Robust discussion on growth strategies at the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in Washington DC (photo by g20.org)
Next Monday’s G20 and Development Conference hosted by Griffith University and The Lowy Institute has been mentioned in the latest edition of The Courier Mail’s Queensland Business Monthly magazine. The article, by Robyn Ironside, discusses some of the events that surround the upcoming G20 conference and ways the State Government is making the G20 conference relevant to the people of Brisbane.
The article also includes an interview with Professor Andrew O’Neil from the Griffith Asia Institute, who spoke about the challenge for local stakeholders. “It’s not exactly a sexy agenda – issues like taxation, infrastructure development, anti-corruption don’t exactly get the pulse racing” said Professor O’Neil, “But on the other hand there’s a whole range of other events going on at the same time”. Planned events such as the cultural program, demonstrate real initiative by the State Government in selling Brisbane to the world.
You can read the full article online (p9).
Griffith University has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with theSecretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) opening the door to innovative projects and research in climate change information management.
The event was hosted by Griffith UniversityVice Chancellor and President,Professor Ian O’Connor, who welcomed Dr Netatua Pelesikoti, Director of Climate Change Division, (SPREP).
The MoU signing was held at the “Pacific iCLIM” Information Climate Change project inception workshop and symposium in Brisbane on 28 April 2014. The purpose of the project is to enhance climate change adaptation and resilience planning in the Pacific by supporting the development and implementation of a regional approach to climate change information management and sharing through strengthening the Pacific Climate Change Portal (PCCP).
This project will involve Griffith University’s Professor Brendan Mackey, Director of the Griffith Climate Change Response Group; Malcolm Wolski, Director of eResearch Service and Scholarly Application Services, Sam Mackay, Senior Analyst, Climate Change, and project management support from the International Business Development Unit, Griffith International.
Government representatives and leading experts from key entities from the Pacific region attended the workshop and symposium with their contribution ensuring the success of iCLIM.
This builds on the activities and training programs in e-waste management, already underway between Griffith University’s Professor Sunil Herat and SPREP’s Professor David Haynes, an expert in pollution prevention and waste management.
Professor Ian O’Connor said the partnership was further cementing Griffith’s position in the Pacific, reinforcing our role as a national leader in climate change information management.
“Working together with SPREP and other organisations, this project is hoped to provide a great benefit to the region, ensuring climate change information management for the nations and communities in the South Pacific so they can adapt to rapidly changing conditions and better manage the risks associated with extreme weather events,” Professor O’Connor said.
SPREP is an intergovernmental organisation charged with promoting co-operation, supporting protection and improvement of the Pacific islands environment, and ensuring its sustainable development. Established in 1982, SPREP is based in Apia, Samoa, with over 90 staff and 26 member governments.
Dr Netatua Pelesikoti thanked the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for supporting and iCLIM and funding the program through the Government Partnerships for Development. Pacific iCLIM closely mirrors the recent Government of Australia’s Pacific Climate Change Science Programme and acknowledges the support for the Pacific Ocean Governance Initiative. SPREP’s collaboration with Griffith University started with an MOU in 2012. SPREP values this collaboration as climate change information and management is crucial for informed decision making in responding to the challenges of climate change in the Pacific Islands and territories in the context of national sustainable development priorities.
The Pacific iCLIM project is supported by the Government Partnerships for Development program (an Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade initiative) and being implemented by Griffith University in collaboration with the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).
Brisbane has suffered floods and drought in recent years but can it withstand an earthquake?
According to international disaster modelling experts Drs Bijan Khazai and James Daniell from Germany’s Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, the likelihood of a damaging earthquake striking Brisbane cannot be ignored.
“Australia is not immune to earthquakes. There have been more than 100 damaging earthquakes over the past century,’’ Dr Khazai said. “Most are minor tremors, but the fact remains that a significant earthquake should be considered in disaster planning.”
Dr Khazai and Dr Daniell, from the Institute’s Center for Disaster Management and Risk Reduction Technology, are in Brisbane to present a seminar at Griffith University on how disaster modelling can shape response plans.
They will demonstrate how a Maximum Credible Earthquake event would impact on Brisbane, with a focus on the CBD.
“This includes the extent of structural damage, injuries and deaths, the impact on the economy and infrastructure, evacuation, debris removal and food supplies,’’ Dr Daniell said.
“For disaster managers and communicators it changes planning for such an event from assumptions to evidence-based calculations. The predicted impact can then be matched against current disaster response plans to identify gaps.”
Dr Khazai and Dr Daniell, both of whom work in forensic disaster analysis, draw on one of the world’s largest data-bases on earthquakes and other hazards as part of the predictive modelling process.
Their research has been used by organisations worldwide and they are now collaborating with Griffith’s Dr Hamish McLeanfrom the School of Humanitieson best practices in communicating earthquake risks to communities and disaster response agencies.
