Issue 09. 28 June 2010.pdf - UWA Staff - The University of Western ...

UWA NEWS
28 JUNE 2010 Volume 29 Number 9
Photo: Matt Galligan
The sandalwood research group: Katherine Zulak, Jessie Moniodis, Dr Liz Barbour (rear). A/Professor Emilio Ghisalberti,
Professor Julie Plummer, Simon Handford from OII, and Dr Chris Jones
Patent for potent perfume
“
It is very
exciting for us:
no one else
has found
these
genes.
“
by Lindy Brophy
Move over Spice Girls.
SspiSsy, SauSsy and SaSsy are about to take on
the spicy world of perfume oil following the
discovery at UWA of the genes for synthesis of
sandalwood oil.
Professor Julie Plummer in the School of Plant Biology has
been working with sandalwood for seven years and she and
her team, in collaboration with Professor Joerg Bohlmann from
the University of British Columbia and Dr Liz Barbour from the
Forest Products Commission, have finally isolated the genes for
sandalwood oil which is so prized for its use in perfume
manufacture.
“There is still a lot of work to do to develop the perfume oil, but
we are very excited,” Professor Plummer said.
continued on page 2
In this issue P3 FLU FIGHTERS P6 FATWAs ONLINE P12 CENTENARY TRUST FOR WOMEN P14 GO ORGANIC

Vice-regal moniker for Fairway building
The high-profile residents of one of Perth’s most important homes
have given their name to one of UWA’s most striking buildings.
The Governor of Western Australia Dr Ken Michael and Mrs Julie Michael
have been honoured for their contribution to the University.
The soaring building on the corner of Fairway and Cooper Street, which
was formerly known as the Motorola building is now the Ken and Julie
Michael Building.
Dr Michael is an Engineering graduate from UWA and a former Chancellor
of the University. He has watched with great interest the evolution of the
campus since his student days in the 1950s.
Apart from his distinguished engineering career, the Governor is known for
his contributions to many aspects of government, business and
community activity for more than 40 years.
He was elected to the UWA Senate in 1998 and became Pro Chancellor
later that year. He served as Chancellor from 2001 until 2005, when he
took up the position of Governor of the State.
Mrs Michael, a dental nurse by profession, has been involved in her own
and her husband’s community work in Perth, London and Geraldton.
The Ken and Julie Michael Building houses our International Centre
for Radio Astronomy Research and much of UWA’s staff services, with
IT Services, Human Resources and most of Facilities Management based
there.
Patent for potent perfume continued from page 1
“It has taken us years to isolate the genes but now we are able
to synthesise the major components of the oil. We have the
genes for that process in three different sandalwood species,
Santalum album (SaSsy), Santalum austrocaledonicum
(SauSsy) and Santalum spicatum (SspiSsy). The Santalum
album species is the dominant sandalwood grown in the Ord
River region, Santalum spicatum is an Australian species
grown in the wheatbelt and the goldfields, and Santalum
austrocaledonicum, as the name suggests, is from New
Caledonia.
“Our rather cheeky names for the genes use standard coding
for enzymes – with a little bit of licence! It makes them easier
to pronounce and more memorable,” she said.
Her team extracted RNA from sandalwood tree trunk cores
where they expected to find oil being synthesised. “RNA
carries the information of the DNA sequences of genes that
the cell requires, including enzymes for oil synthesis.
“We used sequences of DNA for other genes that code for
similar types of enzymes to the ones we were looking for.
“We made some good guesses, then checked these were
the right genes by inserting them into a bacteria.”
Associate Professor Emilio Ghisalberti has been working with
the sandalwood group, on the critical chemistry component
of the project. He and Professor Plummer are co-supervising
a PhD student in chemistry and plant biology, Jessie
Moniodis, who is working on ’Spicey’ (SspiSsy). Postdoc
Katherine Zulak, from Professor Bohlmann’s laboratory, is
concentrating on ‘Saucey’ (SauSsy). The final ‘spice girl’ is a
male: research associate, Dr Chris Jones, who is focusing on
‘Sassy’ (SaSsy).
“It is very exciting for us: no one else has found these genes.
As sandalwood is an important industry in WA, we have
protected the genes so we
can control how they are
used. Dr Liz Barbour from
the Forest Products
Commission and Simon
Handford in the Office of
Industry and Innovation (OII)
at UWA have helped us to
lodge a patent for the
process. They have done a
great job. It’s very complex, sorting intellectual property across
continents.”
Dr Barbour has recently joined UWA, as a research
development officer with the Faculty of Natural and
Agricultural Sciences.
“The research is funded by the Forest Products Commission
and the ARC and we are grateful for their ongoing support of
our work and this growing industry,” Professor Plummer said.
The group has a liaison with Professor Bohlmann at the
University of British Columbia, who has worked extensively
with terpenes (the oils from wood), primarily using conifers.
Terpenes have a major role in pest and disease resistance,
which is the focus of his research.
“We used Joerg’s knowledge of terpene DNA to help us,”
Professor Plummer said. “We compared DNA from Canadian
trees with the DNA from our plants. When we found a match
with the terpene synthesis genes, it was quite likely that our
gene could be used for oil synthesis.”
She said her group was now working on upregulating the
genes by application of elicitors (natural chemical compounds)
to stimulate the synthesis of more oil. “The amount of oilbearing
heartwood in trees is very variable and it would greatly
assist the industry if we could increase it.”
2
UWA NEWS 28 June 2010
The University of Western Australia

Flu fighters: A/Professor Manfred Beilharz (front) with (from left) Mutsa Madondo, Kathryn Pellegrini, Dr Sara Greay,
Vincent Kuek and Louise Popovich
Cold and flu pill closer to the counter
A phase two clinical trial of a potential cold and flu
treatment has proved interferon alphas to have a
significant effect on preventing and moderating
winter flu.
Associate Professor Manfred Beilharz, Chair of Microbiology
and Immunology (School of Biomedical, Biomolecular and
Chemical Sciences), Clinical Professor David Smith (PathWest)
and PhD candidate Alayne Bennett ran a trial last winter of low
dose oral interferon.
Interferon is a naturally-occurring protein which inhibits
respiratory viruses in most mammals. About 200 Perth people
took interferon (or a placebo) every day for four months and
answered a questionnaire about their health every week.
With the help of biostatistician Dr Peter Jacoby (Telethon
Institute of Child Health Research), the team found that the
people who took interferon had a marked reduction in the
incidence and severity of symptoms of influenza.
“Among the participants who took the interferon, there was a
50 per cent reduction in moderate to severe flu symptoms,”
A/Professor Beilharz said. “So we achieved a primary endpoint
that is highly significant.”
He said the trial also demonstrated that people over the age of
50 benefitted more from interferon than younger people. “That
makes good sense, because your immune system functions
best when you are young. After that, it takes a bit of dive. So
stimulating the immune system with low dose oral interferon
alphas works better in older people.”
The trial also showed that participants on the interferon who
had been vaccinated against flu received a huge health benefit:
a 75 per cent reduction in incidence of flu, compared with the
group on the placebo.
“To respond well to a vaccine, your immune system must be
firing,” A/Professor Beilharz said. “And interferon did that for
these people.”
All 200 blood samples (taken before and after trial participation)
were sent to the World Health Organisation Collaborating
Centre in Melbourne, which confirmed the UWA team’s results.
“Our trial has positively identified three areas in which interferon
could be used against colds and flu. First, it has proved
effective in protecting people from flu, and that includes the
swine flu which swept through Perth as the trial was being
conducted. Secondly, there is evidence that it potentiates
(improves the effectiveness) of the flu vaccine, which probably
means that it potentiates all vaccines, as it stimulates the
immune system. Finally it also significantly reduces the
incidence and severity of flu in older people who are a major
risk group in relation to severe flu.
“And, on top of all that, it’s cheap – probably 100 times cheaper
than Tamiflu or Relenza, the current antivirals being used
against pandemic flu world wide. This has important
implications for public health policy.”
A/Professor Beilharz and his colleagues have been approached
by major international pharmaceutical companies which are
interested in the results.
The clinical trial was supported by the Department of Health,
Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and PathWest in conjunction
with American pharmaceutical company Amarillo Biosciences
Incorporated .The trial was conducted under TGA(Australia)
and FDA(USA) regulation.
The University of Western Australia UWA NEWS 28 June 2010 3

