Are you a researcher who realises the importance of sharing your research with a wider audience? Maybe you've seen your field of science misrepresented or badly reported in the news. Would you like to be heard when your field of expertise hits the news? Scimex enables researchers to communicate science to the public through the media and is free for experts.

Since it's launch in 2015, Scimex has enabled researchers and journalists to collaborate on effectively communicating research science to a variety of audiences. "SciMex provides a direct link to journalists," said Annie Hastwell, Journalist at the Australian Science Media Centre. "More than 1500 national and international journalists use this database as their first point of call to find scientific experts for media interview and comment."

Registering for Scimex is easy, and for those already registered now is the time to update your profile, ready for a new year of amazing discoveries and stories to tell. "Being registered significantly increases your chance to comment on breaking news and be quoted in the media," said Annie. "When research experts sign up to our database, we will reach out to them whenever their field of expertise is in the news to ask them to provide comment for Expert Reactions. We monitor the coverage these comments receive and keep the researchers informed."

Scimex has an easy to follow registration process where you create your own expert profile listing, and you can promote your research to journalists and add events to the Scimex event listing. Below is an example of an Expert Profile, courtesy of Scimex.

The Flinders Media Officer contact is Tania Bawden, Journalist (Research) Office of Communication and Engagement. Tania can also be contacted via mobile on 0434 101 516. Karen Ashford, Director - Media and Communications in the Office of Communication and Engagement, can also be contacted for assistance and advice in media training (M: 0427 398 713).

 

Where to go if you are contacted by the media?

The Office of Communication and Engagement at Flinders offers media training in group and one-on-one sessions. Contact the Office of Communication and Engagement as your first point of call if you have been contacted by the media.

Other handy media links

The Conversation has experienced journalists and editors who can provide assistance and advice to those wanting to start out or improve their writing communication skills in respect to print media. Flinders is a supporter of The Conversation and encourages our academics to get involved.

The Media Centre for Education Research Australia (MCERA) assists in improving the quality of research-informed education reporting.

Science Media Savvy provides some excellent top tips for researchers.

RiAus, based here in Adelaide, and Science in Public run workshops on media training throughout the year around Australia.

The first animals that crawled out of water and onto land – the greatest step in evolution - had many obstacles to overcome. Multiple physical changes had to occur for these vertebrates to survive on land, including developing limbs from fins, having lungs with which to breathe air and the first appearance of fingers and toes.

The many anatomical changes to their skeleton have been well-studied, but there is less known about the changes in the brain that accompanied this transition. This group of fish are some of our earliest ancestors, and identifying changes in the shape of their brains goes in part to understanding our very own evolutionary history.

Changes in brain shape reflect reliance on various sensory abilities, and can help pinpoint the origins of certain behaviours. For example, some dinosaur skulls show “flight-ready” adaptations (large expansions for regions relating to information processing and motor control), suggesting that these dinosaurs had already evolved the capability for flight before the origin of birds. My research aims to identify similar changes at the critical juncture as fish moved from water to land, using modern scanning technology and 3D modelling software in conjunction with exceptionally-preserved 3D fossil material and living fishes. So far we have revealed that the trends that characterise lungfish brains today can be traced all the way back to the Devonian, over 400 million years ago.

Alice’s article describing the new technique for reconstructing brains in fossil animals can be accessed at Royal Society Open Science.

 

Dr Alice Clement

Dr Alice Clement is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Vertebrate Palaeontology Group at Flinders University. Her current research focusses on the first terrestrial vertebrates and their closest fish relatives. Alice uses exceptionally-preserved three-dimensional (3D) fossils from the Devonian “Age of Fishes” as well as living fishes to identify changes in the bodies of these animals as they made the greatest step in evolution, the first transition from water to land almost 400 million years ago.

Role: Postdoctoral Research Associate
College: Science and Engineering
Campus: Bedford Park
E: alice.clement@flinders.edu.au
T: +61 8 8201 3498

This is a new feature for Inspiring Research where we profile Flinders’ Early Career Researchers (ECRs) in our ECR Spotlight. This initiative will appear regularly and aims to connect our research community and strengthen research communications within the University. You will get insight into who our ECRs are and how their research and achievements are making a difference.

The featured ECRs welcome dialogue, debate, and conversation and we hope that it may shape future intra-, inter- and/or trans-disciplinary collaboration with Flinders’ colleagues. Please feel free to comment on their spotlight, and/or contact them directly. Also, you can contact the ECR Spotlight coordinator, Dr Marina Delpin, with your queries and comments.

Flinders’ close links with Italy moved a step closer with the announcement of the winning project for the Inaugural Fincantieri – Flinders – CETENA Maritime Innovation Challenge. Associate Professor Karl Sammut at the Centre for Maritime Engineering, Control and Imaging (CMECI) won for his project on Launch and Recovery Systems for Ship deployed Autonomous Underwater Vessels.

They will receive $310,000 towards the project, which also involves the research team collaborating with the University of Genoa, one of Fincantieri’s key academic partners in Italy.

The scope of the project is to develop an automated system for launching and recovering autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) from a ship. Existing launch and recovery methods require the use of manned boats to assist the process, making it a very hazardous process for both the crew and the vehicle. This project will involve the development of automated guidance systems that direct the vehicle back towards its mothership as well as the development of the towed docking station that is used to release and capture the vehicle. The result of the study will eventually lead to safer AUV deployment and recovery systems that can operate even under inclement sea state conditions, thus increasing the weather operating window within which such vehicles can be employed.

Each proposal was assessed on not just the immediate ability for the project to deliver on the research methodologies but also for commercial application in a 3-5 year timeframe. The Challenge received excellent proposals, and further opportunities are being explored for the proposals submitted to the challenge. A key selection criteria was for the research groups to consider the ability of their research to work with their Industry partner’s goals – taking the research to the market.

Launched at the Pacific International Maritime Exposition in October, by Vice-Chancellor Professor Colin Stirling, along with Mr Dario Deste, Chairman of Fincantieri Australia, and Mr Sandro Scarrone, President of CETENA, the Maritime Innovation Challenge was aimed at creating a 12 month project addressing Fincantieri’s competitive identified drivers. Proposals were developed within a 3 week time frame and included collaboration with the University of Genoa in the development of the technical activities.

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Flinders and the University of Genoa in January 2017 to cooperate in research and development and training with focus on maritime, naval architecture and shipbuilding. This Challenge provides a tangible focus for further collaboration.

Additionally, two Flinders University Business School students undertook internships in Italy with Fincantieri during the year.

