A lack of logjams in Australian streams and rivers created by deforestation could result in less habitat for aquatic animals and insects.
That’s according to research conducted in Rocky Mountain streams in the western United States that found streams full of dead trees were healthier than clean streams. The work, led by Dr Michael P. Venarsky from Griffith University’s Australian Rivers Institute, who is continuing his exploration of the findings that were originally published in Ecology of Freshwater Fish, has shown that dead trees create logjams within the streams, some up to 15m wide and 3m tall. Dr Venarsky, who conducted the research in his former role with Colorado State University, said these logjams drastically transform the shape of the streams from simple, single-channelled, fast-flowing streams, to streams with up to 19 separate channels containing both fast-flowing sections and pools up to 2m deep. “The large number of logjams in these streams produced more stream area, and thus more habitat for aquatic animals, with less water,” he said. “The stream with the most logjams had 19% more stream area than the stream with the fewest logjams, but this stream area was created with 65% less water.” The resulting increase in stream area caused a ~2.5 times increase in stream insect productivity and a ~6 times increase in the number of brook trout. Many streams throughout the western US have few logjams due to widespread deforestation – removing the source of dead trees – following European colonisation of the western US in the 19th century. “Mature forests are the critical supply of the large dead trees that create logjams, but forests in this region take greater than 200 years to reach maturity. Thus, natural recovery of logjams in these mountain streams is several generations away,” Dr Venarsky said. “Many Australian streams and rivers share a similar history to the Rocky Mountain streams that were the focus of these studies. “Widespread deforestation and vegetation clearing near streams has drastically reduced the amount of dead trees, and hence logjams, in many Australian rivers. Thus, the knowledge from these studies is likely relevant to many Australian streams and rivers.”
By Associate Professor Therese Wilson, Dean of Law and Head of School Griffith Law School
Under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009, credit providers are required to lend responsibly. This means that before lending, the credit provider must assess the suitability of a loan for a borrower, which involves an assessment of the borrower’s capacity to repay the loan as well as an assessment of the extent to which the loan will meet the objectives and requirements of the borrower. A failure to undertake these assessments before lending will amount to a breach of the Act, which should result in sanctions ranging from enforceable undertakings to the cancellation of a credit provider’s credit licence. There is clearly a need for a robust and well-enforced responsible lending regime to curtail undesirable market practices and prevent increased financial stress on households in Australia.
The evidence that has come out of the Financial Services Royal Commission must lead to a serious re-assessment of the efficacy of the responsible lending regime, particularly in relation to its enforcement by ASIC. It also calls into question the efficacy of the prudential regulator, APRA.
It is now clear that the major banks have based many lending decisions on flawed information, leading to what have been labelled ‘liar loans.’ ANZ bank, in its submissions to the Royal Commission, acknowledged a lack of evidence that it had made genuine enquiries into customers’ living expenses. William Rankin who stated that he was responsible for ANZ’s home loan portfolio, stated that from October 2016 to September 2017, ANZ sold $67 billion in home loans and that 56 per cent of those ($38 billion) came from mortgage brokers. Damningly, Mr Rankin confirmed that ANZ did not take steps to verify the information provided by brokers regarding customers’ expenses.
In its submission to the Commission, CBA acknowledged inaccuracies in calculations, insufficient documentation and verification, and deficiencies in controls around manual loan approval processing. Daniel Huggins, who supervises the home buying division at CBA, gave evidence that while the bank had explicitly documented its recognition that volume based commissions to brokers (as opposed to flat fee payments) encouraged poor quality loans and poor customer outcomes, the bank had continued with volume based commissions and in fact ‘de-accredited’ brokers who did not refer a sufficient volume of loans. He also stated that CBA continued to rely on the customer information provided by mortgage brokers, notwithstanding an explicit acknowledgment by CBS that customer information provided by brokers could not be relied upon.
