Seminars

A free public seminar will be held in Churchill to address the personal and social issues related to the trauma created by recent bushfires in Gippsland.

Hosted by Monash University Gippsland, the 'Dealing with Trauma' seminar will take place on Monday 16 February from 1pm.

The Gippsland campus Chaplain, Father Hugh Brown explained that traumatic incidents can affect people in many different ways.

"These impacts can be delayed and long lasting, he said. We are encouraging those people who are feeling the distress bought on by the fires to take advantage of support that is available."

Speakers will include Associate Professor George Somers, who has extensive and direct experience in seeing the effects of traumatic experiences in places such as Aceh in Indonesia and the Victorian Ash Wednesday Bushfires, and Mr Terry Melvin, who is highly experienced in the area of counselling, including dealing with the consequences of trauma.

Members of the Latrobe City Recovery Team will also be on hand to provide assistance.

The seminar will be held at the Monash University Auditorium, Churchill. All members of the public are invited to attend. Guests should park in the 5N car park off Mary Grant Bruce Drive. Tea and coffee will be provided.

Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology
Special Seminar
Professor Susan Suarez College of Veterinary Medicine. Cornell University, USA.

Title: Female control: Sperm transport, Storage, Hyperactivation and Chemotaxis.

Speakers: Tom Schneider and Chris Ralph, Schneider Australia Consulting.

This seminar will address the critical considerations involved in sustaining performance in heavily unionized workplaces. Specifically, it will examine the scope for non-traditional engagement strategies involving management-employees-unions. Drawing on the experiences of the presenters work with international and Australian businesses, the presentation will canvass current trends, key elements for success, and offer insights that distinguish ongoing success stories from previous 'partnering' or 'engagement' efforts in the 1980s-90s.

Sustainability in the Workplace? Who cares!

Guest Speaker - Dr Mark Luther, Consortium Director, Mobile Architecture and Built Environment Labouratory, Deakin University.

How do we establish Fit for purpose and value for money ways to make our workplaces more environmentally sustainable and energy efficient? Mark will present case studies outlining on-site building performance measurement and highlighting return on investment. He will also alert us to current government incentives designed to help us reduce energy consumption.

This public seminar, offered in collaboration with the Monash Asia Institute, will involve a presentation by Ven. Naotune Vijitha Thero, Chief Incumbent of the Dhammasarana Temple in Keysborough. He is a scholar well versed in Pali and Buddhist studies. It will be followed by a panel discussion with: the Ven. Sucinta, trained as a psychologist in Germany, and a fully ordained nun (Bhikkhuni) in the Theravada tradition since 1998, residing at Sanghamittarama in East Bentleigh; Professor Padmasiri de Silva, Adjunct Research Associate with CSRT, formerly Head of the Dept of Philosophy and Psychology at the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. He has also obtained an advanced diploma in counselling, and is practicing in the field.

Dr Craig Hassed, of the Dept of General Practice, in the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences. Monash University, will then launch a new book by Dr Padmasiri de Silva, An Introduction to Mindfulness-Based Counselling: The Magic of the Ordinary and the Elegance of Small Things (Sarvodaya Vishvalekha Publication, Ratmalana, Sri Lanka). Light refreshments will be served.

Free admission, but bookings recommended Susan.Grist@arts.monash.edu.au

For further enquiries, contact Constant.Mews@arts.monash.edu.au

Stephen Crittenden, religious affairs journalist, ABC and Waleed Aly, School of Political and Social Inquiry, Monash University in conversation.

Co-Sponsored by the Centre for Studies in Religion and Theology, Monash University and the State Library of Victoria.

Bookings recommended: email Susan.Grist@arts.monash.edu.au

Free public conversation series leading up to the Parliament of the World's Religions.

This series of ten monthly conversations will create public dialogue between people of different backgrounds and religious traditions. Moderated by Penny Mulvey of Positive Media, they explore questions relevant to the upcoming Melbourne Parliament of the World's Religions and to our multifaith society.

Guest Speaker: Professor Joyce Sadka

Topic: Enforceability of Labour Law:

Evidence from a Labour Court in Mexico In this seminar, Professor Sadka will present the findings of a paper in which she and her colleague, David S. Kaplan, analysed lawsuits involving publicly-appointed lawyers in a labour court in Mexico to study the enforcement of a law that nominally provides high levels of worker protection. They show that, even after a judge rules in favour of the worker, the judgment goes uncollected 56% of the time due to the costs associated with the excessive formalism of the enforcement process. Differences in the probability of receiving compensation after trial are not due to differences in win rates at trial, but rather are entirely attributable to post-trial differences in the probability of enforcing the judgment. The paper is the first in the literature that demonstrates the importance of post-trial collection costs on litigation outcomes. The authors then develop a simple model of litigation that includes costs of collecting awards after trial and shows how differences in lawsui t outcomes across lawyers can be rationalized theoretically.

