News from the University of Tasmaniawww.utas.edu.au

MAY 2011 ISSUE NUMBER 349

BY LUKE SCOTT

U TAS alumnus Josh Foley has won the richest land-scape art prize in Australia,

with his work praised by the judges of the Glover Prize as ‘unique’.

At the recent announcement

of his win of the hotly-contested prize, judges Anthony Bond, Francis Parker and UTAS School of Visual and Performing Arts head Professor Marie Sierra said Foley’s work stood out as being unlike any of the other works contesting the 2011 prize.

A Bachelor of Contemporary

Arts with honours graduate, 27- year-old Josh scored the top prize for his colourful work Gee’s Lookout, based on an old workman’s hut near the Cataract Gorge.

The judges wrote of the work: “It investigates how paint behaves and how the viewer reads it.

“Foley has depicted tangled masses of brush marks that appear to be three-dimensional, occasion-ally breaking into thick texture and thereby combining illusion with reality. His carefully simulated brush strokes represent the landscape but also parody the application of paint.”

Josh said he had stumbled on the subject of his painting while walking near his West Launceston home.

“In a way the Glover was a reason for me to start thinking about the landscape,” Josh said.

“Since leaving uni it has always been something at the end of the year that I’ve thought about enter-ing. It’s such a good prize – a good incentive to make a landscape paint-ing.

“Last year I just did landscapes for the whole year. The momentum of entering the Glover, thinking about the landscape, and develop-ing a landscape vision built up and it really defines what I am now doing full-time.”

Josh resettled in Launceston a year ago with his partner and their two young children after a three-year

stint in Melbourne. With six exhibi-tions behind him and plans for more in the future, he is teaching an Adult Education art class and studying a TAFE business course in his spare time.

Sales of Josh’s work are increas-ing too, with buyers who heard of his Glover win buying works exhibited in Launceston sight-unseen.

“Now that I am based back here in Tasmania I am really focusing on landscapes,” he said.

“I plan to do a bit more explor-ing now, to find a few more interest-ing places to paint.”

Josh said his time at the UTAS Academy of the Arts in Launceston had played a significant role in his artistic career to date.

“I started as a 17-year-old, so I guess I was quite young,” he said.

“It was challenging but by third year I felt like I was much more well-rounded. It was an exciting environ-ment to be in.”

Josh plans to buy a new bass guitar and art supplies with his $35,000 in winnings from the pres-tigious 2011 Glover Prize.

Glover win for UTAS landscape artistRichest landscape art prize in Australia: UTAS alumnus Josh Foley won the Glover Prize with his painting Gee’s Lookout, based on an old workman’s hut near Launceston’s Cataract Gorge. (Photo courtesy Examiner newspaper)

2 Kites and dragons flyHarmony Day fun

Contribute to a UTAS social justice bursary in memory of Sandy Duncanson8 www.utas.edu.au/foundation

BY CHERIE COOPER

A recent study of the marine life in Hobart’s Derwent River has found parts of the estuary are dominated by introduced and non-native species.

The surveys of marine life were undertaken by Reef Life Survey, a national marine science and conser-vation program, initiated by UTAS researchers and involves a dynamic mix of scientists, marine managers and recreational SCUBA divers.

Reef Life Survey divers and UTAS staff, including Jemina Stu-art-Smith, Neville Barrett, Graham Edgar, Toni Cooper and postgradu-ate student Amelia Fowles exten-sively surveyed areas of rocky reef habitat throughout the Derwent,

recording all fish species and larger invertebrates including sea stars and sea urchins.

Dr Rick Stuart-Smith from the UTAS Institute for Marine and Ant-arctic Studies said the results were startling.

“Although the Derwent River is home to unique and globally sig-nificant fauna like the endangered spotted handfish, it is also heavily impacted by abundant fish and invertebrate species not native to Tasmania.

“They are so common in some areas they totally dominate,” he said. “So much so that not a single native species was found on the sea floor in some patches of rocky reef close to the Hobart port.”

Even marine life in Sydney Harbour and Port Phillip Bay con-tained fewer introduced fish and large invertebrates than the Derwent.

But some rare fish species were also recorded by the survey team and areas of rocky reef in the lower estuary appeared reasonably healthy.

For more information on the Reef Life Survey program, please visit: www.reeflifesurvey.com

Derwent River filled with interlopers Dominated by interstate interlopers: The Derwent River’s endangered spotted handfish represents a jewel in an area overwhelmed by an abundance of fish and inveretbrate species not native to Tasmania.

Our man at IMASProfessor Mike Coffin10

On campus

UNITAS MAY 2011 NUMBER 3492 UTAS community

Unitas is the monthly newsletter of the University of Tasmania. It is printed in soy-based inks, on stock which is 80 per cent recycled and 20 per cent total chlorine-free pulp (FSC Mixed Source Certified). Aluminium printing plates are also recycled after use.

Circulation 1,500 Editor Sharon Webb 03 6324 3218 Email Media.Office@utas.edu.au Production ACYS 03 6226 2591

Contributions are welcome, but items with a broad appeal will be given priority. The Editor reserves the right to edit copy or hold it over for a later issue and is under no obligation to publish contributed material. The opinions expressed in Unitas are not necessarily those of UTAS. For a list of Unitas deadlines and guidelines, visit us at: www.utas.edu.au/events/unitas.html

UTAS switched off all non-essential lights statewide to take part in Earth Hour 2011 recently.

To celebrate the event UTAS and the TUU hosted a free public event in Hobart. Staff, students and the public lit a candle for Earth Hour while enjoying the sounds of local musician Dean Stevenson.

UTAS sustainability manager Corey Peterson said the university is committed to playing its part in

securing a sustainable future. “We prioritise a reduction in the

UTAS carbon footprint and energy use,” he said.

“Our participation in Earth Hour 2011 symbolises a commitment to demonstrate the need for greater global action on climate change.”

UTAS staff and students Amit Joshi, Arash Kashani, Scott Wylie, Ziya Kordjazi and Mehdi Mohagheghi were among the crowd at the event.

Lights out at UTAS for Earth Hour 2011

BY JACQUELINE FIRTH & LUKE SCOTT

K ite flying and a tradi-tional Chinese dragon were highlights of

UTAS Harmony Day celebra-tions in Hobart and Launceston.

In Hobart 150 people gath-ered; kites and spirits soared at the Hobart Cenotaph in an event run by the Community

Friends and Networks Program, UTAS Accommodation Services and Hobart City Council.

It was an opportunity for UTAS students, staff and resi-dents to meet and make friends with people from the Hobart community and to celebrate the Harmony Day 2011 theme of diversity within our community.

And to gee up UTAS kite- making skills, Izzie from the Tas-

manian Kite Flyers Association taught students, Accommoda-tion Services’ residents and staff to make simple, light kites.

In Launceston more than 800 people flocked to Harmony Day celebrations at the Newnham campus.

The record crowd made the most of the entertainment and food on offer, despite forecasts of heavy rain.

This year’s event was the largest of its kind at Newnham, and included Malaysian, Chinese, African, Persian and Iranian musical performances, a traditional Chinese dragon and food and entertainment from around the world.

“It was a great atmosphere – there was such a broad cross -section of our community, from our international stu-dents to the migrant communi-ties around the region,” event spokesperson, project officer Leanne Arnott said.

“The staff really got behind this event and supported it – I was thrilled that so many UTAS staff were there.

“I think it really did achieve what we set out to do, which was to see all these different cultures socialising together, enjoying the entertainment, enjoying the food and having a great time.”

Spirits soaring on Harmony Day

BY CATHERINE ROGERS

Luke Padgett knows the Australian Copyright Act inside and out. It’s his job.

Luke joined UTAS as the new copyright officer early this year. Based at the Morris Miller Library in Hobart, his role is to ensure UTAS staff and students are aware and understand the nature of copyright and how it relates to their activities at UTAS.

“Copyright law protects the rights of copyright owners but it

also provides exceptions allowing people working in educational institutions to use copyright material in certain cases without seeking permission from the copyright owner,” Luke said.

