Learning how to use technology and geography for sustainable development was the aim when Griffith University STEM students Martin Juncal and Jacob Breslin travelled to Thailand last month on a scholarship.
Martin Juncal and Jacob Breslin in Thailand for the Asian Summer School.
Sustainability has hit the headlines as climate change has become a global concern, and there is mounting public pressure for sustainable resources such as renewable energy to become a “must-do” for all projects — personal, political and profitable.
Geoinformatics combines technology and geography to display data in a way that allows environmental professionals to make well-informed decisions about how we use, treat and manage natural resources.
Martin and Jacob with some of the other Summer School participants.
“I’m fascinated with developing the natural world in a creative, innovative and sustainable way,” Martin said.
“I want to combine engineering and science to ensure that we can continue to grow and develop our infrastructure, but to do so in a way that preserves and protects the natural environment from any further detriment.”
During their time at the Asian Summer School the men undertook a series of workshops, including one with Google Earth. However, second-year Bachelor of Science student Jacob said a trip to LomSook Smart Farm was a highlight.
The group on a field trip.
“LomSook Smart Farm was my favourite as it demonstrated to me how smart farming is being utilised by the youth of Thailand through developing a series of smart greenhouses that can be used to improve crop yield,” he said.
“In fact, I was inspired with thoughts of starting my own little social enterprise to help empower young farmers in Australia through smart farming techniques.”
Both Martin and Jacob look forward to putting their new-found knowledge and skills to use, both in their undergraduate degrees and postgraduate study.
Jacob and Martin with students from Japan’s Chubu University.
“I’d like to help bridge the gap between industry and academia to ensure that my ideas will be used in a manner that is both, economically viable for companies, but also efficient and sustainable,” Martin said.
“The use of geoinformatics in natural disaster risk prediction, detection and management was so interesting to me that it has prompted me to look at how I can contribute to this vital field through further research… so I’m now considering an Honours year or further postgraduate study,” Jacob said.
The Asian Summer School has been held by Japan’s Chubu University and Thailand’s Asian Institute of Technology since 2015 and explores topics including agriculture, energy, natural resources, health and smart cities.
High school students from the Border to the Cape and as far west as Mt Isa will travel to Brisbane for four days of intensive rehearsals, tutorials and concerts.
More than 100students from around the countryhavealso been selected to participate in the AustralianHonoursEnsemble Program andagroup ofAmerican college students will represent the prestigious PacificHonoursEnsemble Program (PHEP).
Leading music educators from around the world will oversee the ensembles, from a big band and symphony orchestra to Celtic string ensemble and choirs.
On Sunday, more than 4000 people are expected to visit the Conservatorium South Bank campus for sixgrand finale concerts.
Professor Gemma Carey
Acting Director of the Queensland Conservatorium Professor Gemma Carey said the program had grown from modest beginnings to a record 1000 students attending this year.
“This is our largest ever cohort with many more nominations received from schools than we were able to accommodate,” she said.
“It is a delight to welcome these emerging musicians to our state-of-the-art facilities at South Bank.”
Open Conservatorium ManagerMrJason Budge said SHEP provided a pathway for aspiring musicians.
“SHEP is now a firmly established aspect of music education in Queensland, bringing together young people from across the state to share their passion for music.”
This weekend’s event is one of a dozen SHEP programs held throughout Queensland each year for primary, middle and high school students.
Congratulations to the many recipients of awards that have been announced over the last quarter. Our Newsletter features some of these successful individuals, highlighting their contribution both within Griffith University and more widely by their profession.
Among the recipients are several of our international alma mater from the highly regarded Master of Training and Development, delivered in Singapore in collaboration with the Institute of Adult Learning. The two graduates have been recognised by Singapore’s National Skillsfuture award program. Graduate Colonel Sng Hock Lin received the Exemplary SkillsFuture Award for his work on Public Sector Transformation. Fellow graduate, Mr Winston Sng, was also awarded the SkillsFuture Fellowship Award. These recognitions highlight the impact of a key program in our school.