From left to right: Professor Robert Saint, Dr Pramod Nair, Dr Shailesh Bihari, Dr Monique Mulholland, Dr Alice Clement, Dr Ian Moffat, Dr Mihir Dilip Wechalekar, and Vice-Chancellor Professor Colin Stirling

The 2017 Vice-Chancellor's Awards for Early Career Researchers have been announced. Eight Flinders researchers have been recognised for their outstanding contribution to the University. Each recipient will receive $2,500 to fund opportunities to broaden their networks and enhance their standing and recognition as a staff member of Flinders University.

Research into early rheumatoid arthritis, on the sociology of gender and sexuality and science and technology policy studies are just three of the areas of research on which the 2017 awardees have focussed their careers. “I’m honoured to receive a Vice Chancellor’s Award for Early Career Researchers and very thankful to Flinders University for recognising and supporting my research in this way.  It was a pleasure to meet my fellow awardees at the award cemeteries and find out more about the inspiring research that ECR’s are undertaking at Flinders,” said Dr Ian Moffat. Ian is also a mentee in the 2017 Flinders University Researcher Mentoring Scheme.

The Awardees, listed with their field of research and College affiliation, are:

Dr Shailesh Bihari, lung injury, College of Medicine and Public Health

Dr Alice Clement, evolutionary biology, College of Science and Engineering

Dr Ian Moffat, archaeological science, College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Dr Monique Mulholland, sociology of gender and sexuality, College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Dr Pramod Nair, pharmacology, College of Medicine and Public Health

Dr Owen Siggs, genetics, College of Medicine and Public Health

Dr Peter Tangney, science and technology policy studies, College of Science and Engineering

Dr Mihir Dilip Wechalekar, early rheumatoid arthritis, College of Medicine and Public Health

These awards recognise, reward and encourage excellence in research across the University.

Imagine you are driving on a busy road and trying to pull over to a safe place whilst avoiding multiple road distractions. If you speak multiple languages, you are more likely to stay focused, ignore the distractions and succeed.

The advantages of speaking a language in addition to your native tongue have been known for some time. Recent research has revealed that the benefits of bilingualism may extend even further. Individuals have been observed to possess heightened cognitive abilities, including focused attention and inhibiting distracting information – skills that are critical for our everyday, increasingly complex lives. These studies to date, however, have failed to control for Socio Economic Status (SES) and literacy - factors that can drive superior cognitive abilities.

Our study addressed this knowledge gap by testing a group of illiterate bilinguals from low SES. Through comparing their performance on cognitive tasks to illiterate monolinguals from low SES, we found that bilingualism has a positive effect on cognitive abilities, with that group demonstrating significantly higher cognitive performance.

As bilingualism bestows positive effects over and above the effects of SES and literacy, we recommend that there is a need for maintaining bilingualism for individuals living in low SES circumstances. Bilingualism may be the only single life factor that can provide cognitive benefits for these individuals compared to higher SES bilinguals, who can be exposed to a number of positive life experiences for cognition, such as playing video games and learning music.

More information about this finding can be found in my article, co-authored with Dr Britta Biedermann and Professor Lyndsey Nickels, Effect of socio-economic status on cognitive control in non-literate bilingual speakers published by Bilingualism, Language and Cognition.

 

Dr Vishnu KK Nair

Dr Vishnu KK Nair is a Cognitive Scientist with a background training in Speech Pathology. He is currently a Lecturer in Speech Pathology. Vishnu is interested in examining the effects of bilingualism on cognitive and linguistic processing in bi/multilingual healthy individuals and individuals with aphasia. This research area is highly interdisciplinary and combines related fields such as cognitive neuropsycholgy, experimental psychology, psycholinguistics and speech pathology. He is also an Associate Investigator at the ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Macquarie University.

Role: Lecturer in Speech Pathology
College: Nursing and Health Sciences
Campus: Bedford Park
E: vishnu.nair@flinders.edu.au
T: +61 8 7221 8837

This is a new feature for Inspiring Research where we profile Flinders’ Early Career Researchers (ECRs) in our ECR Spotlight. This initiative will appear regularly and aims to connect our research community and strengthen research communications within the University. You will get insight into who our ECRs are and how their research and achievements are making a difference.

The featured ECRs welcome dialogue, debate, and conversation and we hope that it may shape future intra-, inter- and/or trans-disciplinary collaboration with Flinders’ colleagues. Please feel free to comment on their spotlight, and/or contact them directly. Also, you can contact the ECR Spotlight coordinator, Dr Marina Delpin, with your queries and comments.

Flinders researchers have been awarded a Centre of Research Excellence, a Targeted Call for Research - Implementation of Dementia Research into Clinical Practice and Care, twelve Project Grants, one Program Grant, one Medical Research Future Fund TRIP Fellowship and two Postgraduate Scholarships, with the total awarded amount to Flinders in the two recent NHMRC round announcements being $24,795,927.80.

Ophthalmology at Flinders had a good showing with Dr Ebony Liu and Dr Genevieve Oliver being awarded Postgraduate Scholarships, Associate Professor Jamie Craig and Professor Justine Smith were both awarded a project grant and Jamie was also awarded a Program Grant. Other project grants include treating type 2 diabetes and obesity through gene targeting, improving drug resistance in chemotherapy, and exploring the role of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and Liaison Officers in hospitals.

Congratulations to all the researchers, research teams and support staff involved in the submissions. Over the coming months, we will have articles highlighting individual successes from this round.

There are also named Chief Investigators on NHMRC Grants led by other universities.

2018 Successful NHMRC Project Grants – led by Flinders University researchers

Decolonising practice in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary health care
Professor Fran Baum, Dr Toby Freeman, Dr Tamara Mackean, Professor Juanita Sherwood (University of Sydney), Associate Professor Anna Ziersch, Associate Professor Deborah Askew (Queensland Health), Dr Annette Browne (University of British Columbia, Canada), Professor Judith Dwyer, and Professor Michael Kidd.
Amount Awarded: $1,451,490.50 (5 year project)

Silencing visceral nociceptors by targeting NaV1.1: A novel therapeutic approach for treating Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Associate Professor Stuart Brierley, Professor Richard Lewis (The University of Queensland), Dr Irina Vetter (The University of Queensland), and Associate Professor Grigori Rychkov (The University of Adelaide)
Amount Awarded: $696,808.50 (3 year project)

First-in-Field Study of Mechanisms Operating in Post-Ebola Eye Disease
Professor Justine Smith, Dr Glenn Marsh (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation), Dr Jillian Carr, and Associate Professor Steven Yeh (Emory University)
Amount Awarded: $748,985.20 (3 year project)

Is overactive bladder a 'Bladder itch'? Identification of itch specific pathways within the bladder
Associate Professor Stuart Brierley, Professor David Grundy (Sheffield University, UK), and Professor Nicholas Spencer.
Amount Awarded: $720,585.00 (3 year project)