“One of my jobs is to ensure that UTAS staff and students have the know-how to take advantage of these exceptions whilst abiding by copyright law and licences.”

Luke provides advice to aca-demics on exceptions to copy-right infringements and ensures

that the reproduction of printed materials, such as those con-tained in course readers comply with copyright licence agree-ments.

He also manages the distri-bution of copyright royalties for any works produced by UTAS which other organisations may have reproduced.

Luke has a wealth of expe-rience in copyright within the university environment, previ-ously working at Curtin and Swinburne universities.

Guidance on copyrights and wrongs

In sync on Harmony Day: Amelia Yarrow, Mata Down, Lalene Down and Achalie Down performed traditional South Pacific dances at Newnham.

Copyright expert: Luke Padgett is enjoying the challenge of ensuring UTAS staff and students understand how copyright law affects their work.

Carrie Smith

Cradle Coast campus’s UniLink Coordinator, Carrie Smith, has been presented with a Paul Harris Fellowship. She is the first Rotaract member in Tasmania to receive the honour. Carrie has been with Rotaract for six years,

undertaking a number of community development projects including helping to raise almost $10,000 towards education and healthcare services in a Guatemalan community. The Paul Harris Fellowship, valued at $1000, is presented in recognition of an individual’s contribution to the humanitarian and educational programs pursued by the Rotary Foundation.

Catriona Macleod

Dr Catriona Macleod will use her $10,000 prize money as 2010 runnerup in Tasmania’s Rural Woman of the Year Award to convince environment research groups to pool information to be used to communicate to the public about a sustainable future for the environment.

Dr Macleod has degrees in marine biology, honours in ecology/biology/behaviour and a UTAS masters in environment effects.

After seeking a cadetship in the Antarctic and instead being offered a spot at Cambridge, she declined the offer and went on to study genetics/research of salmon for fish farming, which led to a job in Australian salmon production. Twenty years after leaving her Scottish homeland, she was nominated for the Rural Woman of the Year Award. She described meeting the other award finalists as “the most positive experience of my life”.

Our people

Do you have a tidbit for ‘Our people’? Email news snippets on UTAS people to: Media.Office@utas.edu.au and mark your email subject: ‘Our people’.

In conversation Professor Peter Rathjen VICE-CHANCELLOR

UNITAS MAY 2011 NUMBER 3493 News

BY CHERIE COOPER

A family holiday that started with David Bowman’s interest in

Aboriginal landscape burning finally happened – after hurdles brought on by a recent cyclone in Darwin.

Professor David Bowman from the UTAS School of Plant Science has conducted research in the Northern Territory on the land of Joshua Rostron’s family for many years.

“They were set to visit us then Darwin was shut down by the cyclone,” Prof. Bowman said.

The Rostrons couldn’t get to their aeroplane, they tried to get out from their outstation and found the river flooded and when they finally got a truck it broke down.

But they eventually made it to Tasmania to stay with the Bowmans.

Prof. Bowman has had a long history of collaboration with Joshua, his father and his uncle.

“They invited a lot of scien-tists to study their land when I still worked for the Northern Territory Government in the 1990s.

“I became interested in studying Aboriginal landscape burning, one of my primary research interests, and I needed somewhere to study,” he said.

In Tasmania Joshua Rostron experienced an unfamiliar, cold world.

“It’s been interesting for someone who’s never seen a sheep or a fire stove: things we take for granted,” Prof. Bowman said.

Joshua and his family saw a Tasmanian devil and the Tasma-nian Museum and Art Gallery’s thylacine video and artefacts. Joshua had never seen either animal but recognised them both from rock paintings and knew of them from traditional stories.

“Aboriginal people are not necessarily enamoured of your research – they are more intest-ed in you as a person. Family life is very important,” Prof. Bowman said.

Prof. Bowman’s partner Dr Faye Johnston, research fellow at the Menzies Research Insti-tute, had worked in Arnhem Land as a bush doctor so she knew a lot of the people in the community already. Prof. Bowman and Dr Johnston have done collaborative work on health benefits in the com-munity.

Prof. Bowman’s PhD student, Clay Trauernicht, is also conducting research on Joshua’s land and has camped there.

“We’re so indebted to the community,” Prof. Bowman said.

“When you’re doing cross-cultural research a visit like this is a social visit but it’s also fundamentally important to the collaborative relationship.”

Keeping research in the family

Strength of commitment to UTAS

I write in the midst of a whirlwind first few weeks, dominated by trips around the state and country to learn

about our university. I am delighted with both what I have found and the warmth with which I have been welcomed.

Beyond the stunning beauty of our natural setting it is the people who have made greatest impact. There is a special relationship between UTAS and Tasmani-ans that is deeper and richer than for other universities I have known. It is, of course, partly a consequence of being the only uni-versity in the state. But it is also because the activities of the university touch on just about every aspect of life in Tasmania. So many have some connection to the univer-sity – as students, staff, alumni and friends, as members of the community who benefit from our research, as workers who benefit from the economic activity that we bring to the state. Their obvious pride and affection for UTAS provide an exceptional founda-tion for a prosperous future.

It is those strong links and connections that I will be bearing in mind as the uni-versity embarks on a year of setting a new strategic agenda.

I hope that our strategic planning can take the form of a conversation that includes not only staff but students and members of the broader community. Some of the aspects that we will need to consider are already evident. Education and research are increasingly global in nature. We must build upon our firm local foundations to identify our place in the national and international context. In an increasingly competitive envi-ronment this will require us to know our-selves. Where are we distinctive and special? Where do we have opportunities that others may struggle to realise? What do we have to offer students, researchers and the broader community that will bring the world to us and us to the world?

It is a wonderful thing to be able to take charge of your own future, and our new strategic plan gives us the opportunity to do just that. We build with confidence on a strong base. In this respect I would like to thank Professors Daryl Le Grew and David Rich for their stewardship of the university through the often tumultuous recent years, which have seen such change in our sector.

I will provide advice soon about how you can engage in our strategic planning and inject your ideas for our future. In the meantime, please feel free to make contact with me at: vice.chancellor@utas.edu.au

Peter Rathjen

www.utas.edu.au/vc

A family-wide research partnership: The Bowman and Rostron families at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery – Clancy Bowman, Clay Trauernicht (fellow researcher), Joshua Rostron, Rahab Redford with Leroy, Dr Fay Johnston and Professor David Bowman. Seated are Larry Bowman, Leanna Rostron and Matilda Bowman.

BY NICOLE MAYNE

The Australian Maritime College has announced a col-laborative agreement with Edith Cowan University aimed at meeting the specialist skills demands of the maritime engi-neering industry.

The partnership will see ECU students spend two years studying engineering at their home campus in Perth, Western Australia, before doing

two years’ study at AMC in Launceston, Tasmania, spe-cialising in ocean engineering, naval architecture or marine and offshore systems.

AMC’s National Centre for Maritime Engineering and Hydrodynamics director Neil Bose said the innovative ‘two plus two’ degree would strengthen ties with key indus-try and education stakeholders.

“Perth is the centre of the oil and gas industry in Aus-

tralia as well as being a major player in the shipbuilding sector but currently no WA universi-ties offer maritime engineering degrees,” he said.

“AMC and its world-class hydrodynamic facilities are well placed to provide the education and training that graduates need to meet industry demands. We believe this partnership will be of great benefit to Edith Cowan University and AMC as well as the companies that manage the

vast offshore oil, gas and iron ore developments in Western Australia and further afield.”

ECU’s head of the School of Engineering, Professor Daryoush Habibi, said both institutions were strongly committed to the successful delivery of these joint programs at both institutions.

The first intake of students under the agreement will begin their studies at ECU in 2012 and arrive at AMC for their third and fourth years in 2014.

Collaborative degree sees AMC partner with Edith Cowan University

‘Aboriginal people are not necessarily enamoured of your research – they are more interested in you as a person. Family life is very important.’

