professor Victor Minichiello, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean of UNE’s Faculty of The Professions, said UNE was proudly using the technology of the NBN to take education to a new level.

“The Australia-Korea ConneXion Project demonstrates clearly what will become increasingly possible in education,” Professor Minichiello said. “UNE – a regional university – and local schools are demonstrating innovation and leadership in expanding opportunities to understand the cultures and learning styles of different countries, and to be part of a global learning community.”

THE PHOTOGRAPH displayed here shows the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, at Gyeseong Girls Catholic School in Seoul. Clicking on this photograph reveals a video image of UNE’s Chancellor, Richard Torbay (seated at rear), and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Jim Barber (standing), in the UNE videoconferencing studio with Armidale school students during the link to Korea.

Playing “Strip Scrabble” and “spending a solid hour exploring various kissing techniques” are among the  successful strategies that can help couples put the spark back in their relationship, according to a study by psychologists at the University of New England.

The study, which involved more than 100 couples, aimed to test the effectiveness of positive psychology in increasing participants’ levels of excitement with their relationships. The participants, who ranged in age from 18 to 76, were randomly assigned to one of two groups, either participating in an intervention designed to make their relationship more exciting or being placed on a waiting list. Those who participated in the intervention afterwards showed significantly higher levels of excitement and overall satisfaction with their relationships.

“Relationship research has traditionally tended to focus on conflict and negative factors,” according to Kimberley Coulter, the UNE psychology student who undertook the study for her honours thesis. “This study was about looking at the positive factors; at what was going okay but could be improved.

“Excitement is a common characteristic at the beginning of relationships. It’s something most of us experience when we first get together with someone. Unfortunately, research has shown that over time that initial novelty wears off. We wanted to see if we could bring it back.”

The intervention required participants to sit down together and draw up a plan for making their relationship more exciting. It encouraged them to explore new activities together and to be adventurous, spontaneous, playful, passionate and romantic. Suggestions included hour-long kissing sessions, surprising their partner with flowers, taking a bubble bath together and sharing sexual fantasies. Some couples were even advised to play “Strip Scrabble” as a way to turn up the heat on their relationship.

“A number of the participants said the study almost ‘gave them permission’ to try things with their partner they had previously been too shy to try,” Ms Coulter said. “It allowed them to share their fantasies and act them out.”

While not all the suggestions were sexual, “rediscovering their partner as a sexual being” was key to many of the participants achieving greater levels of excitement in their relationship.

“For many of the couples it came down to having gotten in a rut with their sex life,” Ms Coulter said. “Participating in the study helped them overcome that and ‘make things new again’.”

Dr John Malouff, the UNE psychologist who supervised the study, said that a follow-up assessment had shown the effects of the intervention to be  long-lasting.

“People were still reporting increased levels of excitement and satisfaction four months later, which demonstrates a persistent improvement, ” Dr Malouff said. “It just goes to show that a correctly focused effort can go a long way in improving the quality of a romantic relationship.”

The researchers are now planning a new study that will seek to identify other methods for increasing relationship satisfaction.

Media Contact: Kimberley Coulter (0498 002 231) or Dr John Malouff (02 6773 2555).

The former Commonwealth Ombudsman Allan Asher and former NSW Director of Public Prosecutions Nicholas Cowdery QC will each be speaking at upcoming UNE Law events.

 Kirby seminar – March 30, 2012

Allan Asher, former Commonwealth Ombudsman, will deliver the next Kirby Seminar in the School of Law, entitled “Ombudsman: Champion of the people?”  The lecture will take place at 12 noon in the JN Lewis Seminar Room, EBL Building (W38) on Friday, March 30.

Mr Asher will be talking about developments in public administration and accountability and in particular the ethical challenges and dilemmas confronting public servants who bring strong social justice commitments to their role.