The
worthwhile
study of
humanities
At a time when science, politics,
finance and sport dominate the
headlines it was pleasing to see one
of our graduates publicy extolling
the value of an arts degree across
the professions.
Journalist Athanae Lucev, in an opinion
article published in The West Australian
earlier this month, asserts that: ‘Some of
our best leaders, performers and
thinkers started out as arts students.’
And she went on to highlight a number
of UWA Arts graduates who have
engaged in a wide range of careers.
There can be no question that the
humanities are vital to our sense of
community, family and selves, providing
us with imaginative opportunities to
address contemporary problems in ways
that give us insight into these problems.
In recent weeks, staff from our own
Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social
Sciences have again demonstrated
the strength of their calling.
For example, Chair in Australian
Literature at UWA Winthrop Professor
Philip Mead won the New South Wales
Premier’s Literary Prize for Literary
Scholarship for his book, Networked
Language: Culture and History in
Australian Poetry.
The award enhances Professor Mead’s
role as a national and international leader
in the study and appreciation of
Australia’s creative writers and their
work, and in taking Australian literature
to national and international audiences.
More than that, according to the judges,
it ‘is insightful and constructive in its
diagnosis of academic and public culture
in Australia … and locates the local and
national very thoroughly in the global.’
About the time of Professor Mead’s win
we were celebrating the launch of
Winthrop Professor Brenda Walker’s new
book, Reading by Moonlight: How
Alan Robson
Vice-Chancellor
Books Saved a Life, which affirms the
role of literature in providing
consolation, particularly in difficult
times such as facing a diagnosis of
cancer. You may remember that her
novel The Wing of Night won the 2007
Asher Literary Award. This award was
from Helen Asher, a post World War
Two German refugee from fascism
who was deeply committed to the
artistic and cultural life of her adoptive
country, Australia.
And we heard that Winthrop Professor
R.S (Bob) White’s biography of the
Romantic poet Keats has just been
published in the UK by Palgrave
Macmillan. In his acknowledgements
in John Keats: A Literary Life,
Professor White credits many
colleagues at UWA for their intellectual
support, including Chair in Philosophy
Winthrop Professor Michael Levine
who ‘profoundly fuses expertise in the
history of ideas with an urgent moral
and political concern for the present.’
A major theme in another of Professor
White’s books Pacifism in English
Literature: Minstrels of Peace (Book of
the Week in The Times Higher
Education Supplement in 2008) is that
imaginative writers over the centuries
have suggested that armed conflict
both historically and in our
contemporary world is an ineffectual
way of solving international problems.
With the right books – and paintings,
music, films, poetry, plays and
sculpture – we come to understand
what it is to be human.
Big names
support
important
research
WA’s Governor, Dr Ken Michael,
and Chief Justice, Wayne Martin,
have strengthened their UWA
connections.
Both State leaders are alumni of UWA
and both have recently become
patrons of University research
centres.
Dr Michael, an engineer by
profession, and former Chancellor
of UWA, is patron of the Centre for
the Built Environment and Health,
in the School of Population Health.
He has a long history of
understanding urban projects and
the impact of the built environment
through his former roles as
Commissioner of Main Roads and
as a long-serving member of the WA
Planning Commission.
The Governor was keen to support
the Centre because of his
appreciation of the emerging health
issues confronting contemporary
society.
The Chief Justice accepted the
inaugural patronage of the Lung
Institute of WA (LIWA) because of his
personal experience with lung
disease.
Nearly 30 years ago, Justice Martin
had most of his right lung removed
after a bout of pneumonia.
“Chronic lung disease affects one in
four families in WA,” he said. “But few
people seem to know about it. Most
people know about heart disease,
cancer and strokes and the triple Ds:
dementia, depression and diabetes,
as serious life-threatening illnesses.
“But conditions such as emphysema,
asthma, chronic bronchitis, cystic
fibrosis and asbestos-related
diseases also affect a significant
number of people in our community.
“I am proud to be the first patron of
LIWA. Lung health is something I am
truly passionate about and I hope that
I can help to highlight the effects of
this ‘silent’ disease,” he said.
4
UWA NEWS 28 June 2010
The University of Western Australia