Recording Everyday Life and 'Writing for History': Mass Observation in Britain and Australia.

How have pioneering approaches to recording everyday lives generated innovative and influential public histories? Dorothy Sheridan (Mass Observation Archive Development Director & Honorary Professor at Sussex University) will discuss the British Mass Observation project and consider issues it raises in the digital age. Kate Darian-Smith (Professor of Australian Studies & History, University of Melbourne) will respond, reflecting on Australian equivalents to MO.

Interested in studying in South Africa?

The Office of the Deputy Vice Chancellor (International) will host an information session about the opportunities for Monash students to study at Monash in South Africa.

You will hear from staff and students about the study options available, how to apply, financial support to students and cost involved, life at Monash South Africa and living in South Africa, plus volunteering opportunities in South Africa with Monash University Volunteer Programme (MUSVP).

Speakers include:

• Professor Stephanie Fahey, Deputy Vice Chancellor (International)
• Mr David Pearce, Monash Abroad
• Professor Simon Adams, Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor (International)
• Students who have studied at Monash South Africa

Join us afterwards for some drinks and an informal chat on living in South Africa.

In the United States, the battles between Christian Right and affiliated groups and those with a more secular humanist vision for society have been described as culture wars. These battles involve competing cultural and political values and schools are often chosen as the sites of these battles. Sex education is an area where there is ongoing, and often heated, debate. This seminar will investigate how 'progressives' in education, especially (but not only) in the US, draw on and reinscribe religious/secular divides. The focus will be on those who generally argue in support of secularism. It will demonstrate the value of critically analysing secularism in education.

'Certitude and Linguistic Play in Chinese Critical Inquiry' by Assoc. Prof. Gloria Davies. Gloria Davies is Associate Professor in Chinese. Her publications include Voicing Concerns (2001), Globalization in the Asian Region (2004), Worrying About China: The Language of Chinese Critical Inquiry (2007) and Profiles in Courage (2008).

Mahayana Buddhism provides the methods to quieten the mind and to work for the benefit of others. Consequently, Buddhism has inspired many Australians to work not only on their personal development but also for social change. Venerable Freeman and Anna Halafoff will discuss their experiences of Buddhism in Action, in and beyond Australia.

Chaplaincy at the Monash Caulfield campus will present a series of lectures, conversations and gatherings in 2009. They seek to challenge, comfort and enrich the depth and texture of your university experience. They aim to connect the themes of personal and corporate faith and spirituality with issues of heart and soul, justice and mercy, conviction and community.

All are welcome.

The interface between hospital Emergency Departments and the inpatient medical wards presents many potential barriers to effective patient flow. In the context of increasing demands on hospital resources together with a reduction in the number of acute inpatient beds, many Australian and International hospitals have introduced Acute Medical Assessment Units/Medical Admission Planning Units to overcome these barriers. These units have been designed to enable rapid and effective assessment and planning for hospital admission. But do Acute Medical Assessment Units improve patient safety? How should they be integrated into existing structures? What resources are required to get them up and going and what are the barriers to successful implementation?

Guest Speaker: Professor Dana Muir, University of Michigan

Topic: Fiduciary Constraints: Correlating Obligation with Liability

Dana Muir is the Thurnau Professor of Business Law at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan. Professor Muir's research interests are in employment law and securities law, particularly as they relate to employee benefits. Professor Muir was a delegate to the first and second White House/Congressional National Summit on Retirement Savings and has served as a Congressional Fellow.

Presenter: Michael J Duffy Lecturer, Dept of Business Law and Taxation BCom (Melbourne) LLB (Melbourne) LLM (Melbourne) Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria.

Before joining Monash University Michael was a Senior Associate at two well known law firms and a Senior Lawyer with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. In private practice Michael worked as a litigator on Australia's first shareholder class action (King v GIO) and at ASIC he worked on a variety of enforcement matters including continuous disclosure, insider trading, unregistered schemes and financial services.

Teaching
Michael currently teaches Corporations Law and Business Law at graduate and undergraduate levels.