UNITAS MAY 2011 NUMBER 3494 Features

UTAS hosted a three-day visit by a group of 22 secondary school career advisers from Vic-toria and NSW recently as part of the annual Careers Adviser Symposium.

The event showcased UTAS’ world-class academics and facilities, promoting the uni-versity as a number one choice for interstate students.

UTAS manager of market-ing and recruitment Jo Bailey said the symposium provided an ideal opportunity for the university to highlight the many benefits of Tasmania to interstate education col-leagues.

“The visitors met senior aca-demic staff and gained a greater awareness of the lifestyle advan-

tages that Tasmania can provide for their students,” she said.

“Our relationship with these advisers and schools, as well as the university’s regular attendance at major career expos, is intrinsic in attracting young people to Tasmania for tertiary study.”

“In 2010 more than 2,500 interstate student enrolled at

UTAS across all programs and campuses. We anticipate this number will continue to grow.”

The career advisers began their Tasmanian visit in Hobart before travelling to Launceston where they were joined by 24 Tasmanian advis-ers for a day of professional development.

Career advisers view world-class facilities at UTAS

Your role model/ idolLance Armstrong. My husband’s a cyclist and so I can relate to what Lance does. His books are great and it’s amazing what he’s achieved during and after cancer. He’s an inspiration to all.

When I’m not working I’m a busy mum, running the kids to and from sport and looking after a household. I play a bit of social tennis and I love being with my “other two children” Millie (dog) and Ellie (cat).

Favourite place on earthWineglass Bay. It’s peaceful and one of the few treasures left in the world without commercial things everywhere. It’s one of the last natural beauties left.

Music I’m listening to right nowThe Eagles when I have free time, which is rare for me!

Life before UTASI used to work at a chicken producer for 13 years and I was definitely ready for a new challenge, so I went to UTAS and two months later I’m loving it. The people, the atmosphere – it’s just lovely.

Secret talentI’m secretly a scrapbooker. My secret’s out!

Favourite memoryI loved my grandmother’s lamingtons. Supermarket lamingtons are rubbish compared to hers. When I visited her there would be a freshly-made batch awaiting my arrival, which would then proceed to disappear … It’s a mystery where they went!

Big achievementsApart from my two beautiful children and being married for 20 years I have completed a Burnie 10 and two Point To Pinnacles which I’m very proud of.

Natalie NimmoAlumni Administrative Assistant

Up closeSenior lecturer in international relations at the School of Government DR MATTHEW SUSSEX considers different countries’ responses to intervention in Libya.

T hose viewing UN Security Resolu-tion 1973 authoris-

ing intervention against Libya as a watershed for universally humane international law should temper their enthusiasm with some sobriety.

The Responsibility to Protect (R2P) – the idea that all coun-tries are obliged to protect their citizens, and that this obliga-tion passes to the international community if they fail to do so – offers little more than a handy rationale for intervention.

Instead of being a reliable instrument in the global human rights toolkit it is, at best, irrel-evant. At worst, it can be manip-ulated by countries wanting to justify much more selfish objec-tives.

To start with, the BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China) all abstained from voting on Resolution 1973, as did Germany, which is usually at the forefront of international humanitarianism. With US power increasingly challenged by new centres of authority it should be worrying – not comforting – to proponents of the R2P that the rising nations wanted nothing to do with intervention.

Abstention doesn’t hurt the interests of the BRICs one iota, but it does allow them to do some buck-passing. So can the Arab League, which called for UN intervention in the first place but had no willingness to lead it. Instead, both groups can afford to sit back and watch how the West deals with a particularly nasty dic-tator who has few friends in the international community.

For the loudest supporters of intervention as a core aspect of international humanitarian law, this is all due to the R2P, a

principle that has actually been languishing for years, despite its laudable intentions.

In fact, R2P really only comes into play when powerful nations have no real stake in opposing intervention on humanitarian grounds. And by extension it also means that a heavily armed country, or one of its allies, need not fear it at all. This is some-thing the R2P’s proponents seem unable to grasp.

One recent commentary in The Australian suggested that “if the measures adopted succeed, not only will Libya be trans-formed but tyranny everywhere will be put on notice”.

Leaving aside the ques-tion of how we define tyranny

(nuclear-armed North Korea? Saudi Arabia? The PRC?) there is no clear sense in Libya of how we might judge success. Is it regime change? But that is not the stated goal of Resolution 1973. Or is it enabling a pro-tracted civil war? If so, doesn’t R2P exacerbate the problem?

Even more disturbing is the fact that R2P can also be used by countries to take actions that have little to do with human rights. In 2008 Moscow claimed its intervention in Georgia came from its responsibility to protect ethnic Russians.

The West stands to lose if its actions in Libya are too heavy-handed, if Gaddafi draws neigh-bouring states into the conflict,

or if the West’s actions fail to kick-start Libya’s stalled revolu-tion. Then it will face the spectre of supporting an insurgency over a long period of time. It will be backing a loose coalition of rebels with views that span a spectrum encompassing demo-crats, local tribal leaders with scores to settle, and champions of Sharia law. Certainly they have no common agreement on what might replace Gaddafi.

Likewise, it is disingenu-ous to spin Obama’s painful attempts at diplomacy as cool-headedness. By dithering over a no-fly zone the White House was shoehorned into supporting a much tougher resolution once momentum gathered behind David Cameron and Nicolas Sarkozy. And once it did, each side tripped over the other in an unseemly race to be seen as the most humane. That’s why France started targeting Gaddafi’s tanks while the parties were still talking in Paris about how to proceed.

And there’s the rub. Inter-ests and morality can come together in foreign policy, but equally often they can be dia-metrically opposed. The tragedy of untempered idealism is that it is always disappointing when apparently altruistic statements by leaders are revealed to also contain a heavy dose of prag-matism. Neglecting the political dimension of the West’s latest adventure, and focusing instead on the rhetoric, is merely putting the cart before the horse.

Worthy intent doesn’t always deliver

Informing career advisers: Secondary school career advisers from Victoria and NSW toured many UTAS facilities recently.

Libyan crisis: A soldier from Gaddafi´s army is arrested in Misrata after the rebels took control of the city. (Photo: AAP/EPA)

UNITAS MAY 2011 NUMBER 3495 Alumni

BY LUKE SCOTT

F ormer Univers i ty of Tasmania electrical engi-neering student Robin Frith

has one impressive CV.Along with serving as project

manager for the ‘PDP-6’ computer in 1965 – the first multi-user time-sharing system in the world – Mr Frith designed the first remote weather stations for the Bureau of Meteorology, has flown a single-engined Cessna 626 around the world, was involved in the first around-the-world computer net-working connection and served as managing director of NEC Australia.

Now the 72-year-old is about to become an author, and has even pro-posed a novel solution to deal with silt in Launceston’s Tamar River.

Mr Frith’s $120-million proposal would see a 600-metre barrage built across the mouth of the Tamar, effec-tively separating saltwater and fresh-water.

This in turn would eliminate silt build-up in the river because silt remains suspended in fresh water unless it mixes with salt water.

Mr Frith has released a 32-page report on his solution, and politi-cians, councils and ratepayers are already taking notice.

However, the plan had a relative-ly mundane beginning.

“I was cruising down the Tamar with some friends for a tennis club lunch a couple of years ago and they mentioned that silt doesn’t precipi-tate out in the form of mud unless it mixes with salt water,” he said.

“That started the cogs going. I thought: Well, if that’s the case, we need to separate the salt water envi-ronment from the fresh water envi-ronment.

“There’s only one way to do that – put a barrage wall in.”

Mr Frith said numerous barrage proposals had been put forward over the years.

“Realising that this would mean

we would have a lake full of fresh water, I also started thinking about what that could do for the Tamar Valley, for the economy, for tourism, for aquatic sports and all the things that would go hand in hand with that” he said.

From anyone else, the barrage proposal might seem like pie in the sky, but anyone speaking with Mr Frith for a few moments will quickly realise that he is, and always has been, a problem solver.

