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A pilot study on a new model of probation and parole in Queensland has been found to reduce reoffending rates by 28%.
The Environmental Corrections model of offender supervision was designed by Griffith University criminologist Dr Lacey Schaefer, and trialled at a probation and parole district office in southeast Queensland.
After six months, the recidivism rate for offenders supervised at the trial office was substantially lower following the introduction of the new model of supervision compared to the rate of reoffending for those offenders supervised at the control office.

Dr Lacey Schaefer
“Queensland has a high rate of recidivism, so we proposed a new model to enhance the efficacy of its community supervision of offenders,’’ Dr Schaefer said.
Opportunity and propensity
The Environmental Corrections model addresses the two main factors leading to crime – opportunity and propensity.
“Rather than applying generic supervision stipulations, offenders’ routine activities are restructured so that exposure to crime opportunities are minimised.
“Probation and

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Entrepreneurship isn’t just for start-ups.
In the corporate world, it involves new business creation within established companies, the strategic renewal of existing business and, ultimately, the search for sustainable competitive advantage in an increasingly globalized economy.
Yet it remains elusive for many firms.
A collaboration between a practicing executive and a professor of international business, Joe Amberg and Sara McGaughey explore corporate entrepreneuring within a large conglomerate multinational enterprise – Siemens AG.
In early 2009, following a prolonged period of business stagnation and a huge bribery scandal, Siemens’ top management identified a severe lack of entrepreneurship as a critical issue.
The strengthening of ‘local entrepreneurship’ became a new priority in the strategic planning for 2010 to 2014.
By examining three contrasting ventures in the Siemens business unit ‘Fire Safety’ between 2008 and 2012, the authors identify key drivers and impediments that sustain inertia in corporate entrepreneuring within this global organisation.
A novelty of this study is the attempt

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Queensland Conservatorium jazz student Mario Conde is travelling to remote corners of the state as part of the annual Culture Train line-up.
The musical roadshow is part of Queensland Multicultural Month celebrations and features a series of free concerts in regional centres, from Bundaberg to Barcaldine, Longreach, Rockhampton and Winton.
Creating a musical melting pot
Mario originally hails from Bolivia and plays panpipes, fusing traditional South American and Western music.

Mario embarked on a Bachelor of Music (Jazz) at the Queensland Conservatorium several years ago, picking up several new instruments including trumpet, saxophone and flute.
“It was the best decision of my life,” he says.
“Learning to play jazz has changed me as a musician – I’ve learnt to play new instruments, but also been able to play jazz using traditional instruments like panpipes.
“I love creating a musical fusion – it makes my soul happy.”
Queensland Conservatorium Director Professor Scott Harrison said Mario was part of a diverse

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As a child in Poland, Dr Renata Buziak would collect plants from her family garden and the nearby forest to create all kinds of natural remedies.
It was part of life – knowing which plants were useful for healing.
It sparked a passion that would eventually lead her to the Queensland College of Art, working at a unique intersection between art and science.
Dr Buziak creates biochromes – images that form as plant matter and photographic materials decay together over time.

RENATA BUZIAK

“Science and art were one discipline in the past, before people and industry separated them,” she said.
“There are many similarities in the way artists and scientists work. We experiment, we look at results, we keep developing processes. We have questions we want answers to.”
Dr Buziak began creating biochromes when she was studying a Bachelor of Photography.
“I experimented with different processes, but I specifically chose this one because nature has always been my

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Queensland College of Art lecturer Professor Jay Younger is curating a major public art commission that will establish iconic gateways to the Gold Coast.
Professor Younger is lead curator for the Gateway Public Art Commission, which recently unveiled the winning design by New York-based design studio LO-TEK.
The work, HI-LIGHTS, will feature nearly 100 modified highway lights and poles that spell out the city’s name at two of its busiest entry points.

Both artworks will be located in highly visible areas, in the north along the Pacific Highway and in the south, near the airport on the Gold Coast Highway.
The northern artwork will stretch 100 metres and reach a height of 11 metres, with gold metallic paint highlighting the letters at each location.
The $2 million installation will bookend the Gold Coast for the next 50 years and is part of the Public Domain Improvement Program – a legacy project of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth

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