Murdoch University International Study Centre Dubai and Murdoch Media and Press Association present:

Published by: Murdoch Dubai | Submit stories and photos to the editor at anastasia.mankhaeva@murdochdubai.ac.ae

November - December 2008

A student newsletter from Dubai’s Campus of

Murdoch University.IN THIS ISSUE:

FROM THE EDITOR’S MACBOOKPage 2

REVIEWS AND PREVIEWSPage 3

CAMPUS EVENTS Page 4

INAUGURAL GUEST LECTUREPage 4

STAND UP FOR A GREEN EARTHPage 5

MURDOCH OPEN DAYPage 6 - 7

MURDOCH INAUGURATIONPage 8 - 9

DIWALIPage 10

HALLOWEENPage 11

GUEST LECTURESPage 12

MURDOCH OUT AND ABOUTPage 13

CLUBS AND ASSOCIATIONSPage 14

CAMPUS SPIESPage 15

Located on the fourth floor of building 10 in Dubai International Academic City, Murdoch University International Study Centre Dubai opened its doors

to students on August 24th.Contact: 04-4355700 or info@murdochdubai.ac.ae for details about the offered courses.

Issue No: 1 www.murdochdubai.ac.ae

E D I T O R I N C H I E F :

ANASTASIA MANKHAEVAWith Contributions from Murdoch

Staff and Students

On August 24th, 2008, the university opened its doors to students for the first time. November 2008 marks

another first, and you’re holding it in your hands right now - the first ever issue of the Murdoch Dubai Newsletter.

Well, what about October? What happened in October? Oh, October was a very busy month for us as you’ll see on

the pages of this very newsletter. From Sheikh Nahyan visiting our campus to having our very own Murdoch film crew

out on location shooting a documentary.

We’ve also had a few guest lecturers in our Journalism and Radio classes. And not forgetting the MBAs, they also

had an award winning guest lecturer visiting the class for an interesting talk on leadership.

Although we’ve only just started, already there’s a number of clubs that have been organized by the founding

students of Murdoch. Media and Press Association (the guys who put this newsletter together) is just one of them. Our

Environmental Society, although very young, have already kicked things into gear and organized the university to get

involved in this year’s Stand Up session.

Don’t worry, you can expect the number of clubs and students to grow as the new year kicks in.

This newsletter has been produced by students of Murdoch University with plenty of support from faculty and staff

of the university. We’ll have plenty of photos and articles for you to read every issue. If you’re a student (whether

undergraduate or postgraduate), you can contribute even if you’re not a member of the Murdoch Media Association.

Not a student at all? No worries! You can still contribute to New Horizons, as we’ll have some guest columnists

contributing to our newsletter in the forthcoming issues.

If you don’t feel like writing an article, but would like us to cover an event, or write about a topic of interest to you,

don’t keep it to yourself, let us know so we can work something out. Whilst I’m on the subject of contributions, if you

have any feedback about the newsletter, feel free to drop an email to anastasia.mankhaeva@murdochdubai.ac.ae and let

me know what’s on your mind.

Have fun reading the first issue and watch out for an exclusive behind the scenes look into Dubai International Film

Festival in our next issue!

~Anastasia

From the Editor’s MacBook

Making history. First lecture at the new Murdoch campus on August 24th, 2008 at 0900

NEW HORIZONS

Reviews and PreviewsEvery month, the members of the Media Association will review an album, book, or movie and we’ll let you

know whether it’s worth catching, or whether it’s something not worth bothering about. If you’d like us to review

something, contact the editor.

NEXT - MICHAEL CRICHTON

Today, many of us look to genetic research for medical cures and therapies, but why stop there? What if genetic modification could create talking animals, clouds that bear advertising messages, or plants that would grow actual human or animal tissue? That's the theme of Michael Crichton's Next, which uses a loose narrative, dozens of characters and intertwining stories to bring readers up to speed with the possibilities, not to mention the ethical questions associated with the highly competitive and often overly-regulated world of cutting-edge genetics.

The narrative is difficult to keep up with as Next almost never stops adding new characters, right through to the end. If you're going to read it, it's best to do so in as few sittings as possible. Difficulties aside, Next is another reminder for us that Crichton truly has mastered the art of blending science fiction with real-world education, and a trip through one of his novels will leave the average reader far better informed about the subject of one of his books. That's definitely the case here, as the story infuses the plot elements with ripped-from-the-headlines issues, and even news article write-ups (some real, some not) that appear frequently in between chapters.

