UWA NEWS24 August 2009 Volume 28 Number 12

In this issue P3 DENGUE FEVER RESEARCH P7 CITY TO SURF TEAM READY P8 OPEN DAY PICTURES

continued on page 2

Shocking injuries to Olympic-level athletes, Australian footballers and cricketers make big news.

But the injury rate among professional musicians soars higher than a top C – or even the Eagles’ new ruckman Nic Natanui.

The School of Music’s Dr Suzanne Wijsman has a collaborative grant from the Australian Learning and Teaching Council to design and develop a national musicians’ health tertiary curriculum: a preventative strategy to ensure that tertiary music students remain healthy.

Dr Wijsman has spent more than a decade working in the area of musicians’ health issues. She has now joined forces with one of the world’s leading physiotherapists for musicians, Dr Bronwen Ackerman, from the University of Sydney, leading a team of music educators, healthcare professionals and academics on both sides of the country.

Music practice– nurturing health as well as harmony

It was research by Dr Ackerman (pictured above right) that found up to 90 per cent of music students reporting injuries related to playing their instruments.

Both she and Dr Wijsman use the word ‘shocking’ to describe the statistics on musicians’ occupational health. A landmark study in 1988, based on survey data from more than 2,000 North American orchestral musicians, found 82 per cent of performers reported an injury, with 76 per cent reporting an injury severe enough to affect their ability to perform.

“Since then many studies have been done with professional and student musicians that come up with very similar injury rates, unacceptably high in any occupational health field,” Dr Ackerman said. “It is a common problem in university when a sudden dramatic increase in playing hours usually occurs.”

And this is where Dr Wijsman and Dr Ackermann want to develop a curriculum component to teach music students how to protect themselves from injury, before they go on to become

by Lindy Brophy

2

Musicians’ health

continued from page 1

problem-plagued professionals, many of whom may go on to unwittingly teach bad habits to their students.

“Musicians are like elite athletes,” Dr Wijsman (pictured right) said. “Their level of skill and the time they spend using their bodies to achieve their best performances are similar. But in terms of the musicians understanding how they are using their bodies and why these injuries happen, they are a very long way behind athletes.”

There are several major risks to a music student or performer developing an injury. Nearly every survey shows overtraining to be a constant injury theme, compounded by the very physical act of playing an instrument, often in sustained awkward postures.

“However, most of these risks can be greatly reduced if students understand how to best manage their optimal performance health,” Dr Wijsman said.

“The music student must have enough aerobic conditioning to withstand the long hours of playing, enough flexibility to safely adopt the often extreme

postures required to play, and enough strength of supporting muscles to prevent them from collapsing into poor posture and movement patterns by the end of performance due to muscle fatigue,” Dr Ackerman said.

Understanding how the body works is critical in managing playing schedules well (to avoid overload), to be able to apply good postural concepts even on non-ideal chairs, to better manage stress in performance situations and to be fit to play.”

The unique demands imposed on the body when playing a musical instrument may create injuries if there are training errors (such as muscle overuse) that are relatively rare in normal health clinics and require specialised knowledge and care. For example, focal dystonia can emerge in three main ways with musicians - a cramping in the hands (focal hand dystonia), a lip pulling or locking in the face or jaw (embouchure dystonia) or a tremor when trying to do a particular specific musical task.

Other disorders include those related to high upper airway pressures in wind instrumentalists such as soft palate injuries and lip muscle ruptures. Lower back problems are common in lower string instrumentalists (cellists and bassists) due to the reach required to play, while neck problems are more prevalent in upper string musicians (violinists and violists) due to holding the instrument between the chin and shoulder. Tendinopathies in the arm are highly common in most musicians, as

are compressions of peripheral nerves (carpal tunnel syndrome).

Both researchers experienced injuries as young musicians. Dr Wijsman developed a back problem and can see the genesis of this in a photo of her at the age of

eight while playing the cello, which shows a twisted spine. It was an aspect of her playing posture that would not begin to be addressed for 15 years, and then only with retraining.

Dr Ackerman suffered a soft palate injury while playing the clarinet.

But these injuries are not confined to orchestral performers. They occur across ages and genres including jazz, folk and rock.

“We hope to develop a tertiary curriculum that can also be adopted by schools and individual music teachers,” Dr Wijsman said. “We are aiming for a program that is flexible in its delivery and accessible, especially for Australia, where young musicians can be isolated by long distances. Production of a DVD is one method we plan to use to make the curriculum available in regional areas.

“This project is an exciting opportunity to better prepare music students for the stresses of playing their instruments and so create the opportunity for lifelong healthy performance practices.

82 per cent of performers reported an injury, with 76 per cent severe enough to

affect their performance

UWA NEWS 24 August 2009 The University of Western Australia2

A new course in infectious diseases is benefitting from first-hand experience among some of its students.

PhD candidate Balvinder Gill, from Malaysia, is one of them who knows what it’s like to have Dengue fever. The experience has brought him to UWA to conduct research on the disease that he suffered.

The Master of Infectious Diseases course, directed by Winthrop Professor Geoff Shellam and supported by the Marshall Centre for Infectious Diseases (School of Biomedical, Biomolecular and Chemical Sciences), has attracted more than 50 students from around the world, including doctors, dentists, biomedical scientists, pharmacists, nurses and public health practitioners.

They have come from twenty countries around the world, including many from the Indian Ocean region.

“There are few other opportunities in the Indian Ocean region to train in infectious diseases,” Professor Shellam said. “This field of study has grown in importance in recent years with the emergence of several infectious diseases in the region including Nipah, SARS and Avian

influenza and the ongoing challenge of AIDS, Dengue and tuberculosis.

“We felt we needed to do something to help by offering some high level training to people in the region,” he said.

The first cohort of students has just completed the Masters course and Balvinder Gill is pursuing a combined Masters and PhD. His research is focused on the epidemiology of Dengue and the factors that contribute to its emergence.

Mr Gill, a senior public health official with a background in epidemiology, says Dengue is a big problem in Malaysia and it has proved difficult to contain the spread of disease with current mosquito control strategies (pictured above right).

He has brought to UWA a data base of more 200,000 Dengue cases over the past six years. This database will allow for the study of host and environmental factors affecting the spread and severity of the disease, and should provide information on more effective methods in controlling Dengue.

“The data base is a major contribution to studying Dengue in the region,” Professor Shellam said. “And this is a

Fighting Dengue fever

wonderful opportunity for collaboration with our colleagues in Malaysia.”