Targeting RCAN1 to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity
Professor Damien Keating, Professor Leif Groop (Lund University, Sweden),and Associate Professor Beverly Rothermel (University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center)
Amount Awarded: $814,468.20 (3 year project)

A new clinical tool to assess fitness-to-drive in obstructive sleep apnea
Doctor Andrew Vakulin, Professor Ronald Grunstein (University of Sydney),  Professor R. Douglas McEvoy, Associate Professor Peter Catcheside, Associate Professor Keith Wong (Woolcock Institute of Medical Research Limited), and Dr Angela D'Rozario (University of Sydney)
Amount Awarded: $727,962.80 (3 year project)

UGT enzymes in chemotherapeutic drug metabolism: new avenues to improve drug response and overcome resistance
Dr Robyn Meech, Professor Ross McKinnon, Emeritus Professor Peter Mackenzie, Dr Dong Gui Hu, and Professor Christos Karapetis.
Amount Awarded: $610,005.00 (3 year project)

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers’ and Liaison Officers’ role in quality acute health care services
Dr Tamara Mackean, Professor Fran Baum, Dr Annabelle Wilson, Professor Eileen Willis, Dr Janet Kelly (The University of Adelaide), Associate Professor Kerry Taylor, Dr Odette Gibson (South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute Limited), Dr Catherine Hunter (The George Institute for Global Health), and Dr Kim O'Donnell.
Amount Awarded: $1,571,334.20 (4 year project)

How stimulant laxatives work
Professor Simon Brookes, Associate Professor Philip Dinning (Flinders Medical Centre), and Professor Marcello Costa.
Amount Awarded: $529,428.00 (3 year project)

Validating novel biomarkers relevant to major depression
Professor Ma-Li Wong (South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute Limited), and Professor Julio Licinio (South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute Limited)
Amount Awarded: $515,549.50 (3 year project)

A Randomised Evaluation of the Appropriateness of Anatomic Coronary Investigation in Cardiac Injury/MI Type 2
Professor Derek Chew, Professor John French (University of New South Wales), Professor Harvey White (Auckland Hospital, NZ), Professor Michael Farkouh (University of Toronto, Canada), Dr Stephen Quinn (Swinburne University of Technology), Associate Professor Billingsley Kaambwa.
Amount Awarded: $2,481,816.00 (5 year project)

Translation of glaucoma blindness genes to improve clinical practice
Professor Jamie Craig, Associate Professor Alex Hewitt (University of Tasmania), Associate Professor Stuart Macgregor (The Council of the Queensland Institute of Medical Research), Professor David Mackey (University of Western Australia), Associate Professor Kathryn Burdon (University of Tasmania), Professor Lyle Palmer (The University of Adelaide), Associate Professor John Landers, Dr Puya Gharahkhani (The Council of the Queensland Institute of Medical Research), Professor Robert Casson (The University of Adelaide).
Amount Awarded: $844,965.60 (5 year project)

 

2019 Program Grant

Translating genetic determinants of glaucoma into better diagnosis and treatment
Professor Jamie Craig, Professor David Mackey (University of Western Australia), Associate Professor Stuart Macgregor (The Council of the Queensland Institute of Medical Research), and Associate Professor Alex Hewitt (University of Tasmania).
Amount Awarded: $9,466,000.00 (5 year project)

 

2017 Medical Research Future Fund TRIP Fellowship

Enhancing the capacity of mental health services to review, personalise and intervene early through implementation of real-time outcome monitoring
Associate Professor Niranjan Bidargaddi
Amount Awarded: $179,118.00 (2 years)

 

2017 Postgraduate Scholarships

Emerging and Re-emerging Retinal Infections
Dr Genevieve Oliver
Amount Awarded: $94,952.75 (3 years)

Risk factors for diabetic retinopathy and its treatment
Dr Ebony Liu
Amount Awarded: $73,963.25 (2 years)

 

2017 CRE Application

National Centre for Sleep Health Services Research - Positioning Primary Care at the Centre of Sleep Health Management
Professor Doug McEvoy, Professor Nigel Stocks (University of Adelaide), Professor Nicholas Zwar (University of New South Wales), Professor Ronald Grunstein (University of Sydney), Dr Ching Li Chai-Coetzer, Professor Leon Lack, Professor Robert Adams (University of Adelaide), Professor Sally Redman (The Sax Institute), Dr Andrew Vakulin, and Professor Steven Wesselingh (South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute Limited).
Amount Awarded: $ 2,497,977.50

 

2017 Targeted Call for Research - Implementation of Dementia Research into Clinical Practice and Care

‘Agents of Change’: Improving post diagnosis care for people with dementia and their carers through the establishment of a National Quality Collaborative to implement guideline recommendations
Dr Kate Laver, Professor Janna Fitzgerald (Griffith University), Professor Maria Crotty, Professor Susan Kurrle (University of Sydney), Professor Ian Cameron (University of Sydney), Associate Professor Craig Whitehead, Dr Jane Thompson, and Associate Professor Billingsley Kaambwa.
Amount Awarded: $770,517.80

The Channel 7 Children's Research Foundation (CRF) have announced the awarded projects for 2018. Five projects were awarded funding for Flinders researchers, including an Early Career Researcher. The CRF aims to build capability in South Australia by attracting and retaining local research talent; specifically, by fostering early career researchers, advancing 'proof of concept' research, supporting specific research programs and providing seed funding for early stage research and researchers where other grant funding is unavailable.

The Flinders projects will provide crucial information of eating disorder risk during adolescence, aim to minimise lung injury during resuscitation of preterm infants, find a non-invasive test for paediatric celiac disease, see if a small protein can help minimise the damage to developing lungs, and help create effective mindfulness programs for schools aimed at specifically for youths.

Can school based mindfulness programs prevent mental health problems in adolescents? by Professor Tracey Wade has been funded for $75,000.
Given one in four Australians aged 16-24 have a mental health condition, schools are investing millions of dollars in programs that may enhance mental health (The Australian, 9.1.17, Schools invest in ‘wellness’ centres). However, current program developers of mindfulness are “flying blind” in trying to modify the robustly successful adult curricula to youth. This research will make a world-first contribution in identifying key ingredients needed for effective youth versions of mindfulness. This will assist schools in choosing evidence based programs matched to appropriate ages.

An investigation into eating and anxiety disorder risk factors and genetic architecture in adolescent twin girls by Dr Kate Fairweather-Schmidt has been funded for $74,906.
This project will provide crucial information of eating disorder risk during its greatest incidence period of adolescence, both at a diagnostic and symptom level, of pertinence to clinical and public health applications. Findings will (1) generate knowledge pertaining to observed co-occurrence of eating disorders and anxiety, including overlap between genetic and environmental risk factors; and, (2) identify strategic and specific targets that can maximise the success of interventions for prevention and treatment of eating and anxiety disorders.

