The Centre for Work, Organisation and Wellbeing will partner with the Griffith Business School’s Alumni portfolio next month (21 August), as an expert panel of industrial relations (IR) and human resource (HR) researchers and practitioners discuss over breakfast the make-up of Australia’s future workforce and its wellbeing.

Contributing to the panel is WOW’s Associate Professor Janis Bailey, an IR researcher with a long-serving practitioner background as a union industrial officer, Industrial Commission assistant and government consultant. With colleagues, Paula McDonald (QUT), Robin Price (QUT) and Barbara Pini (Griffith), Janis has recently sought to understand how school-aged workers (13-16 years) from 19 Queensland schools participated in, and were socialised to become, full and equal members of their workplace communities — a process known as industrial citizenship — by examining three things: what they understood about, and how they enacted, their employment rights; the environment (domain) in which their ‘citizenship’ played out; and their social location (or status) within the work community. Janis explains:

“School aged workers have a unique type of industrial citizenship because they’re forming their ideas about what work is in a formal economy, and what their role is in it. Consequently, they have less experience and capacity to bargain with employers and less knowledge of their rights than adult workers.”

Overwhelming, respondents framed their rights around financial and safety entitlements, with the former embracing issues like correct rates of pay for hours worked and known limits to the availability of shifts. The latter was framed around rights to physical (rather than psychological) safety; and employers, teachers, unions (to a lesser extent), and parents (overwhelmingly), were sources of information about these rights. Dominant too was the research team’s constant need to clarify that ‘rights’ were in fact entitlements (and not the student-workers’ responsibilities to their employer).

“Youth are vulnerable as a result of eroded protections around safety, remuneration and job security. This is underpinned by factors such as deregulated trading hours, increased consumerism, an abundance of casual retail and services sector jobs, access to youth welfare allowances and the lower cost of youth labour,” adds Janis. “I’m always pushing the barrow that employment relations… is key to making good public policy regarding employment matters, and key to employers’ management of employees.”

Associate Professor Janis Bailey

Associate Professor Janis Bailey

As for the make-up of Australia’s future workforce, Janis(pictured left) and her colleagues are calling upon schools, governments, employers and trade unions to think not only about the rights of these young industrial citizens, but how they can enable them at this early stage of their participation in the labour market to exercise these rights with a view to becoming engaged and committed adult citizens; and not just in the workplace. Janis concludes:

“Young people’s vulnerability means that they should be of special concern to governments and employers. Students enter employment not only for lifestyle choices and financial gain, but also with a future-orientated focus on securing fulltime employment and improving life chances.”

These findings were published in the Journal of Sociology (2014, volume 50, issue 3) in an article entitled ‘School-aged workers: Industrial citizens in waiting?’. For further reading on younger worker’s protections, Janis recommends ‘Daggy shirts, daggy slogans? Marketing unions to young people’ (with co-authors Robin Price, Paula McDonald and Lin Esders; Journal of Industrial Relations, 2010, volume 52, issue 1).

Registration for the 21 August GBS Alumni-WOW Breakfast series is now available – Griffith staff, students and Griffith Business School Alumni: $45 per person; general admission $50 per person.

Chief executive officers, entrepreneurs and business leaders of tomorrow will be making a bee-line to an Open Day session on what it takes to be a modern business success at Griffith’s Gold Coast campus on Sunday (July 26).

Associate Professor Ruth McPhail, Primary Program Director for the Bachelor of Business, will deliver two sessions on the value and far-reaching impact of a business education in a globalised environment.

“Business must be about innovation and leadership,” Associate Professor McPhail said.

“This is demonstrated by Griffith staff on a number of levels including teaching, research and industry networks.”

She says aspiring business students attending her sessions in the new $38 million business building will get an understanding of how and why a combination of knowledge, information and opinion are crucial to an education in business.

“By bringing many different perspectives to problems, better solutions are discovered. We do this by working together – students,teachers, researchers, businesses, governments and communities.”

She will outline how ambitious, career-driven students can combine a business grounding in accounting, economics, marketing, employment relations and management with a choice of specialised options to sharpen their professional focus.

“This classroom knowledge can often be applied in the workplace almost immediately through local and global opportunities offered through our internship program.

“In this way, future CEOs and budding entrepreneurs will be perfectly poised to push forward with career plans and ambitions.”

Dr Ruth McPhailAssociate Professor McPhail’s presentations, titled ‘Be a modern business success story’, will be delivered at 10am and 1am at Room 2.17 in the new business building (G42).

Griffith Business School lecturers will also deliver a series of presentations on commerce, international business, the Asian landscape, government and policy, and tourism and hotel management during Open Day.

