Model mental health care

Turning back the biological clock

Star Wars and the road to Christianity

Australia on red alert

An electrifying revolution

Survival of the fittest

RESEA

RC

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2009

CONNECTING RESEARCH AND COMMUNITY

ENERGISING

IDEAS

The University of NewcastleFor more information about the articles in this publication please visit www.newcastle.edu.au/research

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Our track record:! Ranked ninth in Australia for externally-funded research! Annual external research income has doubled since 2003 to $78.1 million in 2008! Australian Research Council funding of $15 million in 2008! National Health and Medical Research Council funding of $12 million in 2008! Newcastle Innovation annual turnover $13.8 million in 2008! Research Higher Degree completions 151 in 2008-09

We have 12 Priority Research Centres:! Advanced Particle Processing! Asthma and Respiratory Diseases! Bioinformatics, Biomarker Discovery and Information-Based Medicine! Brain and Mental Health Research! Centre of Excellence for Complex Dynamic Systems and Control! Computer Assisted Research Mathematics and its Applications! Energy! Gender, Health and Ageing! Geotechnical and Materials Modelling! Health Behaviour Research Centre! Organic Electronics! Reproductive Science

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RESEARCH 2009 | 01

CONTENTS

02 Foreword from the Vice-Chancellor and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research)

04 Model mental health care

05 Helping rural communities

06 Cutting health risks

07 Combined treatment best for alcohol and depression

08 Turning back the biological clock

10 Calculated risk

10 The greening of accountancy

11 A consuming passion

12 Engaging with fantasy

13 Star Wars and the road to Christianity

14 Engaging words inspiring art

15 Law of the jungle

16 Australia on red alert

18 Future-proofing the world’s food supply

19 Achieving balance in Bangladesh

19 A different approach to road safety

20 Clean energy boost

21 An electrifying revolution

22 Cutting airlines’ carbon footprint

23 Survival of the fittest

24 Book reviews

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A MESSAGE FROM THE VICE-CHANCELLOR AND DEPUTY VICE-CHANCELLOR

(RESEARCH)

RESEARCH 2009 | 03

We attract strong support from government and the private sector for our research programs, which has resulted in a doubling in external funding over the past six years. In addition, the University continues to invest in first-class facilities to attract and support world-leading researchers.

In an era of reform for the Australian higher education and research sectors, the University is well placed to benefit from the Australian Government’s focus on innovation and collaboration. This fourth edition of Research highlights the strength of this position.

Leading the Australian Government’s new Enterprise Connect Clean Energy Innovation Centre positions the University as a leader in environmental sustainability. A new partnership with EnergyAustralia to create a Centre of Excellence in intelligent electricity networks is a great example of the benefits of collaboration. Collaboration is also a key to the introduction of the Australia-China Research Centre for Crop Improvement.

The new Priority Research Centre for Health Behaviour, led by Laureate Professor Rob Sanson-Fisher, showcases the multi-disciplinary nature of the University’s health research. Its introduction brings to five the number of health-focused Priority Research Centres at the University. In addition, our world-leading reputation in health research will be further strengthened when the new purpose-built Hunter Medical Research Institute facility is completed in 2012.

A focus of the University is to achieve greater recognition of our research reputation and performance outside health, engineering and the environment. While our achievements in the arts and humanities are less well known they are equally important.

Research 2009 delves into the world of fantasy literature with an exploration of the Harry Potter phenomenon. Research into the societal factors that influence why we eat certain foods yet shun others and the emergence of a new discipline known as food sociology is explored. In this edition we also introduce the University’s inaugural Chair of Theology, Professor John McDowell.

We are proud of the strength of our research, and its impact locally, nationally and internationally. We hope you enjoy Research 2009 and its insight into the diversity of our research programs and partnerships.

The University of Newcastle holds a unique place in the higher education sector as the most research intensive university outside of an Australian capital city. Ranked ninth overall in Australia for research, a strong track record of innovation continues to drive our reputation as a place of research excellence and groundbreaking discovery.

Professor Nicholas Saunders Vice-Chancellor and President

Professor Mike Calford Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research)

The way a doctor delivers the devastating news of a diagnosis of terminal cancer can have a profound impact on how a patient approaches the rest of their life. The doctor-patient relationship is pivotal in providing quality health care, and is a dynamic that Professor Brian Kelly has long considered, particularly when a patient is diagnosed with a terminal illness.