A New Breath Test for Paediatric Celiac Disease by Dr Roger Yazbek has been funded for $74,406.
Almost 1% of Australian children suffer with celiac disease, with a large number still going undiagnosed. Current methods for the detection of celiac disease are costly and invasive, leading to delays in diagnosis. New tests are needed that are non-invasive, rapid, and more suitable for a paediatric setting. We have developed a new, stable-isotope breath test that may detect the intestines ability to break down gluten. We will conduct a pilot study of this breath test in children with and without celiac disease to provide proof-of-concept data for future, large scale clinical studies.

A therapeutic for infant acute lung injury: minimising immune-mediated damage to developing lungs during respiratory infection by Miss Elena Cavallaro (a Flinders Early Career Researcher) has been funded for $34,874.
Bronchiolitis and pneumonia are leading causes of infant hospitalisation in Australia. The exaggerated immunological insult stemming from these infections on developing lungs is associated with early-childhood asthma development. We have used a small protein, feG, to reduce the consequences of acute lung injury in various adult animal models, by dampening the immune response. We aim to assess feG efficacy in reducing the short and long-term effects of bronchiolitis and pneumonia during infancy, where feG may be an ideal candidate for returning the balance of the immune response in the airways.

Warming and humidifying inspiratory gases to minimise lung injury during resuscitation of extremely preterm infants by Dr Scott Morris has been funded for $31,350.
Extremely preterm babies have a high risk of lung damage leading to chronic lung disease. The cold and dry medical gases routinely used when resuscitating very small babies may damage the airway lining and contribute to chronic lung disease. Using warm and humid gases for resuscitation could be a very simple way to reduce damage to the lung. In this study we will compare cold dry gas with warm humid gas when resuscitating extremely preterm babies. If warm humid gas is less damaging, then an immediate benefit in health outcomes could be achieved with a change in clinical practice.

A framework that was developed out of the CRC for Remote Economic Participation (CRC-REP) has now been selected into the CSIRO ON: Accelerate 4 program. CRC-REP ran from 1 July 2010 until 30 June 2017 and delivered significant economic and social benefits to remote Australia.

The Interplay Wellbeing Framework is a statistical tool to measure and strengthen wellbeing. Developed specifically to improve wellbeing measurements and assessment of Indigenous Australians, it can now be used to improve wellbeing in other groups and it is this aspect that will be developed within ON: Accelerate 4.

The ON: Accelerate highly competitive program selects teams and their projects and provides them with assistance aimed at increasing the entrepreneurial skills of researchers by pairing them with mentors, hosting face-to-face workshops and ending with a Demo Day. Each team receives a $15,000 OPEX budget to assist them with participation in the program. In the last round, ON: Accelerate 3, the SeaNU team from Flinders and the CSIRO were selected. The Interplay project team participated in the ON: Prime Northern Australia program and their successful completion of that led to them being selected for the ON: Accelerate program.

"Our team benefited enormously from the CSIRO ON Prime program and are very excited about Accelerate. We connected with a broad national network of community organisations, government and philanthropic groups who not only provided us with valuable insights on their needs but who showed much interest in the Interplay Wellbeing Framework as potential partners or clients. It helped us shift from a research to an entrepreneurial mindset to broaden the impact of our work," said Associate Professor Sheree Cairney.

The key characteristics for the Interplay Wellbeing Framework include:

1. merging and strengthening both community and government priorities, 
2. providing quantitative assessment of Indigenous cultural values and needs, and
3. identifying key interrelationships and pathways to success based on a holistic understanding where all underlying parts are interrelated.

The Interplay Wellbeing Framework can be used to design and evaluate programs, based on community needs and measures of success. This is an impact driven, scientifically validated approach that statistically compares and monitors wellbeing over time, providing a roadmap to change. It is presented as on online, interactive data visualisation tool that brings together stories (videos) and numbers (statistics) for accessibility to broad audiences. This represents a solution to measuring wellbeing in the most acute case that can now be applied to solve the problem elsewhere.

The Interplay team consists of Sheree, Byron Wilson (Charles Darwin University), Tammy Abbott (Ninti One Ltd), and Jessica Yamaguchi (Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Information and Evaluation Branch).

Canada, Greece, Brazil and the United States of America are the countries represented by the Flinders' Visiting International Research Fellows (VIRF) for 2018. The purpose of the VIRF is to support engagement with high-performing international collaborators with Flinders. In order to achieve this the VIRFs will initiate and undertake collaborative research and training of researchers and students at Flinders during their visit, and engage and share ideas with researchers, with the aim of building lasting research collaboration. Another aim of the visits of the Fellow will be to lead to collaboration on an application for international research funding.

Dr Maria Giannacopoulos from Business, Government and Law will be hosting Onwubiko (Biko) Agozino from Virginia Tech, USA in June 2018. Biko is the Professor of Sociology and Africana Studies at Virginia Tech. While at Flinders Biko will be involved in a one day symposium with scholars whose work is concerned with law, colonialism and/or history.

Professor Andrew Goldsmith and Professor Christian Leuprecht from Business, Government and Law will be hosting Dr Todd Hataley from the Royal Military College (RMC) of Canada from April to May 2018. Todd is an investigator with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as well as an Adjunct Associate Professor with the RMC. While at Flinders, Todd will undertake a comparative study between Canada and Australia on policing efforts/capacity to combat trade based money laundering, the newest and possibly most complex form of money laundering. He will also present a public lecture on "Cross-border policing cooperation: The Canada - United States model".

Professor Justine Smith from Medicine and Public Health will be hosting Dr João Marcello Furtado from the Ribeirão Preo Medical School, University of São Paulo in September 2018. Since 2012, he has been Latin America's Strategic Advisor for the International Agency for Prevention of Blindness. As part of his visit, Justine and João will work on setting up an international research consortium on infectious eye disease.

Associate Professor Claire Drummond from Nursing and Health Sciences will be hosting Associate Professor Lance Dalleck from Western State Colorado University from May to June 2018. Lance is the Associate Professor of Exercise and Sport Science (ESS) and the Director, Center for Wellness and Human Performance at Western State Colorado University. While at Flinders Lance will provide valuable input into the development of the new Master of Clinical Exercise Physiology topics.

Professor Craig Simmons from Science and Engineering will be hosting Professor Rene Therrien from Universite Laval, Canada, from January to April 2018. Rene is the Vice Dean of Research from the Faculty of Science and Engineering and he has been collaborating with Craig since 1999. Rene will work with Craig and his team on a current awarded ARC grant, specifically the HydroGeoSphere modelling part of the project. Rene and his colleagues in Canada have been developing HydroGeoSphere for the past 15 years.

