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news UWA 12 June 2000 The University of Western Australia Volume 19 Number 8 T he children of UWA students and staff often start their friendships while toddling around University child care centres. For swimming stars Rachel Harris and Jonno van Hazel, it was in the Human Movement swimming pool. It was here that they learned to swim soon after they learned to walk. Their fathers are both UWA medical graduates and Rachel’s Dad was working part-time as the pool lifeguard when she started swimming at the age of three. Both are now students at UWA. Jonno will complete his commerce degree this year and a degree in environmental engineering next year. After a year in the Department of Human Movement and Exercise Science, Rachel is now pursuing a science career, studying chemistry. But they see more of each other at Beatty Park or Challenge Stadium than on campus, where they train up to ten times a week. Rachel and Jonno both competed in the Olympic swimming trials last month. Jonno was “pleasantly surprised” with his fifth placing in the semi-finals of the 50m freestyle. And of course, Rachel, who was the second swimmer to qualify for the Olympics, will be representing Australia in the 400m individual medley and 800m freestyle events in Sydney in September. Rachel and Jonno were some of the earliest participants in Uniswim, along with swimmer Helen Denman and water polo star Christian Hoad. Professor Brian Blanksby and his wife Jeanette, who started Uniswim, taught all four of them. Professor Blanksby is delighted that Rachel and Jonno are pursuing their “other” careers at UWA. Helen Denman is expected to transfer to UWA next year from South Australia. “They are great kids and their parents, most of whom are UWA graduates too, are part of what we call ‘the family’,” he laughed. Professor Blanksby coached Jonno’s mother Annette and uncle Phil Gorey (after whom the Royal Life Saving Society’s Gorey Cup is named). Jonno and Rachel are now coached by Bernie Mulroy. While Rachel is not looking too much further than the Sydney Olympics, Jonno is already in training for the short course nationals in October with thoughts of the next Commonwealth and Olympic Games further down the track. Uniswim keeps Olympics in the family Jonno van Hazel and Rachel Harris reminisce about Uniswim days. Page 3 SECRET DIPLOMACY COURSE Pages 5 to 7 CELL DEATH STUDY Page 11 NATIONAL RECONCILIATION WEEK

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Page 1: June 12 UWA News PDF · 12-06-2000  · The printing of the UWA News will resume as normal on 24 July (copy deadline 12 July). Seminars and events that fall between 10 and 24 July

newsUWA12 June 2000

The University of Western Australia Volume 19 Number 8

T he children of UWA students and staffoften start their friendships while toddling

around University child care centres.For swimming stars Rachel Harris and Jonno van Hazel, it

was in the Human Movement swimming pool.It was here that they learned to swim soon after they

learned to walk. Their fathers are both UWA medicalgraduates and Rachel’s Dad was working part-time as thepool lifeguard when she started swimming at the age ofthree.

Both are now students at UWA. Jonno will complete hiscommerce degree this year and a degree in environmentalengineering next year. After a year in the Department ofHuman Movement and Exercise Science, Rachel is nowpursuing a science career, studying chemistry.

But they see more of each other at Beatty Park orChallenge Stadium than on campus, where they train up toten times a week. Rachel and Jonno both competed in theOlympic swimming trials last month.

Jonno was “pleasantly surprised” with his fifth placing inthe semi-finals of the 50m freestyle. And of course, Rachel,who was the second swimmer to qualify for the Olympics,will be representing Australia in the 400m individual medleyand 800m freestyle events in Sydney in September.

Rachel and Jonno were some of the earliest participantsin Uniswim, along with swimmer Helen Denman and waterpolo star Christian Hoad. Professor Brian Blanksby and hiswife Jeanette, who started Uniswim, taught all four of them.

Professor Blanksby is delighted that Rachel and Jonno arepursuing their “other” careers at UWA. Helen Denman isexpected to transfer to UWA next year from South Australia.

“They are great kids and their parents, most of whom areUWA graduates too, are part of what we call ‘the family’,”he laughed.

Professor Blanksby coached Jonno’s mother Annette anduncle Phil Gorey (after whom the Royal Life Saving Society’sGorey Cup is named).

Jonno and Rachel are now coached by Bernie Mulroy.While Rachel is not looking too much further than the

Sydney Olympics, Jonno is already in training for theshort course nationals in

October with thoughts ofthe next Commonwealthand Olympic Gamesfurther down the track.

Uniswim keeps Olympicsin the family

Jonno van Hazel andRachel Harrisreminisce aboutUniswim days.

Page 3 SECRET DIPLOMACY COURSE Pages 5 to 7 CELL DEATH STUDY Page 11 NATIONAL RECONCILIATION WEEK

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2 UWA news

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA • 12 JUNE 2000

VCariousthoughts …

An increasing nightmare or portent comes tome in 2000 . . . the Olympics will simply expand

to become a permanent world event — not everyfour years but every year, every day! This alone willmeet the apparent obsession with Olympic Sport, orOlympic events — the Opening Ceremony hassurpassed sporting prowess as entertainment.

Certainly, it already begins to feel as though the Olympicshad already begun, if you follow our TV programs and printmedia. And our national obsession with sporting championsreaches a new frenzy in 2000.

No, I am not a sports wowser — last week I cheered theGlory and mourned the Brumbies. I shared in the way theamazing ‘Thorpedo’ mesmerised us all. But I do wonder andworry about our public culture, in which other forms ofindividual or team achievement are ignored or marginalised.

Where are achievements of the mind? ‘Knowledge-basedeconomies’ are held up as the model for successful culturesand nations. And yet how well do we celebrate research?Universities are critical as the powerhouses of newknowledge. But when are they held up for praise?

Over the past few months, a time of graduations, prize-giving ceremonies, and major UWA advances, I have feltgreat admiration at the sheer excellence of staff and studentachievements. We have some exceptional students andresearchers, as well as professional staff of excellence —

• We now have nearly 50 Australian academicians withthe recent election of two new Fellows of the Academy ofScience (Professor Adrian Baddeley, Department ofMathematics and Statistics; and Professor Mark Randolph,Centre for Offshore Foundation Systems) while we achievedthe rare distinction of a second Mawson Medal (to ProfessorChris Powell of Earth Sciences). A prestigious internationalWellcome Trust Senior Medical Research Fellowship is alsocoming to UWA (to Dr Mariapia Degli-Esposti, Departmentof Microbiology) and the 1999 Achiever of the Year in theWA Australian IT & T Awards has gone to Professor TonyCantoni, Director of our Australian TelecommunicationsCRC. The Chancellor’s Medal has been awarded toProfessor Ian Constable in recognition of his remarkable 25-year achievement in creating the world-class Lions EyeInstitute at UWA.