“I have always been very interested in oncology and the area of palliative care, which has enormous psychological and psychosocial components to it.”

Kelly, the newly appointed Professor of Psychiatry in the School of Medicine and Public Health, has undertaken extensive research on the mental health needs of people with physical illnesses, especially cancer.

A compelling part of his research has been an investigation into the clinical aspects of terminal cancer patients’ wish to hasten death. Acclaimed by leading journal Psychosomatics as being among the best research published in recent years, his work explored doctor-patient

interaction and relationships, and their association with terminal illness.

“One of the interesting findings from my study was that the doctors who indicated they had less training in the psychological aspects of medicine and counselling reported a significantly higher number of terminally ill patients wishing to hasten death,” Kelly said.

The study raised a number of questions about why this would be the case, including whether a doctor’s support for a patient’s wish to hasten death was a personal or medical response. The study also questioned the effect of a patient’s emotional distress on doctors, especially if the doctor felt unable to respond effectively.

“The study indicates models of supervision and support for clinical staff, improving recognition and treatment of psychiatric and psychological illness in cancer patients, and building communication skills in caring for distressed terminally ill patients and their families as critical areas for the direction of clinical research and care. Of equal importance is the need for equity of services for people with mental health problems.

“There is no doubt that the biggest barrier is trying to have mental health problems viewed as an illness that needs very effective treatments. It’s a matter of getting treatment to people, having the right care providers involved and the right models of care and service.”

MODEL MENTAL HEALTH CARE

RESEARCH 2009 | 05

In his previous role as Director of the University’s Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health, Kelly played an integral part in developing and implementing new models of mental health services for farmers and people in isolated rural areas. Major initiatives included the development of a state-wide policy for rural emergency mental health care.

Kelly said it had been extremely rewarding for an academic health facility to work with groups like the NSW Farmers Association, and a range of welfare, community and service organisations, to address mental health needs in rural areas.

For example, the Centre coordinated the NSW State-Wide Drought Mental Health Assistance Package, working with more than 20 farming and community organisations and thousands of individuals across 60 towns. In its first year it delivered 50 ‘Mental Health First Aid’ workshops and organised a significant number of meetings aimed to improve

community understanding of mental health issues and encouraging distressed people to seek professional help.

Kelly said the success of the program resulted in it being extended in 2009 to cover climate change. “Part of the Centre’s new role was to research what impact climate change was having on rural communities and to lead effective programs that can assist communities in dealing with the consequences in the more immediate term.”

Recently appointed co-director of the mental health group of the Australian Government’s National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility, Kelly will use his broad experience to shape a national response to the psychological impact of climate change. He will also work closely with staff at the Hunter New England Area Health Service in a psychiatry consultation and liaison role at John Hunter Hospital – NSW’s largest hospital outside of Sydney.

While no longer in the Director’s chair, Kelly will maintain close links to the Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health. In his new role, Kelly will not only direct the University’s psychiatry discipline and teach medical students, but continue to oversee and build on the research strengths of the Centre.

“A major focus will still be on aspects of rural mental health and retaining my research and other links there,” Kelly said. “I hope to continue working in a clinical and research capacity with cancer patients or those receiving palliative care, particularly in rural areas, to ensure access to the most relevant and effective mental health services they need.”

Professor Kelly works in the University’s Priority Research Centre for Brain and Mental Health Research, and in collaboration with the Hunter Medical Research Institute’s (HMRI) Brain and Mental Health Research Program.

HELPING RURAL COMMUNITIESBased in the grounds of the Bloomfield Hospital in Orange, the Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health (CRRMH) is the result of a partnership between the University of Newcastle and NSW Department of Health.

Established in 2001, the CRRMH aims to improve mental health services in rural areas through research, education and service and policy development initiatives. More than 30 staff are based at Orange and a further 15 researchers are scattered across NSW.

Professor Brian Kelly, who served as Director of CRRMH for five years, said the Centre had made substantial contributions in developing models of service and policy relating to mental health in rural areas. While it worked primarily at state level, the Centre had built national collaborations in rural mental health.

“The Centre does not deliver clinical services directly but instead works very closely to support those who are clinicians or clinical service managers. It provides academic leadership, working closely with the range of health services in rural areas, to look at the needs of rural communities and how we might better address them. The Centre identifies policy gaps and informs NSW Health of any emerging needs.”

