The concept of flexible working practices may be widely accepted within the workforce, however organisations need to look at whether their employees actually have reasonable access to it.
This is the call from Griffith University’s Professor Paula Brough who wasone of the speakers at the Anti-Discrimination Commission Queensland panel discussion last night, on the benefits of flexible work and mental health support within organisations and how it can be good for business.
The Commission runs an annual Human Rights Month campaign to promote fair and inclusive workplaces and this year’s theme focuses on flexible work practices and mental health in the workplace.
As part of her research in occupational psychological health, Professor Brough , the Leader of the Healthy Workplaces Research Group, Menzies Health Institute Queensland, has been working with employers looking at the formal provisions in place for flexible working.
“There are many formalised policies in place such as parental leave, flexi-time considerations. The issue now is more one of access. Just because an organisation says it can provide these provisions, it doesn’t always follow that an employee can get it. The reasons for this can vary widely and may relate to issues such as staffing, non-supportive supervisors and non-supportive organisational working culture.
“Unfortunately, access issues can lead to many adverse work outcomes in terms of employee health and their commitment to an organisation.”
Panel members will also include Anti-Discrimination Commissioner, Kevin Cocks; the CEO of Mental Illness Fellowship Queensland, Tony Stevenson and representatives from partner organisations who are utilising good flexible work practices or mental health strategies to provide some case studies.
Griffith has now been recognised each year since the awards were launched in 2001, originally as the EOWA Employer of Choice for Women.
The WGEA citation is designed to encourage, recognise and promote active commitment to gender equality in Australian workplaces.
Vice Chancellor and President, Professor Ian O’Connor, said Griffith’s reputation as an equal opportunity employer had been consolidated in the face of more rigorous criteria used in 2016.
“This marks 16 consecutive years of recognition by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, and its predecessor the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency. This isa truly remarkable achievement that reflects the hard work and commitment of so many staff over a long period of time,” Professor O’Connor said.
“In 2016, Griffith University is one of just 15universities and 106 organisations Australia wide to have been recognised by the Agency for showing leadership in Gender Equality policies and practice.
“During 2016, the University has strengthened its commitment to gender equality through work on theAthena SWANcharter program, which specifically seeks for us to identify clear steps to improving gender representation and diversity in our Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine (STEMM) disciplines.”
A move towards greater support for women to progress into leadership positions has been evident this year across the more than 100 organisations acknowledged, according to WGEA data. Other trends have been a focus on flexibility and more sophisticated analysis of the causes of gender pay gaps.
Ruth McPhail, a lecturer at Griffith Business School, was appointed a professor as part of Griffith’s 2016 Academic Promotion Round.
“I was employed by Griffith 15 years ago very shortly after which I found myself unexpectedly as sole carer of my two small sons,” she said.
“Through each step Griffith supported me with flexible hours and teaching which would allow me to meet both the students’ needs and my needs and encouraged me in my career.
“I was supported from lecturer through to full professor and I doubt I could have achieved this without the support of my employer and their commitment to gender equality.”
Each year the WGEA collects almost 5000 reports from more than 12,000 employers covering more than four million Australian employees. The measures covered include pay, workforce composition, flexible working arrangements and specific actions employers have taken on gender equality at work.
Over 70 per cent of employers now have a gender equality policy or strategy.
“WGEA data shows there is progress towards gender equality in Australian workplaces, but it is too slow,” Libby Lyons, Director of the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, said.
“It is only through more employers adopting leading practices to promote gender equality in the workplace that we will see the pace of change pick up.”
A final year Griffith ICT student and co-founder of the University’s startup club, Studio 39, recently toured Silicon Valley and San Fransisco with the group Startup Catalyst, founded by Shark Tank member and Brisbane startup luminary, Steve Baxter.
Joshua Holmes is part of the new movement of students seeking different outcomes from their university education. Rather than seeking employment or a career they are looking to establish their own startup.
He was supported on his trip by a grant from the Griffith Science group.
Startups are different from traditional businesses in that they generally offer digital solutions to real world problems. They are associated with what has become known as “disruptive” technologies- mobile first platforms that disrupt traditional businesses by being more agile, cheaper and closer to customer desires.
Because they are digital, they have the potential to grow rapidly and utterly change the landscape of their industry, think Uber, Netflix or Airbnb.
We caught up with Josh packing his bags to follow his dreams, first to Melbourne, then beyond.
“The trip was ten days and we toured many of the top tech companies in the San Francisco bay area and Silicon Valley, including huge companies like Google and Facebook to smaller, more recent startups like electric skateboard manufacturer Boosted,” said Joshua.