• The creation of an exceptional global partnership withthe Royal College of Surgeons (England), the Australian

College of Surgeons and an international company, hasbrought us a new $17.5 million medical and surgical skillstraining centre, opened by Her Majesty The Queen, andhailed as the best such facility in the world.

• The establishment of a state-of-the-art dentistryresearch centre, involving partnerships with the state andindustry to the value of $35 million is now underconstruction for opening in 2003.

• New industry partnerships have included an excitingjoint venture with SSC (Samsung Corning of Korea) whichwill focus on commercial development of mechanochemicalprocessing technology, first pioneered at UWA.

• Several significant international collaborativeagreements, including a notably wide-ranging arrangementwith one of China’s top seven national universities(Nanjing).

• The opening, by the Premier, at Gingin of TheAustralian International Gravitational Observatory, whichplaces UWA in a global network of such fundamentalresearch installations.

• As part of its Hackett Foundation campaign, towards asecond endowment, we have received an exceptionalbequest of at least $3 million from a distinguished WAphilanthropist (Dr Harold Schenberg) towards UWAcultural resources and scholarships.

And such a list could be hugely expanded if we took upthe whole of the UWA News. I have merely commentedupon the most notable recent instances of achievementrather than attempting a synoptic balance over say 1999 to2000. (So do not feel miffed if you are not mentioned!)

At graduations, prize-givings, departmental occasions,meetings with the Guild of Students, Reconciliationceremonies, gallery openings, farewelling graduate studentsfor overseas study, book launches, theatre and musicevenings, at these and many more . . . sheer achievementand commitment to excellence, kept presenting themselves.

When in Australia we at last develop a real ‘knowledge-based economy’ it will be as a result of the role of ourcampuses, with their research and professional capacities.

You may not win an Olympic medal for your achievements.But you also deserve the cry of Gold! Gold! Gold!

Professor Deryck M. SchreuderVice-Chancellor and President

‘Gold Rush’[email protected]

DON’T FORGET . . .DON’T FORGET . . .DON’T FORGET . . .DON’T FORGET . . .DON’T FORGET . . .Due to the student vacation period, there will be

no publication of the UWA News dated 10 July.The printing of the UWA News will resume as normalon 24 July (copy deadline 12 July).

Seminars and events that fall between 10 and 24July will be published in the issue dated 26 June. Allsuch copy should reach Joanna Thompson at thePublications Unit by 14 June. Email the followingaddress: [email protected].

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THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA • 12 JUNE 2000

UWA news 3

The three of them worked at a solution, then in 1999, DrYasmeen and four other tutors ran the web-based coursefor 190 students — with huge success.

“We started with the topic ‘Should sanctions against Iraqbe lifted?’. Each student took on the persona of a country ororganisation, such as China, Iraq, US, UN SpecialCommission on Iraq or the International Atomic EnergyCommission, and each of them had to give a position paperon behalf of their country or organisation after research andreading to determine that country’s foreign policy andstandpoint,” Dr Yasmeen explained.

“Then, after hearing everybody else’s positions, they wentaway and had to decide with whom they would engage insecret diplomacy, which country’s positions were closest totheirs and with whom they should try forming an alliance.

“The idea was to get them negotiating together via theInternet and coming up with draft resolutions which theyput on the bulletin board on the web.”

Dr Yasmeen had access to all the communicationsbetween students so she knew which ones were doing theresearch, which ones understood their country’s positionand which ones were actively participating in the project.

Secret diplomacy attracts public award

First-year Political Science students

just couldn’t understandhow the UnitedNational SecurityCouncil could take

so long to make adecision.

To help them,Political Science

lecturer Dr SaminaYasmeen and the

Faculty of Arts’ Multi-media Centre came up witha winning solution.

‘Secret Diplomacy’, aweb-based simulationexercise on internationalpolitics has taken stud-ents a long way tounderstanding howcomplicated foreign

policy is, at the sametime winning a national

award for the Multimedia Centre.The exercise, developed by Dr Yasmeen with Dr John

Kinder and Mike Fardon from the Multimedia Centre, wonthe award for Best Internet or World Wide Web Usage in1999 from the Australasian Society for Computers inLearning In Tertiary Education (ASCLITE).

The previous year, Dr Yasmeen had conducted thesimulation exercise without the use of the Internet. She hadasked the students to engage in secret diplomacy, each ofthem taking the part of a country or organisation, in thepursuit of a solution to an international problem.

“But the students had problems,” Dr Yasmeen said.“They would come to class and complain that they

couldn’t contact China or that the United States wasn’treturning their calls! Then, later in the project, when groupreports were due, some students complained that others inthe group hadn’t contributed.

“I needed to find another way of delivering what I knewwas a good course,” she said.

Dr Yasmeen took her idea to Dr Kinder and Mr Fardon,who, at first, labelled it outlandish.

“It was a challenge for us to develop new mechanisms inthe bulletin board to support and enhance the simulationproject,” said Mr Fardon.

Dr SaminaYasmeen and MikeFardon explain howthe project works.

Continued on page 4

Political Science/Multimedia Centre

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4 UWA news

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA • 12 JUNE 2000

“They quickly learned that, in reallife, some resolutions never see thelight of day,” she said.

“They also learned whatnegotiations like these tell us aboutsanctions, power distribution andhuman rights.”

Dr Yasmeen posted press releaseson the bulletin board about whatcountries were doing with othercountries. Just as real negotiationsnever take place in a static world, sothe students had to keep up with whatwas happening and constantly reassesstheir alliances.

Dr Yasmeen, Dr Kinder and Mike Fardon(seated) congratulate themselves

on the ASCLITE award (pictured right).

At the end of the three-weekcourse, the members of the SecurityCouncil (students in the tutorial) pre-sented their resolutions.

Dr Kinder, who has now returnedto the Department of Italian full-time,evaluated the course with tutors,students and Mr Fardon. He, MrFardon and Dr Yasmeen then wrote ajoint paper on the project — whicheventually won the ASCLITE award.

“It was thanks to a CUTSD grant tofind better teaching methods that I hadthe resources to createthis program,” DrYasmeen said. She isalso grateful to theFaculty of Arts for thetime and energies ofDr Kinder and MrFardon.

Two fortunate first-yearstudents in the Department

of Asian Studies have been selectedfor the China Synergy Program.

It is a chance for outstandingstudents from around the world tovisit China for 17 days of explorationand exchange activities.

Only ten students from Australiahave been chosen for the July trip andthey include Tamara Heng and FelixHo, who are both studying Chineselanguage at UWA.

Dr Wang Yi, their lecturer, said itwas a fantastic program and she wasvery proud that two of her students hadbeen chosen.

Tamara and Felix said their schoolreports, certificates, extra curricularactivities and community service weretaken into account by the OrganisingCommittee of the Program forOutstanding Youth.

Tamara was head girl at her schooland she and Felix had both achievedgood academic results.