After early success in his chosen field designing the earliest computer systems and remote weather stations for the Bureau of Meteorology in the 1960s, Mr Frith was poached by US company Digital Equipment Corpo-ration (DEC).

He spent a few years in the US designing computer systems, before being promoted to project manager for the PDP-6 super computer.

In its day, the PDP-6 was truly cutting edge. And with a price tag of more than $300,000 it was sought after by only the wealthiest institu-tions: universities, hospitals, govern-ments.

One PDP-6 was bought by the University of Western Australia.

“I built that computer, which took up multiple rooms, put it on a chartered aircraft and sent it out to Perth in 1965,” Mr Frith said.

“I installed it at UWA and it was the first multi-user time-sharing system in the world. Computers up

until that time were big rooms full of equipment and you fed punch cards in one side and got a line printer as output on the other side.

“But this computer was different – it had up to 64 terminals located right around the campus. The stu-dents could sit there in their indi-vidual faculties and use the computer remotely into the central computer system. That is what’s called multi-user time-sharing.

“The corporation became quite famous for having done it.”

The PDP-6 was cutting edge in other ways; it is commonly regarded as being part of the very first around-the-world computer network con-nection.

In November 1965, Mr Frith and his colleagues attempted for the first time to link Digital’s US Head-quarters in Massachusetts to the PDP-6 in Perth over a telex link.

A fading roll of printed telex paper, held in Sydney’s BACK Museum – founded by another former DEC engineer, Max Burnet – is testament to the successful link.

Within a few years Mr Frith had set up the Australian arm of DEC,

before taking on a global role with the company at its headquarters in Massachusetts.

After seven years in the US, Mr Frith and his first wife Virginia decided to take their three young children back to Australia.

“I had learned how to fly in the US, and flew the family around to places like Martha’s Vineyard, Nan-tucket, that sort of thing,” Mr Frith said.

“So when it came time to come home to Australia, we decided to buy an aircraft and fly it as a family back to Sydney. I took three months leave of absence from Digital and flew around the world from Boston to Sydney via Europe, the Middle East and South East Asia.

“That’s the subject of my book, Virginia’s Diary.”

After returning to Australia Mr Frith was approached by the then struggling Nippon Electric Company, known today by its acronym NEC, to set up an interna-tional marketing strategy.

Within a few years, NEC Aus-tralia had grown into a $100 million company.

In 2005, Mr Frith and his second wife decided to return to Launceston to retire.

“We both feel a temperate climate is more suited to our style so we visited then decided to come back permanently,” Mr Frith said.

Despite being officially retired, Mr Frith acknowledged that he was still busy – his barrage proposal and book have both taken up a lot of time.

“I can’t help it,” he laughed.“If I see something that needs to

be done, and other people are strug-gling with it, I tend to apply my experience and skills to try to find a solution.”

Virginia’s Diary will be available for purchase as either a hard copy or an e-book via Amazon in coming weeks.

Robin Frith: Adventurer and problem solver

Big adventure: Robin Frith, his first wife Virginia and their three young children alight from their Cessna 626 on their round-the-world adventure.

Innovator, adventurer, author: Robin Frith. Safe hands: The PDP-6 being loaded at Boston’s Logan Airport in the US on

its way to Australia.

World-first: The multi-user time-sharing PDP-6 shortly after it was delivered to the University of Western Australia. (Photo: The University of Western Australia Computing Centre)

Ahead of its time: The PDP-6.

UNITAS MAY 2011 NUMBER 3496 Research

BY CHERIE COOPER

N ew research has shone the spotlight on a big jump in the numbers of under-

employed women in Tasmania.It also found they need flexible

working hours, are committed to their roles as mothers and have con-cerns about being too old for jobs.

Unions Tasmania approached the UTAS School of Government to investigate the reasons for women’s low participation in the labour market in Tasmania, in comparison to national rates.

Romy Winter, Dr Megan Ales-sandrini and Tania Fothergill from the UTAS School of Government consulted more than 200 Tasmanian women, encompassing the full spec-trum of age, occupations, life stages and educational backgrounds.

The study found women’s partici-pation in the workforce in Tasmania has grown from 40 per cent in Febru-ary 1978 to 56 per cent in January 2011.

The research also considered the under-employment rate. This refers to workers who want and are avail-

able for more hours of work than they have.

For females, 2600 were under-employed in 1979 compared to 12,700 currently.

Women in the study also had concerns about being too old for the workforce.

“This manifested in two ways: often they had low personal skills or expectations and were therefore com-peting with young people for low-paid retail and hospitality positions

– and were not being successful,” Dr Alessandrini explained.

“They believe that the potential employer saw their relative maturity in a negative way.”

Data collected indicates when compared with other Australian states, fewer Tasmanian women in every age group and region are participating in the labour market, fewer are employed on a full-time basis, and generally there is little motivation on the part of many of these women to join the labour market full-time.

When asked why they worked part-time or casual, more than 34 per cent stated it was to fit in with child caring responsibilities; 16 per cent claimed it was the only mode of work available to them.

Sixteen per cent also said they did not work full-time because they didn’t need to. For 14.5 per cent it was a life-style choice.

“This data suggests that women have a strong commitment to their roles as mothers and carers,” Dr Ales-sandrini said.

“The role of an actively engaged mother becomes more than a biologi-cally ascribed one: it is an achieved role from which they derive their identity,” Dr Alessandrini said.

“They are making conscious deci-sions to embrace this role.”

“It is clear that the combination of a society that is implicitly judgmen-tal, and support infrastructure that is at best inconvenient, results in many opting for part-time work or full time parenting as a lifestyle choice,” she said.

“Overall, the participation of women in the Tasmanian labour market has seen some improvement over recent decades, but is likely to be among the first groups to suffer with an economic downturn such as the one we are now facing.”

Judgmental society, poor public transport and expensive childcare keep Tasmanian women out of the workforce

BY CHERIE COOPER

The transition from tertiary education to work isn’t always easy and for students with a lived expe-rience of mental illness, it can be tough.

A new handbook aims to help assist tertiary (university and TAFE) students with experience of mental illness transition into employment.

Mountain Climbing: A resource for tertiary graduates with lived expe-rience of mental illness making the transition to employment is the first of its kind.

Debbie Hindle, National Dis-ability Coordination Officer in the UTAS Support and Equity Unit, said it is envisaged Mountain Climbing will become an important national resource.

“It draws together a wealth of strategies, tips and approaches, as well as references to handy web-sites and a number of engaging case studies.

“The handbook helps students decide what kind of work would suit them and shows them an experience of mental illness is certainly no barrier to a productive and fulfilling career.”

Mountain Climbing also includes advice about disclosing mental illness to employers, tips on job seeking and where to find support.

The keynote speaker at the hand-book launch was Keith Mahar, a

social worker and human rights activist in Canberra who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 1996. He has been active in local, national and international mental health initiatives. Keith is creator of the online mental health resource www.menta-lympians.org.

The hard-copy resource will be widely distributed through-out Australia and an electronic version will be placed on the web.

The project was funded by the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations through special project funding to the National Disability Coordination Officer Program.

Mountain Climbing is available to download at: www.ndcotas.com.au and from all UTAS libraries.

Mountain climbing is easier with a little help

Help to climb the mountain: At the launch of a new handbook for tertiary students with a mental illness are Keith Mahar and Debbie Hindle, Mountain Climbing project officer Jesse Shipman and Darlene McLennan, national disability coordination officer.

Obstacles to participation for women:» Poorly scheduled

public transport making commuting unrealistic

» Out-of-school-hours care not meeting the needs of workers who commute

» Media commentary on misguided or unsupervised teenagers

» Poorly paid jobs making childcare inaccessible

‘Often [women] had low personal skills or expectations and were therefore competing with young people for low- paid retail and hospitality positions – and were not being successful.’

Fewer Tasmanian women at work: Dr Megan Alessandrini from the UTAS School of Government finds out why.