“Talk about people getting stuff done, the pace at which the scene over there is moving and the problems they are solving is truly inspiring. It was like looking at the future. We got to meet and talk with people who are building awesome products or who are at the forefront of the startup scene.
“I had a moment of realisation after seeing what was going on over there- the pace, scale and fun that everyone is having in solving problems and building great products. I need to get into that too, as soon as possible. There’s no point waiting around or thinking ‘one day’- just do it. I need to move into an environment that fosters the innovation and speed of technology and values the same things I do.”
Rather than rewrite it, we thought we’d direct you to Josh’s brilliant blog, so you can see and read a day by day account of the trip.
2016 has been yet another very busy and successful year for the Arts, Education and Law Group. We have amazing staff across the entire AEL group and their notable achievements and dedication are impressive.
Most recently, ProfessorGemmaCareyfrom the Griffith University Queensland Conservatorium was recognised through the highly-competitive Australian Awards for University Teaching. Professor Carey received the Teaching Excellence Awardin theHumanities and the Arts categoryforTransforming the teaching and assessment of music pedagogy both nationally and internationally.She also received an AAUT Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning earlier this year.
To further add to our strong record of teaching excellence, mathematics education lecturer Dr Kevin Larkin was awarded the Vice Chancellor’s Award for Griffith University Teacher of the Year.
In October, we hosted our 6th annual Outstanding Alumni Awards Gala, celebrating the remarkable achievements of our alumni across the globe and recognising the significant contributions they make in their professional careers. Congratulations to all the winners across the School and Colleges as well the overall group winners on the night – author and inspirational primary school teacher, Rebecca Johnson, and pop idol Dami Im.
October also saw us host the 3rd annual Integrity20 Summit, with a record number of attendees over the 2-day event. We welcomed top minds from around the world including Shami Shakrabarti, Jose Ramos-Horta and Peter Greste, in a series of keynotes, debates and forums. This unique event positions Griffith and the Arts, Education and Law Group as a national and international leader in the area of integrity research and scholarship.
I also wish to acknowledge the recipients of the PVC AEL Research Excellence Awards:
AEL Early Career Research Award: Dr Lyndel Bates (GCI/CCJ) Highly-commended to Dr Nina Westera (GCI/CCJ)
AEL Mid/ Senior Researcher Award: Professor Sidney Dekker (HLSS/ GCSCR)
AEL Research Leadership Award: Professor Paul Taçon (GCSCR/HLSS/ PERAHU)
AEL Team ResearchExcellenceAward: Professor Stephen Billett, A/Professor Sarojni Choy, A/Professor Tim Mavin, Dr Mark Tyler, Dr Steven Hodge, Dr Raymond Smith, Dr Jennifer Tichon, Dr Christy Noble, Dr Darryl Dymock: “Professional and Practice-based Learning” (GIER/EPS)
AEL Research Supervision Award: Professor Paul Draper (QCRC/QCGU)
It’s been a remarkable year, with so many significant achievements, too numerous to list. As this represents our final AEL Update for 2016, I’d like to close by thanking the entire AEL community for their commitment and dedication, and who make this community such a privilege to be a part of.
Griffith University has been awarded nearly $1.4 million in National Health and Medical Research Council funding to develop new classes of antibiotics, further work around mosquito-borne viruses and improve outcomes for people with acute mental illness.
Professor Zhou said project was about developing new classes of antibiotics that are based on naturally occurring peptides.
“These peptides will be computationally designed to disrupt the structure of specific proteins essential for bacterial survival,” he said.
“This is different from typical antibiotics that inhibit functions of essential proteins by binding onto protein surfaces.
“Because protein surfaces are subject to spontaneous and induced mutations without significant changes to protein functions, those mutations with weaker binding to antibiotics will be evolutionary selected and cumulated and ultimately lead to drug resistance. Structure-disrupting inhibitors on the other hand destroy the foundation of protein function.
“Large-scale changes in structure will be much more difficult for pathogens to employ mutations to restore function. As a result, it is more difficult, if not impossible, for pathogens to develop resistance to this class of antibiotics. If successful, this approach can be used to develop resistance-free anti-viral and anti-cancer therapeutics.”
Vaccine development
Dr Adam Taylor was awarded $520,520 for the project The role of capsid protein nucleolar localisation in chikungunya virus: implications for vaccine development.
Associate Professor Julia Crilly, ofMenzies Health Institute Queensland,andProfessorStuart Kinner, of theGriffith Criminology Institutewere awarded $251,470 for the project Improving outcomes for people with acute mental illness in the emergency department: a data linkage study.