One example of the important work of the Centre was the development of a state-wide policy for rural emergency mental health care. “It was unique and a very valuable experience for an academic centre to work closely with a health department to develop a policy and see it through to sign-off and implementation,” Kelly said.

CUTTING HEALTH RISKS

The Centre’s Director, Laureate Professor Rob Sanson-Fisher, is an internationally renowned population health researcher. Regarded in his field as someone who pushes boundaries, his work has had a major influence on many aspects of medical practice. Through his leadership the Centre is developing, implementing and evaluating health behaviour strategies aimed at doctors, patients, the community and the public health sector.

“Few centres in Australia or internationally bring together such a diverse range of multidisciplinary expertise, all concerned with measuring and estimating health-related problems and intervening to improve relevant health behaviours,” Sanson-Fisher said.

The impressive record of achievement by the Centre’s researchers is testament to the collective weight of knowledge and expertise of the group. Accomplishments include developing interventions to reduce health risks like smoking, unhealthy alcohol use and inadequate sun protection.

Centre researchers have designed strategies to increase the number of people being immunised and screened for diseases such as diabetes, and bowel and breast cancer.

Researchers are involved in the ‘Good for Kids, Good for Life’ NSW Government program aimed at reducing childhood obesity and the National Heart Foundation of Australia’s cardiovascular disease and depression strategic research program.

A focus for the Centre revolves around Sanson-Fisher’s expertise in reducing the emotional, or psychosocial, impact of diseases like cancer and developing clinical practice guidelines and training for doctors in this area.

Centre members have played a leading role in the development and introduction of clinical practice guidelines and training to help medical practitioners emotionally support patients through the diagnosis and treatment of life-impacting illness. However, little is known about the onset, duration, frequency and severity of psychosocial morbidity associated with other chronic diseases over time.

To address this, and to determine better ways to care for people diagnosed with cancer, Centre members are undertaking Australia’s first longitudinal cancer study. The Cancer Survival Study is tracking the wellbeing of adult cancer survivors and their caregivers, studies of adolescent cancer survivors and their parents, and terminally ill cancer patients. The project, undertaken in partnership with the NSW Cancer Council, aims to track how the issues faced by cancer sufferers and their caregivers change over time.

How Australians reacted to the pandemic threat created by the outbreak of the H1N1 influenza virus (‘swine flu’) during 2009 is another focus of Centre researchers. With communication about the virus vital for implementing effective risk reduction and containment strategies, researchers will look at what measures people put in place to help stop swine flu spreading. Commissioned by the Australian Government, the research will inform future communication strategies and messages on swine flu preparedness.

The Centre is extending its research capacity in the area of health disadvantage, which encompasses people from low social economic backgrounds as well as those from an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background.

“The value in such a broad-ranging research centre lies in the increased collaboration between individuals working across groups with a different disease focus,” Sanson-Fisher said.

“It’s a fantastic model for sharing expertise in research methodologies and behaviour-change strategies that have a critical role to play in increasing research output in the preventative health field.”

Laureate Professor Rob Sanson-Fisher and researchers at the Priority Research Centre for Health Behaviour work in collaboration with the Hunter Medical Research Institute’s (HMRI) Public Health Program and Hunter New England Population Health. His research is supported by an HMRI Grant funded by the Lawrie Bequest.

The University’s Priority Research Centre for Health Behaviour brings together researchers across a range of fields carrying out health behaviour research on key public health issues. Among the focus areas are cardiovascular disease, cancer control and other chronic illnesses.

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RESEARCH 2009 | 07

COMBINED TREATMENT BEST FOR ALCOHOL AND DEPRESSION

Landmark research by one of Australia’s leading clinical psychologists is poised to reshape treatment for people suffering the combined effects of substance abuse and depression.

Three major trials led by Professor Amanda Baker have confirmed that people suffering from alcohol or drug abuse problems combined with depression recover better with integrated treatment for both conditions rather than single-focus treatments.

As chief investigator in what were the world’s largest trials of their kind, Baker noted that all but a handful of previous investigations had screened out subjects with comorbid conditions – that is the co-existence of two or more diseases or health disorders.

“Up to 80 per cent of people in treatment for problems with alcohol or other drugs also report mental health problems,” Baker said. “But often health care providers make the assumption that it is too difficult to treat people with mental health disorders in addition to drug or alcohol problems, or they don’t have the knowledge and skills.

