Three Griffith University Architecture students have presented their concepts for overlay design to be utilised throughout the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games (GC2018).
The students presented to an audience of Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation (GOLDOC) staff, including Chief Executive Officer Mark Peters, and other staff that are involved in hosting the world’s media throughout the 2018 event.
Bachelor of Architectural Design students Brianna Shaw and Ethan Crow were excited by the opportunity to share their concepts with GOLDOC.
“This has been a great learning experience for all the students involved. I was nervous presenting to a group of such important people, but it was an excellent opportunity to show what I was capable of,” Brianna said.
As part of Griffith’s Official Partnership with GC2018, Griffith students studying Architecture were given the task ofcreating concepts for temporary structures that could be utilised as part of the GC2018 Main Media Centre, specifically the retail arm of the venue.
The Main Media Centre will house hundreds of media professionals from across the globe at GC2018 and will impact the reporting of the event to millions of viewers.
Mark Peters, CEO of GOLDOC
GOLDOC Chief Executive Mark Peters said there wasa wide group of people shaping the delivery of GC2018 and he was impressed by the students’ innovative approach to design and their professionalism in presenting.
“This initiative shows how the partnership between Griffith University and GOLDOC is developing practical outcomes for students,” he said. “The process provides the GOLDOC overlay team with the opportunity to pass on their specialist skills and knowledge, while the students gain valuable experience in the events sector.”
RecentGriffith graduate and now GOLDOC permanent staff member David McClelland also presented his concept to GOLDOC and was grateful for the experiences he had during his studies.
“The opportunities available to Griffith students to work on the Games is amazing. My experience in developing my media centre concept, as well as undertaking other industry relevant internships, have ultimately helped me secure my first full-time employment,” David said.
Adjunct Associate Professor of Architecture Alex Cohn re-iterated the importance of theseopportunities for students in preparing them for the workplace.
“It is important for students to gain a balance between workplace practice and academia throughout their studies. This exerciseconstitutes a great opportunity for students learning as much as it is a great contribution for the city and the legacy of the Games,” Adjunct Associate Professor Cohn said.
During the Rio Olympics, the ARU announced it was launching the national women’s sevens university competition, capitalising on the success of the Olympic gold-medal winning national team.
Griffith is one of eight university teams around the country to be named to take part in the national competition by the ARU.
“Being one of the teams selected nationally, it’s a privilege and we look forward to recruiting the best team possible in the New Year.”
He said they hoped Shannon Parry, a Bachelor of Education graduate and co-captain of the Australian women’s rugby sevens gold-medal winning team would be part of the Griffith team.
“ARU contracted players will be distributed among the eight teams along with the requirement that 50% of the team will be made up by university students.
“Having seen how many Griffith players were in the Australian University team in November, we are going to be well positioned, particularly with our collaborative approach,’’ he said.
“We’re partnering with Sunnybank Rugby and Griffith Colleges rugby clubs, so it’s another step in the right direction of being a stand-out sports university.
ARU CEO Bill Pulver said the Australian Women’s Sevens team were heroes for thousands of young girls and boys across the nation.
“On the back of their success, we will open up new Sevens pathways in schools, clubs and universities around the country so that more young girls and boys will have then chance to work towards their dream of representing their country at the Olympic Games.”
He is an emerging NRL star in the ranks of the Gold Coast Titans after a breakout 2016 season, and now Ryan James is a Griffith graduate after completing a business degree.
The 25-year-old formally received his Bachelor of Business from Griffith Business School at a graduation ceremony at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre today (Saturday).
“To get there in the end, with a lot of help behind the scenes, means the world to me,” he said.
“I’ve got further goals and I want to do bigger things. Knowing I’ve finally got through this and that I can do it, I’ll be able to accomplish more.”
Ryan is now considering a prompt return to university to take on a Graduate Diploma of Education with a view to a future teaching role.
