Presentations and papers will be presented by experts on parenting policy and practice from the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States of America, New Zealand and Ireland as well as Australia. The presentations and papers will discuss the most effective population-based parenting programs, and the articulation between universal and targeted parenting policies for vulnerable groups of parents, including young parents, Indigenous parents, grandparent/kinship carers, parents with a disability (especially mental health), parents with substance abuse issues, and parents caring for a child with a disability
Download the program.

Download the full issue. The Newsletter is also available in an accessible version.

Youth and Poverty
From the Director
Research News
International Meetings
Child poverty in Vanuatu
Kinship Care

For more information, visit the ACE website. For reservations and payments, please contact Heather Causley (0400 808 603; causleys@bigpond.net.au).

On 29 March, Monday, the OEL will again have Prof Helen Timperley give a workshop on Improving Student Outcomes Through Use Of Data In Professional Learning. This interactive workshop is ideal for educators and consultants whose work evolves around the improvement of school systems. This workshop is also ideal for current teachers who are interested in pursuing a career in educational leadership in the near future. For more information about this workshop, download the information flier. To register for this workshop, download the registration form.

On 30 March, Tuesday, the OEL will sponsor a leadership workshop for teachers, principals and consultants involved in special education. This is a fantastic and rare opportunity to work with American and Australian educational leaders who specialise in working with students with special needs. For more information about this workshop, download the information flier. To register for this workshop, download the registration form.

• Two three-month Postgraduate Fellowships (EUI fees and a one-off payment of $7,000) for the period September-December 2009. Closing date 19 March 2010.
• One six-month Postdoctoral Fellowship (EUI fees and a one-off payment of $12,000) for the period January-June 2010. Closing date 19 March 2010.
• One Visiting Scholar (EUI fees only), tenure of one month, to be taken, by arrangement, in the period 9 January-30 June 2011. Closing date 19 March 2010.
Open to postgraduates, early career and established researchers currently undertaking research in history, law, economics, and social and political sciences who are able to identify a direct benefit for their research from a period of residence at the EUI. The Postgraduate applicants must be at an advanced stage of their research, and the Postdoctoral Fellowship is available to those who have graduated with a PhD qualification within the last five years.
The Australian European University Institute Fellowships Association Incorporated was established as a consortium of interested universities (Monash University, Griffith University, the University of New South Wales, the University of Melbourne, Deakin University, and the Australian National University, and the Delegation of the European Union) following an approach from the EUI to form a link with Australian universities. It is hoped that other universities, in time, will join the AEUIFAI. The Fellowships, however, are not limited to scholars from member universities.

The workshop, hosted by the the Indigenous Policy and Dialogue Research Unit (IPDRU), is the precursor to the publication of Unsettling the Settler State: Creativity and Resistance in Indigenous Governance. It will consist of contributions from Indigenous and non-Indigenous authors from across Australia.

Former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Tom Calma, will pen a chapter with Darren Dick from the Australian Human Rights Commission on Australia's new Indigenous representative body, the National Congress of Australia's First Peoples.

"Our chapter will consider conventional types of governance and emerging Indigenous governance approaches which are equally legitimate and have a strong cultural basis," said Calma.

"This book is about challenging the status quo and literally ‘unsettling the settler state' and we hope it encourages dialogue."

Calma will implement an Indigenous governance approach in his new role as national coordinator for tackling Indigenous smoking, where he'll work closely with Indigenous communities to implement culturally focused programs.

"The workshop has been a unique opportunity to bring the contributors together and work through some of the complexities of inter-cultural governance in Australia," said IPDRU Research Director, Associate Professor Sarah Maddison.

Maddison says the book will discuss how Indigenous organisations and resistance continue to challenge the philosophical and institutional frameworks of the settler state and the implications for contemporary Australia.

The Unsettling the Settler State workshop was funded by the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia and the Australian Political Studies Association.

The book will be published by Federation Press in early 2011.

A panel discussion on the legacy of out-of-home ‘care' in the 1950s to the 1970s was one of the sessions at the recently held Australasian Social Welfare History Workshop.

"These ‘Forgotten Australians' have received an apology from the Prime Minister but the history of the time does not reflect that they often experienced abuse while in care," said panel member Professor Shurlee Swain, from the Australian Catholic University.

Professor Swain said that historians need to work alongside those who were institutionalised to ensure their views are represented.

"Policy made in a vacuum without understanding history is doomed to fail," said one of the workshop convenors, Associate Professor Anne O'Brien from the School of History and Philosophy at UNSW.

"We are improving links between historians and those making policy.

"We also had a larger component of Indigenous welfare history than at previous workshops," she said.

Other themes addressed at the event included:

* disability and mental illness (including ‘Policies for Participation: A History of Disability in the Australian Social Security System' - Bettina Cass, UNSW and Sarah Parker University of Illinois)
* women and welfare, faith-based welfare and Indigenous child welfare
* contemporary social welfare (including ‘The age pension and social citizenship in Australia' - Myra Hamilton, UNSW).

To log on to BB9, please visit the TELT Gateway which contains all the online learning tools commonly used within UNSW. If you would like to familiarise yourself with what Blackboard 9 can do for you as a UNSW student, click on this link which takes you to the general online learning support page.

The School of Education also has a support staff member for all issues and concerns related to Blackboard 9. If you are having problems accessing Blackboard 9, please call Michael Narciso at (02) 9385 8004 or email him at: m.narciso@unsw.edu.au

For new postgraduate/higher degree research students (those enrolled in Honours, PhD, Masters by Research or Masters of Philosophy in Higher Education), the induction night is on 3 March (Wednesday). For more information about this night, please click on this link. You can also talk to Dr Jae Jung (jae.jung@unsw.edu.au) for assistance, or for research related concerns, please see the HDR Research Coordinator, A/Prof Paul Ayres (p.ayres@unsw.edu.au).

For new coursework students, the induction is on 22 February (Monday). This event, which is co-sponsored by the Office of Educational Leadership (OEL), is only for new students enrolled in:

• Master of Education
• Graduate Certificate of Education
• Master of Education in Applied Linguistics
• Master of Educational Leadership
• Graduate Certificate of Educational Leadership

For more information about this event, please download the Event Brochure. This is a free event, but we ask that students RSVP their attendance to the relevant Program Coordinator by Thursday 18 February, 2010 for catering purposes.

 Be sure to visit the event information page, or download the media release.

Prof Chris Davison, Head of the School of Education, UNSW and an Honorary Professor at the University of Hong Kong celebrates the culmination of 5 years of research and development into school-based assessment in English language teaching in Hong Kong this week with the official launch of curriculum and professional development material and a comprehensive research report into the implementation of the program in its first four years. From Hong Kong, she goes to Brunei to work as consultant with the Ministry of Education, Negara Brunei Darussalam and Optimise International (B) to help set up their School-Based Assessment Implementation Program for Years 7 & Year 8.

For more information about this international project, please click on this link.

Cathryn Hlavka, who is fluent in Mandarin, has a 23-year association with China and has expertise in government, business and the education and science sectors.

Ms Hlavka is well known in the Australian international education sector through her role as the Australian Government's representative on education, science and training in Tokyo and Shanghai (2001-2007).

Most recently she has been based in Beijing and Shanghai as a government relations and education policy consultant, working with the China Australia Governance Program.

UNSW partnered with Shanghai Jiao Tong University in establishing the Confucius Institute, to facilitate student and academic exchanges and expand opportunities for multi-disciplinary research and Chinese studies, including advanced Chinese language training.

Based in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, the Confucius Institute will promote Chinese language and culture, though the focus will be on strengthening research collaborations including in engineering, science, the social sciences, and the creative arts.

"Cathryn Hlavka brings a wealth of diplomatic experience in establishing relationships internationally for Australian higher education," said the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Professor James Donald.

"This is exactly what the Confucius Institute at UNSW needs. As Director, Cathryn will be working to identify opportunities for all parts of the university to collaborate with Chinese partners. It is a very exciting appointment."

Photo credit: Grant Turner, Mediakoo

Dr Scott will take over this position from Associate Professor Martin Griffiths, who chaired the Research Committee from 2007-2009.

Dr Scott is an Associate Professor of International Relations in the School of Social Sciences and International Studies. She holds a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Queensland and a Masters in Higher Education from the University of New South Wales. Her scholarly interests include the inter-relationship between international law and international relations, as well as issues regarding Antarctica, climate change and Australian-Japanese maritime relations.

"The AIIA has a proud history of promoting research and publications on international affairs and this will continue in 2010 with a new edition of Australia in World Affairs and the popular policy commentaries on topics of contemporary importance. I am honoured to be assuming a leadership role within an organisation that has been so central to informed Australian debate on world affairs" says Dr Scott.

The AIIA has had a Research Committee since 1941. The Research Committee has been headed by a number of illustrious academics including Professors Hedley Bull, John Legge, Gordon Greenwood, Norman Harper and Anthony Milner.

The Australian Institute of International Affairs is Australia's only nationwide, independent body promoting public interest in, and understanding of, international affairs. It was formed in 1933 and has over 1600 members, and branches in every State and the ACT. For further information on the AIIA, please visit www.aiia.asn.au

Keep an eye out for these nifty pocket-sized information extravaganzas!

Or simply check out the PDF by clicking here!

Be sure to visit the event information page, or download media release PDF.

• Are simpler technological systems the answer to pollution and climate change?
• How do scientists decide what is correct?
  • How does fire burn?
  • Priestley said that fire is emitting phlogiston, Lavoisier that it consumes oxygen.
  • Who was right?
  • What does the answer tell us about science?

ARTS1300's lectures are on Thursday at 1pm and of Friday at 10am.  Tutorial availablity may vary.

Nina Furnell is a researcher in the Journalism and Media Research Centre, Click here to read her article in the Sydney Morning Herald

The Peer Mentoring Program links groups of new students to senior students for the first weeks of semester.

Mentors can help you:
• find your way around campus
• fill you in on the Uni's systems, processes and services
• get to know other new students

Sign up now

We look forward to having you as a DipEd student this year. We are confident you will find this year fruitful, challenging and exciting.

Before your classes formally begin on the 15th of February, please make sure you are enrolled in the following courses for Semester 1:
1. EDST4080 Special Education
2. EDST4082 Professional Issues 1
3. EDST4084 Managing the Classroom Environment
4. and the method course/s you have been given in your letter of offer. These course codes are available on the UNSW Handbook. Please note that all Education courses start with EDST.

You will be enrolled in EDST4105 once you fill in the EDST4105 enrolment/placement form at the DipEd Orientation Meeting on 15 February (11 to 12pm at the Central Lecture Block Theatre 6). A venue map can be downloaded by clicking on this link. Please print out this map and also bring a passport size photo, as this is necessary for the placement form.

It is important for you to attend this meeting as key staff members will introduce themselves and explain the structure of the program and Professional Experience related matters. There will be time for questions at the end of this meeting. If you cannot make it to this meeting, please inform Aisha Pruze as soon as possible (02 9385 1950 or email: professionalexperience@unsw.edu.au).

Please download this document: Timetable for Semester One from 15 - 26 February 2010

Important Dates

What Else Can You Do?

Once you finish enrollment, you can get your student ID card at Facilities Management (FM Assist) on Level 2, Mathews Building. The student ID card can also be used as library card. You are also required to set up your UNSW student email before 18 February as we correspond with students via their UNSW email address. You can set this up in the Identity Management Website (IDM).

We hope that this helps and we look forward to seeing you on campus. If you need assistance, please see any of our Professional Staff on Level 13, Mathews Building.

This radio program serves as a wonderful introduction to concepts surrounding gifted education, and would benefit those who would like to know more about Miraca and gifted education in Australia. To download an audio file of this broadcast, please click on this link.

Well done, Miraca!

And this week was no exception, as Tony Abbott discovered when he set off a media firestorm over comments he made to a women's magazine on the issue of teenage virginity.

The comments drew criticism from a variety of sources - who argued that Mr Abbott's views are out of date and unwelcome.

2SER's Nic Christensen reports on the controversy and why it is politicians are pulled into such morality questions. Click here to play or download the Interview with Professor Catharine Lumby.

The students participated in a new workshop called "Human body meets machine", which was part of the summer holiday program run by the Gifted Education Research Resource and Information Centre (GERRIC) at UNSW.

The machines read the electrical signals made naturally when muscles are used. In this case, students flexed their arm muscles. The computer recorded and interpreted the signals, then moved the figure in the computer game as a result.

"The interaction between the human body and machines is a really big area of research," said Dr Stephen Redmond, a lecturer in the School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications, who took the class. "It's really important in terms of improving robotics, prostheses or helping improve the lives of limb amputees."

"It was really fun playing the game," said 14-year-old Amy Chang from Year 9 at North Sydney Girls' High School. "It was much harder than I thought to do it - but we got it in the end."

Fifteen-year-old James Sewell from Bathurst High School has been coming to GERRIC programs since he was in primary school and said he enjoyed this workshop the most.

"GERRIC's holiday programs are truly a gift to gifted students," says Professor Miraca Gross, Director of GERRIC, which is part of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

"They allow very bright young people to work on material that really challenges them with other young people who have similar abilities and interests. For many gifted students, that opportunity is simply not available in school. Here at UNSW they can allow their minds to soar, and many make friendships that last for years."

Almost 700 young people - from as young as four years through to 16 years of age - gave up part of their holidays to attend classes at UNSW. There are 60 different workshops on offer throughout the year, 20 of which are being offered for the first time.

The Scientia Challenge for students between the ages of 12 and 16 is supported by McDonalds.

For more on the GERRIC programs go to the website.

The first ever Game Jam Sydney, co-organised by the University of New South Wales, is happening at the Powerhouse Museum from Friday, January 29 to Sunday, January 31, as part of the Global Game Jam (GGJ) - a competition in which hundreds of teams in more than 100 cities worldwide work around the clock to come up with new concepts in computer gaming.

UNSW computer scientist Dr Malcolm Ryan said eight teams of five designers will be taking part in Game Jam Sydney. The teams receive a theme on which to base their games at 5pm Friday and then work on-site at the Powerhouse till 5pm Sunday to produce an all-new game, sleeping in shifts in rest areas in the competition workshop.

"This will be a non-stop, hothouse environment. The idea is to have an intensive experience to promote innovation and brainstorming," Dr Ryan said.

"What we hope to see out of is a new kind of game that we haven't seen before. In all the game ideas produced, there could be one gem in there that might lead to something bigger."

Dr Ryan, a lecturer in computer game design and artificial intelligence at UNSW's School of Computer Science and Engineering, said interest in creating games is growing - numbers in his Computer Game Design course have tripled in the space of a year - and events such as Global Game Jam are an opportunity to boost Australia's computer game industry.

Internationally the computer gaming market is booming: the game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 broke the $US1bn international sales mark recently, a feat achieved only by blockbuster films such as Avatar; and the Australian computer games industry posted a record $2bn in sales last year, according to figures from the Interactive Gaming and Entertainment Association. Australia's games industry, however, has produced only a few internationally successful titles.

Game Jam Sydney co-organiser Dan Graf, from the Sydney branch of the International Game Designers' Association (IGDA), said the mass-market approach of major game publishing companies had made it hard for local game designers to get new ideas produced in the past. Independent Australian designers were now having more success with online distribution, he said, and the Game Jam would give a major boost to the profile and strength of the local industry.

Global Game Jam was held for the first time in 2009 and this year is the first time Sydney has participated.

Media students from UNSW's School of English, Media and Performing Arts will film interviews and video diaries with Game Jam participants to create mini-documentaries which will run during the event.

Applications are invited for two Australian Research Council funded PhD scholarships available from March 2010, to research the ways in which evidence is understood and used in formulating Indigenous policy. Stipend $26,669pa for three years. Applicants may also be eligible for the SPRC top-up scholarship of $5,000 pa for three years. Funding for fieldwork also available. Closing date: 1 February 2010.

SPRC Top -Up PhD Scholarships

From 2010, SPRC will award top-up scholarships to eligible students enrolled in the SPRC PhD program. The scholarships, valued at $5,000 - $10,000, will be awarded on a competititve basis to students holding an Australian Postgraduate Award, Australian Postgraduate Award (Industry) or International Postgraduate Award.

For further information and contact details please see SPRC Postgraduate Study

Applications are invited for two Australian Research Council funded PhD scholarships available from March 2010, to research the ways in which evidence is understood and used in formulating Indigenous policy. Stipend $26,669pa for three years. Applicants may also be eligible for the SPRC top-up scholarship of $5,000 pa for three years. Funding for fieldwork also available.

CLOSING DATE: 1 February 2010

More information

As part of her doctorate Moya conducted field research in Ghana and Sierra Leone with support from the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre and UNSW.

"It was a surprise and a great honour to win this award," Moya said. "The recognition has given me a lot of confidence in my work.