Anthony Waldron, the executive general manager for broker partnerships at NAB, gave evidence regarding NAB’s “Introducer Program” which included a number of shocking admissions. The program involved introducers who were not necessarily carrying on lending businesses (for example one introducer who ran a gymnasium) who formed relationships with bankers employed by NAB. Both bankers and introducers benefitted from the loan referrals (through bonuses and commissions), and introducers were required to meet minimum loan referral thresholds. Waldron acknowledged that the Introducer Program led to unsuitable loans, false documentation, dishonest application of customers’ signatures on consent forms and misstatements of information in loan documentation. He agreed that the bankers were more concerned with sales than keeping customers and the bank safe.
Westpac had acknowledged in its submission to the Commission that it was the subject of ASIC enforcement action in relation to breach of the responsible lending obligations, for failure to properly assess whether borrowers could meet their repayment obligations before entering into home loan contracts. Westpac had also acknowledged that in 2016 some of its authorised home lending bankers were not correctly verifying customer income and expenses. A number of examples of misconduct relating to home loans had been given including Westpac approval of a loan referral from a mortgage broker for a home loan of $529,000 to an 80-year-old man who spoke poor English.
There has also been evidence at the Royal Commission regarding lax lending standard in small business loans, where banks seemed more concerned with mortgage security over residential property than ensuring that the business borrowers could meet loan repayments without substantial hardship. There were three notable instances involving loans by Westpac. One involved a business loan secured over the residential property of the business borrower’s legally blind mother who was in receipt of the disability pension, where it was clear that the bank’s concern had been regarding the value of the security rather than the borrower’s capacity to meet the loan repayments. Another involved a loan to purchase a franchise in circumstances where Westpac had an arrangement with the franchisor company, such that it was an ‘accredited’ franchisor company and Westpac received loan referrals from that company. Notwithstanding that the particular kiosk style store franchise being purchased in this instance had cash flow ‘below the usual benchmark’ the loan proceeded on the basis that the bank officer was satisfied with the value of the residential property security. Another Westpac loan for commercial purposes, namely to purchase a bed and breakfast and restaurant, was documented as a ‘consumer loan for business purposes with residential security’ even though the security property was clearly commercial, in order to facilitate loan approval.
Bank of Queensland was shown to have approved finance in circumstances where the business being purchased was clearly unsustainable, but where the residential security property had been considered adequate. Suncorp was shown to have made two consecutive loans for the same purpose (to complete construction of a factory) to a business borrower, secured over his mother’s residential property. Suncorp clearly had not taken the time to ascertain why the second loan was required to achieve the same purpose as the first loan, and had not investigated the real possibility that the loans could not have been repaid without substantial hardship.
There is now no doubt that the financial regulators, ASIC and APRA, should be doing more to ensure prudent lending standards by credit providers in Australia. The prospective harm that could result to Australian households from elevated levels of indebtedness, and the adverse flow on effects to the Australian economy, cannot be ignored. The evidence at the Royal Commission has confirmed a current tendency of lenders to reduce lending standards to increase credit activity and profitability, but it will all come crashing down soon if it is allowed to continue. For an increasing number of households, even small increases in the loan interest rates, a decline in real estate values, or a reduction in working hours or conditions may have grave consequences. There are also more significant risks for borrowers which include unemployment, the removal of government benefits, rapid and significant increases in loan interest rates, a recession, a housing or equity market crash, or a financial crisis.
Schools could be doing more to help students with autism communicate better.
Professor Jacqueline Roberts presenting at a Hong Kong conference.
“In autism there is a disconnection between the development of language and the development of communication,’’ says Professor Jacqueline Roberts, Director of the Griffith University Autism Centre of Excellence.
“While the implementation of adaptations as to how and what it taught is determined by the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority, translation of policy to practice in schools is patchy at best.”
Professor Roberts said this was largely due to failure of school communities to understand autism and what can and should be done to make schools work better for students with autism.
“Communication is so much more than speech. Children with autism may be fluent speakers but still fail to communicate.
“Communication is fundamental to learning so disruption in communication profoundly affects learning. Other characteristics of autism such as sensory processing differences also affect students with autism in school.”
She said many students with autism had poor educational outcomes and high comorbid mental health problems because of their failure to understand school and schools’ failure to understand them.
