Queensland Conservatorium students are currently competing in the Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition, which seeks to encourage young pianists at the threshold of their professional lives.
Students Ayesha Gough, Aaron Liu, Alex Raineri, Sine Winther and Jaein Im and alumnus Roger Cui are finalists in the competition which seeks to encourage young pianists to develop their performance skills, increase their public profile and prepare themselves for professional careers.
The Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition was established in 1999 in memory of the late Professor Lev Vlassenko, world-renowned international concert pianist and teacher.
The competition is the only major national piano event in Australia that mirrors the requirements of an international competition, including demanding repertoire, national and international jury members, with all rounds open to the public, and the final concerto round performed with a major symphony orchestra (The Queensland Orchestra).
Further information:
Watch the Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition, streamed live, at their website.
ABC online interviewed Alex Raineri about his place as a finalist in the Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition. Listen to World class piano competition. Average keyboard. on the ABC website.
For information about attending events in the Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition, see What’s on in the Conevents website.
Most people would gulp at the idea of having nine children but for most of CaronSpurway’s life, children have been the focus, especially now she is also studying for acareer in midwifery.
Set to graduate with a Bachelor of Midwifery from Griffith University later this year, theLogan mum of nine started studying in 2010 when she was 49 and her children rangedfrom ages 9 to 24.
“It had always been a lifelong dream of mine to become a midwife. Some years ago Icompleted a Diploma in Childbirth Education and I also became a teacher of yoga forpregnant women,” says Caron. “I would often mention it to my husband Wayne and thechildren, but with having such a big family to care for, it was something that was alwaysput on the backburner. Plus I was working hard to support Wayne in our First Aid trainingbusiness.”
Eventually though, as the children got older and Caron only had the youngest five livingat home, she managed to secure a place on the Griffith degree based at its Logancampus.
“It was an achievement for me just to get into the degree in the first place as I had notactually completed Year 12, therefore I first had to go and get my year 11 and 12 mathsand English at TAFE, as well as complete the QTAC entrance exam, PersonalCompetencies Assessment and Employment Experience. Thankfully I ended up with anOP equivalent of 6 which was enough to get me into the midwifery program.
“It has been wonderful studying so far, and I really love assisting pregnant women morethan ever. I have had the amazing opportunity to follow 20 women through theirpregnancies as part of our ‘continuity of care’ ethos and I have learnt so much from them.
“It’s also been great that I have done two years of the program full time and the final yearI have studied part time.”
Sacrifices along the way
But Caron says it hasn’t all been plain sailing with sacrifices having to be made along theway.
“There have been many times where I have felt really guilty that I haven’t given thechildren enough of my time. For example, since beginning my studies there have beentwo weddings amongst my older children and three grandchildren born — it would havebeen nice to have spent more time on these big life events with the children but they haveunderstood. I think to do midwifery you have to have a real passion for the professionwhich shows through when you build a rapport with expectant mothers.”
Despite the inevitable ups and downs, Caron says that her husband and family have allbeen very supportive of her midwifery journey so far and they are proud of herachievements. In fact, she has inspired some of the children and even her husband towant to study at university.
“They have all kept me going during the tough times and have been a real inspiration tome, I could not have done this without their love and support and my faith in God,” she
says.
With a rural midwifery elective course also under her belt, Caron is now turning her mind to where she will work next year following her graduation this December.
“I would really love to work in a local midwifery group practice, where I can focus oncontinuity of care for mothers as evidence shows this is the best practice.”
Children who swimdemonstrate more advanced cognitive and physical abilities than other children, according to groundbreaking research led by Griffith University.
The findings of a four-year projectby the Griffith Institute for Educational Research, Laurie Lawrence’s Kids Alive Swim Program and Swim Australia have surpassed expectations and indicate that swimming children have many advantages when starting school.
“While we expected the children to show better physical development and perhaps be more confident through swimming, the results in literacy and numeracy really shocked us,” lead researcher Professor Robyn Jorgensen said.
“The children were anywhere from six to 15 months ahead of the normal population when it came to cognitive skills, problem solving in mathematics, counting, language and following instructions.”
