Seminars in 2008

An overview will be presented of the project involving an empirical study of a number of aspects of the practices of real estate agents in selling residential property. The project will also be discussed as a case study considering the process undertaken by a new academic in securing external funding.

Presenter: Mr Mark Bender, Lecturer, Dept of Business Law and Taxation.

Dr. Pierce's research interests are primarily in the comparative study of courts and constitutions, with particular interest in the Australian, Canadian, and British systems. He also has research interests in the institutional development of various supranational courts, including the European Court of Human Rights and the British Privy Council.

Time:

• 5 to 6 pm lecture
• 6 to 6.30 pm discussion
• 7 pm restaurant booking

Professor Alan Petersen is a distinguished health sociologist, formerly of Murdoch and Curtin Universities, WA and most recently, Plymouth University, UK. Alan has recently commenced as Discipline Convenor in the School of Political and Social Inquiry at Monash University.

To celebrate his return to Australia after several years in the UK, Alan will present a lecture entitled "Working across fields: Health sociologists and interdisciplinary research", to be followed by an informal discussion and dinner in Melbourne. The lecture is free of charge and all are welcome.

Following Alans lecture, you are welcome to join us for dinner at Maria's Trattoria, 122-124 Peel Street, North Melbourne. The restaurant is BYO and pay-as-you-go.

If you would like more information about the seminar or to attend the dinner please RSVP to Kate Seear by no later than Friday, 8 February 2008.

Discussant: Professor Just Stoelwinder, Chair of Health.

Title: Transport coefficients in colloidal suspensions.

Abstract: The transport properties of a macroscopic system close to equilibrium are described by the Onsager theory. However, the linear relationships between currents and forces define a certain number of transport coefficients, that are unknown a priori. Here I will focus on suspensions of colloidal particles. Two situations will be discussed. First, I will describe the behavior of a solution of charged particles in an inhomogeneous temperature field. Then, I will present some results regarding the mobility coefficient of a spherical particle near a fluid interface. Finally, I will discuss the relevance of the predictions with respect to experiments.

Title: Photonics and Nanomechanical Biosensing Devices for Early Medical Diagnostics.

Presented by the Corporate Law & Accountability Research Group, Department of Business Law & Taxation

Guest Speaker: Professor Cindy A. Schipani, University of Michigan Topic: ‘Who Can You Trust?: Dating Games in the U.S. Executive Suite"

One of the latest scandals to take its toll in the corporate executive suite in the U.S. is the options backdating scandal. Backdating is the term given to the clandestine practice of changing the grant date of options which were given to executives as part of their compensation package to a date more favourable to the executives. In effect, backdating has been used to convert at-the-money options into in-the-money options. To date, at least 140 companies have come under scrutiny for their option grant practices including numerous criminal indictments. This presentation seeks to analyse the options backdating scandal from the point of view of the corporation and the shareholder, by focusing on the violation of fiduciary duties that are implicated. The presentation focuses on the scandals as they have come to light in the U.S. It is hoped that Australian executives can learn from the mistakes made in the U.S. executive suite.

Positive Emotions Are Not the Same as Happiness

POSITIVE MONASH is delighted to bring to Caulfield campus a very exciting speaker –George Vaillant, Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and one of the founders of the Positive Psychology movement. George is an extremely engaging speaker.

Those who were able to get into the Tal Ben Shahar Positive Psychology lecture which Positive Monash sponsored last year will want to attend George's lecture too. Positive Psychology is a fascinating new area which is aimed at improving happiness, success, wellbeing and self efficacy, and enhancing performance in academic and all other areas of life.

Light refreshments provided

Abstract: The civil penalty regime contained in Part 9.4B Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) was introduced and later expanded for the purpose of providing ASIC with an alternative to traditional criminal enforcement regimes. It was intended that the civil penalty regime would comply with strategic regulation theory. Despite the fact that ASIC has utilised the civil penalty regime effectively very few civil penalty applications have been issued. One of the reasons why so few civil penalty applications have been issued is because ASIC is not utilising the civil penalty regime in a manner envisaged by strategic regulation theory.

Michelle will discuss the research questions examined in her PhD, the methodology employed in order to answer those questions, the difficulties encountered with the methodology employed and the major findings of the research.

Brief Bio: Michelle Welsh holds a BA, LLB and LLM from Monash University and is the final stages of completing a PhD at the Melbourne Law School. Michelle teaches and researches in Corporations Law. She has published many articles examining ASIC's use of the civil and administrative penalty regimes and was awarded the best paper prize at the 2007 CLTA conference.