Tamara Heng and Felix Ho with their teacher Dr Wang Yi.

They will visit Hong Kong, Xian,Shanghai and Beijing, meeting with bothgovernment officials and outstandingChinese youth.

They will visit local households,engage in activities with undergraduatesand tour major socio-economic, tech-nological and cultural developmentprojects.

The program is designed for ethnicChinese undergraduates to give themthe best start in their studies whereverthey may be around the world.

Chinese studentsreturntotheirroots

Continued from page 3

Secret diplomacyattracts public awardSecret diplomacyattracts public award

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UWA news 5

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA • 12 JUNE 2000

Anatomy and Human Biology

Understanding cell deathleads to better life

Many roads are takenin health sciences in

the hope that they willlead to cancer cures.

The research routes arevaried and there are highlightsalong the way that make thejourney worthwhile even if thefinal destination is not achieved.

One such journey is thattaken by Associate ProfessorArun Dharmarajan (Dharma)and his team — one of thebiggest research groups in theDepartment of Anatomy and Human Biology.

They have been studying apoptosis, or cell death, forseveral years and their work has spawned collaborationsboth within UWA and overseas (USA, Switzerland,Singapore, India).

One of the latest joint studies is being undertaken withRekha Rao at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.

“She has isolated a gene in the human placenta which isonly expressed when the pregnancy is at full term and itspresence is a mystery,” said Associate Professor Dharma.

“While I was on sabbatical in India I suggested that thegene may be playing a role in the process of apoptosis. “Soshe is pursuing studies along these lines and we are helpingher find the reason for its presence.”

His group of PhD students, master’s students andhonours students have also been working on severalsignalling molecules involved in apoptosis and ovulation. Incollaboration with Professor Bob Friis, Switzerland, they are

continuing to explore the role of a gene known as Y81,which is expressed in the corpus luteum, prostate gland andalso in breast tissue.

“It is maximally expressed during the time of regressionof the corpus luteum (CL), which is an endocrine organ thatcontrols reproductive function,” he said.

“It is also found highly regulated after hormonalwithdrawal in the prostate gland (after castration) and themammary gland (post-weening).

“We hypothesise that the role of Y81 in the physiologicalregression of the CL is to either induce or enable apoptoticdeath, when the function of the CL is no longer required.”

The group is using many well-established techniques tomeasure survival/apoptosis and determine activation ofparticular signalling pathways and molecules. They includeDNA 3’end labelling, single cell electrophoresis (COMET),cell culture and transfection.

Associate Professor Dharma says that results from theseexperiments will increase their understanding of thehormonal and intracellular signalling events that promote orsuppress apoptosis in CL.

“The CL controls reproductive function and is criticalfor the establishment and maintenance of pregnancy.Disruption of CL function results in infertility and recurrentpregnancy loss.

“The clinical implications for these studies are theidentification of mechanisms responsible for recurrentpregnancy loss and infertility or possibly the development ofnovel postovulatory contraceptives.

“In addition, these studies will enable us to furtherstrengthen our understanding of Y81-Wnt pathways andtheir role in cancer,” he said.

Dharma and his group . . . simulating one of theirresearch techniques, COMET.

Apoptosis is derived from Greek meaning‘falling off’, a word used in autumn, when

the leaves are falling off the trees.

As the leaves fall from the trees on our campus,research in several departments at UWA encompassesapoptosis or cell death.

Dr Mariapia Degli-Esposti and her team in Microbiology,Dr Harvey Millar in Plant Sciences and Biochemistry,and Associate Professor Arun Dharmarajan (Dharma)and his team in Anatomy and Human Biology, havecommon links in their otherwise very different researchprograms . . .

(see also pages 6 and 7)

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6 UWA news

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA • 12 JUNE 2000

One of the biggest problems for the Australianrice-growing industry is under the microscope

at UWA.University Postdoctoral Fellow Dr Harvey Millar

(pictured) is using a new technology called proteomics tounderstand the process of respiration in plants.

“We already understand many aspects of respiration at aphysiological level but my main interest is in understandinghow mitochondria (the organelles responsible forrespiration and energy production) work,” said Dr Millar,whose fellowship has brought him home to Australia fromthe University of Oxford.

He is using rice and a laboratory plant called Arabidopsisthaliana (the plant world’s laboratory rat) as both of themare close to having all their genes sequenced, which makes itmuch easier to work on them.

“We already know that mitochondria contain about 600different proteins and I’m separating them out and making atwo-dimensional map of them. This map of all the proteins iscalled a ‘proteome’, the study of it is called ‘proteomics’.

“Now we can take one of those proteins and work outwhich gene it’s encoded by. This means that, formitochondria, we can feasibly work out which genesencoded the information to make each of these proteins,”Dr Millar said.

It’s a laborious process but that’s where the rice-growingproblem comes in.

Mitochondria are involved in processes other thanrespiration. They are involved in the making of folic andascorbic acids, among other processes, and mitochondriaalso play a role in programmed cell death, the suicide of acell for the betterment of the organism as a whole.

“Unravelling the proteome of mitochondria and all itsnovel functions is important to understand the developmentof plants but also in understanding how plants survivedisease and other environmental stresses,” Dr Millarexplained.

One of the environmental stresses on the rice plant’ssystem is low temperatures.

“The rice plant doesn’t like cold and will just stopgrowing when the temperature drops. And that, of course,is a big problem for the Australian rice industry.

“Flooding can be another problem for some cultivars ofrice. Rice usually tolerates being under water, but problems

Proteomicsto solvecold riceproblem

can occur when the water drains away and the plant finds ithas too much oxygen available to it.

“Different cultivars have different resistances to cold andflooding and I aim to apply my research to identify theproteins associated with these differences, to find out whatthe differences are at a molecular level,” Dr Millar said.

He said the proteomic technique was a powerful tool forfunctional genomics: working out the function of genes inbiological systems at the molecular level.

“We used to look at things, as scientists, at a macro level.And then we got interested in the other end of the scale, ata molecular level. But you really need both perspectives andI think it’s through the genome project that we’ve nowworked out how to work at a molecular level in a holisticfashion.”

Dr Millar’s laboratory is in the Department ofBiochemistry but he is working jointly with this departmentand the Plant Sciences group in the Department ofAgriculture.

“I think it’s through the genome

project that we’ve now worked out

how to work at a molecular level in a

holistic fashion.”

Plant Sciences/Biochemistry

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THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA • 12 JUNE 2000

UWA news 7

Mariapia Degli-Esposti speaks quietly butexcitedly about her research and often

interjects praise for her colleagues.Her work and her research team take precedence over

her prestigious fellowship. Dr Degli-Esposti is the firstWestern Australian ever to be awarded a Wellcome TrustOverseas Senior Research Fellowship in Biomedical Science.

