Prof. Judith Pringle from Auckland University of Technology presented her thoughts on the gender pay gap. The key message I walked away with was that although we seem to attribute this gap to individual choice and stereotypical feminine characteristics such as an inability to negotiate effectively, it is the wider context of a neo-liberal agenda that positionspersonal responsibility and the need to overcome personal deficits, over the collective responsibility of a society to address inequality. It is this that, according to Judith, may contribute to the difficulties experienced by women who raise this issue in the workplace, and as a barrier to overcome this issue in society.
Following from here, Dr Irene Ryan from Auckland University of Technology provided her insights into research she conducted on behalf of the NZ Army on critically examining what skills and experiences are necessary for progression in the senior commissioned officer ranks, and how personnel can satisfy these criteria. Her presentation focused on her reflections on her experiences as a researcher, whilst doing the research, and the learning and insights she gained from engaging in the process of research. A wonderful example of the need to develop a deep understanding of the context in which research is conducted in order to actually understand andframe research findings. I thought is was great to hear from someone else who also reflects deeply onthe context in which one works.
Dr Shalene Werth of the University of Southern Queensland presented her and Dr Charlotte Brownlow’s work on research they conducted on women with Autism Spectrum Disorder in the workplace. It surely provided us with food for thought on a complex set of issues that are not well researched. Their preliminary findings highlighted some interesting information relating to why these women leave positions, what strategies they employ in order to remain functional in the workforce and insights into the barriers they face. Again an area of research that at this juncture probably provides more questions than answers, but which undoubtedly will contribute to the widening of inclusion and diversity research agenda.
Speakers and participants at the October, 2015 wEDGE symposium
Dr Jen de Vries’s presentation focused on the everyday gendered practices in building careers. She focused on raising the question whether sponsorship really is the missing ingredient in women’s career progression, by exploring three key aspects of sponsorship: (1) the under the radar informal practice of sponsorship, (2) the need to name sponsorship and make it visible, and, (3) the light and dark sides of sponsorship. She examined the role of the sponsor, the impact of sponsorship on careers, who is sponsored and why, and the role of sponsorship in building workplace cultures. Her exploration exposed sponsorship as a key gendered practice that creates and sustains inequality in career outcomes.
The final presentation was based on research conducted by Prof. An Fan Suo of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies and Dr Kaye Broadbent from Griffith University on the experience of current migrant women workers in Guangzhou, China. These women, in contrast to studies conducted in the 1990’s, are now often married, with children, and often remain in the cities after marriage. Their data shows that married women are discriminated against, as they work longer hours per week and per day, and their monthly salaries are the lowest amongst all workers. It suggests that the gender ideology which characterises women as ‘good wives, wise mothers’ persists.
The Symposium, besides providing insights into the ongoing research conducted by the presenters, also provided the participants with an opportunity to share their own research, network and further the inclusion and diversity agenda. If you are interested in learning more…go towww.griffith.edu.au/business-government/centre-work-organisation-wellbeing[or contact the Centre Manager: [email protected] or phone 07 3735 3714].
Los-Angeles based DJ Tyson Illingworth (tyDi) was awarded the 2015 AEL Young Outstanding Alumnus of the Year from Griffith University for his outstanding contribution to the music industry.
Voted Australia’s number 1 DJ two years in a row and also one of the Top 100 DJ’s of the World in the past three years – Tyson has had a stellar career, releasing his very first album at just 19 while still studying at Queensland Conservatorium.
The Bachelor of Music Technology graduate is also the mastermind behind the chart-topping album Shooting Stars that reached iTunes Number 1 in Australia, Canada, United Kingdom and Finland, and Number 4 in the United States.
Now 28, he plays to tens of thousands of fans each week with a tour schedule of around 150 shows every year and says it’s an absolute honour to be recognised by the University he says helped launch his career path.
“The main thing I will always look back on and remember was that I was thrown into a place where I was surrounded by insanely talented musicians of every variety and that really is the best way to become a better musician yourself,” he says.