“To maximise communication at school for students with autism it is important to understand the characteristics of autism which affect communication and to understand what can be done.
“This involves not only students with autism learning the skills they need to participate more successfully in school but also schools learning how adapt to be more autism friendly and support students with autism to reach their often enormous potential.”
Professor Roberts will discuss this topic at the Twilight Seminar – Interventions for autism: navigating the maze – presented by the Griffith Institute for Educational Research on Thursday, July 26 from 4.30pm-6pm.
Also presenting:
Patricia Howlin — Professor of Clinical Child Psychology at the Institute of Psychiatry — Interventions for pre-school children with autism — what works and for whom?
Dr Jessica Paynter — Lecturer, School of Applied Psychology – Navigating and Selecting Autism Interventions.
Restorative justice has its critics but US criminologist Professor Alissa Ackerman says it can be a powerful way to promote healing for both victims and perpetrators.
“Despite evidence that restorative justice practices can provide accountability for individuals who have engaged in acts of sexual victimization and promote healing for those who have experienced sexual violence, many refute its validity,’’ shesaid.
Visiting Brisbane this month, Dr Ackerman presented a seminar —Vicarious Restorative Justice and Sexual Victimization— at Mt Gravatt campus on July 19, where she demonstratedhow a vicarious restorative justice framework in the US is being used to success with individuals currently in treatment after committing sexual offences.”
The self-described ‘survivor’ scholar and professor of criminal justice from California State University has been teaching classes on sexual violence for more than 10 years.
“On the first day of class I explain to students that they have the unique opportunity to hear the personal perspective of a survivor and the professional perspective of a sex crimes expert.
“While many academics tend to shy away from the personal, I truly believe that personal is the professional and vice versa.”
“I also recognise that my perspectives on sexual violence differ substantially from most people.
“For example, the research is clear that current sex crimes policies do anything to prevent sexual violence. Yet, most people believe these policies are necessary. They make people feel safer, even if they don’t make us any safer. Learning this can bevery confronting for students.”
Dr Ackerman has met with over 350 men and women who have committed acts of sexual abuse, harassment or violence as part of a vicarious restorative justice framework she has created.
During these sessions people who have committed acts of sexual violence meet with those who have experienced sexual violence.
“This provides a safe space for people who have impacted by sexual violence to speak out.”
Dr Ackerman has delivered presentations, keynotes and other talks in the US and across the globe. As well as writing extensively on topics related to sexual violence in blogs and magazine articles, she has written more than 35 peer-reviewed journal articles. She has also co-written or edited five academic books. Her most recent co-authored book, The New Campus Anti-Rape Movement, was published in June 2018.
Nearly 100 budding lawyers from top high schools in the East Malaysian state of Sabah put their legal skills to the test in Griffith Law School’s inaugural Sabah High Schools Mock Trial Competition, held earlier this month.
The competition celebrates Griffith’s move into offering a study pathway for Malaysians who wish to study in Australia and return home knowing that their law degree is recognised for legal practice in Sabah and Sarawak.
The view from the bench
In a dramatic grand final presided over by High Court Judicial Commissioner Celestina Stuel Galid, students from St Francis Convent High School and Tawau High School went head-to-head in a real courtroom located within the Kota Kinabalu Court Complex, Malaysia.
St Francis Covent High School emerged as winners and were awarded RM 3,000 in prize money. Second and third runners up were Tawau High School and Sung Siew High School who received RM 2,000 and RM 1,000 respectively.
Dean of Law and Head of Griffith Law School Associate Professor Therese Wilson contributed hypothetical cases for several rounds, and travelled to Kota Kinabalu to oversee the finals.
Therese says she was impressed by the talent on display.
“It’s important young people understand the role of law and engage with it,” she says.
“I’m confident the students who participated will carry over their enthusiasm and new found understanding of the law’s role in dispute resolution into becoming active citizens working towards a more equitable society.”
Finalists enjoy a seafood feast together
Griffith’s Director of Internationalisation for the Arts, Education and Law Group Associate Professor Sven Schottmann says the competition was only possible because of the close collaboration with the Sabah Law Society.
