Issue 562 (March 2007) - Office of Marketing and Communications

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20inprintU Q N E W S , M A R C H 2 0 0 7WISESTWORDSAN ANCIENT JAPANESE RITUALHAS INSPIRED CREATIVITY ANDENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS.For generations, Japanese women havepushed themselves to their physical limitdiving for valuable abalone in Ise Bay atToba City in the Shima region 400 kilometressouthwest of Tokyo.Historical references to the women, known asama, date from as early as 900AD, but little otherpublished work on the cultural tradition is availableprior to the early 1960s.Dr Kumi Kato from UQ’s School of Languagesand Comparative Studies is adding a uniqueresource to the story of the ama in collaborationwith sound researcher, composer and musician DrRos Bandt.Dr Kato and Dr Bandt, of the Australian SoundDesign Project at the University of Melbourne,have collaborated to capture the life of the ama ofToba City in words, images and sounds.Dr Kato has also written a chapter basedon her research for Hearing Places (CambridgeScholars Publishing), a 35-chapter book focusedon the role of sound in understanding theenvironment which is due for release in October.Dr Kato has become fascinated by the ama’sdedication to the natural environment, the physicalextremes to which they push themselves whilediving and the sounds they make in between theirdives, known as isobue or sea whistle.During a two-week field trip in 2005, sheand Dr Bandt recorded the sights and sounds oftraditional ama life, interviewing 20 women agedbetween 54 and 88, in and out of the water.“These women dive up and down quitefrequently, so in between they have to breathequickly and go down again. Because they have atime limit of 30 minutes or an hour, their breathing,the whistle, is critical,” Dr Kato said.“I was also interested in these women’sphysical strength, but most importantly, theethics they had towards the ocean resource, theirspiritual connection with the ocean environmentand their observations about environment andclimate change.”The story of the ama, titled Waiting for the tide,will be featured in a one-hour special to be airedmid-year on ABC Radio National’s Radio Eye.It is scripted and narrated by Dr Kato and withDr Bandt’s specialist recordings it provides anin-depth illustration of the women’s life.An Australia Council grant enabled them toearn artist/research residency at ABC Radio,Sydney to compile and produce the material.Plans are also underway for a two-disc CDfeaturing the recordings and images, as wellas ama-inspired musical improvisations andcompositions by Dr Bandt.The project appears timely as modern hazardsseriously threaten the survival of the centuries-oldtradition.“Where once ama dived naked from boatsDr Katorowed by men, they now wear wetsuits andgoggles and only dive off the shore for 10 to 30days a year,” Dr Kato said.“It is interesting to know that women resistedboth goggles and wetsuits, fearing they wouldlead to over-harvesting.“In the region, women believe they areconnected to the Sun Goddess, who theirabalone is still offered to three times a year at theIse Shrine.“I believe the isobue symbolises thewomen’s strict sense of ethics and their senseof connection with the mythology and the oceanenvironment.“In the last 20 years the catch is a tenthof what it used to be and the women are fullyTHE UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND BOOKSHOPCURRENT BESTSELLERS1. Down to This (Bishop-Stall S)Univ. of QLD Press (PB) $34.95Non-Fiction Biography2. Suite Francaise (Nemirovsky I)Chatto & Windus (PB) $32.95Fiction3. Inheritance of Loss (Desai K)Hamish Hamilton (PB) $32.95 Fiction4. Inconvenient Truth(Gore A) Bloomsbury (PB) $35.00Environmental studies. Also availablein video or DVD format5. True Green (Mckay K & Bonnin J)ABC Books (PB) $19.95 Enviromentalstudiesaware of social and environmental changes thatsurround them – illegal fishing, pollution, erosionand climate change.”Dr Kato believes preserving the kindsof cultural traditions practised by the amahas much to contribute to conservation ofnatural environment, and as a whole, to theunderstanding of sustainability.“Such cultural practice is intangible andinvisible, but intangible cultural heritage, I believe,makes a vital linkage between nature and culture,science and humanities,” she said.“Safeguarding intangible cultural heritage isa new concept, and then of course there is thequestion of what do you do with it, and what canbe done about it.”6. CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet Book2 (Noakes M & Clifton P) Penguin(PB) $ 34.95 Health7. Perfume The Story of a Murderer(Suskind P) Penguin (PB) $9.95Fiction8. Bad Blood (Fairstein L) Little Brown(PB) Crime Fiction9. Perilous Power The Middle East &US Foreign Policy (Chomsky N &Achcar G) Hamish Hamilton (PB)$29.95 Politics10. Josephine Wants to Dance(French J) Harper Collins (HB)$24.99 Children’s Fiction