Abstract:
Despite the introduction of the option of civil penalty proceedings and a number of successful civil and criminal prosecutions by ASIC in recent years, insider trading continues to pose challenges for law enforcement. Proof of communication of material price sensitive information from tipper to trader remains elusive in many cases due to the absence of witnesses prepared to attest to such communications. This paper looks at possible reforms that might be considered to encourage such witnesses to come forward and otherwise obtain evidence of such communications. These include consideration of rewards and bounties as well as the availability of leniency and immunity to witnesses or accomplices in both civil and criminal matters. In considering this the paper also looks at the issue of relative culpability between tippers and tippees which involves consideration of the rationale for prohibition of insider trading. The implications of the abandonment of the fiduciary ratio nale for prohibition become particularly relevant to the relative culpability of tippers and tippees. The paper also considers the question of telephone taps, the role of ASX and the encouragement of private civil proceedings on the basis that they may produce evidence that the regulator can also use.

Four 20 minute hands-on demonstrations presented by Microsoft Office Specialists: Alistair Speirs and Jamie Hutchins straight from Microsoft.

Spaces are limited. There are only 50 positions available for this free tutorial. Only open to Monash University staff and students.

This free event will provide information and advice about the range of pathways that can be used to gain access into courses offered at Monash Peninsula.

The Pathways-Returning to Study evening is aimed at people who may have been working for a period of time and have been out of the education sector and would like to upgrade or formalise their skills, or change career direction.

It will also be relevant to those people who are looking at transferring from a current TAFE or university course, and VCE students who may wish to keep their options open or who think they may not get the ENTER to meet course entry requirements.

Professor Ed Fisher Global Director, Peers for Progress; and Professor, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA, speaking on "Peer and other supports for the global prevention and management of diabetes and other chronic diseases".

The tenure review is a key material and symbolic transitional point in the careers of Canadian academics. Tenure is high-stakes evaluation, given that refusal means the loss of a job and the possibility of stigmatisation thereafter. Looking at the Australian university context in the 1980s and 1990s, Jill Blackmore (1997) argues that discourses of efficiency and effectiveness shaping the radical restructuring of higher education...have silenced earlier discourses of equity. Drawing on 23 recent interviews with key informants in seven Ontario universities (in a study titled Disciplining Academics), this paper takes up her contention in the context of Canadian tenure practices as an exemplar of regulation and an area where competing discourses influence ways in which gender and other forms of equity enter uneasily into the evaluation of academic work.

Professor Acker is Professor in the Department of Sociology and Equity Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. She is the author of Gendered Education (1994) and The Realities of Teachers Work (1999) and co-editor of Whose University Is It, Anyway? Power and Privilege on Gendered Terrain (2008). Professor Acker is currently Visiting Fellow in the Faculty of Education at Monash University.

Museums, Memory, and Healing:
A symposium at Museum Victoria Curating a troubled past and The politics of representation Australian challenges.

Speakers: Professor Lenore Manderson, Monash University. Ali Khangela Hlongwane Chief Curator at Museum Africa, Johannesburg. Lindy Allen Senior Curator for northern Australia at Museum Victoria. Rosemary Wrench Senior Collection Manager for the ethnohistoric component of the Donald Thomson Collection and Lorraine Coutts, Roving Curator in the Indigenous Cultures Department at Museum Victoria.

Presenter: Professor Marilyn Pittard - Temporary work visas - 457 visas - have been used to permit entry of overseas workers to Australia to relieve labour shortages in certain industries and occupations. However the system has led to what has been described by some judges as exploitation of vulnerable workers through the failure to pay minimum wages and other non-compliance with minimum labour standards, including occupational health and safety.

This lecture explores the problems that have been encountered in the scheme in maintaining basic labour standards; examines recent court decisions; and explores what legal and regulatory measures have been, or should be, put in place to deal with labour standards of 457 visa holders. The recommendations of recent reviews and inquiries of the 457 visa system will also be examined.

In this seminar, Leon Zwier will discuss the legal implications arising from the ACCC's criminal prosecution of the late Richard Pratt, including: problems with the ACCC immunity policy; the use of section 155 of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) for non-investigative purposes; the ACCC's decision to commence the criminal prosecution; double jeopardy; the prosecutorial duty of fairness; the prosecutorial disclosure obligations; the legal status of a section 191 statement (agreed statement of facts) and the ACCC's use of such a statement in this case; Justice Ryan of the Federal Court of Australia's ruling on the admissibility of the section 191 statement; lessons to be learned in negotiating settlements with the ACCC; and the use of media in high-profile legal disputes.