The data shows that cases of Dengue have markedly increased over the past six years. It also includes demographic, clinical and laboratory information on Dengue cases.

“One of our strengths in WA is the experience with data linkage, so we are hopeful of getting some good results,” Professor Shellam said.

But Dengue is not confined to Asian and African countries. There is also ongoing Dengue activity in northern Queensland.

According to virologist Dr Allison Imrie from the Marshall Centre, molecular tracking shows that it comes from Papua New Guinea and West Papua.

“What we don’t know is why some people with Dengue become sicker than others,” Dr Imrie said. “There is no vaccine yet and no answer to those questions: Who gets very sick? Who goes into shock? This has hampered the development of a vaccine for many years.”

The teaching staff for the Masters course includes two academics from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Diseases and a medical entomologist from the University of Sydney.

“The life experiences that the students bring to the course have helped to make this one of the best teaching experiences I have had at UWA,” Professor Shellam said.

PathWest is also a partner in the course, providing teaching in the diagnostic area. Professor Geoff Shellam, Dr Allison Imrie and Balvinder Gill

The University of Western Australia UWA NEWS 24 August 2009 3

4

Lung expert breathes hope into health of developing countries

Alan Robson Vice-Chancellor

Gary Lee is one of the most highly respected experts in the world in his field.

But UWA’s new Professor of Respiratory Medicine is a modest man.

He specialises in pleural disease, from mesothelioma and lung cancer to pleurisy and emphysema and is in demand all over the world to talk about his innovative research. He has been invited to nearly 20 countries to speak; he won a Fulbright scholarship for his PhD and has been awarded two career development grants by Britain’s Wellcome Trust.

But for all this acclaim, Professor Lee says he felt most valuable when he worked as a young medical student in Papua New Guinea.

He did a hands-on elective unit there. “That’s where I felt more useful than I’ve ever felt in my medical career,” he said.

“If I dropped dead tomorrow, there would be somebody else to take over my work here. But when you work in developing countries, you know you are doing important, necessary work.”

Professor Lee and colleagues have developed a new diagnostic test for tuberculosis pleurisy in developing countries which costs just $2.

The weather forecasters got it wrong – and the University got it right.

Open Day 2009 was a brilliant success. The rain held off but the crowds didn’t, and the University buzzed with families, tourists, sightseers, staff, students and, most importantly, our future students.

We attracted big numbers and the event went off without a hitch, thanks to months of planning and hard work by the Open Day Steering Committee, and the enthusiasm of hundreds of members of the UWA community, including staff and students, who gave up their time to help.

Most days, and particularly those when the semester is in full swing, our University is a vibrant and colourful place. But on Open Day it took on a positively festive atmosphere. Key to this were our volunteer helpers sporting their bright red tee-shirts; bundles of balloons; the aromas of popcorn and barbecues; the helicopter flights; trams circulating around the campus; and our music student ensembles adding their magic in some surprising places.

But beyond the fairground fun, most visitors could not have failed to be impressed with what this University contributes to the State, the nation, and the broader international community. That so many of our Schools and Centres showcased their talents reminded us – if we needed to be reminded – that our University holds a special place in the wider community.

Ours is a University without gates. We are accessible and open and we take our responsibilities towards the community seriously, whether it is in the

A campus within the community

fields of resources, engineering, agriculture, medicine and health, education, the environment, education, the arts or the social sciences.

And the information sessions and displays were compelling. More than 6,000 people attended our information sessions with many thousands more making up appreciative crowds at all our displays.

It was also pleasing that many visitors took time to recognise the University’s role in encouraging informed debate. They turned out in force for our impressive guest speakers: Professor Kim Beazley on the US under Barack Obama; Professor Peter Quinn on astronomy in the 21st century with the Square Kilometre Array; and Winthrop Professors Ken Clements and Ray da Silva Rosa on the global financial crisis.

Many also made serious inquiries about aspects of University, from our new course structure to mature-age pathways; from student exchange opportunities to our residential colleges; from serious study ending in worthwhile careers to the many sports and recreational facilities we offer.

I suspect Sir John Winthrop Hackett would have been well pleased with The University of Western Australia’s Open Day 2009.

Thank you to all who helped to make it such a success. Now the rain can fall.

UWA NEWS 24 August 2009 The University of Western Australia4

LEFT: Professor Gary Lee at Albert Docks, Liverpool, England, after speaking at a lung cancer conference

expert breathes hope into health of developing countries

He and colleagues in Florida have published on a new diagnostic test for tuberculosis pleurisy, one of the commonest causes of pleural effusion (excess fluid) in developing countries, which costs just $2. “We have helped set up the test in hospitals in the Congo, Burma and other poor areas where TB is rife,” he said. “This sort of work makes me feel useful.”

One of the most common problems in the pleura (the membrane lining the thoracic cavity and covering the lungs) is pleural effusion, or accumulation of fluid outside the lung. “About 3,000 per million people suffer from pleural effusion every year. One of the common causes in Western Australia is mesothelioma,” he said.

“There is no cure for mesothelioma; even chemotherapy can only extend a patient’s life for a few weeks. So the management of the fluid is the most important thing. Most people with mesothelioma are not afraid of dying

but they are afraid of dying terribly, of drowning to death.

“In continental Europe, the average age of a patient with mesothelioma is 75, but in WA, a lot of kids grew up in Wittenoom and, at the last count, there were more than 30 who had developed the cancer before the age of 40.You have to look at different ways of treating people of different ages, even when they have the same disease.”

Professor Lee’s research interests are understanding the mechanisms by which pleural effusions accumulate and stopping them from developing. He is also looking at a new way of draining fluids and leaving a little tube in place so patients can go home and spend the valuable remaining time of their lives away from hospital. One of his projects, supported by the State Health Research Advisory Council, examines the health economics of different ways to manage pleural effusions.

“The aim should be to find effective but also affordable treatments. There are a lot of things you can do without spending thousands of dollars,” he said.

“Although we are running large multi-centre trials on new indwelling pleural catheters, which cost several hundred dollars each, I have also given lectures in places like Honduras and Guatemala. There, one needs to be able to adapt the concept and use other small plastic tubes they can afford – but still allowing patients to be managed at home and control their symptoms.”

He said that complications could result from draining pleural effusion, to the extent that patients have died from them.