Guest Speaker: Justice Neville Owen, Supreme Court of Western Australia.

Topic: After HIH, James Hardie and AWB: Standards of Corporate Accountability in Australia.

The early to mid 2000s were marked by a series of episodes, in which the accountability of several high-profile Australian companies to their shareholders and the broader community were examined and tested. Justice Owen was a key figure in one of these episodes, the collapse of HIH Insurance and its aftermath. Problems also arose at James Hardie and AWB. The collapses and problems prompted a regulatory response and yet, the last couple of years have seen further collapses and further problems. His Honour will pose the question: what does this have to say about the theory of accountability and state of corporate governance regulation in the Australian market?

Managing Succession ...in the Family Business

David Wittner - Chairman, The Wittner Shoe Group

How do I plan the successful transition of my business investment and its management to ensure its ongoing success after I have gone? What do I need to consider, to protect my hard earned investment when I no longer wish to play the leading role? Whether your goal is to sell or hand over management, David's first-hand advice will be invaluable to you.

Abstract: Abe and Phil received the Dean's award for teaching excellence in 2007 for their work leading to the integration of a textbook and website to create a multimedia learning resource. Abe and Phil will present their work and explain how this resource may be used within a course. The integration of the textbook and website enables the adoption of a constructivist approach to student learning, enabling the individual student to take the driver's seat and become an active participant in the learning process. The website is a one stop shop containing a comprehensive collection of linked internet resources pertaining to corporate law which is cross referenced to the textbook. This package clearly signals that the discipline content is not restricted to the contents of the text and enables students to focus at least in part on complex legal concepts and critical thinking in areas of their own choosing.

The rationale for this approach can be expressed by the quotation of B F Skinner.

The accumulation of knowledge in the form of legal rules is rarely remembered after the exams. However the process of learning how to learn stays with the student through their professional lives.

Bio: Abe Herzberg and Phillip Lipton are Senior Lecturers in the Department of Business Law and Taxation. They are the co-authors of Understanding Company Law which is an established text now in its 14th edition. Abe and Phil have also created the Lipton-Herzberg website which is aimed at providing a company law learning resource which can be used in conjunction with the text.

RSVP for lunch to anne.mulcahy@buseco.monash.edu.au.

The Universities Innovation Showcase (UIS) highlights the value of providing research outcomes that deliver business solutions.

Now in its third year, UIS is the collaborative effort of eight Victorian universities. Aimed at corporate, industry and government the Showcase comprises of an interactive expo and three highly relevant seminars:

2.30 - 3.30 pm - Maximising ARC linkages
3.30 - 4.30 pm - Tapping into student potential
4.30 - 5.30 pm - Effective university/industry engagement.

Visit the website for more information and to reserve your place at the seminars.

Guest Speaker: Professor O. Lee Reed

O. Lee Reed is Professor of Legal Studies and Robert W. Scherer Chair of Public Policy at the Terry College of Business, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA. He is a Visiting Scholar in Monash University's Department of Business Law and Taxation in June 2008. Topic: The Role of a Property-Based Legal System in the Wealth of Nations Why are some nations so wealthy and other nations so poor when, according to Nobel economist Douglass North, 500 years ago all the world was poor? This seminar examines a property-based legal system as the foundation for strong, diverse economies and the wealth of nations. Property is defined here not as objects (resources) that are owned but as the legal right to own objects. Property is the legal fence of exclusion that permits an individual or group less than the entire population to keep others from trespassing or interfering with what is owned. Beginning with the Netherlands and Great Britain over 200 years ago, nations with strong property-based legal systems have enjoyed maximum conditions for wealth creation and nations with weak such systems have almost universally remained poor, the only exceptions being small nations with a particular natural resource like oil that is valued by other nations. Importantly, however, many nations lacking adequately enforced property s ystems but having vast natural resources remain poor while nations with almost no natural resources but with strong property systems become wealthy in terms of GDP. Property-based legal systems set rules for acquisition but at the same time protect possession, encouraging resource production by protecting owners from the acquisitiveness of others and recognizing society as the lowest cost provider to maintain legal fences

Flames of Hate: Xenophobic violence in South Africa - the first three weeks.

Seminar by Lenore Manderson.