“For example, clinicians have frequently told patients to address their drug or alcohol problems first before treating depression or vice-versa. Patients were finding themselves caught in the gaps between service providers.

“In that environment, people are often crying out for treatment and not receiving it. Our research looked at treating both problems at the same time.”

The most recent study involved 248 Newcastle and Brisbane residents suffering from depression and alcohol problems. After being assessed, all subjects received a brief intervention that included self-help material. Participants were then assigned to one of three groups, each undertaking a different treatment program.

The researchers found that where integrated treatment was available, it could be the treatment of choice for both men and women. However, there was an intriguing difference in how men and women responded to single-focus treatments. Men with drinking problems experienced benefits from treatment focused solely on alcohol but women were more likely to reduce their drinking if treatment addressed depression rather than alcohol.

“The practical implication,” Baker said, “is that if a man went into a traditional drug and alcohol centre, the counsellors could do a brief intervention for

depression and then have a standard alcohol-focused intervention and he would do well. If a woman came in, she would need her depression addressed first because if you just tried to address her alcohol issues, her drinking would remain problematic.”

An earlier study by Baker’s team compared computer-based to face-to-face integrated treatments of people suffering depression plus alcohol or cannabis abuse. She said the results, published in the journal Addiction, had important implications for the delivery of intervention services, particularly outside major cities and regional centres.

The study found computer therapy and the face-to-face integrated therapy were equally successful, which means that in rural areas or locations where psychologists are scarce, people can receive effective treatment online.

“My team’s studies are groundbreaking and there is great potential for the delivery of treatment services in Australia and around the world to be radically improved based on what we have found,” Baker said.

Baker and several fellow researchers at the University’s Priority Research Centre for Brain and Mental Health Research have had their work in developing world-first treatments recognised, winning the 2009 National Excellence in Research National Drug and Alcohol Award.

The Priority Research Centre for Brain and Mental Health Research draws on expertise across a diversity of scientific and clinical disciplines. In addition to Baker’s work in clinical interventions, the Centre supports research into schizophrenia, stroke, pain and sensory dysfunction, and emerging programs investigating developmental trauma, suicide prevention and personality disorders.

A Professor of Clinical Psychology and a National Health and Medical Research Council Senior Research Fellow, Professor Baker’s research is supported by the Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI) and PULSE.

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TURNING BACK THE BIOLOGICAL CLOCK

It is well known that the likelihood of a woman achieving a healthy, full-term pregnancy lessens with age. The number and quality of viable eggs dwindle over time and the risk of chromosomal errors in developing embryos increases. What is not clear is why this happens.

Understanding the reasons why and finding ways to stop the adverse effects of ageing on women’s reproductive health is at the heart of work by Professor Keith Jones.

Jones holds the Chair in Human Physiology and is Co-Director of the University’s Priority Research Centre for Reproductive Science – his roles since swapping the University of Newcastle in the UK for its Australian namesake in 2008.

Jones and his research team are focused on a protein called CDH1 and whether it holds the key to preventing the dramatic drop in fertility that occurs as women age. The protein is well known and occurs in all cells. Jones and his team have discovered that it prevents the formation of embryos with too many or too few chromosomes.

“We made the discovery during our research on mice and now we want to find out whether CDH1 plays a similar role in humans. One of the things we’re investigating is to determine whether the levels of CDH1 drop off in older women,” Jones said.

Embryos with the wrong number of chromosomes are the leading cause of early pregnancy loss and are also behind Down’s Syndrome – the disorder caused by an additional chromosome. According to Jones, the rate at which these problems increase with age is quite remarkable.

“Problems with chromosomes are a major obstacle to successful fertility. There is no consensus about why ageing is associated with an increase in chromosomal errors, but it is a well-documented phenomenon.

“If you’re a woman in your early 40s, your chance of conceiving a Down’s Syndrome baby is in the one-in-40 range, whereas if you’re 20 years younger, it’s in the one-in-thousands. In addition, the vast majority of embryos that end up with too many or too few chromosomes die very early on in a pregnancy.”

Current social trends are giving Jones’ work increasing clinical significance. While the peak of female fertility is 22 years, the average age when an Australian woman has her first child is 31 years.