So it's a good read and you'll fly through the pages if any of the topics Crichton usually writes about appeal to you. The man knows how to lay a story out as efficiently as possible, cutting through unnecessary descriptions to deliver play-by-play accounts of the most pertinent information as he relies on readers’ imagination to fill in any blanks. Next however, is most likely one of Crichton’s books that won’t be turned into a movie, and not because of the slightly odd title. The book is goofy, at times, silly even; but it delivers the goods when it comes to explaining complex concepts in a way everyone can understand.

Crichton created the popular series ER and is the only person to simultaneously have had the number one book, movie and TV show in United States. Published in 2006, Next is the last book published before Michael Crichton lost his battle with cancer on November 4th this year.

By: Anastasia Mankhaeva

METALLICA - ‘DEATH MAGNETIC’

Album Rating: 4/5

After having strayed from their thrash metal path with their albums such as

“Black” and “St. Anger”, Metallica are back with their new album Death Magnetic, which resembles their early music. Listening to their album over and over was a treat: from the bass in “Cyanide” to the catchy riffs in “Broken, Beat and Scarred”.

The first track, “That was just your life” sets a pace for the next nine tracks to come. The tracks are fast and heavy, just what you expect from Metallica. “The Unforgiven III” sets its mark; it doesn’t compare very well to the first two Unforgivens, since there wasn’t a need to have the third Unforgiven, but it’s different from the other tracks on the album. It is slower and would be liked by non-thrash metal fans as well.

The video and lyrics of “The day that never comes” are about humanity and human relationships, also featuring the duel solo between James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett. The rest of the tracks such as “The Judas Kiss” and “The End of the line” were a great listen, more or less hitting their mark. The best song on the album

being “All Nightmare Long”. This felt as if it was right out of their Master of Puppets album (1986).The album’s final pieces, “Suicide and Redemption” -their only instrumental 20 years after “Ajfa”- and “My

Apocalypse” bring depth to the album with Hammett and Hetfield’s guitar work.Death Magnetic as an album hits its mark, and will hopefully bring old estranged fans and new ones under the same

roof.

By: Nikhita Sanotra

ALIENS CAN BE MADE MORE HUMAN, SAYS PROFESSOR

Do we as humans treat people we do not know as aliens? That

was the underlined theme of the inaugural public lecture given by

Professor Michael Innes, Pro-Vice Chancellor of the Murdoch

University International Study Centre, Dubai, at the university

lecture room on the 9th of September.

In his lecture, “The Aliens amongst us and how to detect

them: The psychology of being human”, Professor Innes said,

“We’ve always got something to differentiate ourselves from the

others. This is ubiquitous in our world.” He explained there was

an “in group” and an “out group”, and that people in the “in

group” generally tended to find differences between themselves

and the people in the “out group”. This often led to tagging the

out group as ‘alien’, he said.

The lecture was attended by the students and staff of the

newly opened International Study Centre at the Dubai Academic

City. It began with Ms. Lauren O’Mahony, the Journalism lecturer,

introducing Professor Michael Innes, who has been in the field of

psychology for quite a few years now. Professor Innes has been a

professor of psychology at Murdoch University in Perth as well as

The James Cook University. He has held the position of executive

dean at the University of Adelaide, has published widely with

almost a hundred general articles, ten book chapters and two

books. His research interest lies in the dynamic of group

relationships and organizations.

In the lecture, Professor Innes explained the concept of “the

alien”, as often they are stereotyped into being “different,

incomprehensible, uncommunicative and terrifying.” The key to differentiation, he said, was in knowing how many

and what sorts of different people we met each day and what level of interaction we had with them. Personal

experience and the media could also help influence our perception of the other people or the “aliens”. He gave

examples of alien themed movies and how they have influenced the public to form an image and opinion of aliens.

So, how do we distinguish “humanness” from “alienness”? Professor Innes stated that humans were aware of

themselves and others around them; they were conscious, felt emotion within them and could also feel the emotion

of other humans. Humans had language that had created culture, morality and values leading to humans being

more civilized than any other species on planet Earth. Aliens did not have or lacked some of the above mentioned

characteristics.

He concluded the lecture by saying the concept of the ‘alien’ was to accommodate differences. “So, the next

time a predator comes to your neighborhood, try to understand him, and you might make him a better alien if not a

better human,” he said.