WHAT: Communicating disasters — how predictive disaster modelling re-shapes disaster response plans, risk communication and community resilience
WHEN: Tuesday May 6, 1.30pm-3pm
WHERE: Northern Theatres 3, N29, 0.03, Nathan campus
MEDIA:Deborah Marshall 0413 156 601
This month Queensland Conservatorium presents over 30 exciting performances, including the start of ourJazz Cafe series and a number of outstanding Lunchtime Concerts.
Our voice students take centre stage, with a special presentation of The Cunning Little Vixen.
Our Musical Theatre season gets underway with two must-see productions, starting with our third year students in I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change – a quirky musical about dating, romance and marriage. Our second year students will be staring in Oklahoma!.
For more on our diverse performances in May, see the latest edition of What’s on at the Con.
Event information:Conevents website
For student Lauren King, 21, from Robina, the chance to study at Griffith University on the Gold Coast has been a gift.
The fourth year Bachelor of Psychology with Honours student – originally from Albury, NSW – had managed to get into the top 5% of the state’s HSC results during year 12, so was no stranger to hard work.
“I had always dreamed of studying psychology in a warm coastal environment, but I was also concerned about the financial implications as I knew that I would be supporting myself, so once school had finished I wrote to several universities in other states to see what assistance they could offer.”
It took a while for a response to come back to Lauren and by the time she received the offer of a Griffith scholarship, she was already hitching a lift to the Sunshine State with a friend.
“It was crazy I know but I was really keen to get up to Queensland and knew that I would be able to make a success of things, whatever happened. It just so happened that the letter from Griffith came on the day I was leaving!”
The first in her family to go to uni
The first in her family to go to university, studying at Griffith has brought Lauren a range of great opportunities and experiences.
Having maintained a GPA above 6 for the first three years of her degree, she is now full swing into her fourth year during which she has joined the Griffith Honours College.
Designed for outstanding students, the Griffith Honours College provides students with enriching experiences in combination with undergraduate degree studies.
“Last year I undertook an internship with Arafmi, a Brisbane-based support group for mentally ill people and their families. It was really good to work as a telephone counsellor, supporting people during difficult times and it drew on lots of my psychology degree experience.”
During 2012, Lauren was also lucky enough to secure a place on a one semester exchange program with Hawaii Pacific University where she undertook in-depth study into sex and gender psychology.
Now weighing up her career choices, Lauren says she is looking at options which have organisational psychology at the centre.
“I am excited about where the program is taking me. It’s a competitive world out there, so acquiring this depth of knowledge helps me to gain an edge. But more than anything Griffith is providing me with so many gifts. I never knew that I could achieve so much in just a few years.”
A Griffith-led research study into Chinese ecotourism has exposed a lack of understanding by Australian operators with regard to what visitors from this region are expecting on a holiday down under.
Project leader, Professor Ralf Buckley, International Chair in Ecotourism Research at Griffith University said to better understand the expectations of outbound tourists the researchers had focused on one outdoor recreational activity which is popular in China.
Rafting in China
“With the help of a Chinese‑speaking colleague from the USA, and three colleagues from within China, we set out specifically to study the Chinese domestic rafting industry, known as piaoliu. We were quite surprised to find that this activity is completely different from what takes place in Australia,” Professor Buckley said.
“As many as 10,000 patrons per day, at the most popular sites, sit in small oval rafts which are flushed down short sections of river, modified heavily through engineering works.
“These tourists have no paddles and no control. If they fall out they are rescued by lifeguards stationed along the banks.
“In many ways, this activity is less like an active adventure sport, and more like a fairground ride.
“What they get when they come to Australia are larger rivers, more powerful rapids, and much more active involvement with a greater personal responsibility for safety. Unless Australian raft tour operators appreciate this, and adjust their trip briefings and safety procedures accordingly, urban Chinese outbound tourists will be at severe risk.”
Tourism growth from China
“For the past decade, the Australian tourism industry has braced itself for an influx of package tourists from China but in practice, this has happened more gradually than projected,” Professor Buckley said.
“Individual wealth in China has increased enormously, but government controls on overseas travel have relaxed much more slowly. In some ways this was lucky, because we really weren’t ready for them.
“Australian rural destinations are not at all equipped to handle high volumes of tourists who speak Chinese only, expect to be able to eat Chinese food, and are unfamiliar with Australian cultural behaviour.
“The study has identified that there is a giant pool of potential clients for Australian adventure tours.
“For national tourism marketing agencies, that is a very favourable finding.”
The results of this study have been published in Tourism Management .
A recent mass stabbing attack on bystanders at a train station in China has again focused attention on the troubled Xinjiang province.
Read the full article by Griffith Asia Institute’s Dr Michael Clarke in Asian Currents April 2014 edition (page 22).