Associate Professor Sarah Harmer from Science and Engineering will be hosting Professor Adam Hitchcock from McMaster University, Canada, from October to December 2018. Adam is Canada Research Chair in Materials Research at McMaster University. Adam and Sarah have been collaborating over recent years on developing a new tool for in situ spectroscopic analysis of materials using Scanning Transmission X-ray Microscopy and Photoemission Electron Microscopy (STXM). While are Flinders, Sarah and Adam will run a workshop on STXM at the Australian Synchrotron Users Meeting.

Dr Grace Skrzypiec and Dr Phillip Slee from Education, Psychology and Social Work will be hosting Eleni Didaskalou from the University of Thesssaly, Greece, from January to March 2018. Eleni will deliver a seminar series with staff and postgraduate students while at Flinders and a webinar will be delivered to existing members of an international network of researchers in the field of education research by Eleni, Grace and Phillip.

Inspiring Research will feature upcoming stories and provide information on sessions with the VIRFs during 2018.

 

Australia has seen a steady inflow of immigrants who are finding employment in the hotel sector, leading to these workplaces having a high ethnic diversity of staff. In spite of legislative measures that prevent discrimination, hotels still need to implement appropriate diversity management practices to manage this workforce. In doing so, workplaces can maximise the advantages of employee diversity. So, how are the successful hotels doing it?

I research how Australian medium-sized hotels manage ethnically diverse employees. These hotels, which employ 20 – 199 staff, contribute to 35% of the industry value, but are underrepresented in research.

My research revealed that hotel general managers use self-initiated informal diversity management practices. These include informal recruitment, training and development, and performance management practices. For instance managers used ‘shadow system’ training, whereby ethnically diverse new employees were paired with employees from a similar ethnic background - this led to improved workplace operational skills.

While it is interesting to note that ethnically diverse employees are managed through informal practices, it is important that these practices be formalised so that they can be sustained over the long-term, regardless of management turnover. When informal diversity practices are effective, we encourage these practices to be recorded for the long-term benefit of the hotel. By doing so, a better quality of service can maximised and challenges, such as employee turnover, can be minimised.

 

Dr Ashokkumar Manoharan

Dr Ashokkumar Manoharan is a Lecturer in Strategic Management in Flinders Business, College of Business, Government and Law. Ashok has an interdisciplinary educational background including a PhD in Management from UniSA and an MBA, M.Sc., and Bachelors in Hotel Management. His research area focuses on organisational culture, workforce diversity and diversity management with a particular emphasis on cultural diversity in the Australian hospitality industry. One of Ashok’s articles on managing ethnic diverse employees in Australian hotel industry can be found at Science Direct.

T: 8201 2838
E: ashokkumar.manoharan@flinders.edu.au
Campus: Bedford Park
College: Business, Government and Law 
Role: Lecturer in Strategic Management

This is a new feature for Inspiring Research where we profile Flinders’ Early Career Researchers (ECRs) in our ECR Spotlight. This initiative will appear regularly and aims to connect our research community and strengthen research communications within the University. You will get insight into who our ECRs are and how their research and achievements are making a difference.

The featured ECRs welcome dialogue, debate, and conversation and we hope that it may shape future intra-, inter- and/or trans-disciplinary collaboration with Flinders’ colleagues. Please feel free to comment on their spotlight, and/or contact them directly. Also, you can contact the ECR Spotlight coordinator, Dr Marina Delpin, with your queries and comments.

The outcomes for the 2018 Australia Awards – Endeavour Scholarships and Fellowships have been announced. In 2018, six recipients from Flinders University have been offered a place to undertake professional development, study or research overseas. In addition, 12 international students and researchers have been awarded to come to Flinders.

Ms Lisa Alcock has been awarded an Endeavour Postgraduate Scholarship to study in the UK. Mr Farid Anvari, Dr Kacie Dickinson, Miss Christine Evans, Dr Katharina Peters and Mr Alan Taylor have each been awarded an Endeavour Research Fellowship. The Netherlands, Canada, New Zealand and Brazil are the countries where our researchers will spend part of 2018.

Coming to Flinders in 2018 are three Endeavour Executive Fellows in Dr Mike Charles (USA), Dr Julia Clark (USA) and Dr Piya-on Numpaisal (Thailand). The three Endeavour Postgraduate Scholarship (Masters) students are Ms Nimesha Didulani Dantanarayana (Sri Lanka), Ms Simonee Monott (Jamaica) and Mr Alessanddro Sereni (Italy). Mr Nelsensius Klau Fauk (Indonesia) and Ms Thi Huong Nguyen (Vietnam) will be at Flinders as Endeavour Postgraduate Scholarship (PhD) holders. Flinders will also be welcoming as Endeavour Research Fellows Assistant Professor Maysaa AL Mohammedawi (Iraq), Mr Thang Bach (Vietnam), Ms Amanda Fleury (Canada) and Dr David Murphy (Canada).

Dr Alice Gorman, College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, has been announced as the winner of the Bragg UNSW Press Prize for Science Writing. Her essay on the trace fossils of South Australia appeared in the Conversation as "Friday essay: trace fossils – the silence of Ediacara, the shadow of uranium". It first appeared as an essay in the Griffith Review 55th edition, State of Hope and with her win, it has now also been published by the Guardian Australia as "From the Nullarbor to the nuclear age: what fossils reveal about South Australia's past". Alice traced the history of South Australia from an ancient shoreline, through the Gondwana supercontinent and then into the advance and retreat of glaciers, the arrival of Europeans and, finally, the impact of uranium and a rocket test range. All these era's have impacted on archaeological discoveries over time and from different areas of South Australia

"I’m so pleased to have been acknowledged for doing something I love. Science writing allows scope for creativity and making connections between tiny details and big pictures to tell a story. It’s even more wonderful to take others along with you and help them see what excites you about the science," said Alice.

The Prize is an annual prize for the best short non-fiction piece on science written for a general audience. It is named in honour of Australia’s first Nobel laureates, William Henry Bragg and his son William Lawrence Bragg. The Bragg Prize winner receives a prize of $7,000 and two runners up each receive a prize of $1,500.

Alice's science writing can be found at her blog Space Age Archaeology and also on twitter as DrSpaceJunk. Space Age Archaeology has been selected for preservation by the National Library of Australia as a significant scientific blog.