By: Nikhita Sanotra

INAUGURAL GUEST LECTURE - SEPTEMBER 9, 2008

Campus Events

Professor Michael Innes explains the concept of ‘the alien’

Campus Events

STAND UP FOR A GREEN EARTH - OCTOBER 19, 2008

Students and Staff of Murdoch University Stand Up for a Green Earth

MURDOCH STANDS UP!

Murdoch University in Dubai International Academic City recently participated in the Stand Up and Take Action

Campaign on October 19, 2008. The Stand Up & Take Action Campaign: Mission Green Earth focused on addressing the

issue of sustainable environments to encourage action and commitment to a sustainable lifestyle by intelligent management

of water, energy and waste in personal, official and public lives. The ‘Mission Green Earth’ international campaign also

conducted a giant tree plantation drive around the world. The challenge targeted 100 million people ‘standing up’ between

October 17, 18 & 19 and to have 70 million trees planted up to mid-July 2009. Murdoch University Dubai plans on

planting trees early next year.

The Students and Staff all wore the ‘Stand Up and Take Action’ T-shirts and dressed as much as possible in green.

In the Stand up Session, Master of Ceremony Anastasia Mankhaeva gave the gathering members of the group background

information on what they were standing up for. This was followed by Nikhita Sanotra, the Event Coordinator leading the

group in taking the pledge.

Twenty five people stood up for this cause on our campus.

This action was counted as part of an official Guinness World Record for the most number of people to simultaneously

stand up against poverty and in support of the Millennium Development Goals over a 48 period.

By: Judith Josephine

MURDOCH OPEN DAY - OCTOBER 25, 2008OPEN DAY FUN

The Murdoch Open Day attracted many students from all over the UAE. The University organized a

“Best Radio Presenter” competition and a “Best TV Presenter” competition in which all students and parents

who came to visit could take part.

The prospective students were shown around the campus including the radio and TV studios, the

computer labs and the library. The competitions took place in the radio and TV studios.

A professional make-up artist was brought in to apply make-up for everyone taking part in the Best TV

Presenter competition.

Judged by the staff of Murdoch University, the Winners of the Best TV Presenter Competition were:

1. Zainab Husain - Commerce Student at Murdoch

2. Judith Josephine - Media Student at Murdoch

3. Nikhita Sanotra - Media Student at Murdoch

The Winners for the Best Radio Presenter Competition were:

1. Hisham Khan - School student, Open Day visitor.

2. Nikhita Sanotra - Media Student at Murdoch

3. A. R. Sharath - Media Student at Murdoch

All winners received an iPod as a prize. First place winners also received certificates and a voucher to see a

movie at Cine Star Cinemas.

Compiled by: Nikhita Sanotra and Anastasia Mankhaeva

Campus Events

MURDOCH OPEN DAY - OCTOBER 25, 2008

SHEIKH AL NAHAYAN INAUGURATES MURDOCH

His Excellency Sheikh Nahayan Bin Mubarak Al Nahayan, the UAE Minister of

Higher Education and Scientific Research, inaugurated the Murdoch University

International Study Centre Dubai campus at the Dubai International Academic City

on Monday October 27, 2008.

Murdoch University Vice Chancellor, Professor John Yovich AM, was also present

at the event along with the Executive Director of Dubai Knowledge Village and Dubai

International Academic City, Dr. Ayoub Kazim and Chairman of Global Institute

Middle East and Murdoch University International Study Centre Dubai Mr. Zafar

Siddiqi.

His Excellency Sheikh Nahayan Bin Mubarak Al Nahayan was welcomed at the

campus by students, staff and members of the press and after the ribbon cutting

ceremony was given a tour of the newly opened facilities by the Murdoch University

International Study Centre Dubai Pro-Vice Chancellor, Professor Michael Innes.

In his inaugural speech His Excellency congratulated

Murdoch University in Dubai for its initiative and

success. He expressed his belief in the Centre becoming a

valuable part of higher education in Dubai and the

United Arab Emirates in providing its graduates with the

knowledge and skills required in today’s global age.

Professor John Yovich, Vice Chancellor of Murdoch

University, expressed his sincere appreciation of the

support the University has received from the UAE

Government: “Murdoch University acknowledges the

support and foresight of the UAE Government in

providing world-class academic infrastructure to

encourage the development of quality higher education

and training for the benefit of its workforce”, he said.