“All 16 high schools were given access to volunteer lawyer mentors from the Sabah Law Society, which is what set the competition apart from others – an industry partnership that saw young professionals volunteering their time for their teams,” he said.
“Giving students hands-on experience and teaching them about the social context of law is at the heart of Griffith Law School’s learning and teaching approach.”
A pair of Griffith University marine scientists are taking their research work from the ocean to the fields of Splendour in the Grass.
PhD candidate Johan Gustafson and Dr Mariel Familiar Lopez, from Griffith’s School of Environment and Science and School of Engineering and Built Environment, will hit the Science Tent stage – along with their fuzzy mascot ‘Bruce’ – to present their insights into shark physiology and behaviour over the weekend at this year’s festival, which sold out within half an hour of tickets going on sale to 35,000 punters.
Gustafson and Dr Familiar Lopez, who both presented at last year’s festival alongside popular ABC science personality Dr Karl Kruszelnicki and will this year share the stage with astronomy guru Professor Allan Duffy, said Australia’s biggest music festival was a fantastic platform to inform and educate the next generation of big thinkers about sharks and our relationship with them.
“There are so many amazing things about the different species of sharks,” Gustafson said, who is also known locally on the Gold Coast as ‘the shark guy’.
“Bull sharks’ physiology makes them the only shark that is able to live in seawater and freshwater; there’s relatively little known about hammerheads but we know they have great complex reasoning skills and they’re the only shark that socialise in schools.”
The festival, held at North Byron Parklands and will this year feature Kendrick Lamar, Lorde, Hilltop Hoods and Ben Harper, is open to all ages. Dr Familiar Lopez said their talks will give youngsters and the young at heart the chance to get up close and personal with sharks.
“It is rare for people to be able to touch a shark, so we will have preserved shark anatomy that everyone can see and experience,” Dr Familiar Lopez said.
“Their skin is amazing – if you pat them one way you can feel the scales (denticles) are really smooth to help them swim faster streamline like, and the other way is very rough like a sandpaper to help protect them.
“There is a lot of great research being carried out at Griffith and further afield that is helping to shed more light on these amazing creatures, rather than let misconceptions do more harm than good.”
With the recent addition of hammerhead sharks to the endangered list, alongside great whites, Gustafson said he hoped to overturn an assumption by the surf-going public and the general media that shark numbers were on the rise.
“Shark catch rates are actually decreasing over time, and a recent genetic analysis showed there’s approximately 6750 white sharks around East Australian and New Zealand waters,” he said. “I’m working on getting data on the growing number of people visiting the coastline each year, which may explain why there’s been more shark interactions.
“This sort of research not only helps us to understand how these creatures work physiologically, it also can help minimise human and shark interactions. For example, if we know what time of year they come closer to the shore than that could lead to better management strategies.
“The Science Tent at Splendour in the Grass is a great opportunity to meet your local scientists who are working on regional issues that we all have an interaction with.”
Griffith electrical engineering Masters student Celeste De Mezieres will also present ‘What Does Sound Look Like’, which is demonstrated using a theremin-like instrument.
Storyology, the Walkley Foundation’s premier journalism festival is coming to Brisbane this month and Griffith University journalism students are in the thick of it.
Reporting from the student news desk in the pop up newsroom, they will interview some of Australia’s best known journalists while gaining valuable industry experience to help kick-start their careers.
For third-year business and journalism student Georgia Costi, who would love to work for Al Jazeera, interviewing journalist Peter Greste is top of mind.
Georgia Costi
“I want to go into conflict reporting and what happened to him is both fascinating but alarming, so it would be incredibly interesting to learn more about his experience being detained in Egypt,” she says.
“I hope the Storyology experience will give me valuable knowledge about how to be a successful journalist. The industry is competitive and fast paced so getting the opportunity to do things like this helps me to have a competitive advantage.”
Logan Walker
As well as looking forward to making new contacts, second-year student Logan Walker wants to develop his understanding of what it means to work in a busy newsroom.