"UNSW was very generous in its financial support of my fieldwork," she said.

Her research argues that peace-builders need to consider how seemingly internal conflicts often cross national boundaries and can involve a number of regional warlords and the control of resource-based communities.

Since completing her thesis, Moya was accepted into the competitive graduate program at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). She takes up her first diplomatic posting in September as Third Secretary in the Australian Embassy in Bangkok, where she will work on a range of issues including security and counter-terrorism.

Opportunities to undertake an internship at SPRC will be advertised here. For further details contact: Jen Skattebol via email or phone +61 2 9385 7816.

The students were selected to present their research findings at the Showcase which was held on the 10th and 11th November 2009. In its second year, the Showcase featured presentations by staff and students from Arts and Social Sciences, Medicine, Built Environment, Science and Engineering.

The research project was conducted by fourteen third year Bachelor of Social Science students for the Aboriginal Programs Unit at the NSW Attorney-General's Department and presented in a poster format.
The poster, entitled "Tackling Indigenous Family Violence" featured case studies of existing Indigenous-led family violence programs and a survey of Aboriginal Criminal Justice Group coordinators across the state.

Project Supervisor, Dr Leanne Weber from the School of Social Sciences and International Studies, said the poster was a significant achievement for the group of devoted students.

The study aimed to help the Aboriginal Programs Unit develop a more detailed understanding of the key ingredients of successful community-based family violence prevention programs, generate ideas for promoting community engagement and better mobilisation of local resources, and develop guidelines for effective and culturally appropriate program evaluation.

Students involved in the project: Hannah Aitken, Kurt Attard, Lena Avramidis, Jessica Braude, Daniel Chalak, Anthea Cheng, Thomas Darling, Fred Ho, Kevin Li, Maria Pucella, Cassey Spratt, Kristin Tan, Esabel Thinnakone, Yasmin Zhang.

When Sarah Bowman arrived at the University of NSW, she felt anxious and a little lost. "I was the only student from my high school, Richmond High in Windsor, so I knew no one," Bowman says. "University is such a big place. It's a completely different environment from school where everything is interconnected and in one place."

With the help of a mentor, Bowman soon found her way around campus and made vital contacts and networks, which have helped her find her feet during the first year of her arts/ education degree. The UNSW mentoring program is designed specifically to help those new to university life settle in to the different lifestyle and expectations of university. Peer Mentoring @ UNSW has been running since 2002 and each year about 2000 new students are matched with a mentor who not only helps them to navigate campus and lecture theatres but also builds relationships and communities of support. The mentoring project has an impact on the student learning and teaching experience by quickly building social cohesion, supporting discipline adjustment and providing connection for ongoing encouragement and support beyond the mentoring experience," the director of UNSW counselling and psychological services, Annie Andrews, says. "We've found that first-year students benefit by just asking for a mentor - they feel more confident in their first weeks at uni even if they don't contact their mentor that often. They adjust to the new learning environment more quickly knowing there is someone to ask if they have a concern or a question."
Bowman says she found the mentoring program really useful and has recommended it to friends who are thinking about studying at UNSW.

Sarah's 10 Tips About Campus Life

1. Study is mostly independent as opposed to structured.
2. Your time is self-managed, not managed for you.
3. There will be fewer contact hours.
4. There is a focus on critical and analytical thinking.
5. You have a chance to specialise study in your area of interest.
6. You will meet people from all sorts of backgrounds from across Sydney, Australia and the world.
7. You can pursue hobbies and interests through student clubs and societies. These range from the UN society to the Chocolate Society to the Photo Club.
8. You can get involved with various volunteer groups.
9.  You can help produce student publications and online video channels.
10. You can participate in uni sports and even attend uni games where universities from across Australia compete.

The Diploma of Humanities is a one year full time undergraduate diploma. Upon successful completion of the Diploma, students have the opportunity to attain places in a Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences undergraduate degree. Relevant courses from the Diploma may be credited towards the UNSW degree. This program is not offered at any other university in the greater-Sydney region.

For more information on the Diploma of Humanities click here and to apply click here.

The Deans Equity and Diversity Committee have recently launched report on the the Mid-Career Academic (MCAs) Experience.  This report examines the work experiences of Mid Career Academics (MCAs) in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of New South Wales. Based on in-depth interviews with MCAs in the faculty and a subsequent faculty forum devoted to these issues, the report proposes a set of policy measures designed to both improve the work experience of MCAs in the Faculty and address important, long-term institutional issues such as research output, staff support structures and professional development.

Read the report

Smartphones - mobile phones with features such as email, internet searches and a full keyboard - have been hailed as the consumer technology hit of 2009. More...

Untangling The Net: The Scope of Content Caught By Mandatory Internet Filtering reviews the Australian government's plans for a mandatory internet filter. It examines the nature and scope of content filtered under a mandatory regime, associated public policy implications, and flaws in existing regulatory frameworks.

The report was prepared by leading media public policy specialists and members of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation, Professors Catharine Lumby, Lelia Green, and John Hartley.

The report is an independent study into the scope of content likely to be caught under mandatory internet filtering plans. Its findings suggest that mandatory filtering will put Australia at odds with most other Western liberal democracies who have opted for self or co-regulation.

According to the report, while mandatory internet filtering is framed as a tool to prevent child pornography access, the Government's policy will catch a far broader scope of content.

The authors also argue that it is time to review Australia's complex and inconsistent media content regulation system to take account of the online era.

"The internet is not a medium: it is an entirely new media environment. We need to rethink our flawed and complex system of media content regulation to respond to this new era," said Professor Catharine Lumby, Director of the Journalism and Media Research Centre at UNSW.

According to a consultation paper released by Communications Minister Stephen Conroy, the government will introduce legislation to create a Refused Classification (RC) list.

Legislation will then be introduced to require all internet service providers (ISPs) to mandatorily filter this list. Under the classification guidelines for RC content, there is clear potential for a far wider range of material to be included than child pornography or active incitement to violence.

While the study found clear public policy reasons for the Government to deny access to information that might facilitate access to child pornography or compromise national security, the authors found that sites promoting public health initiatives such as harm minimisation in drug use, sites dealing with contentious political debates and sites designed to give young people an opportunity to discuss sexuality and safe sexual practices, could also be deemed RC.

"Under mandatory filtering, the pool of internet content filtered will greatly increase, making it even more important that we pay attention to the scope of the content caught and the right of the public to know what they are being protected from," said Professor Lelia Green of Edith Cowan University.

Of a more immediate concern are questions about whether the community will have access to information about what is on the blacklist. The report argues that Australia should apply a classification system that carefully balances the risks and opportunities of the online world.

"Australia needs to avoid simply applying our current flawed and inconsistent media content regulation regime to a media landscape that is still emerging. The challenges of this environment are equally an opportunity for our Federal Government to rethink media content regulation and to engage in a wide-ranging public discussion about how we move into the 21st century," said Professor Lumby.

The report presents the findings from a multi-stage study on young carers and identifies a number of issues relevant to policy development.

Download: PDF. To obtain a printed copy of this publication please phone 1800 050 009.

Associate Professor Eileen Baldry, Associate Dean (Education) of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences has been featured in the Sydney Morning Herald's Sydney Magazine special issue, acknowledged in the "Power and Society" category.

Baldry, who was recently awarded the Law and Justice Foundation's 2009 Justice Medal, is best known for her work on prisons - in particular, women in prisons, people with mental illnesses and the plight of prisoners when they are released.

She says better targeting of services could keep many people with mental illnesses out of jail.

"What if instead of using $200 million to build and $50 million every year to run the [new] Nowra prison, that money was ploughed into the surrounding community?" Baldry says in the magazine.

The State Government has decided to introduce the classes as an alternative to religious education.

Ten state primary schools will be part of the pilot program, which will begin in the second term of next year. The classes will be offered to students in years 5 and 6 who do not take scripture classes.

"It's been an overwhelmingly positive response," says Associate Professor Cam, from the School of History and Philosophy. "We've had so many emails, handwritten letters and phone calls and so many people want to volunteer as facilitators for the classes."

"While some of the faith-based groups are worried about a drift away from religious studies, this course would only be for those students who do not already participate in scripture."

Some of the questions to be considered by students include the ethics of hunting elephants for their tusks, exterminating rabbits or testing cosmetics on animals.

"I'm still keen to see a broader study of philosophy introduced into all schools as a part of the curriculum, but this is a great start," he says.

Philosophy for school students is under consideration as part of the revised National Curriculum.

For further background on philosophy in schools, see page 14 of Uniken.

See coverage of the story in the Sydney Morning Herald.

The study provides a framework to guide the implementation of statutory kinship services by the Benevolent Society. The research included two stages, the first reviewed the literature, models and tools exemplifying ‘good', ‘best' or ‘promising' practice in kinship care. The second stage of the study involved four focus groups with kinship carers. The aim of the groups was to obtain the perspectives of kinship carers in relation to a number of specific aspects of kinship care. Read the final report for further information.

In the VC's recent awards for professional, technical and administrative staff, Prue Rheuben, our community development officer at the Waterloo-Redfern Community Development Project, won an award for community engagement. Prue is the person on the ground, representing the School in this long-running project that serves disadvantaged communities in Waterloo-Redfern,South Coogee and Namatjira housing areas. She supervises students from Social Work and other programs undertaking field education and internships throughout the year and Prue is also theSchool's main point of liaison with Housing NSW who partly support the project.

Congratulations Eileen.

President and Vice-Chancellor Fred Hilmer congratulated the 2009 award recipients at a reception last week.

Two new awards were introduced this year:

* Excellence in Environmental Leadership: designed to recognise environmental leadership and sustainable practices
* Excellence in Community Engagement: sponsored by the UNSW Foundation, this award recognises the impact that community engagement activities have had on the work of the University.

2009 Staff Excellence Award Recipients (Professional and Technical Staff) from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Excellence in Environmental Leadership

School of History and Philosophy Administration Team

Excellence in Customer Service - Joint Recipients

* Mr Robert Hend, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
* Mr Paul McKie, Australian Defence Force Academy

2009 UNSW Staff Excellence Award Recipients (All UNSW Staff)

Excellence in Community Engagement - Group Recipients

* Football United Team, Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
* Centre for Energy and Environmental Markets, Australian School of Business and Faculty of Engineering

Excellence in Community Engagement - Individual Recipients

* Associate Professor David Pye, Faculty of Science
* Dr Vaughan Rees, College of Fine Arts
* Prue Rheuben, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Highly Commended

* Paul Brown, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
* Prem Kumar, Faculty of Science
* Annie Whitelaw, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

The annual UNSW Vice-Chancellor's Teaching Awards recognise sustained excellence in teaching and postgraduate research supervision.

Ros will receive her medal at a graduation ceremony in 2010.

The trio will discuss the new global treaty, emissions targets, indigenous issues and funding for developing countries to adapt to climate change.

"Considering that climate change will have the greatest impact on our generation and the next, we need to take youth voices seriously now," said 27-year-old PhD student Declan Kuch.

"Long after Kevin Rudd has left office, we will be picking up the pieces."

Attending the conference with the Australian Youth Climate Change Coalition (AYCC), Declan will be looking to influence the outcomes documents and the policy position of the Australian government.

He is also aiming to establish networks with specialists from developing countries to ensure they get "a fair deal" in the global agreements.

Masters of Policy Studies student George Liepnik will use new media to report news from the conference to over 50,000 young Australians.

"Information on climate change is complex and often difficult to access for young people," said the 22-year old, who is also attending Copenhagen with AYCC.

"We want to be the youth insiders at the negotiations. We will be podcasting, face-booking and tweeting directly from Copenhagen to ensure our government is held accountable."

George stressed the importance of creating a "generation-wide movement" for better climate change policy.

"What we've found is that most young people really care about the issue, but feel really disempowered."

Honours student Claire O'Neill, 23, will conduct research at Copenhagen for her thesis exploring the tensions between the knowledge of indigenous communities and scientists.

"I'm interested in what cultural protocols and coping mechanisms are being used by different indigenous communities to deal with climate change," she said.

Claire, who is a research assistant at UNSW's Climate Change Research Centre, will observe meetings relating to indigenous communities and meet with indigenous representatives.

"Sometimes science takes people out of the equation, even when there is a lot that indigenous communities can contribute to climate change management."

The basis of the award was their sustained work in dealing with environmentally appropriate solutions to building comfort in summer and winter, management of paper and power resource use, and the proper positioning of essential equipment for ventilation.

The awards were presented by the Vice Chancellor Fred Hilmer.

The University of New South Wales hosted Field Teachers from various agencies throughout New South Wales for a Field Education Seminar. The purpose of the Seminar was to acknowledge the important contribution to the Field Education Program that Field Teachers make as well as to provide a professional development opportunity to practitioners in the field. The Seminar included a presentation by Associate Professor Carmel Flaskas entitled, "Practice principles promoting client resilience: Linking research, theory and practice in social work" and a presentation by Gaby Marcus, Director of the Australian Domestic Violence Clearinghouse entitled, "Emerging and current issues in the international literature on Domestic violence: implications for practice". The Seminar was also a wonderful opportunity to acknowledge the important contributions of our Field Teachers who regularly supervise our social work students on their field placements. We were able to present forty Certificates of Acknowledgement to agencies to show our appreciation of them.

Positive results for families and services - Christiane Purcal and Kristy Muir
Indigenous Research - Saul Flaxman
Deprivation and exclusion - Peter Saunders and Melissa Wong
Disability policy - Aaron Bishop
Telecommunications - Tony Eardley

SPRC Newsletter 103: November 2009

The Institute will run from 18-25 January 2010, and will be held in Mathews Building, UNSW. This year, the following courses will be offered:

From 10 am - 1 pm
Classroom-based Research for Language Teachers (Prof David Nunan)
Teaching Speaking Skills (Prof Kathi Bailey)
Scaffolding ESL Learners in the ‘Challenge Zone' (A/Prof. Pauline Gibbons)

From 2 - 5 pm
Digital-Critical Literacies for the 21st Century (Dr Matthew Clarke)
Contemporary Issues in Language Education: Learner Contributions to Language Learning (Dr Eva Bernat)

From 23-25 January*
Assessment for Learning: From Theory to Practice (Prof Chris Davison)*
* Please note that this course follows a different timetable. Please read the Information Booklet before enrolling.

For more information about the Summer Institute, including course information, please click here to download our Information Booklet. If you would like to spread the word, please feel free to download our flier and pass it on to your colleagues.

If you are currently a student of UNSW or would like to use the Summer Institute courses to complete a postgraduate degree, click on this link to download the Information Sheet for Students.

If you would like to enrol in the Summer Institute, please click on this link to access our online payment facility. If you are paying by credit card, please have your credit card handy. Please note that this link is not for the use of current UNSW students.

If you wish to purchase a copy of the book, contact Palgrave Macmillan Publishers Australia Limited.

The Institute will run from 18-23 January 2010, and will be held in Mathews Building, UNSW. This year, the following courses will be offered:

From 10 am - 1 pm
Classroom-based Research for Language Teachers (Prof David Nunan)
Teaching Speaking Skills (Prof Kathi Bailey)
Scaffolding ESL Learners in the ‘Challenge Zone' (A/Prof. Pauline Gibbons)

From 2 - 5 pm
Digital-Critical Literacies for the 21st Century (Dr Matthew Clarke)
Contemporary Issues in Language Education: Learner Contributions to Language Learning (Dr Eva Bernat)

From 23-25 January*
Assessment for Learning: From Theory to Practice (Prof Chris Davison)*
* Please note that this course follows a different timetable. Please read the Information Booklet before enrolling.

For more information about the Summer Institute, including enrollment information, please click here to download our Information Booklet. If you would like to spread the word, please feel free to download our flier and pass it on to your colleagues.

**Please note that Early Bird rates end on Friday, 27 November**

The OEL, based in the School of Education, provides a focus for research and teaching in education leadership for institutions ranging from early childhood to universities. It offers programs and courses to allow leaders to share international research and their own experiences in order to better understand and develop their roles.

"Effective educational leaders do make a difference to student outcomes," said OEL Coordinator Dr Margaret Varady, who joined the University this year after 17 years as principal of Sydney Girls' High School.

The launch program featured a number of keynote speakers:

* Professor Helen Timperley, University of Auckland - Leadership of professional learning
* Professor Colin Evers, UNSW - Researching leadership for improved student outcomes
* Jim McAlpine, President, Secondary Schools Principals Association - School leadership
* Patrick Lee, Manager, NSW Institute of Teachers - Leadership standards

Read more about the program here

Rumour has it Anthony was once a spy.

Intrigued by this tale it's not long before I decide that the reserved, well-spoken, older man sitting in front of me does indeed, have a touch of James Bond about him.

"A spy?" he says incredulously, "It's all true, I give up . . . but now that I've told you I'll have to kill you."

