5 October 2005
5 October 2005
Representatives of the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage visited Monash last week to formalise a large donation of Italian books to the university.
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| From left: Dr Francesco De Conno, the Hon. Nicola Bono, Professor Homer Le Grand, Dr Mirna Cicioni, and Ms Christine Cooze, Monash University Library. |
Over the past two years the ministry has donated more than 2000 books to Monash, including encyclopaedias, reference texts and cultural works on opera, painting, classical and contemporary literature. It has also donated films, DVDs, CD-Roms, cassettes and other teaching and research materials.
The book donation was only the third made by the Italian government to universities in cities outside Europe with large Italian communities. The other recipients have been universities in Alexandra, Egypt and Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Members of the Italian delegation included the deputy minister for Cultural Heritage Mr Nicola Bono and head of the Department for Books and Archives at the ministry, Professor Salvatore Italia.
Melbourne's Italian community was represented by Dr Francesco De Conno, Consul General of Italy in Melbourne, and Dr Simonetta Magnani, director of the Italian Institute of Culture.
Dr Mirna Cicioni, senior lecturer in Italian Studies at the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics, coordinated the visit.
It is hoped the collection will form the basis of an Italian Studies Research Centre at Monash's Clayton campus to be headed by Dr Cicioni.
"The donation by the ministry is an invaluable gift and a tremendous resource for the Italian community," Dr Cicioni said.
"We hope that this collection, which consists of five separate donations from the Italian government, will provide the basis for the establishment of a centre to enable research in Italian studies and culture, facilitating interdisciplinary research projects, and expanding contacts with the Melbourne community through lectures, seminars conferences and exhibitions."
Dr Cicioni said plans were being made to put together an exhibition of selected materials and promote the collection to local communities and libraries.
5 October 2005
Monash University's Master of Business Administration (MBA) has been placed among the world's best in the Economist Intelligence Unit's 2005 MBA rankings.
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At 59th in the world, Monash's MBA was the highest ranked in Australia and the second highest in Asia, behind the University of Hong Kong in 45th place.
The Economist Intelligence Unit, the business information arm of the Economist magazine, each year identifies the world's top 100 business schools by surveying MBA students, graduates and the schools themselves.
The schools are ranked on four indicators of why students undertake an MBA -- to open new career opportunities and/or further current career; personal development and educational experience; to increase salary; and the potential to network.
Monash's MBA was ranked sixth in the world in the 'personal development and educational experience' category, ahead of Yale, London and Chicago universities.
Other universities in the top 10 for this category included Stanford, Northwestern (Kellogg), Dartmouth (Tuck), New York (Stern) and INSEAD.
Monash's MBA director, Associate Professor Peter Reed, said the result consolidated Monash's position as a world leader in the MBA market.
"Monash has performed consistently in recent MBA rankings, leaving no question about the quality of our program," he said.
The Economist ranking builds on the program's success in the Australian Financial Review BOSS Magazine's MBA rankings for 2005, announced earlier this month.
In those rankings, Monash's MBA was classed in the top band, of a possible four bands, with the Melbourne Business School, the University of Queensland, the Australian Graduate School of Management and Queensland University of Technology.
"These rankings demonstrate the strength of Monash's reputation and the advantages of studying at Monash," Associate Professor Reed said.
5 October 2005
A group of West Sumatran Government officials last week gave a cultural performance at Monash on behalf of their provincial government.
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| West Sumatran Government officials perform a regional dance. |
The revue was performed on West Sumatra Day at Monash's Clayton campus to an audience of almost 80 staff and students.
The performance included regional dances, traditional music and presentations highlighting the culture and scenery of West Sumatra.
Located in Indonesia, the province of West Sumatra is home to the Minangkabau people, one of Indonesia's most interesting and influential ethnic groups.
The government officials, from the West Sumatran capital of Padang, are the second group to visit Monash this year. They have been completing a training program in public administration and English language.
Monash International's Study Groups manager Mr James Brown, who conducted the training course for the West Sumatran Government, said the performance was enjoyed as a colourful celebration of traditional Minangkabau culture.
The training program is funded by the West Sumatran Government and organised by Monash International's Study Groups.