The NHMRC funding Australia-wide will support 601 grants across four funding schemes and more than 1900 researchershave shared in the $483 million for a wide-range of projects.
Staff who have obtained success as part of a team led by other institutions include:
Professor Ross Coomber (Griffith Criminology Institute) for the project Drugs on the darknet: Assessing the global health risks of a rapidly expanding market, with Dr Monica Barratt from the University of New South Wales, $399,692.
Emeritus Professor Newell Johnson (Menzies Health Institute Queensland) for the project HPV and oropharyngeal cancer in Indigenous Australians, with Associate Professor Lisa Jamieson from the University of Adelaide, $1,547,109.
Professor Stuart Kinner
Professor Stuart Kinner (Griffith Criminology Institute) for the project Preventing mortality in adults after release from prison: Advancing global knowledge through an international, individual participant data meta-analysis, with Dr Rohan Borschmann from the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, $613,687.
Dr Sanjeewa Kularatna (Menzies Health Institute Queensland) for the project Minimally invasive approach to manage early childhood caries in Aboriginal preschoolers, with Dr Peter Arrow from the University of Adelaide, $1,488,220.
Professor Adrian Miller (Indigenous Research Unit) for the project Generation of protective immunity against severe influenza disease in Indigenous Australians, with Associate Professor Katherine Kedzierska from the University of Melbourne, $1,630,970.
Professor Sheena Reilly
Professor Sheena Reilly (Menzies Health Institute Queensland) for the project The Contribution of Home Language Exposure to Intergenerational Transmission of Inequality, with Associate Professor Sally Brinkman from the University of Western Australia, $1,281,706. Professor Reilly will also work on the project Neurobiology of childhood speech disorders: improving detection, diagnosis and clinical care, with Associate Professor Angela Morgan from the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, $994,575.
Professor Glen Ulett (Menzies Health Institute Queensland) for the project Understanding Uropathogenic E. coli-mediated subversion of innate immunity, with Professor Mark Schembri from the University of Queensland, $932,536.
The ‘no vote’ in last weekend’s referendum on constitutional reform in Italy could have economic implications far beyond the country’s borders, a Griffith Business School researcher says.
Italians wentto the polls on December 4.
An overall result in favour of constitutional reform would have created “a conducive institutional framework” to undertake structural reforms that many previous governments and parliaments have failed to approve, Professor Fabrizio Carmignani says.
However, the vote against reform triggered the resignation of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and a new period of economic uncertainty.
“The uncertainty associated with the government crisis would foster concerns about the sustainability of the Italian debt,” Professor Carmignani says.
“Economic growth would thus continue to stagnate, eventually making debt unsustainable. Italy would then have to default, a condition that would be incompatible with permanence in the Euro zone.
“Italy would then exit the Euro and this would mark the end of the common currency.”
Anna was one of the three journalism students awarded Press Council prizes in association with the Journalism Education and Research Association of Australia (JERAA) as part of theOzzie Awards, which recognise outstanding achievements by university journalism students.
In April 2016, Anna co-founded Grifitti, the independent student newspaper based at Nathan campus.
“We found that there were few opportunities and spaces to share our ideas on campus, so we created our own,’’ the final-year student said.
From April to October 2016 they published an edition every month and hosted an editorial meeting where they shared ideas and cultivated an inclusive social club for engaged communications students. Their work has been recognised by national news corporations and they ventured into documentary film-making, travelling as a team to Byron Bay.
“This is award is the result of a hard fought year filled with caffeine, late nights and self-doubt. To have a tangible award at the end of the tunnel is very encouraging,” Anna said.
“If you can write, you have to write, and suffer the heartache from chasing a profession that essentially chose you.”
Anna spent five years as a working journalist before returning to Griffith to finish her degree. She cut her teeth on sports journalism, focusing on the growth of baseball in Australia and she travelled to the US and New Zealand, interviewing more than 200 players, staff and fans.
In January 2017, Annawill spend a semester at the University of Victoria in British Colombia, Canada as part of the Griffith Mobility Program.
“When studying abroad I will use this award to showcase my work and the quality of Australian journalism, particularly from student journalists,’’ she said.
Griffith Film School has hosted the prestigious CILECT Congress which brings together film and TV educators from around the world — the first time the event has been held in Australia.
The conference attracted an all-star panel of keynote speakers, including renowned Australian directors Gillian Armstrong (My Brilliant Career), Rolf de Heer (Bad Boy Bubby) and Bruce Beresford (Driving Miss Daisy).