“The things I didn’t ever expect to experience at the Con were the things that turned out to be the things that changed my music for the better.”
Tyson, who grew up on the Sunshine Coast, says his love of electronic music began when he was 13 or 14 — a point where he realised he wanted to “make music, produce it and completely submerge myself in it”.
He admits though that making it in the music industry is not for the faint hearted.
“You definitely need to have fire power and you need to really know your art,” he says.
“But when you study, you’ll be blown away by the things you didn’t think you would learn that will turn out to be crucial and potentially life changing for your future in music.”
More than 70 guests representing universities, government and industry have celebrated the 10th anniversary of Brisbane’s International WaterCentre.
Griffith University is a founding member of the IWC, which brings together national and international expertise across sectors to foster leadership, learning, dialogue and action to meet the complex water challenges of the 21st century.
Griffith’s role includes delivery of the Master of Integrated Water Management with the University of Western Australia, The University of Queensland and Monash University.
“The IWC owes its success to the vision and championship demonstrated by individuals who played key roles in creating the vision of an international hub for integrated water management,” said IWC CEO Mr Mark Pascoe.
International WaterCentre CEO Mr Mark Pascoe
“But IWC’s success is also testament to the hard work and dedication of IWC’s team, which helped shape the organisation into what it is today — a key player in the national and international water arena.”
IWC board member and Griffith University Senior Deputy Vice Chancellor, Professor Ned Pankhurst, said the IWC had engaged in more than 500 projects with 170 collaborators during the past decade.
“Master of Integrated Water Management students have delivered 200 projects in 45 countries in collaboration with more than 140 organisations,” said Professor Pankhurst.
“Our education program has generated a global alumni network of more than 800 members drawn from 76 countries; and nearly 400 government officials from 23 countries have graduated from our capacity building and leadership programs.”
In her keynote address, Ms Louise Dudley — CEO of Queensland Urban Utilities — spoke about leadership and the need for innovation and change in the Australian water sector.
She acknowledged IWC’s education and training programs, particularly the award-winning Water Leadership Program, as well as the many opportunities offered to IWC Masters students to undertake placements within QUU.
IWC’s board members reflected on the organisation’s vision and impact in a special anniversary video.
The event was held at Griffith University’s Webb Centre at the South Bank campus.
Contemporary jeweller Vanessa Williams has just returned to Australia after exhibiting her work at the Museum of Arts and Design’s annual six-day exhibition and sale in New York.
The Queensland College of Art graduate was invited to take part on the 15th annual LOOT: MAD About Jewelleryevent alongside more than 50 other jewellers from around the world.
She says the experience was completely unexpected yet exciting, while describing the invitation as a real confidence booster.
“The networking opportunities alone were invaluable and to have my work on show and sold at such a prestigious event in such esteemed company was an amazing opportunity.”
Vanessa moved to Adelaide after the completion of her degree in 2009 where she stayed as a studio tenant in the JamFactory for two years before establishing her studio at home in 2013.
She says her physical environment and the properties of the materials and processes she uses strongly influence the outcome of her designs.
“My jewellery explores ideas and concepts related to simplicity, boldness and repetition of shape and form and relates to structural elements and forms found in architecture,” she says.
“I consciously make work with a minimum amount of waste in mind. I use strips of sterling silver and titanium making use of the significant contrasts of texture, colour and malleability.
“I enjoy exploring contrasting elements within the materials and the use of both matt and shiny surfaces of the titanium and silver.”
Vanessa’s current work Loop Series has been refined from exhibition pieces into a production range that is continuously evolving, and as a result she now supplies stock to galleries and retail spaces throughout Australia.
She credits her time at the QCA with helping her to believe that making jewellery could be much more than a hobby.
“Participating in the Jewellery & Small Objects market group was one of the best things I did during my degree,” she says.
“To get immediate feedback from customers and see people were interested in the work was very encouraging to say the least.
“In addition to the skill based classes which I loved, I formed some lasting friendships and I am still in touch with some of my fellow jewellers!”