The new business building, including a state-of-the-art trading room, is located beside the Griffith University station on the G:Link.

Free travel to Open Day is available on the G:Link light rail. For a special free pass, look for the TransLink customer liaison officers in red Griffith shirts on G:Link platforms between8.30am to 1pm on July 26.

An exhibition exploring Aboriginal identity has openedfeaturing artworks from students of the Contemporary Australian Indigenous Art Program at Queensland College of Art, Griffith University.

Blak, coordinated by Art from the Margins, the creative initiative of Wesley Mission Brisbane, ties in with national Blak History Month to promote, celebrate and remember the history of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.

Over a year in the making, the partnership has resulted in a show that is incredibly diverse, according to artist and QCA lecturer Ms Bianca Beetson, who also describes one powerful overarching theme.

“The show is ultimately about identity — what Aboriginal identity means to each artist,” Ms Beetson says.

“It’s also a celebration of ‘blakness’ and a true testament to the quality of work coming from local emerging artists.

“We also want to challenge people’s expectations as to what they think Aboriginal art is.

“It is our hope that visitors leave the show with an altered perception of contemporary Indigenous art.”

Imprints of Self and Other by CAIA student Venessa Williams (Acrylic on Canvas, 64x100)

Imprints of Self and Other by CAIA student Venessa Williams

Art from the Margins Project Officer Vanessa Bertagnole agrees, saying it’s the perfect opportunity for local art lovers to broaden their appreciation for local talent.

“The aim of the month is to celebrate and share the culture of Australia’s Indigenous Peoples, and I think this exhibition captures this aim and is true to its core ,” Ms Bertagnole says.

“What is evident through these works is a uniquely Indigenous Queensland voice that speaks volumes to our local heritage.

“I’m thrilled to see this emerging array of talent, expression and insight being communicated so strongly within these works. The free exhibition is not to be missed.”

Comprising printmaking, fine art and photography, Blak features the work of 12 undergraduate and postgraduate students of the CAIA program at QCA.

Since its inception in 1994, the CAIA course has consistently nurtured compelling practices, including well-known names such as Ah Kee, Tony Albert and Megan Cope, and those soon to be known: Robert Andrew, Dale Harding, Carol McGregor and Ryan Presley.

EXHIBITION RUNS: 16 July — 2 October, 2015

St Andrews War Memorial Hospital, Level One Gallery Space, 457 Wickham Terrace

Media Contact: Lauren Marino, 0418 799 544, [email protected]

The negative health effects of international air travel are well documented but now it seems that the common elderberry can provide some relief.

Associate Professor Evelin Tiralongo and Dr Shirley Wee from Griffith’s Menzies Health Institute Queensland (MHIQ) have completed a clinical trial showing that an elderberry supplement can provide some protection from cold and flu-like symptoms following long-haul flights.

Intercontinental air travel can be stressful and affect a passenger’s physical and psychological wellbeing. Whilst jet lag and fatigue remain the best known problems, holidaymakers also often experience upper respiratory symptoms.

Reducing duration and severity of colds

Presenting their results at the 21st Annual International Integrative Medicine Conference in Melbourne, the research team showed how elderberry appears to reduce the duration and severity of the cold.

The randomised, double-blind placebo controlled clinical trial was conducted with 312 economy class passengers travelling from Australia to an overseas destination. Cold episodes, cold duration and symptoms were recorded in a daily diary and participants also completed surveys before, during and after travel.

“We found that most cold episodes occurred in the placebo group, but the difference between the placebo and active group was not significant. However, the placebo group had a significantly higher number of cold episode days, and the symptom score in the placebo group over these days was also significantly higher,” says Associate Professor Tiralongo.

“Complementary medicines are used by two in three Australians, thus increasing the evidence base of these medicines should be at the forefront of our efforts. It’s often forgotten that the evidence for various herbal medicines is extract specific,” says Associate Professor Tiralongo.

The trial used capsules containing 300mg of a standardised, proprietary membrane-filtered elderberry extract which has shown to be effective in working against respiratory bacteria and influenza viruses.

The Griffith study follows recent European research published in the open access journal Current Therapeutic Research which suggests that a combination of Echinacea herb and root extract supplemented with elderberry can be as effective as the conventional antiviral medicine Tamiflu for the early treatment of influenza.

 

Long gone are the days where high-end luxury brands dominate the fashion marketplace.

The latest generation of shoppers are tough customers according to Griffith University’s Dr Tim Lindgren, who leads the Fashion Design course within the Digital Media degree at Queensland College of Art.