Former PM
chooses
UWA to
spread the
word
Former British Prime Minister Tony
Blair is part of a new initiative at
UWA in which we will lead a nationwide
dialogue on religion and the
world.
His global Faith Foundation has brought
together a select group of leading
research universities for a comprehensive
study to understand the origin, history
and contemporary role of religions and
secular ideologies in shaping the global
political, social and cultural landscape.
UWA was invited to join the network,
called the Faith and Globalisation
Initiative, which includes Yale University,
the National University of Singapore,
Durham University, McGill University
and Tecnologico de Monterrey (Mexico).
The universities will work together
to deliver courses on religion and
globalisation to enable students to
interact across cultural borders.
At UWA, the initiative is called Religion
and Globalisation.
Mr Blair announced to Australia on ABC
TV program Lateline that UWA had been
chosen to lead Australia within the
network.
“It is partly because of the reputation
Australia has as a place of faith diversity
and tolerance and respect towards
others, but also because The University
of Western Australia is a great university;
it’s a great centre of learning,” he said on
Lateline. “It’s a quite secular university,
so the purpose is not to preach religion
at people: it’s to gain a better
understanding of the role of religion in
the modern world and the role of religion
in diverse and complex societies, both
developed and developing.”
The initiative, convened by Elena
Douglas (also the convenor of the
Business School’s Centre for Social
Impact) will bring together scholars of
religion and the campus faith community.
Selected staff across all disciplines and
campus chaplains join the Centre for
Muslim States and Societies, Equity and
Diversity, UWA Extension, the School of
Indigenous Studies, the Confucius
Institute, the Centre for Medieval and
Early Modern Studies, the Institute of
Advanced Studies, the Perth
International Arts Festival, the Centre for
Integrated Human Studies, the Centre
for the Study of Social Change and the
UWA Cultural Precinct to run courses
and programs.
Mr Blair said on Lateline that religion
could be a force for good or for ill.
“The question is how do we promote it
as a force for values common to all of
humanity, for understanding, for respect
towards each other and how do we
prevent it being a source of conflict,”
he said.
At UWA the intitiave will start with a
summer school and the introduction
of a core undergraduate unit, Religion
and Globalisation, coordinated by
Dr Debra McDougall in the discipline of
anthropology in first semester next year.
Public education through UWA
Extension, executive education and
research will be managed through
the program.
It will promote units already available at
UWA on religion and beliefs, in the
disciplines of politics, philosophy,
anthropology, law and Asian studies.
Ms Douglas said that one of the exciting
elements of the initiative would be
expanding the idea of the classroom to
become a global learning place, by using
new technologies. “This is globalisation
in practice,” she said.
Ms Douglas said that some of the
academics involved in the new group
had already started expanding their
research and arranging sabbaticals
around the world to focus on religion and
globalisation issues.
“No leader, political or economic, current
or emerging, can now afford to be
ignorant about religion, religious faith and
how it motivates people,” Mr Blair said.
He is expected to visit UWA within the
next 12 months. “I have a huge respect
and affection for the people and for the
country, so it’s always a joy to come
there,” he said.
Elena Douglas (front right) with Tony Blair
(front centre) and other members of the
international group at Yale University
The University of Western Australia UWA NEWS 28 June 2010 5

Go online for
new rules from
ancient laws
The internet is changing the way the ancient religion of
Islam is being practised.
Muslims are turning to technology rather than their local
religious leaders for the latest information on fatwas – bans,
put in place by Muslim clerics, on products, people and
activities because they are deemed bad for their community.
Winthrop Professor Dick Mizerski and one of his PhD students,
Nazlida Muhamad Hashim, have contributed an article for the
inaugural issue of the Journal of Islamic Marketing, the first
marketing journal to focus on Muslim people and their culture.
Dr Hashim, a Muslim, conducted research that explored Muslim
consumers’ information sources for fatwa rulings on products
and behaviours. Her work was limited to a Malaysian Muslim
university but their paper offers insights into how fatwa rulings
affect marketplace behaviours and their findings lead to
suggestions on how marketers can manage fatwa rulings
concerning their products.
While the best-known fatwa declaration in modern Islamic
history is probably the death sentence declared on author
Salman Rushdie for his book The Satanic Verses, there are
many hundreds of fatwas, including a ban on buying or drinking
Coca Cola, a ban on smoking, gambling and alcohol.
“Not all Muslims are intrinsic followers of their religion,”
Professor Mizerski said. “That is, they don’t all follow the rulings
and teachings closely and use their religion to direct their lives.
Those who use it more for status or solace, that is extrinsically,
are more likely to look for a view on a fatwa that allows them a
way out. For example, in Saudi and in Pakistan, many Muslims
smoke, and, in Malaysia and Bangladesh, they run lotteries.
The study suggests that the intrinsically motivated Muslims are
those who tend to put more effort in searching for information
on fatwa rulings.
“Instead of just accepting the word of the wise man in the
village as they once did, modern Muslims have the internet to
find the information they want. Probably 80 per cent of Muslims
with internet access get information on fatwas via their
computer. It has changed the way they practise their religion,”
he said.
Many Muslims appear to acknowledge fatwa that were
declared by foreign scholars, thus a fatwa ruling that bans the
purchase of a brand in one country gains momentum to spread
among Muslims world-wide.
Their paper, published this month, looked at hundreds of fatwa
from official Muslim e-fatwa collections. They were analysed to
examine the type of fatwa and the categories that may have
potential to affect Muslim consumers’ behaviours in the market
place.
The top three were: the permissibility of insurance products; the
permissibility of IVF conception; and divorce declaration made
by SMS.
Dick Mizerski with two of his Muslim students, Sharifah Fatimah
Syed-Ahmad (front) and Saalem Sadeque
“In Islam, a man can divorce his wife by pronouncing ‘I divorce
you’. Modern Muslims want to know if they can text a divorce
message,” Professor Mizerski said.
He said that 60 per cent of Malaysian consumers were
Muslims, so the declaration of a fatwa and the publicity
surrounding it could easily damage the images and equity
of a brand. “This is especially true when you consider that
there are almost two billion Muslims in the world,” he said.
Danish producers suffered significant drops in sales world-wide
after an unfavourable characterisation of the Prophet
Muhammad by a Danish cartoonist in 2008. That resulted in a
fatwa ruling that prohibits Muslims from purchasing Danish
products.
“Some products were physically removed from the retail
shelves. The Danes have had a rough time trying to get shelf
space for their cheeses in many Middle east countries, while
many Malaysian retailers decided to ‘red mark’ Danish products
on their shelves,” he said.
Professor Mizerski is hoping his students will continue with
more investigations into Islamic marketing, including looking at
who the victims of a fatwa need to try to influence to get it lifted
or ignored.
6
UWA NEWS 28 June 2010
The University of Western Australia

Jury research an open
(then shut) case
At the end of a court case,
everybody wants to hear what the
jury has to say.
Our legal system hinges on the ‘12 good
men and true’. Their words can send an
accused to heaven or to hell. But in WA,
any words from jurors other than “guilty”
or “not guilty” are closely guarded by the
State Government.
It took Judith Fordham, Perth barrister
and Associate Professor in the Centre
for Forensic Science, two-and-a-half
years to get permission to talk to jurors
for her PhD research on juries and
forensic science.
Now, after she has completed the work,
a change of government means that she
is fighting again for permission for her
work to be published in full.
“It’s so frustrating. I’ve spend hundreds of
hours talking to jurors and they want to tell
their stories,” A/Professor Fordham said.
Her first degree was in science; later she
studied law as a mature-age student.
“As a criminal lawyer, I realised I needed
to know a lot more about forensics, so I
did the graduate diploma program at the
Centre for Forensic Science. They asked
me if I would like to do a Masters and a
PhD and I thought that jurors and their
experience with forensic evidence was
an area that needed some research.”
Meanwhile, the previous State
government’s Attorney-General,
Jim McGinty, asked A/Professor
Fordham if she would look at jury
intimidation while doing her research.
She sent out a survey to jury members
and a staggering 1,000 replied, despite
the survey being 24 pages long.
“That shows you how keen they are to
talk about their experiences,” she said.
“And more than half of them said they
wanted me to interview them. It’s a world
first in terms of the numbers of people
involved and the quality of their
responses. The jurors I’ve interviewed
have had enormously interesting
experiences. But, unfortunately, the
study has run out of money, so it’s at a
standstill too.”
Her unique experience as a barrister, a
student of juries and a forensic science
specialist has put A/Professor Fordham
in demand as a teacher. She has run
classes and courses to teach police
officers about forensic science; to help
lawyers to handle forensic evidence; to
train forensic scientists how to handle
themselves in court; and to teach
lawyers about how jurors respond to
scientific forensic evidence.
“Next year I hope to run a full postgraduate
diploma in forensic science
for non-scientists, through the Centre,”
she said.
The Police in Western Australia have
committed to sending her 20 students
a year for a similar but shorter
postgraduate certificate.
“I had not done any teaching before,
but I love it. It’s not very different from
standing in a court and talking to jurors,
explaining things to them,” she said.
Barrister Judith Fordham
in her office at the Centre
for Forensic Science
From her work on intimidation of jurors,
A/Professor Fordham said the most
important recommendation was that all
juries should have a professional
facilitator.
“The most significant form of intimidation
of jurors comes not from the judge or the
barristers, but from within the jury,” she
said.
“A trained facilitator would be able to nip
any intimidation in the bud. He or she
could keep the jury members on track
and ensure that everybody had a say.
Juries can function very poorly if there is
nobody who has experience in running a
meeting. A facilitator could help here too.”
She said jurors were generally bettereducated
than she thought they would
be. “About 20 per cent of them have had
a tertiary education, contrary to most
people’s ideas about juries.”
She said that amid the constant debate
about the jury system in the western
world, Japan, South Korea and
Kazakhstan were all preparing to bring
juries into their legal systems.
The University of Western Australia UWA NEWS 28 June 2010 7