Griffith University’s Institute for Glycomics has made scientific history by determining the first three-dimensional image of a protein linked to the spread of cancer.
The world-first image was revealed today (November 3) in the prestigious journal Nature Chemical Biology in a paper titled ‘Functional and structural characterization of a heparanase’ by the Institute’s Director, Professor Mark von Itzstein, and his team.
Professor von Itzstein said the 3D image shows the architecture and intimate atomic-level detail of a bacterial heparanase, an enzyme that degrades a sugar molecule known as heparan sulfate.
He said the functionally identical human enzyme is over-expressed in cancers and is known to be associated with angiogenesis — a process through which new blood vessels form from pre-existing vessels — inflammation and increased metastatic potential, making it a promising drug target.
Until now, researchers from across the world have only been able to make a “best guess” from computational studies of what the 3D structure of this enzyme looked like.
“We have successfully crystallized and determined the structure of the enzyme by X-ray crystallography, making it the first reported heparanase X-ray crystal structure in the world,” Professor von Itzstein said.
“This tells us exactly where substrates bind in the catalytic domain and we explored this region by mutating certain amino acids that kills the activity so that we can understand how the enzyme works.”
Director of the Institute for Glycomics, Professor Mark von Itzstein
Professor von Itzstein said that the bacterial and human heparanase share identical substrate preference and catalytic machinery, enabling our heparanase structure to be used in the drug discovery process in targeting the human enzyme.
In particular, our structural and functional analysis of this enzyme provides an exciting opportunity for structure-guided anti-cancer and anti-angiogenesis inhibitor discovery, particularly mechanism-based inhibitor discovery.
“This research has been 10 years in the making and we will now turn our focus to developing a novel anti-cancer drug,” he said.
The Institute for Glycomics is the only one of its kind in Australia and only one of six in the world.
“Our research is a brave new frontier and we are making great advances towards the discovery of new drugs, vaccines and diagnostics for significant diseases, including various cancers,” Professor von Itzstein said.
“We have grown from a handful of researchers to more than 180 of the best from across the world.”
On the morning of 14 October, 2015, Ms Rhonda Friesen, Manager, International Office, University of Manitoba, visited Griffith University to meet with a range of staff including the International Office, Griffith Business School and Griffith Global Mobility. Ms Heidi Piper, Director, Griffith International and Associate Professor Peter Woods, Director (International) in the Griffith Business School extended a warm welcome to Ms Friesen who said she was delighted to visit Griffith again. The two universities have maintained a long-standing exchange partnership since 2006 when an Exchange Agreement was first signed. Since then Griffith has sent students from the Law School, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, School of Education and Professional Studies, and the School of Applied Psychology.
The University of Manitoba was Western Canada’s first university, founded in 1877. The University is located on Anishinabe and Metis traditional land and is home to a thriving community of Indigenous researchers, staff and more than 2,000 First Nations, Metis and Inuit students, including over 150 graduate students — making it one of the largest Indigenous student bodies in Canada.
Griffith University is also committed to an inclusive and diverse population of many cultures and backgrounds. The recognition of cultural protocols of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is an important part of developing a culturally sensitive environment for the University’s students, staff and communities.
During the visit the two universities discussed the possibility of establishing an Indigenous Health Research Network, with both institutions sharing a particular interest in Indigenous Studies.
High flying and well-heeled; the Griffith Business School has honoured two extraordinary women in the 2015 Outstanding Alumni Awards.
Annabelle Chaplain, Chairman of Queensland Airports Ltd which owns and manages airports on the Gold Coast, Townsville, Mt Isa and Longreach, is the 2015 Outstanding Alumnus of the Year.
The Young Outstanding Alumnus of the Year is Jodie Fox, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of global company, Shoes of Prey.
Pro Vice Chancellor (Business) Professor Michael Powell congratulated the winners at the tenth Annual AlumniGalaDinnerand Awards ceremony in Brisbane.
“I would like to acknowledge these extraordinary women who show such strong business leadership not only in Queensland but around the world,” Professor Powell said.