“The inside structure of the pleura is very variable and you can quite easily hit a vital organ with a tube. It’s easy to mistake things on X-rays for fluid. So now in the US only certain people are allowed to do the procedure and training programs have been set up in the UK.”

He has set up a teaching program in the respiratory unit at SCGH since arriving earlier this year. “RPH has sent their educational registrars to work with us and draw up a teaching program for the best way to educate junior staff on pleural procedures,” he said.

Professor Lee said Perth was one the best places in the world for research into pleural disease. “I came here 11 years ago and worked as Professor Bill Musk’s research fellow and was going to do my PhD here. I then won a Fulbright Scholarship and went to Vanderbilt University in the USA, then went on to Oxford.”

He is a Winthrop Professor in UWA’s School of Medicine and Pharmacology and a consultant respiratory physician at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and the Lung Institute of WA and the Centre for Asthma, Allergy and Respiratory Research.

The University of Western Australia UWA NEWS 24 August 2009 5

6

Dr Mark Pegrum (right) and some of his PD class: Librarians Belinda Shilkin, Michelle Mahoney and Ralph Kiel – a full bottle on wikis

“You don’t say: ‘I’m going to teach a lesson using pens’, so don’t say ‘I’m going to teach a lesson using wikis’.”

That is one of the first lessons from Assistant Professor Mark Pegrum from the Graduate School of Education, who is dragging UWA staff (sometimes kicking and screaming) into the world of new technology.

For those readers who just stifled a yawn (“What’s new? Isn’t the Internet more than 10 years old?”), you might be surprised to learn that ‘googling’ something (using Web 1.0 technology) is now considered old-fashioned.

Interactive technologies (Web 2.0) are taking over from the more static Web 1.0.

But Dr Pegrum is keen to see what is termed the ‘normalisation of technology’ at UWA. “I want people to see technologies as a set of tools for teaching, just like pens and whiteboards. But, in planning a course or a lesson, you must use pedagogy first, then look at what technologies would be best to help teach it,” he said.

This is what he teaches in his Masters in E-Learning and professional development courses for UWA staff. He has completed two 10-week PD courses, mainly for librarians, and some staff from CATL and Student Services. A third course begins in October.

“A lot of people find it really scary being forced to build a wiki from the first day of the course,” Dr Pegrum said. “And it’s not just the staff in the PD courses, it’s my Masters students as well.

“But if you can use Microsoft Word and email, you can use these technologies.”

He meets his PD class face-to-face every second Friday for five hours. In between meetings, they build a wiki – a collaborative website that is collectively drafted, added to, edited and refined. The process draws on the principle of collective intelligence. But what about collective ignorance?

“That would only be a problem with public wikis. Most wikis are only accessible to specific groups and in the educational realm, the teacher keeps an eye on content,” Dr Pegrum said.

“Wikis sounds like a recipe for disaster, but they are one of those things that work really well in practice, while not in theory.” (Wiki is a Hawaiian word meaning quick and comes from the Honolulu airport buses, wiki wiki, on the island.)

“In 2005, Nature published research that compared scientific articles in Britannica and Wikipedia. It found that, on average, Britannica had three errors in each article and Wikipedia had four. The research showed that Wikipedia really is working and, of course it has the advantage of being much more up-to-date than Britannica.”

Dr Pegrum’s PhD at UWA was in French and German and, as he started to teach both languages as well as English, he began using technology to help him. “Language teachers were one of the first groups to see the benefits of online teaching,” he said.

“The best teaching is interactive, with a blend of online and face-to-face class time. Online classes can encourage a more sophisticated level of discussion because students have time to think about what they want to say, check their references and reflect.”

Dr Pegrum teaches his Masters unit in e-learning in Hong Kong, Singapore and at UWA.

“We haven’t seen what Web 3.0 technologies can do yet. Creating an avatar of yourself and experiencing Second Life is still a bit clunky. But in five years, it will be the way to go.

“Already, people are using the technology to take part in conferences online. Physical representation (using an avatar of yourself) changes the nature of your interaction.”

In his professional development course, Dr Pegrum presents up to 20 tools to staff, including Twitter, newsfeeds, podcasting, Facebook, VoIP and virtual worlds, to help advance their teaching methods.

There are still places available in the October course. Contact Dr Pegrum at mark.pegrum @uwa.edu.au or at http://twitter.com/OzMark17

Normalising new technology

UWA NEWS 24 August 2009 The University of Western Australia6

“Lean on me” says the Vice-Chancellor, as he lends his support to the UWA staff and students who are taking part in the City to Surf Fun Run next weekend.

For the first time, Professor Robson is patron of the UWA team and, also for the first time, some of the participants will be running through the grounds of the University.

The runners in the inaugural City to Surf marathon will run through the grounds from south to north at the beginning of their 42.2 kilometre challenge.

The traditional event is a 12 kilometre run or walk. There is also an 11 kilometre wheelchair event and a four kilometre run/walk.

Christian Magaraggia (left) is an Honours graduate in Sports Science employed at UWA Sport and Recreation. He is running the marathon. Law student Jessie Smith (right) is running the 12 km course for the second time, as is staff member David Rogers (front right), from Employee Relations and Management Services.

Student Erica Thuijs (front left) is a resident of St Thomas More College, who ran the event last year but injured her anterior cruciate ligament in an inter-college netball game. This year she is a volunteer, working on a drinks stand behind the college, along the marathon route.

Professor Robson, as a former runner, was interested to hear how they were all involved with the City to Surf.

“Before I came to the Vice-Chancellery, I used to run 10 kilometres every day,” he said. But problems with his knees means he now keeps fit walking his labrador retriever.

Christian, who is co-ordinating the UWA team, expects about 150 staff and students to run in the UWA T-shirts.

City to Surf team ready

UWA loves its safety champions.

A wide range of work-related activities at UWA are inherently hazardous and require control measures to ensure that they can be conducted safely.

The UWA Safety Awards seek to recognise the considered efforts made by groups and individuals in establishing and maintaining high standards of safety and health.

Nominations are open for the annual UWA Safety Awards, to be presented during Safe Work Australia Week, in the last week of October. There are four categories of awards.

The UWA Safety Award (Group) acknowledges best practice in occupational safety and health management by faculties, schools or sections. Evaluation will take into account the different circumstances of the nominated areas and the extent and

significance of the systems approach and safety achievements made since 2008.

The UWA Safety Award (Individual) acknowledges outstanding contributions by individual employees in establishing and maintaining high standards of occupational safety and health activities and achievements within the University.