It is the highest international research award made by theUK medical trust, a five-year senior medical researchfellowship.

Born in Italy, Dr Degli-Esposti came to WA at the age of18, studied at UWA and left with a PhD in immunology forpostdoctoral work in the United States.

After four years with a biomedical company in Seattle,she decided she would return to Australia and ProfessorGeoff Shellam, in Microbiology, asked her to take up someresearch at UWA and offered her 18 months’ funding.

“I applied for support under a Wellcome programdesigned to encourage scientists from Australia, NewZealand, Africa and India to take their skills back to theirown countries rather than staying in the UK and the US,”said Dr Degli-Esposti.

She was thrilled to receive the senior fellowship.Dr Degli-Esposti is an immunologist but has joined a

laboratory of molecular virology at QEII.“My real interest now is in understanding how viruses

interfere with host immune responses and especially thoseresulting in cell death,” she said.

“There is usually a balance between cell renewal and celldeath but viruses interrupt and damage that balance.

“A virus is an intracellular pathogen and, therefore, bycommitting suicide, the infected cell can stop the virus frombeing transferred to other neighbouring cells.

“But viruses are very smart — smarter than cells. Whenthey realise what the cell is doing they make their ownproteins to interfere with that cell death. We are trying tofind out how they do that so we can work out how to stopthem,” Dr Degli-Esposti said.

She and her team are using murine cytomegalovirus, amouse pathogen, as a model for human cytomegalovirusinfection.

“It’s exciting to work with this virus, knowing that therewill be clinical applications for human disease,” she said.

Cytomegalovirus, while not causing disease in manyhumans, is potentially lethal in people with ineffective oralready damaged immune systems, such as newborn babies,transplant recipients and individuals who are HIV-positive.

“Understanding what causes cancer, and therefore howto potentially cure this disease, is one of the ultimate goals

of our research,” said Dr Degli-Esposti. “By understandingthe processes of apoptosis (programmed cell death) we mayunderstand how cancers occur. And by understanding howviruses interfere with these processes we may learn how tocure cancer. But it is a very long process and scientists needto be patient.

“There can be exciting goals along the way and we are ina good position just now, where we can see results from ourwork. But it’s not headline-grabbing discoveries every day.

“At the same time, I think it’s a really exciting time foryoung people to think about a career in science. Thetechnology available is the best in years and soon we willhave access to information, such as the human genomesequence, which really paves the way for biologists to getanswers for their questions.”

Dr Degli-Esposti praised the researchers, includingundergraduate and postgraduate students, in her lab.

“They are a fantastic bunch of people, so dedicated andhard-working. Last year, when our funding was running outand I didn’t know if I’d been awarded new funding, they justkept working hard right up until the last day. They couldhave gone out and looked for positions in other laboratorieswhere funding was more secure but they stuck by me,” shesaid.

Dr Degli-Esposti also spoke very positively about theWellcome Trust, the world’s largest medical researchcharity.

“The mission of the Trust is to promote and fosterresearch with the aim of improving human and animal health.However, they don’t put any impositions on your work andthey will fund curiosity-driven research even before thatresearch has clear clinical applications. I am very fortunate tobe funded by an organisation with that kind of foresight.”

Virus research isWellcome at UWA

Dr Mariapia Degli-Esposti (centre) with her team, Jo James, EloiseDensley and Peter Fleming in the molecular virology laboratory.

Microbiology

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8 UWA news

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA • 12 JUNE 2000

UWANews is published fortnightly. Information for thepublication dated 26 June should be forwarded to

Joanna Thompson, Publications Unit, ext 3029, fax 1162,email: [email protected]

NO LATER THAN 5 P. M. ON 14 JUNE

Media enquiries to Public Affairs on 9380 2889.

Unless a restricted audience or charge is specified, allthe events/exhibitions listed here are free and open to

all and may attract media interest.

MUSIC FOR FUN, FILM AND FABLEThe WA Institute of Music Wind Orchestra, directed by AlanLourens and Chameleon (WAIM staff ensemble). Includes RichardStrauss’ musical retelling of an old German fable, Till Eulenspiegel’sMerry Pranks, rearranged as a virtuoso Frolic for Quintet andperformed with Darryl Poulsen (horn) playing the title role. 8pm,Octagon Theatre. Tickets are available at $18.50 and $13.50 andcan be booked on ext. 2440.

Friday 16 June

BIOCHEMISTRY SEMINAR“The CO2 concentrating mechanisms of C4 plants andcyanobacteria”, Dr Martha Ludwig, Department of BiologicalSciences, Macquarie University. 1pm, Simmonds Lecture Theatre.

CLINICAL RESEARCH IN NEUROPSYCHIATRY SEMINARS“Testing narrative recall with latent semantic analysis”, Dr JohnDunn, Psychiatry and Behavioural Science. 3.30pm, Seminar Room3, Gascoyne House, Graylands Hospital.

Monday 19 June

THE MOYAL LECTURE SERIES ON MATHEMATICS,PHYSICS AND STATISTICS(AT MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY)Macquarie University is pleased to sponsor the first in a series ofannual lectures in honour of the late Professor Joe Moyal, one ofAustralia’s most remarkable scientists and former Professor ofMathematics at Macquarie University.

Each year, a person who has made a distinguishedcontribution to at least one of the three fields of Mathematics,Physics and Statistics will be invited to give the Moyal Lecture andwill be presented with the Moyal Medal for their contribution toresearch. This year’s lecture will be given by the Professor ofStatistics at the Australian National University, Professor Joe Gani.

The lecture series aims to influence and interest graduateswho research in areas across these disciplines as well as toprovide a meeting ground for researchers in these disciplines fromuniversities in the region.

The lecture will be held at 7.30pm in E6A LectureTheatre, Macquarie University.

Bookings are not essential but if you would like moreinformation please contact Associate Professor John Corbett atMacquarie University on (02) 9850 8945.

Tuesday 20 June

LAWRENCE WILSON ART GALLERY“Bob White on the history of the UWA Art Collection.” 1pm,LWAG.

Monday 12 June

HISTORY SEMINAR“Pictures of progress: images of eastern Australian ports innineteenth-century illustrated periodicals”, Cindy McCreery,University of New South Wales. 4.30pm, Arts Seminar Room 1.33.

Tuesday 13 June

LAWRENCE WILSON ART GALLERY“So many worlds: Tony Ashby on the front lines of photo-journalism.” Tony Ashby works for The West Australian as a phot-journalist and has won two Walkley Awards for his photographsdocumenting wars. In the context of the exhibition So ManyWorlds Tony will discuss the role of the photo-journalist and showsome examples of his own work in international crisis points thathave shaped international history in recent decades. 1pm, LWAG.