Mr Asher has been an outspoken consumer advocate and campaigner for nearly 40 years. He was Deputy Chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission 1988-2000. He had a special concern for e-commerce and global information technology matters. From 2001 to 2010 he worked in a range of senior positions as a consumer advocate in the UK and Australia including as CEO of Energy Watch UK. He was Commonwealth Ombudsman from 2010 to 2011.

http://blog.une.edu.au/theprofessions/2012/03/20/allan-asher-to-deliver-the-next-kirby-seminar/

Law Ball – March 31, 2012

Nicholas Cowdery will be the guest speaker at the upcoming Law Ball, to take place at the Armidale Ex-Services Club on Saturday, March 31. Prof Cowdery was the Director of Public Prosecutions for the State of New South Wales from 1994 to 2011. That office is the largest prosecuting agency in Australia.

He is an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Sydney Institute of Criminology, Faculty of Law, University of Sydney, a Visiting Professorial Fellow at the Faculties of Law in the Universities of NSW and of Wollongong and an Adjunct Professor at Charles Sturt University. He is a legal expert consultant to the Commonwealth Secretariat, London.

http://blog.une.edu.au/theprofessions/2012/03/20/get-your-ticket-to-2012-law-ball-on-31-march/

The recent anniversary of last year’s earthquake and tsunami in Japan was particularly poignant for two students of Japanese at the University of New England who had returned from a tour of the affected area not long before.

Rhys Ewins and Danial Newman were chosen as members of a group of Australian university students who travelled to Japan in the summer holidays as participants in the Japan – East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youths (JENESYS) program sponsored by the Japanese Government.

Their party of 22 students travelled to the devastated coastal city of Ishinomaki where they saw – in Danial’s words – “piles of cars by the side of the road higher than our tour bus”. “They’ve achieved so much – but there’s still a lot of debris left,” he said. “They’re waiting for that to be removed before they can do anything else.”

He recalled that, on the tour bus that was usually full of talk and laughter, “you could hear a pin drop” as they travelled through the devastation. “It was hard to take,” he said.

“Coming from Australia, where it’s easy to forget about the disaster, and where we’ve seen only what the media have shown us, it was confronting to see the reality,” Rhys said. “But we were amazed to find that the people were still so positive and wanting to move on.”

At the local Kirin brewery, which had been destroyed in the disaster, they were impressed to see how the employees had rallied to its revival. “There were hundreds of thousands of bottles everywhere” (as pictured here), Rhys said. “But not a single employee had quit. They had all stayed on to get the plant functioning again.”

Their 10-day tour also included a visit to the Australian Embassy in Tokyo and Tohoku Gakuin University in the city of Sendai, and a night of “homestay” with Japanese families, when the students had a chance to talk about the disaster in more detail, and to experience Japanese domestic life.

The students’ lecturer in Japanese at UNE, Dr Kiyomi Yamada, said that she had recommended them for the tour following contact with the Japanese Embassy in Canberra. “The tour was for students who had never been to Japan,” she explained. “It gave them a good opportunity to experience Japanese language and culture.”

Both Rhys and Danial are hoping to return to Japan soon: Rhys for further study, and Danial as a teacher of English.

Clicking on the image displayed above reveals a photograph of Dr Kiyomi Yamada with her students Danial Newman (left) and Rhys Ewins.

Sahar Alshamma is one of a growing number of international students at the University of New England who are taking advantage of a new UNE program designed to prepare them for driving on Australian roads.

Ms Alshamma arrived at UNE from her home in Iraq last August, and is undertaking a language program at the University’s English Language Centre (ELC) before embarking on her PhD research.

An experienced driver, she holds both Iraqi and international drivers’ licences. To drive in Australia, however, she has to adapt to driving on the opposite side of the road in a car with a right-hand steering wheel, and become familiar with the local road rules. “The rules are much the same here,” she said. “But the steering wheel’s on a different side – that’s the main problem.”

“At first I intended not to drive, and to rely on public transport,” Ms Alshamma said. “But as I have limited time, and need to fit shopping – even on Sundays – into my busy schedule, I decided to enter the International Student Driving Initiative here in the English Language & International Services (ELIS) Directorate. If I’m going to drive, I need to feel confident of my own and others’ safety.”

The new program – the first of its kind at UNE – is attracting considerable interest among UNE’s international students. “We’re trialling it at the moment,” said Mark Cooper, the Deputy Director of Studies at the ELC. “We had a really good attendance at our first meeting – with students of nine nationalities. And now they’re coming in and asking lots of questions – questions such as: “Can I drive my friend’s car?” and “How do I get a licence?” and questions about insurance.”