“Younger consumers live in a digital era and are increasingly mobile, using their phones for the majority of purchases, so a brand’s online presence is absolutely vital,” he says.

“They are far more discerning and are willing to research and compare brands, which must meet their expectations.

“Australian brands are very good at telling the story of freedom of lifestyle, which is an aspect that tends to generate a high level of trust from the public.

“The importance of creating and maintaining your own local narrative and combining this with the latest in technology, such as 3D printing, is where the future of fashion is headed.

Fashion photography from Nathalie Reinholdtsen.

“Fashion designers are the newest Australian creative producers, and that’s the message we want to send to the international market

“Also, the rise of developing economies like Asia and India and the companies who will need digitally native fashion professionals moving into these spaces is generating opportunities for our graduates in these new future regions,” Dr Lindgren says.

The Fashion Design course was introduced this year and focuses on the global market, sustainable and ethical production, fashion law, social change, branding, cultural and economic significance and the development of business models.

Dr Tim Lindgren

Dr Tim Lindgren, who leads the Fashion Design course at Queensland College of Art.

Dr Lindgren has spent more than 25 years as a fashion designer and says the industry is a very different place now and will only continue to evolve as fashion merges with other fields.

“The potential with cross-over fields is growing daily, with wearable technology in sport with brands like Nike and Adidas, lifestyle products like the Apple Watch, and even imbedded health technology in clothing,” he says.

He says the way we live, is also impacting on the way we consume.

“With many people in urban cities living in smaller dwellings, the reduction in storage space is leading to even more discerning purchases,” he says.

Dr Lindgren will present demonstrations and workshops this Sunday 26 July at Open Day in the Fashion Design Studio at G06 2.12A on the Gold Coast Campus.

More information on the Fashion Designprogram.

GOLD COAST OPEN DAY
SUNDAY 26 JULY

CAMPUS TRAVEL INFO:

Enjoy free travel on the G:link light rail to Griffith’s Gold Coast Open day on July 26.Look for the TransLink Customer Liaison Officers in red Griffith shirts on platforms between 8.30am to 1pm for your special free travel pass. Visit translink now to plan your journey.

If you’re in Brisbane you too can join in on the fun on the Gold Coast by catching the courtesy buses running from Logan campus to Gold Coast campus throughout the day by booking here. Just by attending the Open Day you will go in the draw to win an Apple iWatch or $500 travel voucher. Register on the day or early birds can register here.

Media Contact: Lauren Marino, 0418 799 544, [email protected]

 

 

What the future holds for business professionals will be a compelling part of the Open Day agenda at Griffith’s Gold Coast campus on this Sunday (July 26).

Aspiring accountants, economists and finance professionals will be told how advances in IT, intensified international competition and the globalisation of economic linkages have created an exciting employment landscape for future business graduates.

“We are dealing with a market that values a business education, a market that suggests the return on a business education during the next five years will be strong and positive,” Professor Fabrizio Carmignani, Head of the Department of Accounting, Finance and Economics, said.

Griffith Business School lecturers will deliver a series of presentations on commerce, international business, the Asian landscape, government and policy, and tourism and hotel management during Open Day.

Two presentations on how a Griffith business student can become a modern business success story will take place at 10am and 1pm.

Professor Fabrizio Carmignani says new teaching processes already in place mean university programs are instilling students with flexibility and versatility. “This will enhance and sustain their employability as traditional business roles evolve and new occupations emerge.”

Department of Employment projections forecast a 14% rise in professional occupations in the Business, Finance and Human Resource category during the next four years.

Among the specific occupations with significantly positive forecasts are financial brokers (set to jump by 13%), financial dealers (17%), financial investment advisors (23%), human resource professionals (10%) and accountants where the spike is projected to be 13%.

“The idea of an accountant that only does journal entries is no longer relevant,” Professor Carmignani said. “However, if we look closely at the professional profile, we can identify exciting new opportunities for the modern accountant in areas like tax administration, corporate governance and business development.

“It will call for a flexible, versatile dimension on the part of future graduates in their approach to the employment market. It is important, therefore, that the types of skills we are teaching are skills that will fit in to other professional profiles not necessarily in business.

“Therefore, the processes that the university has in place now are about forming students who will be employable and will have a bag of tools that gives them the flexibility to do jobs in five years that may not even exist now. There will be plenty of jobs in the future for people with that type of knowledge, with that bag of tools.”

The new business building, including a state-of-the-art trading room, is located beside the Griffith University station on the G:Link.

Free travel to Open Day is available on the G:Link light rail. For a special free pass, look for the TransLink customer liaison officers in red Griffith shirts on G:Link platforms between8.30am to 1pm on July 26.