At the heart of Jones’ research is the study of meiosis – the process of chromosomal division at the core of reproduction. The discovery of CDH1 was an important breakthrough in understanding why chromosomal abnormalities occur.

“We took mouse eggs and induced them to undergo meiosis. We looked at the chromosomes and how they were dividing, and what factors were affecting this process. We found that when we blocked the eggs from making CDH1, a very high rate of chromosomal abnormalities occurred.”

The knowledge gained during his research in the UK put Jones in a leading position to attract valuable financial support to continue his research in Australia. In just 18 months Jones has secured more than $1.25 million in grants from the Australian Research Council, the National Health and Medical Research Council and Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI).

“The ultimate goal is to try to understand these processes sufficiently so that clinical interventions – whether in the form of advice or methods or drugs – can be developed to stop the adverse effects of ageing.

“We don’t know how hard or how easy it will be to manipulate levels of the CDH1 protein within the ovary. It might be a tall order, but our research might discover some way of doing that.”

Professor Jones works in the University’s Priority Research Centre for Reproductive Science, and in collaboration with the Hunter Medical Research Institute’s (HMRI) Pregnancy and Reproduction Program. His research is supported by an HRMI grant from Kiriwina Investment Company.

RESEARCH 2009 | 09

If you’re a woman in your early 40s, your chance of conceiving a Down’s Syndrome baby is in the one-in-40 range, whereas if you’re 20 years younger, it’s in the one-in-thousands “ “

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CALCULATED RISK

In the aftermath of a catastrophic event, activity quickly turns to future prevention of a similar situation. Whether forces of nature, such as floods or cyclones, or the calculated motives of terrorists are to blame, survival instinct kicks in – often at any cost.

To Professor Mark Stewart, a civil engineer with expertise in probabilistic risk assessment, the 9/11 attacks prompted questions about that survival instinct – how cost-effective was it to protect infrastructure, such as commercial buildings and bridges, against a perceived threat?

“It struck me that most of the discussion post 9/11 centred on the worst-case scenario every time,” Stewart said. “There would be talk about a five-tonne explosive truck bomb downtown. With a risk-based approach, you do not focus on total destruction, you look at the spectrum of threats. You do not design a building based on the worst earthquake in 100,000 years.”

Nevertheless, Stewart observed the billions of dollars spent in the United States in the aftermath of 9/11 to strengthen infrastructure based on worst-case scenarios. It prompted him to research how much safer buildings and people were as a result of the vast sums poured into hazard mitigation such as vehicle barriers, perimeter walls, blast-resistant glazing and strengthened perimeter columns.

Using general engineering principles, Stewart and his team of researchers applied the same numerical modelling used to assess cyclone and seismic risks. They considered likely terrorist scenarios, the size and impact of explosives, the distance of an attack and probable damage, as well as the material, construction and design costs of protection. They also factored in the human toll in terms of injury and death. Against this, they weighed the benefits: lives saved, damage prevented.

Four years later, Stewart confirmed what most engineers suspected: from a purely financial perspective most infrastructure is not worth the price of protecting against a terrorist attack. “A solution would need to reduce the risk by 80 or 90 per cent for the expenditure to be worth it,” Stewart explained.

His team has established the framework for more detailed modelling. To date, it can enter data for glazing and receive a detailed risk assessment. Next, he plans to investigate masonry and concrete walls. “I see 20 more years of work. Being able to plug in information about a building and get a damage and safety risk assessment is the Holy Grail for a civil engineer,” he said.

THE GREENINGOF ACCOUNTANCYSpiritual values predating Hinduism seem an unlikely influence on current accounting practices. For Associate Professor Kala Saravanamuthu, however, the Vedic philosophy provides important historic and philosophical perspectives for contemporary sustainability challenges.“My thinking draws on the interpretation of the Vedic philosophy that informed Gandhi’s strategies for emancipating India and developing a post-independent India,” Saravanamuthu said. “One of the Vedic tenets asserts that every action has a consequence, whether good or bad.

“This world view encourages management to acknowledge the knock-on effect of their decisions on the larger environment. When applied to the act of giving accounts, it challenges the taken-for-granted concept of externalities, and legitimises management behaviour that cares about the impact of human activities on nature.”

This is one of several Advaitic principals that underpin Saravanamuthu’s approach to transforming accountancy in a world threatened by global warming and surging population levels.