A key focus for the powerful forward is improving school attendance numbers among Indigenous youth in remote communities. He has been inspired tremendously by the impact of NRL legend Preston Campbell in this respect.
“School attendance isn’t great in those remote communities and if we can spread the word out there and make sure they get through their schooling and maybe are trying to get some sort of secondary education it would be good.
“I just want to help kids to develop towards secondary education. You need that qualification to go a little bit further in life.”
When he started his studies at Griffith’s Gold Coast campus, Ryan immediately had the help of the GUMURRII Student Support Unit.
“They told me that 3% of the Indigenous population started university but less than 1% finish. That’s really small numbers when you think about the population of Australia and it would be great to see those numbers increase.”
As an elite athlete Ryan also benefited from the backing of the Griffith Sports College from the start of his studies, who collaborated with the Gold Coast Titans to assimilate his study schedule into his football itinerary.
After a strong start to his full-time studies, Ryan secured a life-changing first-grade contract with the Titans. “That’s when uni almost had to take a back seat. I had studied, I think, for four years straight, then had a bit of a break and then the Sports College gave me a call and said I had to finish it.”
The support has been unrelenting since he reopened the books with the Sports College helping to bring about the flexibility needed to balance assessments and exams with the life of a professional footballer constantly on the move.
Study definitely helped footy
“No one really sees the hard work that happens behind the scenes but I’d definitely say that without the Sports College I wouldn’t have got my degree.
“If I had to hand every assessment in on time, it’d be pretty much near impossible because I’m travelling every second week and if I’m not at university I’m training.
“But study definitely helped me play footy. I had one of my best seasons yet. And being able to come onto campus to study and get away from everything also helped too.”
He will graduate with a degree in sport management and marketing, a qualification that sets him up for his future on the Gold Coast where he has no plans of leaving.
“The major in sports management related back to the football. Having a background in sport made is little bit easier for me. Marketing was something that captured my eye. It very much integrates with footy now and everything that social media is doing and how you have to market yourself and how you present yourself in the media.
Ryan and his wife Ana also welcomed their first child, Carter, into the world during the course of his studies.
“Having all these other obstacles in the way and being able to complete a degree, even though it took seven years, it sort of helped me as a person grow. It got to a stage where I wanted to complete it just to know I could do it myself.
He joins teammates William Zillman and Anthony Don among the ranks of Titans with degrees.
“Footy could last 10 years or it could last a day depending on how lucky you are, so you have to have something else behind you. And I thought getting a degree was definitely going to help that.”
A fascination with the production processes behind top-rating Australian crime drama Underbellyled Anne Ferguson to research her PhD.
What makes her journey all the more remarkable is that Anne lost most of her sight from a series of strokes while partway through her Bachelor of Arts Honours degree at Griffith University.
With the support of Griffith University’s Disability Services and screen reading software, Anne persevered and completed her honours in 2007, before embarking on a PhD.
“It’s been a long but rewarding journey,’’ she says.
“I couldn’t have done it without the support of my husband Doug and sons Jesse and Daniel, as well as all the lecturers and support staff at Griffith.”
Anne was also helped by her seeing-eye dog Labrador Perry who was with her every step of the way throughout her undergraduate degree. Sadly, he was attacked by a Pit Bull dog in 2010 and never fully recovered.
“He was alright with me if we were in familiar territory but as soon as another dog appeared he went to pieces,’’ Anne says. So Perry retired and enjoyed the rest of his life as a pet with Anne and family at home.
Her new dog Wendy has been with her throughout her PhD journey.
“Wendy is a lot more like me than Perry — she’s more nosey and wants to explore everything,” Anne laughs.
TV crime blends fiction with fact
Anne’s PhD, undertaken through Griffith’s School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, explores the blurring of fact with fiction in popular TV crime dramas like Underbelly, and the implications for the judicial process.