Flinders has become 'Best in Show' at the National Institute of Forensic Science (Australia and New Zealand) Best Paper Awards. Out of the five awarded categories: Best Paper in a Refereed Journal; Best Chapter; Best Literature Review; Best Technical Note; and Best Case Study, Flinders has won four, and received a high commendation in Best Paper in a Refereed Journal. The Best Paper Awards were created to recognise the contribution of members of the Australian and New Zealand forensic science community in sharing their work and experiences with other members of the forensic and wider communities and to encourage all members of the forensic science community to so contribute.

"This shows the strength of collaboration between Flinders and Forensic Science SA and other research institutes," said Associate Professor Stewart Walker."The outstanding results show that our graduates - Danielle, Duncan, and Michaela - are making an impact in the workforce and are being followed by the next generation of researchers - Emily, Jared, and Jackie - who are making a difference."

The Best Paper in A Referred Journal was awarded to Professor David Powers and Dr Duncan Taylor (who is also employed at Forensic Science SA (FSSA)) for their article "Teaching artificial intelligence to read electropherograms". David and Duncan looked at artificial neural networks (ANN) which have been inspired by the workings of the human brain. These ANNs have been successful in analysing large datasets, performing medical diagnoses, identifying handwriting, playing games, or recognising images in other areas. To assist forensic DNA laboratories, David and Duncan trained an ANN to ‘read’ electropherograms and show that it can generalise to unseen profiles. Electropherograms are produced in great numbers in forensic DNA laboratories as part of everyday criminal casework. Before the results of these electropherograms can be used they must be scrutinised by analysts to determine what the identified data tells the forensic scientists about the underlying DNA sequences. The advantage of using an ANN for this purpose in forensic DNA laboratories would be the saving of resources and reduce the subjective and laborious task of manually classifying data.

Duncan noted, "The work was extended in scope with the input of Information Technology student Ash Harrison, leading to a second publication, and continues with many additional avenues that future students could pursue." David added, "Currently, Computer Science student Michael Kitselaar is using the Colossus supercomputer to optimise the generalisability of the ANNs."

"Observations of DNA transfer within an operational Forensic Biology Laboratory" by Dr Duncan Taylor, Dr Damien Abarno (who is also employed at FSSA), Ms Emily Rowe (FSSA), and Ms Lauren Rask-Nielsen was awarded the Best Technical Article or Note. Emily was a third year student at Flinders when the work for this paper was produced. In court cases, one concern about the very low levels of biological materials on items is how that DNA came to be on the item, rather than questioning that there is biological material on the item. A number of studies in tightly controlled conditions have been done previously about DNA deposition and transfer, but the Flinders and FSSA team added to this knowledge by investigating the extent to which individuals at FSSA deposited their own DNA on objects throughout the floor of the building where DNA examinations took place. By adding to this knowledge base it can allow more informative answers than 'it's possible' to be given during court cases on how DNA came to be on an item.

These two awards for Duncan add to his recent success as the STEM Professional at the 2017 South Australian Science Excellence Awards for improving forensic evidence interpretation, which included this work on ANN. 

Best Chapter was won by "Microbial impacts in postmortem toxicology" by Jared Castle (PhD student) and his supervisors - Professor Paul Kirkbride, Professor Claire Lenehan, Associate Professor Stewart Walker, Frank Reith (CSIRO), and Dr Danielle Butzbach (FSSA). Danielle is a past Flinders' honours and PhD student. This chapter, in Forensic Microbiology, was a review of past studies focused on microbes destroying or forming drugs after death. When determining the circumstances of an individual's death, the identity and quantity of drugs or poisons can assist with the determination of the cause. Microbial activity can affect this by either limiting the amount of biological specimens available for testing or altering the drugs, poisons etc within the body.

Best Case Study was awarded to Dr Jackie Wright (PhD student) and her Flinders supervisors Associate Professor Stewart Walker and Associate Professor John Edwards and co-author Michaela Kenneally (FSSA) for their article, "Adverse health effects associated with living in a former Methamphetamine drug laboratory - Victoria, Australia, 2015". For the nomination of the Best Case Study, the impact this article had created included the information that its Research Output was included in the 99th percentile - in the top 5% of all research output ever tracked by Altmetric, it's Attention Score was higher than 98% of contemporary articles, and 20 news stories were created from the article. The case study considered the effect on a family, including three children, who were living in a home that had been used to make clandestine drugs by the previous owner. All family members were discovered to have traces of methamphetamine in their hair.

Professor Paul Kirkbride et. al. received a High Commendation for their article, "Spatial variations in the consumption of illicit stimulant drugs across Australia: A nationwide application of wastewater-based epidemiology" in Best Paper in A Referred Journal. Obtaining representative information on illicit drug use and patterns across a country remains difficult using surveys because of low response rates and response biases. A range of studies have used wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) as a complementary approach to monitor community-wide illicit drug use. In Australia, no large-scale WBE studies have been conducted to date to reveal illicit drug use profiles in a national context. In this study, the researchers performed the first Australia-wide WBE monitoring to examine spatial patterns in the use of three illicit stimulants (cocaine, methamphetamine; and MDMA). The research found that cocaine was the main drug that differed distinctively among jurisdictions across Australia, that cocaine and MDMA use was higher in large cities and on weekends, and methamphetamine use was relatively widespread and steady throughout the week.

Each paper nominated must have one forensic practitioner as an author.

The achievement of winnign five awards - four best and one highly commended - goes two steps further than the results last year, which saw Flinders' researchers and research students take out two awards and a third paper receive a highly commended technical article or note award.

Flinders researchers have been awarded nine Discovery Projects, two Discovery Early Career Researcher Awards, and a Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities (LIEF) grant in the latest Australian Research Council (ARC) awards round. The projects include asking why people think things really are better with Coke, decolonisation of the archives of Aboriginal domestic history, a virtual human knee, the life and death of Australia’s most iconic megafauna species, and institutional abuse and reform in the Australian defence force. Discovery Projects include collaborations with universities overseas - the USA, the UK and South Africa, and with other Australian institutions. The LIEF grant will enable the purchase of a large-volume micro-CT scanner. This will enable three-dimensional scanning of large and heavy samples including whole machine parts, limbs/segments, prosthesis devices, large animals and vertebrates, fossils and plant root systems. 

Congratulations to all researchers, research teams and support staff involved in the submissions. Over the coming months, we will have articles highlighting individual successes from this round.