Anthony's version of his life, unembellished by innuendo, goes something like this...

Read more at news@unsw

Download the Executive Summary or the full Final Evaluation Report (Rich Text)

Read full story

These courses may be completed individually as separate professional development courses or completed concurrently as an elective course as part of Contemporary Issues in Educational Leadership contributing to the Graduate Certificate in Educational Leadership or Master of Educational Leadership.

Rather than a twelve week 2 hour course, students will be requested to:

a) Complete a pre-reading reflection Assessment Task prior to the face-to-face seminars in January 2010

b) Attend the four-day course seminars January 2010 from 10am - 1pm and 2pm - 5pm each day.

c) Complete a post-course assessment task.

Dates, topics, and lecturers are as follows:

• 18 January 2010
  National Curriculum and Assessment
  Lecturer: Dr John Bennett

• 19 January 2010
  Leading with Technology in Education
  Lecturer: Ms Terry O'Brien

• 21 January 2010
  School Accountability and Managing Budgets
  Lecturer: Dr Geoff Newcombe

• 22 Jan 2010
  Leading and Informing Improvement: Evaluating Quality and Equity in Stduent Outcomes
  Lecturer: Dr Max Smith

Course coordinator is Dr Margaret Varady. Numbers are limited to 25, and preference will be given to postgraduate students in the Educational Leadership Programs. Expression of interest can be sent to the Coordinator of the Master of Educational Leadership program, Dr Kerry Barnett. The course will be held in the Mathews Building, at the University of New South Wales Kensington campus.

Related Links:

Office of Educational Leadership

2010 Summer Institute on Language Teaching

Graduate Certificate in Educational Leadership

Master of Educational Leadership

Professor Andrew Schultz, a noted composer and head of the School of English, Media and Performing Arts, won the $15,000 Paul Lowin Song Cycle Prize for his recent work To the evening star.

The Jury unanimously agreed that Schultz's work was deserving of the prize describing it as showing "a mastery of technique and form". He was presented with the award at the Sydney Opera House at the weekend.

"The subject of this song cycle is obvious from my choice of diverse but very personal texts by W.B.Yeats and Gerard Manley Hopkins that reflect on the creative inner life," says Professor Schultz.

"The poems move from deep longing in the first song, through whimsy and humour in the second and fourth songs, to fear and regret in the third song, and, finally, to a mix of wonder at the world's beauty and an acceptance of time passing in the final song. It is the final song that sets a text by William Blake which provides the title of the work."

Professor Schultz is best known for three operas - Black River, Going Into Shadows and The Children's Bach. His music also covers chamber, orchestral and other vocal work.

He has published on topics relating to new music and analysis, and is editor of the Biographical Directory of Australian Composers.

The Paul Lowin Prizes reward the pinnacle of achievement in Australian composition and are presented by Perpetual Limited and the Australian Music Centre, under the patronage of Mr Kenneth W Tribe.

Professor Deborah Brennan, one of the country's leading researchers in families and work, early childhood education and community service provision, is the third member of UNSW's Social Policy Research Centre to be given the honour. Professors Bettina Cass and Peter Saunders are also Fellows.

"I am honoured and delighted to have received this recognition from the wider scholarly community," said Professor Brennan, one of 19 academics from around the country elected to the Academy this year.

The Academy is an autonomous non-government organisation devoted to the advancement of knowledge and research in the social sciences.

Fellows of the Academy are elected by their peers on the basis of having achieved a very high level of scholarly distinction and for having made a distinguished contribution to one or more disciplines in the social sciences.

There are close to 500 Fellows of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia.

A snapshot of Australia's young people shows high rates of obesity and mental illness and vulnerability to drug and alcohol abuse.

The report, commissioned by the Federal Government, was written by a team of researchers from the Social Policy Research Centre.

According to The State of Australia's Young People: a report on the social, economic, heath and family lives of young people, one in five teenagers admitted to taking drugs. Binge drinking was also a problem.

"Young people seem to generally feel that taking alcohol is a lot safer, yet they have the highest rates of hospitalisation from alcohol use," lead author, Dr Kristy Muir, told the ABC.

A quarter of all teenagers are overweight or obese and one in four lives with a mental illness, the study found. In addition, one in three sexually active young people report experiencing unwanted sex.

The report was launched by the Minister for Youth, Kate Ellis.

"Most young people are well educated, have close relationships with their families and friends and contribute to society through study, work and volunteering. But the report also shows that there are serious risks to their health, safety and wellbeing," Ms Ellis said.
The full report is at www.youth.gov.au

Professor Bettina Cass, AO., has been invited to the United Nations in New York by the Division for Social Policy and Development of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) to present to an Expert Group Meeting on the theme of Social Integration in early November. Peter Whiteford will be working on the presentation with Bettina.

In recognition of ‘her long standing commitment and work with refugee women and girls', Dr Eileen Pittaway has been invited to share the podium with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and give a presentation at the opening plenary of an intergovernmental meeting at the United Nations Palais in Geneva.

Scientia Professor Peter Saunders has been formally appointed Academic Advisor and Honorary Professor by the China Research Centre on Ageing, an ‘authorized' national research institute established in Beijing in 1989. Peter is the first foreign national to receive such an appointment. In early November Peter is participating as external member of the committee that will be conducting an internal university review of the Department of Social Policy and Social Work at the University of Oxford. Peter was elected President of the Australian Social Policy Association (ASPA). Melissa Roughley was elected Treasurer of the association.

NHMRC grants: Associate Professor Eileen Baldry is part of a team awarded $885k for a project on ‘Social and cultural resilience and emotional well being of Aboriginal mothers in prison', and Professor John de Wit is on a $668k project studying ‘Social norms regarding HIV/STI risk and risk reduction behaviours among men who have sex with men in Australia.'

UNSW is the only Australian university to be ranked in the world's top 20 most productive research institutions in educational psychology in 2003-2008. UNSW was ranked 17th in a global study published in the Contemporary Educational Psychology journal. In the previous survey (1997-2001) UNSW was ranked 25th. The survey ranked Emeritus Professor John Sweller as the 10th most productive researcher in the world in terms of collaborative publications, and 17th for single and first authored publications. Associate Professor Slava Kalyuga was the 10th most productive researcher for single and first authored publications.

Lyn Craig (SPRC), who has been awarded a QEII Fellowship as well as a Discovery grant for ‘The time of our lives: Time equity and the balancing of market and non market production in the modern Australian population'

Discovery Grants
Paul Ayres (Education) et al - Learning human motor skills through instructional animations
Gerard Goggin (JMRC), Haiqing Yu (Languages & Linguistics) et al - Internet history in Australia and the Asia-Pacific
Amanda Kearney (SSIS) et al - Seascapes, sea people and Indigenous knowledge: Maritime heritage at the land/sea interface
George Kouvaros (EMPA) - Robert Frank: Experimentation across film and photography in post-War America
Emery Schubert (EMPA) et al - Redefining conceptions of child and adolescent emotional response to music using time-series analysis
Lisa Trahair (EMPA) et al - Film as philosophy: Understanding cinematic thinking

Linkage Grants
Janet Chan and Jane Bolitho (SSIS) - Restorative justice for victims and serious offenders
Ilan Katz (SPRC), Sarah Maddison and Patrick Dodson (IPDRU) - Where's the evidence? Understanding the use of evidence in Indigenous policy
Gerry Redmond, Peter Whiteford (SPRC) et al - Supporting families: Horizontal and vertical equity in the Australian tax benefit system in historical and comparative perspectives
Peter Saunders (SPRC) - Social disadvantage and economic recession: promoting inclusion and combating deprivation
Xiaoyuan Shang, Karen Fisher (SPRC) et al - Transition to adulthood of young people with disabilities from state care in China

Discovery Projects led by other institutions
Kath Gelber (SSIS) - The Impact of Hate Speech Laws on Public Discourse in Australia (Wollongong)
John Golder (EMPA) et al - Rehearsal without a Director: Rethinking theatre history (Sydney)
Helen Groth (EMPA Future Fellow) - Dreams: A Cultural History, 1840-1940 (Sydney)
Leanne Weber, Claudia Tazreiter (SSIS) et al - Approved Fluid security in the Asia Pacific (Monash)

More than 400 years after falling foul of the Catholic Church with his rejection of the view that the Earth was the centre of the universe, Galileo took on the papacy in a retrial at the Sir John Clancy Auditorium at the University of NSW last night.

The views Galileo held ensured he became one of the more celebrated cases of religious persecution after being examined by the Inquisition and sentenced to prison and penances.

Facing torture, in 1633 Galileo recanted his heretical theory and said that the sun moved around an Earth, which stood still. It is part of folklore that as he was led away from the trial, he muttered: ''And yet, it moves ...''

Last night a high-profile cast including Julian Burnside, QC, Anna Katzman, SC, the former premier, Bob Carr, the author Paul Collins, Monsignor Tony Doherty, broadcaster Geraldine Doogue, philosophy professor Maurice Finocchiaro, and broadcasters Julie McCrossin and Alan Saunders donned academic gowns to represent figures in a retrial. The astronomer-in-charge of the Anglo-Australian Observatory, Fred Watson, was Galileo.

"This is not a re-enactment of the Inquisition hearing. It's a modern-day trial in which we reopen the case," said event creator Peter Slezak, from the faculty of arts and social sciences at the University of NSW. Read more

KEVIN Rudd is nerding it up on Twitter, updating almost 500,000 followers about a couple of new Akubras given to him and Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard. "Julia looked great; I remain a fashion challenge," the Prime Minister admitted earlier this year. More...

See the CRR response to the UNHCR Urban Refugee Policy, released November 2009.

Currently an Associate Professor at the University of NSW, Dr Baldry has made a major contribution over decades to improving access to justice for prisoners and people with mental disability or cognitive impairment in the criminal justice system.

Her work is recognised where it matters, by the government agencies making policy affecting these groups, and by the various organisations providing services to those in need.

The allocation of new Commonwealth and State government funding for homelessness in NSW, for example, reflects greater importance placed on post-release accommodation and support, due in part to Eileen's research that has increased understanding of the link between homelessness and recidivism.

Many community-based organisations like the Community Restorative Centre, which supports prisoners, ex-prisoners and their families, also act on her research findings.

Outside work Dr Baldry has devoted many unpaid hours to leading and supporting voluntary organisations and helping the people affected by criminal justice policy in NSW to have their voices heard in policy debate.

She is the co-founder of the Beyond Bars Alliance, a coalition of church and community groups, academics, activists and committed individuals who believe in finding alternatives to imprisonment.

Dr Baldry's record of achievement says a lot about her strengths as a person.

A colleague explains: "There may be other academics who know as much as she does but none of them is as available as she is ... She's very open, very non-judgmental and incredibly supportive. She respects anyone who'll have a go. She is very giving and empowering of people - perhaps that's her real skill set."

Dr Baldry, a non-lawyer, received her Award from former Chief Justice of Australia, Sir Anthony Mason AC KBE, at a dinner at Parliament House on 1 October 2009.

The Justice Medal is the premier award presented at the annual Justice Awards. It goes to an individual for outstanding achievement in improving access to justice in NSW, particularly for socially and economically disadvantaged people.

DSRC would also like to thank Karen Fisher for her significant contribution as the Acting Deputy Director. Karen was recently awarded the Endeavour Australia Cheung Kong Research Fellowship and is currently a Visiting Fellow at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. She will return to her position as Senior Research Fellow at the SPRC in February.

The prize, named after distinguished politics and media academic, the late Professor Henry Mayer, is awarded annually for the best book on Australian politics or political history published in Australia or overseas.

Sarah is the Acting Deputy Director of the Indigenous Policy and Dialogue Research Unit. She was honoured for her book on the tensions and complexities of Aboriginal politics, Black Politics: Inside the complexity of Aboriginal political culture (2009).

"It is particularly meaningful that the prize was judged by senior academics in my discipline and among such a substantial field," she said.

"The book itself was a huge project. So it is very gratifying it has been so well received."

David, from the Journalism and Media Research Centre, was honoured for his book on the emergence of a new value-based politics in Australia, Beyond Right and Left: New Politics and the Culture Wars (2005).

"Henry was a lovable but infuriating professor," said David, who was an undergraduate politics student of Mayer's at Sydney University in the 1970s.

"He asked awkward questions and avoided easy answers - and that's one of the qualities which I hope I brought to bear when I wrote 'Beyond Right and Left'."

By Ellie Wong

The University won every prize in two divisions and came first in the third division at the 40th Japanese Language Speech Contest.

All nine UNSW students who participated in the event won a prize.

"UNSW does very well in the speech contest every year, but this massive victory is unprecedented," said Chihiro Thomson, Associate Professor of Japanese Studies in the School of Languages and Linguistics.

"As this is the 40th anniversary of the event, a lot of staff members put in extra effort in coaching the students. The students were really excited by the conference we held at UNSW, so it was easy to keep the momentum going.

"It appears that the Rudd Government's effort in Asian language is finally becoming visible. I hope that these kind of events will continue to inspire students.

The NSW Final was hosted by the Japan Foundation and was presided over by the Japanese Consul General in Sydney, Mr Nobuhito Hobo.

Katherine Lam won the Open Beginner Division with her presentation "Learning about Islamic Traditions and Culture", while Joshua Leong took first place in the Open Division for his speech "On the other side of the wall".

Makito Endo won the Background Speaker Division with "Place of Belonging".

Katherine, Joshua and Makito will be representing NSW at the National Final in October.

Annual Report 2008

"The past year, 2008, was an eventful year for the National Centre in HIV Social Research..."

Annual Report of Trends in Behaviour 2009

"This report HIV/AIDS, hepatitis and sexually transmissible infections in Australia: Annual report of trends in behaviour 2009 is the 11th.."

Please join our mailing list to always receive the latest NCHSR reports.

Congratulations Ramona on your achievement.

Melissa Roughley, SPRC Associate Director, was elected as ASPA's Treasurer.

Both staff join five other members from government, non-government and academic sectors on ASPA's Management Committee.

Dr Sarah Maddison and Associate Professor David McKnight have shared the Henry Mayer Trust Prize for Australian Politics.

The prize, named after distinguished politics and media academic, the late Professor Henry Mayer, is awarded annually for the best book on Australian politics or political history published in Australia or overseas.

Sarah is the Acting Deputy Director of the Indigenous Policy and Dialogue Research Unit. She was recognised for her book on the tensions and complexities of Aboriginal politics, Black Politics: Inside the complexity of Aboriginal political culture (2009).

David, from the Journalism and Media Research Centre, was awarded for his book on the emergence of a new value-based politics in Australia, Beyond Right and Left: New Politics and the Culture Wars (2005).

Global leader in educational psychology research

UNSW is the only Australian university to be ranked in the world's top 20 most productive research institutions for education psychology.

UNSW was the 17th most productive research institution from 2003 to 2008, according to a global study published in the Contemporary Educational Psychology journal. In the previous survey (1997-2001) UNSW was ranked 25th.

The survey ranked Emeritus Professor John Sweller as the 10th most productive researcher in the world in terms of collaborative publications, and 17th for single and first authored publications.

Associate Professor Slava Kalyuga was the 10th most productive researcher for single and first authored publications.

http://www.newspaper.unsw.edu.au/text/apptachieve/apptachieve.htm

Eileen Baldry wins 2009 Justice Medal. Dr Baldry has a reputation as an outstanding and extraordinarily engaged academic and activist. For full article, please visit Law and Justice Foundation of New South Wales

ARTS2542 Gods, Heroines, and Heroes in Greek Mythology: 5 - 7 January 2010 and 12 - 14 January 2010

CHIN2310 Along the Silk Road: 22 -24 January 2010 and 29 - 31 January 2010

GENT0404 Gods, Heroines, and Heroes in Greek Mythology: 5 - 7 January 2010 and 12 January 2010

GENT0420 Along the Silk Road: 22 -24 January 2010 and 29 January 2010

HUMS3005 East Asian Values: 18 - 21 January 2010 and 25 - 29 January 2010

We would like to congratulate our researchers in cognitive processes and instructional design in the School of Education for being named as one of the world’s top 20 most productive research institutions for educational psychology in 2003-08 (coming in at No. 17, up from No. 25 in 1997-2001, and the only Australian university on the list!). This is magnificent achievement given the small size of the School, and the very heavy administrative burdens of the last few years. Particular mention needs to be made of the contribution of our Professor Emeritus John Sweller who is ranked as the 10th most productive researcher in the world in terms of collaborative publications (up from 12th in 1991-2002), and to A/Prof Slava Kalyuga who is ranked as the 10th most productive researcher in terms of single and first authored publications. These are magnificent achievements and convincingly demonstrate the international standing of our research programs which attract leading higher degree students from around the globe. At a time when teacher quality is such a key national issue, access to cutting edge research and teaching on core problems in cognitive processes and instructional design is also an invaluable resource for the Australian educational community.