A delighted Ms Chaplain was present to accept her award.
“Thank you to Griffith and Professor Powell. What a wonderful education you provided for so many people and I am very grateful for this award tonight,” Annabelle Chaplain said.
Annabelle was a foundation student of Griffith, joining the first intake of students in 1975 to begin Modern Asian Studies. On completing her Bachelor of Asian & International Studies majoring in Economics and Mandarin, she travelled to Taipei to deepen her understanding of Chinese culture and business.
Upon returning to Australia in 1980, Annabelle joined Barclays Australia where she began a career spanning more than 20 years in investment banking working in treasury, project and corporate lending roles.
“The brilliant lecturers I had so long ago were an inspiration and my time at Griffith has been a terrific platform for the career I have enjoyed,” Annabelle said.
“To me Griffith University has always offered something different; a high quality alternative to sandstone.”
“I am so grateful to be receiving this award. It is an enormous honour.
“I chose to come to Griffith because it was the only University to offer a Bachelor of International Business and I truly needed a global focus for the things I imagined I might be able to achieve. It has served me well.”
“The business, Shoes of Prey, which I started with my two co-founders has truly become a global entity. We have shipped to 92 countries in the past 2 months and raised $US2 million. We now have offices all over the world including our new headquarters in Santa Monica.
“It has been an amazing journey.”
This year’s Griffith Business School AlumniGalaDinnerwas the last for outgoing Pro Vice Chancellor Professor Powell who will retire in January.
Deputy Vice Chancellor (Engagement) Professor Martin Betts acknowledged the tremendous contribution Professor Powell has made to Griffith University and its alumni program.
“On behalf of the University, and all those who have studied at the Griffith Business School over the past 10 and a half years, I thank you for your extraordinary leadership,” Professor Betts said.
The tension between the academic research endeavour and getting a blue-sky project off the ground was the topic of a 28 October, 2015 seminar by Centre for Work, Organisation and Wellbeing(WOW) guest,Dr Irene Ryan(Auckland University of Technology). Targeting partners likely to jump on board such projects, negotiating organisational access to collect data, and adequately delivering the practical outcomes desired by organisations and participants were key features.
Opening with her motivation for the presentation, Irene commented:
“Research is a reciprocal relationship; we should be asking ourselves how we can do it better… Researchers [also] need to talk about the back stories of their projects – it’s important learning, or how else are we going to improve our practice?”
At the tale-end of a recently funded blue-sky project focussing on the intersection of sport, leadership, gender and business,Irene reflected on the importance of framing a proposal around its target audience – are they individuals, funders or organisations to whom you wish to gain access for data collection, for example?:
“A research proposal is all about timing. Ask what the areas of interest are for the potential partner,” says Irene.
“A researcher must also capture the attention of the decision makers and sell the proposal to get business’ buy-in. I had to understand the context that each of [my partner] organisations was working through,…their history…[which to them] demonstrated my credibility. You have to give them the ‘elevator pitch’! …Capturing the interests of different industries in the public and private sector at the macro-meso-micro levels [should likewise form part of your strategy].”
She recommends too using Keith Grint’s (2005) model for anticipating the problems an organisation may face:
“Tame problems are pre-existing, often already known by the organisation and are usually open to a pre-existing solution. Critical problems are urgent, self-evident and crisis driven. Wicked problems are those that deal with what is literally unmanageable, have no right or wrong solutions and novel-unknown consequences.”
Not unexpectedly, negotiating access to collect data was a protracted process for Dr Ryan. Using emails, letters and meetings, it took nine months and three intrastate flights to gain access to one partner organisation. Using language they understood and teasing out what both parties meant by ‘partnership’ were also Critical factors.
Reporting findings to a non-academic audience was a Tame problem forIrene who acknowledges the difficultly in transitioning from academic-speak to other audience-appropriate language:
“[My] reports, whilst they took a long amount of time,…re-educated [me] about how to write for different audiences.”