Also in the international space, we feature an exciting collaboration with the Qiushi Education Group and their Headmaster Mr Yuchao Wang. This partnership enables initial teacher education students from the School of Education and Professional Studies to engage in a 5 week immersion program in China undertaking professional experience teaching in their field in either a primary or secondary setting. Enjoy reading about the student’s experiences.
Four Griffith graduates have been awarded Churchill Fellowships to explore some of the country’s most pressing and emerging challenges.
Master of Environment 2011 graduate Clytie Binder will use the award to explore education methods and partnership models to support community composting, and travel to the US, Canada and Cuba for her studies.
Petah Chapman. Image courtesy of Dean Agar Photography.
Petah Chapman (pictured), who completed a Bachelor of Music in 2015, will head to the UK and Denmark to pursue excellence in opera and build international relationships with cultures in which opera thrives.
Bachelor of Physiotherapy and Bachelor of Exercise Science 2006 grad Sian Spencer will use the fellowship to develop and prepare Australian athletes for international paraclimbing competitions by undertaking research in the US, Austria, France and the UK.
Paediatrician Dr Billy Garvey, who graduated from Griffith with a Bachelor of Medicine and a Bachelor of Surgery in 2009, is looking to improve child health and development using technology to support evidence-based parenting practice in the US, the UK and Sweden.
Vice Chancellor and President, Professor Carolyn Evans
Griffith Vice Chancellor and President, Professor Carolyn Evans, was thrilled to hear Griffith graduates were pursuing such worthy endeavours.
“We are incredibly proud of our four alumni recipients of 2019 Churchill Fellowships who are making positive change in the lives of others in such diverse ways ranging from childhood development, paraclimbing participation, community composting models and opera partnerships,” she said.
Prior to being appointed at Griffith in February 2019, Professor Evans studied as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University and was awarded a Fulbright Senior Scholarship in 2010 to travel as a Visiting Fellow to American and Emory Universities to examine questions of comparative religious freedom. She sees immense value in opportunities like the Churchill Fellowships.
“Griffith values its relationship with the Churchill Trust and the opportunities created through the Fellowships for recipients to travel overseas and conduct research in fields not readily available in Australia.”
In total, 115 Churchill Fellowships have been awarded this year, including 20 from Queensland, 24 from New South Wales, 22 from Victoria, 14 from Western Australia, 8 from the Australian Capital Territory, 10 from South Australia, 10 from Tasmania and 7 from the Northern Territory.
It is 54 years since the first Churchill Fellowships were awarded in honour of Sir Winston Churchill.
The Bachelor of Music graduate won kudos from a panel of celebrity judges, including five-time Grammy Award winner Steve Lukather.
Rising to the challenge
Dylan Reavey at the Guitarist of The Year finals in London.
Dylan performed his own composition, King Aura, an epic 4-minute guitar-shredder that wowed fans at the UK Guitar Show. He perfected the song in the lead-up to the finals, drilling it every day for up to eight hours.
“I like to set myself a challenge, so I write stuff I can’t play and then spend months learning it,” he said.
“I was really nervous before the finals – I’ve never performed one of my own pieces live before, and the stakes were so high.
“The fact that I won still feels a little bit surreal to me, it’s such an honour.”
Social media stardom
Dylan has attracted a growing following online, where his fans include some of his childhood guitar heroes.
“I’m constantly surprised that people are tuning in to listen to my stuff,” he said.
“It is so cool to have people I’ve looked up to following me on YouTube and Instagram.
“I think social media has made it so easy to share your work, and it’s really given me a platform.”
Simply the best
The multi-award winning guitarist has an endorsement deal with Strandberg Guitars and was recently handpicked to join elite Japanese guitar
Dylan Reavey with his Guitarist of the Year prize – a rare PRS John Mayer Signature guitar.
“It’s amazing to be recognised at an international level,” he said.
Dylan describes his ever-evolving style as “hyper-video game-jazz fusion”. He lists a diverse range of musical influences, from J-Pop to Aussie rap, metal and arcade video game soundtracks.
“I try to be original and keep myself open to all kinds of influences.”
A fresh perspective
Dylan graduated from the Queensland Conservatorium with a Bachelor of Music, majoring in jazz guitar. He said his studies at Griffith had broadened his musical horizons.
