News from the University of Tasmaniawww.utas.edu.au

July 2010 Issue number 341

By FIona Horwood

A  Tasmanian biobank will be a powerful tool for studying human disease, the Director 

of Menzies Research  Institute, Pro-fessor  Simon  Foote,  said  follow-ing  a  recent  government  funding announcement.

The  Federal  and  State  govern-ments  will  fund  regional  cancer centres including the infrastructure of a Biobank Tasmania: a collection of tissue, blood and information on indi-viduals who have suffered a disease. 

The  Menzies  Research  Insti-tute and UTAS Faculty of Law will 

manage  the new biobank with  the State Government.

Prof. Foote  said  it will  start by collecting tissue from people suffer-ing cancer but it is likely to expand to other diseases. 

“With this we can start to study the biology and genetics of disease on an entire population. 

“It will  give more  insights  into the disease’s cause than we can ever get by  studying a  small number of patients. We’ll  be  able  to  integrate genetic and environmental data and track trends around the state as we presently do with the Cancer Regis-try,” he said.

The  successful  running  of  a biobank  requires  cooperation  from many  people:  the  tissue  donator, the hospital  taking  the  sample,  the clinicians caring for the patient, the pathology  service  processing  and storing the sample, and the staff inte-grating  the  tissue  and  information into the biobank.

“Individuals participating in the biobank  do  so  with  full,  informed 

consent,” Prof. Foote said.The  UTAS  Faculty  of  Law  will 

ensure ethical and  legal  integrity of the  Biobank  Tasmania.  Access  by researchers to information and tissue will  be  controlled  by  both  ethics committees and biobank access com-mittees.

A  community  consultation program  is  under  way  and  a  new website  will  educate  Tasmani-ans  about  the  biobank  and  ask  for their  thoughts on how it should be managed. This is being developed by Professors Don Chalmers, Di Nicol and  Margaret  Otlowski  from  the Faculty of Law.

By sHaron webb

T he University of Tasmania has  a  “clear  and  confi-dent” Indonesian language 

program  which  should  be  used  as a model for other Australian states, believes a leading Indonesian expert.

Professor  David  Hill  from Murdoch University recently exam-ined the UTAS Indonesian language program as part of his national tour looking at ways to strengthen Indo-nesian in universities.

Researching under an Australian Learning and Teaching Council fel-lowship, he was keen to find out how the UTAS College program helps to boost interest in Indonesian by allow-ing  students  to  study  at  university level while they are still at college.

“The UTAS College program is innovative and working well,” Prof. Hill said.

“The teachers are tremendously enthusiastic. My impression is that they  are  highly  motivated  and  the students are very positive about their studies.”

Nationally, Indonesian language studies  have  been  declining  for several years.

The  previous  prime  minis-ter,  Kevin  Rudd,  recently  told  an Asialink  Asia  Society  forum  that while  his  vision  was  for  Australia to be the most Asia-literate western nation, between 2000 and 2008 the number of Australian students study-

ing Chinese, Indonesian, Japanese or Korean from kindergarten to Year 12 dropped by 22 per cent.

The  Government’s  target  is that by 2020 at  least 12 per cent of 

students  will  leave  Year  12  fluent enough in one of these languages to be involved in business, or to study them  at  university.  Only  half  that number currently qualifies to do that.

Prof. Hill’s research over the past few months has  led him  to believe that the Indonesian plunge has  lev-elled; there are even signs it is bounc-ing back.

“It’s clear there’s a strong commit-ment among teaching staff to ensure that  the  quality  of  teaching  and learning programs  is  high  and  that universities are positioned to rebuild and expand Indonesian offerings,” he said.

“But I stress that work still needs to be done to strengthen community support for Indonesian. Old stereo-types about Indonesian language and culture linger on in the community, impeding development.

“Students,  parents  and  teachers need  to  be  better  informed  about the strong Indonesian economy and the importance of Australian trade in Indonesia. More than 400 Australian firms  operate  in  Indonesia  and  the Australian  embassy  in  Indonesia  is larger than any other.”

Currently around 200 students study an Asian language at UTAS, with Japanese being studied the most.

In next month’s Unitas 8 Graduation ceremonies in China

biobank to invest in health

lung cancer cells: Biobank Tasmania will start by collecting tissue from people suffering cancer but it is likely to expand to other diseases.

uTas has a ‘clear and confident’ Indonesian language program: Professor David Hill from Murdoch University gathered information from UTAS academics, including Dr Taufiq Tanasaldy, who lectures in Indonesian language and culture in the School of Asian Languages and Studies.

seaglider survives! southern ocean research challenge

9

Indonesian program a model for other states

‘With this we can start to study the biology and genetics of disease on an entire population.’

Between 2000 and 2008 the number of Australian students studying Chinese, Indonesian, Japanese or Korean from kindergarten to Year 12 dropped by 22 per cent.

8 market test Thais want our vegetables

U TAS  open  days  give people considering study the  opportunity  to  find 

out all the information they need.Open Day events give prospec-

tive  students –  and  their parents and family members – the chance 

to  experience  what  a  university education at UTAS can offer. And with more than 100 undergradu-ate degrees in traditional and spe-cialised  areas,  there  is  sure  to  be something of interest.

Open Days include a compre-

hensive  expo  where  anyone  can talk  to  UTAS  staff  and  students and  learn  about  the  courses  on offer,  scholarships,  applications and  student  accommodation. There will also be course overview presentations and general informa-tion  sessions  throughout  each  of the days, as well as campus tours, activities  and  demonstrations  to inform and enjoy. 

Feature events at Open Days this year include:•  A presentation in Hobart by Todd  Sampson,  CEO  of  one  of Australia’s top creative advertising agencies, Leo Burnett, and also the co-creator of the Earth Hour ini-tiative; •  In Launceston Ian Pidd, Artis-tic Director of the Junction 2010 Regional  Arts  Australia  Confer-ence, will be discussing “what good is a career in the arts?” •  At the Burnie event,  testing sessions will be held for the Aus-tralian  Sports  Commission’s National Talent Identification and Development program, of which the School of Human Life Science 

is a testing centre. This program is searching for the next generation of Aussie sports stars. 

UTAS Deputy Vice-Chancel-lor (Academic) and Provost Profes-sor David Rich, said Open Day is a key date on the university calendar for staff, students and members of the community. 

“There  truly  is  something  for everyone on offer at the Open Day events, whether you are continuing straight from Year 12, contemplat-ing a return to study, or considering which  postgraduate  course  might suit you best,” Prof. Rich said. 

“Open  Day  is  not  only  for aspiring and continuing scholars, it  is  also  a  chance  for  the  com-munity  to  join  us  at  UTAS,  see the facilities, meet the people and experience a taste of uni life.”

Open Day dates: Hobart, Sunday 8 August; Launceston, Sunday 15 Au-gust; Cradle Coast campus in Burnie, Sunday 22 August. For a full program see www.utas.edu.au/openday OR phone 1300 363 864 OR email Info@utas.edu.au

2 UTAS community Unitas JULY 2010 nUmber 341

Unitas is the monthly newsletter of the University of tasmania. it is printed in soy-based inks, on stock which is 80 per cent recycled and 20 per cent total chlorine-free pulp (FsC mixed source Certified). aluminium printing plates are also recycled after use.

Circulation 1,500 Editor sharon Webb 03 6324 3218 Email media.Office@utas.edu.au Production aCYs 03 6226 2591

Contributions are welcome, but items with a broad appeal will be given priority. the editor reserves the right to edit copy or hold it over for a later issue and is under no obligation to publish contributed material. the opinions expressed in Unitas are not necessarily those of Utas. For a list of Unitas deadlines and guidelines, visit us at www.utas.edu.au/events/unitas.html

uTas unlocks your future at open day

Ian Pidd, Artistic Director of the Junction 2010 Regional Arts Australia Conference will be discussing ‘what good is a career in the arts?’ at the Launceston Open Day.

On campus

In 1985 American wood designer Peter Adams was invited to lecture at the

University of Tasmania. Peter loved Tasmania so much that he is still here.

UTAS commissioned three of Peter’s iconic wooden benches for the Cradle Coast campus in 1997. They were welcomed to the campus with a twilight procession of glowing paper lanterns.

“With a bench you have to sit on it for it to be a complete work and I like that connection. I still do that. I like the bench for the idea that two people can sit next to each other on the same piece of timber and be connected,” he said.