Dr Sandra Lawrence
Dr Sandra Lawrence(pictured left)– WOW member and organisational behaviour researcher – spoke post event about the benefit of Irene’shindsight and advice:
“I have had the benefit of working in research teams which have, in part, allowed me tolearn from people who are more proficient at doing the [project] pitches to potential partner organisations….however it has become apparenthow much we [researchers] don’t use [the expertise of] marketing [researchers and practitioners around our workplace] to help us communicate better to organisations about [our own research]… I really appreciated the [interactive blue-sky project] activity as it helped us think about where we wanted to ideally go with our future research projects without being held back by self-censoring pragmatics.”
In concluding, Dr Ryan reiterated the elephant in the room when working with partner organisations – meeting their expectations, and the importance of self-reflection:
“Asking how we as researchers are changed by the research process, [how we] share it, learn from it…that’s my take home message.”
Researchers have proposed a new funding model to provide prisoners with the same health care as other Australians.
Despite prisoners having some of the highest rates of mental illness and communicable diseases, Medicare exclusions mean that they are rarely able to access appropriate health services before they return to the community.
Researchers from the University of Melbourne, University of New South Wales and Griffith University found prisoners are missing out on certain treatments and medications, as they are too expensive to provide without access to Medicare.
The work, led by Professor Stuart Kinner who holds a joint appointment at Griffith University and the University of Melbourne, was published today in the Medical Journal of Australia.
Under current legislation, prisoners are excluded from Medicare, with their health care transferred to state and territory government departments.
“Prisoners in Australia experience profound health disparities relative to those who have not been incarcerated, with a disproportionate burden of mental illness, chronic and communicable diseases,’’ Professor Stuart Kinner said.
“Prisons are uniquely placed to detect health problems, initiate care and promote health, and this has important health benefits for the communities to which prisoners return. But this does not always occur.”
He said the current system heavily impacts Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and people with mental illness, who are over-represented in prisons.
“The Medicare Health Assessment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People is designed to target the ongoing health needs of Indigenous people who experience earlier onset of chronic illnesses than non-Indigenous Australians,” Prof Kinner said.
“But prisoners’ Medicare exclusion means that neither prisoner health services, nor community organisations that provide health services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in prison, can claim Medicare billing for this item.
“And despite prisoners having some of the highest rates of mental illness of any population, the Medicare exclusion means that they are rarely able to access allied mental health services.”
Professor Kinner and his co-authors propose a mixed-funding approach, with cost sharing between the states and territories and the Commonwealth likely to achieve greater equity — and better outcomes — in prisoner health care.
“The Federal Health Minister has the power under the Health Insurance Act to grant an exemption that would end prisoners’ exclusion from Medicare, paving for the way for rebates to be claimed for prison-based healthcare services in certain circumstances,’’ he said.
“This would allow prisons to retain their existing health service delivery model but enhance service delivery through access to certain Medicare items at minimal cost.
“As an example, we estimate the cost of delivering an Indigenous-specific health assessment to each Indigenous prisoner in Australia per year would be less than 0.01% of the annual $20 billion Medicare budget. This is a drop in the ocean for the federal health budget, but would have substantial benefit for Indigenous Australians, who are 13 times more likely than non-Indigenous people to be incarcerated.
“Given that the focus of the health assessment is on disease prevention in Indigenous populations, delivering this service in prisons has strong cost-effectiveness credentials.
“Our mixed-funding model aligns with current government policy, whereby health resources can be directed to where they will be most effective in improving the health of all Australians.
“It also aligns with the position of the Australian Medical Association who recommend that prisoners should retain their entitlement to Medicare and the PBS, including their Medicare card, while in prison.”
Michael Moore, CEO of the Public Health Association of Australia said it was important prisoners have the same access to healthcare as other Australians.
“This new research clearly illustrates a need for access to Medicare for prisoners. Improving health care for prisoners is also a sensible prevention strategy that will provide long-term savings for our health system”.
Published in the Medical Journal of Australia this week, the study was partially funded by a National Health and Medical Research Council grant.
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common chronic neurodegenerative condition after Alzheimer’s disease and, like the latter, it has a predilection for the elderly.