Wednesday 14 June

ENVIRONMENTAL DYNAMICS SEMINAR“Modelling deep water oil/gas spills under conditions of hydrateformation and decomposition”, Professor Poojitha Yapa, GleddenSenior Visiting Fellow and Professor of Civil and EnvironmentalEngineering, Clarkson University, Potsdam, New York. 4 to 5pm,Blakers Lecture Theatre.

PATHOLOGY SEMINAR“A possible mouse model for Alzheimer’s disease”, Dr TerryRobertson. 1pm, Pathology Conference Room, G14, GroundFloor, M Block, QEII.

INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED STUDIES“Towards a computational neurolinguistics”, Professor MichaelArbib, University of Southern California. 2 to 4pm, ComputerScience Room 1.24.

FRIENDS OF THE UWA LIBRARY MEETING“William Wales: mathematician, navigator and astronomer”, ChrisJeffery. Chris Jeffery has worked for the Library and InformationService and the Fremantle Arts Centre Press. She has also hadpublished a number of historical articles and books. The subject ofher talk, William Wales, was sent by the Royal Society toHudson’s Bay in 1769-70 to observe the Transit of Venus. In 1772he was engaged by the Board of Longitude to accompany CaptainJames Cook on his second voyage around the world. Wales madeastronomical observations and used a copy of the Harrison 4clock to ascertain longitude. In 1775 he was appointedmathematics master of the Royal Mathematical School of Christ’sHospital, a post he held until his death in 1798. Wales was theauthor of a number of books now held in the British Museum.7.30 for 8pm, Library Training Room, Reid Library.

Thursday 15 June

STATISTICS SEMINAR“Comparisons of methods for choosing the regularisationparameter”, Dr Mark Lukas, Murdoch University. 2.15pm, BlakersLecture Theatre.

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THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA • 12 JUNE 2000

UWA news 9

Wednesday 21 June

FREE LUNCHTIME LECTURE“One big happy family or a menage a quinze? The impact of thesuper natural structure of the European Union on nationalconstitutions — a Danish case study”, Professor Henning Koch,Professor of Constitutional Law, University of Copenhagen.

INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED STUDIES“A critique of universal grammar”, Professor Michael Arbib, Universityof Southern California. 2pm, Computer Science Rm 1.24.

RICHARD WAGNER SOCIETY OF WA (INC.)“Acts 2 and 3 of Die Walküre. Members: no charge; Visitors: $10/$8. 7.30pm, Room G5, School of Music.

Thursday 22 June

STATISTICS SEMINAR“Models and inference for social networks”, Professor MarkHandcock, University of Washington, Seattle. 2.15pm, BlakersLecture Theatre.

Advance Notice

Wednesday 28 June

INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED STUDIES“Beyond the mirror: biology and history”, Professor Michael Arbib,University of Southern California. 2pm, Computer Science Rm 1.24.

Friday 30 June

CLINICAL RESEARCH IN NEUROPSYCHIATRY SEMINARS“Who will have a good outcome among persons with psychoticillness?”, Vera Morgan, Psychiatry and Behavioural Science. 3.30pm,Seminar Room 3, Gascoyne House, Graylands Hospital.

Calendar updatelaunched online

The 2000 update of the Calendar has been launchedonline and can be accessed at the following web site:

http://www.publishing.uwa.edu.au/calendar/

The online copy, in PDF, allows hard copies to beeasily printed out if required. A comprehensive Tableof Contents is provided with direct ‘clickable’ links todifferent sections of the publication.

Annual Report1999 online

The Annual Report 1999 can now be accessed at thefollowing web site:

http://www.publishing.uwa.edu.au/annualreport/

Publications Unit

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10 UWA news

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA • 12 JUNE 2000

Professor Brian Stone, from theDepartment of Mechanical andMaterials Engineering, judged one of thecountry’s best university teachers, hasnow been recognised by the Universityof Bristol.

He has been awarded a Doctorate ofEngineering by Bristol, which is all themore prestigious, as that university isone of UWA’s benchmark institutions.

The Director of the Centre forOphthalmology and Visual Science(COVS), Professor Ian Constable,will be presented with the Chancellor’sMedal at the next graduation ceremony.

UWA Chancellor Clinical ProfessorAlex Cohen announced the award whilecongratulating Professor Constable on25 years as the Lions Professor ofOphthalmology. His Chancellors’ Medalwill be awarded for his service to theUniversity and the community.

Perth dermatologist and UWAbenefactor Dr Harold Schenberg willbe conferred an honorary Doctorate ofLetters by the University.

The degree is in recognition of hisdistinguished service to the communitythrough his significant and ongoingcontribution to the arts over a longperiod.

Dr Schenberg recently committed agenerous gift of $3 million to theUniversity, some of which will createthe Dr Harold Schenberg Art Centreand some which will institute twoannual prizes for painting and jazz.

Associate Professor Tom Riley,from the Department of Microbiology,has recently been elected as a Fellowof the American Academy of Micro-biology. More than 1500 academyfellows from 35 countries have beenelected and each has demonstrated“scientific excellence, originality,leadership, high ethical standards andscholarly and creative achievement.”

Law students who wanted to “givesomething back to the community”were rewarded recently by winning theLaw Society’s 2000 Law Week YouthCommunity Service Award.

Congratulations!

RIGHT:ProfessorBrian Stone

ABOVE:ChancellorClinicalProfessor AlexCohen andVice-ChancellorProfessorDeryckSchreudercongratulateProfessor IanConstable.

The following staff and students’ achievementshave been recognised recently with awards,honorary degrees and election to academies.Congratulations to all of them.

The Executive Committee of theLaw Students’ Community Sup-port Group won the award on behalfof the 70 students involved withcommunity activities.

The students have been visiting highschools and talking to the teenagersabout how laws affect them.

Co-ordinator James Fletcher saidthe $500 award would help to spreadthe word that the law students wereavailable for more community work.

“A timely contribution towardsthe quest for a mutuallyreinforcing and integratedprocess of economic and socialdevelopment . . .”

This is how Emeritus ProfessorLaksiri Jayasuriya’s latest publication,Welfarism and Politics in Sri Lanka, wasrecently described.

Essays on the experience of aThird World welfare state are setagainst the background of the Asiancurrency crisis and the socialhardships experienced by some eastAsians countries following it.

Sri Lanka after the crisisThey pose the question: Has the

Sri Lanka development experience, inpursuing equity and justice within aframework of social democracy, anyrelevance for other developingnations?

The Vice-Chancellor, ProfessorDeryck Schreuder, said he felt surethat the essays would strengthen thegoodwill that exists betweenAustralia and Sri Lanka and stimulatefurther cross-disciplinary interestfrom researchers within Sri Lanka aswell as in Australia and elsewhere inthe world.