Easy access for all:
Beverley Hill (Equity and Diversity), Averil Riley (Safety and Health) and Kai Peng Chong
(Construction and Development Services, FM) use the crosswalk near Fairway that
provides equitable access for all
Can a wheelchair pass through this
doorway? Can a person with low
vision walking with a stick navigate
this path safely? Are these signs
easily understood by people with
cognitive difficulties?
These and many more similar issues are
addressed in the UWA Building and
Campus Access Guidelines.
The guidelines have been developed for
anybody involved in building or facilities
management on UWA properties.
Produced by Facilities Management,
Student Services (UniAccess) and
Human Resources (Safety and Health
and Equity and Diversity) the guide
highlights the University’s commitment to
equity and inclusion.
“It will help designers, architects,
landscape architects, engineers and
anybody carrying out new works,
refurbishment or maintenance work at
UWA,” said Beverley Hill, Associate
Director Equity and Diversity. “The guide
has photographs of examples of both
good and poor design and offers
specifications and good practice tips.”
Rebecca Cameron, acting Associate
Director Client Services in Facilities
Management, said national legislation
had recently been approved to raise
access standards across the country.
“This underpins our guidelines, which
were published six months ago,” she
said. “Access is a grey area and neither
the legislation nor this guide has all the
answers, but it’s certainly less grey than
it was!”
Ms Cameron said current access
problems would be addressed as
refurbishments were carried out. “But if
there is a particular area in which a
student or staff member is experiencing
difficulties, then of course we would
make whatever changes needed to be
made.”
LEFT: Kai Peng Chong with the new
Crawley campus map
The law obliges UWA to make the
campus accessible and respond in a
timely way to new access issues as they
arise. Ms Hill said her office or Uni
Access needed to hear of access issues
for staff and students as soon as
possible, so that they were not
disadvantaged or excluded.
Ms Cameron said that sometimes the
resolution could take a while. “For
example, currently a staff member who
uses a wheel chair cannot access
unaided the main corridor and reception
area of the workplace. Others must open
the doors, resulting in loss of
independence and dignity. We are
installing self-opening doors but obviously
it can’t be done in a day, even though we
give it the highest priority,” she said.
The guide, which took many months to
complete, uses the starting point of the
seven principles of universal design,
UWA’s Disability Access and Inclusion
Action Plan and the Disability
Discrimination Act 1992 to provide
access for people with physical, sensory
or cognitive disabilities.
(The Guidelines can be found at http://
www.fm.uwa.edu.au/page/13614 under
Design Standards.)
A particular challenge for UWA is the
heritage status of many of its Crawley
buildings.
“The legal view is that the Disability
Discrimination Act will override heritage
legislation,” Ms Hill said. The producers
of the guide referred to work by architect
Eric Martin in his book Improving Access
to Heritage Buildings, in which he tackles
the difficult issues of providing universal
equitable access while still retaining the
heritage fabric of a building.
The siting of, and approaches to,
buildings are discussed, including
accessible parking, accessible parking
payment machines, drop-off bays,
crosswalks, walkways, bollards and
poles, grates and service covers, ramps,
kerbs, steps and stairs. Even excessive
use of plain glass or other
monochromatic finishes with no
distinguishing features are examined.
They can be particularly confusing for
people with a vision impairment. And all
this is before you even get into a
building.
On entering a building, are the doors
wide enough for a wheelchair? Do they
open and close automatically or are they
8
UWA NEWS 28 June 2010
The University of Western Australia

UWA leads the way
easy or light enough for somebody with
arthritis or pushing a pram to open? Is
there surrounding colour contrast to
provide visual clues?
Reception desks and counters need to
provide enough space for a wheelchair
to approach front-on, good visibility and
lighting, good acoustics, a counter with
at least one section lowered and
avoidance of shiny and reflective
surfaces for counters.
Switches, controls, door handles, toilets,
change rooms and lifts are all addressed.
Learning areas, cafes, residential
accommodation and emergency exits
are dealt with in the guide.
It is illustrated with photographs of many
examples of good and poor design, most
of them on the Crawley campus. In one
instance, the team working on the guide
found a doorway that had been designed
and built to the correct width to
accommodate a wheelchair, but when a
D-shaped door handle was put on the
sliding door, it prevented it from opening
wide enough. In another, an external
stairway became a hazard for a blind
person using a cane, as the approach
from behind the stairs was not signalled
and the pedestrian would be likely to hit his
head before his cane found an obstruction.
Disability officers Barbara Levit and
Deborah Allen from Student Services’
UniAccess, were involved in the
production of the guide.
“What’s good about it is that it is usable
by people who don’t have expert
knowledge,” said Ms Allen. “A School
Manager, for example, can find in it
examples of a good reception desk. The
guide directs people to real life
examples.”
Ms Levit said the guide provided a clear
benchmark of what UWA expected in
design for physical access. “With all the
refurbishment going on, it is great to
have this easy to follow guide towards
best practice,” she said.
Director of FM, Bruce Thompson, said it
had taken about 18 months to put the
guide together. “It gives clarity to the
standard that is required at UWA,” he
said. “We have very high standards, but
the world is changing all the time and the
latest legislation is bringing everybody
closer to our stringent guidelines.”
Mr Thompson said he would not be
surprised if other universities followed
our example and asked to use our guide
to write their own documents.
Facilities Management has also
collaborated with key areas to produce a
new campus map highlighting access
and mobility features on campus and in
surrounding areas.
Ms Hill said the map was produced with
the assistance of the WA Department of
Transport and GPS technology and
provides significantly improved access,
mobility and way-finding information for
visitors and the campus community.
“Features such as the campus Walk Safe
pathways are identified to direct people
to well-lit paths at night,” she said. “The
access and mobility information will be of
particular benefit to those campus users
who are frail, aged or have mobility or
sensory impairment.”
The access and mobility map is also on
the UWA website at www.maps.uwa.
edu.au Further work is being done on
the online map to improve information
about access and mobility features of
venues, locations and pathways on
campus. It will soon become interactive.
Copies of the map are currently being
distributed to key points on campus.
Look for them at Faculty offices, Student
Services, the Guild and the Visitors
Centre.
ABOVE FROM TOP: This entrance at the
Guild has good colour contrast which
leads people with low vision to the door;
this bench in the Guild Village has space
for a wheelchair at either end and easy
access; these glass doors are well
marked for people with low vision or
intellectual disabilities
RIGHT: Receptionist Julie La Spina with
disability officers from UniAccess,
Barbara Levit (seated) and Deborah
Allen. The reception desk at the
Molecular and Chemical Sciences
building is well-designed for people in
wheelchairs or who need to sit
The University of Western Australia UWA NEWS 28 June 2010 9