The UWA Safety Leadership Award is to encourage the recognition of heads, managers and supervisors for their efforts to improve or sustain high safety standards either at a business unit or corporate level.

The UWA Safety Recognition Award does not have any specified criteria. It may be for groups or individuals. Nominations may be made to recognise the efforts of current safety personnel or for a recently-completed safety-related activity or project.

Nomination requirements vary depending on the award. When nominating individuals it is recommended that the person being nominated endorses the submission to ensure accuracy and willingness to be acknowledged.

Nominations close on Friday October 2. Mike Rafferty, Manager Safety and Health, strongly encourages staff and groups to submit nominations.

“These awards help boost morale and keep us focused on safety and health issues, which is good for individuals, groups and the wider University community,” he said.

For more details go to http://www.safety.uwa.edu.au/whats_new and click on July 2009. For information on previous UWA Safety Awards go to http://www.safety.uwa.edu.au/people/committees/safety

If you feel safe at work … nominate!

The University of Western Australia UWA NEWS 24 August 2009 7

8

by Natali Morgan

Arr … It’s never too late to become a pirate, as visitors to this year’s UWA Open Day found out.

Armed with treasure maps in one hand and a bounty of faculty brochures in the other, hundreds of curious prospective students and their families were sent by staff in the Engineering marquee on James Oval on a campus tour with a twist – a treasure hunt that would have made Long John Silver proud!

It was an activity for all ages, with pirate hat-wearing participants seen ducking in and out of information stalls, faculty displays and information sessions throughout the day, joining thousands of visitors in discovering what being a UWA student was about.

Formerly known as Expo, this year’s successfully renamed Open Day got off to a busy start at 10am, with beautiful weather welcoming record crowd numbers onto the campus.

It featured more activities than in any previous year, including helicopter rides, interactive displays, workshops, a bouncy castle, climbing wall competitions, a tea-cup ride, quizzes and information stalls.

New to the Open Day agenda were compelling guest lectures, with presenters debating hot topics, including Barack Obama’s

www.ecm.uwa.edu.au

www.ecm.uwa.edu.au

Study Engineering, Computing and Mathem

atics @ U

WA

YoHoHo!

70721_FACENG priate hats_3.indd 1

23/07/2009 9:19:30 AM

regime, the global financial crisis and astronomy in the 21st century, to busy lecture theatres.

Tram rides to the new Business School opened up the southern end of campus to the public, creating a busy atmosphere wherever you looked, and the well-organised and (widely praised) Help Desks ensured visitors could navigate our campus with ease.

Students competing in the Australian University Games took turns training on James Oval, to give future students a taste of the other side of university life, and the talented School of Music SWAT ensembles kept people on their toes with impromptu jazz performances.

Popular Open Day demonstrations included the chemistry magic show; building an approximation of a human face, muscle by muscle; French films; the Japanese tea ceremony; create-your-own-comics classes and the design-your-own-keyring laser-cutting facility.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Alan Robson thanked all the staff who worked on making Open Day a success, particularly those who gave up their Sunday to show off the University.

A student’s life on the Open (Day) seas

UWA NEWS 24 August 2009 The University of Western Australia8

www.ecm.uwa.edu.au

www.ecm.uwa.edu.au

Study Engineering, Computing and Mathem

atics @ U

WA

YoHoHo!

70721_FACENG priate hats_3.indd 1

23/07/2009 9:19:30 AM

The University of Western Australia UWA NEWS 24 August 2009 9

10

Eight UWA teachers have been rewarded for their outstanding work by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council.

This puts UWA first in the State in the number of such citations and equal second across Australia.

The sought-after ALTC awards recognise academic and professional staff who have made long-standing contributions to the quality of student learning and improving the overall student experience.

The winners are:

Barbara Black, Director of UWA’s Albany Centre, for her sustained commitment to improving access to higher education in regional areas and providing high-quality learning experiences for regional students;

Winthrop Professor Ken Clements, Head of Economics, for 30 years of teaching and supervision and for the creation of the innovative national PhD Conference in Economics and Business;

Winthrop Professor Stephen Houghton, Director of UWA’s Centre for Child and Adolescent Related Disorders, for 20 years of postgraduate teaching and research supervision in Educational Psychology and Special Education;

Associate Professor Prue Manners, School of Paediatrics and Child Health, for developing paediatric rheumatology teaching over decades, culminating in an online pioneering virtual clinical program;

Winthrop Professor Neil Morgan, Law School, for inspiring law and criminology studies across culture, backgrounds and levels of study, through scholarships, fun and real-world relevance;

Winthrop Professor Tom O’Donoghue, Graduate School of Education, for contribution to student learning at UWA and beyond through innovative, rigorous and sophisticated postgraduate supervision and supervision education in Education Studies;

Winthrop Professor David Plowman, Management and Organisations, Business School, for sustained and energetic innovations in student learning at the discipline, university, and wider community levels; and

Kerry Smith, Course Controller, School of Sport Science, Exercise and Health, for sustained commitment to excellence in work-related learning, clinical training and remedial physical education.

Top teachers rewarded

It is doubtful whether the current exhibition at the Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery will result in many conversations between the artists.

But Conversations: 100 Artists in the UWA Art Collection will hopefully encourage art lovers in Perth to talk about the collection, one of the most important and valuable in the state.

Conversations is a two-part exhibition covering Australian art of the 20th century and into the 21st. Half of the works will be hung in the gallery until September 13, the second half from September 27 to November 15.

John Barrett-Lennard, gallery director and curator of Conversations, said great art collections, such as the University’s, must be public. “We must exhibit them, share them and care for them, to ensure they live into the future,” he said.

“Public art collections are built to tell stories – of art and its development, but also of the larger culture, of how we come to understand our world, of what people believe to be important in their lives, and of how we live in this country.”

Works in the exhibition range from a huge 180-piece mural by Sidney Nolan to an intimate 1896 watercolour of the Perth foreshore by Ernest Stocks. They include some valuable images created by young artists: Fred Williams’ Burning Off was painted when he was only 20 years old; Max Pam’s Herat, Afghanistan was photographed when he was 22; Robert Juniper produced untitled (The Founding of Australia) when he was 27.

During the second half of the exhibition, the gallery and the University will launch a major book on the UWA Art Collection, featuring works by all these 100 artists.

The gallery is open from Tuesday to Friday and on Sundays. Admission is free.