By: Murdoch Marketing Department

Murdoch Dubai faculty and staff with visiting members of Murdoch Australia and Chairman of Global Institute ME.

Campus Events

MURDOCH INAUGURATION - OCTOBER 27, 2008

Murdoch Dubai Media students and faculty with visiting MCC Head of School, Chris Smyth

Campus Events

DIWALI - OCTOBER 28, 2008DIWALI - FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS

Murdoch students celebrated Diwali in style by

dressing up in national costumes for class. Diwali, a

major Hindu holiday, and a significant festival in India is

celebrated by Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs across the globe

as the "Festival of Lights," the time when people light

diyas to signify victory of good over the evil within an

individual.

Diwali is usually a five day festival and is the

homecoming of Lord Rama of Ayodhya, after a 14-year

exile in the forest and his victory over the evil demon-

king Ravana. According to legends, the people of

Ayodhya welcomed Lord Rama by lighting rows (avali)

of lamps (deepa), thus its name: Deepavali. Over time,

this word transformed into Diwali in Hindi and

Dipawali in Nepali, but still retained its original form in South and East Indian Languages.

By: Anastasia Mankhaeva

Campus Events

HALLOWEEN DRESS UP - OCTOBER 30, 2008What’s October without Halloween? But what is Halloween exactly?Halloween originated from the ancient Celtic festival known as ‘Samhain’ The festival of Samhain is a

celebration of the end of the harvest season in Gaelic culture, and is seen to be regarded as the "Celtic New Year".

The ancient Gaels believed that on October 31, now known as Halloween (from ‘All Hallow’s Eve’ or the ‘All Saints Day’), the boundary between the living and the deceased dissolved, and the dead become dangerous for the living by causing problems such as sickness or damaged crops. The festivals would frequently involve bonfires, into which the bones of slaughtered livestock were thrown. Costumes and masks were also worn at the festivals in an attempt to copy the evil spirits or placate them.

Nowadays, Halloween is celebrated all over the world. The typical way to celebrate Halloween is trick-or-treating, costume parties, visiting scary places, carving Jack-o’-lanterns, reading scary stories, watching horror movies and traditions set out by individual families.

Here at Murdoch, we’ve started our own tradition. Those who came dressed in costumes received Kinder eggs. Everyone also received goodie bags filled with cookies, candy and muffins.

By: Anastasia Mankhaeva

Campus Events

Guest Lectures

In the first semester, Murdoch welcomed a number of Guest Lecturers to help our students understand the local

industry from professionals in the field.

In October, the Journalism class welcomed Business 24/7s Vigyan Arya who spent two weeks discussing journalistic

ethics as well as laws in the United Arab Emirates.

And this is only the first semester! The next semester at Murdoch is sure to welcome even more guest lecturers as the

students enter into the second semester of their first year at Murdoch Dubai.

Compiled by: Nikhita Sanotra and Anastasia Mankhaeva

On Wednesday 29th October, the MBA class welcomed Col (Dr) S.P. Wahi, the Chairman

and founder of the SPW Management and Technology Consultants company. He is the

receiver of the 2007 Life Time Achievement Award for his contribution in the Upstream

Oil Sector by Petrotech Society, India. Col S.P. Wahi gave a talk on leadership to the

MBA students.

On November 2nd, the Journalism students got a real treat! Bronwyn Nielsen, a presenter

from CNBC Africa took the class in for a real journey in broadcasting journalism. She

shared her experience with the students and taught them the basics of Broadcast

Journalism. Bronwyn also touched on techniques on how to interact with the camera,

body language and facial expressions and led the class in practical exercises during the two

hour tutorial class held after the lecture.

November 12th welcomed Radio DJ Dev from Pulse 95.3, Morning Daily Radio show.

Dev spent an hour with the Introduction to Radio class discussing the finer points of the

radio industry as it is today.

NEW HORIZONS

Murdoch Out and About

MURDOCH’S FIRST FILM CREW

MURDOCH NOT KIDDING AROUND - JUMPS INTO ACTION AND SHOOTS ITS FIRST FILM BEFORE FIRST SEMESTER ENDS

October marked another first for the university. The

university’s film crew spent a day shooting documentary

footage at the 12th Indian Golf Tournament held by the

Indian Golfers’ Society on October 16, 2008. The tournament

took place at the Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club.

The Independence Cup Tournament created by the

Indian Golfers’ Society 12 years ago, is a unique way to

celebrate India’s Independence by Indians in Dubai.