 

2018 Discovery Projects – led by Flinders University researchers

Monarchy, democracy and empire: German imperial policy before 1914
Associate Professor Matthew Fitzpatrick
Amount Awarded: $152,876

Reducing Aboriginal imprisonment: An offence-specific study
Professor Mark Halsey, and Associate Professor David Bright
Amount Awarded: $378,756

Things don’t always go better with Coke
Professor Eva Kemps, and Professor Marika Tiggemann
Amount Awarded: $420,077

The virtual human knee
Dr Saulo Martelli, Professor Mark Taylor, Associate Professor John Costi, Dr Claudia Mazza (University of Sheffield), Dr Kevin Shelburne (University of Denver), and Professor Lucian Solomon (University of Adelaide)
Amount Awarded: $368,636

Closing the loop between salience and brain activity
Associate Professor Karin Nordstrom, and Associate Professor Bruno van Swinderen (University of Queensland)
Amount Awarded: $475,383

Target Of Rapamycin control of nutrient uptake
Associate Professor Janni Petersen, and Dr Sean Humphrey (University of Sydney)
Amount Awarded: $389,030

Managing migrants and border control in Britain and Australia, 1901-1981
Dr Andrekos Varnava, Emeritus Professor Eric Richards, Associate Professor Marinella Marmo, and Dr Anastasia Dukova (Griffith University)
Amount Awarded: $206,531

Institutional abuse and organisational reform in the Australian defence force
Associate Professor Ben Wadham, and Dr James Connor (University of New South Wales)
Amount Awarded: $128,152

Extricating an extinction histories at Lake Callabonna's megafuna necropolis
Associate Professor Trevor Worthy, Dr Lee Arnold (University of Adelaide), and Professor Anusuya Chinsamy-Turan (University of Cape Town)
Amount Awarded: $416,584

 

2018 Discovery Early Career Researcher Award

Decolonising the archives of Aboriginal domestic history
Dr Natalie Harkin
Amount Awarded: $410,022

Characterising wind farm noise to reduce community disturbance
Dr Kristy Hansen
Amount Awarded: $368,446

 

2018 Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities grant

Large-volume, multi-use micro-computed tomography
Dr Egon Perilli, Professor Mark Taylor, Professor John Long, Dr Youhong Tang, Associate Professor Karl Sammut, Professor Benjamin Cazzolato (University of Adelaide), Associate Professor Zonghan Xie (University of Adelaide), Emeritus Professor Roger Seymour (University of Adelaide), Dr Togay Ozbakkaloglu (University of Adelaide), Dr Sarbin Ranjitkar (University of Adelaide), and Dr Mark Hutchinson (South Australian Museum)
Amount Awarded: $557,389

 

There are also a number of Flinders researchers who are investigators on other institution led grants. We congratulate those researchers and their collaborators on their success.

At the state final of the Present Around the World (PATW) competition, Flinders was represented by PhD students, Dhara Amin and Laura Gell. Dhara’s talk on “Debunking myths about slipped discs” was judged the best talk by the panel of three judges. The event was held under the Joint Technical Program, the Institution of Engineering and Technology South Australia and the Northern Territory Local Network. Dhara will receive a fully funded trip to the national competition, the winner of which will present at Asia Pacific PATW Regional Final later in 2018. The Global competition will be held in London, UK.

Historically, the Flinders Engineering students have participated in the Student Papers Night for many years and have won the vast majority of events. Last year, Benjamin McCarl, who completed his Bachelor of Engineering (Biomedical), Master of Engineering (Biomedical) with a specialisation in the Mechanical Engineering stream in 2017, won the same event, and went on to be awarded second place at the National PATW Competition in 2017.

Laura, a 2017 Fresh Scientist, presented at PATW on her PhD research, “Sleep apnoea and the nightly battle to keep breathing”.

“Laura delivered an excellent presentation and I’m proud of both of our students for delivering such high quality presentations to represent Flinders,” said Associate Professor John Costi, College of Science and Engineering.

PATW is a competition to give young engineers the opportunity to enhance their presentation skills, conveying complex technical information to a mixed audience of technical and non-technical.

Over $60 million for new projects that will help improve quality and access to palliative care has been announced by the Minister of Health, the Hon Greg Hunt MP. This funding includes $45.4 million through the National Palliative Care Projects grants initiative for 12 projects that will help people on their final journey, and their families, with end-of-life care. This equated to an average of $3.78 million per project, but Flinders has secured over $4 million for our part in the National Specialist Palliative Care and Advance Care Planning Advisory Services project, $3.6 million for CareSearch, and a further $743,061 for End of Life Essentials for Acute Hospital Clinicians project.

The National Specialist Palliative Care and Advance Care Planning Advisory Services project, which is separate from the 12 projects, received a $15 million over three years from 2017-18, whereby Flinders share of $4 million will be split between two streams of work, under Professor Jennifer Tieman, (Dean Research, College of Nursing and Health Sciences and Matthew Flinders Fellow).

Jennifer has also brought in $3.6 million to continue CareSearch under her directorship. CareSearch is also partnering with three other projects to deliver outcomes for the sector and for the community. This will result in a further $250K in total. 

• Hammondcare - Advance Project
• St Vincent’s Hospital (Melbourne) - Australian carer toolkit for advanced disease
• Metro South Hospital and Health Care: Caring Safely for Australians at Home package

In addition to these two successes, Ms Kim Devery, Palliative and Supportive Services, and her research team have been awarded $743,061 for End of Life Essentials for Acute Hospital Clinicians.

"These projects will help support health professionals deliver palliative and end of life care in aged care and primary care. Access to evidence and information will make sure that families and carers are more aware and able to be involved in decisions and planning," said Jennifer. "The palliative care team will also be involved with other project groups across Australia providing education, developing carer resources and building digital supports." Jennifer noted that by working together with other researchers and services, Flinders has the opportunity to achieve more and provide better care for Australians who are coming to the end of  their life.

This success showcases the leadership in Palliative Care research at Flinders. The ongoing impact CareSearch has been offering to a whole range of evidence based information about palliative care for patients, families, carers, residential aged care facilities, general practitioners and health care professionals, was key for the the success in the National Palliative Care Projects grant round.

Education institutions worldwide are undergoing swift transformation under the influence of neoliberalism. These moves constitute a retreat from social justice, as equity agendas are being subsumed by discourses of excellence and entrepreneurism. This presents as socially and politically benign, yet the transformations we are witnessing within and beyond sites of education are neither neutral, nor benign, but give rise to raced consequences, among others. This has implications for how teaching for social justice plays out in schools and universities.

 

My work with pre-service Australian teachers and higher degree research candidates leads them to examine local and global relations of race, class and gender, and how these dynamics work through schools, teachers and of modes knowledge production. My research centres on the entwined phenomena of ‘race’ and whiteness, and asks how racism in its complex contemporary forms might be transformed through education. Racism in this sense operates at multiple sites, via sophisticated means. Areas I specifically pursue, include the contemporary phenomena of super-wealth, voluntourism, remote Indigenous Education, and ethical internationalism of higher education.

To read a recent publication that explores questions of race and whiteness, please see my paper published in the Journal Race, Ethnicity and Education.