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UWA news 11

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA • 12 JUNE 2000

The Sea of Hands on the Oak Lawngrew every day during National

Reconciliation Week.The brightly coloured paper hands were signed

by hundreds of University students and staff to say“sorry” to Aboriginal people for theirmistreatment.

At the beginning of the week, a lunchtime launchfeatured Aboriginal speakers and entertainers.Robert Isaacs from the Council for AboriginalReconciliation served notice that the Aboriginalpeople had “given up on the Federal Government.”

He urged all Western Australians to join withthe (state) Legislative Assembly, which expressedits deep regret for hurt to the Aboriginal people onSorry Day two years ago.

Third-year law student, mother of five andNyoongah, Gningala Yarran-Clanton said she wasable to study at UWA only through the sacrifices ofearlier generations.

“People say Australia was built on the sheep’sback. I say Australia was built on the back ofblacks,” she said.

Mrs Yarran-Clanton said that, in the twenty-firstcentury, there was still a huge divide betweenindigenous and non-indigenous people.

Messages of sympathy are added tothe ‘sea’ of hands on the Oak Lawn.

Young Aboriginal dancers wait fortheir turn to perform.

“I want to see a fair go for everybody in thiscountry . . . and I don’t mean a fair go for you becauseyou’re fair but not for me . . . but for everybody.”

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Deryck Schreuder,said the University had found no difficulty, in 1998, inexpressing our concern and sympathy for Aboriginalpeople and Torres Strait Islanders for what hadhappened in the past.

“Governments have not served us well,” he said.“And where governments refuse to say sorry, it’s evenmore important that we do, that we commit ourselvesto openness and don’t just say sorry without a sense ofthe feeling behind it.”

Professor Schreuder said universities played a veryimportant role in developing our nation’s future.

“Let us celebrate what has been achieved and let uswork hard to influence authorities, governments and thepeople of Western Australia to join with us in this vitalprocess for our nation.”

Reconciliation

Show of hands for reconciliationShow of hands for reconciliation

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12 UWA news

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA • 12 JUNE 2000

The explosive growth in digitalmedia technology has crea-

ted the problem of protecting anoriginal image.

One approach is the introduction ofan invisible or hidden signal, known as adigital watermark, into an image.

Digital watermarking is just one ofmany diverse subjects which will becovered in an international VisualCommunications and Image Processing(VCIP) conference, hosted by UWA.

Associate Professor King Ngan isthe joint chair of VCIP2000, which willbe held at the Parmelia Hilton fromJune 20.

A total of 173 papers will presentedin oral or poster form, describing novel

The School of Architectureand Fine Arts has hatched a

new generation of fledgling artists.Four of them are featured in an

exhibition of works by 65 graduatesfrom around Australia. The exhibition,Hatched, is at the Perth Institute ofContemporary Art (PICA) until June25.

Fine arts lecturer Jon Tarry says thatUWA graduates Elizabeth Gratwick,Grant Taylor, Tremaine Egan andAntoinette Carrier confirm the depth

Electronic communicatorsmeet — in person

approaches and the latest develop-ments in areas such as image and videocoding, image sequence analysis,segmentation and tracking, wirelessvideo and VLSI implementation andapplication systems.

As well as the regular sessions,special sessions have been organised oncurrent ‘hot’ topics, including Internetvideo, image-based rendering, facesegmentation and error-resilientcoding, to address the rapid advances inthese important research areas.

This conference is the 15th in aseries which originated in Boston.Keynote speakers will be Dr Kai-Fu Leeof Microsoft Research, China,Professor Edward J. Delp III, of Purdue

University, USA, and Dr Thomas Sikoraof Heinrich-Hertz-Institut, Germany.

It has been organised by AssociateProfessor Ngan and his staff in theDepartment of Electrical and ElectronicEngineering.

Architecture and Fine Arts New artists come out of their shells

of research and diversity of practiceachieved by our students.

He describes their unusual, talentedand unexpected creations:

“For Elizabeth Gratwick, a repeti-tive act fractures a rite of passage andan intensely private world is exposedto scrutiny in the most public of places.These are recorded on video andreplayed in once-removed timesequences.

“Tremaine Egan opens with aquestion: To what extent is looking a

conditioned and market-drive sensi-bility? The transformation that takesplace in a video replay picture thedifferences between what the eye andthe brain see.

“Grant Taylor interrogates the wayfact and fictional text construct andframe identities and actual events. Theblue light installation creates a superfictional experience of an event.

“Antoinette Carrier draws from anindividual heritage triggered by intensememory to present codified recol-lections. Ideas and images of home arewoven into existence through thediscipline of tapestry.”

Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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UWA news 13

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA • 12 JUNE 2000

Eight years after establishingthe Australian Centre for

Geomechanics, Associate Prof-essor Richard Jewell is steppingdown from its directorate.

The centre, set up under theauspices of the Department of Civil andResource Engineering, has doubled in

New mining centre chiefstaff size since 1992 and earned areputation for its expertise in all areasconcerning rocks and soil as they relateto the mining industry.

Associate Professor Jewel (right), aspart of a semi-retirement process, willremain with the centre as a seniorconsultant but will hand over the reignsto Professor Yves Potvin (left), who hasbeen co-ordinating research for nearlytwo years at the ACG.

The ACG team provides expertise,research facilities and educationprograms particularly in relation totailings management, rock mechanics,ground support and mining methods asthey impact on the dynamics of soil androcks.

Professor Potvin has developedvarious underground rock mechanicsprograms and designed and imple-

mented ground control training forunderground mine workers.

Australian Centre for Geomechanics

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14 UWA news

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA • 12 JUNE 2000

Redundant Equipment for SaleITEM PRICE AGE COND. CONTACT DEPARTMENT EXT

Bids should be accepted by Monday 26 June with departments to have first option

Departments are reminded that all University equipment available for sale must be advertised in the UWA News. Receipts should be PeopleSoft accountcoded 490 (computing with barcode), 491 (non-computing with barcode) or 493 (items with no barcode). If equipment has an existing barcode please

contact extension 3618/2547 for details.

CONDITION refers to the general condition of item ( 1 = as new; 2 = good; 3 = serviceable; 4 = unserviceable). AGE refers to the nearest year.

CLASSIFIEDSTO LET

BRAND NEW THREE-BEDROOM HOME inScarborough/Doubleview, near beach and shopsand 15 to 20 mins from UWA. Unfurnished,ready to rent, preferably for long-term period.$240 p/w. Call Jo on 9245 2530 (a/h).

ATTRACTIVE MODERN THREE-BEDROOMDUPLEX in Dianella. Walking distance toshopping centre, 20 minute commute to UWA.Available 1 July, lease options 3 or 6 monthswith renewal possible. Contact StephanLewendowsky on ext. 3231 or on mobile: 0413569 246.