Some feature events at the Open Days this year include a presentation in Hobart by Todd Sampson, CEO of one of Australia’s top creative advertising agencies, Leo Burnett.

summer at the research bench

searching the galaxy for stars and examining the links between tourism, conservation and development in the maasai mara, Kenya, were among the projects undertaken by students in the Faculty of science, engineering and technology under the 2009-2010 Dean’s summer research scholarship program. the achievements of the scholarship recipients were recognised in a ceremony held at the University Club recently. the Dean, Professor margaret britz, presented certificates of recognition to students who had spent six weeks embedded in a research group over the summer vacation period. the 16 students were mainly those about to enter the final year of their undergraduate program. the students were drawn from seven of the faculty’s 12 schools.

uTas law students triumph

a Utas law team has won the shield in the Victorian Council of Law students societies legal competitions championships. mark roberts and aneita browning comprised the winning client interview team, closely followed by teams competing on witness examination, negotiations, and mooting (a simulated trial in an appeal court). Other competing law students included aaron Cullen, Courtney Lockett, Pip monk, marko bolonja and bunewat Keo; three of the four Utas teams were victorious and selected to be in the grand finals of the competitions. Utas was the most represented law school in the grand finals, which were held at the Commonwealth Law Courts and were judged by Federal Court judges, County Court judges and other legal elite. this was the first time Utas has participated in the VCLss competitions.

Fulbright scholarships 2011 open

applications are open for the 2011 Fulbright scholarships, valued at up to $45,000. they are open to australian citizens to do research or study in the Us for 3–12 months. scholarships can be started between 1 July 2011 and 30 June 2012. as the largest and most prestigious scholarship program in the world, Fulbright provides unique opportunities for australians to build long-term research collaboration and links with Us universities. applications are open to postgraduates, post-doctoral, professionals and senior scholars from any field of study; they close 31 august 2010. For more information see www.fulbright.com.au

In brIeF

3 News Unitas JULY 2010 nUmber 341

Big picture

Professor David RichaCTInG vICe-CHanCellor

securing pathways to university

T he University has a deep commitment to the national and Tasmanian agenda of increasing educational participation 

and attainment.Nationally, the Commonwealth has invoked 

ambitious  targets  for  participation  in  higher education  in  the wake of  the Bradley Review. Universities  have  been  challenged  to  provide opportunities for people from all backgrounds to participate in higher education, and to provide the support necessary to help them succeed. 

With Council’s  encouragement, UTAS  is working  to  ensure  that we play our  full part in delivering on those targets, while also con-tributing in full to the Commonwealth’s other objective of expanding and strengthening the country’s research base. 

At  the  state  level,  increasing  educational attainment and improving participation rates was  the philosophy behind  the government’s Tasmania Tomorrow reforms that created the Academy and Polytechnic models.

Despite the changes announced recently in the post-Year 10 framework, the government’s commitment  to  improving  educational  out-comes remains. 

As a member of its board, I am disappointed that the Academy will not have the opportunity to build on the progress it was already making in terms of setting a clear pathway for Tasmanian students wanting a university degree.

However, I have been assured by the new Minister  for Education, Lin Thorp,  that  the recent post-Year 10  reforms will  retain  those successes  while  refining  those  elements  not working so well. The university will continue to have a strong voice in the development of the new senior secondary system. 

UTAS  has  recently  agreed  with  the  State Government that the focus of our formal part-nership agreement for the foreseeable future will be increasing educational attainment and partic-ipation. To achieve our ambitious objectives it will involve substantial changes across Tasmania.

UTAS  already  has  much  to  be  proud  of in  this  area.  Over  the  past  decade,  we  have increased  student  numbers  substantially, meeting  targets  ahead  of  schedule.  We  have been increasing the proportion of Tasmanians with a degree.

UTAS  has  achieved  much  but  there  is much, much more to be done. The university will need to play a leading role, in partnership with the State Government and other players across Tasmania. This is difficult stuff, but one of  the  biggest  challenges  is  probably  in  how we change ourselves to accommodate a much wider cohort of Tasmanians  in ways that will maximise  their  chances  of  academic  success, while retaining the all-important quality of our education and excellence of our graduates for which we are renowned.

David Rich

www.utas.edu.au/vc

manCheck for improving men’s health By mICHelle nICHols

U TAS’  School  of Medicine  is  calling for Tasmanian men to 

help doctors-in-training become better skilled in performing sen-sitive men’s examinations. 

Under  the  MCTA  Man-Check program, men recruited from  the  community  will  be trained as professional patients or  clinical  teaching  associ-ates  and  will  provide  valuable feedback  to  medical  students on  appropriate  technique  and etiquette  for genital and other physical examinations. 

The school’s head of surgery Professor  Richard Turner  said doctors-in-training  must  be comfortable  and  adequately skilled  in  performing  physical examinations. 

“Because  of  the  sensitivities involved, it is difficult for medical students to obtain the experience they need as part of their standard curriculum,” Prof. Turner said.

“The  Australian  Govern-ment  Department  of  Health and  Ageing  has  declared  both men’s health  and  cancer  to be major priorities.

“Leading  causes  of  death and  diseases  in  men  include 

prostate  cancer,  tumours  of the  sexual  organs  and  bladder cancers.  Colorectal  cancer  is also the most frequently occur-ring cancer to affect both men and women in Australia.”

Prof. Turner said all of these conditions depend on early diag-nosis and treatment  to provide good outcomes for patients. 

That’s why the men’s program is being developed at the UTAS 

School of Medicine in Hobart. The  first  step  has  been  to 

recruit  men  to  do  professional training  as  clinical  teaching associates  over  a  four-month period.  In  the  first  few  weeks, more than 100 men of varying ages  expressed  interest  in  the program; 75 per cent of the men were aged 50 years or older.

A  comprehensive  teaching program  will  be  delivered  to 

medical  students commencing in early 2011. 

Those  trained  as  clinical teaching associates will be paid and  will  be  under  the  normal privacy  provision  of  doctor–patient  confidentiality.  Infor-mation will be treated with the utmost respect and privacy.

The  MCTA  ManCheck program  is  a  joint  venture between UTAS and  the Pros-tate  Cancer  Foundation  of Australia.

Program Director Neil Sefton describes  the  development  as highly  significant  and  believes champions for men’s health will continue to come forward to help.

For more information phone (03) 6223 1247 OR email: mona@loofs-samorzewski.com for an expres-sion of interest.

The mCTa manCheck program: UTAS School of Medicine is calling for Tasmanian men to help doctors-in-training become better skilled in performing sensitive men’s examinations.

Professor Richard Turner said doctors-in-training must be comfortable and adequately skilled in performing physical examinations.

Honours for uTas Furniture design building

By sHaron webb

T he  University  of  Tas-mania’s  Furniture Design  building  at 

Inveresk is in line for a national architecture  award  in October following awards from the Tas-

manian chapter of the Austral-ian Institute of Architects.

The  building,  designed  by architects Six Degrees and Sus-tainable  Built  Environments, won  the  Sustainability  Award and  was  one  of  three  Tasma-

nian buildings to gain a Public Architecture Award.

Commenting on the build-ing  the  jury  wrote  that  the Furniture  Design  building “seamlessly incorporates simple sustainable  design  techniques into an architectural expression that is appropriate not only to the industrial nature of the site but also the pragmatic require-ments of the newly-established furniture school. 

“It  is evident that environ-mentally  sustainable  design principles  have  been  consid-ered and integrated from incep-tion although this has not been allowed to dominate.”

The  Governor  of  Tasma-nia  opened  the  $2.3m  Furni-ture  Design  building  on  30 April.  It  is  part  of  the  School 

of Architecture and Design and attached to the historic railyard building which is the home of the majority of the school.

Constructed  of  a  lami-nated  Tasmanian  oak  portal frame  with  fibreglass  sheeting, galvanised  steel  sheeting  and plywood, its “pared-back” design incorporates  environmentally-friendly innovative heating and cooling mechanisms.

The  building  is  currently used by 25  full-time  furniture design students and 40 students completing  furniture  design electives.

The head of  the School of Architecture,  Professor  Roger Fay, said he was delighted that to date the school’s two build-ings had received seven awards at state and national levels.

In  addition,  Master  of Architecture  student  Chloe Comino won the SWT Blythe Student Award for her designs; this award is open to architec-ture students at any level.

UTAS  School  of  Architec-ture alumnus Todd Henderson won  the  Emerging  Architect Award,  given  to  an  architect who has  graduated within  the past  10  years.  Todd  works  at Birelli Architects in Launceston.

award-winning architecture: The Tasmanian chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects gave two awards to the new Furniture Design building at Inveresk, commenting that it was obvious that ‘environmentally sustainable design principles have been considered and integrated from inception …’

Unitas JULY 2010 nUmber 3414 Features

neXT edITIon: The submission deadline for the august issue of Unitas is 9 July

Executive officer

my role at uTasi am two months into a 12-month secondment as an executive Officer with the Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (academic) and Provost, where i’m currently working on the Your Voice @ UTAS Project as well as looking at the University’s planning, budget and reporting processes.

when I’m not workingi am an avid reader, and am currently enjoying sarah bakewell’s How to Live, on the sixteenth-century essayist michel de montaigne. Otherwise i’m cooking, climbing mountains, exploring the gorge, pottering around my West Launceston vegetable garden, enjoying the company of my dogs, cat and partner or retreating to a special place in the midlands where i get away from it all.

Home is where the heart isWhile only a few blocks away, Cataract Gorge feels like an extension of my home and enchants me every time i visit, especially on freezing winter mornings.

my life before uTasi completed a bachelor of science (botany) at the University of Queensland and a bachelor of Letters at the University of melbourne, where i also worked in marketing and student administration roles for eight years prior to moving to tasmania in 2007.