Come to the gallery for a chat

Guy Grey-Smith, Rottnest, 1954-57, oil on canvas

Imag

e: R

ober

t Frit

h, A

corn

Pho

to A

genc

y

UWA NEWS 24 August 2009 The University of Western Australia10

The world of astronomy, in all its beauty and wonder, often seems like a magical unreal place for those outside the field.

Now, Second Life, the latest Web 3.0 technology, that allows us to recreate ourselves online and experience another life, also stretches our ideas about reality.

Both phenomena are involved in an art event in the School of Physics.

Starlight: Celestial Visions on Second Life was the simultaneous launch of an astronomy art gallery and a replica of the Physics building and gallery in the 3D virtual world of Second Life.

West Australian astral photographer John Goldsmith (pictured right) joined forces with the leaders of the UWA Second Life Project, Jay Jay Jegathesan and Dr Chris Thorne (School of Physics) and Paul Bourke from the West Australian Supercomputer Programme (WASP).

“The night sky is a place of wonder, fascination and beauty, which I love to share with everyone, through my astronomical photography,” John said.

“Recording astronomical events above special landscapes, places of great scenic beauty, and places of special cultural significance is a wonderful and deeply satisfying experience.

“My photography is a form of documentary photography, recording as

Real versus virtual art

Pathology is not just a useful science – it also makes some pretty good pictures.

The School of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine presented some fascinating images as part of National Science Week, and is continuing the exhibition until the end of next week.

National Science Week (NSW) is Australia’s biggest science festival, with more than 800 events being held nationwide. Pathology and Laboratory Medicine won a grant from the Australian Government and were supported by PathWest to host their NSW event. The images, printed on canvas, are on display in the Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital art gallery.

The exhibition features a series of photo-micrographs taken from actual cases that demonstrate the many ways pathology is used to understand, diagnose and treat disease. Each image has descriptions to explain to a non-medical audience what they are looking at.

These images really do come from within

true-to-life real astronomical events and real celestial landscapes. Many are rare moments in time of unique astronomical events. It’s a sense of exploring the universe, discovering and learning, experiencing what the night sky has to offer.”

The exhibition is now a permanent feature of the Physics atrium and the Physics building has now become a permanent fixture in the UWA Second Life site.

“Space is said to be the final frontier,” said Jay Jay. “It is appropriate then that we are linking this exhibition of photographs of space with UWA’s first foray into Second Life, which is a new frontier that I think will become more and more important in years to come.

“We are creating a land that attempts to faithfully replicate what we see on the campus, down to the peacocks wandering the grounds. There will be something in it for everyone.

“Alumni, potential visitors and future students will be able to walk around the grounds of the campus. Lecturers and current students will be able to work and study in virtual classrooms that will add to their University experience,” he said.

“For researchers in 3D visualisation, there will be tools and an area for experimentation and comparison and display of their datasets. The phrase is often bandied about inappropriately, but in this case, we really are bound only by the human imagination.”

The gallery is on the ground floor of E Block, off Watling Street, which is the main internal walkway through the hospital complex.

After the exhibition the canvases will be returned to the School for permanent in-house display.

The University of Western Australia UWA NEWS 24 August 2009 11

12

A UWA research team has developed a Trojan horse-style molecule that homes in on endocrine pancreatic tumours, opening the gates for the body’s powerful immune system to attack the cancer.

Led by Professor Ruth Ganss (pictured), the group at the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research (WAIMR) has harnessed lipid-nanotechnology to package a potent inflammatory agent that, when unleashed, attracts millions of immune cells to disable the tumour.

The research was published in The Journal of Immunology in July.

Professor Ganss said the laboratory-tested process was unique in harnessing the body’s own immune system to fight tumours from inside, improving survival rates.

“What we’ve been able to do is to create a homing device for this known inflammatory agent so that we can, for the first time, send it straight to the tumour site without affecting other parts of the body,” she said.

“This process avoids toxic side effects and allows us to kick-start the immune system which is very powerful when focused on the tumour.

“The trigger for the immune system is the inflammatory agent that locks onto the tumour and inflames the area, something similar to what happens when you experience a rash on your skin, so immune cells come running to fight the infection.

“We’ve seen the immune system combat this type of pancreatic tumour well, using this process in a preclinical (mouse) model, and we hope our discovery will pave the way for improved treatments for people diagnosed with this aggressive cancer.”

Professor Ganss and other research groups have previously shown that in experimental models the injection of this inflammatory agent into tumours growing directly under the skin has a potent impact, but her new work offers an improved technique that pinpoints tumours deep within organs.

The creation of new, small molecules to deliver a substance into the body is known as nanotechnology and is a growing area of research, often used in medical imaging to view tumors.

This recent work of Professor Ganss’ team is based on a substantial body of work related to this inflammatory agent’s potential in tumour treatment, published in a 2004 edition of The Journal of Immunology.

This latest discovery was made possible through collaborations with Australian National University’s Dr Joe Altin and Professor Chris Parish in Canberra, and funding from the Medical Research Foundation at Royal Perth Hospital, National Health and Medical Research Council, and Cancer Council Western Australia.

Homing device takes tumours by surprise

English cricket club Bradford League was an unlikely hero of two world wars.

The Bradford League was the only significant stage on which professional cricketers could continue to display their skills during both wars, the Yorkshire town being relatively immune from German bombs.

UWA historian Tony Barker returned to his childhood roots in Yorkshire to dig out the story, which is now published as Cricket’s Wartime Sanctuary: The First Class Flight to Bradford.

More than 50 first class cricketers joined the Bradford League during the Great War and that number doubled in WWII.

Controversy was never far away – just as it is today – but the League was a major contributor to home-front morale.

Tony wrote the book while sitting in the University Club café. It was launched at the Co-Op Bookshop by 1960s cricket legend Graham (Garth) McKenzie, who took three wickets in 12 balls at Lords in his first Test match at the age of 19, finishing with 5/37 off 29 overs.

Cricket’s Wartime Sanctuary: The First Class Flight to Bradford is published by The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians in the UK. Tony has copies for sale for $35.

Cricket’s wartime sanctuary

UWA NEWS 24 August 2009 The University of Western Australia12

A partnership with the Indigenous Martu community in remote WA, and an online game targeting young people’s financial skills were two of the projects that won a student team a trip to Berlin to compete on the international stage.

The Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team, based at UWA’s Business School, were recently declared national champions in Sydney, from an original field of 20 universities with finalists from the University of Melbourne, Bond University and the University of New England.