UNITAS MAY 2011 NUMBER 3497 Graduations

BY LUKE SCOTT

N early 100 Bachelor of Nursing students gradu-ated from their fast-track

course at a special ceremony in Sydney last month.

The two-year course is offered by UTAS in Sydney, allowing stu-dents to complete their degree a year earlier than the standard Bachelor of Nursing course.

But completing the course in two years requires focus, determi-nation and hard work, according to many of those who graduated last night.

Sixty-two year-old Suzanne Court said determination and the support of her husband had been vital.

“I’ve been working as a nurse for the past 45 years, so for me this is coming back to finish what I started,” Mrs Court said.

“I am very proud of myself and the other students.

“It has been extremely tough – there have been times when I have wanted to pull out. But I got support from my tutors at Dar-linghurst, and support from my

husband Ray. “Nursing has been my career. It’s all I’ve done, it’s what I love. It’s what I do.

“I have experienced life, I’ve travelled and done other things, but nursing is what I always come back to.”

Mrs Court said the supportive atmosphere of the course had been uplifting.

“The mood among the students in those last eight weeks was great,” she said.

“The support we were giving each other was just amazing.”

Now that Mrs Court has gradu-ated, her husband Ray is contem-plating returning to study next year.

“It’s definitely his turn now,” Mrs Court laughed.

Nursing achievers graduate in Sydney

Maria CouglanIt is intensive and you have to be motivated. The reason I chose such an intensive course, something that was fast-tracked, is because I’m not getting any younger. Not a lot of young people seem to do this course and I think that is because they want the university experience of going out clubbing and having long holidays. I’ve now started a new graduate program at Justice Health. My previous background was as a criminal lawyer so I’m now incorporating that, hoping to specialise in forensic health.

Shelly ReidIt was busy, especially if you are working as well. It is good to have it done and over with. You have to sacrifice your weekends so it was hard work. It’s great to be graduating.

Leonardo GualterioI’m excited to graduate, it’s a big relief. It was very tough to get to this point; you need good time management. You just have to learn to drop other things and focus on study. You have to keep up with the work. I’m proud of myself that I’ve done it because it was very stressful at times.

Mary-Jane O’BrienIt has been a very intense experience. I was very lucky to have such a supportive family – that made all the difference. Balancing it with full time work was really challenging. It meant I had to spend every weekend studying. The only breaks you get are at Christmas so I really treasured those times. I feel really great now, like I’ve really achieved something. It was very hard but it was also very stimulating and interesting. I learned a lot and it was really worthwhile.

Support: Nursing graduate Suzanne Court said the support of her husband Ray had been vital while she studied an intensive, fast-tracked nursing course in Sydney. Ray now plans a return to study next year.

Nursing Graduates in their own words

UNITAS MAY 2011 NUMBER 3498 Awards

Scholarship winner sailing into the future

HITLab student wins award for Longford racing simulation

BY CHERIE COOPER

A young man with a love of engineering and sailing is the latest recipient of the

Warren Lee Memorial Scholarship.Edward Snowball, 19, of Nubeena,

matriculated from the Tasmanian Academy with an excellent Tertiary Admissions Ranking of 98.35.

Edward said he has wanted to have a career as an engineer for a long time.

“I see myself progressing more down the project management path but I still want to take part in design or research work at some stage in my career. The design and problem-solv-

ing aspects of an engineering career appeal to me,” he said.

Edward is also a keen sailor and sportsman, taking part in snow-boarding, bike riding and soccer.

“I’m currently sailing on a Farr 40 yacht and planning to compete at national and international level over the next summer.”

Brighton Council supports an engineering student by providing a scholarship in the memory of the late Warren Lee, a former employee of the Brighton Council and UTAS engineering graduate.

Warren Lee worked with the council following graduation in 1996

becoming a respected engineer recog-nised as an expert in sewage re-usage.

The scholarship is valued at $5150 a year and is available to a student entering the second year of an engineering degree who intends to major in civil engineering.

BY LUKE SCOTT

Launceston-based HITLab student Shannon Woolley has scored a prestigious international award for his 3D simulation of the historic Longford motor racing circuit.

Mr Woolley worked on the project in his spare time, recreat-ing every detail of the Tasmanian track which was a racing hotspot

during the 1950s and 1960s.In its heyday motor racing at

Longford was enormously popular, with greats like Jack Brabham, Jim Clark, John Surtees and Bruce McLaren competing there.

Mr Woolley built the track on top of the existing game rFactor, and the community behind the game has officially recognised his efforts.

Last month Mr Woolley received

a 4th place award in rFactor Cen-tral’s fifth annual Modder of the Year Competition.

The awards are presented to those who design tracks or special vehicles, known as ‘mods’, for the rFactor game.

Mr Woolley said it had been an unexpected surprise to win the award, adding that competition from other modders around the world had been fierce.

“The nominations came up in December and when I saw it was nominated, I thought it was cool,” he said.

The track was recently shown off to the public at the Longford Revival Festival, after Mr Woolley was invited to exhibit it there by event organiser Octagon.

Since the track was released online, it has been downloaded more than 10,000 times.

BY NICOLE MAYNE

The Australian Mari-time College recognised the accomplishments of its high-achieving students recently.

Seven students were awarded an Outstand-ing Achiever Scholar-ship and 22 took home an Excellent Achiever Scholarship, comprising accommodation pack-ages or contributions to HECS fees and other education expenses.

AMC Principal Malek Pourzanjani said the schol-arships were designed to reward bright students

with high Australian Ter-tiary Admission Rank (ATAR) or equivalent scores.

“These scholarships will support our students as they settle in to the demands of tertiary study during their first year at AMC, reward them for their academic efforts to date and encourage them to continue their good work over the course of their degrees,” Professor Pourzanjani said.

“We congratulate them for their achieve-ments and trust they will enjoy the rest of their time here.”

Business student Ge Bei has won the Owen McCarthy Medal as the outstanding graduating student in the faculty in 2010.

In her MBA (professional accounting) Miss Ge achieved 14 high distinctions and two distinc-tions, an outstanding performance for any graduating year.

Currently more than 150 stu-dents are enrolled in MBA pro-grams.

The dean, Professor Gary O’Donovan, handed out more than 50 awards and prizes to the most outstanding students in undergrad-

uate degrees in business including accounting, banking, corporate governance, corporate internships, economics, finance, human resourc-es, management, marketing and taxation.

Prestigious awards were also given to exemplary honours and postgraduate coursework students.

The Owen McCarthy Medal honours the founder and first director of the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program in the Graduate School of Manage-ment at UTAS, Professor Owen McCarthy.

Scholarships reward high-achieving studentsAwards for talented business students

Clear sailing for young engineer: Acting head of the School of Engineering Dr David Lewis, dean of the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Technology Professor Margaret Britz and Brighton Mayor Tony Foster congratulate Warren Lee Scholarship recipient Edward Snowball (centre).

Business Faculty Awards: Award winners Kristian Aaberg and Leigh Cuthbertson; Dean of the UTAS Faculty of Business Professor Gary O’Donovan; award winner Stephanie Wallace and Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter Rathjen.

AMC scholarships: Scott Partridge and Professor Malek Pourzanjani present Kris Gilmore with a Remote and Outer Regional Scholarship.

Crunching the numbers 7 Outstanding Achiever Scholarships – awarded to students with an ATAR or equivalent score above 95. The scholarship comprises the student’s choice of either an accommodation package or payment of HECS fees for 2011, plus $2000 towards their education costs.

22 Excellent Achiever Scholarships – awarded to students with an ATAR or equivalent score between 90-95. The scholarship comprises the student’s choice of either an accommodation package or payment of HECS fees for 2011.

7 Remote and Outer Regional Scholarships – designed to assist Marine Environment students who need to relocate for their studies. The scholarship comprises an accommodation package valued at $5500 in the halls of residence at AMC’s Newnham campus.

2 Women in Maritime Engineering Scholarships – supports women studying in the areas of Naval Architecture, Marine and Offshore Systems and Ocean Engineering who have achieved an ATAR or equivalent score between 70-89. The scholarship comprises an accommodation package valued at approximately $5500.