“My time at the Con opened up a lot of career choices I never thought were possible,” he said.
Approximately half of Schoolies are unaware emergency contraception is available and more than one-quarter believe it is harmful according to a new Australian research study urging a re-think on outdated and misleading ‘morning after’ terminology.
Published in the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia (SHPA)’s flagship journal Journal of Pharmacy Practice and Research, the study led by researchers from Griffith University analysed 500 responses by Schoolies at Surfers Paradise in 2017, finding 63% were unaware emergency contraception was available without prescription, and that young women were two to three times more likely than young men to show understanding of its availability, use, safety and effectiveness.
Lead researcher Denise Hope, from Griffith’s School of Pharmacy & Pharmacology, said while rates of understanding of emergency contraception in Schoolies paralleled the general population, they formed a more vulnerable cohort.
“Numerous studies tell us engagement in intoxication and unprotected sex is very high at Schoolies, both in Queensland and in Victoria and Western Australia, and the impact of unplanned pregnancy is significantly greater in younger people,” Hope said.
“Schoolies may not access emergency contraception when indicated due to fear of harm, uncertainty about its effectiveness window or where to access it.
“We may not be able to change behaviours, but we can increase options and peace of mind for young people.”
With less than two months before the first Schoolies are due to descend on the famed holiday strip, Hope said the timing was right to have clearer discussions about the language of emergency contraception.
“Half of respondents thought the window of effectiveness was either 12 or 24 hours, which tells us the ‘morning after’ misnomer is clearly misleading,” she said.
“While the effectiveness of emergency contraception is enhanced by its timely use, young women should be made aware they have up to five days following unprotected intercourse to access the medicine from a pharmacy.
“This phrasing should be abandoned, in favour of ’emergency contraception’, which is more clinically appropriate and descriptive.
“Pharmacists are an accessible source of free advice, provision of support relating to sexual health and referral as necessary.”
The article ‘Emergency contraception awareness in an at-risk population’ is now available via SHPA’s Journal of Pharmacy Practice and Research (JPPR).
2018 series champions, Griffith has claimed victory in the second leg of the AON Rugby 7s series, beating tournament favourites Sydney University and University of Queensland (UQ) for the winner’s cup.
A multitude of injuries from the opening tournament a fortnight ago resulted in five changes to the team. It took some time for the new combinations to gel, with a shock first up loss to Bond University, but they regrouped to beat University of New England (UNE) (22-19) and UQ (14-7) on the opening day.
Day Two started with a draw against the University of Adelaide (17-17). The effort was just enough to make it through to the semi-final, where Griffith showed it’s determination in beating Sydney University (14-12).
Griffith then entered familiar territory, competing for the winner’s cup against local rivals UQ. After a 7-all deadlock at half time, two outstanding team tries in the second half sealed victory and their first medal for 2019.
Coach Moana Virtue praised the efforts of the team in what was described as a ‘roller coaster’ of a weekend.
“Regardless of who is named for tournaments I have faith in the depth of our squad, we have to be prepared to play every minute right from the start,” said Virtue.
“This tournament was tough, the girls had setbacks but what was pleasing is that they fought for everything.
“What I saw this weekend was team-work. We lacked being direct and aggressive at times, but we turned it on when we needed it most and the final game was our best game.”
Dr Jason Doyle, who is on the board of the Griffith 7s team, praised the team’s efforts.
“They dug deep and never gave up, despite being behind late in most of the games leading into the final,” he said.
University of Queensland, Griffith University and Sydney University at the trophy presentation. Photo: Steven Duhig.
“The whole team showed mental toughness, were able to hang in there under pressure and consistently turned up for one another”.
Moana Virtue said the team now has two more weeks to work hard before the next tournament.
“We’ll celebrate the win for now but come Tuesday we’re back to work.”
The cup win means Griffith nabs second place on the series ladder, four points behind UQ.
The teams will meet in Adelaide in a fortnight for the third leg of the series on October 11 and 12.
By Professor Poh-Ling Tan
Griffith Law School
Friday 20 September’s rallies across the world call for climate action, but some Australians are still asking questions. Are we going through a drought or has the climate flipped to a “new normal”? Is this climate change or a climate emergency? Are climate scientists just beating things up to secure their own research funding? Messages circulating on social media report a serious drought in 1940s, so are we really experiencing the worst drought on record?