If I could take a holiday anywhere in the world I’d go tosomewhere my partner really wants to go, wherever that may be.

my favourite part of australia isthe alpine regions of tasmania. Walking through late spring snow in the Walls of Jerusalem last year was an extraordinary experience.

my secret talent isHolding hot items without getting burned …

when I was at school, my favourite subject wasbiology, which is why i ended up studying botany. nevertheless, i also completed a degree through an english department and english was my least favourite subject at school.

dean mundey

Up close Iran to break the dream of a nuclear weapons-free world

T urkish Prime Minister Re c e p   E rd o g a n believes the world can 

now  stop  fretting  about  Iran’s nuclear  ambitions  following the  recent  deal  between  Iran, Turkey and Brazil.

What looks like a promising breakthrough where Iran agreed to  ship 1200 kg of  its nuclear fuel to Turkey in return for fuel rods  to make medical  isotopes for  “research”  was  successfully brokered  by  smaller  countries after the US and big powers in Europe had failed.

But  the deal actually raises more questions than it answers.

First,  it  reveals  starkly  just how  flawed  the  ailing  Non-Proliferation Treaty  (NPT)  is. Under  Article  4  of  the  treaty, states  are  not  just  entitled  – but  actively  encouraged  –  to research, develop and produce nuclear  energy  for  peaceful purposes. And  this,  of  course, is  exactly  what Tehran  says  it has  been  doing.  In  the  tran-script  of  the  most  recent  deal with  Turkey  and  Brazil,  Iran reaffirmed  its  commitment  to Article 4. 

According to the NPT, then, Iran  hasn’t  yet  done  anything wrong.  It  will  only  have  for-mally  breached  its  obligations once it develops a weapon. But by that time, the genie will be well and truly out of the bottle. 

Second, the “swap” signed in Tehran isn’t the first attempt to get Iran to give up its potentially weapons-grade uranium. Earlier this year Iran withdrew from a similar  deal  involving  Russia, the  United  States  and  France, and  sponsored  by  the  IAEA, 

the international atomic energy watchdog. And while President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s anti-Western diatribe at the signing of  the  pact  with  Turkey  and Brazil was not unexpected, it is disturbing  that  Iran no  longer feels obliged to deal with large Western powers on this issue. 

The  agreement  also  comes 

during heightened internation-al attention to nuclear dangers. The US recently signed a new arms  limitation  treaty  with Russia and its Nuclear Posture Review  declares  that  the  US will not use (or threaten to use) nuclear  weapons  against  non-nuclear  countries.  The  five-yearly NPT Review conference is currently underway, at which the parties may  even  agree on the agenda this time, and Presi-dent  Obama  recently  hosted a  two-day  Nuclear  Review Summit in Washington. 

Yet the Iranian nuclear issue has noticeably taken a back seat each  time,  with  references  to Tehran’s ambitions being made either  obliquely,  or  not  at  all. Obama’s  Washington  Summit concluded surprisingly that the most pressing proliferation issue 

was  keeping  weapons-grade material away from terrorists. 

Obama’s  own  talkfest would  have  been  unnecessary if  the  NPT  actually  worked. But  unfortunately  it  doesn’t. The  most  effective  interna-tional regimes have normative, regulatory  and  punitive  com-ponents – or rules,  inspections and  consequences.  Yet  in  the 

NPT the third aspect is absent, the  second  can’t  be  rigorously enforced, and the first  is selec-tively interpreted.

This means that those inter-ested  in  preventing  Iran  from developing  nuclear  weapon  are running  out  of  options.  Iran remains  hostile  towards  the IAEA and there is a fear that this latest  piecemeal  offering  might placate China and Russia enough to ward off a new series of UN Security Council sanctions.

But  are  there  really  any other  avenues?  Advocates  of punitive action in the guise of military  strikes  know  that  the chances  of  success  are  slim. And who would perform them? Israel  is  the most  likely candi-date  in  terms  of  capabilities, but a pre-emptive attack by Tel Aviv  would  jeopardise  patient 

regional diplomacy that is only starting to bear fruit. Likewise, in the current political climate it is hard to see Barack Obama authorising  a  surgical  strike, even though prudence dictates that he is probably planning for it if necessary.

Granted,  the  continued hypocrisy of  the nuclear  ‘club’ of five (the US, Russia, China France  and  the  UK)  arguably exacerbates  the  problem,  and few would accept at face value Obama’s  apparent  renewed commitment  to  denuclearisa-tion. But  the  Iranian problem is  a fine  example of  the many grey  areas  in  contemporary international  relations,  where international  law  is  unhelp-ful,  and using  force  is  fraught with danger. Amidst this uncer-tainty  Iran  is  playing  a  skilful game, with its Foreign Ministry declaring that it will continue to enrich uranium up to weapons-grade level. 

Such  announcements  do little more than deepen the fear that  worse  is  to  come  –  and that there is very little that can be done  about  it. Despite  the best efforts of Obama, and even Kevin Rudd and Gareth Evans, dreams about a nuclear weap-ons-free world now seem even more  utopian.  In  little  more than a decade we’ve seen India, Pakistan  and  North  Korea  all go nuclear.  Iran will  surely be next. 

Dr Matt Sussex is Senior Lecturer in the UTAS School of Govern-ment and Dr Matt Killingsworth is Associate Lecturer in the School of Government.

The view from here

in little more than a decade india, Pakistan and north Korea have developed nuclear weapons. dr maTT susseX and dr maTT KIllInGsworTH discuss theirbelief that iran will be next …

Obama’s own talkfest would have been unnecessary if the Non-Proliferation Treaty actually worked. But unfortunately it doesn’t.

By CHerIe CooPer

T he glamour of Broadway recently  came  to Hobart’s  Festival  of 

Broadway  and  the  star  was creative genius Stephen Schwartz.

Mr Schwartz, a well-known Broadway  legend,  has  written music and lyrics for major pro-ductions including Pippin, God-spell,  The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Pocahontas, The Prince of Eygpt and the recent hit Wicked 

which  opened  in  2003  and  is currently  running  on  Broad-way. His work has earned him two Academy Awards and three Grammys. 

He was in town to perform his hits, talk about his body of work  and  to  conduct  master-classes  for  aspiring  composers and lyricists.

“I’m excited about the con-certs but it’s much more excit-ing to do the master classes,” he said at the time.

“Working  with  Australian composers and lyricists, some of whom are going to be from Tas-mania, is exciting – I’ve heard the work of some of them before and it’s very talented and promising.”

Mr Schwartz said that musical theatre  was  special  because  of its  intrinsic  multi-tasking  –  it encompasses dance, music, story-telling, drama and design. 

He  is  photographed  here with soloists Silvie Paladino and Liz Callaway.

schwartz is the music man

5 Feature Unitas JULY 2010 nUmber 341

neXT edITIon: The submission deadline for the august issue of Unitas is 9 July

Parasites beautiful and abhorrent

By merIan ellIs

T he  fascinating  faces  of  the most repellent of life forms were the feature of the Para-

sites in Focus exhibition at the Cradle Coast campus.

The  exhibition  consisted  of twenty-six  superb  photographic prints showing the amazing micro-scopic  world  of  the  parasite  from the common head louse to parasites found in the nostrils of deep-sea fish, 

accompanied by two hands-on para-site exhibits.

Parasites in Focus  includes pho-tographs by scientists from the Aus-tralian Research Council (ARC) and the  National  Health  and  Medical Research  Council  (NHMRC) Research Network  for Parasitology, a national organisation of scientists, universities and research institutions, and is touring nationally.

It  was  exhibited  at  the  Cradle Coast  campus  in  May  and  early 

June, attracting more than 150 stu-dents and members of the public. 

Cradle Coast campus communi-ty engagement officer Nicki Fletcher said  the  images  are  both  beautiful and abhorrent but provide a fascinat-ing  insight  into  the most common and manipulative of all life forms. 

“Parasites are often thought of as disgusting and regarded as an aber-ration but the parasitic way of life is the most common way of life on the planet,” Ms Fletcher said.

“This  exhibition  has  appeal for  anyone  interested  in  science, 

photography  or  what  they  may be  carrying  around  in  their  gut.  It provides a totally different perspec-tive on parasites such as tapeworms, roundworms,  ticks and fleas which are  transformed  as  into  art  forms through the lens of the microscope,” she said. 

This exhibition was supported by the Imaginarium, Devonport, and is sponsored  by  the  ARC/NHMRC Research Network  for Parasitology, The Australian Society for Parisitol-ogy, Questacon and the Department of Education, Science and Training. 

‘Parasites are often thought of as disgusting and regarded as an aberration but the parasitic way of life is the most common way of life on the planet.’

(Top) Ctenocephalides Ctenophalides: The flea in this image was raised on an artificial dog called FIDO (Flea Incubating Deluxe Oven), as part of a project to investigate the potential for development of a flea vaccine. Image courtesy of Russell Hobbs, Copyright Murdoch University 2007

(above left): Head of a trypanorhynch tapeworm, complete with tentacles. This parasite was found on a serranid fish on the Great Barrier Reef. Image courtesy of Rob Adlard, QLD Museum (Australia).