Oscar-winning documentary director Joshua Oppenheimer (The Act of Killing) and producer Lord David Puttnam (Chariots of Fire) also presented at the conference.
Head of Griffith Film School Professor Herman van Eyken said the opportunity to host the biannual event confirmed Griffith’s standing as a leader in film education.
“We are now Australia’s largest film school and we occupy a prominent position at the centre of film, games and animation education,” he said.
“The Congress was a great opportunity to host leading film educators from around the world and build industry connections.”
The two-day conference attracted delegates from 25 leading film schools from across the region to discuss the best practice for long form production at film schools.
Professor van Eyken said Griffith Film School was spearheading feature film production as part of the new Master of Screen Production.
“We want to give our students the opportunity to work on long-form films and open up opportunities for industry collaboration,” he said.
Griffith Film School’s LiveLab recently finished a feature film co-production with local film studio Visionquest, Bullets for the Dead.
Professor van Eyken said industry collaboration ensured that film schools remained relevant in today’s rapidly changing landscape.
“The challenge is responding to diverse media and communication platforms — every week a new job is invented and new corners of the industry emerge.
“Film schools have a vital role to play in preparing students to take on these roles.”
Griffith Film School has doubled its enrolments in the past five years and is now the largest film school in Australia.
The biennial, acquisitive award focuses on artworks that reflect the connections betweenland and sea.
Her oil painting, ‘Antonio Depart Flores on the Whaling Tide’, was selected from 130 entries from across the country.
“Prizes like this are fantastic things,” she said.
“The money will help keep my practice going, but more than that, it is about recognition from people you respect and a great opportunity to network with artists from around Australia.”
The panel praised Dr Fragar for the complex painting, which contains multiple images.
“Julie’s painting captures the wild adventure in a way which brings the past and present together,” they said.
“The historic narrative reminds us of the continuing patterns of migration that reflect Australia today and is a compelling response to the ‘tidal’ theme.”
Dr Fragar’s work tells the story of her ancestor Antonio, who ventured onto a whaling ship in 1850 at the age of 12.
After being shipwrecked off the coast of Malaysia and Fiji, he was taken by missionaries to Australia.
“This painting is part of a series of works I created after travelling back to the Azores Islands in Portugal,” she said.
“The story of Antonio is part of my family folk lore, and it has consumed me for the past couple of years.”
Dr Fragar said the subject matter was a departure from her previous works, which dealt with her personal experiences of motherhood and marriage.
“As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become a bit more philosophical and have started looking outward more,” she said.
“After years of painting things that were very close to home, I’m revelling in using my art to explore the world.”
The video, for the single Umbrella Brian was shot in a small section of forest in Miami, Gold Coast and Junk Bar in Ashgrove.
“We shot it over a weekend – it wasn’t an easy shoot and there was no budget, so it was all hands on deck,” he said.
“But music videos really have an open brief and provide a great opportunity to work with local artists, try out new techniques and experiment creatively.”
The clip was produced with fellow Griffith Film School graduates Mick Soiza (director) and Ryan Greaves (producer).
“The connections you make through film school help you after you graduate,” he said.
“We worked with each other through film school and have collaborated a lot since.”
Sean is now working for local company Alt Vfx where he specialises in visual effects. He said the award affirmed his choice of career.
“Peter James, the Australian cinematographer who worked on films like Driving Miss Daisy and Black Robe, once told me that you had to want to be a cinematographer more than you want to eat,” he said.
“I am passionate about this job — for me it’s got to be all in or nothing.”
Fellow Griffith Film School alumnus Cameron March won a silver award for cinematography on a short film, Elly, which was produced at GFS.
“I was really pleased to be recognised,” he said.
“It was a short film project completed while I was in my final year at GFS — I was juggling cinematography duties on this film while directing my own graduation film.
“It was an intense workload, but the director, Lachlan Linton-Keane, had a strong vision and it was a privilege to help him bring that to the screen.”
The film follows Ilona and Erzsebet, two sisters living in the small Hungarian town of Tura who make “big strudels on small tables” in much the same way their beloved mother did when they were growing up during the communist era.
Dr Hegedus recently returned to Turafor a screening of the docoumentary.
“It was a great turn out and everybody loved the film. There was actually a disappointed sigh at the end when the screening finished,” he said.
“I usually don’t sit through films I worked on, but this time I did because I just couldn’t get up. They were so engaging. I just couldn’t leave!
“This film is funny, sad, insightful, hopeful and educational – everything a good documentary should be.”
The documentary will form an international off-shoot of the Big Stories, Small Towns project, funded by an AEL Research Grant last year.