Increasing the impact of the Force
While the rest of the world is engrossed in soccer,
a UWA Masters student is already focusing on next
season’s rugby.
Perth’s rugby union team, Western Force, had a disappointing
season this year, languishing near the foot of the Super 14
ladder. But the work of Eugene Lim (pictured) in the School of
Sport Science, Exercise and Health, analysing player
performance, may help to turn around their lagging fortunes.
Eugene played school rugby in Singapore, watching the feats
of Australian players in the then Super 12 competition, before
coming to Perth to study Exercise and Health Science at
UWA. His interest in rugby led to his desire to research
methods for improving player performance. He discovered
that, although other sports such as Australian Rules football
and soccer have tools to
assess player
performance and impact
on the game, rugby had
only basic game
statistics available.
“Nothing has been
developed for rugby
yet,” Eugene said.
With his supervisors,
Assistant Professor
Brendan Lay, Winthrop
Professor Brian Dawson
and Associate Professor
Karen Wallman, and a
New Zealand-based
sports analysis
company, Verusco
Technologies, Eugene
developed a system that
objectively rates a
player’s impact on team
performance. The
system analyses ‘game
actions’ – activities such
as passes, kicks and
tackles.
“We look at the
frequency of these game
actions and assign them
a positive or negative
weighting to reflect their
importance to a winning
performance,” Eugene
explained. “Normal
passes have a high
frequency, so they get a
low positive rating
whereas a pass that
“
Photo: Jarrad Seng
by Science Communication student Steven Lofthouse
allows a teammate to breach the oppositions’ line would be
given a higher rating. A negative rating would be given to
actions such as missed tackles.”
By adding together the impact ratings of the whole team,
Eugene’s system has proven highly effective at predicting team
performance. Not only did teams with a high total impact rating
win more games throughout the season, they also won by
larger margins than teams with a low total impact rating.
Eugene said the impact ratings provided important information
to coaches, helping to track the performances of individual
players throughout the season. “They can also determine weak
areas of play, such as tackling, allowing coaches to focus
training drills on areas that need the most improvement.
“Ideally it would be possible to analyse matches while they were
being played,” he said.
“However, the process
currently requires match
footage to be sent to
Verusco for their
technicians to code and
record the statistical
data.”
The next stage of
Eugene’s research will
investigate the concept
of ‘game momentum’:
periods when one team
starts to dominate the
play. “Commentators
often say that a team is
developing momentum
against the opposition,
which is quite different
from how the word
momentum is used in
physics. We’re looking
at the player impact
ratings during certain
phases of play to see if
that links to game
momentum in rugby.
We want to give that
expression a more
scientific explanation.”
Eugene hopes his work
will enable rugby teams
such as the Western
Force to get better
performances out of
their players, restoring
them to the winners’
circle in the near future.
By adding together the impact ratings of the whole team,
Eugene’s system has proven highly effective at predicting
team performance.
“
10
UWA NEWS 28 June 2010
The University of Western Australia

Get fit,
get smart,
but above all,
enjoy it
David Enright lives a double life on
the Crawley campus.
Not many of his first year mathematics
students know that he is an
accomplished gym instructor.
Few of the people who go to his classes
at UWA Sport and Recreation realise that
he teaches maths, is the manager of
offshore programs for the Faculty of Life
and Physical Sciences and is doing a
PhD in mathematics education.
But what is recognisable is his teaching
method. Whether it’s in the lecture
theatre or the gym, David is inspirational
and always succeeds in making work
(physical or mental) seem like fun.
He teaches Mathematics 1050. “That’s
the maths unit that first year science
students have to do if they haven’t done
the higher maths at high school,” he
said. “These students are the ones who
didn’t do maths because they didn’t like
it or thought they were no good at it.
Now they come to university and find
they have to do maths! It’s a challenge,
but that is what I love about it and I enjoy
changing their perceptions about
Maths.”
He has used beer cans, cartons of
cornflakes and video clips from YouTube
to encourage students not to be scared
of maths, to learn problem-solving skills
and to realise that maths will help them
to understand and decipher the world in
which they live.
“For example, we watched the 1986
explosion of the Challenger space craft
that blew up shortly after take-off. It was
spectacular and the students were really
interested. Then I explained that it was a
Year 10 level maths problem that
somebody had got wrong and led to the
disaster. How could NASA Engineers
miss it? It is not long before the students
can see that maths really could be useful
in a degree or even a career in science.”
David has always worked hard on
staying physically fit. Through his
Science and Education degrees and his
early teaching days, he continued to play
football and hockey and nearly every
kind of sport.
“I gave them up about five years ago due
to an injury and started going to group
fitness classes during the rehabilitation. I
was so impressed with an instructor who
had really inspired me and others to take
our fitness seriously, and how she made
her classes really enjoyable, and I
thought I could do that.
“I love teaching anything and I thought it
would be easy. I have never worked so
hard to learn how to teach so little,” he
said of the Les Mills group fitness
programs that now account for 84 per
cent of classes in Australian gyms.
He teaches 16 classes a week in three
gyms across four programs, from yoga
to weights, including two sessions at
UWA. Up to 500 people attend his
classes every week. Five days a week,
his day starts with a 6am class and he
teaches at night and on weekends.
David Enright takes a BodyPump class
at the Sport and Recreation centre
“I’m motivated by the changes in people
who come regularly to my classes. What
drives me is changing their lives. I see
the results on a daily basis.
“I am amazed at the facilities offered by
UWA Sport and Recreation Centre. For
UWA staff and students alike there are a
myriad of sporting groups, classes and
opportunities to enhance one’s fitness. I
think it must be the cheapest gym in
Perth and definitely offering maximum
possibilities to change to a fitter life! The
centre is led by a team of fitness
specialists that are very committed to
personal service.
“I always enjoy the classes but I don’t
think I would if I did it as a full-time job.
The mix is perfect.”
David said his Faculty was very
supportive of his extra-curricular
on-campus work, which he fits into his
lunch hours. Some of his colleagues
attend his classes and are moving
towards his mantra: a healthy body
yields a healthy mind.
The University of Western Australia UWA NEWS 28 June 2010 11