(above right): Pediculus capitas are parasitic lice that are often found in our hair. They live, eat blood, sleep, and lay their eggs close to our scalp so the heat from our head allows the egg to hatch. Image courtesy of Russell Hobbs, Copyright Murdoch University 2007.

(Top) Campanulotes: This blue-faced louse was found on a pigeon. Image courtesy of Cath Covacin, Stephen Barker and Rick Webb, The University of QLD (Australia).

(above) eimeria produce hundreds of ‘clones’ of themselves, packed into a single cell of their host. Image copyright 2007, D J P Ferguson, University of Oxford, UK.

(below) Capsaloides magnaspinosus lives in the nostrils of the striped marlin fish. Image courtesy of Bronwen Cribb, Centre for Microscopy & Microanalysis, University of QueensIand & Ian Whittington, Monogenean Research Laboratory, SA Museum, Adelaide (Australia).

6 Conferences & awards Unitas JULY 2010 nUmber 341

research supported by elite scholarships

By sHaron webb

A ustralia’s  aquaculture industry could make huge gains from improved edu-

cation and training of employees, the CEO of the National Aquac-ulture Council said recently.

Attending  the  Aquaculture Education  and  Training  Con-ference at  the UTAS Newnham campus,  Justin Fromm said that the model of expecting aquacul-ture employers to approach course providers is not working.

“Educators and trainers realise now  that  they  must  go  to  the industry;  after  this  conference  I now have ideas of how to convince my members – the Council must have a position on education and training then that will flow on to members.”

The  National  Aquaculture Council  represents  the  salmon, prawn, oyster,  tuna, barramundi, mussel  and  abalone  aquaculture industries  in Australia. The pearl and mussel  industries will shortly join its ranks.

Justin said the problem facing the  industry  was  its  apathy  and reluctance to train and educate its employees.

“Most  companies  believe learning on the job is adequate and any formal training they do is for regulatory  purposes.  They  don’t realise how much more they could get from broader formal training,” he said.

“Specific  skill  sets within  the agrifood  industry  should  be  tar-geted towards employees.”

Justin said the overall fabric of training institutions and the edu-cation they provided was sound.

“Passionate people are  target-ing  high  school  students  with science  or  aquaculture;  these people are an untapped resource. 

So if we can get them to meet the employers we can be successful.”

Attended  by  a  large  number of staff from the Australian Mari-time  College,  the  core  principle of the conference was the promo-tion of aquaculture as a career for school  leavers and people already employed in the area.

Its goal was to raise the profile of  the  industry  and  attract  and retain  employees  through  raising skills.

Justin Fromm is a UTAS alumnus, gaining his Bachelor of Applied Science in 1996.

T en  new  research  projects are  under  way  in  North-West  Tasmania  as  part  of 

the  UTAS  postgraduate  research program. 

The new PhD students at Cradle Coast  campus  will  be  delving  into topics  including  land  use  change, career  decisions  for  young  women, and  two  projects  focusing  on  food 

and  climate  change  issues  on  King Island. 

UTAS  Dean  of  Graduate Research Professor Peter Frapell said a range of scholarships is available to support postgraduate level research in regional Tasmania. 

“By  providing  opportunities for higher degree research and sup-porting our best  candidates with a range of scholarships, UTAS ensures North-West  Tasmania  has  highly skilled graduates whose research will contribute  to  the  sustainability  of the region,” Prof. Frapell said. 

Three of this year’s PhD students have  been  awarded  University  of Tasmania’s  Elite  Research  Scholar-ships, providing financial support of $30,000 a year, tax-free over the three years of their research projects, plus a lap top computer to assist with their projects. 

The University of Tasmania has over 100 Elite Research Scholarships for PhD candidates  in areas such as health and medical sciences, natural, physical and applied sciences, as well as business and management, region-al  development,  education  and  the humanities. 

Angela Castles from Latrobe is one of this year’s Elite Research Scholarship recipients. Angela’s project is, Planning for peri-urban land use change – foster-ing innovation in agriculture.  This project seeks to research how land use planning  mechanisms  can  encour-age innovation in food agriculture by developing new planning mechanisms for the peri-urban setting. 

Another  of  the  Elite  Research Scholarship  recipients  is  Cherie Hawkins  from  Wynyard,  who  is researching  the  social  and  cultural influences on  the career  aspirations of adolescent females in the region. 

aquaculture education and Training Conference: John Purser (Left) from the AMC’s National centre for Marine Conservation and Resource Sustainability discusses the industry’s need for more aquaculture education with Justin Fromm, CEO of the National Aquaculture Council.

elite research scholarships at Cradle Coast: (from left) students Angela Castles and Cherie Hawkins with Participation and Pathways Coordinator Dayna Broun.

Conference corner

T he winners of two envi-ronmental  scholarships will  focus their honours 

studies  on  environmental  issues affecting Tasmania.

The Claudio Alcorso Honours Environment Scholarships celebrate the  values  of  Claudio  and  Lesley Alcorso, who were  strident  advo-cates for the natural environment. 

Elinor  Ebsworth  is  currently doing her honours  in  the UTAS School  of  Geography  and  Envi-ronmental Studies in Hobart. Her project will  examine  the  invasive species of weeds which  can have negative impacts on our environ-ment and threaten biodiversity. 

“Cotoneaster was introduced to Australia as an ornamental garden plant  but  has  since  escaped  to become a noxious weed,” she said.

“I suspect pademelon brows-ing might suppress  invasion into bushland in Tasmania, given that they  are  known  to  browse  on shrubs and are extinct from main-land Australia.”

The  second  recipient,  Chris Slavin,  is  currently  an  under-graduate  student  at  the Austral-ian Maritime College’s National Centre for Marine Conservation and  Resource  Sustainability  in Launceston, enrolled in the Bach-elor  of  Applied  Science  in  the 

marine environment, majoring in marine conservation. 

The  aim  of  Chris’  honours project  is to determine the types and  sources  of  litter  going  into the marine environment and what type of legislation needs to be put in place to address this. 

“Once litter enters the marine environment  it  impacts our envi-ronment and social values,” he said. 

“Litter entangles, chokes and strangles  marine  animals  and contributes  to  the  movements of  introduced  species  through rafting,” he said.

“Litter’s social impacts include people’s reduced pleasure in using beaches because of unsightly litter and  the  costs  of  cleaning  our beaches as well as the human health risks posed by some materials.”

UTAS Acting Vice-Chancel-lor,  Professor  David  Rich  con-gratulated both of the recipients. 

“The  Alcorso  Scholarships offer a helping hand to students while  studying,  which  is  very important. The  honours  year  is a  challenging yet  rewarding one which is often a platform for con-tinuing on to postgraduate study,” he said.

Beach litter research in depth, page 11

scholarships address local green issues

weed invasion research: Alcorso Foundation Scholarship winner Elinor Ebsworth (centre) with Acting Vice-Chancellor Professor David Rich (left) and Simon Boughey, secretary of the Alcorso Foundation.

benefit from aquaculture education says industry body

7 News Unitas JULY 2010 nUmber 341

learning medicine in Tassie’s rural communities

donation to benefit future doctors

ageing report first step in older people living more happily

By mICHelle nICHols

S econd-year medical  students have  learnt  about  specific health  care  issues  and  how 

health  providers  work  together  to deliver care during a week spent  in Tasmania’s small rural towns.

This  year’s  Rural  Communi-ties  Program  has  built  on  the  suc-cessful statewide program launched last  year;  small  groups  of  medical students  were  based  in  Smithton, Wynyard, Ulverstone, Penguin, Shef-field, Latrobe, Port Sorell, Westbury, Swansea, Ouse, Scottsdale, St Marys, Huonville, Snug/Bruny Island, New Norfolk and Kempton.

Director  of  the  UTAS  Medical Education  Unit,  Associate  Profes-sor Craig Zimitat, said the School of Medicine is continually refining the 

curriculum  for UTAS medical  stu-dents. The aim is to produce junior doctors well-equipped with the skills and knowledge to address communi-ties’ healthcare needs.

“There is strong focus on Tasma-nia’s rural communities,” he said.

“This focus facilitates an interest in our students wanting to work in rural  areas  upon  graduation,  pro-vides  an  opportunity  to  deliver  a positive health promotion message to our rural communities and also to 

engage members of the community to understand health issues.

Rosalie Maynard from the Uni-versity’s Rural Clinical School said all students based  in  the  state’s north-west attended a clinical skills session at  Burnie  before  heading  to  their communities. 

“They  then  spent  time  talking and working with health profession-als  in  local  practices  and  outreach programs,” she said.

“Students  went  out  with  com-munity nurses, learnt about commu-

nity support groups, spent time with local  doctors,  and  talked  to  local ambulance officers about their roles in  small  rural  communities.  Some attended a Community Response to Eliminating Suicide workshop. They had a glimpse  into  important  local industries.”