Lenore Manderson is Hillel Friedland Fellow and Visiting Professor at The University of the Witwatersrand in 2008, and returns to Australia on 31 May to spend 10 weeks in Melbourne before returning. She was in Johannesburg when the violence erupted and in Mpumalunga as it spread out into rural areas where there are substantial numbers of immigrants without documentation. In this presentation, she will provide her own perspective and analysis of what occurred from 12 May, of the immediate and longer-term causes, of the discourses, commentary and practical action around the violence and in relation to "foreigners," and the potential political and economic fall-out.

Seeking Netukulimk:
An Exploration of Mi'kmaq Law Ways in Resource Relations, Canada

Professor Jane McMillan
A Centre for Australian Indigenous Studies Seminar

"20 Years of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL): Contemporary Perspectives on Teaching and Learning"

The Arts Teaching and Learning Delivery Modes research team was funded in 2007 by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council for a research project based on an analysis of the three different TL delivery modes: online, physical digital media (CD) and hard copy. As part of our dissemination process we are running an E-symposium to highlight issues related to online learning.

Keynote speakers are Emeritus Prof Barry Harper (University of Wollongong) Assoc Prof Garry Allison (Curtain University) and Assoc Prof Phuong Nga Nguyen and Ms Hoa Hoang Thi Xuan (Vietnam National University). Other presentations include teaching in Second Life, applications of E-portfolios and the evaluation of teaching and learning delivery modes.

To take part in the E-symposium, please register on the Teach and Delivery website and then login on Monday, 7 July. You will able to access presentations and participate in an online discussion forum.

A seminar organised by the Centre for Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies, Monash University.

Chaired by: Andrew Benjamin (Monash University).

Speakers: Graeme Gilloch (Lancaster University), Howard Caygill (Goldsmiths College), Elina Staikou (Goldsmiths College), Tara Forrest (UTS).

Walter Benjamin was one of the most significant thinkers of the 20th Century. His work continues to play a vital role within the Humanities. This seminar brings together leading Benjamin scholars in order to investigate different aspects of his work. Howard Caygill and Elina Staikou will concentrate on his paper the Critique of Violence, while Graeme Gilloch and Tara Forrest will concentrate on Benjamin's writings on the City and on Film.

A colloquium organised by the Centre for Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies, Monash University.

Chaired by Andrew Benjamin (Monash University). Speakers: Howard Caygill (Goldsmiths College), Catherine Malabou (Universite Paris), Graeme Turner (University of Queensland), Pauline Nestor (Monash University), Martin McQuillan (University of Leeds). The colloquium will be opened by Professor Rae Francis, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Monash University.

The colloquium marks the launch of the newly created Centre for Critical Inquiry.

As a beginning to the Centre's activities the colloquium will look at the position of the Humanities within the University today. At the same time as the structure of research operative within the sciences is applied to the Humanities, economic models more appropriate to commercial enterprises are being used to regulate their overall funding. While there have been important and at times radical transformations within the Humanities these developments are not in synch automatically with these external transformations within the academic world.

The aim of this International Colloquium will be to think through possible futures for the Humanities. Given their overall development, equally given the pressure to which they have been subjected, the question to be addressed is straightforward: What does a defence of the Humanities involve today?

The Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation and the Centre for Studies in Religion and Theology, present a public seminar exploring mystical experience across religious traditions: Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Hindu and Buddhist. This seminar is part of a series of events leading up to the Parliament of the World's Religions being held in Melbourne, 3-9 December 2009. bookings to Susan.Grist@arts.monash.edu.au.

Speakers at this public seminar will present mystical aspects of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and then elicit responses from recognized authorities on mysticism from a range of Eastern and contemporary practices, Hindu and Buddhist. It will help people to understand the various ways in which the spiritual journey has been formulated in different religions. Subsequent seminars will present other religious traditions, in order to explore awareness of and respect for the diversity of mystical wisdom present in our culture.

Considering your life after Uni?
Are you interested in undertaking postgraduate study and training?

The Health, Well-being and Social Change research cluster symposium is a great opportunity to learn more about possibilities for further study in Honours, Masters and PhD programs and get a taste of some of the cutting edge research that this cluster is involved in.

Please click on the link to view our print ready flier.

This interactive session will discuss aspects of Monash University's approach to plagiarism management. Specifically, the session will focus on:

• Differences in staff and student perceptions of plagiarism
• Approaches to plagiarism in policy and proceedure
• Ethical plagiarism management
• Anti-plagiarism software

RSVP by Thursday 31 July.