Entrées and education on the menu
The annual lunch for the UWA Centenary Trust for
Women is a big occasion, in Winthrop Hall, hugely
enjoyed by the hundreds of women who attend.
But they are even more interested in supporting other women’s
education, than they are in the consommé and conversation.
CTW was established in 2002 by a group of UWA women
graduates who recognised the value of a UWA education.
Five scholarships have been set up by the group since then
and they are awarded each year.
This year the Dorothea Angus Memorial Scholarship for an
Honours degree in Music or Music Education has been won by
Fiona Lemon. Dorothea Angus was one of the first professional
organists in Australia and often played at concerts at the
Somerville Auditorium in its early days.
The Margaret Mills (nee Summers) Memorial Scholarship, for
study in the field of clinical biochemistry or endocrinology goes
to Rachel Paterson. Margaret Mills studied zoology at UWA
before becoming a clinical biochemist in the UK and at RPH.
PhD candidate Michelle Reinders has won the Miles Family
Scholarship for a rural student in the Faculty of Life and
Physical Sciences. The Miles family has a long record of mining,
metallurgy and rural life.
The Marita Tresize Memorial Scholarship for an undergraduate
in Economics has been awarded to Christabelle Padmanabham.
It was established by Marita’s mother, Leah Tresize.
Kerrie Burns will continue her PhD in the Faculty of Natural and
Agricultural Sciences with the help of the Dr Margaret Anne
Feilman OBE Postgraduate Scholarship. Dr Feilman was a town
planner and architect who was ahead of her time in recognising
the need to integrate the natural environment into long term
planning.
The guest speaker at the lunch on Sunday July 25 will be
Jo Horgan, UWA Arts graduate and founder and CEO of the
2010 CTW guest speaker Jo Horgan
very successful Mecca Cosmetica. She will take the guests on
her life’s journey and business success.
For more information about CTW, please contact Yvette Vittorio
in the Office of Development and Alumni Relations on 6488
4774 or at yvette.vittorio@uwa.edu.au
More than 550 computer hard
drives, monitors, laptops and
printers were recycled from UWA
this month.
Thousands of pieces of electronic
waste – e-waste – have gone to landfill
over the past decade as local
computer recycling schemes have
failed to live up to expectations.
The University’s office of Environmental
Sustainable Development (ESD) took
the opportunity of a free annual e-waste
Computers won’t
go to waste
pick up, organised by the Western
Australian Local Government Association.
UWA was allowed to contribute one
truck-load.
Alain Twynham (pictured below left),
ESD’s recycling project officer, organised
the collection of outdated or
malfunctioning electronic equipment and
its loading onto a truck bound for Sims
Metals in Spearwood, on a weekend
earlier this month.
“Ordinarily, recycling the equipment
would have cost us quite a lot of money,”
Mr Twynham said. “This free once-a-year
pick-up meant a tremendous saving for
us and it was great to know that, if they
are in working condition, the computers
and other pieces would be reused, not
just automatically taken apart.”
The scrap metal dealers test the
equipment and, if it’s usable, they
auction it. If not, it is broken down and
the different metals and plastics are
recycled. Screens are the only pieces of
equipment from which little can be
reused.
Mr Twynham said this month’s
collection from ITS and the Faculty of
Engineering Computing and
Mathematics was a co-operative effort
between John Ludovico, ITS network
and communications manager, UniPark
staff (who arranged storage), and Gavin
Coslett, Larry Whitehead and Mick
Scoon from UniGrounds, who spent
the weekend stacking, packing and
moving the equipment to Spearwood.
“We are looking at establishing a
permanent e-waste storage area
somewhere on the Crawley campus so
an electronic waste recycling program
can be run consistently,” Mr Twynham
said.
12
UWA NEWS 28 June 2010
The University of Western Australia

Law student is
Master of speech
An Honours student is the toast of the public speakers
at UWA.
John Pauley (pictured), who is completing Honours in
Economics this year before finishing his Law degree, was
among the top 10 public speakers in Australia at a national
Toastmasters convention in Victoria last month.
He is an active member of UWA’s Toastmaster’s Club, which
recently celebrated its 100th meeting. Members include
academics, professional staff, postgraduate and undergraduate
students.
Club co-ordinator Fabienne Vonarburg, Faculty Development
officer for Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, said they
were proud to have produced such an accomplished speaker
in such a short time. The club began at UWA in early 2008.
John also recently came second in the regional finals of an
evaluation competition.
“A speaker gives a 10-minute speech, then we contestants
have five minutes to prepare a critique of that speech. At the
end of five minutes, our notes are taken away from us and we
have to speak for three minutes, giving feedback to the initial
speaker,” he said.
“I have two more years of Law studies after which I may well
become a barrister, and these competitions are very helpful for
developing my public speaking skills.”
UWA Toastmasters Club meets every Friday at 1pm in Room
2204, Social Sciences South. Guests are welcome to come to
a couple of meetings before signing up.
OPEN your heart for a DAY and volunteer
Following last year’s success with
a community-oriented Open Day,
UWA’s premier showcase event will
follow a similar approach, with
activities for all ages.
To keep young children happy while
their parents and siblings learn about
courses and research, there will be free
rides, a bouncy castle and a petting
zoo. Older children can try rock
climbing and the Engineering faculty’s
pirate theme should again prove
popular, with its treasure hunt.
This year Open Day will be on Sunday,
August 15 from 10am to 4pm. Staff are
encouraged to lock the date in their
diaries and volunteer for the day, either
as part of their faculties and schools or
as one of our friendly ‘Help Point’ team
members in red.
Staff fora will again be held this year to
equip volunteers with the information
needed to answer questions from high
school students and their parents and
teachers. Sessions will be held on
Wednesday July 21 (MCS Lecture
Theatre G.33) and Friday July 23
(Robert Hews Lecture Theatre on
Nedlands Campus) from 10am –
10.45am with morning tea supplied.
Tara McLaren, Open Day project manager,
said she hoped most of the staff who
were planning to work on Open Day
would take advantage of the sessions.
“They will get so much information
including a New Courses 2012 overview
and staff guide, so you’ll feel confident to
answer all the queries we expect,” she
said.
The popular staff ‘toolkit’ with frequently
asked questions (and their answers) will
also be distributed at each forum. While
it will have plenty of information about
New Courses 2012, staff are reminded
that many of the Open Day visitors will
be Year 12 students who will begin their
studies at UWA next year under the
current course structure.
The Open Day website is now live and
includes the print-your-own-program
feature. Staff are asked to encourage
their friends, families and neighbours to
go to the UWA website and plan their
day before August 15.
Prizes will again be offered for our Open
Day staff volunteers. “We want to
encourage as many people as possible
to volunteer and make this the best
Open Day yet,” Tara said.
Prizes will be announced and
presented at the wrap-up party for
staff that now traditionally follows
Open Day.
Look for further information
about Open Day on the website at
www.open.uwa.edu.au
Volunteers last year included students
Robert Szewczak (left) and Regan
Bleechmore with Helen Morrell
The University of Western Australia UWA NEWS 28 June 2010 13