Some  students  visited  Ian  and Lesley  Young’s  farm  at  Sassafras where potato harvesting was  in full swing.

Lesley Young is a former national president of the CWA and currently a 

Latrobe Councillor. She told students about her involvement in rural health issues  around Australia, particularly as part of a national taskforce visiting drought-stricken rural  communities and her involvement in the beyond-blue initiatives that flowed from this. 

While  out  and  about  in  com-munities  across  the  state,  students took part  in a wide range of activi-ties  including visiting ward rounds and  aged  care  facilities,  engaging in  health  promotion  activities  and learning about Aboriginal health.

Students  were  also  encouraged to enjoy the rural lifestyle such as fly fishing at Ouse, yachting on the East Coast  and  sea  kayaking  at  Ulver-stone.

Evaluations showed the program motivates students to re-engage with their studies and opens their eyes to the positive aspects of rural medical practice.

Community  feedback  was  also positive,  with  each  community looking  towards  participation  in 2011. 

By CHerIe CooPer

Y oung aspiring Tasmanian doctors  will  be  given  a helping  hand  with  the 

creation of a new, ongoing schol-arship. 

The Medical Council of Tas-mania recently made a $1 million donation  to  the UTAS Founda-tion to establish a scholarship to support Tasmanian secondary stu-dents study medicine at UTAS.

The  donation,  announced at  the  annual  UTAS  Founda-tion  Dinner,  will  provide  finan-cial  assistance  in  the  form  of  an ongoing scholarship for up to six Tasmanian students studying med-icine at UTAS who may not oth-erwise have had the opportunity to pursue a career in medicine. 

The President of  the Medical Council  of  Tasmania,  Dr  Peter Sexton,  said  he  was  pleased  to announce the donation on behalf of the Medical Council of Tasmania.

“We  believe  it  is  important that the contribution of past gen-erations of doctors, made through their  registration  fees,  should 

directly  support  future  genera-tions of doctors in Tasmania,” he said.

Chair of  the UTAS Founda-tion  Mr  Miles  Hampton  con-gratulated  the  Medical  Council of Tasmania for their vision and philanthropic leadership.

Professor James Vickers, Head of the UTAS School of Medicine, said  that  the donation  from  the Medical Council would  support young Tasmanians embarking on a career in medicine. 

“This  will  be  particularly important for students from rural locations  or where financial  cir-cumstances may make university study difficult,” Prof. Vickers said.

T he  first  report  from  an important  project  research-ing Community Engagement

for Productive Ageing in rural Tasmani-an communities has found that older people show it’s possible to meet the challenges of ageing head-on, and live independently and successfully.

The study highlighted the impor-tance of a personal approach to deliv-ering health and community services for older people – and that many rural service  providers  already  practise in  this  way  despite  organisational restraints.

One of the report authors, Dr Hazel Baynes from the UTAS Rural Clinical school,  said  after  interviewing people aged  63-93  years  about  their  experi-ence of ageing  in rural Tasmania that service providers must aim to maximise older people’s ability to make their own choices around social engagement. 

“The most  service providers  can hope  to  do  is  to  help  to  create  an environment  which  maximises  the positive aspects of the ageing journey and minimises the negative,” she said.

“From  speaking  to  older  people and  those  planning  and  providing services such as home help, communi-

ty transport and community nursing we found that age-related changes in health and capacity do challenge older people’s  ability  to  remain  socially engaged.

“Without appropriate services and supports older people can easily move into  forced withdrawal,  social  isola-tion  and  a  socially  and  emotionally impoverished existence.”

The research, led by the chief execu-tive of the UTAS Rural Clinical School, Professor Judi Walker, has three phases, the first of which is complete:

•   Survey older people, their service providers and government policy makers;

•   Audit  existing  Australian  and international  models  of  service provision; and

•   Produce a new Tasmanian service model based on the findings from the first phase.

The  report’s  co-author, Dr Peter Orpin  from  the  University  Depart-ment of Rural Health, said the major finding of the report was that despite the  inevitable  losses  accompanying ageing,  it  is wrong and unhelpful to view ageing as pathological with many problems to be fixed. 

“It’s a natural process which can be a relatively positive or negative experi-ence depending on a complex, often fine, balance of factors within the indi-vidual and their environment,” he said. 

“We  are working  towards devel-oping  innovative new approaches to support  older  people  which  enrich rural  communities  and  their  older people.”

Full report: See www.rcs.edu.au/growingolder

The aim is to produce junior doctors well-equipped with the skills and knowledge to address communities’ healthcare needs.

The donation … will provide financial assistance in the form of an ongoing scholarship for up to six Tasmanian students

(Far left) learning clinical skills: Students learn airway management with Rural Clinical school senior lecturer and specialist anaesthetist Dr John Henshaw.

(left) docs learn about local industries: Farmer Ian young with Sarah Henderson (kneeling), Samantha Cassidy and Alice Mulcahy.

ageing report: UTAS research has found that older people show it’s possible to meet the challenges of ageing head-on, and live independently and successfully.

8 News Unitas JULY 2010 nUmber 341

Produce to the students

Thai trade for Tassie vegies

Finance – that’s kids’ play

S tudents  at  the  UTAS Cradle  Coast  campus now  have  access  to  free 

fruit and vegetables through the Produce to the People Tasmania project.

The  aim  is  to  gather  excess produce from backyard gardens in Penguin, Burnie and Wynyard and give it to people in the com-munity who may not have access to seasonal fruit and vegetables.

The  UTAS  campus  in  Burnie has  become  a  designated  drop-off point for the Produce to the People project,  providing  students  with a  chance  to boost  their diets with healthy food. 

Project Manager Penelope Dodd says up until now fruit and vegeta-bles have been distributed  through the Salvation Army support service.

“The University drop-off point is a great way to extend the sharing opportunity to the student commu-nity at UTAS,” Ms Dodd said.

“Anything not taken by students or staff will be collected and deliv-

ered to the Salvation Army to boost our  current  Produce  to  the  People contributions.”

“We are  encouraging  staff,  stu-dents and gardeners in the area sur-rounding  the  University  to  donate any surplus fruit or vegetables.   All they need to do is drop their goods into  reception  at  the Cradle Coast campus.”

The Produce to the People Project is funded by the Community Capacity Building Grants Program of the Tasmanian Department of Premier and Cabinet.

By merIan ellIs

T asmanian vegetable farmers are  working  on  wedging open  the  door  to  lucra-

tive markets  in Thailand through a project being run by the Tasmanian Institute of Agricultural Research.

In April this year the Australian Government  granted  $116,000  to TIAR  to  develop  a  marketing  and promotion  strategy  to  determine the needs and commercial viability of new South-East Asian  vegetable export markets.

TIAR Vegetable Centre Market-ing and Development Officer David Wells  started  a  project  last  year looking at market opportunities  for Tasmanian-grown  vegetables.  The intensity  of  the  project  increased overnight  with  the  announcement in November that the McCain’s veg-etable plant in Smithton would close this  year,  affecting  more  than  100 farmers in the region.

David Wells  says  the closure of the factory has highlighted the need for new markets.

“The push is on now for growers to look harder for somewhere to sell their vegetables,” he said.

“It  has  become  obvious  that in  many  crops Tasmanian  farmers cannot compete on the world market on price. But our research in Asia has shown  that  top-end  consumers  in that region will pay a premium price for premium produce.”

For  the past  year Mr Wells has been working with Sarawak Import Export  Commercial  LP  director, Pupat Srisuksawadikul, to develop a sustainable supply chain to Thailand.

This month, Mr Srisuksawadikul will  visit  23  potential  exporters around the state who have registered interest  in  the  project  and  believe 

they  can meet  the demands of  the Thai market

Mr Wells  says  the project  aims not to take business away from exist-

ing vegetable processing and whole-saling businesses within the state but to provide an alternative for expan-sion into a secure market.

  “We  don’t  just  want  the  big volume producers of vegetables,” he said.

“We  are  looking  to  build  a supply  chain  that  will  include  all genres of  food producers and gives smaller producers the opportunity to participate as well.

“This initiative aims to challenge the  assumption  that  all  exporters need to be big. We believe that they need only be  innovative enough to be a supplier to a larger exporter.”

By mICHelle nICHols

A UTAS  pilot  program  is exploring  ways  of  increas-ing financial  literacy  in the 

community by  incorporating  some concepts early in education. 

Given that most individuals have responsibility  for  managing  their own retirement funds, Deputy Head of  the  School  of  Economics  and Finance  Professor  Mardi  Dungey believes better financial understand-ing is a life skill which can be taught at primary school. 

“I  am  piloting  ideas  so  that  I can work with  teachers  to develop a  program  which  hopefully  can 

become more generally available to schools,” she said.

“I  am  often  asked  why  target primary  schools  instead of waiting for  high  school.  My  reasoning  is that  kids  really  remember  things they learn early. And by introducing them to these concepts as things they can do,  they will  hopefully not be intimidated by managing their own finances in the future.”

