Leading Griffith University researchers have been honoured at the Vice Chancellor’s Research Excellence Awards held at the Gold Coast campus.
The awards were presented by Senior Deputy Vice Chancellor Professor Ned Pankhurst and Chancellor, Mr Henry Smerdon AM.
“Tonight’s nominees and winners are only part of Griffith’s research excellence story,” Professor Pankhurst said.
“I am sure you all agree that the 2016 Vice Chancellor’s Research Excellence Awards showcase just the tip of the University’s proud research legacy.
“On behalf of the University, I take great pleasure in congratulating the winners and commend the far-reaching benefits and diversity of your research.”
Excellence in Research Leadership
The award for excellence in research leadership was awarded to Professor Paul Taçon, Director of Griffith University’s Place, Evolution and Rock Art Heritage Unit.
For more than 36 years, Professor Taçon has been exploring the rock art sites of Australia and south-east Asia, while collaborating with Indigenous people in archaeological research.
In 2016 alone,
Category: Griffith University Feed
Bridging the Gap: Analysing Regulations and Gender Norms in the Workplace
Professor David Peetz and of the Centre for Work, Organisation and Wellbeing, and Professor Georgina Murray have released a new book that they have edited that aims to reshape how we look at gender gaps.
The concept for Women, Labor Segmentation and Regulation: Varieties of Gender Gaps comes from Peetz’s 2015 article in the Cambridge Journal of Economics which explains that the nature of gender gaps varies between situations and there is no single explanation for those gaps.
“By gender gaps, we are mainly talking about the difference in pay between men and women, but also differences in other aspects such as conditions and exposure to things like harassment,” Professor Peetz said.
“I have done some research in a number of different industries, and it struck me that when you are looking at gender gaps affecting women in particular areas the nature of the differ. They are differing according to how regulated or unregulated
University research support for Domestic Violence Centrelink Debt Waver Bill
Reforming the law to allow the Centrelink debts of family or domestic violence victims to be waived is long overdue.
This is the view from Griffith University social justice researcher Dr Lyndal Sleep, who has provided strong support to the recent move by Independent MP Andrew Wilkie, to introduce to parliament a private bill aimed at relieving the burden for such victims on Centrelink payments.
MP Wilkie introduced to parliament a private bill late last month, aimed specifically at relieving the burden for such victims on Centrelink payments.
Existing legislation allows for debts to be cleared in special circumstances, but Mr Wilkie believes it’s vague and may not apply to some situations.
The Social Services Legislation Amendment (Relieving Domestic Violence Victims of Debt) Bill 2017 gives Centrelink the specific power to waive Centrelink debts incurred by victims of domestic violence due to the abuse.
“I applaud Mr Wilkie’s concern about this area of law and
Soil – not a load of dirt!
Not only do soils produce 95 per cent of our food, they are also responsible for creating our clothes, shelter and fuels.
But with most people only seeing soil as dirt and something to vacuum off the floor, Griffith University is changing that perception showing how important soils are to humankind and our environment.
To do this Griffith is supporting ‘Let’s Get Dirty’, an artist in resident program and the first of the Art in Soil Initiative held by Soil Science Australia.
In partnership with Soil Science Australia, Griffith will also host the first national symposium on the benefits of using recycled organics on degraded and marginal landscapes, being opened by Queensland Chief Scientist Professor Suzanne Miller on Thursday (June 15).
In Let’s Get Dirty artists have the opportunity to work in conjunction with soil scientists in developing an artistic work over the next six months, culminating in an Art in Soils exhibition. Queensland College
Entrepreneurship student wins Hackathon and Startup Weekend
Griffith student Joshua Murchie has shown he has what it takes to make it in the world of big business. The co-founder of Griffith’s Entrepreneurship Club has spent the past couple of months taking out major innovation awards at both the Griffith Hackathon and the Startup Weekend Gold Coast.
The Hackathon was an event spread over two days, with next to no sleeping allowed, where student teams gathered to create new and exciting ideas to develop and pitch to a judging panel.