Participants are able to enjoy a game of the sport they all love,

not to mention an excuse to be able to get out into the sun and

network with fellow compatriots.

Usually, India's Independence Day is observed on August

15 to celebrate its Independence from the British and the

country’s birth as a sovereign nation on the same day in 1947.

This year, the Indian Golfers’ Society held the tournament two

months after the Independence Day celebrations in India,

partially due to the Holy Month of Ramadan, which forbids live events

from being held during the 30-day fast period. The scorching hot August

weather also contributed to pushing the event to October.

In his address to the golf society at the wrap up of the event in the evening, His Excellency Shri Venu Rajamony, Consul General of India to Dubai and one of the chief patrons of the Golfers Society, noted that celebrating a country’s independence shouldn’t be limited to just one day and in fact should be celebrated all throughout the year.

From an outsider’s view, the event was well organized, with over a hundred people playing the 18 holes, there was little commotion and few hold ups as people moved from hole to hole smoothly tending to save friendly chatter for the golf cart trip between holes. Once out on foot, golf clubs in hand, it was all business as focus turned to the game. Golf balls were whacked about the green as members of the society

showcased their golf playing skills in an effort to win one of the 12 trophies handed out at the end of the day. And the Murdoch team was there to capture it all on tape!Saba Siddiqi, part of the Murdoch crew filming the day’s events, later said, “it was very interesting to see how much passion goes into the game.” She noted that it is a real eye opener for any newcomer to the game of golf as watching people play in the hot weather shows how passionate they are about a sport.

The film crew spent a whole day following the events of the tournament, shooting footage of the players and the facilities for a documentary that is currently set to undergo post production before its release at a forthcoming Indian Golfers Society event.

By: Anastasia Mankhaeva

The Team : Regan Castro, Saba Siddiqi and Anastasia Mankhaeva

Great timing! Saba Siddiqi captures the moment.

TIPS FOR A BETTER ENVIRONMENT

Bulk Purchases. Avoid products that are packaged for single use (i.e., drinks, school lunches, etc.).

Instead, buy in bulk and transfer the products to your own reusable containers.

Avoid Trash. Avoid creating trash wherever possible: when ordering food, avoid receiving any

unnecessary plastic utensils, straws, etc.

Avoid Shopping Bags. While shopping, if you only buy a few products skip the shopping bag. For

larger purchases, bring your own. A lot of shops now offer re-usable Jute bags for sale.

Reuse envelopes. Look for design features that support reuse - for example re-sealable envelopes,

or space for multiple addresses.

Print Preview. Always click on print preview before printing to check your document for typos etc.

Avoid having to print twice! Conduct a print preview, to make sure efficient paragraphing and pages

are correct. Choose the correct font size for your printing, and use the function 'shrink to fit' to use

the paper adequately. Always check on screen for errors before you print.

Walk, don't take the lift. Lifts use an awful lot of power moving us up and down. Why not walk

up or down the stairs instead - get fit while saving energy consumption (lose kilos, save joules).

Switch off your monitor when not in use. Even if only for 10 minutes. Your monitor uses

twice the energy of your PC. Also Turn off your computer at the plug when you leave for the night -

also switch off any other equipment that goes into stand-by mode when not in use. Stand-by mode

uses up a substantial amount of energy that is wasted.

Use blinds to reduce solar gain in summer and save on air conditioning costs.

Print or photocopy on both sides of the paper.

Think before you print: Before you hit the print button, ask yourself if you really need the

content printed or could you maybe just settle for reading it off the computer monitor.

More information available at:

http://www.edf.org/article.cfm?contentid=39

http://www.globalstewards.org/ecotips.htm

http://www.bbk.ac.uk/sustain/staff-students/rorytips

Clubs and Associations

The newly formed Murdoch

Environmental Society held its first event -

the Stand up for a Green Earth session.

We’re planning on planting trees sometime

next year!

In the meantime, the environmental

society will be roaming around the campus

ensuring Murdoch stays green!

Want to join?

Contact Nikhita Sanotra by email

at nikhita.sanotra@murdochdubai.ac.ae or

Anastasia Mankhaeva.

Nikhita Sanotra - Event Co-ordinator Anastasia Mankhaeva - Master of Ceremonies

The Environmental Team

GREEN EARTH ONE CAMPUS AT A TIME

Campus Spies

Photos by: Nikhita Sanotra, Judith Josephine and Anastasia Mankhaeva