The performance was attended by the vice-governor of the province of West Sumatra, Professor Marlis Rahman, and the consul-general of the Republic of Indonesia, Mr Wahid Supriadi.
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| Traditional West Sumatran costumes include pointed hats, symbolic of the horns of the water buffalo, significant in the Minangkabau culture. |
5 October 2005
Dr Elise Histed from the Law faculty has received $50,000 from the Victorian Land Registry to investigate the possibility of harmonising registered title law across Australia.
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| From left: Registrar of titles Ms Barbara Flett, Dr Elise Histed, Minister for Planning Mr Rob Hulls, Built Environment deputy secretary Ms Genevieve Overell, and Law dean Professor Arie Freiberg. |
The Victorian Land Registry, with the approval of the other state and territory registries, has initiated the project to address land registration inconsistencies.
The Australian states and territories introduced their own systems of land title registration in the mid to late-1800s.
"But this approach has two serious problems," Dr Histed said. "The first is the fundamental differences in the rights of landowners between the jurisdictions, and the second is that the system does not streamline the difficulties experienced before the mid-1880s.
"Today, for example, a person who receives land as a gift has different rights on that land, depending on which jurisdiction it's in -- which hardly seems like a sensible situation."
If Dr Histed's project is successful, the implications for the economy and property owners could be huge.
"If doctrines and procedures can be harmonised across the country, the resulting economic efficiencies and cost savings will be enormous," she said.
Dr Histed said this would not only boost national commerce by making interstate property ownership easier to achieve, it would also facilitate international trade and commerce.
"Companies -- and in particular financial and lending institutions -- dealing with property in Australia have to cope with eight different sets of legislation, which is one area we hope to streamline," she said.
"Victoria hopes this matter can be advanced to a national template with legislation through the Standing Committee of Attorneys General.
"This will also facilitate electronic conveyancing across the jurisdictions, so solicitors can do land transactions -- such as buying and selling houses --electronically.
"The project also allows us to take a fresh look at the workings of the Land Registration System in the 21st century and, in light of our experience over the past 150 years, revitalise it for the modern residential and commercial world."
Dr Histed will consult with all state and territory land registries in the course of her research as well as making international comparisons.
The Victorian Land Registry grant has been used as seed funding for an Australian Research Council linkage grant application, which, if successful, would double the amount of funding available for the project.
5 October 2005
A memorial lecture in honour of the founding director of the Monash Centre for Increasing Returns and Economic Organisation, Professor Xiaokai Yang, has been held following the first anniversary of his death.
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| Vice-Chancellor Professor Richard Larkins with Professor Sonnenschein. |
Professor Yang (pictured below) was internationally recognised as a leading theorist in economic analysis and was nominated for the 2002 and 2003 Nobel Prize in Economics. He died on 7 July 2004.
The memorial lecture, established by Monash to honour Professor Yang, was presented last week as one of only three plenary lectures at the National Conference of Economists.
Vice-chancellor Professor Richard Larkins introduced the lecture, which was presented by the Adam Smith distinguished service professor and president emeritus of the University of Chicago, Professor Hugo Sonnenschein.
Professor Sonnenschein is one of the world's leading general equilibrium theorists and was one of Professor Yang's teachers at Princeton University.
His lecture questioned the robustness of key theoretical predictions of traditional trade theory and, in particular, the Rybczynski Theorem.
Professor Sonnenschein said the project was inspired by the writings of Professor Yang.
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Professor Yang came to Monash as a lecturer in 1988 and was awarded a personal chair in 2000.
His work is highly regarded by fellow economists and won considerable attention and international repute for Monash.
The executive director of the Centre for Increasing Returns and Economic Organisation, Dr Christis Tombazos, said the lecture was a fitting tribute to the memory and intellectual legacy of Professor Yang.
"It was an occasion to celebrate the work of one of Monash's most distinguished scholars, but also -- very much in the spirit of what Xiaokai would have wanted -- an occasion to reflect on the key questions of economic theory," Dr Tombazos said.
The Xiaokai Yang Memorial Lecture is sponsored by the Xiaokai Yang Memorial Fund, the Department of Economics, the Monash Vice-Chancellor's Fund and the Institute for the Study of Global Movements.