Congratulations to all our staff and higher degree students involved in this research area – your achievements are an inspiration to us all!

This year’s program offers 300 scholarships to talented students wanting to teach science, maths and English and primary or secondary special education. Of these scholarships, 80 are available exclusively for Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander students to train as teachers in primary or any secondary subject area.

The new scholarships offer:

• up to $5,000 annual allowance
• a guaranteed job when you graduate
• $3,000 when you begin permanent teaching
• plus, you may be eligible for the HECS-HELP benefit from the Commonwealth Government.

Applications close on 2 October 2009. For more information, download an info pack today from the DET website.

Our winners in the contest are:

Open Beginner Division

1st Prize: Katherine Lam, "Learning about Islamic traditions and culture"

2nd Prize: Osama Abdul-Nabi, "Palestine, my homeland"

3rd Prize: Melanie (Wing Ting) Lau, "Postive culture shock: Lost in Japan"

Open Division

1st Prize: Joshua Leong, "On the other side of the wall"

2nd Prize: Sooji Hwang, "Ojigi - A new way of communication"

3rd Prize: Sally Chan, "Darwin's wisdom"

Special Prizes:

Ju Hee (Julie) Oh, "I-rasshai-mase!"

Hill Fany (Anthony) Pang, "Things that Japanese horror movies teach"

Background Speaker Division

1st Prize: Makito Endo, "Place of belonging"

Congratulations to all UNSW students who entered the contest, and special thanks to the support and coaching advice that academic members from the Japanese Studies program have provided to the students.

Katherine Lam, Joshua Leong, and Makito Endo will be representing the state of NSW at the National Final, to be held on 10 October 2009. We wish them all the best.

I very much enjoyed my experience at UNSW - I had a fantastic supervisor in Marc Williams, thoroughly appreciated the weekly seminars and took full advantage of the collegial environment with the other PhD students. During the research for my thesis, I was fortunate enough to conduct two months of fieldwork in Sierra Leone and at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre in Ghana - I am very grateful to UNSW for providing the funding for this fieldwork, which was so fundamental to my research.

I have been working at DFAT since the beginning 2008 and it has been a very varied experience! Over the past 18 months I have worked in the following areas:

- APEC - where I worked primarily on human security in the region
- Indonesia - focusing on the elections, counter-terrorism efforts, and the situation in the Papua provinces
- Climate Change (my current section), working on negotiations in the lead up to the December UNFCCC meeting in Copenhagen

I've really enjoyed it, and am particularly looking forward to a posting, which I hope to get by the end of the year.

I do miss the research freedom of academia, and I am still hoping to publish my thesis.

Moya will be presented her prize at the Australian Political Studies Association Annual Conference 2009 at Macquarie University

A/Prof. Alan Watson started his involvement with educational reform projects in Tanzania back in 1998. At the time, his involvement focused on getting young children to complete their primary education. Eleven years later, he is still heavily involved in reforms in the poverty-stricken area of Tanzania through the Katoke Trust. The Sydney-based foundation has been quite active in promoting changes in the East African region, with most of the proceeds going into building schools and establishing scholarships for young students, as well as other projects aimed at alleviating poverty in one of the world’s poorest countries. There has been strong support of the group’s initiatives, with support coming from various organizations such as the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, AusAID and UNSW School of Education.

In 2003, Alan, through his connections with the Katoke Teachers’ College, became involved in developing the scheme to improve teaching in the area. This then led to more support for education both from the community and the government. Currently, the group is sponsoring the building of a secondary school campus in the area, with the help of various organisations and volunteers. This project is already nearing completion, with structures housing the administration and the teachers.

On top of its building projects, the group is also looking at getting support for its scholarship fund. Last year, the UNSW School of Education sponsored 20 students for their secondary school education, and the trust is looking at continuing this success with even more scholarships for the coming years.

In order to accommodate all the projects, the Katoke Trust constantly holds fund-raising events and activities. The next event is a benefit dinner which will be held on 6 November 2009 (Friday) at the Trade Union Club in Gymea. The event will feature silent and live auctions as well as offer a night of good food, engaging company and delightful entertainment. To register your interest, please contact A/Prof Alan Watson via email or call him at (02) 9524 0268.

Croome is the first of a series of high-profile writers confirmed to take part in this new literary event series. Writers for future events include Tom Keneally on 8 October, and David Malouf in 2010.

All events are free, fully catered, and supported by booksellers.

"We hope to foster a literary festival atmosphere," said Stephen Muecke, Professor of Writing at UNSW, "where writers and readers can meet and exchange ideas in a fun and social setting."

Croome, who last year won the richest prize in the history of The Australian/Vogel Literary Award, will speak on the eve of the announcement of this year's winner. Previous winners include Tim Winton, Kate Grenville, Mandy Sayer and Brian Castro.

He will talk about what inspired him to write his novel Document Z -a tale of political espionage at the height of the Cold War, telling the story of the infamous Petrov Affair.

The author will give an insight into how he finally managed to finish the book, despite countless earlier drafts and how his life has changed since winning the $50,000 cash prize and publishing contract with Allen and Unwin.

Andrew's publisher, Annette Barlow, will introduce him.

The NewSouthWriters Seminar Series is sponsored by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and UNSWriting, the Creative Writing Program at UNSW.

What:NewSouthWriters Seminar Series: Andrew Croome in conversation
When:6pm for 6.30pm start, Wednesday 16 September
Where:NewSouth Global Theatre, Robert Webster Building

http://www.unsw.edu.au/news/pad/articles/2009/sep/literary_series.html

Associate Professor Gelber, from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, used the high-profile lecture to define freedom of speech and its limits.

Associate Professor Gelber was selected by the Equal Opportunity Commission of South Australia to deliver the Oration, which is held every two years. Others who have delivered the lecture include barrister Geoffrey Robertson and former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson.

The Mitchell Oration recognises Dame Roma Mitchell's lifelong advocacy for human rights and preventing discrimination. Dame Roma served as the first female judge of the Supreme Court of South Australia and later became the Chair of the Australian Human Rights Commission. A strong advocate of the rights of women and and Indigenous and ethnic Australians, she was the first woman to be appointed Governor of South Australia.

"It's a great honour to deliver this prestigious lecture," said Associate Professor Gelber, who is based in the School of Social Sciences and International Studies. "It's topical to look at freedom of speech today, in the context of anti-terrorism legislation nationally."

In the lecture she was critical of the view that achieving equality is as simple as treating everyone the same way.

"[I am] critical of the view that equality must mean sameness ... real, substantive equality can only be achieved by recognising the concrete circumstances and contexts within which individuals find themselves over human rights," she told the audience.

 http://www.unsw.edu.au/news/pad/articles/2009/jul/kath_gelber.html

Research to protect women's rights in conflict zones and the development of improved cancer drug delivery systems are among the projects being pursued by 15 outstanding UNSW researchers awarded inaugural Future Fellowships.

A total of 200 fellowships were announced today by the Federal Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, Senator Kim Carr, who said the new scheme was designed to keep our top national and international mid-career researchers in Australia.

UNSW's Fellows receive up to $740,000 each over four years, representing close to $11.3 million in funding.

The work they are undertaking covers a broad range of areas, ranging from transforming industrial waste into valuable carbons and building electronic devices using semiconductor nanowires, to imaging genetics in schizophrenia.

Seven Future Fellows are from the Faculty of Science, three from Medicine, two from Engineering and Arts and Social Sciences and one from Law. Three will join UNSW from other Australian institutions and two come from international institutions.

Associate Professor Louise Chappell's project will strengthen the work of the International Criminal Court on the protection of women's rights in conflict and post-conflict situations.

Improved cancer treatment through more targeted drug delivery is the aim of A/Professor Martina Stenzel's work in macromolecular chemistry. Based in the Faculty of Engineering, she is developing drug-loaded nanocarriers to target tumors without affecting healthy tissue.

Professor Justin Gooding's research into electrodes will enhance the performance of implantable devices such as pacemakers, bionic eyes, cochlear implants and biosensors. Based in the Faculty of Science, Professor Gooding was recently awarded a Eureka Prize for Scientific Research.

Read the full list of UNSW's projects at the Australian Research Council website.

"Congratulations to our successful Future Fellows, who represent many of UNSW's leading mid-career researchers," said Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor Les Field.

"It is great recognition for their work and a strong result for the University, showcasing the depth of our research excellence."

 http://www.unsw.edu.au/news/pad/articles/2009/sep/future_fellows.html

Despite the decline in hepatitis C infection rates overall, prevalence remains high among injecting drug users across Australia and the burden of advanced liver disease continues to grow.

The number of new HIV diagnoses has plateaued over the past three years at about 1,000 cases annually.

The report also shows that chlamydia continues to be the most frequently reported sexually transmitted infection, rising 10 percent on last year's figures.

If left untreated, chlamydia can lead to eptopic pregnancy and infertility.

"This could be due to increases in testing but chlamydia continues to affect young people having unprotected sex," said Associate Professor David Wilson, head of the Surveillance and Evaluation Program for Public Health at the National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research.

Those most at risk are those between 15 and 25 years of age.

Other findings in research reports include:

More than 40 percent of young people who attended music festivals in Sydney, Melbourne and the Gold Coast had been offered drugs to inject or had a partner or friend who injected drugs.
HIV infection among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was attributed to injecting drug use in 22 percent of cases over the past five years - a result which is different from the non-Indigenous community.
There has been an epidemic of infectious syphilis in men having sex with men over the past five years

For the full report on HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections, go to the National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research website.

http://www.unsw.edu.au/news/pad/articles/2009/sep/HIV_conference.html

The University of NSW lecturer cautioned against taking the moral high ground in the Della Bosca incident. More...

A new report calls for culturally-appropriate housing for women and their children to help prevent these women being sent back to jail.

"Another reason we are focusing on supporting Aboriginal women with children is to address intergenerational imprisonment," says the report's author, Associate Professor Eileen Baldry from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences .

"If an Indigenous child has a parent in jail, there's a higher likelihood that they will also go to jail. A vicious cycle is created," she says.

Previous research shows that upon release Aboriginal women have higher rates of social disadvantage, less support and are more likely to return to prison.

"There is a disconnection between the needs of Aboriginal women with dependent children leaving prison and the style and availability of current services," says Professor Baldry from the School of Social Sciences and International Studies.

The report also suggests that the re-integration of the women into life outside of prison needs to be guided by the women's needs.

"The service needs to start the minute they go into prison," says Professor Baldry. "This service needs to have a seamless connection between prison and the community support agency where women and their children can be supported to build positive futures."

Professor Baldry's report Aboriginal Women and Dependent Children Leaving Prison Needs Analysis was funded by Homelessness NSW. The report was launched by NSW Community Services Minister Kevin Greene.

Sir William used the occasion to label the Federal Government's actions in the Northern Territory an "embarrassment", saying he hoped the word "intervention" would be removed from the language in any discussion of Indigenous issues.

Sir William was applauded for his speech in which he called for full Aboriginal participation in any policy directed at Indigenous people.

A long-standing advocate for meaningful reconciliation, Sir William has often spoken of his regret that it was not achieved by the start of the new century.

Sir William Deane called the Northern Territory intervention an "embarrassment".

Professor Dodson, the Director of the Unit and Professor of Indigenous Policy, told a capacity audience at UNSW's John Niland Scientia Building it was a paradox that, despite the increasing methods of communication, Indigenous peoples' voices are still not being heard.

"People in remote communities are still subject to decisions made in the southern capitals," he said.

Professor Dodson said a national dialogue - a research program he is leading as part of the Unit - is the only way to move forward.

"We are a nation trapped by our history and paralysed by our failure to imagine any relationship with First Peoples other than assimiliation, whatever its guise," Professor Dodson said earlier in an opinion piece in the Sydney Morning Herald.

He argued that we need to move away from a dysfunctional dialogue which has left the majority of people "confused and disengaged".

Professor Dodson's public lecture was presented by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences as part of the So, What? Lecture series.

http://www.unsw.edu.au/news/pad/articles/2009/aug/Indig_Policy_Dialogue_Unit.html

"My involvement in the program involved implementing an engaging out of school program over the mid year holiday period. A time when service provision is at a low and petty crime is at a high. The program ran 5 days a week and involved working with young Aboriginal children between the ages of 4-22 years old."

"What I took from this experience was an amazing insight into the beauty of Aboriginal culture’. I feel rather privledged to have had the opportunity to develop such strong friendships and ties with people from community. The most important things I learnt were achieved under the most informal of settings, outside of program hours. A memorable experience included a late night fire where we cooked kangaroo and ‘talked stories."

"I am often engaging with Aboriginal young people through my work and I hope that what I have learnt and experienced over thisplacement furthers my capacity to do this effectively. My involvement with Linkz will take me back to the Northern Territory over the coming summer break with a team of volunteers working on a similar community specific program."

The University's Korea Australasia Research Centre will lead six other institutions in developing the initiative, which has been awarded almost half a million dollars.

UNSW has one of the largest Korean studies programs in the country.

The project Towards the Establishment of a Centre of Excellence for Korean Language and Studies Education and Research is in line with the Federal Government's aim to increase the number of Australians studying Asian languages and culture.

"I would like to see more students become interested in undertaking post-beginners level Korean language courses in schools and universities," says the leader of the project Dr Gi-Hyun Shin, from the School of Languages and Linguistics in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

"I would also like to see more students at schools become systematically exposed to Korean affairs, become intellectually interested in Korea, and undertake a Korean Studies major when they get to universities," he says.

The project includes a series of workshops and an analysis of current teaching materials.

The partners are Seoul National University, Curtin University of Australia, Australian National University, Asia-Pacific Association for Computer-Assisted Language Learning, Korean Language Teachers Association and Korean Studies Association of Australasia.

This was one of seven projects sharing in $2.75 million to boost Asian languages and cultures, announced by the Federal Government.

http://www.unsw.edu.au/news/pad/articles/2009/aug/korean_studies.html

UNSW is partnering with SJTU in establishing the Institute, which will facilitate student exchanges and expand opportunities for multi-disciplinary research and Chinese studies, including advanced Chinese language training.

Delivering the inaugural Confucius Institute Guest Lecture at the official opening, Premier Rees traced the long history of China's links with Australia, and in particular with NSW, which hosts more than 50,000 Chinese students and attracted 350,000 Chinese visitors last year.

Describing SJTU as "a distinguished Chinese partner for UNSW", the Premier said the collaboration facilitated by the Confucius Institute would advance important areas of research.

Mr Hawke, who played a watershed role in Australia's engagement with China in the 1980s, spoke passionately about the importance of the relationship and described as "profoundly worthy" the aims of the new Institute in building academic, cultural and business links to China.

"It is profoundly in our interests that we in this country should understand in an informed and unprejudiced way as much as we possibly can about China: its people, their culture and their incredible economic transformation," the former Prime Minister said.

Mr Hawke also praised UNSW's "pre-eminence" in Chinese studies and academic and research engagement with China.

Other speakers at the gala event included UNSW Vice-Chancellor Professor Fred Hilmer, Confucius Institute Director Associate Professor Hans Hendrischke, Chinese Consul General Hu Shan and SJTU Deputy President Professor Su Ming.

A worldwide network of Confucius Institutes is linking Chinese universities to a growing number of Western universities. SJTU is one of China's oldest and most influential tertiary institutions.

UNSW hosts Australia's largest Chinese language program. The Confucius Institute will assist in greatly expanding cultural, scientific and commercial links between Australia and China, by offering courses within University degrees and directly to the public.

The benefits of collaboration were starkly illustrated during last year's devastating Sichuan earthquake when UNSW satellite imaging experts provided vital technical data to help the Chinese Earthquake Authority direct rescue teams and predict aftershocks.

http://www.unsw.edu.au/news/pad/articles/2009/aug/confucius_institute.html

The researchers are looking for male clients and female sex workers who live in NSW to complete a questionnaire and/or do in-depth interviews. Anonymity is assured.

"Overseas research indicates that men who pay for sex are married, have money and travel a lot," says criminologist Philip Birch, from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences who is leading the research.

"It's probably similar here, but there really is no stereotype. They are typically in their 30s to late 50s," he says.

Until now, research in this area has relied heavily on sex workers, rather than focusing on the clients.

The project is being undertaken in partnership with the Sex Workers Outreach Project (SWOP), a health and safety organisation which supports the NSW sex industry. SWOP is a division of ACON, one of NSW's leading community-based HIV/AIDS organisations.

"Understanding the needs of clients will be extremely helpful in maintaining our successful response to preventing the transmission of HIV and other sexually transmissible infections in the NSW sex industry," says SWOP Manager Rachel Sandford.

"We want to find out whether men are going to brothels, private workers or street-based workers and why they are using these services - it might be for the thrill or for the variety of sex," says Mr Birch, who is based in the School of Social Sciences and International Studies.