Based loosely on events in Melbourne during 1995-2004, Underbelly retold the story of how and why a gang war was carried out on Melbourne streets. It also told the story of why Task Force Purana was formed to bring the gang war to an end.
As Underbelly was scheduled for broadcast in 2008 in Victoria during a murder trial related to the gangland wars, it raised concerns about the judicial process and the rights of the accused to a fair trial free from external interference.”
“What once might have been just a sensational news story was now the basis for television drama,’’ said Anne.
Court restriction
In an unprecedented move, Victorian Supreme Court Justice Betty King banned Underbelly from being broadcast within the Victorian jurisdiction, stating “It will be difficult for the viewing public to sift through what is factual material and what is fictional”.
Anne said the involvement of police in crime dramas has until recently, been an advantage because it provided writers and actors with the opportunity to add realism to their show and to the characters.
“But it has also created problems with programs like Underbelly as police have now become the primary definers of reality.”
Now her PhD is completed Anne, also a part-time lecturer with the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, is looking forward to a well-deserved break.
Griffith University Medicine student Dinesh Palipanareaches one of the biggest milestones of his life this evening (Dec 16) as he prepares to graduate with a Doctor of Medicine at a ceremony at The Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre.
However this milestone is even more meaningful to Dr Palipana as he will be only the second doctor to practice in Australia as a quadriplegic.
He was a focused, determined, enthusiastic medicine student at Griffith when his life changed forever on a rainy night in 2010.
Today, the 33-year-old remains equally determined and just as focused on forging a career in medicine in spite of the road traffic accident on Brisbane’s Gateway Bridge that left him without feeling or movement from the chest down.
“It was weird as the car just started aquaplaning down the highway,” he says. “I tried to gain control but suddenly I was going down the embankment and there was nothing I could do. The car was upside down, rolling front to back. All I could do was surrender to the inevitable, eventually coming to a silent standstill, in and out of consciousness, but just knowing how very, very bad this was.”
Dinesh eventually woke up in Brisbane’s PA Hospital, three days later, his mother’s face apprehensive but encouraging.
“I knew I’d been paralysed before anyone even mentioned it to me, I just didn’t realise it was to the extent of becoming quadriplegic. Even in the ambulance, the first thing that occurred to me was, I still need to get this medicine degree done and get on with my career. That was so important to me.”
But there was a long road ahead; Dinesh’s spine had been dislocated at the neck, essentially squashing the cord that supplies feeling and movement to any part of the body from the chest down.
“My chest was crushed too unfortunately, so it was really painful to breathe as they tried to stabilise me and clear out all the gunk that had been accumulating in my lungs for days.”
After intensive care and the high dependency unit, Dinesh spent a gruelling seven months in the spinal unit at the PA Hospital where he undertook regular physio and occupational therapy. He couldn’t speak well initially either but that improved when his lungs strengthened.
“It was a dark time of my life; but I knew I had to make the best of what I was left with and all the while I had some great friends around me plus wonderful support from my mum, who has really given up so much of her life for me.”
Eventually Dinesh and his mother Chithrani found themselves leaving Australia to go to their native Sri Lanka, where they had decided to go to take a break and think about what their next move would be.
“We were in Sri Lanka for about three years, and I met some great people there who kept my enthusiasm for life alive. But they knew I was still interested in a medical career and encouraged me to keep in contact with the Griffith School of Medicine.
“Professor Harry McConnell and others from the School of Medicine were fantastic in communicating to me about how it could work if I came back to my studies and thoroughly supported me in my decision to eventually return to year 3 medicine in January 2015.”
Dinesh was met with warmth back at Griffith, and if there were ever any doubts over what he could achieve as a trainee doctor, they were sorely mistaken. First off, he got great grades in the mid-year exams, despite having had the five-year break from medicine.
Although classified as a quadriplegic, he has some feeling on the outside of his forearms. He is able to feed himself and get around in his wheelchair without help, having learnt various intricate ways of getting around the lack of hand movement over the past six years.