Tasty science produces the best food
The Science Library Café is changing the way students
feel about ‘Guild food’.
It is an organic café, serving more than 95 per cent certified
organic food and drinks and using fair trade products where
possible.
Rodney Taylor, Operations Manager Catering Division and Sales
at the Guild, said they had decided to go organic after a clear
message from students through the Guild Council that they
wanted fresh healthy food on campus.
“We wanted to do something different with this café,” Mr Taylor
said. “We have so many outlets now for the same number of
students that we needed to offer them something new.”
He said many people had the wrong idea about food from Guild
cafés and refectories. “It is all prepared and produced by
professionals with high standards, but it seems to have become
a tradition to complain about Guild food, without even trying it.”
All the cooked food, the coffee, tea, milk, chocolate, bread, fruit
and vegetables, pasta, rice, meat, nuts, oil, fish and pulses are
certified organic. “It’s very hard to find organic sea salt, but we
do have organic pepper,” Mr Taylor said. “We also stock Nudie
juices, Casa yoghurts and a banana and choc chip bread which
are not organic but they are fresh and preservative-free.
“You are allowed five per cent non-organic food while still calling
yourself an organic café, but we have less than that. It took us
a while to source everything, but now we get most of our
produce from one specialist organic supplier,” he said.
“A lot of life is feeling good about yourself and we are giving
the staff and students the option of doing this by buying and
eating organic. We’re not forcing a lifestyle on anybody,
just offering it.”
Goyo Choi, the café supervisor, said the students especially
liked the organic coffee.
“It costs them 10c more for a cup, but they say it’s worth it
because they love it,” she said.
Mr Taylor said prices were not generally higher in the organic
café than in other Guild venues. It has been open for three
months and, in another three months, the Guild will survey the
customers for their opinions about the new café and its food.
Rodney Taylor and Goyo Choi serve organic food at the new café
Print?
JAZ2381b
Oral health for
baby boomers.
From cracked teeth and old llings to more serious concerns, oral
health issues experienced by people in their middle years require
special care to conserve a youthful, natural smile. Dr Chai Lim and
his team have a special interest in dentistry for baby boomers.
Call now for
a consultation 93891482
visit www.drchailim.com.au
Hampden Road Dental Care Nedlands
Experience the difference
Whatever you need to print, UniPrint
can print it. From a newsletter to
an annual report. A brochure to a flyer.
What’s more, we can also design it,
create quality artwork and see the
whole job through from start to finish.
See UniPrint too for all your copying
and binding needs. UniPrint is your
printer on campus.
UniPrint-it!
6488 7790
uniprintjobs@admin.edu.uwa.au
uniprint.uwa.edu.au
2381_HampdenDental_UWA_ads.indd 2
23/2/06 11:13:32 AM
14
UWA NEWS 28 June 2010
The University of Western Australia

UWA News classified
NOTICES
Friends of the Library
Tuesday 13 July 2010 7:30 for 8pm
Science Library meeting room,
Third Floor
Professor Jane Davidson
What makes music expressive?
This talk will discuss musical
expression in terms of production and
perception in performance. It will
focus on comparing solo piano
performances given by some of the
world’s greatest interpreters to
explore what characterises the
similarities and differences between
performances to make them more or
less expressive and appealing.
Jane Davidson is the Callaway/Tunley
Chair of Music at The University of
Western Australia. She has written
more than 100 scholarly publications
and secured a range of research
grants. Her research interests are
broad ranging and include music
psychology, music education,
musicology, music theatre, vocal
performance and contemporary
dance.
PHYSICS SEMINAR
Tuesday July 27
3:30-4:30pm
Room 2.15 Physics building
Dr Matthew J. Hole (ANU)
Beyond Electrodynamics:
Thermonuclear Ringtones of Burning
Plasmas
The talk will outline some recent
developments in the measurement,
interpretation and modelling of high
frequency energetic particle driven
modes in the Mega Ampere Spherical
Tokamak.
For more information, contact Gay
Hollister at School of Physics
(ghollis@cyllene.uwa.edu.au)
PROMOTION BRIEFS
Provided by Elizabeth Hutchinson,
Executive Officer, Academics
Promotion Committee, Human
Resources
PROFESSOR
Professor Matthew Hardin
(Chemical and Process Engineering,
School of Mechanical Engineering)
Professor Hardin’s research interests
are currently crystallisation (including
projects in alumina precipitation
modeling) microfluidics, and a
continuing interest in growth rate
dispersion, environmental and
economic assessment of process
engineering, including industrial
projects with Water Corp as well as
desktop studies on biofuels
practicality in Western Australia.
He has contributed to programs that
have led to improved quality and
efficiency in teaching such as
standardisation of course
requirements and design, projectbased
learning and clear referenced
assessment.
In a campus emergency
dial 2222
Professor Michael McLure
(Economics, UWA Business School
Professor McLure has established
himself as an internationally-respected
scholar in the history of economic
thought and is now co-editor of the
History of Economics Review. During
the next two years, he plans to work
on two major projects. The first is to
co-edit the English language
‘variorum’ edition of Pareto’s Manual
of Political Economy, which will be
modeled on the Italian language
‘critical edition’ from 2006. He then
plans to investigate the path that A C
Pigou followed to obtain a Fellowship
at King’s College using archival
resources collected during his 2009
visit to Cambridge. This will provide
the platform to his long-term research
project comparing the second
generations of the Cambridge and
Lausanne traditions in economics.
He has been the Deputy Head of
Economics since early 2009.
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
Associate Professor
Katie Glaskin
(Anthropology and Sociology, School
of Social and Cultural Studies
Associate Professor Glaskin’s
research interests are primarily
concerned with aspects of Indigenous
Australian societies. She has two
focal research interests: the first is
legal and applied anthropology,
specialising in native title, customary
land and marine tenure and property
relations. Her second main research
area links a series of related themes,
dreams and concepts of personhood,
creativity and innovation, memory and
emotion. Current research includes
work on humanoid robots in Japan
and on the anthropology of sleep.
She coordinates the Graduate
Certificate/Diploma in Applied
Anthropology (Native Title and
Cultural Heritage), a specialised
postgraduate course. She has been
fundamentally involved in the
development and teaching of this
course, and in developing two of its
four units, from its inception.
Associate Professor
Eileen Thompson
(UWA Business School, Teaching
and Learning)
Associate Professor Thompson’s
research objectives are aligned to her
responsibilities associated with
professional development and
leadership within the Faculty and in
the wider University community.
Her research is closely linked to UWA
Strategic Schemes such as the
Teaching and Learning Initiatives
Scheme, the Outcomes Based
Education Scheme, the Course
Experience Questionnaire Scheme,
and the Improving Student
Satisfaction Scheme.
Her primary goal is to improve the
student learning experience by
providing professional development
and support to all teaching staff in the
Business School. As Faculty CATLyst
and in collaboration with colleagues in
Security staff will call the emergency services, direct them to you
and come to help you while waiting for their arrival.
It is more efficient and effective to dial 2222 than to call 000.
the Centre for Advancement of
Teaching and Learning (CATL), she
has contributed to the enhancement
of teaching and learning across the
University through professional
development initiatives and grant
schemes.
RESEARCH GRANTS
AND CONTRACTS
Grants awarded between May 29
and June 11, 2010
AUSTRALIAN NUCLEAR SCIENCE
AND TECHNOLOGY
ORGANISATION (ANSTO)
Winthrop Professor David Blair,
Associate Professor Li Ju, Dr
Linqing Wen, Associate Professor
Chunnong Zhao, School of Physics:
‘Searching for Gravitational Waves
With the Laser Interferometer
Gravitational Wave Observatory
(LIGO) and Technology Development’
— $6,400 (2010-10)
BAYER SOUTH EAST ASIA PTE
LTD
Associate Professor Wallace
Cowling, School of Plant Biology:
‘The Application of Factor Analytic
Models with Correlated Genetic
Relationships to Improve the
Efficiency of Hybrid Rice Breeding for
International Environments’ —
$84,000 (2010-12)
CSIRO FLAGSHIP
COLLABORATION FUND
PROJECTS
Professor Malcolm McCulloch, Dr
James Falter, Associate Professor
Ryan Lowe, Assistant Professor
Julie Trotter, School of Earth and
Environment: ‘Ocean Acidification and
Environmental Change Across a
Widening Tropical‐Subtropical
Gradient’ — $199,000 (2010-12)
CHEMISTRY CENTRE WA
Ms Rebecca Ovens, Dr Neil Coles,
WA Department of Agriculture and
Food: ‘Evaluation of the effectiveness
and environmental risks of the
application of lime‐amended
biosolids-clay blends to Bassendean
Sands’ — $30,475 (2010-10)
FISHERIES RESEARCH AND
DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
Associate Professor Anya Waite,
Dr Lynnath Beckley, Mr Nick
Caputi, Mr Simon Delestang, Dr
Ming Feng, Mr Andrew Jeffs, Mr
Peter Thompson, School of
Environmental Systems Engineering:
‘The Biological Oceanography of
Western Rock Lobster Larvae’ —
$413,323 (2010-12)
MEDICAL AND HEALTH
RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE
FUND
Associate Professor Christopher
Beer, School of Medicine and
Pharmacology — $13,368 (2010-10)
UWA welcomes the
community on campus for
a smorgasbord of visual
and performing arts
activities. July 3-11.
See www.culturalprecinct.
uwa.edu.au/winterarts
Achieve teaching skills
that meet the needs of
our future students
Applications are now open for the new Graduate Certificate in Tertiary
Teaching. Responding to national and international trends in quality
teaching, the Graduate School of Education has introduced this course
to assist tertiary educators working in higher education.
Course enquiries can be made to:
Assistant Professor
Mark Pegrum
6488 3985
mark.pegrum@uwa.edu.au
CRICOS Provider Code: 00126G
The University of Western Australia UWA NEWS 28 June 2010 15