"We hope the work breaks down stereotypes about men who visit sex workers. It will give them a voice," he says. "We also want to increase the safety of sex workers and the sexual health of clients."

http://www.unsw.edu.au/news/pad/articles/2009/jul/men_pay_sex.html

Dr Sarah Maddison, the Senior Associate Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, will travel to the US and Canada next year to examine the successful Indigenous representation in those countries.

Australia has not had a national Indigenous representative body since the abolition of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) in 2004.

"In Australia we are about to embark on our fourth attempt at a national Indigenous body. Attempts so far have not been sustained and that's added to the marginalisation of Indigenous people," said Dr Maddison, who is the Acting Deputy Director of the Indigenous Policy and Dialogue Unit.

Dr Maddison is looking at the methods of choosing representation, conflict resolution and the structure of the National Congress of American Indians and Canada's Assembly of First Nations.

"My hunch is that the reasons that these bodies have worked is because they are independent from government," she said.

"The question for Australia is: can we create a national body that has the support of government, but that government will keep its hands off?"

Dr Maddison is one of 29 people to be awarded Fellowships in NSW. The Fellowships are valued at $25,000 each.

The Churchill Trust, which provides the annual Fellowships, was established as one of war-time British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill's last requests.

http://www.unsw.edu.au/news/pad/articles/2009/jul/Sarah_Maddison.html

The theme of the journal is the impacts of 50 Years of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act in Northeast India. Northeast India is one of South Asia’s most contested spaces. It shares borders with five countries and is only connected to the rest of India by a narrow tract of land. Contestation has taken multiple forms, from armed opposition to the Indian state to violence against migrants, from movements for separate federal states and autonomous units to struggles to control black market trade, from protests against extractive industries to demands for more funds from the central government. In this context the Armed Forces Special Powers Act has been in place for over five decades and has had a major impact on all aspects of human society in the region. The Act grants the armed forces impunity for their actions in the region and prevents any case being made against human rights abuses by the armed forces and paramilitary. It also makes protest against the Act and very difficult. Despite widespread condemnation from within India and from global human rights organisations and the United Nations, the Act remains in place. For the authors featured in this issue the Act is far more than a legal framework providing impunity for members of the armed forces engaged in the Northeast. The act enforces a 'state of exception' which allows democracy to be permanently suspended and the peoples of the region to be under permanent surveillance. The papers in the special issue deal with this in different ways and from different disciplinary backgrounds.

The magazine is aimed at a broad readership with an interest in human rights. It also provides an opportunity for student and professional artists, exploring human rights and political concerns, to publish their work.

The theme of this edition of the Human Rights Defender is climate change and human rights. This edition discusses these issues both in the context of climate change as a regional issue and its impact on particular human rights. Articles adopting a regional focus consider climate change impacts in the United States, Australia, Nepal, the Arctic and the Pacific. The potential of climate change to adversely impact a number of human rights is generally acknowledged and this issue focuses on the right to life, food, water, health and housing and the rights of indigenous peoples. Developments in climate change litigation are also canvassed. The last article in this edition is a stand alone piece on child protection and deportation in the context of Australian immigration.

Thirty years ago there were 260 Yanyuwa speakers, now there are only a handful.

"In close consultation with the community, Amanda Kearney and a Monash colleague, Dr John Bradley, decided to conserve the Yanyuwa language by producing a series of short digital animations. The animations are based on traditional Yanyuwa stories, or songlines, that provide a title deed to country."

"The animations will teach the younger generations about their culture, their country, the ecology and geopgrahy of the region.....Kearney hopes the animations will become part of the curriculum for teaching Yanyuwa and other Indigenous youth throughout Australia."

Below are some images from the animations kindly supplied by Amanda.

.

Around 600 delegates are attending the joint conference of the Japanese Studies Association of Australia and the International Conference on Japanese Language Education.

The Governor of NSW, Professor Marie Bashir and the Ambassador of Japan, Mr Takaaki Kojima, opened the conference on Monday at the Art Gallery of NSW. The sessions are held at UNSW until Thursday (16 July).

The theme is "Bridging the gap between Japanese language and Japanese studies".

One of the keynote speakers is the most prominent scholar in language education and politics in Australia, Professor Joseph Lo Bianco (Melbourne University), who will give an address "Japanese in Australia: A Return of the Good Times?"

Other presentations include a discussion on girls and self-image "Cakes, crepes, parfait and the ideal girl", "Locating Lolitas: Gothic and Lolita fashion as identity play and symbolic resistance" and a panel discussion on religion, culture and philosophy.

Meanwhile, the conference organiser, Associate Professor Chihiro Thomson, has been given an award by the Australian Embassy in Japan.

The award recognises her book on Japanese language education research and practice in Australia.

For more information on the conference, go to the JSAA website.

The event is co-hosted by UNSW and the University of Sydney.

http://www.unsw.edu.au/news/pad/articles/2009/jul/japan_conference.html

One hundred and fifty students enrolled in the pre-university program, the largest intake in the eight year history of the School.

The students, from years 10, 11 and 12, were welcomed to the University by Aboriginal activist and UNSW Professor Pat Dodson.

This year, the Nura Gili Indigenous Programs Centre received more than 500 applications for the residential school, which prepares Indigenous pupils from across Australia for tertiary study.

Associate Professor Sue Green, Nura Gili Director, believes the school not only encourages students to consider tertiary education but provides them with the skills and support necessary to complete their university education.

"Our Indigenous graduation rates are almost on a par with non-Indigenous students," said Green. "The strength of our preparatory programs, combined with the ongoing support provided to our Indigenous students, are essential to achieving this."

Students travelled from remote and rural areas across Australia to attend the Winter School where they were introduced to their chosen discipline: Social Work, Education, Medicine, Engineering, Law, Architecture and Design, Commerce and Economics or Visual Arts and Performing Arts.

Zana Sampton, 17, travelled from Townsville for the third year running to attend the program.

"I really want to be a teacher, so I study education every time I come. The Winter School has given me the confidence to apply for university," said Zana.

Global financial firm, UBS, a founding partner of Nura Gili, has invested $1 million over four years to support the preparatory courses.

http://www.unsw.edu.au/news/pad/articles/2009/jul/Winter_School.html

Pictured from left to right are: Pann Pann Chung (Honours student), Kana Okada (MA student), A/Prof Chihiro Thomson, and Kaori Shimasaki (Exchange student from Tohoku University).

Dark is perhaps best known as the author of the historical work The Timeless Land, but is also a noted novelist.

Dr Helen O'Reilly, who is a relative of Dark's, has recently submitted her PhD thesis at the age of 75.

The work, which is based in part on a collection of correspondence that was entrusted to her 30 years ago, goes some way to explain the unhappy marriages and sexual abuse which appear in Dark's early novels.

"Eleanor Dark's over-riding themes are time and memory," says Dr O'Reilly. "Time informs the structure of her novels, she juxtaposes past and present. Memory in all its aspects - personal, cultural and racial - dominates both her contemporary novels and The Timeless Land trilogy."

The letters outlined a long-standing fight between the late author's father (Dowell O'Reilly), his sister Marion and her husband, A.B. Piddington. The correspondence reveals accusations that Dowell abused his first wife (Eleanor Dark's mother) and was unfaithful to her.

"This work is highly significant," observes Dr Elizabeth McMahon, from the School of English Media and Performing Arts, who supervised Dr O'Reilly's thesis. "It changes the way we will read Dark's fiction."

Dr O'Reilly completed the thesis against the odds, having survived breast cancer mid-way through writing. The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences gave a small grant for editing assistance following her illness and the Student Equity and Disabilities Unit provided funding for typing up the final drafts.

http://www.unsw.edu.au/news/pad/articles/2009/jun/Helen_Oreilly.html

First, we would like to congratulate Jae Yup Jung, a third-year PhD student who will soon be submitting his thesis, for winning The Neil Andrew Johnson Award, which is given for excellence in postgraduate research in the area of educational administration. Jae’s research, which is an interdisciplinary study undertaken jointly in the School of Education and the Australian School of Business, investigates the roles of culture and motivation on the vocational decisions made by senior high school students. The research draws upon existing literature in the fields of motivation, culture, decision-making and vocational/career decision-making, and uses both quantitative (e.g., structural equation modeling) and qualitative research methods. The major outcome of the research is the introduction of a new empirically-supported model that may be used by counsellors, psychologists, educators and parents to aid/guide the vocational decisions of senior high school students.

On top of his research, Jae is on the Leadership Committee of FINE (Forum for International Networking in Education), a network of doctoral education students from Universitas 21 institutions.

The School also commends Amina Youssef, a recent graduate who was awarded the University Medal for her Honours thesis on cognitive load theory. Her Honours research looked into the effectiveness of animation in teaching economics, and the different methods teachers can employ to teach economic concepts. Amina is currently continuing her research in cognitive load theory at PhD level with A/Prof. Paul Ayres. The study looks at goal-free learning and whether it is more effective than conventional methods of problem solving. The end goal of her current research is to clarify the use of brainstorming as a general problem solving technique. This research aims to analyse the way students learn and contribute to information regarding teacher behaviours in the classroom.

On top of her research, Amina is also tutoring in Educational Psychology and Social Perspectives in Education.

Lastly, we would like to extend our warmest welcome and congratulations to Angela Smith, who was recently awarded the St. George Students Association Postgraduate Scholarship in Education Studies. Angela, who is also working in cognitive load theory with A/Prof. Ayres, aims to use it to ascertain how instructional design may be manipulated to optimise working memory in learners with chronic pain. The goal of this research is to possibly influence and affect public policy in assisting people with chronic pain.

On behalf of all the staff and students at the School of Education, we congratulate you all on your achievements and we hope that you will continue to do us proud! Kudos to you all!

If you are interested in any of these courses, click on the link below to read the course descriptions.

• Assessment for Learning: From Theory to Practice
• Classroom-Based Research for Language Teachers
• Contemporary Issues in Educational Leadership
• Contemporary Issues in Language Education
• Culture, Communication and the Curriculum
• Developing a Performance-Based Culture
• Digital Critical Literacies for the 21st Century
• Educational Policy: Theory and Practice
• Human Resource Management in Education
• Language and Learning: Sociocultural Perspectives
• Perspectives on Higher Education
• School-Based Management and Accountabilit
• Specialist Study in Education
• Workplace Leadership Development Project

Course Descriptions

Assessment for Learning: From Theory to Practice

Prof. Chris Davison (offered in Summer 2010 only)

This course explores the underlying philosophy and rationale for assessment for learning, and the key approaches and problems in the implementation of such classroom-based assessment, including the implications for the role of the teacher-as-assessor, the nature of effective feedback, how to involve students in self and peer assessment, and the conflicts between such assessment systems and those emphasizing large scale testing for student selection and/or school accountability. This course aims to provide teachers and other educational professionals with an understanding of the key assumptions underlying assessment for learning in education locally and internationally and the key approaches to the assessment for learning that are suitable for their own educational context. (back to top)

Classroom-based Research for Language Teachers

Prof David Nunan (offered in Summer 2010 only)

This course will introduce students to a range of classroom-based research approaches, methods and techniques in language education and to provide them with the opportunity to explore small-scale problems in language assessment, teaching and learning in their own teaching context. It aims to build up students’ knowledge and skills in research methodology and to broaden the range of offerings for language teachers, particularly important given the projected growth in this area. The course also provides a way for students to study the problems and issues that most concern them in a systematic and informed way. Topics include the selection and justification of a research problem, different approaches, methods and techniques used in classroom-based research in language education, the process of data collection and analysis, the role of the teacher-researcher, and common issues and concerns. (back to top)

Contemporary Issues in Educational Leadership

Dr. Margaret Varady - Coordinator (offered in Summer 2010)

Guest lecturers: Dr John Bennett, Ms Terry O'Brien, Dr Max Smith, Dr Geoff Newcombe

This is a new elective course that has been developed as part of the overall strengthening and upgrading of the Master of Educational Leadership in the School of Education and the introduction of the Graduate Certificate in Educational Leadership. Leaders of educational organisations are constantly confronted with many different challenges, including new technologies, national curriculum and assessment, improvement of student outcomes and development of professional learning as well as the usual legal and financial matters. This course is designed to provide aspiring and current leaders with the current theory, research and practice with respect to various school issues. (back to top)

Contemporary Issues in Language Education

Dr. Eva Bernat (offered in Summer and Semester 1, 2010)

This course will introduce students to key debates and issues in foreign and second language education in Australia and internationally through the study of a range of social, cultural, political, and pedagogical aspects of language education. Students will examine contemporary local and global issues, such as the rise of English as a lingua franca and its implications for language education, the increasing demand for Asian literacy, the debates over native/non-native speakerism, and various pedagogical issues related to language teaching and learning in different educational contexts locally and internationally. (back to top)

Culture, Communication and the Curriculum

Dr Eva Bernat (offered in Semster 2, 2010)

This course considers the relationship between culture, communication and the curriculum in a range of educational contexts. It focuses on diverse cultural conceptualizations of effective teaching as underpinned by various epistemological beliefs, attitudes and values. Conceptions of cross-cultural communication, identity, socialization, notions of effort and ability, explicit/implicit instruction, and achievement are examined in relation to a range of classroom settings. The course design ensures that conceptual, theoretical and practical themes are contextualised and critically applied to contemporary global contexts contributing to an inclusive curriculum. The use of case studies throughout the course ensures that students will be introduced to a range of different educational contexts. (back to top)

Developing a Performance-Based Culture

Dr Margaret Varady (offered in Semester 1, 2010)

Governments and education communities are strongly focused on developing systems to evaluate teacher and student performances in education organisations. The proposed course responds to the demand from aspiring and practicing educational leaders for access to the latest theory, policy, research and practice in performance management and development systems. The focus of this course is on understanding the relationships between culture and student outcomes and investigating the role of a leader in developing a performance based culture in the educational context. Key concepts in performance management are defined. Various performance management and development systems used nationally and globally in all organisations will be investigated, compared and evaluated. The challenges involved in the development of performance management systems will be considered. Comparisons of individual and team performance management systems will be made. Students will develop their own informed theoretical model for an effective performance management and development system. The aim of course is to assist aspiring and practicing educational leaders to acquire an understanding of relevant theory, research and practice in performance management and development systems and apply this understanding to the development of effective systems of performance management in their own professional context. (back to top)

Digital Critical Literacies for the 21st Century

Dr Matthew Clarke (offered in Summer 2010 only)

This course will assist students in re-envisioning their literacy praxis by incorporating digital technologies, multimodal textual forms and popular cultural texts into the classroom, whilst also examining strategies to promote socially and critically responsive literacy, so as to provide effective and relevant preparation for the literacy demands of the 21st century. This course will enable the students to examine the impact of digital technologies and media convergence on the nature of literacy practices in the 21st century and to consider the implications of these changes for effective literacy education in schools. This course will also help them explore the nature and affordances of new literacy practices and collaborate with peers in designing pedagogical approaches and practical classroom strategies that take account of the changing nature of literacy. (back to top)

Educational Policy: Theory and Practice

Michael Michell (offered in Semester 1, 2010)

Offers deep insight into the political nature of our educational institutions. The implications of this research are of great benefit to educational administrators as well as students of educational management and organizations. Explores the relationship between theory and practice with direct reference to the political nature of policy making and policy implementation. Critically reviews the ideological implications of the power of political play in educational policy and draws upon the work on theorists who have examined the relationship between knowledge and power. (back to top)

Human Resources Management in Education

Prof Stephen Marshall (offered in Semester 2, 2010)

The proposed course is intended to complement the core courses in the Master of Educational Leadership program by providing a contextually relevant exploration of the issues and challenges of leading and managing staff in schools and higher education institutions. This course will familiarise participants with current theory and practice in Human Resource Management (HRM); the particular issues and challenges faced by educational/academic leaders and managers; and provide opportunities for participants to develop and evaluate strategies to address these issues. Specific topics to be considered will include work design; recruiting, selecting and retaining staff; staff and career development; and the management of staff diversity, performance and rewards. (back to top)

Language and Learning: Socio-cultural Perspectives

Michael Michell (offered in Semester 2, 2010)

This course examines school language and literacy learning and pedagogy from socio-cultural and activity theory perspectives. The course also considers recent research applying related understandings of communities of disciplinary practice, learning ecologies, scaffolding and rich tasks, as well as learner engagement, disposition and identity, to inform classroom task and program design that promotes socially inclusive and intellectually challenging learning and development. By providing productive conceptual and procedural tools for practitioner inquiry and action, the course offers teachers a systematic means of integrating instructional theory and practice in classrooms and of transforming knowledge practice necessary for professional renewal and pedagogic innovation. Currently, no teacher education courses with a focus on socio-cultural theory are offered at universities in NSW. Introduction of a course based on this perspective will enable NSW teachers and educators to access this productive international research tradition and will contribute to developing a socio-cultural research agenda in Australia. (back to top)