“It does take me longer than most to get myself ready in the morning and I need help for that, but as far as medical duties go, I can carry out a good medical examination and consultation on a patient.
“I can’t however carry out a rectal examination! And I may have typical doctor’s handwriting!
“I amnow planning to specialise in radiology. Medicine is so broad with so many fantastic options. Luckily I have some fantastic people around me at Griffith, who have been great advocates of me, as well as my amazing mother who has always been there for me.
“I am pretty lucky really. Yeah I guess I must have wanted this career pretty bad.”
Biomedical graduateMonique Saunders has always wanted to be a doctor. Now she’s firmly on the way to realising her dream after being accepted into Griffith’s Graduate Entry Medicine Program.
“Biomed was a perfect pathway for entering medicine as it provides an overall grounding in anatomy, biology and physiology,’’ said the GUNGGARI woman from South West Queensland, one of four Griffith University First Peoples students to undertake the medicine program in 2017.
“The support I received from the GUMURRII Student Support Unit was absolutely awesome and I am grateful for their help.”
Bachelor of Exercise Science graduate Julian Conboy, a Torres Strait Islander from Sai Bai Island, has also been accepted into Griffith’s Graduate Entry Medicine Program.
“My grades definitely improved due to the support and tutoring from GUMURRII while completing my Bachelor’s,’’ he said.
“GUMURRII also gave me the opportunity to work for the Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience and I hope to continue this through my postgraduate study.”
This year 118 First Peoples students will graduate from Griffith University, the largest cohort to date.
Student support
GUMURRII Student Support Unit Shane Barnes is delighted by this number.
“Griffith is committed to increasing the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and this is underpinned by the University’ Reconciliation Action Plan,” he said.
“Now in its 29th year of operation, GUMURRII provides extensive academic support for all our students on our five campuses.
“GUMURRII is focused on life-long learning, which enables students to experience social and cultural activities and access computer labs, study rooms and personal learning support.”
Nursing focus
Professor Roianne West, Director of the First Peoples Health Unit said the greatest number of First Peoples students are enrolled in Griffith Health with the largest number of students enrolled in the School of Nursing and Midwifery.
“This year we are proud to celebrate the graduation of 11 nursing students and two midwifery students,’’ she said.
“Most Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island students have a strong obligation and commitment to making a difference in the health of their communities.
“They strongly believe that becoming a nurse and a midwife is the best way to do that.”
Julian, a keen rugby league player who has represented Griffith at the Indigenous Uni Games, wants to work in a sporting environment in rural or remote communities when he graduates.
“I want to be a positive role model for young Indigenous players,” he said.
And for Monique, who wants to be a paediatrician helping to improve the health of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous children, that goal is well within reach.
The sharing of national parks trails between mountain bikers, hikers and joggers, has often been a contentious issue but new Griffith University research has found that’s not always the case in Queensland.
Professor Catherine Pickering, of Griffith’s School of Environment, and PhD student Sebastian Rossi, surveyed 153 mountain bikers in three southeast national parks during popular times and found some interesting results, published in the Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism.
In targeting Tewantin, Mapleton and Nerang national parks, the researchers found out who goes riding, why and how they get on with other users. What they found was:
Nearly all of the mountain bikers were university educated males between 25 and 55 years old.
Riderslike to go riding regularly; usually with a friend, sometimes for short rides, but other times they are out riding for more than 2 hours.
Riders are motivated by the desire for exercise, enjoying nature and the outdoors, but also the adventure and challenge of riding.
Riders tend to have very positive environmental values — appreciating nature in its own right, not just for what it can do for humans.
Riders had positive perceptions about other riders.
Riders found sharing their trails with hikers and runners often made for a more pleasant experience in the park.
“This contrasts with other research that has found conflict between hikers and mountain bike riders in parks,” Professor Pickering said.