The value of
collaborative
networks
the last word …
There is much said about the value of collaboration
these days.
We are encouraged to collaborate in our research endeavours
by our Federal Ministers, our Vice-Chancellors and our
colleagues. Collaboration is seen as the right thing to do,
along with mentoring junior staff, applying for grants, and
complying with the demands of constant reporting.
But why is collaboration so valued? And when does it
work well?
In late May, I attended the Worldwide Universities Network
(WUN) meeting in Washington DC with Alan Robson and our
Research Development Officer (International) Agi Gedeon.
The World Universities Network is focused on a set of Grand
Challenges.
These Grand Challenges are multidisciplinary in nature, such as
Adapting to Climate Change, or Understanding Globalisation,
and already we are seeing real traction with our researchers
taking advantage of the opportunities offered by the WUN. The
two latest additions to the WUN, the University of Cape Town
and the University of Auckland, will both provide collaboration
opportunities for our staff as we already have strong existing
networks with these universities and there are comparative
advantages offered by such a southern hemisphere
collaboration. But of course we collaborate with many
institutions worldwide, not just the WUN.
One reason that collaboration is so often encouraged is that
it allows us to work on problems that we couldn’t possibly
undertake alone. One particular example of this is the work
associated with the Square Kilometre Array project, involving
space scientists from across the globe, and in particular joint
efforts from New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, as this
global array of receptors is constructed.
But it is not only large-scale science that needs this level of
collaboration. Understanding the patterns of migration in
response to climate change or developing policy for globalised
higher education and research training can only be done when
researchers from different parts of the world compare
knowledge, share data, and work towards a unified
understanding of the issue at hand.
A second reason for collaboration is the strategic advantage
gained through collaboration in accessing resources, including
funding.
WUN central provides a small pool of grants for tripartite
collaborations among member universities, and many of the
member universities have Research Collaboration Awards
similar to our own. Some of our researchers have leveraged
funding from UWA, from WUN central, and from the partner
universities for their research projects, allowing travel,
workshops, student and ECR mobility, and the development of
jointly-authored publications and applications for larger grants.
It is a key ambition of the WUN to put together internationally
Professor Robyn Owens
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research)
competitive teams of researchers to successfully access much
larger grants from international bodies such as the World Health
Organisation, the Gates Foundation, the UN, and other large
funding agencies like the NSF or the European Framework.
The third reason for collaboration, and the one that I think is the
most important, is that it improves the communication of our
research results.
While some researchers might not identify their own work with
global problem-solving or large-scale funding, we all believe in
doing high quality research that the rest of the world cares
about. And if the rest of the world is going to value the work we
do, then they have to find out about it. In centuries past, while
scholars often worked alone, they had strong networks of
colleagues for the communication of their results. The value of
their work, and the extent to which it influenced other key
scholars around the world, was critically dependent on who
they informed and how those scholars were able to build on the
ideas.
Gone are the days of publish or perish. The real challenge is to
get read and get cited. Collaboration, particularly with
researchers in the world’s highly-connected, most cited
universities, is the key to getting our research on the centre
stage.
In the end, researchers collaborate because they are
passionate about sharing the development of new ideas.
The Worldwide Universities Network is just one aspect of UWA’s
international partnerships but it offers a global, connected set of
colleagues across all disciplines and facilitates the
communication of our research ideas so that what we do
matters to others.
UWA NEWS
EDITOR/WRITER: Lindy Brophy, Public Affairs
Tel: 6488 2436 Fax: 6488 1020
Email: lindy.brophy@uwa.edu.au
Hackett Foundation Building, M360
Director of Public Affairs: Doug Durack
Tel: 6488 2806 Fax: 6488 1020
Designed and printed by UniPrint, UWA
UWAnews online: http://uwanews.publishing.uwa.edu.au/
UniPrint 78846
16
UWA NEWS 28 June 2010
The University of Western Australia