SIFE is an annual international competition that rewards university teams for creating and implementing projects that positively impact the community. The Australian program is sponsored by major companies including Qantas, Cadbury and KPMG.

As the 2009 Qantas SIFE Australia Champions, the UWA team will compete against 40 other champion teams at the SIFE World Cup in Germany in October.

The team’s projects impressed the 36 Australian judges by meeting all the SIFE criteria: market economics, financial literacy, business ethics, entrepreneurship, environmental sustainability, competitive success skills, and team sustainability.

Last year’s SIFE UWA team was also the national winner, competing in the World Cup in Singapore, where it reached the semi-finals, to be ranked in the world’s top 16.

“The continued success of SIFE UWA shows that our University produces students who can make a practical and meaningful contribution to the community, even before graduating,” said SIFE UWA President, Law/Industrial Relations student Hayden Teo.

All five of the students who presented projects at the finals (representing the team of 40) were Law/Commerce students, Hayden Teo adding a Bachelor of Arts to his list. Hayden was named number two in the world for his argument skills at this year’s Jessup International Law Moot Court finals in Washington.

The SIFE student team is supported by Business School staff Dr Donella Casperz and Dr Doina Olaru. Dr Olaru was honoured this year with an individual award from SIFE as the most outstanding Australian faculty advisor.

Our students are the best in the business

With its dramatic lighting, this historic building on the Claremont campus is reminiscent of Hogwarts.

But it will be published, not in a Harry Potter story, but in the UWA Friends of the Grounds 2010 calendar.

Ray Scott, a senior technician in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, won the inaugural Friends photographic competition, Four Seasons at UWA, with this photo, which will grace the cover of the calendar.

“Photography is my hobby and I particularly like night photography,” said Ray. “I’ve taken a lot of pictures around the campus and decided I’d take the Claremont building as my daughter was married there on the front steps, so it’s special.

“I arrived there before it was dark so I was just waiting around and the security guard got suspicious and asked me what I was doing. When he found out I was on the UWA staff, he brought me a cup of tea and a biscuit!”

The judges for the competition, which was open to the whole community outside UWA, were thrilled by the enthusiastic response and the quality of the photographs. Photos were sent by visitors to UWA from as far afield as Saudi Arabia, London and Sydney, as well as by staff and students.

The best entries will be featured in a 2010 calendar reflecting all aspects of the diverse UWA campuses throughout the year. It will be launched at a combined Friends event on October 1.

An exhibition of the winning and highly recommended entries will be on show in the UWA Visitors Centre in September, with calendars on sale for $12.

Highly commended were Belinda Ireland from Organisational and Staff Development, postgraduate student Colin Miller, casual staff member En Khong (also the runner-up) and John Rux-Burton (a visitor from the UK).

The gardens of the Crawley campus are registered by the Australian Heritage Commission and are listed on the National Estate. But the calendar also features other UWA campuses, including the Albany centre and the cover shot of Claremont.

The Friends hope the competition will be on again next year.

A magic image – with a special meaning

The University of Western Australia UWA NEWS 24 August 2009 13

14

An unobtrusive patch on the arm is helping psychiatrists study the sleep patterns of people with schizophrenia.

Healthy sleep is important in maintaining physical and mental health, and allowing the body to regenerate.

Sleep disturbances are usually related to disruptions of the circadian rhythm, which synchronises most bodily functions to an approximate 24 hour cycle.

Research Assistant Professor Flavie Waters, from Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, and Psychology postgraduate Craig Sinclair (pictured above) are undertaking a pilot study to monitor the sleeping and waking patterns of people with schizophrenia.

Sleep disturbances are observed in 30-80 per cent of people with the condition, and contribute to increased risk of relapse, reduced quality of life, and poor adherence to medications.

Simple new technique to monitor sleep

A book that had its genesis at a UWA workshop in 2006 was launched at Parliament House last week.

An Enduring Friendship: Western Australia and Japan – Past, Present and Future looks at many aspects of the two States’ relationship. It has multiple authors and was co-edited by Assistant Professor Sachiko Sone, from Asian Studies’ Japanese discipline.

“About four years ago, the then Japanese Consul-General in WA, Mr Hiroyuki Ariyoshi, had discussions with us about a history book,” Dr Sone said. “The ideas came together at a

A friendship that survived a war

Dr Waters is hoping to document sleep-wake patterns in people with schizophrenia in their everyday environment.

“Very few studies have attempted to examine sleep-wake patterns longitudinally, and only with hospitalised patients. But it’s now possible to obtain a naturalistic and long-term profile of a person’s sleep-wake patterns in a way which was not possible before,” she said.

Modern technology has come to the rescue with actigraphy, a technique which records an individual’s rest-activity patterns and light exposure. The research participants simply wear a small watch-like electronic device on their non-dominant arm, and go about their normal daily routine.

The study will supplement this with a brief daily diary to confirm the patterns of activity and rest in people with schizophrenia, their immediate relatives, and in healthy controls.

Why include close relatives? The pilot study also hopes to collect some preliminary data on the inheritability of sleep disturbances. Poor sleep is a biological trait, and may be evident in first-degree relatives as well.

The study will also ask participants to note their subjective experiences, including any psychotic symptoms.

“This is one of the first studies which enables day-to-day scrutiny of the association between sleep and subjective experiences,” said Dr Waters.

workshop in September 2006, during the Australia-Japan Year of Exchange.”

More than 100 years of the relationship is documented in the book, published by the Westerly Centre and co-edited by Associate Professor Delys Bird. It was launched by the Premier, Colin Barnett.

An Enduring Friendship is now in more than 250 schools, government offices and libraries in WA, thanks to the financial support of Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Mitsubishi, the Parliament of Western Australia and the Chamber of Minerals and Energy.

