Issue 7, Monday 20 May 2002

Free health test for Caulfield staff

The Caulfield campus is taking part in a health screening for the inherited iron overload condition  Haemochromatosis. 

Haemochromatosis is a genetic disease that causes excessive levels of iron in the body and effects around one in 300 people in Australia. While it is not life threatening per se, undetected it can cause serious health implications later in life including liver failure, heart disease, arthritis, chronic fatigue and impotency. 

The good news is it is easily detected with a simple cheek brush sample that is analysed for the genetic change that indicates the disease. It is also easy to prevent the onset of symptoms by donating blood three to four times a year.

Staff and students at the Caulfield campus have to opportunity to be involved in a free, simple and painless test for Haemochromatosis on Wednesday 19 and Thursday 20 June as part of state wide HaemScreen project.

To be eligible to take part in the screening participants must be aged between 18 and 35. Those interested can attend an information session about the disease followed by the actual test, which is self administered with participants taking their own cheek brush sample. 

The whole process takes about 30 minutes and results are  mailed directly to those tested. 

HaemScreen testing will held in A2.05 at 1 pm on 19 and 20 June. Testing has already been carried out in a number of organisations including BHP, National Australia Bank, ANZ, Telstra and the Herald and Weekly Times. 

FAQ
Why is testing limited to the 18-35 age group?
The aim of HaemScreen is to identify people at risk of developing haemochromatsis before they develop any symptoms. It is rare that iron accumulation leads to organ problems in people younger than 35.

Australia's Biggest Morning Tea

Caulfield campus staff have the opportunity to take part in Australia's Biggest Morning Tea while helping the fight against cancer this week. 

Have a Cuppa for Cancer in Merlin's Cafe this Thursday  23 May between 10 am and 11am. For a gold coin donation you can enjoy morning tea with other staff and students with all money raised going to the Cancer Council of Victoria to assist in cancer research, education and prevention. 

Monash Alpine Ski Lodge

With winter well and truly here, what better time to book a skiing holiday at the Monash Alpine Ski Lodge.

The Lodge is located in the heart of Mt Buller and is available to Monash students and staff all year round. The lodge can accommodate 43 people and provides communal cooking facilities, centrally located bathrooms, storage and drying rooms, and an upstairs lounge area with TV, games and stereo.

Prices start at $30 per person, per night during ski season.

For bookings and further information on the Monash Alpine Ski Lodge, contact the Sport Bookings Office on extn 54114 or visit the website.

For organised snow trips utilising the Monash Alpine Ski Lodge facilities log on to www.monsu.org.au and click on the ‘Trips & Tours’ icon.

Public speaking group on campus

Many staff may be aware of a request placed in the weekly Watzon and OTICO publications recently seeking students who were interested in establishing a public speaking group on campus. 

The response was overwhelming and MONSU Caulfield President Tim Wilson is pleased to announce that there is a large group of students on campus who would like to start such a group. 

A meeting of those students who expressed interest has been held to discuss what they would like to get out of such a group. There were a multitude of suggestions including the idea of contacting Monash Caulfield staff to see if any are interested in contributing to the group.

If there are any staff members interested in the public speaking group or who would like to make a contribution to a group on campus, please contact Tim Wilson on extn 32567 or mobile 0417 356 165.

Caulfield moves

Are you or someone you know making a move this year either to a new job, a conference or through a collaborative venture? Please let Offcourse know. 

Free W3C Seminar: W3C and Web Services

The Australian World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), in conjunction with ManageSoft Corporation and MelbourneIT, is presenting a free seminar, 'W3C and Web Services'.

W3C's Australian office is located within Caulfield campus's Distributed Systems Technology Centre (DSTC).

Web service is a topical issue at the moment as it promises to be the foundation of tomorrow's Web. Web services will enable the Web to be even more powerful and useful. 

The W3C is developing the specifications for Web Services. It is a vendor neutral organisation and it is committed to keeping the Web open and interoperable, which are vital ingredients for its success.

Building on the success of HTML, XML and other W3C technologies, Web Services will help us realise the full potential of the Web.

Presenter: Anthony Wilkinson, DSTC Research Scientist 
Date: 7 June
Time: 10 am to 12 noon
Venue: Monash Conference Centre, level 7, 30 Collins Street. 
RSVP:  To register for this seminar please click here to email your details.

Diary dates

Friday 24 May Accounting and Finance seminar 'Evaluation of pooled development fund regime - Tax planning opportunities', by Professor Stephen Barkoczy. Room A1.37. 12 noon. 

Friday 31 June Marketing research seminar 'Retail productivity: what really matters?', by Chris Dubelaar. 12 noon for 12.30 pm start.
Ramler conference room, Building S.

Friday 31 May Accounting and Finance seminar 'Conditional OLS minimum variance hedge ratios', by Joelle Miffre, UTS and City University of Bus Studies, London. Room SGO3, Clayton campus. 1.15 pm 

Friday 7 June Marketing research seminar 'Creative management of Human Research Ethics Review at Monash', by Professor Gary Bouma, Chair of the Monash Ethics Committee. Professional
development seminar for Monash staff only. 12 noon for 12.30 pm start.
Ramler conference room, Building S.

Friday 7 June Accounting and Finance seminar 'Measuring the distortion of graphs in annual reports: methodological issues', by Paul Mather. Room SGO3, Clayton campus. 1.15 pm.

Authorised by the Office of the Campus Director - Caulfield 

Contributions can be emailed to Julie. Ryan@adm.monash.edu.au by 5 pm Thursdays.