Perspectives on Higher Education

Ms Jan McLean (offered in Semester 1, 2010)

This course is designed to support research candidates to explore and critique their chosen area of research interest by locating it in the context of key issues and approaches in higher education and viewing it from a diversity of perspectives, and from this to develop their research proposal. Through this course, candidates will develop and refine their research question and begin the development of their research proposals, including their rationale, through an ongoing process of self and peer review. The course will explore key perspectives that are relevant to researchers and practitioners, (including those who teach, manage and lead) in higher education through focusing on context and change processes, contemporary issues, emerging trends, epistemological and methodological approaches and implications and future directions. It will also explore the ways in which research theses are structured in the humanities and social sciences and provide the opportunity for students to consider the overall structure and purpose of their thesis. (back to top)

School-Based Management and Accountability

Dr. Kerry Barnett, Prof. Colin Evers & Dr. Margaret Varady (offered in Semester 1, 2010)

This is a new elective course that has been developed as part of an overall strengthening and upgrading of the Masters of Educational Leadership degree following the creation of the Office of Educational Leadership within the School of Education. This course provides a systematic study of the theory and practice of School Based Management (SBM), its background and its most important features. It will be primarily concerned with suggesting ways in which SBM may be interpreted and applied so as to bring about improvement in schools, particularly the improvement of student learning outcomes. Central to this focus is the policy framework of school and professional autonomy in the context of broader requirements for accountability. The course also examines the nature of leadership within this framework. The intention of the course is to provide students with a detailed critical understanding of the origins and practice of site-based, or school-based, management as venues for the exercise of educational leadership and administration. (back to top)

Specialist Study in Education

This course is being offered to provide advanced students in the Master of Education and Master of Educational Leadership with an opportunity to undertake specialist study in a specific area of education of their choice. The course will also enable students to develop a deeper reflective approach to education and give them a foundation in working autonomously while under supervision. The course will complement the existing option of undertaking a Research Project which provides students with the opportunity to do a small scale classroom or school-based research project on a topic of their choice. Note: Students must contact the relevant MEd or MEd Lead Cooridnator prior to enrolment . (back to top)

Workplace Leadership Development Project

This course provides an opportunity to enhance understanding of educational leadership theory, research and practice through fieldwork. The students will undergo on-the-job administrative training for a specified period under the joint supervision of a practising educational administrator and the Coordinator of the Master of Educational Leadership course. Students are required to observe and interview a successful educational leader to provide insight on the various styles, skills, and experiences that educational leaders utilise in order to address complex issues related to educational organisations. Students are required to attend a two-hour briefing seminar at the beginning of the course, a six-hour research methodology seminar prior to fieldwork and a two-hour seminar at the end of the course at which students will present findings from the field. A written report is also required on completion. Note: Placements are available to students depending on availability of suitable locations, as well as the student’s interest and needs. Students must contact MEdLead Coordinator prior to enrolment.(back to top)

Professor Colin Evers, who joined the School of Education recently, is offering Philosophical Issues in Education (EDST5201). This course is essential for those wishing to understand the bases for educational policy and procedures, as well as engage in philosophical understanding of educational principles. This postgraduate course aims to address the philosophical views that underlie educational practices and debates. It examines topics such as aims in education, the ideal of an educated person, neutrality and indoctrination in teaching, authority relations in schooling, curriculum construction, intelligence testing, learning and understanding, and other topics, in order to develop philosophical competence and knowledge. There will also be an in-depth examination of educational theories and theorists.

Prior to his appointment in UNSW, Professor Evers was with the University of Hong Kong. His areas of interest are in administrative theory, educational leadership, philosophy of education, and research methodologies.

Click here to read more about this publication.

Minister Assisting the Premier on the Arts, Virginia Judge MP said the scholarship will further Ms Healey's professional development and assist her work in supporting the next generation of dancers in New South Wales.

"Ms Healey's body of work and proposed use of the scholarship reflects the significance of the Scholarship, and celebrates the legacy of the late Sir Robert Helpmann."

Ms Healey will use the scholarship to undertake professional development in Europe, including workshops, research of dance on film and establishing touring networks.

She will then return to mentor two NSW artists, Lisa Griffith and Rachelle Hickson, and collaborate with acclaimed jazz composer, Mike Nock to research and develop a new dance work as well as focusing on skills development for film.

Ms Healey has extensive experience as a dance artist. As a founding member of Danceworks in Melbourne, she performed and choreographed with the company from 1983-1988. During the 1990s, Ms Healey created works for many dance companies in Australia and produced dance pieces in collaboration with other cultural organizations, including the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the Victorian Arts Centre and Aichi Arts Centre in Japan. As Artistic Director of Vis-à-Vis Dance Canberra (1993-95) and the Sue Healey Company from 2002, she has toured the United States, United Kingdom, China, Japan and New Zealand.

A committed educator, Ms Healey lectures in dance and regularly teaches at the School of English, Media and Performing Arts at the University of NSW, where she is currently a Visiting Fellow. Ms Healey also produces dance on film with recent films being broadcast on ABC television. Her film Will Time Tell? won Best Dance Film at the 2008 Australian Dance Awards. Currently she is working on a new dance film work Reading the Body.

The biennial Scholarship commemorates one of Australia's most important dancers and choreographers, the late Sir Robert Helpmann (1909-1986), whose career on stage, film and television spanned almost 60 years.

Watch one of Sue Healey's latest works 'The Curiosities'

Starting Semester 1, 2010, the following methods may be available to qualified students:

1. Aboriginal Studies

This course is designed to enable students to teach Aboriginal Studies in NSW Secondary Schools. The course will provide a knowledge base underpinning the principles and practices of teaching and learning Aboriginal history, social and cultural disciplines, models of pedagogy for teaching and assessing Aboriginal Studies, and ways of differentiating curriculum to meet the diverse needs of students in the Aboriginal Studies classroom.

2. Business Studies

This course prepares student teachers for the teaching of Business Studies in secondary schools in NSW. During the course, students will develop their knowledge of the New South Wales syllabus documents for stages 5 and 6. Lectures, tutorials and assignments will cover a variety of approaches to teaching and learning in the Business Studies classroom. Emphasis will be given to literacy and language learning for all students, the reading and writing process, visual literacy and the various uses of Information and Communication Technologies in the Business Studies classroom.

3. Korean

This course prepares student teachers for the teaching of Korean in secondary schools in NSW. During the course students will develop their knowledge of the New South Wales syllabus documents for stages 4, 5 and 6 and will become familiar with the theory that underpins second language acquisition and the elements of Quality Teaching. Emphasis is given to developing skills in planning and executing learning experiences which will engage all students, incorporating intercultural language teaching, literacy and numeracy strategies, assessment of and for learning, and Information and Communications Technologies. Students will demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of the NSW Professional Teaching Standards for Graduate teachers and the professional standards for accomplished teaching of languages and cultures.

4. Economics

This course prepares student teachers for the teaching of Economics in secondary schools in NSW. During the course, students will develop their knowledge of the New South Wales syllabus documents for stages 5 and 6. Lectures, tutorials and assignments will cover a variety of approaches to teaching and learning in the Economics classroom. Emphasis will be given to literacy and language learning for all students, the reading and writing process, visual literacy and the various uses of Information and Communication Technologies in the Economics classroom.

If you are interested in any of these method specialisations, please contact your relevant Course Coordinator

Her main area of speciality is the use of technology in assisting students with emotional and behavioural disabilities. Other areas of research interest are the inclusion of students with special needs, emotional and behavioural disabilities, and social skills training.

She is currently looking at cementing ties with the NSW Department of Education & Training, and collaborating on professional development for teachers needing training on positive behavioural support systems. Her current research project is looking into how special education teachers who teach students with emotional / behavioural disabilities (EBD) perceive misbehaviour and use their perceptions to assist them in teaching students appropriate behaviours instead. By collecting this information and creating a database, she aims to eventually create an instrument that will assist teachers in eventually defining student misbehaviour, collecting behavioural data, and assisting students in acquiring positive behaviours.

On top of her regular undergraduate course on Special Education, she is also currently teaching two Masters subjects: Behaviour Management of Exceptional Students and Teaching Methods for High Incidence Disabilities, and one undergraduate course: Inclusive Strategies in Special Education. Her courses deal with students with special needs and the models that address these needs. Not only do the courses focus on the theories, but they also present the practical applications of these theories, the different facets of student misbehaviour, and the structures necessary to assist the students for inclusion into the mainstream.

If you would like to know more about Terry and her projects, please click on this link. Also, remember that it’s not too late to enrol for the Master of Education, or Higher degree in 2009, so if you are interested in Special Education, contact Terry now.

• Whose values shape social policy? Policy process limits to economic rationalism. By Fisher, K.R. (2009), Saarbrucken, Germany: VDM Verlag

• Teacher professionalism defined and enacted: A comparative case study of two subject teaching associations. By Hilferty, Fiona (2008),Germany: VDM Verlag

• Whose values shape social policy? Policy process limits to economic rationalism. By Fisher, K.R. (2009), Saarbrucken, Germany: VDM Verlag

• Teacher professionalism defined and enacted: A comparative case study of two subject teaching associations. By Hilferty, Fiona (2008),Germany: VDM Verlag

Philip Birch, a lecturer in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, carried out research comparing a sample of sex and non-sex offenders. He found that contrary to popular belief, the sex offenders often displayed attachment styles just as secure as the non-offenders.

"Earlier research found a strong relationship between sexual offending, insecure attachment styles and high levels of emotional loneliness," explains Birch, who has also worked in the prison service and in policy development.

"If we understand that attachment styles can change, it helps us to understand that any of us, in certain circumstances, could be a sex offender," he says.

Attachment styles have been demonstrated to be developed during a critical period in childhood, between the ages of six to 24 months. If insecure attachments are formulated during this time an individual could grow up to have poor intimacy skills and an inability to relate to others.

"What I found instead was that the relationship is not static," says Birch. "It is dynamic and undeniably complex.

Birch says his work has implications for the formulation of risk assessments and treatment approaches for offenders.

The research was presented as part of a seminar series hosted by the School of Social Sciences and International Studies and The Crime and Justice Research Network

http://www.unsw.edu.au/news/pad/articles/2009/may/sex_offenders.html

The Howard government's communications minister, senator Richard Alston, along with senator Brian Harradine, had determined that it was too risqué to let adults listen to discussions about sex after 10.30pm lest children tune in. More...

A cultural studies expert in the School of English, Media and Performing Arts, Dr Hawkins will take up the one-year Visiting Professorship in Australian Studies at the Centre for Pacific and American Studies in September.

She is the first academic outside the areas of history and literary theory to be appointed to the position.

"Japanese people are fascinated by Australia because we are so multicultural and in contrast, Japan is relatively monocultural," says Professor Hawkins.

Her most recent books are The Ethics of Waste: how we relate to rubbish and The SBS Story: the challenge of cultural diversity, co-authored with Ien Ang and Lamia Dabboussy.

In addition to teaching responsibilities, Professor Hawkins plans to expand her research into bottled water, media and cultural diversity, and the relationship between environment and everyday life.

"Japan is amazing when it comes to recycling and waste," she says. "There are nine different ways you can classify materials you're throwing out. So it will be an interesting dimension to my work."

Stephen Muecke has taken up a newly-created position as Professor of Writing in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS).

A Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities, Professor Muecke was most recently at the Free University of Berlin, where he held the position of Visiting Chair of Australian Studies. Prior to that he was Professor of Cultural Studies at the University of Technology, Sydney.

He is one of the leading proponents of ficto-critical writing in teaching and through his own work. Two of his ficto-critical books are the travelogue No Road (bitumen all the way), and the collection of essays Joe in the Andamans.

He has won a WA Premier's non-fiction prize, been shortlisted twice in the NSW Premier's Literary Awards and was highly commended in the Fellowship of Australian Writers' National Literature Awards.

The Sage Dictionary of Policing, a new book by Dr Alison Wakefield (Senior Lecturer in Criminology at UNSW) and Professor Jenny Fleming (Tasmanian Institute of Law Enforcement Studies, University of Tasmania), was launched on 11 March at the Novotel Sydney Manly Pacific.

Alison and Jenny are grateful to the organisers ofthe 2009 international symposium of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Policing and Security (CEPS) ‘New Directions for Policing Serious and Complex Crime’ for hosting the event, to Sage Publications and Footprint Books for their sponsorship, and especially to Professor Peter Grabosky of Australian National University, and Deputy Director of CEPS, for launching the book.

The SAGE Dictionary of Policing is the definitive reference tool for students, academics and practitioners in police studies.

The Dictionary delivers a complete guide to policing in a comprehensive, easy-to-use format. Contributions by 110 of the world's leading academics and practitioners based in 14 countries map out all the key concepts and topics in the field.

Each entry includes:

• a concise definition
• distinctive features of the concept
• critical evaluation
• associated concepts, directing readers to linked entries
• key readings, enabling readers to take their knowledge further.

In addition, The SAGE Dictionary of Policing offers online resources, including free access to key articles and links to useful websites.

This is a must-have for students, lecturers, researchers and professionals in police studies, criminology and criminal justice. It is the ideal companion to The SAGE Dictionary of Criminology: together the two books provide the most authoritative and comprehensive guide available.

For further details see http://www.uk.sagepub.com/booksProdDesc.nav?prodId=Book230528&.
Book orders in Australia and New Zealand can be placed from www.footprint.com.au, and in the US from http://www.sagepub.com/home.nav

Professor Catharine Lumby, UNSW's designated Chief Investigator in the Centre, says the research synergies are in the areas of young people and media consumption. More...

The JMRC was invited to be part of a successful re-bid for the Centre of Excellence, which has since received $6 million in funding from the Australian Research Council.

Professor Catharine Lumby, UNSW's designated Chief Investigator in the Centre, says the research synergies are in the areas of young people and media consumption.

"There are a host of issues that need more research in this field including cyber safety, young women and body image, and the growth in young people making their own media," Professor Lumby said. "Partnering in this new Centre gives us the opportunity to work closely with some of our finest colleagues in the field."

Researchers from the JMRC, in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS), will start collaborating with CCi colleagues from the middle of the year.

The Dean of FASS, Professor James Donald, said CCi has established itself as a world-class, pioneering centre for research excellence in the fields of media, culture, communication, innovation, and the creative industries.

"We see this as a way of building our research capacity, nationally and internationally. The Faculty is proud to be associated with the Centre of Excellence," Professor Donald said.

Currently the public sector relies on systemising accountability, relying heavily on regulations, processes, and procedures.

The findings have particular relevance for the NSW public sector, which has been dogged by crises from RailCorp through to corruption at Wollongong Council.

"Individual ethical judgment is necessary in an organisation's ethical performance," said Associate Professor Stephen Cohen from the School of History and Philosophy in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

"Attempts to systematise judgment, reducing it to rule-bound accountability requirements, removing it from individual responsibility are not successful, and sometimes can be counterproductive," said Associate Professor Cohen, who interviewed large numbers of senior management in the NSW public sector as part of a research project funded jointly by the Australian Research Council, the RTA, and the NSW Department of Commerce.

The Federal Member for Lyne Robert Oakeshott and the NSW Deputy Ombudsdman, Chris Wheeler were amongst the guest presenters at the conference Ethical Excellence in the Public Sector of NSW.

Other presentations included:

Biases and irrationality in ethical judgement (Dr Peter Slezak, UNSW)
Whistle-blowing experiences in the Australian public sector (Prof Paul Mazerolle, Griffith University)
The abandonment of full employment: a case study in the decline of ethical governance (Bill Mitchell, University of Newcastle)
"Ethical failures are costly, both in human and economic terms, the people who wear those costs are the citizens," said Dr Philip Quadrio, the conference co-convenor.

"This is not just a matter for academics, that's why there are large numbers of public servants from NSW attending," he said.

The conference was also structured to get input from attendees through workshops and interactive presentations.

Professor Schultz is best known for three operas - Black River, Going Into Shadows and The Children's Bach. His music also covers chamber, orchestral and other vocal work.

"We are delighted to have Professor Schultz join our staff," said Professor James Donald, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. "Andrew has an impressive record in academia and is internationally recognised for his work."

The high calibre of the School's staff was one of the attractions of the role, Andrew said.

"The School has a great reputation internationally, with a combination of disciplines that is unique in Australia," he said.

Andrew has published on topics relating to new music and analysis, and is editor of the Biographical Directory of Australian Composers.

He was most recently Dean of the Faculty of Creative Arts at the University of Wollongong. Prior to that he was Head of Composition and Music Studies at London's illustrious Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

The Commonwealth introduced a non means-tested maternity allowance in 1912, according to the University of NSW Social Policy Research Centre's Professor Deborah Brennan.