UWA NEWS 24 August 2009 The University of Western Australia14

UWA NEWS classified

NOTICES

To celebrate its 10th anniversary year, the Lung Institute of WA (LIWA) is offering

nEW SCHOLARSHIPS TO FOSTER THE CAREERS OF YOUnG SCIEnTISTSThey include PhD top ups of $10,000 a year; $5,000 for Honours or Bachelor of Medical Science projects; conference travel fellowships of up to $2,500 and vacation cadet scholarships for 12 weeks employment over the summer.To find out more, come to LIWA’s information evening at 5.30pm on Wednesday September 9 at the Western Australian Institute of Medical Research, B block, QEII Medical Centre.For more information or to register your attendance, contact Sharon Squires-Hansen on 9346 4758 or at sash@liwa.uwa.edu.au

CEnTRE FOR InTEGRATED HUMAn STUDIES PUBLIC SEMInARWednesday 9 SeptemberMulticulturalismWith ECCWA president Suresh Rajan and Dr Daniel Stepniak.5.30 – 7pm, Seminar Room 1.81, Anatomy and Human Biology

CALL FOR nOMInATIOnS TO THE ACADEMIC BOARDNominations are invited for the election of academic staff and general staff to the Academic Board. Elections will be carried out by postal ballot in these two categories. Research staff should apply in the relevant category according to whether they hold an academic or general staff appointment.Further details of the requirements in each category, nominations forms and optional proformas for summarising prior experience may be found at the Academic Secretariat website.Given that there is considerable gender imbalance on the Board, nominations from women are encouraged.Completed nomination forms, together with optional experience summary proformas, must be returned to the Secretariat by 5pm Monday 7 September 2009.Prospective nominees should note that the Academic Board has four scheduled meetings per year, at 2.15pm on the third Wednesday of March, June, September and November. The meeting dates in 2009 will therefore be: 17 March, 16 June, 15 September and 17 November.Information on the Board can be found at: http://www.secretariat.uwa.edu.au/home/uwas_committee_system/board

RESEARCH GRANTS AND CONTRACTS

AnZ PHILAnTHROPY PARTnERS HOLSWORTH WILDLIFEAssistant Professor Harriet Mills, Miss Danielle Giustiniano, Animal Biology: ‘Paternity, Sperm Storage and Sperm Competition in the Critically Endangered Western Swamp Tortoise Pseudemydura Umbrina’ – $6,000 (2009)

Ms Mariana Cruz Rodrigues De Campos, Winthrop Professor Johannes Lambers, Plant Biology, Student Body: ‘Phosphorus Acquistion and Phosphorus Remobilisation Strategies of Native Plants on Sandplains in Western Australia Kwongan and Easter Brazil Cerrado’ – $5,000

ARC AUSTRALIAn LAUREATE FELLOWSHIPSProfessor Richard Hobbs, Plant Biology: ‘Intervention Ecology – Managing Ecosystems in the 21st Century’ – (2009-14)Winthrop Professor Michael Tobar, Physics: ‘Frontiers of Precision Time and Frequency’– (2009-14)

AGRESEARCH LIMITEDProfessor David Pannell, Dr Graeme Doole, Agricultural and Resource Economics: ‘Economic modelling of non-point source pollution – Lake Taupo’ – $12,971 (2009)

AUSAID InTERnATIOnAL SEMInAR SUPPORT SCHEMEProfessor Samina Yasmeen, Social and Cultural Studies: ‘Countering Militancy in Pakistan Domestic Regional and International Dimensions’ – $14,517 (2009)

AUSTRALIAn InSTITUTE OF MARInE SCIEnCEDr Sandra (Sam) Saunders, Biomedical, Biomolecular and Chemical Sciences: ‘Application of Lipid Ratio Determination to Hard Corals from Scott Reef Western Australia’ – $4,547 (2009)

BMT WBM PTY LTD EX SOUTH AUSTRALIAn WATER CORPORATIOnResearch Assistant Professor Matthew Hipsey, Earth and Environment: ‘Modelling Studies Associated with Environmental Impact Assessment of Seawater Flooding in the Lower Lakes, South Australia’ – $182,563 (2009)

DEPARTMEnT OF HEALTH AnD AGEInG Adjunct Associate Professor Robert Eikelboom, Surgery: ‘Strategies and Tools to Prevent Hearing Loss of Users of Personal Music Players’ – $468,600 (2009-11)

GRAInS RESEARCH AnD DEVELOPMEnT CORPORATIOnAssociate Professor Wallace Cowling, Dr William Erskine, Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture (Centre for), Plant Biology: ‘Conference Sponsorship Application: Exploiting Genome-Wide Association in Oilseed Brassicas: A Model for Genetic Improvement of Major OECD Crops for Sustainable Future Farming’ – $10,000 (2009)Research Assistant Professor Jonathan Clements, Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture (Centre for): ‘Travel Grant - Fourteenth Australasian Plant Breeding Conference’ – $1,790 (2009)Dr William Erskine, Associate Professor Susan Barker, Winthrop Professor Kadambot Siddique, Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture (Centre for), Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, Plant Biology, Institute of Agriculture: ‘Generation of Genetically Modified Herbicide Tolerant Narrow Leaf Lupin’ – $1,914,854 (2009-13)

Research Assistant Professor Jonathan Clements, Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture (Centre for): ‘Interspecific Hybrids in Lupins - Stabilisation and Trait Transfer to Fixed Lines for Lupin Crop Improvement’ – $450,000 (2009-11)Dr Louise Barton, Dr Daniel Carter, Mr Christopher Gazey, Ms Frances Hoyle, Associate Professor Daniel Murphy, Earth and Environment, WA Department of Agriculture and Food: ‘Fertiliser Management Strategies for Decreasing on Farm Greenhouse Gas Emissions’ – $1,000,000 (2009-12)

HEALTH DEPARTMEnT OF WAResearch Associate Professor Min Zhang, Population Health: ‘New Independent Research Infrastructure Support NIRIS 2009 – $10,000 (2009)

JO AnD JR WICKInG TRUSTWinthrop Professor Jane Davidson, Music, Musica Viva Australia: ‘Singing - A Healthy Way to Live’ – $60,000 (2010-11)

OFFICE OF SCIEnCE TECHnOLOGY AnD InnOVATIOnWinthrop Professor Keith Smettem, Dr Neil Coles, Dr Ray Froend, Mr David Weaver, Environmental Systems Engineering, Edith Cowan University, WA Department of Agriculture and Food: ‘Centre of Excellence for Ecohydrology’ – $1,500,000 (2008-12)

PERPETUAL PHILAnTHROPIC SERVICESWinthrop Professor Timothy Davis, Medicine and Pharmacology: ‘Busselton Diabetes Study’ – $76,000 (2009)

RURAL InDUSTRIES RESEARCH AnD DEVELOPMEnT CORPORATIOnDr Robert Sudmeyer, Dr Neil Coles, Environmental Systems Engineering, Ecohydrology (ARWA Centre for): ‘Agricultural Benefits of Green Manuring Leaf Biomass from Bioenergy Crops’ – $240,074 (2009-12)