“Perhaps it’s the laidback Queensland approach, perhaps it’s some well-designed trails, perhaps it’s those who don’t want to share trails go elsewhere, but it seems there is not a lot of conflict in these parks.
“Mountain biking is very popular in Australia, including in southeast Queensland, and this is hardly surprising with great weather and great parks to go riding in.”
One of the few listed reasons for problems with other users was the potential for collisions or injury, with only 18 out of 156 riders concerned about this risk.
Their concerns were mainly with other mountain bike riders, horse riders or dog walkers, with only one rider concerned about collision or injury with hikers. In contrast, other mountain bike riders in the USA were much more likely to be concerned about hiker’s behaviour, including hikers being rude and discourteous.
Professor Pickering said this information was critical for the Queensland Government, which is managing the three parks studied, as well as local government when promoting mountain biking in city parks.
Public health policy should adopt a successful outdoor fitness model that gets urban mums off the couch and into nature, a new Griffith University study has found.
The ground-breaking study, published in Frontiers in Public Health, showed that the Coastrek fitness program is so popular and changes women’s lifestyles that it should be expanded and emulated elsewhere.
Coastrek is a 30-60km team trekking challenge that takes women on a 12-week training journey before letting them loose on the wild coastal trails around Sydney, Melbourne and the Sunshine Coast.
Researchers from Griffith’s School of Environment and the Menzies Health Institute of Queensland, along with Di Westaway, the Founder of Coastrek, surveyed 930 participants in the non-profit program and found that a major reason for Coastrek’s success is that it moves participants from thinking negatively to positively towards getting outdoors.
Most Coastrek participants are busy urban women with families who allocate little time to outdoor activities, but the Coastrek program provides them with incentives, personal rewards, peer support, and social justification to include outdoor activities in nature as part of their regular schedule.
Nature-based adventures
The 3-month preparation period creates sustained behavioural change, with nature-based adventures becoming part of participants’ regular lifestyles.
There are 2000 to 3600 places per event, and some events sell out in less than 24 hours.
The researchers say past public policy measures intended to increase individual exposure to nature have implicitly assumed that large-scale encouragement and interest will lead everyone to increase their exposure to nature, which may not be the case.
If their theory is correct, then policy initiatives could prove more successful if they focused on a large change in attitude for a small proportion of the population, rather than a small change for a large proportion.
They say Coastrek provides a model that can be scaled up, expanded internationally, extended into different outdoor activities, and adopted broadly in public health policy.
Professor Ralf Buckley, International Chair in Ecotourism Research, says: “Coastrek gets several thousand suburban mums into three-month fitness programs every year because Di Westaway really understands the psychology of suburban mums who have gone through some difficult times. She knows how to remove all the obstacles and provide all the incentives, both at the same time.”
Two of Queensland’s top judges have received honorary doctorates from Griffith University for distinguished service to the legal profession.
Both judges have headed major commissions of inquiry in Queensland that have shaped public debate and led to major overhauls of state systems.
Chief Justice Holmes, who was appointed the first female Chief Justice of Queensland, told graduates in her occasional address to not worry about whether they felt good enough.
“You can spend time comparing yourselves to others and feeling inadequate. What I’ve come to realise over a long career is that almost everyone feels inadequate whatever level they reach, they just get better at concealing it,” she said.
“Don’t lose time comparing yourself to your peers.
Don’t dwell on mistakes
“Don’t dwell on your mistakes and failures, because there’ll be plenty, and sometimes they actually work out better than it seems at the time.”
Chief Justice Holmes was honoured for her contribution to the legal profession, and to the wider community.
She also acted as Counsel Assisting the Forde Commission of Inquiry, which investigated abuse and neglect allegations against more than 150 Queensland youth detention centres and orphanages.
The inquiry led to a major overhaul of child protection after if found widespreadabuse and neglect of children within the system.
Chief Justice Holmes was a founding member of the Women’s Legal Service, which seeks justice for Queensland women, especially those who have been subject to domestic violence, sexual assault and other forms of violence.