5 October 2005
The Monash Bachelor of Pharmacy is now being taught at the University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates.
The dean of the Victorian College of Pharmacy, Professor Colin Chapman, and the faculty manager, Ms Marian Costelloe, have just returned from Sharjah, where they oversaw the first intake of 55 students.
Professor Chapman said he expected enrolments would grow rapidly.
The pharmacy course is being taught under a five-year contract -- signed in April -- between Monash University and the University of Sharjah.
Under the arrangement, Monash will provide its pharmacy curriculum and course material for use, help recruit senior teaching staff, and design a new hospital and separate research building.
Ms Costelloe said the University of Sharjah, established in 1997, was a not-for-profit university with about 5000 undergraduate students in eight colleges.
"It has brand new buildings set in magnificent grounds in one of the most stable and advanced emirates in the Middle East," she said.
Professor Chapman said the collaboration was beneficial to the Victorian College of Pharmacy because Sharjah University was located at one of the world's major international hubs for travel and trade.
"Through the University of Sharjah, we are introducing a modern pharmacy curriculum to the Middle East, along with research programs, and we see this as an exciting opportunity for potential research collaboration and staff and student exchange.
"It is a wonderful opportunity that allows us to be part of the establishment of a truly world-leading pharmacy teaching faculty from the ground up," Professor Chapman said.
5 October 2005
Monash last week canvassed establishing collaborations with the University of Pretoria, South Africa, during a visit by its vice-chancellor, Professor Calie Pistorius.
Professor Pistorius and Professor Michele Olivier, who teaches international law at the University of Pretoria, met with Monash vice-chancellor Professor Richard Larkins and other senior academics.
Professor Larkins said possible areas of collaboration were discussed.
"After spending the first few years laying a solid foundation, Monash South Africa is now ideally placed to become a fully fledged member of the well-established higher education sector in South Africa," Professor Larkins said.
"We look forward to future collaborations with institutions such as the University of Pretoria."
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| Standing (from left): Mr Andrew Cavanagh and Mr Steve Ogden-Barnes, program directors in the Australian Centre for Retail Studies; Professor Larkins; Professor Pistorius; Professor John Anderson, pro vice-chancellor (business and industry). Seated (from left): Ms Amanda Young, executive director, Australian Centre for Retail Studies; Professor Mike Ewing, Marketing department research head; and Professor Olivier. |
5 October 2005
Senior lecturer in Indonesian Studies Mr Bas Koesasi has been recognised by Padjadjaran University in Bandung, Indonesia, for his service to education.
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| From left: Professor Dr E Saefullah, Monash Law graduate and Senate chairman, Padjadjaran University, Mrs Tien Saefullah, award recipient Mr Bas Koesasi, Mrs Himendra and Professor Dr H.A. Himendra, rector and president of Padjadjaran University. |
Mr Koesasi's award acknowledges his 'unprecedented contribution' towards strengthening the collaboration between Monash and Padjadjaran University through activities involving education and culture.
Professor Dr H.A. Himendra, rector and president of Padjadjaran University, last month presented Mr Koesasi with the award Satya Karya Bhakti Pendidikan Unpad (Distinguished Service in Education) during an official ceremony in Indonesia.
The official citation added that Mr Koesasi's contribution had 'enhanced the friendship between the Australian and Indonesian people'.
Mr Koesasi, who was until early this year convenor of the Indonesian Studies program at Monash's School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics at the Clayton campus, said he was humbled to receive the award.
"This is the highest award presented to people outside the university, so it is a great honour," he said. "It was also great to see so many of our alumni at the presentation, many of whom I still keep in regular contact with."
Mr Koesasi has been at Monash since 1973, beginning his academic career as a tutor in Indonesian. In 1979 he took the first group of Monash students to Padjadjaran University, beginning a long-standing relationship between Monash and the Indonesian university.
"Monash has been closely linked with Padjadjaran over the years through academic and cultural exchanges, research collaborations, and the exchange of students. These activities have enabled many Indonesian people to better improve their education and links to Australia," he said.
"A key role I have also played is facilitating people-to-people contact. This has enabled my students to better their relationship with Indonesia and enabled Monash to build a very strong relationship with the Indonesian community."