TSW AnALYTICAL PTY LTDWinthrop Professor Roger Watling, Winthrop Professor Ian Dadour, Forensic Science (Centre for): ‘‘Forensic and Analytical Chemistry Grant (IV)’ – $220,000 (2009)

UnIVERSITY POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPSMr Rodolfo Jaffe, Plant Energy Biology (ARC Centre for), Animal Biology, Martin-Luther University: ‘Integrating Pre and Postcopulatory Sexual Selection in the Honeybee Apis Mellifera’ – (2009)

WA DEPARTMEnT OF AGRICULTURE AnD FOOD EX BEEF CRCAssociate Professor Dominique Blache, Animal Biology: ‘Feed Efficiency Maternal Productivity and Responsible Resource Use’ – $77,000 (2007-10)

WA DEPARTMEnT OF PREMIER AnD CABInETProfessor Shaun Collin, Animal Biology: ‘WA Premiers Research Fellowship Program – Professor Shaun Collin’ – (2009-14)Professor Malcolm McCulloch, Earth and Environment: ‘WA Premiers Research Fellowship Program – Professor Malcolm McCulloch’ – (2009-13)

WATER CORPORATIOn WAMs Rebecca Ovens, Dr Neil Coles, Environmental Systems Engineering, Ecohydrology (ARWA Centre for): ‘Establishment of a Field Trial to Assess a Lime Amended Biosolids and Clay Mix – LABC – for Improved Soil Characteristics in Ellen Brook Catchment’ – $28,635 (2009)

STAFF ADS

Classified advertising is free to staff. Email: staffads@uwa.edu.au

HOME SERVICENon-invasive moisture and leak detection, heat loss and electrical inspections. Contact Kris: on 0422 134 208 or kris@spectherma.com.au or visit the website www.spectherma.com.au

HOME EXCHAnGEHouse/flat swap London: Professor at UWA working part time here and part time in London. I am looking to swap my London apartment next year for a house/apartment in/near to Perth. Time frame mid March to end June 2010. Contact caroline.baillie@uwa.edu.au

In a campus emergency

dIal 2222Security staff will call the emergency services, direct them to you

and come to help you while waiting for their arrival.

It is more efficient and effective to dial 2222 than to call 000.

The University of Western Australia UWA NEWS 24 August 2009 15

the last word …

Uni

Prin

t 71

722

EDITOR/WRITER: Lindy Brophy, Public Affairs Tel: 6488 2436 Fax: 6488 1020 Email: lindy.brophy@uwa.edu.au

Hackett Foundation Building, M360

Director of Public Affairs: Doug Durack Tel: 6488 2806 Fax: 6488 1020

Designed and printed by UniPrint, UWA

UWAnews online: http://uwanews.publishing.uwa.edu.au/

UWA NEWS

Dr Robert PatuzziDirector, Clinical Audiology Program pictured above with the principal of a school for the deaf in China

In August last year I received with great pride the Harry Blackmore Award during Hearing Awareness Week for services to the WA Deaf and Hearing Impaired.

I thought then how academics often get a bad rap, because apparently we live in ivory towers and have no real-world experience. Odd!

While doing what UWA academics do (teaching, research and community service), I was almost killed in a car crash in the country, have been chauffeured to pandas in Peking, taxied by a general from Tehran, threatened by thieves in Rome, stalked by schizos in cyberspace, slept in a pissoir in Paris, found causes of deafness, met Americans who’ve known nothing of France, dried shirts on a fan in Bombay, picketed politicians in Perth, cleared a bookshop with ‘a bomb’ in Cambridge, watched a man die of old age in my audience, landed in Asia with no money or clothing, done stand-up in a casino in Copenhagen, spent weeks with a box taped to my head, cleared communist controls with no passport, lectured geriatrics in German in Germany, gazed as a girlfriend collapsed drunk on a Governor, dodged dugites in dunes in Duncraig, projectile vomited for students in Sydney, and strangled chickens for a Vice-Chancellor in China. But it hasn’t all been fun … and when I started nobody told me about the travel, or how I could help our community. And that brings me back to the award.

The Harry Blackmore Award was presented ‘for outstanding individual effort in ensuring the provision of quality audiological services to deaf and hearing impaired people in WA and raising public and professional awareness of hearing impairment’.

The award is largely in recognition of the work that my colleagues and I have done for almost a decade in designing and delivering the Master of Clinical Audiology program at UWA. We only succeeded because we could start from scratch, with an enormous and generous effort from so many members of the WA community, including our original private partners, Peta Monley at iHear Australia, Widex Australia who donated (and still donate) money for our student research projects, many audiologists who donate much supervision and advice, institutions that donate floor space and more (for example, the Telethon Speech and Hearing Centre in Wembley), and very special individuals such as senior audiologists Helen Goulios, Barbara Gell, Val Verma, Robert Wollaston, Karen Parfitt, and medicos and academics, Dr Stephen Rodrigues, Professor Marcus Atlas from the Ear Sciences Institute at QEII, and Professor Don Robertson at Physiology.

Strangling Chickens in China:

When I graduated in electrical engineering in the late 1970s, I had a deep interest in how bodies worked, and wanted to learn whatever I could. Friends steered me to Professor Brian Johnstone, a physicist in the School of Physiology. Brian welcomed me into his lab, and encouraged me to visit his colleagues at the Commonwealth Acoustic Laboratory (the government’s hearing service, now called Australian Hearing). I soon learnt about audiology as a clinical profession, while studying for my PhD in hardcore physiology and biophysics.

Quite independently I helped a friend, Judy White, who had started the Decibel Danger education program at Perth schools, and met others involved in aspects of hearing and hearing loss, including the Adult Deaf Society and the Lions’ Help to Hear Foundation. I eventually became WA President of the Australian Deafness Council, the umbrella organisation of groups interested in hearing and deafness. I also came to know paediatric audiologists at the hospitals and government services, and teachers of the deaf, and helped where I could with technical advice and in-service courses.

This month another member of the Western Australian community will be recognised for similar services during Hearing Awareness Week. Over the years I have met many such generous people, in many areas of community service, and unfortunately only some of them are formally recognised for their good work, as I was. I know that there are many members of UWA’s academic community who also serve the broader community, and are not recognised sufficiently.

To those of you who do, well done. To those of you who are thinking about it, start now. The rewards far outweigh the investments.

Community Service for Fun and Profit

UWA NEWS 24 August 2009 The University of Western Australia16