2 Certificates of Appreciation – for engineering students Renae Rundle and Jessica Ryan for their outstanding contribution and assistance with the Women in Engineering Scholarship.

Pole position: Shannon Woolley with his rFactor Central Modder of the Year 2010 trophy.

UNITAS MAY 2011 NUMBER 3499 Awards

Recognition for top arts students at Cradle Coast

Students combine love of law with creative pursuits

Nursing students crowned winners

Spiny lobsters PhD wins NZ award

BY ANNA OSBORNE

H igh-achieving arts students at the U TA S Cr a d l e

Coast campus were recognised recently for their academic excellence.

Six students collected awards presented by Faculty of Arts Dean Professor Susan Dodds.

The prizes recognise the outstanding achievements of students who have completed their first year of study at the campus in a degree within the Faculty of Arts.

The students have achieved

the highest level of performance within a disciplinary area with each student receiving a $100 book voucher.

“These annual awards aim to rec-ognise the time and dedication the students have put into their first year of study,” Prof. Dodds said.

As part of the program, a best first-year student prize is awarded.

Award recipients: Edward Heck-athorn (best first-year arts student, Aboriginal studies, geography);

Justin Dyer (philosophy); Liam King (English); Linda Smith (history and classics); Sharon Segger (sociology); and Jessica Stott (government).

BY CHERIE COOPER

Two promising young law students have won scholarships to assist with their studies.

Luke Ogden of Burnie is the 15th recipient of the John Kable Memorial Scholarship in Law for 2011.

Rebecca Byrnes of Legana was awarded the Zoe Ewart Scholarship in Law.

While both excel in their law studies, Luke and Rebecca excel creatively too.

Luke’s scholarship is given by Bess Kable in memory of her son, prominent Launceston lawyer John Kable who died suddenly in 1995.

Luke hopes to one day achieve his dream of becoming a crimi-nal lawyer, but is also a keen actor and is a member of the acclaimed Southern Gospel Choir.

He is studying an arts/law degree and is also part of the advanced honours program.

“My ambition is to work as a criminal lawyer in a prosecution or defence capacity, with a view to perhaps returning to North-West Tasmania,” he said.

“I am motivated by an innate sense of justice and desire to play a role in the legal system.”

Rebecca is also musically inclined. She plays violin, teaches the cello and is studying an eco-nomics/law degree. She is inter-ested particularly in equality and human rights, aiming to work towards promoting legal and eco-nomic reforms in developing coun-tries and encourage the protecting of human rights.

“My interest in law is based on my passion for equality. When I graduate I hope to work on pro-moting legal reform in develop-ing countries in the Asia-Pacific region,” she said.

BY CHERIE COOPER

Two dedicated Danish nursing students are the latest recipients of the Crown Princess Mary Scholarship.

Emilie Middelhede, is on student exchange from VIA University College in Aarhus and Lynette Munk is from University College in Sealand.

Both are enrolled in acute care nursing in the UTAS School of Nursing and Midwifery.

Emilie has been a helper for a disabled blind girl with renal failure and mental disability, has worked in a psychiatric unit and for the past few years has been a helper for a disabled girl with cerebral palsy.

After a semester’s study in Tasmania she will travel around the state before she returns to Denmark.

Her objectives are to develop her nursing skills, and challenge her profes-sional knowledge while developing her English skills and seeing Tasmania’s extraordinary nature first-hand.

Lynette’s objectives for applying for the scholar-ship were “to continue to develop her entire self ”, to broaden her horizons and to have a better command of English.

She has worked as a qualified social and health-care worker and has the support of her husband, children and grandchild in Denmark to follow her dream to become the best nurse she can be.

UTAS Vice-Chancel-lor Professor Peter Rathjen congratulated the two nurses.

“The Crown Prin-cess Mary Scholarship is particularly special. It

emphasises the strong friendship between Tas-mania and Denmark and allows students to study abroad to gain the expe-rience and understanding of a different culture,” he said.

Crown Princess Mary’s father, Professor John Donaldson, sister Patricia Bailey and members of the Danish Consulate attended the ceremony at the UTAS Sandy Bay campus.

IMAS research fellow Dr Cedric Simon was recently awarded the Vice-Chancellor’s prize for best doctoral thesis at the Uni-versity of Auckland for his study: Advancing the nutrition of juvenile spiny lobster, Jasus edwardsii, in aquaculture.

Of 296 doctorates awarded across all faculties in 2010, his thesis was the only one from the Faculty of Science selected for the award.

Dr Simon’s work focused on the develop-ment of cost-effective

sea-cage rearing systems and nutritionally adequate formulated diets for cul-turing juvenile spiny lob-

sters in New Zealand. The research investigated various aspects of spiny lobster digestive physiolo-gy and identified digestible and utilisable carbohy-drate sources and binders for inclusion in new for-mulated diets.

“When the opportu-nity arose to move to the University of Tasmania

I jumped at it as IMAS (which incorporates the Tasmanian Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute) is world-renowned for its work on larval fish and crustacean propagation,” he said.

“In a world where food security is becom-ing increasingly impor-tant and where seafood demand is outstripping supply, working at the cutting edge of aquacul-ture and being part of the IMAS aquaculture program gives me a chance to make a difference,” Dr Simon said.

Top honours: Cradle Coast arts student Edward Heckathorn was presented with awards for best first-year arts student, Aboriginal studies and geography by Faculty of Arts dean Professor Susan Dodds.

The fine art of balancing: Law scholarship winners Luke Ogden and Rebecca Byrnes are gifted law students and also excel in the arts.

Crowning achievements: Princess Mary’s sister Patricia Bailey and scholarship winners Lynette Munk (centre) and Emilie Middelhede celebrate at the Crown Princess Mary Scholarship presentation.

University of Auckland’s best doctoral thesis: Dr Cedric Simon, now at IMAS.

‘My interest in law is based on my passion for equality. When I graduate I hope to work on promoting legal reform in developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region.’ – Rebecca Byrnes

‘These annual awards aim to recognise the time and dedication the students have put into their first year of study.’

UNITAS MAY 2011 NUMBER 34910 News

BY PETER COCHRANE

I n a former life, Mike Coffin, the new executive director of the Institute for Marine and

Antarctic Studies, was shortlisted by NASA for astronaut training. He was one of 5000 applicants in 1984.

With 19 other semi-finalists he spent a week in Houston undergoing rigorous physical and psychological evaluation. Five other groups of 20 were also being evaluated a week at a time.

“If you’ve seen the movie The Right Stuff you will have some appre-ciation of the testing we underwent,” Professor Coffin recalls. “And being interviewed by a committee that included John Young, who’s been to the moon twice, as well as several other astronauts, has definitely made all subsequent interviews easier.”

FBI agents and federal mar-shals then visited his family, friends and colleagues. “I am told that they always asked the same ques-tions: about drug use, alcohol use and sexual preference. I was greatly amused at the time – even more so looking back now.”

Obviously satisfied with the responses, NASA deemed Prof. Coffin ‘fit’ for space flight and eli-gible to be considered for a year’s training at Johnson Space Center. In the end, he didn’t make the final cut – only 19 from the 5000 original hopefuls were chosen, and that was his good fortune.

“Years later I was approached at a conference by someone who intro-duced himself as a member of the

NASA evaluation panel. He told me that they were very interested in me as a potential astronaut but in hind-sight I seemed to have had a far more interesting career than what I would have had as an astronaut.”

Sometimes a little too interest-ing. In September 2001, after nearly a dozen years at the University of Texas, Prof. Coffin was packing his bags for Japan, having accepted a professorship at the University of Tokyo, when the twin towers in New York were hit. “Some of my belong-ings were stored in the University of Texas’ research facility, which houses a small nuclear reactor. The facil-

ity went into lockdown mode that morning.”

He eventually boarded flights for Tokyo on 15 September, four days after the attack, leaving family and friends behind and with very mixed feelings. “It was a time of great uncertainty politically. The US was

in crisis mode – the Vice-President was flown to one secret location, the President to another.”