After being inspired by a seminar presented by the Autism Centre of Excellence (ACE) last year, Rayeleneand Glen Williams decided to sign up for the Gran Fondo charity ride. This four day cycling event will travel from Noosa Heads to Byron Bay in August covering some of the best cycling roads in the area including the Noosa hinterland and Tamborine Mountain.
The primary purpose of this event is to raise money and awareness for those that deal with Autism. Their group will be fundraising for research at the Autism Centre of Exellence (ACE).
Autism affects more than 1 in every 100 children born today and there is no known cure.
While we are fortunate to have a healthy commitment to finding a cure, we believe there is a real lack of help and support for families, teachers and care givers of children with Autism as they deal with day to day life.
Through this ride their team hopes to raise at least $50,000 for the Autism Centre of Excellence at Griffith University.
The money raised will enable the team at the Griffith University Autism Centre of Excellence (ACE) to develop, implement, and evaluate transition management training programs for parents, professionals and young people with autism. These programs will enable children and young people with autism to manage the changes and transitions that are an inevitable part of life.
ACE are developing an innovative program combining professional development sessions and a virtual training and mentoring site that will enable parents of children with ASD, school leaders and educators to engage in partnerships to develop comprehensive and effective educational environments and educational programs in which children with ASD are valued and supported to achieve high quality outcomes.
There is a lack of programs like this nationally and internationally, particularly for school-age children with ASD. Governments focus on programs for school staff despite the acknowledged need for consistent program implementation across home, school and community. Research shows that the engagement of parents is key to the success of individuals with ASD across the lifespan and parents are the most consistent and important factor in the child’s life as they progress to being able to self-advocate.
Rayeleneand Glen Williams’ son Mitchel, now nearly 10 years old was diagnosed with autism at 4 years of age. Mitchel is a much loved member of their family and like most 10 year old boys loves, riding, climbing and swimming. Mitchel still has very limited verbal communication skills and consequently finds many day to day activities quite challenging and particularly activities that involve large groups of people.
They have been blessed with the help and support of friends, family and teachers, however through his time at school, Rayeleneand Glen Williams have seen a real lack in the education and support that is provided to teachers, parents and caregivers on how to best manage and help children with autism get the most out of their education in school and at home.
They hope that this ride will help raise awareness and funds to provide children like their son Mitchel with better opportunities in life through an education that is provided with greater knowledge and understanding.
Professor Peter Best’s leadership in optimising the link between academic study and cutting edge industry insights has secured the Griffith University Discipline Head of Accounting, a prestigious SAP Outstanding Academic Award.
Acknowledged for his long term support of the software giant’s University Alliance Program (UAP), which reaches out to more than a million students worldwide, Professor Best was pleased to be one of four academics awarded worldwide.
“I’ve been teaching, researching and performing industry projects with SAP since 1999, and so was absolutely delighted to hear that I was one of this year’s recipients,” confirmed Professor Best.
“The significance of the award is underpinned by SAP being a global market-leading, enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, used by approximately 30% of medium to large private and public organisations throughout the world.”
“Such is the outstanding global reputation of SAP software, it has already been shown to be a great enticement for International students looking to undertake post graduate business studies in Australia.”
“This puts Griffith University in a prime position to facilitate such valuable admissions through the use of best practice technologies in order to maximise students’ employability upon graduation.”
SAP is used by all of the Queensland government plus many federal agencies and is widely used within the private sector through major organisations such as BHP, Australia Post, Telstra and Shell.
Such enterprise systems provide a rich source of research opportunities which has also provided Professor Best a platform from which to pioneer expertise within the field.
“Industry projects have also been completed in the review of SAP security, continuous control monitoring and automated fraud detection methods, so at a personal level it’s great to be involved in the continued evolution of this outstanding software,” added Professor Best.
“And this also provides a distinctive advantage to Commerce students, with Griffith the only Brisbane University to offer such students’ access to the most up-to-date version of the software under SAP’s University Alliance Program.
“With significant investment in research in accounting standards and business best practice, the SAP software integrates well current regulations and optimal business processes with principles taught within accounting and auditing courses.
Local high school students are being given the chance to experience university life through the university’s Experience Griffith program.
Now in its seventh year, the program is designed to provide students with a unique opportunity for academic enrichment and expose them to a wide range of potential study areas.
More than 1200 students and teachers will take part in a full day program that includes an interactive campus tour and two degree-specific sessions. Ten study areas are covered across the five campuses.
“Experience Griffith is a great opportunity for students to get a taste of interesting subjects they may have never known existed,” said Events & Engagement Officer (Future Students) Jodie Twite.
Dates:
| Monday 28 April |
South Bank campus |
| Tuesday 29 April |
Nathan & Mt Gravatt campuses |
| Wednesday 30 April |
Logancampus |
| Friday 2 May |
Gold Coast campus |