''The allowance one of the first such payments in the world was equivalent to several weeks' wages for a women factory worker and was seen by women as partial recognition of their maternal rights,'' Brennan says.

Read full story

The Endeavour Australia Cheung Kong Research Fellowships provide financial support for postgraduate students and postdoctoral fellows from Australia and participating Asian countries to undertake short-term research in Australia or in an Asian country.

Dr Fisher has worked with the Social Policy Research Centre since 1997. Her research focuses on disability policy in Australia and China and includes three disability projects in China funded by ARC and UNSW.
The Endeavour Australia Cheung Kong Research Fellowship will allow Dr Fisher to conduct postdoctoral research in Shanghai in 2009 and 2010 to complement her applied social policy research in Australia and China.
She will be using this opportunity to carry out extended fieldwork in China to improve her cultural understanding of the social policy context.
Dr Fisher says "The purposes of the research are: to apply a disability rights policy framework to Chinese social policy processes; to develop links between Shanghai Jiaotong University (SJU) and the Social Policy Research Centre, UNSW and to improve my Chinese language and cultural understanding."
Dr Fishers' research agenda explores the relationship between experiences of people with disability and social policy to support their rights. "China has signed the new UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Shanghai has a reputation for innovation in social support but it has not been researched in relation to disability policy."

The Endeavour Programme is an internationally competitive and merit-based scholarship programme that brings high achieving students, researchers and professionals from around the world to Australia for study, research or professional development. The Programme enables Australians to do the same abroad.

Professor Gross is the only non-American to be given the Lifetime Achievement Award from Mensa's Education and Research Foundation.

The award is presented to an individual whose work in fields relating to human intelligence and giftedness has been especially outstanding over a long career.

"The inaugural award, in 2000, went to Professor Julian Stanley of Johns Hopkins University who was one of the truly great scholars of all time in psychology and education," said Professor Gross, the Director of The Gifted Education Research Resource and Information Centre.

"I am so honoured and humbled by being given this award as I was privileged to have Julian as a valued colleague and beloved friend."

Professor Gross started her career as a teacher in Scotland, before becoming a specialist teacher in gifted education.

A representative from Mensa in Australia, Sam Simmonds, spoke about the importance of Professor Gross's work, and the value it has in identifying those with a high IQ whose talents might otherwise be hidden.

Professor Gross, who is Professor of Gifted Education in the School of Education, was given a commemorative plaque and medal at a special event hosted in the University's Council Chambers. She will also receive an honorarium and an issue of the Mensa Research Journal will be dedicated to her selected research articles.

Guns were new to her, but crime was not. She turned to drugs to escape the pain of an unhappy childhood with a violent father and progressed from cheque and credit card fraud to armed robberies to fund her habit.

Ms Armstrong was jailed several times for a total of 12 years. Life inside was tough but the person who suffered most was her little girl. When she was jailed for the third time, her teenage daughter wrote her a letter. "I think that you will always pick drugs and jail over me," she wrote. "I don't want you to be my mum any more."

The number of women in prison is growing rapidly. In NSW, it has almost doubled in the past 10 years, and Aboriginal women are over-represented. Life in jail is difficult for anyone but for women there are particular challenges.

Most of the women in custody are mothers. But studies show their community support networks while in prison are weaker than those of men, as male partners are less likely to hang around and keep the household running.

Without partners, their children live with family or in foster care. Regaining custody can be hard, as women need stable housing to get their children back but struggle to get public housing if their children aren't living with them.

Their children are often troubled and depressed, and are more likely to become offenders themselves. Associate Professor Eileen Baldry, from the University of NSW, said the impact of the separation can be severe.

Read on

But for mothers in particular, the pressures have intensified as they spend as much time on housework as they did a decade ago while fathers have cut back.

"The workload of being a parent has just got worse since 1997," said Lyn Craig, a senior research fellow at the Social Policy Research Centre at UNSW. "It's become more and more a scramble."

Read full story

•  Healy, CA. & Lovejoy, FH., 2006, 'Employment policy for the chronically ill: Cancer patients and survivors in the workplace', in THe Constraints to Full Employment or WorkChoices and Welfare-to-Work, eds Graham Wrightson, University of Newcastle@ Centr of Fully Employment and Equity, University of Newcastle, pp. 108 - 114


• Healy, CA. & Lovejoy, FH., 2006, 'Retirement options for workers with cancer: changing expections of employment and retirement over the last 40 years', in Diversity in Ageing, Sydney, Melbourne, pp. 33 - 40

Colleagues at the School appreciated Carol’s commitment in undertaking excellent teaching of our courses. We also admire her service to the School and to the University, which she was always willing to provide, even knowing how much time has to be devoted to such activities.  

Carol helped build the old school and the new school to which she belonged.  She was the mover and shaker in publicizing and marketing our programs.  She would organize and give information sessions, go to high schools, give lectures at courses and careers day and answer the questions of potential students and applicants, many of whom ended up to be our students.

She was very active as an OHS officer at the school and Faculty levels.

Those of us who have worked with Carol will remember with fondness the chocolate Easter eggs and small Christmas tokens she would leave in our mailboxes on those special occasions.  Honours students would even get an end-of-year present from Carol.  Carol was the mother figure of the school.  She took care of the human capital – both staff and students – and so her nurturing and caring ways will be terribly missed.  

All photographs below come with the kind permission of Martin Healy and Rogelia Pe-Pua

On Friday 26th September, the Bachelor of Social Work Program in the School of Social Sciences and International Studies launched a promotional DVD about the undergraduate and postgraduate programs in the Social Work discipline. Held in the Council Chambers of the Chancellery, the Dean of FASS, Professor James Donald officially launched the DVD alongside speakers from Industry including Ms Liz Foy, General Manager, Service Development and Communication from The Spastic Centre of NSW and Vittorio Cintio, Assistant Director Allied Health, Area Social Work Advisor, South Western Area Health Service and Vice President, of the Australian Association of Social Workers.  The DVD features current and past undergraduate students, practitioners from various contexts of social work practice and academic staff all speaking about their experience of the undergraduate BSW program and it’s important role in preparing students for the professional practice of social work including work in the wider field of welfare. The DVD also showcases our postgraduate offerings and the aways in which the Social work discipline prioritises community engagement through research and other ventures via the Centre for refugee research and the Centre for gender-related Violence Studies.

It is envisaged that the DVD will be a valuable resource in promoting the BSW program at various courses and careers days, high school career markets and TAFE colleges. An abridged YouTube version will be uploaded in the next couple of weeks to provide direct access to students interested in pursuing a career in social work. The BSW discipline would like to thank the Head of Social Sciences and International Studies, Associate Professor Rogelia Pe-Pua for her support with this project and a terrific launch.

Read full story

The workshop Disability, Democracy, Media and Listening was co-hosted by UNSW's Disability Studies and Research Centre and the Journalism and Media Research Centre.*

Neil Marcus, who has a severe neurological disorder called dystonia, which makes it hard for him to speak, presented as part of the session on "Disability and Listening".

In a presentation which verged on performance art, he changed his T-shirt in front of the audience. This involved Neil getting onto the floor so that he could physically support himself.

The T-shirt he put on read: "Disability is not a ‘brave struggle' or ‘courage in the face of adversity. DISABILITY IS AN ART. It is an ingenious way to live."

Neil also sang "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" by himself and then as a duet with another delegate at the event.

He spoke about the importance of people with disabilities surrounding themselves with people they love.

Neil Marcus is well known as a playwright. His show Storm Reading has been performed 300 times and won the United Nations Writer's Medal. He is still recognized on the street for his role in an episode of ER.

He has recently been involved in an award-winning videodance which looks at attitudes to disabled bodies and sensuality, and has co-authored a new poetry collection Cripple Poetics: A Love Story.

"Democracy is all about having your voice heard," said the Acting Director of the Centre, Rosemary Kayess. "It is critical that we have a thorough understanding of all communities and part of that communication process is listening. As such, listening has emerged as a key theme in contemporary understandings of disability."

*The event was sponsored by the ARC Cultural Research Network and the Transforming Cultures Research Centre at the University of Technology, Sydney.

Overall, Australian fathers spend an average of just under an hour between Monday and Friday caring for the children, but 90 per cent of that care is done alongside the mother.

Social researcher Lyn Craig from the University of NSW found in her paper, Father Care, Father Share in International Perspective, that Australian fathers spend longer with their children at weekends as a family, but only six minutes alone with their children Monday to Friday.

In contrast, Australian mothers spend almost three hours a week purely looking after children, not including child-related housework, The Australian reports.

The study finds Australian fathers are more likely to spend their time at "events" such as going to the park or taking the kids to sport and rarely do feeding, bathing or ferrying children to and from school or childcare.

The disparity between Australian women and men is greater than in countries such as the US, Italy, France and Denmark but fathers in those countries also spend little time alone with their children.

Dr Craig, from the UNSW Social Policy Research Centre, said men tended to contribute when they're free, when it is fun and when they are in a family situation, whereas women tend to be the default carer.

"It's a woman's job and a man's hobby," she said. "And it stays basically the same regardless of the amount of work women do in the paid workforce."

Miraca Gross, the director of the Gifted Education Research Resource and Information Centre (GERRIC) at the University of NSW, said research had found parents of children with special intellectual ability felt they were bragging if they told other parents so tended to keep quiet.

"One of the things that we found was that the isolation of the parents almost parallels the isolation of the kids," Professor Gross said. "Many parents said, 'We can't speak about our child because people think you're boasting.'

"Talking about your child's talent, unless it's in sports or athletics or music, is a no-no in Australia."

Professor Gross said among parents of gifted children there was "intense social isolation and the feeling that you can't talk about one of the most important things in your life - your child". She said particularly in country areas "big-noting yourself is just not done".

GERRIC has conducted 50 workshops for parents of gifted children in regional and remote areas in the past three years. A workshop is being conducted in Sydney this weekend.

"All of us found parents saying, 'It's good for us to be here and talk about our children because in our local communities you can't talk about this; you're regarded as conceited or arrogant,' " she said.

There was also a prevailing view, she said, that gifted children were found in only private schools in the city, which was not the case.

"If you're living in the bush, if you have English as a second language, if you're working class, you are assumed not to have a gifted child and that's tragic," she said.

Meg and Tony Baker's three daughters are gifted. The eldest, Mary Beth, now 25, coped with high school by escaping into the bush next to the school. "She found it very hard to socialise," Mrs Baker said.

The parents, too, found it difficult to discuss their children with other parents.

"We were reluctant to say things in a social setting," Mrs Baker said.

It was not until their youngest child, Hannah, now 16, was put in an extension class in primary school, facilitated by GERRIC, that Mrs Baker said they finally found other parents they could talk to.

"The parents were such a support group because you could discuss your children and not feel that you were putting another parent down," she said.

This is an historical interpretation based on certain assumptions derived from American exceptionalism. Europe has empires; the US has an anti-colonial tradition stemming from the American Revolution. Yes, the occupation of the Philippines, 1898-1946 did occur, but as an aberration.

Ignorance of the US's deeply entrenched imperial experiences starts with a legalistic definition of empire as formal, political control of territory. European empires are said to have had such arrangements routinely, and the United States has not. This in itself is erroneous as fact. It fully describes neither many European empires, nor the American case. Read on 

The new rankings, which cover the period from 2003 - 2007, also place UNSW as the second most cited Australian university in the area of psychiatry/psychology.

Run by Thomson Reuters, the ESI database provides a comprehensive compilation of science performance statistics and science trends data based on journal article publication counts and citation data from scientific databases over five year periods. It covers 10 million articles in 22 specific fields of research.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor Les Field, said of the rankings "We are delighted with this result, which shows the quality of research taking place at UNSW."

In the last period, from 1998-2002, UNSW was one of only two Australian universities ranked in the world's top 50 in any area, in that instance psychiatry/psychology.

Mr Shorten said that knowledge is "diffuse" and labelling the amount of money currently spent in the area as "pathetic".

"In terms of the area of disability, I'm impressed and depressed in equal measures," said Mr Shorten. "I'm impressed by the people in the disability community and I'm depressed by the public policy."

The Centre aims to bring together researchers and those in the disability community to bring a unique perspective to the research and contribute to policy.

Researchers from a range of backgrounds are involved in the work - from lawyers and social scientists through to town planners and medical practitioners.

The Acting Director of the Centre, Ms Rosemary Kayess, is a legal academic and disability advocate who helped draft the text of the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, which Australia has recently ratified.

"Disability studies is a fledgling area," said Ms Kayess."There are pockets of researchers, but no central research centre like this one.

"What this group will do is promote disability studies and research that is informed by people with a disability.

"People with disabilities are involved in the governance of the Centre and are also involved in conducting the research," she said.

Dr. Rasmussen’s research concerns the history of drug development, particularly the links between academic life science and the pharmaceutical industry before the molecular genetics revolution. His book about the development of biological electron microscopy, Picture Control (Stanford University Press, 1997) won the 1999 Paul Bunge Prize for best work on the history of scientific instrumentation, given by German Chemical Society, and the 2000 Book Prize of the History of Science Society's Forum for History of Science in America.

The Jackson Prize was created in the honor of Dr. Stanley W. Jackson (1920-2000). Dr. Jackson was a former editor of the journal, president of the American Association for the History of Medicine, and a distinguished professor of psychiatry and medical history at Yale Medical School. He was the author of numerous works in the history of medicine, including Care of the Psyche: A History of Psychological Healing (1999).

The Jackson Prize is given for a paper published in the Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences, selected by a committee appointed by the editor.

Cindy Blackstock spoke at a public lecture organised by UNSW's Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and Nura Gili Indigenous Programs.

Executive Director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada and member of the Gitskan Nation, Blackstock delivered a powerful address about the value of Indigenous knowledge in helping child welfare systems respond to structural risk factors like poverty and social exclusion.

Blackstock believes the increasing incidence of Indigenous children in welfare is a predictable outcome of the system that Western governments have created.

"Government interventions are often limited to family based programs that don't deal with the source of the risk which is based at a societal or government level," said Blackstock.

"Government can always provide enough funding to remove children from their families but never enough to keep them there."

Associate Professor Sue Green, Director of Nura Gili Indigenous Programs told the audience Australian governments needed to take the message on board.

"Aboriginal children aren't always in care because of poor or bad parenting, but because of the lack of understanding of the structural problems that Aboriginal communities face," she said.

Blackstock believes there are few theoretical Western models that go beyond describing structural risk to actually dealing with it. In response she has proposed a new theory based on principles that have been practiced in many Indigenous cultures for millennia.

"Indigenous knowledge is based on ancestral narratives that are passed down through generations. It has a holistic approach and focuses on attention to basic values and principles of human behaviour like self actualisation, identity and belonging," said Blackstock.

"This isn't about focusing on the inequalities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. The question should be, ‘Do we believe that every child's life is valuable?'"

Professor Janet Chan has been elected to the position of President, and Professor Brynn Hibbert and Ms Carol Longbottom have been elected as Deputy Presidents.
Their terms of office commenced on 1 August 2008 for two years.

Professor Janet Chan

Professor Chan previously served on the Academic Board as Deputy President and has presided over the Academic Board's Committee on Research, with distinction. She succeeds Professor Tony Dooley who had served the maximum of two successive terms in office.

Professor Chan is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia. Her research interests include criminal justice policy and practice, sociology of organization and occupation, and the social organization of creativity. She is internationally recognized for her contributions to policing research, especially her work on policing in a multicultural society, policy culture, police training and socialization, police reform, the use of information technology in policing and the legal regulation of police discretion in juvenile justice. She was Associate Dean (Research) of the Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences and a part-time commissioner of the NSW Law Reform Commission (2001-2005).

Carol Longbottom

Carol Longbottom's research focuses on the significance of historical precedents in developing solutions to contemporary design problems. Carol is a recipient of a John Yu Fellowship for the project: Theorising Practice: Educating Undergraduate Design Students for Critical Understanding of Contemporary Design Practice.

Professor Brynn Hibbert

Professor Hibbert's interests lie in Electroanalytical Chemistry. He is a Fellow at the Royal Australian Chemical Institute and Royal Society of Chemistry, and received an RACI analytical medal in 1999. He is Founding President of Australian Chemometrics Society, Australian representative to International Chemometrics Society, member of National Standards Committee on Chemical Metrology and an active member of Australian Skeptics

SSIS academic Geoffrey Brahm Levey has been awarded the 2008 Australasian Association of Philosophy’s (AAP) Media Prize.

Dr Levey, a Senior Lecturer in Politics in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, won the award for his piece 'A healthy dose of multiculturalism', which was published in the Australian Financial review in 2007.