Research that is applicable to real life healthcare and which has positive impacts for the community is the focus for Professor Sheena Reilly, the newly appointed director of the Menzies Health Institute Queensland (MHIQ).

Professor Reilly says she is aiming to develop a program of research that has “people’s health built into it from day one.

“I don’t want research for the sake of it. Whether we are talking about clinical research, research in the laboratory or out in the community, there must be a strategy behind it from the start that means it is easily translatable into tangible health outcomes.”

The Menzies Health Institute Queensland – formerly known as the Griffith Health Institute – is positioning Griffith University as a leader in world-class research, and wasofficially launched by the Governor-General and Patron of the Menzies Foundation, His Excellency General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK MC (Retd), on Thursday 9 April.

This significant development is enhancingGriffith’s health research excellence through collaboration and resource sharing, as well as support greater engagement between academic researchers and healthcare professionals nationally and internationally.

Professor Reilly — previouslyAssociate Director of Clinical and Public Health at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and Professor of Speech Pathology at the University of Melbourne – says a key part of increasing health outcomes will entail MHIQ working closely with the Gold Coast University Hospital (GCUH).

“Working very closely with GCUH is something that will be built into our research strategy as a way of facing the clinical challenges that our health system is currently seeing.

“For example, nationally in Australia that there is a decrease in the number of children seeing GPs and an increase in the number presenting to hospital emergency departments. Of course children cannot be turned away from EDs, however there are opportunities to partner with the GCUH and the community to see what can be done about this problem.

“Partnering with health services to address their needs will be paramount and working with state and federal government will also form a part of this.”

An uncertain environment

SheenaReilly1

Acknowledging the challenges of an increasingly uncertain funding environment, Professor Reilly admits that there will be changes ahead within MHIQ.

“Change is always challenging, especially as we don’t see much of a change ahead for research funding, but this relationship between two different organisations has the chance to be a very powerful thing.

“Part of the Gold Coast Health Strategic Plan details the need to negotiate joint research appointments with Griffith and I am looking to nurture that, with a supply of very focussed researchers that have the backing of the Menzies global reputation for excellence in discovery and innovation.”

Whilst Professor Reilly says that there are no specific disciplines to be focussed on at this stage, she says that she would like allied health to be the niche area that Menzies will be globally known for.

“Allied health professionals and nurses (18 and 35% respectively) make up the majority of the overall health workforce. About 10% of the workforce is comprised of medical professionals. At MIHQ we have a great opportunity to grow research leaders in allied health alongside those in medicine, so that MHIQ becomes the place to be for allied health researchers.”

 

Find out more about health careers at Griffith Gold Coast Campus Open Day on July 26. http://www.griffith.edu.au/open-day

It started 25 years ago as a single building among bushland on the edge of town.

But today Griffith University has a thriving Gold Coast campus in possibly the most exciting university precinct in the world.

Serviced by the new light rail system and across the road from one of Australia’s most modern hospitals and the site for the 2018 Commonwealth Games athletes’ village, Griffith is a mini-metropolis born of humble origins.

And according to a study released recently, a Griffith University degree today could improve your earning potential by more than 40 per cent.

The latest Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey, funded by the Australian Government, reveals Griffith delivers better career earning potential to its graduates than most universities.

Griffith is a member of the Innovative Research Universities group, which according to the HILDA survey means students at Griffith showed an “earnings premium” of 15 per cent higher than traditional universities, known as the Group of Eight.

The report also showed that compared to an educational level of Year 11 or below a Bachelor-level degree boosted earning potential by 40.7 per cent for men and 31.9 per cent for women. A Masters-level degree boosted earnings by 47.1 per cent for men and 42.1 per cent for women.

Griffith's Gold Coast campus in 1990.

Griffith’s Gold Coast campus in 1990.

Deputy Vice Chancellor Professor Ned Pankhurst said the news comes as Griffith’s Gold Coast campus marks 25 years since its humble beginnings in 1990 when there were just three buildings and 456 students.

Today it is home to more than 18,000 students learning from the best teachers in a cluster of multi-million dollar buildings alongside literally hundreds of researchers tackling some of the toughest global problems.

Griffith’s School of Engineering lecturer Charles Hacker, who was here when Griffith first opened its doors to students in 1990, said he was proud to be part of such an innovative leading university.

Bachelor of Business students in 1990.

Bachelor of Business students in 1990.

He said while technology had dramatically changed the approach to teaching in the past 25 years, the passion and quality had always remained high.

“When I started we had buildings in the middle of nowhere and engineering wasn’t offered at first,” he said.

“I started as a physics and maths teacher and was over the moon when the opportunity came to utilise my electronics background.”