The project, entitled Early Years Swimming, Adding Capital to Young Australians, was funded by the swim school industry. Researchers surveyed parents of 7000 children aged five years old and under from Australia, New Zealand and the US. The Australian component included observing more than 120 swimming lessons in 40 swim schools in Queensland, South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria.
Watch our video from the announcement of the research findings
Parents reported back on their children’s development and the information was weighed against the expected progression of children through established milestones.
Professor Jorgensen said that as well as achieving physical milestones faster, the swimming children scored significantly better in visual-motor skills such as cutting paper, colouring-in and drawing lines and shapes.
Intensive assessment
To overcome inevitable parental bias, a core group of 176 three, four and five-year-old children was involved in a more intensive assessment process using internationally approved testing methods.
“On average, these children were elevenmonths ahead of the normal population in Oral Expression, six months ahead in Mathematics Reasoning and two months ahead in Brief Reading,” Professor Jorgensen said.
“However, most amazing was the difference in Story Recall (17 months ahead) and Understanding Directions (20 months ahead).
“These are absolutely staggering results, especially when you consider the average age of the swimming kids we tested was just 50 months.”
Legendary Australian swimming coach Laurie Lawrence said the research offered further evidence of the value of every child learning to swim.
“This is mind-blowing stuff becauseit confirmsthe importance of swimming lessons beyond water safety alone.It proves that swimming truly does provide added capital to children’s lives by helping them socially, physically, cognitively and emotionally,” Mr Lawrence said.
Griffith University Pro Vice Chancellor (Arts Education Law), Professor Paul Mazerolle, said the project went further than any other study in the world bydemonstrating the direct and indirect benefits of early years swimming.
“The connection to education, to improved learning, is extremelyexciting and significant,” he said.
Professor Jorgensen agreed that the project carriedimplications for education, especially for children from low socio-economic situations.
“Our research is categorical, evidence-based and shows that early years swimming has children well ahead in many of the skills and processes they will apply once at school.”
The research will be shared with Federal and State governments.
By Vice Chancellor Professor Ian O’Connor
Griffith’s Open Day keeps getting bigger and better and this year’s edition saw over 16,000 visitors exploring the wonders of our South Bank, Nathan and Gold Coast campuses. Revitalisation projects and major new facilities gave our campuses that extra ‘wow’ factor, and tours of the new Griffith Health Centre and Learning Commons on the Gold Coast campus, and the iconic Sir Samuel Griffith Centre at Nathan, proved very popular.
The key purpose of the day is to give prospective students and their families an opportunity to talk to our fabulous staff and students and gain some inside knowledge about Griffith study options.
Our three campuses were a hive of activity with over 2000 staff and student advisors, information sessions, presentations and tours spanning all study areas, including 3D printing and robotics demonstrations, environment displays, film screenings, music performances and science shows. Many visitors were wearing our Open Day Experience Passes which automatically registered recipients in exclusive competitions and activities on the day.
Watch the Video: Griffith Open Day 2013
The planning of each Open Day provides many logistical challenges but the staff from External Relations do a fantastic job in ensuring that everything runs smoothly on the day. So congratulations to Meredith Jackson and her team on their oversight of another great Open Day.
I would also like to thank those many staff, students and volunteers who gave selflessly of their time to make sure our visitors were well-informed, entertained and thoroughly engaged by their Open Day experience.I’m certain that many prospective students were persuaded to apply for study at Griffith in 2014.
A new driver testing simulator at Griffith Health is a living, shuddering, vibrating reminder of where new directions in public health research are heading.
Current Bachelor of Nutrition and Dietetics student Sophie Monement is researching distraction in drivers, comparing eating whilst driving to SMS messaging. The 21 year old from Logan is using some serious technology to explore a very common behaviour of many individuals.
“I’m not sure I’ll prove my hypothesis; eating and driving is far more socially sanctioned than texting, but wasn’t listed as one of the ‘fatal five’ during the Easter road blitz by Queensland Police.”