The annual prize was first awarded in 1999 and recognises the best philosophical piece published by a professional philosopher in the popular media in Australasia during the previous calendar year. The main criterion for the award of the prize is the ability of the piece to engage the interest of the general public in philosophy or some philosophical issue.

Dr Levey’s research is in contemporary political theory, with special reference to multiculturalism, ethnicity, religion, nationalism and citizenship. He also researches the area of modern Jewish politics and society. His edited book Political Theory and Australian Multiculturalism (Berghahn Books) was published in June. He is presently engaged on a three-year ARC Discovery grant project, 'Autonomy, Liberalism and the Right to Culture’.

Media Contact: Victoria Brown | 9385 3263 | v.brown@unsw.edu.au

Postmodern theory has engaged the hearts and heads of the brightest students because of its apparent political and social radicalism. Despite this Professor Gavin Kitching claims that, 'At the heart of postmodernism is very poor, deeply confused and misbegotten philosophy. As a result even
the very best students who fall under its sway produce radically incoherent ideas about language, meaning, truth and reality.'

This is not another conservative attack on postmodernism. Rather, it is a carefully considered analysis from a dedicated university teacher who
is convinced that we have gone terribly astray. He shows that postmodern theory is at best irrelevant to, and at worst undermining of, persuasive political arguments, and reveals the basic philosophical confusion at its heart which makes this so.

Essential reading for any student writing a thesis in the humanities and the social sciences, and for their teachers.

See also an article in The Australian.

Allen & Unwin and the UNSW Bookshop will be hosting a talk and book signing by Gavin Kitching,
author of The Trouble with Theory on the 27th August, 5pm at the UNSW Bookshop.

RSVP on 9385 6688 or marketing@bookshop.unsw.edu.au

Australian governments must embark on a new era of nation building or risk squandering the national prosperity and entering a period of steep decline, UNSW researcher Professor Michael Pusey has warned in a major public lecture.

Professor Pusey, from the School of Social Sciences and International Studies, argued people are ready for a new vision for the country that includes major investments of money into infrastructure, a constructive approach to climate change and fixing federal-state relations.

The address New Prospects for Nation-Building was part of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences' So, what? Public lecture series.

Professor Pusey, best known for his groundbreaking book Economic Rationalism in Canberra: a nation-building state changes its mind, told the forum Australia’s prosperity into the 21st century depends on how well we face these crucial challenges.

“Our attention is focussing on these issues. Climate change, federal-state relations, a whole-of-government approach to infrastructure renewal -
these are all issues we need to face in order to make the economy work for the people, instead of the other way round,” he says.

Professor Pusey says that since the 1980s successive governments have given up on nation building instead preferring to focus on economic growth.

But, he argues, economic rationalism has run its course and the public is rejecting the kind of economics that reduces quality of life and compromises the nation’s future.

“We are now ready to stop letting the tail, which is the economy, wag the dog, which is the nation.

“It is becoming clear just how far we have fallen behind. You only have to look at the huge infrastructure deficits in NSW alone.”

However, Professor Pusey says Australia is well placed to take advantage of the nation-building opportunities on offer.

“We have disciplined government, ample revenues and an effective regulatory framework. The only piece missing is the political vision.

“We must deal with climate change, re-build our rotting infrastructure and fix federal-state relations. But are our governments up to it?”

Thanks to the Steve Offner from the Media Unit for this story.

Scientia Professor Ian Tyrrell of the School of History & Philosophy, has been appointed as the Harmsworth Professor of American History, at Oxford University in the United Kingdom, for the 2010-2011 academic year.

Professor Tyrrell has pioneered the use of transnational history in relation to the history of the United States. Among his books are two dealing with aspects of transnational history: True Gardens of the Gods: Californian-Australian Environmental Reform, 1860-1930 (University of California Press, 1999) and Transnational Nation: United States History in Global Perspective since 1789 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2007).

The NSW Governor Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir recently launched the Supporting Children Responding to Families (SCARF) Case Management System and Online Learning Package promote effective preventative interventions in protecting children at risk of abuse and neglect., and ensure that the most vulnerable families and children are responded to promptly.

Through a three year collaboration supported by an Australian Research Council Linkage Grant the SSIS Social Work Program  and Barnardos Australia tracked the outcomes  for 60 families receiving specially designed early intervention services and thereafter developed , trialed and evaluated the SCARF Assessment and Case Management System in Barnardos’ family programs. In launching this initiative Her Excellency the Governor noted

“Child and family services must be informed by research and this best practice framework deepens our understanding of vulnerable children and families”

Professor Richard Henry, Acting Vice Chancellor in welcoming the Governor, Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir and the NSW Minister for Community Services, Honourable Kevin Greene emphasized the role of Universities in advancing research as a basis for the development of social policy and practice.

In her keynote address at the launch NSW Children’s Guardian Ms Kerryn Boland commented :
A guided practice framework such as SCARF provides a clear conceptual map which guides practitioners through key processes in assessing and intervening with clients, and ensures accountability. It is through partnerships between the University and community agencies such as Barnardos that the discipline of child and family social work can continue to develop.”

According to Louise Voigt, CEO , Barnardos Australia “This new approach focuses on prevention.We look at families where children might be more vulnerable than others.”

Dr Fernandez (principal researcher) said the new system encapsulates a comprehensive assessment of the wider ecological context of children and families.. “A hall mark of the framework is that it provides a foundation for holistic practice based on early intervention strategies and supports a partnership approach in working with children and families”

Presiding over the launch Professor James Donald, Dean, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, acknowledged the significance of research partnerships in advancing knowledge to address social issues. Associate Professor Rogee Pe Pua thanked Her Excellency for gracing the occasion and Kerryn Boland  Children’s Guardian for her informative  keynote address.

We expect that the Honour's Room will become a hive of activity as our Honour's students progress through the year. It has samples of previous theses as well as areas for discussion and relaxation.

We hope that our smart shop front will make it easier for students to speak with our front line administrative staff.

Photo Gallery

Students undertaking the Bachelor of Social Work Program at UNSW and similar programs across Australian Universities are required to undertake field placements as part of their degree. Ensuring that the professionals in the field responsible for supervising them are adequately trained to teach and assess is crucial to maintaining the integrity of field based learning.

UNSW currently offers the only postgraduate level intensive course in supervision at an Australian University to ensure professionals are appropriately equipped through its Certificate of Supervision in Field Education in Social Work. On 17th December 2007 36 students graduated from the course having completed a 36 hour course introducing them to theoretical frameworks on teaching and learning to enhance their supervisory and assessment skills. How to engage in productive student supervisory relationships and how to set and maintain standards in the one on one teaching environment are an important focus of the course.

Linda Mallett, Executive Director, Child Protection and Early Intervention, NSW Department of Community Services delivered the keynote address at the Graduation Ceremony stressing the importance of good supervision for effective professional practice in Government and Non Government organizations.

Professor Joan Cooper, Pro Vice Chancellor (Students) and Registrar, awarded the certificates. In her address she acknowledged the valuable role and contribution of a wide range of human services organizations that support field based learning and “afford opportunities for collaborative endeavours in education, practice and research”.

The Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Professor James Donald, in welcoming the graduands and guests, noted the key role that field teachers play in maintaining professional standards and their need to be supported by the university, and equipped with teaching and evaluative skills.

Associate Professor Rogelia Pe-Pua, Head, School of Social Sciences and International Studies chaired the function congratulating the graduands for displaying a strong commitment to improving the student learning experience in the field by completing this course.

Four graduates of the program (Carolyn Fettes, Royal Rehabilitation Centre; John William Jones, S.E Illawarra Area Health; Stacey Kennon, St Vincents Hospital; and Theresa Tasende, Department of Community Services) spoke about how the innovative program had assisted the development and refinement of their knowledge and skills in student supervision.

“Right from the start I found myself totally immersed in the course. The dynamic and varied topics utterly embodied the values and ethics of social work practice. I felt welcomed and valued both as a person and as a professional by the faculty teachers. My experience was that they really cared about how I felt and how I experienced the course. The way that they acted was a good role model as to how to be with our students. I found the course was synchronistic with what I was working on with my student and it enriched the practicum enormously”.

Carolyn Fettes, Senior Social worker, Royal Rehabilitation Centre.

The course provided opportunities to reflect critically on the practicum learning process and to explore different learning styles and teaching strategies to assist student learning. It reinforced the importance of ongoing communication between field teachers and the university in teaching and evaluating students. I valued the opportunity to hear from professionals of diverse backgrounds and experiences about their supervisory approaches and experiences, and the well organized, supportive learning environment of the course.

Stacey Kennon, Social Worker, St Vincents Hosptial.

The graduation ceremony also included the award of Certificates of Appreciation to field teachers who made a sustained and substantial contribution by supervising students of the Bachelor of Social Work Program.

Thank you to Rogelia Pe-Pua for taking the photographs.

Contact:

Dr Elizabeth Fernandez
Course Coordinator
Certificate of Supervision in Field Education in Social Work
e.fernandez@unsw.edu.au

Photo Gallery

	Pro Vice Chancellor (Students) and Registrar awarding the Certificate to Stacey Kennon (Social Worker, St Vincent's Hospital).
	John William Jones (SE Illawarra Area Health Service) receives Certificate.
	Elizabeth Fernandez (Course Coordinator), Carmel Flaskas (BSW Program Coordinator), Professor Joan Cooper (Pro Vice Chancellor (Students) and Registrar), Linda Mallett, (Executive Director), Professor James Donald (Dean, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences).
	Graduates and staff
	Rogelia Pe-Pua (Head of School) and Blanche Wiseman (Administration Officer, Field Education BSW Program).
	Dr Elizabeth Fernandez (Course Coordinator) thanked speakers and guests.

Amy Godleman

It was a big decision to do an overseas social work placement. I kept asking myself, is it the best way to complete my four year degree? Is it going to allow me to learn as much as possible, while working on my 4th year placement? Will I reach my full potential? It took approximately 4 days of living with Team India 2007, Emily, Tegan, Etheon and myself, and 1 day of starting placement to realise; I could not have made a better decision! Completing an overseas placement not only gave the four of us the professional social work experience and development working in government and non government (NGO) organisations, it gave us the chance to live in another country, India and immerse ourselves in Indian culture. Not only did we feel that we were extending our education and learning through being at our individual agencies, India gave us the opportunity to learn about ourselves and each other on a personal and professional level. Whether that was observing the patient Emily as she bartered for an auto rickshaw driver every morning to get to work, or watching Tegan interacting with the mentally challenged children who lived in the school, Bala Vihar that we stayed in, or Etheon coming home talking passionately about his ongoing research report. Etheon was placed in the Juvenile Guidance Bureau attached to the state residential care facility for boys 12-24 years while awaiting trial. His research highlighted the failure of the government system to protect children in custody from abuse in care. His report and recommendations to the State Department will become the basis for future policies to benefit boys in the care system. It even made the media!

We were given a comprehensive placement, with a week of agency visits and lectures on Indian culture, 2 six week placements in individual NGO's or government agencies and one week in rural India, observing the tribal village way of life. My first agency was World Vision, India in which I was working with HIV women and children in an ART Drop in Centre. In a consultation with the agency managers I conducted a research study on HIV clients' perspectives of World Vision and their services, conducting interviews with the help of an interpreter. This allowed me to gain a clear insight into the stigmatisation and isolation of people living with HIV and the medical, psychological and social repercussions. My final report was presented to World Vision to assist improvements for the future. Besides numerous house visits to disadvantaged families in Chennai I conducted training sessions for staff. My second agency, an internal NGO in Kerala that developed sponsorship programs for children in rural areas, gave me a great deal of exposure to Indian community development. I was involved in many different projects, including children's rights week, home visits to sponsored children, participation in HIV policy meetings and working in tsunami affected areas. Alongside these practical experiences I also had the valuable hands on challenge of integrating theory into my placement learning through an organisational analysis and case analysis. The organisational analysis involved a critical review of World Vision, its purpose, goals, values, auspice, consumers, resources, access and administration. For my case study I completed an in-depth interview with a widowed mother, whose husband had affected her with HIV and subsequently died, utilising theories from my university learning to conceptualise relevant factors to assess the overall situation and plan strategies. Both placements were very different and gave me a great overview of Indian social work. It was an irreplaceable experience, and one that I will continue to reflect on through my social work career.

Like many small communities we became the gossip of the month. Our tailor talked to a local shop keeper, who talked to our favourite "Foodland" restaurant. We would be walking home after placement and people would walk up to us "Are you the social workers from Australia, living in Bala Vihar?" Etheon and I became friends with an auto driver; who would go to the local shop and call us every morning. 'It is Armugam, your auto driver I'm waiting outside". He saw me wearing a sari to work and was so happy he took me back to his home and gave me one of his wife's pure silk sari's, getting his neighbour to come in and dress me. It is a memory and sari that I will treasure forever.

I could not think of a better way to complete my social work degree as I was able to adapt theory and university learning into practice in an international cross cultural context. The education is extensive and never ending as every minute a new experience creates a new memory that will help to consolidate and determine the social worker that I will become. I have the University of New South Wales to thank, my lecturer Elizabeth Fernandez, Team India 2007 and all of the great people and professionals that I met in India who taught me so much about social work and shaped my vision of what I really want to do.

Click here for more information on the Bachelor of Social Work

Photo Gallery

	I participated in a NGO consultation meeting aimed at supporting and assisting families with strategies to cope with the difficulty of living with a stigmatised illness in India.
	Mothers I worked with through my practicum at World Vision.
	While parents meet once a month as a support group, the children enjoy time together to socialise with each other.
	For Etheon's Birthday we were invited to Professor George's home to have a Traditional Indian meal. Food has never tasted so good! (Etheon, Tegan, Professor George, Emily, Mrs George and Amy)

Photo Gallery

From Left to Right:  Nagisa Fukui, Jenny Chen, Yun Bai, Sumiko Iida, Chihiro Thomson, Mai Uchino and Owen Hilton.

The NSW State Final of the 34th Japanese Speech Contest was held on 1 September 2007. This event is hosted by the Japan Foundation and the Consul General of Japan.  In the Open Beginners Division UNSW students picked up the top three prizes:

1st Prize Yun BAI, "Learning how to learn in Australia"

2nd Prize Billy JAYA, "Japan, the place of perfect service"

3rd Prize Jenny Heng-Chen CHEN "Culture shock experience - Aged care in Canada"

Owen HILTON was awarded a special prize in the Open Beginners Division with his speech "Australian drivers"

Anna Lam was awarded 2nd prize in the Open Division ("Japanese culture crisis in Australia"), whilst in the Background Speakers Division Mai Uchino was awarded first prize ("I want to be a bilingual - A child's wish") and Aiko Leung won second prize ("The Japanese value of respect conveyed in various human relations”). 

Both Yun BAI and Mai UCHINO will represent NSW in the upcoming National Final on October 13th. We wish them all the best.

UPDATE

The 38th Australian National Final Japanese Language Speech Contest results

Congratulations to Yun Bai and Mai Uchino who were both awarded second place in their respective divisions at the Australian National Final Japanese Language Speech Contest held on 13 October 2007.

These photographs are of the new School of Languages and Linguistics language laboratories on level one of the Morven Brown Building.

The School of Languages and Linguistics is the beneficiary of a large development grant allocated to the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. It has enabled the School to acquire the latest technology for its language teaching and training in its interpreting programs. The new language laboratory is housed in newly refurbished rooms on Level one of the Morven Brown Building.

The new equipment is easy to use and includes features such as:

• Consecutive and Simultaneous interpreting facilities
• Access to a vaster variety of listening sources
• Ability to record students’ speech and collect sound files
• Improved research opportunities

The official opening ceremony took place in August 2007.

The 4th Korea Australasia Research Centre (KAREC) International Symposium drew more than 60 diplomats and education specialists from universities across Korea and the wider Asian region to develop strategies to promote Korean studies internationally.

KAREC, a joint research centre of the Australian School of Business and the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at UNSW, conducts and coordinates research into all areas of Korean studies and Korea-related issues in Australia, New Zealand and South-East Asia.

In 2006 it was selected as one of four global research centres to promote Korean studies by the Korean Ministry of Education and the Academy of Korean Studies, receiving a research grant of $1.5 million.

“It was exciting to have these high-profile representatives present at the symposium,” said Mack Williams, former Australian ambassador to Korea and co-chairman of KAREC’s advisory board.

“Their presence will ensure the development of cooperative strategies for the development of Korean studies in the region.”

Associate Professor Chung-Sok Suh, KAREC director and symposium convenor says the meeting provided a benchmark for cooperation in Korean studies research.

“The ideas generated at the KAREC symposium will be made available for other universities in the region to use in their studies,” he says.

“For UNSW, we have consolidated our research networks in Korean studies and presidents and vice-presidents of eight leading universities in the region have joined KAREC’s advisory board to establish a strategic plan to strengthen research ties over the next two years.”