There is no doubt that Australia has recurring droughts. In eastern Australia from 1937 to 1945, there were some extremely dry years, with Black Friday bushfires in January 1939 in Victoria. Australians are very fortunate to have access to the Bureau of Meteorology’s (BoM) reports for fact checking. The BoM is government funded, non-partisan, and the public rely on their reports when it comes to weather predictions for storms or even getting on a plane. BoM’s latest drought report says
… the32 months from January 2017 to August 2019has been the driest on record averaged over the Murray—Darling Basin (34% below the 1961—1990 average), as well as over the northern Murray—Darling Basin (40% below average) and for the state of New South Wales (34% below average)… only the 1900—02 peak of the Federation Drought has been drier. The last 32 and 20 months have also been the driest on record averaged over the Border Rivers, Macquarie—Bogan, Namoi, Gwydir, and Castlereagh catchments, with the last 20 months also the driest on record for the Moonie, Condamine-Culgoa, and Lower Murray catchments.
http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/drought/
Moving away from south-eastern Australia, perhaps the most iconic feature in northern Australia is the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Long term monitoring programs give us accurate reports of reef health. In the northern reefs, a peak level of hard coral cover or 30% was recorded in 1988. In 2019 this had declined to 14%. There is variation from year to year, and recent declines in hard coral cover followed a sequence of disturbances after 2013, including cyclones, outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish and mass coral bleaching. Similar findings exist for central and southern parts of the GBR. It is undeniable that the trend is downwards (https://www.aims.gov.au/reef-monitoring/gbr-condition-summary-2018-2019).
Some of our farmers, who are perhaps are more exposed to the extreme vagaries of climate than others, call for forward looking strategies to minimise climate risk. Wheat, fish, beef, diary production are all adversely affected. For example, up to 70% of wine country may be unsuitable for grapes by 2050. Instead of drought management which seeks to prop up the status quo, farmers call for cross-sectoral policies that provide systemic changes in ecosystem and natural resource management (see https://www.farmersforclimateaction.org.au).
Australia’s industries need supportive policies to be at forefront of climate ready innovation. Instead, in this respect, we are laggards while Ethiopia, Morocco, India, Chile and four other countries are top performers in meeting 2015 Paris targets. For us and our neighbours, our children and our grandkids, we need to face climate facts. Whether we accept or reject human induced climate change, we should acknowledge and act on two key messages — that we are all living with greater risk than we ever have, and it behoves us to manage the natural resources and our ecosystems more conservatively.
Charity donation areas could be in for a major overhaul as part of a three-year field trial aimed at improving the quality of goods handed over at drop-off points by creating more ‘champion’ donors.
Reducing the amount of unusable donations collected at these areas has been a long-term goal of the organisations that run op-shops, but measures such as surveillance and fines have not stopped the problem.
Charity organisations are still deluged by more than 60,000 tonnes of unusable product each year, placing the operators, often running on a shoe-string budget, under enormous pressure.
The team recently secured a $347,153 ARC Linkage Grant to run the project, which is called, Increasing the quality of goods donated to charities: Two field trials.
Terry O’Neill, CEO of Link Vision and Vice President of NACRO.
Terry O’Neill, CEO of Link Vision and Vice President of the peak body for charity shop organisations, NACRO, described the grant as, ‘the best thing to happen to the sector for a long time’.
Mr O’Neill is a part of the project team, which also includes Dr Timo Dietrich and Dr Bo Pang (Griffith University), Mrs Bianca Gray (Qld Department of Environment and Science), Dr Christine Domegan (National University of Ireland, Galway), and Professor Rundle-Thiele.
The Federal Government funding is being met by $120,000 from the Queensland Government, and $30,000 from NACRO members, on top of their substantial in-kind support.
Professor Rundle-Thiele said increasing the quality of donations without reducing the quantity would create higher quality revenue streams for Australian charities.
“A lot of the charities in Australia are doing it tough; by increasing the quality of goods donated, charities can put more money into services by saving on the costs of processing low quality or zero quality goods handed in to them,” she said.