New HQ, new collaborations
The simulator is proudly part of the School of Public Health that has moved from its former temporary site, behind the School of Pharmacy.
It is part of a research collaboration between the Schools of Public Health and Applied Psychology.
Sophie is hoping she returns for a PhD one day so she work out of the new Griffith Health Centre.
“This commitment to bring everyone together and feeding off each other’s ideas sounds like a really attractive thing to be part of,” said Sophie.
Sophie’s supervisor, Associate Professor Ben Desbrow keenly supports research like Sophie’s and believes such projects will only be enhanced through their proximity to others.
“I think work like Sophie’s is great, and it can only be improved with a collaborative approach through as many different projects as possible. Buildings and fancy equipment doesn’t do this for you, but they can definitely help push the process along,” he said.
Heather Gray raced from Asia to Australia nine years ago to take up a scholarship at Griffith Business School in the nick of time.
The 51-year-old was awarded a PhD from the Department of International Business and Asian Studies on August 7 at a ceremony in Brisbane.
Now a return to Asia beckons. Her research findings are to be rolled out in Myanmar in an initiative to deliver technology education in a developing country.
“My research found that older people need to have a sense of control and independence when using the computers as a tool. The computer should not be a burden to them. It should enable them to engage with the community.
“Young adults are taught about technology tools, involving information that is largely unnecessary for older adults. An 84-year-old who wants to write his family history has no need or desire for technical info about formatting and font size. They just want to know what they need to know to achieve their goal.
“I believe these principles can be applied effectively in developing countries so now I am testing my research findings in Myanmar where an environment of information technology is limited or in many places does not exist.
“It needs to be developed there, but it needs to be developed in a logical and efficient way.
“It has the potential to bring the country forward 50 years in terms of global engagement, to help businesses to succeed and schools to deliver education in a way that enables the wider population.”
Letter from Hong Kong
Heather was working in Korea in 2004 when the PhD opportunity arose at Griffith. Ironically, for a disciple of information technology, tracking her down to inform her of the good news proved a challenge.
Eventually a letter from Hong Kong got through to her and she arrived in Brisbane with only a day to spare to take up an offer to research how older adults engage with computers and internet technologies. Tomorrow’s graduation will bring a happy ending to this chapter.
“I’m relieved and delighted that graduation day has come,” she said. “It has been worth it.”
“It was the first time I walked across the stage at a graduation ceremony. In the past I’ve been overseas.”
Heather previously qualified with a graduate certificate and graduate diploma in information systems before doing a Master of Information Systems (Advanced) that took her to Thailand to investigate the digital divide there.
On her return to Brisbane to work with the Queensland government, this question about engagement with information technology continued to occupy her thoughts, as she became increasingly aware of the large numbers over the age of 64 not using computers.
“I discovered that between 1998 and 2004, only 12 percent of older people were engaging with this technology. I decided to try and find out why.”
Employment at Griffith as a lecturer at the School of Information and Communication Technology would come in tandem with her PhD.
She is on the School of ICT organising committee for this Sunday’s Open Day, where School students will showcase a web-based program designed to help prospective students identify a career and then locate the degree for them.
“It will give them the skills and qualifications needed to pursue that career.”
Heather has also been involved in securing ICT industry partners, including IBM and Women in Technology, to discuss career opportunities on the day.
More than 2000 Griffith University students will graduate from Griffith University this week, at ceremonies on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Brisbane Convention and Entertainment Centre.
Heather will be among 790 postgraduate students donning mortar board and gown, and one of 853 Griffith Business School graduates.
Joining her for the occasion will be her husband and 75-year-old mother who drove up from Adelaide and close friends from around Australia. Heather will be joined on the dais by mentor and close friend Robert Wensley QC as well as many other academics celebrating with her.
Experience the New Griffith at Open Day 2013 on August 11 (9am-2pm).
More than 100 undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral students took to the stage as they graduated from the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice this week.
“We wish those who have graduated every success in their future careers,” said Head of School, Associate Professor Janet Ransley.
“Our PhD graduates are entering a variety of fields around the world, preparing the next generation of criminological researchers for an international and national stage,” she said.