Prof. Dungey is advocating intro-ducing  mathematical  concepts  of finance such as simple interest, and risk  and  return  at  primary  school level.

“It makes it available in an envi-ronment where students are still able 

to ‘play’ with the concepts, and don’t see it as yet another maths exercise,” she said.

“I think it engages their interest in a practical problem, which by the way happens to involve some maths. 

They  do  lots  of  maths  problems without even thinking about it, and have fun doing it. “

Prof. Dungey is currently under-taking a pilot program at a number of Tasmanian primary schools. The pilot is focused on three main areas – finance, maths, and  information and  communications  technology skills.

Grade  six  students  at  Huon-ville Primary School are part of this program and teacher John Murray said his class has been right into the sessions,  talking about  the  relative value of monies  in different coun-tries  and  the  nature  of  the  stock exchange.

“Many students have a genuine feel  for  the  stock  results  and have been  watching  their  virtual  share portfolio  with  real  interest,”  he said.

In the last session, the class gets together  to  talk  about  how  much money  they  have  made  or  lost overall and discuss what would have happened if  they had put the same money in the bank.

“These  final  discussions  intro-duce students to concepts of risk and return tradeoff,” Prof. Dungey said. “I think they have fun – I certainly do!”

The pilot program will  run  for the remainder of the year.

Produce to the People pumpkins: Janelle Allison and helpers on the vegie run.

Promoting Tassie’s vegetables: Herald Sun food columnist and chef Kate McGhie and TIAR Vegetable Centre’s Marketing and Development Officer David Wells show off Tasmania’s produce.

Prof. Dungey is advocating introducing mathematical concepts of finance such as simple interest, and risk and return at primary school level.

‘In many crops Tasmanian farmers cannot compete on the world market on price. But our research in Asia has shown that top-end consumers in that region will pay a premium price for premium produce.’

9 Features Unitas JULY 2010 nUmber 341

By mICHelle nICHols

A  small Seaglider has spent 76 days in the harsh conditions of the Southern Ocean gath-

ering observations to help scientists to  better  understand  currents  and ocean parameters that influence the Australian climate and marine eco-systems.

The  Australian  Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) is celebrating the successful deploy-ment and retrieval of  the Seaglider which was launched from the Marine National  Facility  Research  Vessel Southern Surveyor  in  late  March some 680 kilometres from Tasmania. 

IMOS Scientific Officer Dr Katy Hill said the Seaglider, a small type 

of ocean glider, was at sea for 76 days before staff from CSIRO retrieved it off the continental shelf near South-port in early June. 

“This first voyage has successfully demonstrated the Seaglider’s capacity in  the harsh conditions of  the vast Southern Ocean,” Dr Hill said. 

Ocean  gliders  are  autonomous vehicles designed to operate in water depths up to 1000 metres. By chang-ing buoyancy, they are able to descend and ascend. They have wings allow-ing them to move horizontally while profiling across strong currents, which means they are easier to control.

Seagliders fix their positions via the global positioning system when they surface and communicate with the onshore  laboratory via  Iridium 

satellite, relaying collected data and receiving any new commands from the scientists.

The  Seaglider  is  one  of  17  in the Australian National Facility  for Ocean Gliders fleet, which is oper-ated and managed from the Univer-sity of Western Australia.

Currently  ocean  gliders  are deployed  off  south-west  Australia and the Coral Sea. The observations 

from the Seagliders are very impor-tant as the Southern Ocean plays a prominent role in the global climate system and ocean gliders are an ideal platform  to observe  oceanographic conditions in this region.

Dr  Hill  said  the  Seaglider  was launched  at  the  Southern  Ocean Time Series (SOTS) site which is a multidisciplinary ocean observatory at the sub-Antarctic zone.

“The  SOTS  site  is  collecting sustained observations of the atmos-pheric surface layer, upper and deep-ocean  to  understand  the  transfer of heat, moisture, energy and CO2 between the atmosphere and ocean, and  improve  our  knowledge  of climate,  carbon  processes  and  the role of the ecosystem, “Dr Hill said.

“In  the  period  from  Septem-ber this year to March next year,  it is  expected  that  Seagliders  will  be deployed  off Tasmania,  traverse  to the SOTS site and then return.”

“We  hope  that  at  least  three Seagliders will be in the water at any given time, with one traversing towards the SOTS site, one at the SOTS site and the other returning to Tasmania.”

This  current  Seaglider  deploy-ment  is  an  example  of  scientists working  together  across  a  number of institutions including the Univer-sity  of  Western  Australia,  CSIRO, the Bureau of Meteorology and the Antarctic  Climate  and  Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre at the University of Tasmania.

IMOS is supported by the Aus-tralian  Government,  through  the National Collaborative  Infrastruc-ture Strategy and the Super Science Initiative. It is led by the University of Tasmania on behalf of  the Aus-tralian marine and climate  science community.

For more information about the Seaglider visit: http://imos.org.au/

seaglider survives harsh southern ocean

(above) Tracking its own course: The Seaglider was retrieved in early June off the Continental Shelf near Southport.

(left) The Seaglider on the deck of the Southern Surveyor. Photo by Eric Schulz.

Tosia magnifica! say teachers viewing underwater photosBy sHaron webb

S ixteen  Launceston  teachers almost goggled at the diver-sity and unexpectedly bright 

colours  of  life  in  the Tamar River and  Bass  Strait  as  they  viewed  an exhibition  of  photographs  at  the Queen  Victoria  Museum  and  Art Gallery.

They were  there with  the pho-tographer, David Mayne, and PhD student Stephen McGowan to view David’s  exhibition,  Beneath the Waves,  in  preparation  for  bringing their students to see it.

Mayfield  Primary  School teacher Carol Boyd wanted  to get some insight into the exhibition so she knew what to point out to her kids.

But really, kids wouldn’t need to have  things  pointed  out  with  this exhibition; they’d skip from the mes-merising starfish collection,  includ-ing  the  magnificent  biscuit  orange and  cream  star  Tosia magnifica,  to the amazing close-up of the spines of a purple urchin found near Garden Island. Teachers wouldn’t get a word in edgeways.

David Mayne, photographer and lecturer  in  resource  sustainability in  the National Centre  for Marine Conservation and Resource Sustain-ability,  and  his  team  of  PhD  stu-dents from the Australian Maritime College  are  currently  giving  tours to teachers and students from both primary and high schools.

“We  don’t  know  much  about the Tamar estuary or our impacts on 

the Tamar River,” David said.“The only way to understand more 

is to monitor its health and conduct research  into  natural  and  human impacts within the catchment.”

Carol  Boyd  was  clear  on  what attracted her, as an educator, to the exhibition.

“Most important for children is the  passion  of  the  presenters,”  she said.

beneath the waves: AMC photographer David Mayne points out the colour-changing ability of the local big-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, to Mayfield Primary School teachers Carol Boyd and Lorraine Todd.

Ocean gliders are autonomous vehicles designed to operate in water depths up to 1000 metres.

10 News Unitas JULY 2010 nUmber 341

weeding out environmental issues

I t’s  a  tough  job  weeding  but for the people in the volunteer group Sea Spurge Remote Area 

Teams (or SPRATS) it’s a  labour of love.

The  SPRATS  volunteers  spend hundreds  of  days  weeding  every year to eradicate potentially damag-ing weeds from Tasmania’s west and south coasts.

Dr  Jon  Marsden-Smedley, research  fellow  from  the  UTAS School of Geography and Environ-mental Studies,  is an active partici-

pant in the wildcare group that was formed  in 2007 by a group of vol-unteer bushwalkers and people who combine  bushwalking  with  weed management. 

SPRATS  aims  to  eradicate  all sea  spurge  and  marram  grass  from the 600 km of Tasmania’s west coast and south coast between Strahan and Cockle Creek, where the weed is cur-rently causing major adverse changes to the environment.

Sea spurge is a weed that is devas-tating coastal landforms and ecosys-tems across Southern Australia. 

Dr Marsden-Smedley researches these invasive weeds and recently ran a  coastal  weed  management  work-shop.

“The majority of this coastline is world heritage, listed for its outstand-ing natural and cultural values,” he said.

“Sea spurge could also adversely impact  birds  like  hooded  plovers, pied oystercatchers and sooty oyster-catchers which have their strong hold on this coast along with the critically endangered orange-bellied parrot.”

Dr  Marsden-Smedley  said  an important aspect of SPRATS is com-bining  high-level  recreation  with effective environmental work. 

“This means we do the environ-mental work but also take the time to swim, snorkel,  take photographs or just sit and enjoy one of the world’s last great wilderness areas.

“Volunteers  have  a  reward-ing time so they return season after season.”

Matt Baker from the Tasmanian Herbarium was on hand at the work-shop to help attendees identify other weeds,  including  sea  rocket,  which has cork-like fruits that float away to germinate, allowing them to end up in  remote  locations  like  the South-West coast of Tasmania.   

He  told  attendees  that  a  lot  of weeds arrived by stowing away in the ballast of ships. 

He advised attendees to be aware that Sicilian sea lavender, a weed, was not  to be  confused with  the native yellow  sea  lavender,  despite  their closeness in appearance.