The project is informed by a previous report, Does your donation count or cost?, which aimed to understand the motivation of people who donate goods to charity bins.
It found that many of the people who donate to charity bins are unintentionally donating unusable items. While 40% of people are ‘champion’ donors, around half of all donors don’t understand what goods can be used by charities.
Mr O’Neill said the earlier research showed that people need more help. While a ‘big stick’ approach of surveillance and fines may always be needed for intentional dumpers, other approaches like social marketing are needed to help to show people who want to help Australia charities what they need to do.
Dr Timo Dietrich, from Social Marketing @ Griffith.
“The existing approach to reducing illegal dumping, surveillance and fines, hasn’t worked. It hasn’t prevented large amounts of unusable goods being placed at donation bins,” Mr O’Neill said.
“Overwhelmingly, what we have found there is a lack of understanding. People don’t know what’s good and what’s bad, or what goods are acceptable and what are not.”
Dr Dietrich said that the final design of the trials will be set out after a period of community consultation.
“We co-design with stakeholders and citizens to develop solutions that are supported by the community,” Dr Dietrich said. “When everyone is included in the journey, there is more uptake of the solutions.”
Investigating how to redesign and reimagine donation points backed up by integrated communications strategies to help people understand how to donate responsibly will be a focus of the studies.
Dr Dietrich says that could include a complete redesign of the donation area and reimaging the type of language used about donating to charity. For example, use of the word ‘bin’ could be discarded.
“You usually throw trash into bins,” Dr Deitrich said. “It’s a negative type of language and it may be time to look into a different approach. Through a stakeholder and citizen-led design process, this is the type of thing we will consider.”
At the end of the three-year trial, Mr O’Neill hopes to expand the successful approach nationwide
“If the program gets rolled out nationally, it will be due to the dedicated efforts of a group of Queenslanders. Once we have done the early part of the work, we can look at how we can get the other states to take up the campaign,” he said.
Understanding how natural materials are created has helped a Griffith University research team create a smart material platform to aid in the creation of new drugs and even help in the clean-up of polluted environments.
Professor Rehm said the team looked to nature to provide insights into the natural building blocks and materials to create smart materials that could be applied with a novel functionality and be adapted to suit different purposes.
The smart materials could be used toneutralisetoxic pollutants in the environment, as medical treatments that could be injected into the human body or an animal, and as a tool to help in the manufacture of new medicines.
“We started from basic science by trying to understand how those materials are made naturally, and if you understand the mechanisms you can then go back into nature and do bioengineering and rewire the bacteria to recombine things a little bit differently towards possible applications,” Professor Rehm said.
Bacteria were rewired to produce protein-coated bioplastic beads, which the scientists subsequently encapsulated into alginate hydrogels.
Proteins coating the bioplastic beads remained functional, while the bioplastic beads could be loaded with water-insoluble substances that represented active molecules, such as medicinal drugs.
The alginate gel properties the bioplastic beads were encapsulated within changed in response to salt andacidity, andcould be controlled to enhance functionality of the bioplastic beads for the production of biopharmaceuticals or the clean-up of polluted environments.
“This development of a new materials platform technology combines naturally occurring biopolymers in a very new way to create functionality that has been not achieved before,” Professor Rehm said.
“It’s the first proof of concept; it’s a platform technology that can be now easily adapted to a variety of environmental, industrial and medical applications.”
The natural smart material degrades over time, so it would not pollute the environment with more manufactured materials. While active, it would provide intense activity to reduce the pollutant burden.
The material — bioengineeredpolyhydroxybutyrate(PHB) particles encapsulated within tunable alginate hydrogels — isnano-/micro-structured, but it could be produced on a large scale.
Professor Rehm said the next step would be for the team to provide a speciallyfunctionisedmaterial for an end user — such as anorgnanisation, the government or industry partner — to meet an unmet need.
The paper ‘Alginate Encapsulation of Bioengineered Protein-CoatedPolyhydroxybutyrateParticles: A New Platform for Multifunctional Composite Materials’ has been published inAdvanced Functional Materials.
The smart materials could be used to