Drs Li Eriksson, Alice Hutchings, Ross Harvey, Samantha Batchelor, Nada Ibrahim and Ingrid McGuffog celebrated their milestone at the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice reception following the ceremony.
Dr McGuffog is taking up an academic position in the Department ofCriminal Justice at The College at Brockport in New York while Dr Hutchings works as a Senior Research Analyst at the Australian Institute of Criminology, Australia’s premier government crime research agency.
Dr Eriksson and Dr Ibrahim have been offered post-doctoral fellowships to continue their research. Dr Ibrahim has received funding by the Canadian Observatory. She will be researching whether Muslim women’s experiences with the criminal justice system (police and family courts) in Australia deter them from reporting their experiences of intimate partner violence.
Dr Batchelor is working with the Benevolent Society. She is currently evaluating Early Years Centres, where children andfamilies can access integrated early childhood education and care, parenting and family support, and selected health services in one location.
Dr Harvey’s Phd examined measures to reduce methamphetamine problems in Australia.
Doctoral research included:
– Ross Harvey: A case-study of policy transfer: Examining the national roll-out of ProjectSTOP
– Li Eriksson: Male Perpetrators of Intimate Partner Homicide: A General Strain Theory Explanation
– Ingrid McGuffog: Drug Use, Policy and Control: Evaluating the Impact of Precurson Regulation on Drug Use Behaviour
– Samantha Batchelor: Relationships Between Parent Involvement and the Academic Achievement of Disadvantaged Children: What Matters? For Whom Does it Matter? How Does it Work?
– Nada Ibrahim: Intimate partner violence in the Australian Muslim community: Exploring attitudes/beliefs and direct involvement
– Alice Hutchings: Computer Crime
To see more photos from the event visit the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice Facebook page.
Griffith’s doyen of political science, Professor Pat Weller, was quick to share the spotlight last night when Vice Chancellor, Professor Ian O’Connor, hosted a dinner in his honour at South Bank.
Addressing family, friends, colleagues and peers who gathered to pay tribute to an outstanding academic career that has spanned more than 40 years, he took the opportunity to highlight the contributions and collaborations of the 42 different authors who have worked with him during this time.
“Where many social scientists tend to work individually, my career has been shaped by working with other people,” he said.
“It makes the academic life a lot less lonely, and it has sent me off in directions I might never have taken. You start looking at things, doing things and thinking about things in completely different ways when you work with someone else.”
Director of the Centre for Governance and Public Policy, Professor Haig Patapan, announced the Pat Weller Prize at last night’s function, to be awarded each year to the best first year student from the Introduction to Politics course.
Professor Weller completed a doctorate in political science at the Australian National University in 1972, building his early academic career in Canberra before his move to Queensland during mid-1980s to be Griffith’s Foundation Professor of Politics and Public Policy.
His passion for politics, public policy and institutions of government has been built on strong, enduring, often robust relationships and exchanges with government officials and public servants, a dynamic that remains vital to the discipline of political science, he believes.
“It continues to be a means of understanding the world of politics. I always talk to practitioners and while it informs my work, I hope it also provides them with insight, information and knowledge they can use.
“If you’re going to talk to government officials and public servants, you have to do it from a position of credibility, and for me this comes in the form of published work.”
Professor Weller is the author of 39 books including two publications on Prime Ministers, First Among Equals (1985) and Malcolm Fraser: Portrait of a Prime Minister (1989).
His most recent ARC Discovery Grant (for $269,392) sees him investigating why some Prime Ministers fail and others succeed, due to be completed in 2015.
He has held numerous public positions including chair of the Queensland Corrective Services Commission from 1994-96 and being a member of the Prime Minister’s task force on Australian Public Service reform in 2009.
He was the inaugural director of the Centre for Australian Public Sector Management at Griffith University in 1988 and during 30 years at the University, his roles have included Head of Department, Centre Director, Dean, and Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research).
He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Science and an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO).
Professor Weller was front and centre and in his political element again today at a workshop on The Craft of Governing, hosted by the Centre for Governance and Public Policy at the Samuel Griffith Centre on Nathan campus.