When Griffith opened in September 1990 at Parklands it became the region’s first “higher education” facility, offering courses in business, teacher education, the arts and social sciences.

Griffith was also the first university to acquire one of Australia’s most power computers, The IBM SP2 Parallel Supercomputer costing $1.3million in 1994.

Come and see how you can get a higher earning career at Griffith’s Gold Coast Open Day on Sunday, July 26 from 9am — 2pm.

A brief history of Griffith University Gold Coast

Bachelor of Arts students in 1990.

Bachelor of Arts students in 1990.

September, 1990 – Gold Coast campus opens after amalgamating with the Gold Coast College of Advanced Education.

1994 – Australia’s most powerful computer is installed at Griffith University The IBM SP2 Parallel Supercomputer’ cost 1.3million dollars in funding and allowed for researchers to carry out large numbers of calculations simultaneously

June, 2000 – The Honourable Ms Leneen Forde has served as the University’s first female chancellor. She was also the second woman in Australia to be appointed Chancellor of an Australian university. Ms Forde retired in 2015.

2005 – Professor Ian O’Connor begins as Griffith’s fourth Vice Chancellor

July 1, 2005 – The first Australian School of Dentistry opens in nearly 60 years.

July 19, 2013 – The state of the art $150 million Griffith Health Centre Building opened.

November 14, 2013 – The first test tram arrived into the underground station at the Gold Coast campus by Vice Chancellor Professor Ian O’Connor. The light rail officially began running in July 2014.

August 2014 – Opening of $38 million Griffith Business School building

February 2015 – The Margaret Mittelheuser AM Trading Room opened, named after Australia’s first female stockbroker.

April 2015 — The Menzies Foundation partners with Griffith to form the Queensland Menzies Health Institute, the only one of its type in Queensland

2015 June – Griffith welcomes new chancellor Henry Smerdon AM

The Gold Coast campus in 2014.

The Gold Coast campus in 2014.

Pathways into and out of youth crime, youth gangs and community-based approaches for preventing violence are just some of the topics to be explored at the Youth Violence: Cutting to the Core conference this week (July 20 and 21).

Hosted by Griffith University’s Violence Research and Prevention Program, the conference aims to improve understanding of the causes of youth violence and how to prevent it.

Program Director, Professor Paul Mazerolle, said few forms of violence leave a community as raw and vulnerable as violence by its young people.

“Sadly, rather than trying to prevent trouble from starting in the first place, our social and justice policies often focus on young people only when they are already in trouble and on a clear pathway to bad outcomes,’’ he said.

“Research tells us that many of these young people have been raised in homes characterised by poor or absent parenting, alcohol and substance misuse, violence, poverty and joblessness, and chronic instability.

“This conference will provide important insights into points where it may be possible to intervene in what is often an intergenerational cycle of disadvantage, violence, and crime.”

Keynote speakers include:

Del Elliott, Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, University of Colorado — Pathways into and out of violent youth crime.

Finn-Aage Esbensen, Professor of Youth Crime and Violence, Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Missouri-St.Louis — Youth gangs: What do we know and what can do?

Abigail Fagan, Professor of Criminology and Law, University of Florida —An effective community-based approach for preventing youth violence: the Communities that Care System.

Other topics to be discussed include:

WHAT: Youth Violence: Cutting to the Core

WHEN: Monday, July 20 and Tuesday, July 21 — 8.30am-5pm

WHERE: The Royal on the Park Hotel, Brisbane.

The Queensland Governor, His Excellency, the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC officially opened the Griffith Criminology Institute (GCI) at Griffith’s Mt Gravatt campuslast night (July 16).

“All Queenslanders can be very proud that this institute through its excellence in both teaching and research now leads Australia in the fields of criminology and criminal justice,” his Excellency de Jersey said.

“Thanks to its new crime lab, Griffith is a world leader in the analysis of security and justice data.”

GCI Director Professor Ross Coomber said the Institute was a strategic consolidation of criminology scholars across the University, with an impressive group of external partners,representing one of the largest and most productive criminology communities in the world.

“In 2014 Griffith Universityranked in the top 15 of institutions worldwide on volume of criminological output and has strong collaborative ties across the US, Europe and Asia,’’ he said.

“The institute’s aim is to produce cutting-edge knowledge that helps create safe, just, well-governed and equitable societies.

“We are honoured to have the Queensland Governor Paul de Jersey officially launch the Institute.”

The institute has six key areas of focus.

“The Institute will continue to strengthen Griffith’s place as world leading in criminology and to apply critical thinking and research for maximum impact and positive contributions to society.”