“We’re printing copies of the Road Users Handbook in their own languages and making them available to students,” Mr Cooper said. They’re part of a “library” of relevant material that they can borrow. They can come in and practise doing the RTA’s online quiz and, when they can do it in front of us to our satisfaction, they’ll be ready for driving lessons. The students who’ve come with an international licence, in particular, will need information. We’re really keen to get them connected to a driving school to have their driving appraised and to get any necessary instruction.”

“Many of our students are under 25, so having the right insurance is a problem,” said Bronwyn Gilson, Manager of International Services and Compliance at ELIS. “We’re able to give them information about that, and about licensing and buying a car, and to put them in touch with a driving school in Armidale.

The Armidale driving school involved is William Smith’s Aussie Blu Driving School. “I’m very interested in helping drivers from overseas,” Mr Smith said. “I’ve had people from various countries – including South Africa, The Philippines, Malaysia, and Arabic-speaking countries – and most of them have been successful the first time. We have the odd language problem, but we can cope with this.

ELIS will include information sessions in all future Orientation programs, and is keen to hear from any international student who would like to participate in the initiative.

THE PHOTOGRAPH displayed here expands to show Sahar Alshamma in the driver’s seat with driving instructor William Smith beside her.

Speaking at a graduation ceremony at the University of New England on Saturday, Senator Fiona Nash said that UNE had made “a significant contribution to the economic and social fabric of the region”.

Delivering the Occasional Address at the ceremony, Senator Nash reminded her audience that for Sir Earle Page, the 11^th Prime Minister of Australia and the first Chancellor of UNE, access to education had been “central to the prosperity of the regions”.

“Regional universities like UNE are realising Earle Page’s vision,” said Senator Nash, who is the Deputy Leader of the Nationals in the Australian Senate and Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Education.

“Through this regional university,” she told the graduands, “you have gained new skills and knowledge equal, I’m sure, to those offered in the cities. However, you have also learnt a set of values and attitudes that are unique to regional education. I hope those values and attitudes will shape your perception of regional Australia for many years to come.”

About 260 people graduating from within UNE’s School of Law and School of Business, Economics and Public Policy received their testamurs from the hands of the Chancellor, Richard Torbay, during Saturday’s ceremony.

“It is professionals like you who have the ability to address the inequality between the city and the country because you have lived in the regions and have gained an understanding of what matters to regional people,” Senator Nash said.

Saturday’s was the second of this year’s four Autumn Graduation ceremonies. The remaining ceremonies will be on Friday 30 and Saturday 31 March.

THE PHOTOGRAPH above of the Chancellor, Richard Torbay, and Senator Fiona Nash expands to include the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Jim Barber.

At a University of New England graduation ceremony today, the Chancellor of the University, Richard Torbay, paid tribute to the late Margaret Whitlam on the day of her memorial service in Sydney.

Mr Torbay said that Mrs Whitlam had been “a remarkable woman” whose services to the community had been recognised by UNE when it awarded her the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters in 1995.

He welcomed the graduands to the community of UNE alumni which, he said, was “full of inspirational and talented people like Mrs Whitlam”.

The Occasional Address at today’s ceremony was presented by Professor John Quiggin, a Federation Fellow in Economics and Political Science at the University of Queensland who recalled his graduation from UNE as a Doctor of Philosophy. “I was here 25 years ago sitting on this very lawn,” he said. ‘It was a great day for me, and it’s marvellous to be back here.”

Professor Quiggin is an active contributor to Australian public debate in a wide range of media, and a regular columnist for The Australian Financial Review. He has written on policy topics including climate change, micro-economic reform, privatisation, and employment policy. Climate change, he said, was a challenge that his generation had failed to face and was still partly resistant to facing. He said he hoped the people graduating today would have a more flexible response challenges such as climate change.