WANTED TO RENT

HOUSE FOR ISRAELI FAMILY from the HebrewUniversity of Jerusalem coming to CSIRO inFloreat Park on sabbatical from September 2000until July/August 2001. Four bedrooms required,preferably in Shenton Park/Daglish/Floreat/Wembley area. Please contact Dr Neil Turner on9333 6612 or via email: [email protected]

FULLY-FURNISHED HOUSE/FLAT REQUIREDfrom August 10 to early December by familywith three 11 to 12-year-old children. Close toUWA if possible. For visitor ex New Zealand.Please contact Bob Bucat at Chemistry on ext.3158 or [email protected] or directly toDr Tony Wright at [email protected]

FOR SALE

CAMRY SILVER (1989) reliable and in excellentcondition. $4500. Contact John on 9335 4734.

Macintosh Audiovision 14" display Offers 6 4 Mark Edwards Student Services 3809Macintosh LC575 Offers 5.5 4 Mark Edwards Student Services 3809Apple Personal Laserwriter Offers 8.5 2 Mark Edwards Student Services 3809Toshiba Notebook 430c/32/133/ $975 3.5 2 Glenys Walter Economics 2920770/Rom/IntModemToshiba Notebook 430c/32/ $950 3.5 2 Glenys Walter Economics 2920133/1.3Gb/Rom

and book a one, two or three bedroom townhomeabsolutely fully equipped with everything! Short or long stay.

From $350 per week, including all amenities.

Location: cnr Fairway and Edward Streets, Crawley (oppositeMechanical Engineering)

Enquiries: 0412 953 100 or fax 9389 8326

KenataRentals

Call

Kenata Rentals providing short term, fully furnished accommodation to UWA since 1982.

AdvertisingRates

Full page $500

Half page $250Quarter page $125Eighth page $ 80

Sixteenth page $ 65

All bookings to Joanna Thompson,Publications Unit

Phone: 9380 3029 Fax: 9380 1162

newsUWA There are times when all of us have challengingissues to deal with. When personal or work relatedissues make life difficult, the University has anEmployee Assistance Program (EAP) to help staffmanage these issues more effectively.The EAP is a professional, confidential counsellingand consultation service. The services of DavidsonTrahaire are available FREE to you and your familyfor up to six sessions a year.For appointments, please ring Davidson Trahaireon 9382 8100 or if urgent 9480 4847(24 hours).Their offices are located at Suite 11, 100 Hay St,Subiaco. Further information can be obtained atwww.admin.uwa.edu.au/sho

UWAEmployeeAssistanceProgram

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UWA news 15

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA • 12 JUNE 2000

ResearchGrantsContracts

&

Published byThe University of Western Australia

Designed and produced byPublications Unit

The University of Western Australia

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Colin Campbell-FraserTel.: 9380 2889 Fax: 9380 1020

Email: [email protected]

EDITOR/FEATURE STORY WRITER

Lindy BrophyTel.: 9380 2436 Fax: 9380 1192Email: [email protected]

CAMPUS DIARY/ADVERTISING/CLASSIFIEDS/REDUNDANT EQUIPMENT/

DISTRIBUTION LIST

Jo ThompsonTel.: 9380 3029 Fax: 9380 1162

Email: [email protected]

Printed byUniprint

The University of Western Australia

UWAnews onlinehttp://www.publishing.uwa.edu.au/uwanews/

newsUWA

AGRICULTURE WESTERN AUSTRALIA

• Prof John Anthony Considine , PlantSciences: “Protoplast isloation and cell fusiontechniques for the Chamelaucium Alliance” —$20,000.

AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH COUNCIL —SMALL GRANTS

• Dr J. C. How and Mr Alexander WilliamClarke, Accounting and Finance: “The accuracyof analysts’ dividend forecasts: a globalperspective” — $10,000.

• Dr Charles Anthony Musca, Electrical andElectronic Engineering: “The characterisation ofdoping mechanisms in reactive ion etchingprocessed mercury cadium telluride” —$15,600.

• Dr Aaron John Oakley, Pharmacology: “Thecomplex of CheR and MscL- the molecular basisof osmotaxis” — $10,000.

• A/Prof Michael Guppy, Biochemistry: “Thedevelopment of an isolated cell model formetabolic depression” — $11,000.

• Dr M. Helal Ahammad, Economics: “Theeast Asian crisis: implications for the WAeconomy” — $7871.

• Dr Moonjoong Tcha, Economics: “Theeconomics of steel prices” — $6871.

• Prof J. A. Scott, European Languages andStudies: “The electronic inferno project: the firstelectronic transcription, collation and analysis ofkey early devine comedy manuscripts” —$10,602.

• A/Prof Andrew William Hunwick ,European Languages and Studies: “The foundingof biblical criticism in seventeenth-centuryFrance” — $6871.

• Dr Marie-Eve Andree Ritz, GraduateSchool of Education and Dr D. Engel (external):“The use of the present perfect in AustralianEnglish” — $8051.

• Dr Krish Prasad Thiagarajan, Oil and GasEngineering: “Towards more efficient land basedoscillating water column devices for renewableenergy from ocean waves” — $10,742.

• Dr William Max Taylor, Architecture andFine Arts: “Town design, imagined landscapesand Australian identity” — $5164.

• Dr Andrei Zvyagin, Electrical and ElectronicEngineering: “Ultra-high speed optical coherencetomography and its application to diagnosticimaging of skin cancer” — $16,682.

• Dr Yanrui Wu, Economics: “UnderstandingChina’s regional growth” — $9072.

ARC/DETYA

• Prof Edward John Jory, Arts and Prof J. R.Green (external): “Ancient tragedy, satyr-playand pantomime: the maternal evidence” —$18,000 (2000); $19,000 (2001); $20,000 (2002).

AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY OFEXPLORATION GEOPHYSICISTSRESEARCH FOUNDATION

• Dr Michael Charles Dentith, Geology andGeophysics and Dr A. Bevan and Dr W.Featherstone (external): “Geophysical charac-terisation of the Yallalie astrobleme, WesternAustralia” — $9500.

CRIMINOLOGY RESEARCH COUNCILCANBERRA

• Mr Neil Andrew Morgan, Mr MaxwellGeorge Maller , Mr John AnthonyFernandez, Dr David William Indermaur,Law School: “Sentencing trends for violentoffenders in Australia” — $69,696.

DEPUY BIOLAND

• Dr David John Wood, Surgery and Dr Y.Fan, Anatomy and Human Biology: “Incorp-oration of antibiotics into phosphocalcicsupports by Iontophoresis” — $40,000.

GRAIN RESEARCH COMMITTEE OF WA

• Prof Johannes Thieo Lambers, PlantSciences: “Exploiting chickpeas’s potential tounlock phosphorus from P-fixing soils” —$22,896.