Josh’s team won the Best Idea and Best Team at the Hackathon for their app concept, which streamlined how students plan their course load at university and capitalised on opportunities to build friendship groups and networks. The team’s winning design allowed a student, or course adviser, to plan out their degree and share an uneditable copy with a friend or fellow student so they can mix and match their
Vice Chancellor recognised in Queen’s Birthday honours list
Vice Chancellor and President of Griffith University, Professor Ian O’Connor, has been recognised for contributions to the community in the Queen’s Birthday 2017 honours list.
Professor O’Connor was awarded a Companion of the Order of Australia when Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove publicised the honours list on Monday (June 12).
“I am not only surprised but extremely humbled and honoured at receiving this award,” Professor O’Connor said.
“I am immensely proud of what we all have achieved at Griffith University and this award is recognition for all the dedicated staff who have made such a difference to the lives of our students.
“The growth of our University to stretch to five campuses in the south-east has ensured there are now more opportunities and options for those wanting to access higher education.”
Professor O’Connor, Griffith’s longest-serving Vice Chancellor, is among almost 900 people to be recognised this year, a list made up of scientists, health professionals, academics,
Five minutes with…Ashlea Troth
Associate Professor Ashlea Troth has always been interested in people. She likes to know what makes them tick!! We spend a lot of time in the workplace, she says, and how one thinks and feels at, and about work, has a huge impact. So we spent five minutes with Ashlea to learn a little more about what she thinks and feels about being a researcher…
In what area/s does your research interests lie?
Ultimately, I’m interested in things that improve [employees’] work experiences, their wellbeing, and from that, their performance. We spend a good chunk of our lives at work and thus our worklife experiences have a big impact on our overall quality of life as well as our identity. This is one of the reasons why I moved across from social psychology to organisational behaviour; it has greater practical implications for a large group of people. More specifically, my research focuses
Financial planning passion key for practice manager
Not everyone could juggle part-time study, managing a financial planning practice and still find time to teach scuba diving on the side.
But not everyone has Bachelor of Commerce student Jessica Harris’ passion for her industry.
Ms Harris was working in a different field when she decided she wanted to focus more on finance.
“From what I was aware of, and had read, the finance and commerce units at Griffith University were very highly regarded,” she said.
In her first year, she completed a financial planning subject and fell in love.
Real-world information and supportive lecturers encouraged Ms Harris to start searching for a new job that would allow her to put this passion into practice.
“I was ambitious, but also had tangible experience, which enabled me to get the role that I did,” she said.
Ms Harris was employed by My Wealth Solutions as a client service officer, but was told they were also searching for a practice
Griffith experts available to analyse Queensland budget
Looking for someone to dissect the Queensland budget?
Griffith University is home to a range of experts who can talk about the budget on a broad scale, or narrow in on issues including power prices, political impact or the regions.
Professor Fabrizio Carmignani: Head of Accounting, Finance and Economics, Professor Carmignani specialises in economic growth and macroeconomics. He’s also an expert in fields such as tourism economics and the economics of natural resources.
Location: Nathan campus
Dr Liam Wagner: If you want to talk about power, Dr Wagner has you covered. He specialises in energy economics, renewable energy and electricity markets.
Location: Nathan campus
Professor Tony Makin: Professor Makin specialises in Government budgeting and fiscal policy. He’s worked for the International Monetary Fund and on budgetary issues in the federal departments of Treasury and Finance. He can also talk macroeconomics and international economics.
Location: Gold Coast campus
Professor Anne Tiernan: Professor Tiernan is available to talk
Marine Science student strives to save our oceans
Rahd Youakim is only in his second year studying Marine Science at Griffith University but he already has big dreams about how he’s going to save the planet.
Those aspirations are already getting noticed, with Rhad receiving a Young Scientist Encouragement Award offered by ATA Scientific, a scientific instrument company.
The topic of their latest competition, which is normally reserved for post-graduate students, was focused on climate change and how we can develop innovations to minimise the negative effects.
Rahd is an active conservationist who is majoring in Coastal Physical Sciences. His career goal is to be one of the leading figures in Australia for sustainable fishing aquaculture practices.
Rahd plans to establish his own research groups, one in each state along the east coast of Australia exploring different temporal environments and maximising the yield production for each zone with minimal to zero impact.
“A big dream, yes I know! But my mum once told