“This means stepping out of my comfort zone and tackling the challenges of the day as best I can because I know this is the only way to hone these skills.
“I think the Walkley’s are hugely important to journalists in Australia and events like Storyology bring the media community together.”
Lauren Martin
Lauren Martin, also in her second year, agrees. “I think journalism is essential to society and often hindered by debates regarding freedom of press, free speech and more recently, the concept of “fake news’’.
“To be part of the student newsroom at Storyology is fantastic. This is an opportunity for me to put into practice the confidence and skills I have gained from the Commonwealth Games, university and other work experience.”
Courtney Moane
The opportunity to work with industry professionals and obtain as much experience as possible, is a definite draw-card for second-year student Courtney Moane.
“To be surrounded by so many professional journalists and other university students who are thriving just like me will be a fantastic experience,” she says.
“I’m still not entirely sure whether I want to get into print, television or radio journalism yet but I would love to be on TV one-day reporting on foreign affairs.”
Griffith journalism lecturer Nance Haxton will supervise the student journalists at the event.
“Brisbane doesn’t get Storyology every year. It goes to the city that is hosting the Walkley Awards, so it’s wonderful that Griffith has taken advantage of this opportunity toactively support its students to take part,” she says.
“To me that’s what really marks Griffith Universityas the best option for students who want practical as well as anacademic focus to their degree. Both work best side by side in my view.
“The students will be given the freedom to pitch the story ideas they want in a rigorous real life newsroom environment, and then will be sent out to do that story and interview these renowned journalists on their own without direct supervision.
“It gets them used to the expectations of anewsroom, which are often vastly different to what they’ve experienced in a classroom.”
Storyology will be held on July 27 and 28 at the Brisbane Powerhouse.
Most remarkably, Griffith was ranked at No. 1 in Australia and No. 2 in the world for Hospitality and Tourism for the second straight year, as well as topping the nation for Law (including Criminology), which earned a No. 33 result globally.
“We are delighted that so many of our programs — Hospitality and Tourism chief among them — have performed so strongly in these rankings,” Vice Chancellor and President Professor Ian O’Connor AC said.
“These results are reflective of the world-class expertise and dedicated work ethic that blooms in abundance across our schools and research and academic centres.”
“It is deeply rewarding to see our colleagues’ tireless efforts recognised by a well-regarded, independent organisation such as ShanghaiRanking,” Department of Tourism, Sport and Hotel Management Director Professor Graham Cuskelly said.
Professor Graham Cuskelly
“Such outcomes for the department, and the university more broadly, demonstrate the reputation and results Griffith brings not only at a national level, but internationally.”
Other standout results for Griffith in this year’s ShanghaiRanking list include for fields such as nursing (including midwifery) was was ranked number one in Queensland and eleventh worldwide and civil engineering, which shares the state’s highest ranking with Queensland University of Technology.
Griffith improved its performance across the board, with 36 subjects making the cut in 2018. This was an increase from 30 in 2017, driving the university to a shared No. 9 in Australia for subjects ranked, alongside QUT.
This year’s ranking saw Griffith land 10 subjects in the top 100 — up from eight last year — including Public Health and Education, that moved up from the top 150.
Natural compounds derived from Australian plants have been found to stimulate cells that are useful for transplantation to repair spinal cord injuries.
GRIDD Senior Researcher Associate Professor James St John said the two compounds were sourced from the Australian desert plant Eremophila microtheca by the natural product chemist Associate Professor Rohan Davis, who heads NatureBank which is a vast resource of Australian natural products used for drug discovery.
“Identifying natural products that stimulate the body’s natural repair mechanisms is an exciting area of research, and has great potential for the discovery of new drugs,” Associate Professor Davis said.
“The current collaboration between GRIDD and MHIQ, while still only in its infancy, is gaining traction, and the recent findings are very encouraging.”
Repairing the injured spinal cord using transplantation of olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) is a promising therapy as the cells can assist in the clean-up the injury site and enhance nerve cell regeneration.
“But we need to make the therapy better and improve the function of the transplanted cells so they can do their job more effectively,” Associate Professor St John said.