Voluntary administrators play a central role in the voluntary administration (VA) scheme of the Corporations Act. Amongst other things they must report to creditors the results of their investigations into the company's financial position and circumstances. They must also recommend whether it is in the creditors' interests for the company to be immediately wound up; or to enter into a compromise or arrangement with creditors in the form of a deed of company arrangement (DOCA); or that the VA be terminated and return control to the company's directors and shareholders.

This paper analysed a sample of voluntary administrators' reports to creditors and found that the administrators' recommended outcome - liquidation or DOCA - was strongly associated with certain non-financial factors, (such as industry type, duration of the VA, reasons for business failure and expected returns to unsecured creditors including employee creditors). The analysis also provides evidence that unsecured creditors were expected to achieve higher returns in companies where the voluntary administrator recommended a DOCA than those where liquidation was recommended. Further, employee creditors were expected to obtain significantly better returns than other unsecured creditors, whether or not a DOCA was recommended.

We also found evidence of a link between the recommended outcome of a VA and the administrators' suspicions of such matters as unfair preference transactions granted to creditors, directors' insolvent trading and other contraventions of directors' duties. Our analysis supports anecdotal claims that directors occasionally initiate a VA to avoid detailed investigation of related party transactions and potential breaches of the law.

Presenter: Professor Alistair Woodward, Head of the School of Population Health, University of Auckland.

"Climate Change: the biggest global health threat of the 21st century? And, a not-to-be-missed opportunity for health promotion?"

The world is warming as a result of human activity, and projections based on the business as usual scenario forecast serious consequences for human health. The social changes required to reduce emissions and limit climate change will be disruptive, and therefore opportunity-creating. For a better than even chance of avoiding 2 degrees warming before 2100, the measure of dangerous climate change adopted by the EU and many other international bodies, countries like Australia must reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases by more than 80% within 50 years. How this is done might be health-enhancing or health-damaging. I will introduce the concept of co-benefits, explore the kinds of interventions that might protect both health and the environment, and as a case study, estimate the benefits of moving a fraction of short urban trips from private motor vehicle to bicycle.

Previously, Professor Woodward was Professor of Public Health at the University of Otago Wellington, and Head of the Department of Community Medicine at the University of Adelaide. His research is mostly in the broad fields of environmental health and tobacco control. He contributed to the 3rd and 4th assessment reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and is on the Board of the New Zealand Health Research Council.

Retinoic acid, the active component of vitamin A, has pleiotropic functions, including regulating growth and differentiation decisions in a number of target tissues. These actions begin in the embryo, and continue throughout life. To understand how basic mechanism(s) of vitamin A action might be used in the regulation of stem cell populations, we have used the retinoid-deficient mouse retinaldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (RALDH2) mutants, which die due to abnormal cardiac growth. The underlying cause of these growth defects is an excess of early cardiac progenitors. Retinoid deficiency blocks cardiac progenitor differentiation, not allowing heart cells to stably survive. These potent actions of retinoids continue in the fetus, where vitamin A signaling drives growth factor expression and concomitant differentiation of both cardiac and central nervous system precursor populations. I will discuss how retinoids interact with the morphogen sonic hedgehog, a factor known to control cell division in adult stem cells. To end, data from retinoid-responsive lineage tracing strategies indicate adult populations might be responsive to the therapeutic actions of retinoids.

Keynote speaker: Associate Professor Kevin Kumashiro, founding director of the Centre for Anti-Oppressive Education. A/Prof Kumashiro is Interim Co-Director of the Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy at the University of Illinois at Chicago. His research, teaching and activism are redefining the field of "anti-oppressive education" as he develops new approaches to addressing issues of social justice in schools.

Organised by the Globalisation, Education and Social Inclusion Research Group, Faculty of Education, Monash University, together with the School of Education, RMIT University.

RSVP by 31 May to Prue.Madden@Education.monash.edu.au

Understanding the Law and Nursing - let's get real!

Using current legal principles to assist your nursing practice. By Debra Griffiths RN (Div 1, Midwife), BA, LLB, LLM, PhD, Barrister & Solicitor.

Debra has worked as a nurse & midwife for more than a decade in Australia & England before commencing studies in Arts & Law. She is a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing & Health Sciences at Monash University where she teaches health law issues. She is particularly interested in legal education of health professionals and the application of legal principles into daily clinical practice.