5 October 2005
Monash's Centre for Developmental Disability Health Victoria last week hosted an international conference to discuss issues involved in caring for people with disabilities.
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| Minister for Community Services, Ms Sheryl Garbutt. |
The conference combined the roundtable of the Health Issues and Mental Health Special Interest Research Groups of the International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual Disability and the annual conference of the Australian Association of Developmental Disability Medicine. It was the first time these events were held in the southern hemisphere.
The conference was opened by the Minister for Community Services, Ms Sheryl Garbutt. It attracted clinicians, health professionals, health service managers and policy makers from around the world.
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| Centre for Developmental Disability Health Victoria director Associate Professor Robert Davis. |
Centre for Developmental Disability Health Victoria director Associate Professor Robert Davis said the conference aimed to address issues involved in caring for people with disabilities; these included nutrition, the latest advances in cerebral palsy, the health of families with children with disabilities, the diagnosis and management of psychiatric disorders, genetics, and problems associated with ageing.
"People with intellectual disabilities are nearly five times more likely to die than other people of the same age and those with severe degrees of intellectual disability have a 20-year lower life expectancy than the general population," Dr Davis said.
"Research has shown that most Australian GPs see themselves as responsible for the primary healthcare of people with disabilities, but most say they are inexperienced with this group.
"Therefore, education and training for generic and specialist health professionals is essential, as is debate into appropriate healthcare delivery."
5 October 2005
The world's first webcast of a "seeing sound" waterwork will take place at Monash in November in a project initiated by UK-based artist Caroline Locke.
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| Interdisciplinary artist and Hydrophonics mastermind, Ms Caroline Locke. |
Ms Locke, known for her large-scale installation works, is the latest participant in the Art and Design faculty's 2005 Artist-in-Residence program.
She is based in the Department of Multimedia and Digital Arts where she is working with the department's deputy head of research, Mr Troy Innocent, to stage the webcast of her major "seeing sound" waterwork -- Hydrophonics - at Monash's Caulfield campus.
The performance of Hydrophonics will be streamed live via the internet to Britain during two sessions -- one evening and one early morning - on 27 and 28 November, as part of the Radiator Digital Arts Festival in Nottingham.
Sound will be sent from the Caulfield campus to specially designed water tanks at a venue in Nottingham. The sound, animated by speakers under the tanks, will result in ripples and fountains being created on the surface of water.
Three Monash musicians will play and develop music especially for the event under the guidance of Mr Peter McIlwain, lecturer in technology and composition at Monash's School of Music -- Conservatorium. Ms Locke will also work with sound and technology specialist Mr Casey Rice to experiment and further extend ideas around the work.
Live video footage of the musicians performing will be sent from Australia and projected onto the walls at the Nottingham venue. At the same time, video images of the sound affecting the water surface in the tanks will be sent live from Nottingham and projected at the Monash venue. The time delay will be about one second.
Ms Locke said the event would be the first of its kind to be staged anywhere in the world.
"Hydrophonics is a sonic art event but also involves kinetic elements, electronics, and new webstreaming and digital video technologies," Ms Locke said.
"Water behaviour is fascinating and the performance of Hydrophonics will be quite mesmerizing. The audience in Melbourne will be able to hear the sound live and see the sight of the sounds from across the hemisphere."
Ms Locke will be in residence until 31 October and will return later in November to stage Hydrophonics.
5 October 2005
Two books co-authored by Monash business academics - one examining Malaysian company law and the other Islamic accounting - have been launched in Malaysia, strengthening the university's profile in the region.
Ms Shanthy Rachagan from the Malaysia campus and Mrs Janine Pascoe from the Clayton campus, both senior lecturers in Business Law and Taxation, co-authored Concise Principles of Company Law in Malaysia with Mr Anil Joshi from the Malaysia Companies Commission.
And Professor Bala Shanmugan, from Monash University Malaysia, has co-authored Issues in Islamic Accounting with research assistant Mr Vignesen Perumal and tutor Miss Alfieya Hanuum Ridzwam.
Both books were launched last week by Malaysia's Deputy Minister of Information, Dato' Donald Lim Siang Chai.