PhD candidate Andrea Haefner’s latest journal article appears in latest edition of Pacific Geographies. In the first decade of the twenty-first century Non-Traditional Security (NTS) challenges are of rising importance due to their increasing impact on daily life and broader national interests. This paper focuses on the Mekong Region as an important subregion due to its significance for more than 70 million people living directly on the river banks and its importance for the economic development of the six riparian countries. This paper investigates NTS challenges in the Mekong Subregion with a focus on environmental challenges and argues that NTS are of increasing importance in the region and will increase in the future. Whereas economic growth is crucial for the improvements of the livelihoods on the Mekong River and the overall economic performance of the riparian states, environmental protection cannot be disregarded as doing so would have devastating impact on the subregion and the wider region in the future. To read the full article click here.
A man who helped shape the modern Gold Coast has received an Honorary Doctorate from Griffith University.
Former engineer, developer and city councillor, Mr Jock McIlwain, has beenacknowledgedfor hiscontribution to the city and the University. Heaccepted the honourduring a special ceremony at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre.
At 87, John Robert (Jock)McIlwain doesn’t waste time on empty conversation or standing still. Just as when he first arrived on the Gold Coast in 1959, he remains a man of firm opinions and admirable energy.
So too does he continue to look ahead, ever eager to contribute to the city he loves and believes in so ardently.
That belief isespecially clear with regard to education. It also explains Mr McIlwain’s delight at being recognisedby Griffith University, an institution the existence of which might never have occurred without his tireless resolve.
It was back in 1967,just a year after being elected to thecity council,that Mr McIlwain first advocated the need for a tertiary presence on the Gold Coast.
“A university brings maturity and depth to a city and even back then I could see what that could mean for a growing city like the Gold Coast,” Mr McIlwain said.
Knowledge and expertise
“I felt that by offering tertiary education to our young people, it meant that after graduating they could then apply their knowledge and expertise in the same city. The benefits worked both ways and so I kept on about it, kept pushing and pushing.
“And look at it now. Griffith University is, I believe, one of the most exciting campuses in the world and it is making a major contribution to the economy, welfare and reputation of the Gold Coast.”
Of course, a Gold Coast-based university was not the only cause to benefit from Mr McIlwain’s determination.
“When I first became a council alderman in 1966, the Gold Coast was the sort of place that had a lot of potential. It just needed a bit of a kick along to get it started,” he said.
“That’s why I was the one who set up the council’s Promotions Committee and urged Mayor Bruce Small to promote the Gold Coast all over Australia and abroad.
“That’s why I advocated for a convention centre. That’s why I advocated for a casino and a university. And now all those things have come to pass.
“Now what we need is a decent cultural facility, a Gold Coast cultural precinct. That’s the next thing on my list.”
All this from a fellow who is supposed to be retired and spending his days painting portraits.
Ongoing commitment
A former President of the Surfers Paradise Chamber of Commerce and a man whose name graces a Gold Coast street, a park and a community centre, Mr McIlwain also expresses his ongoing commitment to the Gold Coast via significant philanthropic works. These have included generous donations to Griffith University.
Most recently he gave $25,000 to Griffith’s Science on the Go, an outreach project encouraging high school students to pursue studies in advanced mathematics and science.
In fact, Griffith is about to embark on a major expansion of science teaching on the Gold Coast campus. In 2014, a comprehensive new Bachelor of Science degree program will be introduced, a first for the region.
“What I love about science has never changed in all these years. You never stop seeking and finding,” Mr McIlwain said.
“Everything you learn takes you to something or somewhere else, to some other door that needs to be opened. I like opening doors and finding what’s behind them.”
Endlessly curious, refreshingly frank and always engaged, Jock McIlwain is still coming up with big ideas for the city he helped to shape and grow.
“I know the Gold Coast has its critics. I just happen to think they’re wrong. It is a magnificent place to live and to learn and it has so much to look forward to,” he said.
“You have to look forward. And if necessary, always be willing to give thingsa bit of a kick along.”