Also on hand to offer advice to the enthusiastic  weeders  was  bird  expert Dr Eric Woehler. He emphasised the importance of keeping a respectful dis-tance from shore birds and terns when weeding. Birds such as the fairy tern and the little tern lay their tiny eggs on the beach and are easily spooked away from protecting their babies if disturbed.

Dr  Woehler  said  the  eggs  were the size of mini chocolate eggs and if terns are scared away from their nests the chicks  inside the eggs could die by freezing or overheating. 

“Sitting on the eggs is not about keeping  them  warm,  it’s  about keeping them at a constant tempera-ture,” he said.

Dr Woehler said weeders should be careful of the birds and note their behaviour;  if  they  seemed  agitated it  was  best  for  weeders  to  retreat. He  advised  to  never  take  dogs  on weeding expeditions to the beach as they love to chase birds. 

For more information on SPRATS see http://www.wildcare.org.au/ sea spurge and marram grass eradication by the sPraTs team:

Weeders on Tasmania’s West Coast. Photo by Ian Brown.

S cientists hope to reinforce the value of the Southern Ocean as  a  warning  system  for  the 

corals on the Great Barrier Reef by tracking  the  response  of  elephant seals to changes in ocean conditions.

The Antarctic Climate and Eco-systems Cooperative Research Centre in partnership with the Great Barrier Reef Foundation is researching how elephant seals respond to changes in ocean conditions.

Using  special  sensors  mounted on the heads of elephant seals in the Southern Ocean, the project team – comprising researchers from CSIRO and the University of Tasmania – will collect data about  the seals’ behav-iour and ocean conditions,  such as temperature and salinity. 

University  of Tasmania  marine biologist  Professor  Mark  Hindell said  the  sensors  allow  researchers to  investigate  how  elephant  seals respond to changes in ocean condi-tions.

“By tracking the seals, we’re also gaining  critical  information  about these  changing  conditions  in  the 

Southern Ocean, which is a driver of world climate,” he said.

The  results  will  reinforce  the value of  the Southern Ocean as an early warning system for the corals and  others  species  on  the  Great Barrier Reef, which are particularly sensitive  to  even  small  changes  in water temperature and pH.

The  project  will  run  for  12 months  and  will  be  followed  by deeper  analysis  of  data  to  gener-ate additional  scientific  results  and inform research publications.

The  climate  change  research project  has  received  backing  from QANTAS.

early warnings from elephant seals

‘Sea spurge could also adversely impact birds like hooded plovers, pied oystercatchers and sooty oystercatchers which have their strong hold on this coast along with the critically endangered orange-bellied parrot.’

‘By tracking the seals, we’re also gaining critical information about these changing conditions in the Southern Ocean, which is a driver of world climate.’

elephant seals fighting, Vestfold Hills, near Davis station Antarctica.Photograph © Frederique Olivier/Australian Antarctic Division.

School of Chemistry

analysing carbs for better foodi knew from my undergrad years that i enjoyed analytical, instrumental and organic chemistry the most. my project covers all of these areas.

the idea of my PhD started from my Honours project where i made synthetic molecules (fluorescent tags) which aided the detection and analysis of carbohydrates. a later collaboration with the University of Queensland helped me understand the importance of carbohydrates especially in rice starch. this encouraged me to investigate the detection and analysis of carbohydrates in foods.

the title of my PhD is ‘new strategies to improve the sensitivity of capillary electrophoresis for carbohydrate analysis’.

my project involved analysing carbohydrates, which are complex sugars found in food that we consume on a daily basis. the idea was to detect and analyse minute quantities of carbohydrates which cannot be detected by old conventional methods that usually take a large amount of time and require big pieces of equipment to do so.

in order to make the detection of carbohydrates in food easier we explored a few strategies. the first one was to improve detection using a state-of-the-art laser-induced fluorescence system. this was an expensive strategy that involved purchasing a hi-tech instrument.

the second part was to design a special fluorescent molecule tag which can be attached to carbohydrates to considerably improve detection. We designed and made a new fluorescent tag which worked well and better than some of the commercially available tags in carbohydrate analysis. Using a technique called capillary electrophoresis we were able to take small quantities of carbohydrates and concentrate them around 50-fold allowing for better detection.

Ultimately the method was transferred to a microchip which is a very small device which allows even smaller quantities of the sample (nano litre sample volumes) and much faster separation. When you go from capillary electrophoresis to a microchip everything gets reduced at least 10 times – the time of analysis, the sample quantity and so on. this chip also allows concentration of the sample to achieve better signal and ability to detect carbohydrates. this is the ultimate novelty of the project; the ability to do the analysis on such a tiny device.

this project is ultimately a starting point for future projects that will be able to improve the quality of food through quick carbohydrate analysis, which in turn will make food healthier for everyone.

Tom Kazarian

My PhD

A MC  honours  student Chris  Slavin  is  about to spend the next nine 

months  at  the  beach,  thanks to an  innovative project and a recently awarded scholarship.

While  it  sounds  like  the perfect  career  choice,  Chris will be getting his hands dirty because his project will explore the types and sources of marine debris  in  northern  Tasmania. He hopes to feed the results of this  work  into  the  legislative process,  as well  as  the public’s general awareness.

Originally  from  Victo-ria’s  Mornington  Peninsula, Chris  made  the  move  to Tas-mania  to  finish  his  Bachelor of  Applied  Science  (Marine Environment)  at  AMC’s National  Centre  for  Marine Conservation  and  Resource Sustainability  (NCMCRS). Following his mid-year gradu-ation  he’s  pushing  straight into  Honours  and  the  marine debris project. The project was developed  by  Associate  Pro-fessor  Marnie  Campbell  from the  NCMCRS  and  is  based on a broader aspect of human impacts on the marine environ-ment. 

“Marine  debris  has  always been an aspect of marine con-servation  that  I’ve  been  keen on –  even before  I  started  the course,” Chris said.

“There’s  a  strong  visual 

effect  as  well  as  the  negative effect  it  can  have  on  marine animals. There’s also the health risk to humans.” 

The  project  has  three phases, starting with a survey to gauge the perceptions of Tasma-nians towards marine debris.

The  second  part  of  the project  will  involve  nine  dif-ferent  beaches:  three  pristine beaches, like Strahan, as well as 

three recreational beaches,  like Sisters  Beach  near  Burnie  or Beer  Barrel  in  St  Helens,  and also  three  heavily  urbanised beaches, like Bell Bay.

“I’ll  pick  up  the  rubbish  I find  and  sort  it  into  different categories,  such  as  medicinal, sanitary,  plastics,  fishing  gear, wooden  material,  metals  and fabrics,”  Chris  said.  “I’ll  also look at whether  it’s  land-based 

or marine-based  litter,  such as litter  from boats, beach goers, or from stormwater drains.

“I’ll  also  investigate  poli-cies that relate to marine debris, from an international level to a state  level.  Finally,  I’ll  overlay this with an analysis of public perception – whether members of the public think their actions contribute to this problem.

“I  hope  to  do  something that could influence legislation and  gain  perspective  on  the public’s  knowledge  of  marine debris  –  hopefully  something that can educate the public on issues  related  to  this  kind  of debris so they can change their actions.”

Chris’s  project  received  a welcome  boost  at  the  end  of May.  He  was  awarded  2010 Alcorso  Foundation  Honours Environment Scholarship from the  Alcorso  Foundation  –  an organisation  founded  to  con-tinue  the  values  of noted Tas-manian  wine  figure  Claudio Alcorso and his wife Lesley. The foundation fosters international exchanges with Italy as well as sponsoring a number of prizes and awards  in  the areas of  the arts, the environment and social justice.

To find out more about current and potential NCMCRS projects see www.amc.edu.au/marine-conser-vation-sustainability

nine months at the beach

11 Features Unitas JULY 2010 nUmber 341

sorting the beach rubbish problem: AMC student Chris Slavin will spend nine months at the beach, hard at work on his honours project.

UTAS books

From the Ground up – the story of Codes’ First 20 yearsVarious authors (CODES, 2009)

CODes is the australian research Council’s Centre of excellence in Ore Deposits based at the Hobart Utas campus. since its 1989 beginnings, CODes has become one of the world’s leading centres in ore deposit research. From the ground up tracks this growth from when four researchers worked on a handful of australian-based projects to now, with nearly 200 research staff and postgraduate students working on more than 50 projects in 26 countries. Published to celebrate the centre’s 20th anniversary, this book highlights CODes’ major research achievements, benefits delivered to the minerals industry and its provision of first-class geoscientists for industry and academia.

The australian study of PoliticsEdited by Rod Rhodes, School of Government (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009)

this book is the first comprehensive reference work on the history of the study of politics in australia. it focuses on developments since World War ii, exploring the historical roots of each major sub-field. the chapters show that australian political science is strong where it has a longstanding engagement with the international political science community (for example, in international relations); where it regularly interacts with australian government priorities (for example, in public administration); and where it involves the larger community (for example, public intellectuals). this book is published in association with the australian Political studies association.