Concise Principles of Company Law in Malaysia discusses the latest applications of law based on significant decisions made by courts in Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and the United Kingdom. It also outlines new and proposed legislative developments as well as changes to the requirements companies need to fulfil to be listed on Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd, - Malaysia's consolidated national exchange.
Mrs Pascoe said the book was a practical and comprehensive guide to the basic concepts and principles of Malaysian company law.
"By putting legislation and cases in context, our book will help to deepen the understanding of company law in Malaysia," she said.
Professor Bala's book is a collection of edited articles that examine the world's financial affairs and the issues and perceptions of Islamic accounting.
He said the book would serve as a good comparative text for students and practitioners of Islamic accounting.
"It presents current and relevant issues, making it a useful tool for researchers looking at the recognition of Islamic accounting concepts in the West," Professor Bala said.
5 October 2005
An Indonesian translation of The Gamelan Digul by Monash ethnomusicologist Professor Margaret Kartomi (pictured) was launched last week.
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The book tells the fascinating story of Central Javanese musician Pontjopangrawit, who constructed the Gamelan Digul.
First published in 2000 and translated from English into Indonesian by poet and writer Mr Hersri Setiawan, the book was launched by the Indonesian Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mr Jero Wacik, as part of the Indonesian Festival at Federation Square in Melbourne.
Pontjopangrawit, a court musician, was jailed in the Tanah Merah ('red earth') prison camp at Boven Digul, Central New Guinea, in 1927 for his anti-colonial protests. While imprisoned, he constructed the Gamelan Digul from objects including eating utensils, old doors, animal skins and timber from the surrounding jungle.
Although entirely made from 'found' materials, the Gamelan Digul serves as an example of how iron gamelan instruments were made in the 1920s in the Kemlayan district of Surakarta, where Pontjopangrawit learned his craft.
A Javanese gamelan is usually a bronze orchestra of about 60 instruments, played for its music or to accompany ritual, ceremony, dance or theatre. It includes four large gongs, kettle gong drums, xylophones, slab metallophones, bowed lutes, flutes and vocal parts.
The Gamelan Digul, which is now held in the Monash Music Archive, became a symbol of Australian-Indonesian friendship and Australia's link with the Indonesian Revolution after it was exported to Australia with prisoners from Digul during World War II.
Following the prisoners' arrival in Australia, Australian waterside workers and others showed their support for Indonesian independence by refusing to load ships of weapons bound for Indonesia.
Professor Kartomi said the translation came about because of interest among Indonesians in the story of the Gamelan Digul and the Indonesian government's interest in the gamelan as a symbol of the country's independence struggle.
She said she was moved that representatives of the Indonesian government identified with the gamelan and wanted to use it to improve relations between Australia and Indonesia.
"I hope the launch of the book in Indonesian translation will result in increased interest in improving relations between the peoples of our two neighbouring cultures," she said.
5 October 2005
More than 400 graduates of Monash University Malaysia have received their degrees at a ceremony in Malaysia.
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| Top graduate for the Bachelor of Science (Biotechnology) Ms Ng Po Eng with her parents. |
The degrees were presented by Monash University's chancellor, Mr Jeremy Ellis. Also present at the graduation were vice-chancellor Professor Richard Larkins and Monash University Malaysia's pro vice-chancellor, Professor Merilyn Liddell.
The best graduate from the Bachelor of Business and Commerce was Ms Yeoh Wooi Nee, who is already making steady progress in her career with one of Singapore's top accounting firms.
Ms Yeoh said her Monash experience had given her a strong academic foundation to progress well in the work place.
"The kind of job I'm in requires technical know-how, research and skills including being a great team player and having the ability to work effectively under challenging conditions -- and with little supervision," she said.
Professor Liddell said the 435 graduands at the ceremony was a record for the campus.
A survey last year by Monash University Malaysia revealed that, on average, graduates from the Malaysia campus found full-time employment within two months of completing their studies.
"Monash's combination of academic endeavour and engagement with the community has helped prepare our graduates for challenges in the workplace," Professor Liddell said.
"Employers want graduates who are prepared for intellectual challenges and can think for themselves. Our graduates have the capacity to adapt well in the work place and the resilience to face the demands of the job."
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| Bachelor of Business and Commerce graduate Ms Yeoh Wooi Nee with her parents. |