Chief Justice Holmes has also sought to protect the health of legal practitioners, speaking on the need to balance personal and professional life and the impact of stress, anxiety and depression on legal practitioners.
In her speech she warned graduates not to be being totally consumed with their career.
“Don’t make professional success your only source of happiness, because that’s a recipe for discontent, but do enjoy your achievements,” she said.
Social connection important
Judge Brendan Butler
Judge Brendan Butler, who played a major role in uncovering corruption in Queensland, urged graduates to take an interest in social issues outside of their discipline and participate in community and charitable organisations.
Judge Butler served as Counsel Assisting the Fitzgerald Commission of Inquiry, which investigated long-term systemic political corruption and abuse of power in Queensland, and said that it had highlighted that ‘our democratic institutions are vulnerable unless right-minded citizens are vigilant’.
Judge Butler, who also developed the first nationally accredited police course in witness protection, was awarded his doctorate for services to the justice system, the community and Griffith University.
During his career he also chaired the Criminal Justice Commission, and the Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) and investigated internet predators preying on young children and tackled organised crime.
He reviewed the Queensland Mental Health Act and the rights of victims of crime where an offender had a mental illness.
He urged graduates to use their knowledge and skills not just in their own interest but also for the betterment of society.
“We live in a fortunate country, with sound democratic institutions, the provide a good quality of life for most. Yet some do not share that,” Judge Butler told graduating students.
“There has been a trend towards greater income inequality over the past two decades.
“Some sectors of society suffer from entrenched disadvantage. In regional Queensland many struggle financially. On my visits to indigenous communities in Far North Queensland and North West Queensland I have witnessed many suffering from multiple disadvantage.
“These are significant challenges for us as a nation.”
Judge Butler, in his role as Chief Magistrate, oversaw the most significant transformation of the Magistrates Courts.
Magistrates were given much greater powers to hear more cases summarily, to hear matters of increased complexity and length, and to deal with much more serious offences.
His efforts have seen him made a Member of the Order of Australia and he is also a recipient of the prestigious Centenary Medal.
If you’re going through a stressful time or are just feeling a bit anxious, you may want to start taking probiotics.
This is the advice from a new Griffith University study showing that consumption of probiotics may have advantageous effects on mental health by lessening the psychological symptoms of perceived stress, depression and anxiety.
Published in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, the study reviewed the results of seven previous studies which tested for symptoms in over 300 healthy volunteers both before and after supplementation with a probiotic.
“We combined the data from a number of clinical trials to conduct a powerful analysis of probiotic research,” says dietitian Dr Natalie Colson from Griffith’s Menzies Health Institute Queensland.
“The overall result was significant in demonstrating that taking probiotics in some form, for example tablet or yoghurt, can help alleviate symptoms of stress, depression and anxiety in otherwise healthy people.
“The research into the relationship between the gut and the brain is reasonably new however we are now starting to better understand this ‘gut brain axis’.
“We can see that if the gut microbiome is not operating at an optimal level, and it communicates with your brain, then it may well negatively affect the way that you feel and think.Therefore by adding what we believe to be a mixture of good ‘multi-species’ bacteria to your gut microbiome, this may reduce those negative feelings.”
Dr Colson says that more studies need to be conducted to determine if the consumption of probiotics could also assist with symptoms of diagnosed clinical depression.
“We don’t know yet how far this could be used in the treatment of depression, however the gut microbiome presents as a potential target for the treatment of cognitive and mood disorders.
“But it does appear that generally healthy people who are going through stressful periods could certainly benefit from adding probiotics to their diet.”
Further studies may allow for the development of novel probiotic treatment strategies for gastrointestinal-related disorders that are associated with impaired communication between the gut and brain, says Dr Colson.
“This contrasts with other research that has found conflict between hikers and mountain bike riders in parks,” Professor Pickering said.