21CALLING ALLcatloversU Q N E W S , M A R C H 2 0 0 7LOVABLE FELINE COMPANIONSWHO HAVE DONE THEIR BIT TOADVANCE IMPORTANT SCIENCEARE NOW LOOKING FORFRIENDLY FAMILIES.Daisy, Butler and Pepper are among threehealthy and cared-for cats who are readyto be adopted after helping out in a studyinvestigating the factors involved in feline diabetesand obesity.UQ PhD scholar Marcia Coradini, whoconducted the research with veterinarians fromThe Centre for Companion Animal Health in UQ’sSchool of Veterinary Science, said the studynot only provided an insight into how diabetesdeveloped in cats and how to prevent it, but alsoafforded an avenue for many pound cats to bere-homed.“Just like in human medicine, diabetes is amajor problem in veterinary medicine, and as inpeople, obesity and lack of physical activity areimportant contributing factors in cats,” she said.“Thirty-two healthy cats helped us in thisstudy during the past year, many of whom havealready been adopted, however there are stillseveral wonderful cats looking forward to findingnew homes to go to.”All of the cats are healthy, de-sexed,Ms Coradini and Sissyvaccinated, de-wormed, on flea controlmedication, and microchipped.They cost $55 (the price of the microchip) andall have very different personalities, Ms Coradinisaid.“Many of them are tolerant of dogs, some arecuddly, others love to play and some are shy andprefer not to be among other cats,” Ms Coradinisaid.“One thing they all have in common is theylove attention.”The Centre for Companion Animal Healthcommonly re-homes rescued animals throughits unwanted pet re-homing program and has astrong commitment to promoting responsible petownership and the health and welfare of furry andfeathered friends.Through their studies, researchers at theCentre discovered that an early treatment with anovel insulin and low carbohydrate diet resultedin remission for most newly diagnosed diabeticcats.The discovery has been hailed worldwide,and is also being used towards furtheringunderstanding of the mainstream medical issueof diabetes and obesity in humans.Research is also underway to investigatewhy some owners make the decision to give uptheir pets. This study will look at the health andbehaviour of abandoned or surrendered pets, aswell as the owners’ knowledge, bond with thepet and expectations of the pet’s behaviour.For more information, phone 3365 2110between 8am and 5pm weekdays, or MsCoradini on 0414 011 393.Pictures of the cats and a brief description ofthem are available at the Centre’s website: www.uq.edu.au/vetschool/centrecah/in briefLITERARY STARS RETURNAward-winning authors David Malouf andVenero Armanno have returned to TheUniversity of Queensland Press (UQP) thisyear.Typewriter Music, (published in June) isDavid Malouf’s first new volume of poetrysince 1980 and will be one of the literarypublishing events of 2007.It has been more than 15 years sinceUQP has published new books by eitherauthor and publisher Madonna Duffysaid their return signalled an exciting anddynamic phase for UQP after a recentrestructure.“We have been working hard to reestablishUQP as a competitive publishingforce and I believe that this year’soutstanding list of books will cement ourplace in the hearts and minds of Australianreaders and booksellers,” Ms Duffy said.“2007 is set to be one of ourbiggest years yet, with more excitingannouncements to come.”Ms Duffy described Typewriter Musicas “a rich and revealing collection thatcontinues with Malouf’s earlier themes oftransformation, but also offers the new andunexpected.”Ms Duffy welcomed the return of “one ofQueensland’s best”, Venero Armanno withThe Dirty Beat (published in October), whichshe said is his most electric novel sinceRomeo of the Underworld.“This is Armanno at his finest,” Ms Duffysaid.“The novel opens in unforgettablefashion, with the narrator witnessing hisown autopsy. We are then taken on adizzying tour through the dark and dramaticexcesses of his life.”DEVELOPMENT ROLECarla Boeckman has been appointednew Director, Office of UniversityDevelopment and Graduate Relations. MsBoeckman was most recently Developmentand Alliances Director of Cambia, a not-forprofitresearch institute based in Canberrathat creates tools to foster innovationand collaboration in the life sciences forpublic good.Prior to this appointment, MsBoeckman was for three years AssociateDirector, Strategic Insight at the GenevabasedWorld Economic Forum.Ms Boeckman brings to UQ 17 yearsof program management, marketing andinternational experience, and holds aBachelor of Science in Mathematics fromthe University of Illinois and a Master ofArts in International Affairs from JohnsHopkins University.
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