• Dr Jonathan Campbell Clements, Legumesin Mediterranean Agriculture, Mr Douglas JohnHall and Dr David William Turner, PlantSciences, and Prof John Stewart Pate, Botany:“Improving pod photosynthesis and yield inlupin” — $5014.

• Prof John Stewart Pate, Botany: “Use ofcarbon isotope signals and sugar concentrationsin phloem sap in evaluating water usecharcteristics of annual crop legumes” —$16,602.

HAMERSLEY IRON PTY LTD

• A/Prof Mark Andrew Adams, Dr PaulineFrancis Grierson, Mr Bradley Paul Degens,Mr Peter Alan Landman, Botany: “Mulgadecline in the Pilbara” — $43,520 (2000);$44,252 (2001); $37,575 (2002).

MEDICAL RESEARCH FUND OF WA

• Dr Ming Hao Zheng, Surgery: “Vesicletransport in osteoclasts requires interactions ofRab3D and Tctex-1” — $35,000.

NAT MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SOCIETYOF AUSTRALIA

• Dr P. Sacco, Prof Francis Louis Mastagliaand Dr A. G. Kermode, Pathology: “Theneurophysiological basis of fatigue in multiplesclerosis” — $40,000 (1999).

NATIONAL HEART FOUNDATION

• Dr Ian George Jacobs and Prof GeorgeAlexander Jelinek, Medicine and Ms JudithClaire Finn, Public Health: “A randomisedclinical trial of CPR prior to defibrillation for thetreatment of out of hospital ventricularfibrillation” — $45,000 (2000, 2001).

NHMRC

• A/Prof Matthew William Knuiman and MsK. A. Coles, Public Health, and A/Prof GeraldFrancis Watts, Medicine: “A case-cohort studyof new risk factors for cardiovascular disease inBusselton” — $140,123 (2000); $50,193 (2001).

• Prof Fiona Stanley, Paediatrics, A/Prof C.Bower, Public Health, A/Prof Stephan RadeZubrick, Psychology and Dr A. W. Read,Institute for Child Health Research: “Epidem-iology studies in maternal child health” —$1,155,235 (2000); $1,131,386 (2001); $1,141,406(2002); $1,135,554 (2003); $1,133,983 (2004).

NHMRC (EQUIPMENT GRANTS)

• Dr Peter James Henry, Dr Paul JosephRigby and Prof Roy Gordon Goldie ,Pharmacology: “Lung function recording systemwith aerosol delivery controller” — $36,686.

• A/Prof W. R. Thomas, A/Prof P. D. Sly,A/Prof U. R. Kees and Prof P. G. Holt,Institute for Child Health Research: “Multilabelcounter with time resolved fluorescence” —$39,314.

OPHTHALMIC RESEARCH INSTITUTEOF AUSTRALIA

• A/Prof T. V. Chirila, A/Prof PiroskaRakoczy, Dr X. Lou, Ophthalmology andVisual Science: “Development and evaluation of anon-viral delivery system for therapeuticantisense oligodeoxynucleotides in the treatmentof subretinal neovacularization” — $21,000.

WATERS AND RIVERS COMMISSION

• Dr A. W. Storey, Zoology: “Canning Riverremediation” — $41,200.

Watch out for more

Research Grants

and Contracts

in the next issue

of UWA News.

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16 UWA news

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA • 12 JUNE 2000

...the last word

expected to organise an appointment, conduct an interviewand seek further contacts. They were expected to visithealth care providers, meet other community members,interview shire staff and visit community organisations untilthey had developed a comprehensive picture of thestructure of the town and the health issues of the peopleliving in the town.

One hundred and thirty first-year students visited one ofeither Bridgetown, Harvey, Narrogin or Northam. Twofifth-year medical students accompanied each group asmentors, along with one or two academic staff and anadministrative officer. I was in charge of the Bridgetowngroup, students varying in age from 17 to 32 years, some ofwhom had never been to a rural town before. Very fewknew each other well and all were at least a littleapprehensive about what to expect. Having co-written theprogram, I at least felt comfortable in my knowledge of whatshould happen. It was the fear of the unknown thatconcerned me.

I need not have worried. The students were wonderful.They embraced their independence and self-direction withvigour, and wore their name badges with pride. They weretruly excellent ambassadors for the Faculty of Medicine andDentistry and the University. They worked extremely hard,constantly surprising me with the depth at which theyexplored issues. They learned an enormous amount aboutrural life.

One of the beauties of student-directed learning is that theboundaries for learning are not pre-determined and I foundthe students generally achieved far more than I would everexpect.

A small group of students studying the elderly peoplediscovered the recreation club for the elderly and spentseveral hours helping out, preparing lunch, sharing a mealand playing a few games of bingo. Others found the localcommunity child and parent centre and spent a few hoursface painting with the children and chatting to the parents.

One of the surprises of the week was the massiveimprovement in the students’ communication andinterviewing skills. I hadn’t realised how inexperienced someof these students were in communicating with peopleoutside their own community.

I shared a wonderful experience with the students inBridgetown. We couldn’t have achieved this without greatadministrative support and the brilliant efforts of our fifth-year mentor students.

The people from Bridgetown were supportive, warm andwelcoming. They made the students feel important. Thesereflections relate to my experience in Bridgetown, but intalking to staff from other towns, I know these are accuratereflections of everyone’s experience.

A student waiting to go home at the end of the week saidto me “I had never thought of it before, but I wouldn’t mindbeing a country GP”. I felt we had achieved something.

‘Do you know some other groups think they had a better time than us!’ This was one of

the first comments my students made to me onreturning to University after a weeklong visit to arural town.

The students, bubbling with enthusiasm, were discussing‘Rural Week’ — a new initiative in year one of the newmedical curriculum. The greatest conflict surrounding theweek was deciding who had the best time. From thestudents’ perspective, it appeared the week was anoutstanding success.

The idea behind Rural Week was to expose medicalstudents, early in their medical course, to rural health issuesand life in a rural town. In the old curriculum, this exposure

did not come until the latter years, bywhich time the students had oftendecided on a specialty career. Generally,rural practice simply wasn’t an option.

The aims of the week were to explore thehealth issues for the people living in thetown, to determine what kept themhealthy, what detracted from their health,what health services were needed, whatwere available and to explore why peoplechose to live in the area.

In keeping with the new student-centredmethod of learning introduced in thenew curriculum, the students wereexpected to identify their own learningneeds, seek information and reflect uponit. Pairs of students in every town weregiven the contact number of a case studyand from there, the students were

Med students gobush

Med students gobush

...the last w

ord

By Sally ReaganLecturer in Public HealthPBL Curriculum ConsultantFaculty of Medicine and Dentistry

By Sally ReaganLecturer in Public HealthPBL Curriculum ConsultantFaculty of Medicine and Dentistry