 

Dr Sam Schultz

Dr Sam Schulz is a lecturer in the sociology of education, coordinator of the Graduate Diploma in Research Methods, former teacher in South Australia’s Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands, and editor of the Journal Critical Race and Whiteness Studies. Sam's core teaching comprises qualitative research methodologies and critical approaches to education. Her research includes; race and whiteness studies, super-wealth, ethical internationalism of higher education, and teaching for social justice. As a core body of work, Sam has explored cultural reproductions of race using white governmentality as a conceptual lens, and is extending this work to explore intersections between neoliberalism, education, and the global phenomena of voluntourism and tertiary mobility encounters.

T: 8210 5459
E: samantha.schulz@flinders.edu.au
Campus: Bedford Park
College: Education, Psychology and Social Work
Role: Lecturer, Sociology of Education

 

This is a new feature for Inspiring Research where we profile Flinders’ Early Career Researchers (ECRs) in our ECR Spotlight. This initiative will appear regularly and aims to connect our research community and strengthen research communications within the University. You will get insight into who our ECRs are and how their research and achievements are making a difference.

The featured ECRs welcome dialogue, debate, and conversation and we hope that it may shape future intra-, inter- and/or trans-disciplinary collaboration with Flinders’ colleagues. Please feel free to comment on their spotlight, and/or contact them directly. Also, you can contact the ECR Spotlight coordinator, Dr Marina Delpin, with your queries and comments.

Research into identifying muscle activity that can stabilise breathing by Laura Gell, Medical Device Research Institute, and Katherine Morel's, Flinders Centre for Innovation in Cancer, research into protecting healthy tissue from radiotherapy has ensured that both have been named as 2017 Fresh Scientists from South Australia. Fresh Science is a national competition helping early-career researchers find, and then share, their stories of discovery. The program takes up-and-coming researchers with no media experience and turns them into spokespeople for science, giving them a taste of life in the limelight, with a day of media training and then the opportunity to showcase these new skills to school kids and the general public via two events.

About 200 SA school students will be invited to a free, one-hour forum at the South Australian Museum on 8 November to hear from the Fresh Scientists. Pub night will be held at the Lion Hotel in North Adelaide on 8 November. A crowd of around 90 science enthusiasts will be able to enjoy a beer and hear the 2017 Fresh Scientists reveal their discoveries, presenting their work in the time it takes a sparkler to burn down. Tickets are free, but bookings are essential – get yours here.

Over a million Australians suffer from sleep apnoea, repeatedly stopping breathing during sleep. Laura has found that by studying breathing effort and muscle activity around airway collapse and reopening, there is evidence of key changes in upper airway muscle activity that is considered to be important in stabilising breathing. "Understanding these mechanisms is vital in creating new, desperately needed treatment options for Obstructive Sleep Apnoea," said Laura.

Katherine is working on ways to limit the radiation-induced damage to near-by healthy tissues, which can result in significant side effects, for patients undergoing radiotherapy cancer treatment. "My work shows that a naturally occurring compound can protect healthy tissues from radiation-induced damage, while at the same time, doubling the cancer killing ability of radiotherapy," said Katherine.

Past Flinders scientists who have been selected include Dr Mona Awadalla and Stephanie Shepheard in 2016, and Dr Justin Chalker in 2015.

TEDxAdelaide 2017 brings together a stellar line-up as the event zooms out and showcases the power of Adelaide’s big ideas on the famous red dot. One of those big ideas is from Flinders Master in Archaeology and Heritage Management student Jacinta Koolmatrie.

Jacinta will be exploring Indigenous knowledge systems and why they are not just something that is specific for Indigenous communities, but rather the world. “Doing this means a lot to me because TEDxAdelaide has a global platform and Indigenous knowledge has always been viewed as something solely for Indigenous people. I want to show people that our stories aren't simply stories,” said Jacinta.

Her research at Flinders has focused on yura malka (rock-face drawings), working with the Adnyamathanha elders and community to add their perspectives to her research. Jacinta is an Adnyamathanha and Ngarrindjeri person, (Adnyamathanha hail from the Flinders Ranges, Ngarrindjeri from The Coorong). Yura malka do more than describe events or places – they are part of a system of complex signs that map a cultural landscape.

As 2016 Ken Wanganeen medallist at Flinders, awarded to the Indigenous student with the highest Grade Point Average in the final two years of their undergraduate degree, and a recent cadetship with the South Australian Museum, this selection as a speaker at TEDxAdelaide 2017 is another feather in the cap of Jacinta’s achievements. The event will be held on Thursday 2 November at Adelaide Town Hall.

Encouraging a different view of the world around us, the ‘Zoom Out’ themed event also welcomes artist Sarah K Reece on what we can learn from a chronic over sharer, surgeon Tarik Sammour reveals solutions for a healthcare system already under pressure and trainer and coach Annie Harvey teaches us to laugh ourselves happy.

“This year we introduce the most diverse set of ideas and their speakers to the TEDxAdelaide stage”, TEDxAdelaide Licencee Robin Freeth said. “This event is for those who care about our future, to help spread ideas and encourage them to grow. It’s also an opportunity to meet others and to share your own ideas for Adelaide and beyond.”

TEDxAdelaide is also excited to introduce ‘The Business Hive’, an interactive breakout space, brought to by their partner BankSA, giving South Australian businesses the opportunity to showcase a unique product or service.

Tickets to TEDxAdelaide 2017 are selling fast. To purchase visit the eventbrite page. For the latest news and information visit tedxadelaide.com.au. For updates visit TEDxAdelaide.com.au or to follow TEDxAdelaide on Twitter at @TEDxAdelaide, or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TEDxAdelaide.

How to reduce the prevalence and severity of drug and alcohol use in Australian communities? On the back of $1.7 million in funding awarded to NCETA, the team based at Flinders University aims to investigate this key question. Additionally, the project aims to enhance the sector’s capacity to undertake research to inform national efforts to address substance use and to enhance knowledge on treatment approaches, including innovative models, for emerging drugs of concern.

The funding, from the Australian Government Drug and Alcohol Program, continues to place Flinders University at the forefront of Australia Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) research.

Director of NCETA, Professor Ann Roche, said that their centre will “use its well established relationships and co-designed research activities to support greater linkages between AOD treatment, mental health services and the Primary Health Networks to develop and disseminate high-quality AOD research… these links will assist the Centre to undertake its program of work and assist Flinders to continue to build its local, national and international profile.”

The Drug and Alcohol Program supports the Australian Government’s continued commitment to building safe and healthy communities by reducing the impact of drug and alcohol use to individuals, families and communities. NCETA was established more than 25 years ago. Details on the Centre’s research impact, research activities and highlights can be accessed at NCETA.