The state as Cultural PracticeBy Rod Rhodes, School of Government and Mark Bevir (Oxford University Press, 2010)

The State as Cultural Practice offers a fully worked-out account of the authors’ distinctive interpretive approach to political science. it challenges the new institutionalism, probably the most significant present-day strand in both american and british political science. it moves away from such notions as ‘bringing the state back in’, ‘path dependency’ and modernist empiricism. instead, bevir and rhodes argue for an anti-foundational analysis, ethnographic and historical methods, and a decentred approach that rejects any essentialist definition of the state and espouses the idea of politics as cultural practice.

management in Focus: the Global Financial CrisisBy Tom Valentine and Megan Woods, School of Management (Pearson, 2010)

Management in Focus analyses the Global Financial Crisis and its relevance to managers and organisations. the opening chapter examines the evolution of the GFC, its effect on world economies and the policies that were created to deal with it. Chapter two explains the business and management implications of the crisis by analysing how the crisis has influenced organisational environments. six case summaries with discussion questions complete the book by exploring the implications of the GFC for business opportunities and threats, planning, leadership, change management, talent management and changing employment relationships.

12 Arts Unitas JULY 2010 nUmber 341

What’s on

The work

By sHaron webb

T urkish Moment was created through  Tasmanian  artist Carmel  Burns’  absorption 

of the shapes, colours and images of Turkey when she travelled there.

The  work  is  included  in  her exhibition, Beyond the Deckle, which is on display at the NEW Gallery at the UTAS Newnham campus until 12 July. The exhibition’s eye-catch-ing works combine an Asian/Middle Eastern aesthetic with Carmel’s fas-cination with the texture of paper as an implicit aspect of art. Many are oil-based ink on hand-made paper, some with gold and silver leaf.

“The crescent  is always present in Turkey,  on  the  flag  and  all  the mosques,” Carmel said.

“This piece evolved intuitively as I absorbed my surroundings in that country.”

Carmel’s  technique  often involves beginning a work without a  definite  plan  in  mind;  the  work evolves as she expresses herself.

These days she often works with unusual  hand-made  papers,  occa-sionally  tearing  and weaving  them into compositions, or using collage 

to  create  broadly  representational and non-figurative works.

“I’m  increasingly  interested  in the texture and quality of the paper after some past projects on specially-commissioned, hand-made paper,” she said. 

“The exhibition includes a pro-gression  of  works  done  over  time, with some of the more recent pieces made  from  fragments  of  specially-commissioned,  hand-made  paper adhered to canvas.”

Works such as Turkish Moment are  a  radical  departure  for Carmel Burns, whose original  training was as a printer.

Her  screened  works  utilise  the structural and procedural processes of the craft with a painterly layering of inks. She uses the screen printing to apply colour as a painter would use a brush. 

Carmel  describes  herself  as  a “screen painter”, producing  single, one-off  images  created  stage  by stage, colour by colour, using tradi-tional screen techniques, sometimes with the inclusion of other materials such as gold leaf.

Her  works  have  a  vitality  and energy  that  stems  from  the  excite-

ment  of  creative  exploration.  As Carmel  puts  it,  “each  picture  is always a revelation of possibilities”. 

Carmel burns (b. 1953) majored in print  making  at  Melbourne  State College and taught art and craft for 10 years before moving to Tasmania in  1984  with  her  husband,  Tony Smibert,  to  establish  their  Studio Gallery near Deloraine. 

Her  commissions  include  art-works for Pier One Hotel on Sydney Harbour and St  John’s Ambulance executive building in Perth.

Carmel plays a major role in the art and creative consultancy services offered by her business partnership with Tony. Their  company, Studio Editions  Pty  Ltd,  has  interests  in art,  education,  publishing  and broadcasting  and has worked with institutions  including Tate Britain, the  National  Gallery  of  Australia, various  publishing  houses  and  a leading Japanese fashion house.

Travel inspires Turkish textures

24 JulyVisiting artist seriesAustralian Chamber Ensembleincludes: Villa-Lobos – Sextuor Mystique, Dring – Trio for flute, oboe and piano, and brenton broadstock and Lachlan Davidson – World premiere of new work commissioned by the australian Chamber ensembleTickets: $20 adults / $15 Concession / $12 alumni available at the door 30 minutes prior to concert Time: 6pm Venue: Conservatorium recital Hall, 5 sandy bay road, Hobart Information: (03) 6226 7306

30 JulyVisiting artist seriesAnthony Garcia Guitarist composer anthony Garcia is a highly trained classical musician well versed in styles such as jazz, Latin folk and popular music. He touches audiences with his blend of formality and colourful improvisatory flair. Tickets: $20 adults / $15 Concession / $12 alumni at the door 30 minutes prior to concert Time: 6pm Venue: Conservatorium recital Hall, 5 sandy bay road, Hobart Information: (03) 6226 7306

4 auGusTVisiting artist seriesNiels Bijl saxophonist niels bijl, with the aurelia saxophone Quartet (arguably one of the top two saxophone quartets in the world) heads to australia in 2010 for a series of concerts and workshops. Tickets: $20 adults / $15 Concession / $12 alumni available at the door 30 minutes prior to concert Time: 6pmVenue: Conservatorium recital Hall, 5 sandy bay road, Hobart Information: (03) 6226 7306

09 auGusT - 29 auGusTAustralian Shakespeare Festivalthe australian shakespeare Festival, a major new australian multi-arts festival and a flagship event within tourism tasmania’s Lumina campaign, will have its inaugural season in Hobart. Executive Producer: Kevin Purcell Artistic Director: Paige newmark. Information: www. australian-shakespearefestival.com.au

15 JulyFree Public LectureWhere have creativity, innovation and passion gone in the great education

debates of the 21st century?the australian College of educators will present the richard selby smith Oration to be delivered by Professor brian Caldwell, a previous Utas Dean of education well known and respected by the tasmanian education community.Time: 6pm Venue: University Centre, Churchill ave, sandy bay Information: bradleyd@bigpond.net.au

20 JulyThe Royal Society of Tasmania Free Public LectureFrom Tasmania to Antarctica – Macquarie Island on the World Stagethe Winter Lecture series 2010 commemorates the 200th anniversary of the discovery of macquarie island in 1810. Speakers: Dr mark Hindell, school of Zoology, Graeme beech, Parks and Wildlife service, Dr Patricia selkirk, macquarie UniversityTime: 8pm Venue: sir stanley burbury theatre, sandy bay campus Information: (03) 6226 2521

26 JulySchool of Asian Languages and Studies public seminarPaul mcCarthy, a noted translator of prominent authors from Japanese to english, will talk about issues in the

translation of asian languages. all welcome.Time: 6–7pm Venue: Utas Law Lecture theatre b, Law building, sandy bay campus.

30 JulySchool of Geography and Environmental Friday ForumA Meditation on Virtuous Spaces associate Professor elaine stratford’s work is underpinned by a desire to contribute to the creation of generous, compassionate and inclusive domains in which the human and more-than-human may thrive. all welcome.Time: 4–5pm, followed by drinks and nibbles Venue: Lecture theatre 211, school of Geography and environmental studies, sandy bay campus Information: (03) 6226 2463

2 auGusTPublic lecture Can we prevent another Global Financial Crisis?the speaker, Prof. Joseph e. stieglitz, is professor and chair of the Committee on Global thought at Columbia University new York.Time: 6pm Venue: stanley burbury theatre, sandy bay campus Information: Utas.events@utas.edu.au

10 auGusTPublic lecture by Dr Lee Schip-per, co-recipient of the 2007 Nobel Peace PrizeSustainable transport solutionsTime: 5.30–7pm Venue: stanley burbury theatre, Utas sandy bay campus Information: climatechange@dpac.tas.gov .au

22 July Visual and Performing Arts workshopVoice Theatre Lab public training sessionsCost: $8 Venue: Lecture theatre ir.ia181, academy of the arts inveresk Time: 6–7pm Information: robert Lewis (03) 6324 4426

30 July Alumni and Development UTAS Alumni gatheringalumni cocktails at the tasmanian museum and art Gallery. Chat with other alumni while viewing the City of Hobart art Prize exhibition. Time: 6–8pm Venue: tmaG, 40

macquarie st Hobart Information: melanie roome (03) 6324 3472

08 auGusT – 22 auGusTUTAS Open Daysneed to know more about your study options? Want to enhance or revive your career? Or just want to find out more about what Utas can offer you?

2010 Utas Open Days will be held in Hobart on 8 august, in Launceston on 15 august and Cradle Coast in burnie on 22 august.

Utas Open Days provide: a comprehensive course information expo, where you can talk to academic and general staff, a schedule of undergraduate and postgraduate course overview sessions presented by each of the faculties, as well as general information sessions and tours of campus facilities throughout the day.

Turkish Moment, oil-based ink on paper, 860x600mm, by Carmel Burns.

For a complete list of, or to con-tribute to, What ’s on/Classifieds, visit: www.utas.edu.au. Contribu-tions are free but may be edited.

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