Mr Torbay presented more than 200 people with their testamurs at today’s ceremony for those graduating from within the UNE’s School of Arts, School of Humanities, and School of Behavioural, Cognitive and Social Sciences. Among the 13 new Doctors of Philosophy was 83-year-old Valerie McKay from Sans Souci in Sydney, who already held three degrees – Bachelor of Arts, Master of Literature and Master of Professional Studies – from UNE. Mrs McKay said the PhD research – on the poetry and verse plays of Douglas Stewart, a subject that had interested her since her schooldays – had been an enjoyable and stimulating “retirement project”, which had included the added advantage of  “opportunities to come up here to New England”.

Today’s ceremony was the first of UNE’s four Autumn Graduation ceremonies for 2012. At tomorrow’s ceremony, for those graduating from within the Schools of Law and Business, Economics and Public Policy, the Occasional Address speaker will be Senator Fiona Nash, Senator for NSW, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Education, and Deputy Leader of the Nationals in the Australian Senate. The two remaining ceremonies will be on Friday 30 and Saturday 31 March.

More than 2,000 people are graduating from UNE this autumn, with almost 1,000 of them being able to attend one or other of the four ceremonies.

THE PHOTOGRAPH displayed here shows Katrina Concannon delivering the vote of thanks on behalf of the graduates at the end of today’s ceremony. Ms Concannon graduated today as a Bachelor of Arts with First Class Honours and a University Medal.

Staff from the University of New England and Sport UNE will be holding a fundraising morning tea this Monday, March 26 to support the Tour de Rocks, a cycling events that aims to raise money for cancer research.

The morning tea is being sponsored by Services UNE and organised by Sport UNE. It will take place on Monday, March 26 at 10:30 AM, at Booloominbah.

The tour, which will run over three days and cover approximately 270 km, will take participants through the eastern fall country, down the Big Hill on to the Macleay River, through Bellbrook and Kempsey, before winding up at South West Rocks.  It is intended to raise at least $50,000 for the Tour de Cure charity.

A Number of UNE staff are participating in the Tour de Rocks, and money raised at Monday’s morning tea will go towards supporting the venture. Entry is by $5 donation and open to all staff and community members.

RSVP to Ben Bible, ben.bible@une.edu.au.

For more information about the Tour de Rocks, visit: http://www.tourderocks.com.au.

The University of New England is preparing to celebrate the graduation of more than 2,000 of its students over the next two weekends.

Almost 1,000 of them are able to attend one or other of the four Autumn Graduation ceremonies to receive their testamurs from the hands of the Chancellor, Richard Torbay.

The ceremonies, on the lawns of “Booloominbah”, will be on Friday the 23rd, Saturday the 24th, Friday the 30th, and Saturday the 31st of March, starting at 10.30 am. The University is expecting each ceremony to bring more than 1,000 visitors – including the graduands and their relatives and friends – to Armidale and the University.

Four Australians who have achieved distinction in their careers have been invited to deliver the four Occasional Addresses – one at each ceremony. At the ceremony on Friday 23 March, for people graduating from within UNE’s School of Arts, School of Humanities, and School of Behavioural, Cognitive and Social Sciences, the speaker will be Professor John Quiggin, a Federation Fellow in Economics and Political Science at the University of Queensland. Professor Quiggin, who is prominent both as a research economist and as a commentator on Australian economic policy, holds a PhD degree in agricultural economics from UNE.

The guest speaker at the ceremony on Saturday 24 March, for people graduating from within the School of Law and the School of Business, Economics and Public Policy, will be Senator Fiona Nash, Senator for NSW, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Education, and Deputy Leader of the Nationals in the Australian Senate.

On Friday 30 March the Hon. John Watkins will address people graduating from within the School of Education. Mr Watkins is a former NSW Minister for Education (2001-2003) who became Deputy Premier of NSW (2005-2008). Graduands at the ceremony on Saturday 31 March, from the School of Science and Technology, the School of Environmental and Rural Science, the School of Health and the School of Rural Medicine, will be addressed by Alan Beasley. Mr Beasley, who graduated from UNE with an Honours degree in economics, has held leading positions in companies such as Bankers Trust Australia and Goldman Sachs. He is Chairman of the Abbotsleigh Foundation. 

In the event of wet weather, the ceremonies will move into UNE’s Lazenby Hall.

Media Contact: Jim Scanlan 6773 3049.