Presented by: Dr. Patrick Hartley, Project leader, Nanostructured Materials Group, Division of Molecular & Health Technologies, CSIRO.

The Centre of Research Excellence in Patient Safety is offering a one day seminar on credentialling. Credentialling is an administrative process used to evaluate the qualifications and practice history of a health professional. It is an important tool used to enhance patient safety.

Credentialling ensures that people are appropriately skilled and qualified to be undertaking assigned tasks. It is needed not only when health professionals commence employment, but also on an ongoing scheduled basis to ensure that they are working within an acceptable and defined scope of practice.

This seminar will be of value to health service administrators, those working in government at a policy level and clinicians working in both the community and hospital setting.

Have you ever wondered what a synchrotron is used for? Have you ever considered doing postgraduate studies? This information session for undergraduate students will attempt to answer your questions about how you might use the Australian Synchrotron (immediately adjacent to Monash's Clayton campus) as part of your honours, Masters or PhD project.

The uses of a synchrotron are many and broad, including drug design, X-ray imaging, radiotherapy, nanotechnology and making micro-machines. Research fields include life sciences, physical sciences, advanced materials development and engineering.

The MCSS provides supporting scholarships for students undertaking projects incorporating a significant component of synchrotron use. Come to this information session to hear what leading Monash researchers are currently using synchrotrons for, and the honours and postgraduate projects on offer in 2009, as well as how to apply for scholarships. Following the seminar meet supervisors and find out more about individual projects at our BBQ lunch.

RSVP to Kylie Reid (Kylie.Reid@sync.monash.edu.au).

The program features numerous science experts who review a growing body of evidence of the grave consequences of a changing climate, and explores how individuals, communities and organizations across America are creating new approaches to safeguard future generations.

The documentary also looks at evidence that human activities are provoking an unprecedented era of atmospheric warming and climatic events: more drought, wildfires and flooding; polar melting; more powerful storms; and more variable weather. Tropical diseases are moving north; childhood respiratory illnesses are skyrocketing; and in the last three decades more than 30 diseases new to science have emerged. Global Warming: The Signs and the Science presents a clear, easy-to-understand, factual overview of climate change, and gives a "human face" to this complex phenomenon.

All Welcome.

For more information about this event and the Climate Change and Sustainable Business Project, please contact Jeff McLean on 9903 2608 or Wayne Gumley on +61 3 9903 2784.

From the Micro (Cell) Factory to Micro Bio Reactor - Quantitative Model Development of a Biological System.

Presented by Dr. Penia Kresnowati, International L'Oreal Fellow and Endeavour Research Fellow.

Shane Carmody, Director of Collections and Access at the State Library of Victoria will consider the Library's recent exhibition, ‘The Medieval Imagination: Illuminated Manuscripts from Cambridge, Australia and New Zealand', which drew capacity audiences, linked with medieval re-enactment groups, music groups, art and craft societies and the Universities, and challenged notions of public value being measured only in monetary terms. Constant Mews, Professor History and Director of the Centre for Studies in Religion and Theology at Monash University's School of Historical Studies, will reflect on the public nature of the history both celebrated and performed through the exhibition and associated events.

Venue Information:
http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/programs

Alan Oppenheim (BSc(Hons) 1981) has been managing director of Ego Pharmaceuticals since 1990. Mr Oppenheim will talk about the challenges of developing a global brand, the importance of company values, and the skills needed for business success.

This workshop for postgraduate students will provide various strategies for effective oral/seminar presentation, with opportunities for participants to practice what they learn.

Book via the MPA booking system.

Have you ever wondered how you would survive without oil?

When Cuba lost access to Soviet oil in the early 1990s, the country faced an immediate crisis -- feeding the population -- and an ongoing challenge: how to create a new low-energy society. This film tells the story of the Cuban people's hardship, ingenuity, and triumph over sudden adversity through cooperation, conservation, and community.

Join with us to watch this powerful documentary. All Welcome.

Championing the Cause of the Not-for-Profit Sector.

Guest Speakers: Nancy Hogan and Holly Reid.

How can your business engage profitably with the not-for-profit next door? Would you make a good board member? What are the challenges facing not-for-profits? Career options for job seekers? Nancy and Holly, two highly experienced CEOs in their field, will paint the big picture and explain the critical issues for the successful future of the not-for-profit sector.

A groundbreaking new report from the Australian National University, called Green Carbon, has been released; it shows the important role protecting forests can play in storing carbon and reducing the impacts of climate change.

