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Queensland College of Art lecturer Dr Julie Fragar has won the $15,000 Ramsay Art Prize People’s Choice Award.

The biennial art award recognises Australian contemporary artists under 40 working across any medium.

Dr Fragar’s oil painting, Goose Chase: All of Us Together Here and Nowhere, won the popular prize and has been acquired by the Art Gallery of South Australia.

“I am blown away by the support I’ve received – to be selected as the people’s favourite from an exhibition of such high-quality works and artists is an honour,” she said.
“The money will help keep my practice going, but more than that, it is about recognition from those you respect and a great opportunity to network with artists from around Australia.”
This year’s judging panel consisted of Rhana Devenport, Director of the Auckland Art Gallery, contemporary Australian Artist Nell, and Leigh Robb, Curator of Contemporary Art, Art Gallery of South Australia.
Dr Fragar was one of 21 finalists, selected

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Griffith University’s squad for round three of the Aon Uni 7s Series has been announced, and features four current students in Ellen Field (exercise science), Lauren Brown (sports management), Laura Waldie (dentistry) and Katie Curtis(education).
Griffith will be aiming to maintain a pattern which saw them finish fourth in round one and third in round two by qualifying for the gold medal final this weekend at the University of Qld.
The full Griffith squad is: Eseta Fangaloka, Sam Treherne, Nareta Marsters, Lauren Brown, Laura Waldie, Katie Curtis, Alysia Lefau-Fakaosilea, Phoebe Thomas, Ana Afuie, Ellen Field, Alana Elisaia, Tayla Eldridge.
All games in Round 3 of the Aon Uni Sevens Series will be live streamed on the ARU website at www.aru.com.au.

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Improving the knowledge and attitudes concerning sexual expression of people with dementia amongst health professionals, has been the goal of a Griffith study.
Dr Cindy Jones from Griffith’s Menzies Health Institute Queensland has been educating and researching what is commonly seen as a challenging and sometimes taboo issue in aged care.
Her research is just one of the subjects being discussed this September at Griffith during Dementia Awareness Month 2017, the theme of which is “You are not alone”.
A webinar training program
Using a webinar training program to assist health professionals in a variety of care settings, Dr Jones study aimed to increase awareness and understanding of intimacy, sexualities and sexual behaviours specific to people with dementia.
“As well as increasing awareness of the issues, we have also been guiding formal carers on how to better support people with dementia on these challenging issues,” she says.
The study evaluated the utility, quality and effectiveness of six, once a

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More flying foxes are colonising urban areas, leading to a cascade of negative events, including poor health of bats, nuisance to human communities and spread of Hendra virus spillover to horses.
An international team of researchers have been awarded a $2.2 million US National Science Foundation grant to study how humans are contributing to emerging infectious diseases passing from animals to people.
They aim to identify the underlying causes of flying fox urbanisation and commence a long-term habitat restoration project to reverse some of these trends.
The Griffith University team, led by Dr Alison Peel and involving Professor Hamish McCallum and PhD student Tamika Lunn, are leading the field components of the research.
“Changes in climate, combined with deforestation of winter habitat of flying foxes, creates periodic food shortages which sends the bats flying into towns and cities looking for food,” said Dr Peel, a veterinary disease ecologist.
“Many people think flying foxes are increasing

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New research from Griffith University suggests that current fault-based liability processes fail to accommodate autonomous vehicles.
The research paper argues the legal definitions for ‘accident’ and ‘personal injury’ will require major reform to account for the inability to establish fault where a vehicle is highly automated.
Griffith PhD Law candidate Mark Brady said the question of whether a driver is at fault in the event that an autonomous vehicle harms another person or causes damage is important.
“With a fault-based system, most require a person in control of the vehicle or a driver,” Mr Brady said.
“An autonomous vehicle doesn’t fit the current legislative definition. So, in order to establish who is in control, they need to create a legal fiction and displace that blame to somebody else – whether that be the manufacturer, the software provider, or some other fault.”
He also said that existing compensation and insurance schemes, such as the compulsory third

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When Barry Thomas chose to major in information technology and marketing at Griffith University more than 15 years ago, his choice of majors was seen as an odd match.
But this combination of skills helped shape this business powerhouse into the innovator and leader he is today, in the process changing the future of the pharmaceutical and medical device industries.
Today Barry is Vice President of Cook Incorporated and Director of Cook Medical Asia Pacific, a global medical device manufacturer.
His passion for Australian innovation and manufacturing sees him continually exploring ways to improve the overall industry by doing what he can to create a better outlook for the future.
“I believe that our future global competitiveness requires Australia to produce cutting edge products and services to the markets of the world,” says Barry. “Commodities are short term and cyclical at best.”
Barry graduated from Griffith University with a Bachelor of Commerce (IT & Marketing) in

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Eva Ballai fled war-torn Yugoslavia with just two suitcases — one filled with clothes; the other with nursing books.
The registered nurse came to Australia in 1992 as a political war refugee. Just 25 and already heartbroken at leaving her parents behind, Eva’s qualifications were not recognised in Australia and, with limited English skills, she had no idea how she was to build a new life.
However, she set to work, pursued her goals and has spent every minute since trying to make a difference.
Today Eva has a successful nursing career in which she proudly wears three important professional ‘hats’.
Operations Manager for Sydney-based aged care group Synovum Care, Eva is also a Commissioned Nursing Officer in the Australian Defence Force and the volunteer Director of the Australian Foundation for Disability Board.
The three roles might seem an unusual combination, but they allow Eva to care for society’s most disadvantaged and vulnerable citizens.
Eva Ballai

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