At present, approximately 25 people are diagnosed with the disease every day with an estimated 50,000 individuals currently living with the condition in Australia.
With 15% of the Australian population 65 years and older, the prevalence of PD is expected to more than triple in two decades with changing Australian demographics that veer towards one of an ageing nation. In 2005, it was estimated the total economic cost of PD was $6.8 billion with the Australian Government bearing 40.5% of this cost and the remainder borne by state and territory governments, private insurance, patients and carers.3
This echoes the findings of the recent 2015 Intergenerational Report that urgently calls for a national plan for chronic disease management which underpins the importance of conditions such as PD. PD is often known by its cardinal clinical features of motor impairment, namely tremor, rigidity, slowness in initiating movement (bradykinesia) and postural instability that can lead to falls.
Neuropsychiatric symptoms
Besides motor symptoms, a myriad of non-motor symptoms that include neuropsychiatric symptoms such as anxiety and depression are known to frequently occur and tend to evolve throughout the course of disease with the majority of those with long-term PD eventually experiencing cognitive impairment to a degree severe enough to be deemed as dementia.
Many other non-motor symptoms associated with PD include gastrointestinal issues such as constipation and swallowing difficulties, sleep problems such as excessive daytime somnolence and disruption of normal sleep cycles, and many more.
Also of great importance is that many of these symptoms remain undeclared by patients and are not detected by treating clinicians. The resultant effect of symptom burden on quality of life can be significant and sufficient to cause disability and caregiver distress that is likely to translate to greater effects on the community. A concerted effort is required to address the issue of chronic diseases in Australia.
Using PD as an exemplar of a highly prevalent multisystem morbidity, appropriate priorities of management will include accurate diagnosis, expert review, treatment and follow-up as well as regular access to specialist nursing care, allied health therapists and palliative care.
Importantly, it has been shown that effective interprofessional practice can lead to better patient outcomes in the community, thus reducing inpatient hospital admissions. The importance of interprofessional education and practice has been duly recognised by the World Health Organisation Framework for Action on Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice 2010.
While the treatment of the individual should be prioritised, one must not forget the collective; stakeholders should explore the utility of cost efficient means to deliver effective healthcare. While this will best involve interprofessional practice, utilising technology such as telemedicine will allow for far-reaching input of healthcare even in rural communities though certain challenges to effective implementation will need to be overcome. In addition, synergistic opportunities should not be neglected.
Examples include charities such as Parkinson’s Australia that not only provide education and support to people with PD and their carers but also raise valuable funds that provide additional clinical care in the form of specialist nurses and support valuable research.
Research into conditions such as PD also present an opportunity for the nation’s growing education and biotechnology sector. The formation of effective research studies and research networks will help streamline processes to help overcome the shortfall in understanding this complex condition while potentially acting as a catalyst in numerous sectors that can seed and attract local and international talent. This structured approach is needed to remain competitive in a country with a relatively sparse population, thus replicating similar underlying principles already practised in more populous nations is likely to be advantageous in a process that inevitably involves discrete optimisation.
At Griffith University’s School of Medicine, and the recently launched Menzies Health Institute Queensland, we are currently undertaking observational research in PD with a view to helping us determine key characteristics of disease and individual traits that contribute to disability and impaired wellbeing. With this knowledge, it is hoped we can better manage this condition that will only be increasingly common in Australia. During this process, we are engaging with local stakeholders that include clinicians, patient groups and charitable organisations, such as Parkinson’s Queensland.
While the saying “time and tide wait for no man” may be an inadvertent pun in PD with its slightly higher predisposition in males, it may also serve as a timely reminder that chronic diseases need to be prioritised in the Australian healthcare system. Relatively more advanced healthcare and research networks have been established in other developed nations such as Britain and Netherlands. Perhaps the time for us to plan for our future is now.
This article first appeared in The Health Advocate, October 2015. http://ahha.asn.au/system/files/docs/publications/151005_october_tha_fa_web_view.pdf
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