So far our response to climate change has been about reducing emissions from fossil fuels. Forgotten is the major role protecting forests can play to help secure our future from dangerous climate change.

Australia's forests have been giant carbon pumps for hundreds of years, drawing carbon from the air and storing it in the branches, trunks, roots and soil of the living forest.

The Green Carbon science reveals that Australia has some of the most carbon rich forests in the world - storing more carbon per hectare than tropical forests in Indonesia or Brazil.

Australia's forest store up to ten times more carbon than was previously thought. This means huge amounts of carbon will be preserved when Australia's forest are protected from logging.

Amelia Young is The Wilderness Society's Victorian Forest Campaigner. The Wilderness Society is Australia's leading conservation organisation, working to protect, promote and restore Australia's wild places and natural processes.

The Monash Postgraduate Association, Monash Research Graduate School, Library and Learning Skills Advisers are offering a full day of seminars for Peninsula postgraduates specifically tailored to their needs. Postgraduates are welcome to attend the whole day or select the sessions they think would be most appropriate.

Dr Anthony Forsyth (Monash) 'Exit Stage Left', now 'Centre Stage': Collective Bargaining under Work Choices and Forward with Fairness"

Venue: N1.21 (ground floor, building N)
Date/Time: Friday 19 September, 1.00-2.15pm
RSVP: Nicola.Mogford@buseco.monash.edu.au

A light lunch will be provided.

In this seminar, Anthony will examine the collective bargaining system that the Rudd Government is currently implementing under its 'Forward with Fairness' policy. He will focus on three aspects of the new system: (1) the principle of 'majority employee support' which will be used to determine whether employees have a right to collectively bargain; (2)the concept of 'good faith bargaining'; and (3) the role envisaged for 'Fair Work Australia'. Anthony will then offer some conclusions as to whether these new collective bargaining rights could form the basis for a recovery in the fortunes of Australian trade unions.

Dr Anthony Forsyth is a Senior Lecturer in the Dept of Business Law and Taxation at Monash University, and Consultant with Corrs Chambers Westgarth. At Monash, he is Director of the Workplace and Corporate Law Research Group, and a Research Associate of the Work and Employment Rights Research Centre. He is also a Co-Editor of the Australian Journal of Labour Law, and co-author of Transition to Forward with Fairness: Labor's Reform Agenda, Thomson Lawbook Co., 2008.

International Guest Speaker, Dr David Craufurd, NeuroPsychiatrist, Medical Genetics, St Mary's Hospital, Manchester UK

Topic: The Neuropsychiatry of Huntington's Disease

Topic: Latest Research in Workplace Law, Corporate Law/Corporate Governance, and International Trade Law.

In this seminar, two guest speakers, Professor Tim Lindsey (ARC Federation Fellow & Director, Asian Law Centre, University of Melbourne), and Associate Professor Peter Gahan (Director, Work and Employment Rights Research Centre, Monash University) will discuss four books that have recently been published involving academics from Monash University's Department of Business Law and Taxation, as authors or co-authors, identify some of the common themes emerging from them, and assess their contribution to the disciplines of workplace law, corporate law/corporate governance, and international trade law. They will also assess the importance of this type of legal publishing in advancing the understanding of Australia's position in the Asia-Pacific region, and the global economy.

'Liability for Corporate Wrongs' Associate Professor Christian Witting, Melbourne Law School.

Christian Witting is an Associate Professor in the Melbourne Law School. He has published widely in the area of tort law, including a book titled 'Liability for Negligent Misstatements'. His current research interest is in the liability of corporate groups.

Christian will put an argument in favour of shareholder liability for personal injuries. He rejects the need to find control as the basis of liability. Liability is justified, instead, on the grounds that shareholders are company insiders who perform a distinct function - in arming companies with capital - and that the claims of personal injury claimants are of a higher order than any financial losses to be borne by shareholders. Personal injury claimants should be recognized as having the right to identify shareholders with their companies.

'Coupling Australia's Researchers to the Global Innovation Economy':

(To register email: smarr-lecture@adm.monash.edu.au)

While the shared Internet has been rapidly diminishing Australia's "tyranny of distance", the 21st century global competition, driven by public research innovation, requires Australia to have high performance connectivity, second to none, for its researchers. A major step towards this goal has been achieved over the last year.

Biography of Professor Larry Smarr: http://www.jacobsschool.ucsd.edu/~lsmarr/vita/biography.html