“For this, we turned to natural product drug discovery to find compounds that can stimulate the cells used for transplantation.”
The two compounds, RAD288 and RAD289, were tested in various complex laboratory tests to see how that could stimulate the OECs. Both compounds improved how quickly OECs clean up cell debris that arises from dead cells, however, only one compound, RAD288, stimulated how fast the cells move.
“Perhaps most exciting is that the natural compounds were quite specific to the olfactory cells as they did not stimulate other closely related cells,” Associate Professor Davis said.
“This work demonstrates that simple structural changes to a compound can dramatically affect the resultant cellular action and shows how chemistry can be applied to biology to find treatment options of the future.”
“We are now looking at how these two compounds can be incorporated into the cell transplantation process to improve recovery after spinal cord injury,” Associate Professor St John said.
“We have an outstanding team of 30 researchers here at Griffith University who are all working on the spinal injury project so we are very hopeful of getting good outcomes for the community as soon as possible.”
The double bass is the largest of all the stringed instruments in the orchestra, with its rich, mellifluous tones underpinning some of the finest classical music ever written.Legendary composers such as Brahms, Mahler and Stravinsky, for example, embraced the majesty of the double bass in many of their most feted works.
All of which is good musical news for Queensland Conservatorium alumnus and double bassist Jeremy Watt, who since graduating from Griffith University has forged an impressive international musical career.
As a freelance musician based in London, Jeremy has performed with ensembles including the London Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia, the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.He recently returned from touring China with the London Symphony Orchestra, the ensemble including another Griffith University graduate in principal trumpet David Elton.Next up, Jeremy will begin a full-time role as Sub Principal Double Bass in the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.
“I first heard the double bass when I was a boy. My family was part of a big church group in Brisbane and it had a large orchestra,” he says.”I always loved classical music and my parents tell me that, even when I was small, I would ask them to play ‘my violin music’, which happened to be Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.
“The move to playing double bass came as a result of necessity for the church orchestra. I wanted to play the saxophone, but we needed a double bass player. When I was told I could play bass guitar too, I took on the role.”
Jeremy was about 15 when, inspired by the Queensland Youth Orchestra, he knew what he wanted to do with his life. He graduated from the Queensland Conservatorium in 1999 with a Bachelor of Music (Performance, Hons) in Double Bass.
After moving to the UK in 2002, Jeremy began the uncertain life of a freelance classical musician. Fortunately, his obvious musical abilities and — not to be understated — his adaptability, have kept him gainfully employed in the creative world he loves.
“It can be a very demanding way to pursue a music career,” saysJeremy. “InLondon, the big orchestras are player-runand rehearsals are kept to an absolute minimum in an effort to compete financially with all the other world class ensembles in the city.So that means that if you come in, you need to learn the music very quickly and then play it almost off the cuff, except it’simmediatelyat a concert level.
“Sometimes the challenge can be so daunting that your eyes are as big as dinner plates, but it’s exciting and all worthwhile when you play that music, and hear that music, from the stage itself.
“I love a big orchestra. I thrive on the volume and depth of the sound and I feel very privileged to playand experience itfrom the best seat in the house.”
After so many years as an in-demand freelancer, Jeremy is looking forward to making the move to Birmingham and a more permanent role. An added bonus will be his appointment to the teaching staff of the Birmingham Royal Conservatoire. Starting in September, Jeremy will be teaching chamber music to the large double bass class there.
“I feel like I’ve done a very long apprenticeship. I’ve learned an incredible amount during this musical journey and I guess I must have been doing something right,” he says.
That journey began back home in Brisbane, in his church and at the Con.
“The Con was such an interesting time. It exuded this amazing feeling of something special. There was a real buzz about the place,” says Jeremy.
“It was a good time.The teaching staff were, without exaggeration, world class.Musicians were coming out of the Con and were filling orchestras and ensembles.It was always exciting seeing my friends offered jobs straight out of university in an industry that’s notoriously difficult to break into.”
how a vicarious restorative justice framework in the US is being used to success with individuals currently in treatment after committing sexual offences.”