Prof. Coffin was to view the aftermath of September 11 from the other side of the Pacific. He had been working off and on with Japa-nese scientists since the early 1990s. “They spent 10 years sizing me up and then finally I was invited to apply for a professorship at the Uni-versity of Tokyo. It blindsided me.”

The post was with the Ocean Research Institute, the only aca-demic oceanographic institute in Japan. Thirty-nine years after it was founded, Prof. Coffin became the

institute’s first non-Japanese tenured member of staff. “It was a bold move for them and a bold move for me.”

His next bold move was to hire a woman to fill an associate professor vacancy – she became the institute’s first tenured female staff member. “So my little group started to stick out like a sore thumb.”

Prof. Coffin finally left Japan at the end of 2007 to become direc-tor of research at the UK’s National Oceanography Centre, Southamp-ton, which would become a model for the development of IMAS.

In January this year he began the challenge of building IMAS into a world leader in marine and Antarc-tic science. As he recently told the Columbia University Review, IMAS is a ‘mere toddler’ compared with peer institutions such as the ‘centenarian’ Scripps, the ‘octogenarian’ Woods Hole and the ‘teenage’ National Oceanography Centre.

Yet the “concentration of ocean and Antarctic expertise in Hobart – about 1000 staff – is remarkable for any country, let alone one with a population of only 22.5 million people – there are two million more Texans than Australians!”

The man who once looked to the heavens now finds himself charting a new course on a vast ocean of pos-sibilities.

New IMAS director has ‘the right stuff’

BY JESSIE STANLEY

Katrina McNab, Damon Thomas, Grant Cooper and Sun Hee (Sunny) Jang are off to a great start with their PhDs.

The four talented education stu-dents have been awarded UTAS elite research scholarships, receiving $30k per annum tax-free, over three years, with a possible six-month extension.

These students will not only have the support of accomplished supervi-sors, but a laptop, scholarship top- ups, conference support funds and other generic skills workshops which will help them navigate their way through their PhD journey.

Katrina McNab, an early child-hood graduate from the Cradle Coast campus in 2009, is eager to get started.

“I’m passionate about early childhood literacy education and home/school relationships and I’m keen to investigate this through further research, she said.

Katrina’s research topic, home/school early literacy partnerships, seeks to compare the effective-ness of traditional shared reading methods with mult i-media

methods, focusing on concepts about print, phonological aware-ness, and vocabulary and compre-hension with children aged four to six years old.

Grant Cooper will delve into the values and beliefs underpinning school students’ decisions when selecting their senior secondary subjects whether they are VET or pre-tertiary ones, surveying current academy and polytechnic students.

Gaming enthusiast Damon Thomas will research the semiotics of game authoring, investigating how primary school students construct narratives through the medium of video games.

And Sunny Jang will look at how story-telling on YouTube extends the traditional concepts of narrative, with relevance to pedagogy and 21st- century classrooms.

From a computing background,

Sunny is interested in what young people are learning from digital media. Her research aims to inform teachers about that learning and how it can be enhanced through integra-tion into the classroom.

“I hope as a result we can provide possibilities to reduce the

technological gap between the teacher and the student in order to fulfil class practices more fruitfully,” she said.

Students with an outstanding academic record and a passion for research can apply for a variety of other scholarships in the education

field in 2011. Topics include math-ematics education; leadership; edu-cation, health and wellbeing; and teaching and learning in teacher education.

For more information see: http://www.utas.edu.au/graduate-research/elite

Education elite win scholarships

‘They spent 10 years sizing me up and then finally I was invited to apply for a professorship at the University of Tokyo. It blindsided me.’

Elite research scholarships in education: Damon Thomas, Grant Cooper and Sunny Jang are ready to take on research in schools and the Tasmanian Polytechnic. (Absent: Katrina McNab)

New challenge: Prof. Mike Coffin aims to build IMAS - a ‘mere toddler’ - into a world leader in marine and Antarctic science. (Photo: Chris Crerar)

UNITAS MAY 2011 NUMBER 34911 News

My PhD

UTAS books

Cathryn Wynn-EdwardsInstitute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, CSIRO, and Australian Antarctic Division

Why krill is keyThey may be tiny but krill are a cornerstone of the Southern Ocean food web and Cathryn Wynn-Edwards is taking a closer look at these tiny creatures.

“My interest in krill started when I was doing my honours,” Cathryn explained.

“The interest in ocean acidification was always there, but in reading all the literature I wanted to do something that had a connection to something central in the food web.

“It has been difficult at times, but now that I have two major experiments behind me I feel really motivated again.”

Cathryn said krill were a tiny but important part of the Southern Ocean ecosystem.

Living in swarms so massive they can stretch for miles, their numbers are estimated in millions of tonnes.

Many species rely on krill as a source of high protein food: whales, seals, penguins, sea birds, fish and squid. Man too, and increasingly so; 2010 is the first year that the krill fishery has had to be closed to prevent going over the fishery quota. They are a rich source of protein and fats, but most of the krill harvested is used in animal feed and aquaculture.

Cathryn’s PhD investigates an aspect of another major threat to krill: acidification of the Southern Ocean. Increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide leads to increased levels of the dissolved gas and acidity in the oceans, and research has shown high levels of acidification can result in krill embryo death.

Her research also gauges the effects of high levels of carbon dioxide on the krill’s food.

The biochemical makeup and nutrient composition of phytoplankton are shaped in part by the levels of carbon dioxide in the water and Cathryn is investigating just how much of an impact this can have on the krill larval diet and thus their growth rate and overall fitness. Although she has worked in ocean acidification before, Cathryn completed her honours in the plant sciences. One of the challenges she faces is bridging the research between acidification effects on phytoplankton and the work done on the impacts of ocean acidification on krill.

Eventually she plans to use the data she collects to simulate changes in the phytoplankton populations and ultimately develop a model to estimate krill populations at different projected levels of dissolved carbon dioxide. Cathryn said she hoped the model could eventually be incorporated into the existing krill population models used to manage the krill fishery.

BY PETER COCHRANE

M any Tasmanians take for granted the treasure trove that is

our colonial court and criminal records, says leading historian Professor Hamish Maxwell-Stewart. Yet they are of interna-tional significance.

“It will probably surprise many people to learn that

these records were admitted to the UNESCO Memory of the World Register before any of our renowned historic sites,” he said at a two-day sympo-sium devoted to exploiting this incredible resource at Hobart’s Penitentiary Chapel.

“These records were regis-tered by UNESCO in 2008. Our best-known convict site, Port Arthur, wasn’t registered

until last year – after a 12-year campaign of writing reports and building a case.”

The symposium, entitled Crime in the Colonies, was organised by the UTAS Centre for Colonialism and its After-math. It was basically a ‘how-to’ workshop, aimed at instruct-ing participants in extracting maximum value from the colo-nial records.

Panellists – including speak-ers from the universities of Tasmania, Sydney, New South Wales, Melbourne, Adelaide and Keele (UK) plus Tourism Tasmania – discussed such themes as criminal lives, crime on the frontier and the chal-lenge of interpreting convict sites.

The criminal lives session, for example, addressed the “incredibly detailed archives which cover all facets of peoples’ lives … information that is not normally recorded,” Prof. Max-well-Stewart explained.

Barry Godfrey from the University of Keele and series editor for the seven-volume A Criminal History of Britain featured in the session entitled Persistent Offenders.

His current research inter-ests include the use of historical data to address current crimino-logical issues.

The symposium’s broad aim was to show how to create “really vibrant and compelling histories from the plethora of court and criminal records”, Prof. Maxwell-Stewart said.

Such symposia bring togeth-er experts in the field, postgrad-uate students and staff from the university and representatives of industry partner organisations from all over the state to look at a particular issue.

Tasmania’s vibrant history from court and criminal records

Crime ‘how-to’ workshop for historians: Professor Hamish Maxwell-Smith and Professor Alison Venn in the Birdcage Walk, under Hobart’s Penitentiary Chapel where the autumn symposium, Crime in the Colonies, was held.

Grease and Ochre By Patsy Cameron, Riawunna Centre for Aboriginal Education (Fullers, 2011)

Grease and Ochre is third in the series Studies in the History of Aboriginal Tasmania published by Fullers Bookshop. It is the story of the coastal plains people in Tasmania’s North-East, their struggle and ultimately their survival. Patsy Cameron is a descendent of the famous coastal plains leader Mannalargenna and was involved in the establishment of the Centre for Aboriginal Research and Education (now the Riawunna Centre for Aboriginal Education). She is a former deputy head of the Riawunna Centre in Launceston.

Pulp Friction in Tasmania: A Review of the Environ-mental Assessment of Gunns’ Proposed Pulp MillEdited by Fred Gale, School of Government (Pencil Pine Press, 2011)

Twelve UTAS academics join a collection of writers from a range of disciplines in examing the environmental assessment of the controversial Tasmanian pulp mill proposal.

Pulp Friction situates the proposal within its broader historical, political, legal and philosophical context, iden-tifying serious deficiencies of process and outcome, especially regarding the assessment of the mill’s impacts on natural heritage, Aboriginal heritage, the sea, the air and the economy.

Crossing the Wire: The Untold Stories of Aust-ralian POWs in Battle and Captivity during WWI By David Coombes, School of History and Classics (Doubleday, 2010)

The experiences of Australian POWs (kriegsgefangeners) held captive in Germany during WWI has been largely forgotten, or overshadowed, by the horrid stories of Australians imprisoned by the Japanese during WWII. Yet the stories are interesting and significant; not only do they provide an account of what these Aussie soldiers experienced but they also gives insight into the climate in Germany in the last 18 months of the war.

Global Commodity Governance: State responses to Sustainable Forest and Fisheries Certification By Fred Gale and Marcus Haward, School of Government (Palgrave Macmillan, 2011)

This book analyses a new way to regulate the global trade in commodities. While the production of many commodities, such as coffee, tea, sugar, cocoa, timber and fish, remains environmentally and socially unsustainable, governments individually and collectively often fail to act for fear of the economic consequences. Now, global certification and labelling schemes are offering an alternative, civil society-led solution.

UNITAS MAY 2011 NUMBER 34912 Arts & events

What’s on

12 MAYThe Great 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and TsunamiPresenter: Professor Mike Coffin, IMAS Time: 6-7pm Venue: Lecture Theatre 9, Faculty of Arts Building, Newnham campus Information: UTAS.Events@utas.edu.au or phone (03) 6226 2521

12 MAYRichard Selby Smith OrationThe national education agenda for schooling: Does it foster or inhibit equity?

Presenter: Professor Alan Reid, Professor of Education at the University of South Australia. The Richard Selby Smith Oration 2011 is the fifth annual event to celebrate the life and work in education in Tasmania and nationally by Professor Richard Selby Smith. Time: 6-7.15pm Venue: Stanley Burbury Theatre, University Centre, Churchill Avenue, Sandy Bay campus Information: duncanbradley@bigpond.com; Phone: (03) 6234 8243

13 MAYUnearthing the World of Ar-chaeology and Ancient Cultures:

Lecture 3Living in Ancient Pompeii: Space, Luxury and DecorDr Geoff Adams, University of Tasmania, specialist in Roman history and the archaeology of ancient domestic spaces. Dr Adams is currently running the classical archaeology program at UTAS, and his presentation stems from his research on houses and villas at Pompeii, Herculaneum and Rome. Chair: Sir Guy Green, AC, KBE, CVO Time: 6-7.30pm Venue: Stanley Burbury Theatre, University Centre, Churchill Avenue, Sandy Bay Information: UTAS.Events@utas.edu.au or phone (03) 6226 2521

20 MAYArt Forum: Jon CattapanJon Cattapan has established himself as a prolific and significant Australian artist having exhibited his paintings, drawings and prints extensively since 1978. Central to Cattapan’s practice is a concern with the way in which humans negotiate space and territories. Time: 12.30-1.30 Venue: Dechaineaux Lecture Theatre, Level 1, Tasmanian School of Art, Hunter St, Hobart Information: art.forum@utas.edu.au

24 MAYSchool of Government Seminar Series

Women and workforce participation in Tasmania: trends and challengesPresenter: Dr Megan Alessandrini, School of Government UTAS Time: 12-1.30pm Venue: Mick Townsley Research Room, 5th Floor Social Science Building, Sandy Bay campus Information: (03) 6226 2896 or Richard.Eccleston@utas.edu.au

27 MAYArt Forum: An Archival Impulse SeminarThis is a special 1.5hour, seminar-style forum that will feature a number of artists and the curators from “An Archival Impulse”. The

exhibition features the work of 10 artists who use the archive, or strategies associated with the archive, across a range of media including photography, printmaking, installation, sculpture, video and e-media. Time: 12:30pm Venue: Dechaineaux Theatre, Level 1, Tasmanian School of Art, Hunter St, Hobart Information: art.forum@utas.edu.au

The work

BY SAMANTHA MARSHALL

T he 30-year history of Launceston’s only professional con-

temporary dance company is celebrated in the UTAS NEW Gallery’s latest exhibition.

The work of Tasdance is featured in 21 pigment ink prints by artist Jenimaro.

The photos were taken from the company’s 2009 and 2010 seasons. They were photographed in the rehears-als of Anton’s Blur, Graeme

Murphy’s Forty Miles, Chris-sie Parrott’s Racing Heart and Frances Ring’s Remembering Us.

Jenimaro was a dancer as a child and now, in mid-life, loves to photograph dancers. She is particularly interested in evoking within each image the fleeting sculptures made when dancers pause as well as the flow of their movements. She achieves this by layering together images of the same dance sequence taken on very short and very long exposures.

“Dancers are interesting in terms of both the shifting sculptural shapes their bodies make as they move in rela-tionship to one another and the fluidity with which they draw patterns across space,” she said.

“I wanted to convey to the viewer a sense of beauty and passion of contemporary dance without the dancers ‘posing’ for the shot. They had to be unaware of the camera and fully focused on their dancing to achieve this.”

Sometimes Jenimaro spent 20 hours on one image, merging, cutting and collag-ing the long exposure and the fast shutter speed photos to get the right effect.

“I approached this with an open mind and experimented. I couldn’t be too precious with my work because at the end of the day, you are your own best critic,” she said.

The results sometimes appear more like drawings and paintings than photo-graphs.

The sculptured shape of dance

Nearly 80 competitors raised $7000 in the 2011 UniGym charity golf day at the Mowbray Golf Club – more money than last year and raised by nearly double the competitors.

Organisers Sarah Campbell and Andrew McCarthy said they were thrilled so many golfers had turned out for the seventh annual event, despite threatening rain clouds.

“The day was all about raising money for two local charities: the Clifford Craig Medical Research Trust and Cystic Fibrosis Tasmania,” Mr McCa-rthy said.

“It was open to staff and students, as well as to the wider community and people who have asso-ciations with the two charities.

“It’s not so much about competition – it’s about enjoying the day and enjoying the fine food and wine donated by Tasmanian businesses.

“Everyone chips in to make sure the event goes well, and the emphasis is on having fun.”

Mr McCarthy said the UniGym aimed to improve the event each year.

“Our major sponsors were STA Travel, Budget Rent-A-Car, the Old Woolstore and Corporate Express, and they were all been very generous and donated some great prizes and auction items.”

More than $5000 was raised at the 2010 golf day.

Golf day beats record for charity

Before the tee-off: Shane Harris from Asset Management and Bruce Baudinette from the Launceston Vehicle Fleet chomped on a sausage in bread before the action started.

toIntensify from Anton’s Blur: by Jenimaro, pigment inks on rag, 50x80cm

For a complete list of, or to con-tribute to, What ’s on visit: www.utas.edu.au. Contributions are free but may be edited.

TALKS & SEMINARS