Based at the Newcastle Business School, she was special guest editor of the 2009 (vol 14) issue of the international accounting research journal Advances in Public Interest Accounting. The journal provides a forum for contesting conventional accounting theory, practice and research; and generates a greater professional awareness of the social role of the discipline.

To encourage much-needed discussion between accountants and other experts, she brought several scientists into the journal as contributors, to extrapolate the implications of environmental science for management control systems.

Triple-bottom-line accounting, and other forms of accounts that merely stretch the traditional accounting paradigm in measuring ecological and social performance, tend to ‘greenwash’ deep seated contradictions that have culminated in environmental degradation, according to Saravanamuthu.

“We need accounting to represent better the meanings of sustainability. Management are now much more open to emerging concepts such as the ‘carbon footprint’ and accountants should take advantage of this opportunity to construct information that treats concern for the state of the environment as an integral part of organisational management.

”Instead of shunning the need to care for the environment as an additional cost burden, accounts should encourage management to regard developing green knowledge and technologies as ways of creating a competitive advantage.”

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A CONSUMING PASSION

Eating witchetty grubs and galahs in Australia, horse meat in France or dogs in Asia would be considered “abhorrent or questionable” to people in different societies around the world, but not to Professor John Germov.

Studying the ‘social appetite’ and the cultural, religious and societal factors that influence why we eat certain foods and have taboos against others is a major focus of research for Germov, Dean of Arts and Head of the School of Humanities and Social Science.

As co-editor of the trail blazing book A Sociology of Food and Nutrition: The Social Appetite (Oxford University Press, Melbourne), Germov helped lay the foundations for the burgeoning field of food sociology. Now in its third edition, the book resulted from his collaboration with University colleague Dr Lauren Williams, Senior Lecturer in Nutrition and Dietetics.

The two wrote key chapters highlighting the social context in which food is produced, distributed and consumed. It covers everything from genetically modified or ‘Frankenstein’ foods to body image, obesity and eating disorders.

“We think of appetites as very individual, but there is also a significant social element to why we eat the way we do. The fact that you can name cuisines – Thai, Italian, Mexican, Greek – means that culture and society play important roles,” Germov said. “This is where sociology comes into play to examine what food is produced and consumed and where preferences for particular foods develop.”

Germov said food sociology focused on what happens before we eat. “It takes into consideration the culture and society rules that govern the choices of food we make, the reasons why certain foods are manufactured and distributed, and the different access people have to food in wealthy versus developing countries.”

Among Germov’s other key research focuses is gender and body image. In 2007, he, Williams and Associate Professor Anne Young

conducted a major study of weight control practices among more than 11,000 women participating in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health.

The research, published in the International Journal of Obesity, included women aged around 50 years and showed that 74 per cent were trying to lose weight. Yet despite using weight control measures like dieting and exercise, they gained more weight on average over a two-year period than the 26 per cent of women who did nothing to control their weight.

Germov said body image concerns were still very significant for the women surveyed. A qualitative study showed the women were aware of the social pressure and the media manipulation involved in the thin ideal, but only a handful were ‘body acceptors’ who were satisfied with the shape they were in.

Germov commented: “You need to be cautious of equating thin to healthy, because there are many other health indicators.”

Rather than emphasising body mass index and weight loss, some health professionals were now trying to get people to maintain their existing weight, make healthier choices and move towards moderate exercise. Germov said achieving this would be a “significant public health intervention” as it might improve the health of the ageing population.

A sociologist and principal researcher at the University’s Research Centre for Gender, Health and Ageing, Germov is a prolific writer. He is author or co-author of eight books on topics such as health sociology and public sociology, and his latest book, Sociology of Work (Allen and Unwin, Sydney), is due out in late 2009.

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For Dr Caroline Webb, fantasy literature provides a breathing space for the imagination in our world of information overload.

The deeper functions of fantasy are Webb’s research speciality. Senior Lecturer in English and Deputy Head of the School of Humanities and Social Science, Webb looks at the complex relationship between fantasy and everyday life.

“Good fantasy writing reflects our culture and what it is to be fully human. It explores our emotional capacity to react in extraordinary ways,” Webb said.

“There is currently a huge appetite for fantasy in both children and adults. We are bombarded by images in a way that would have been unthinkable even half a century ago. We need the space fantasy gives us to

develop a sense of identity and meaning. We desire something that is not known and explained and rational and boring.”

In her studies, Webb bridges the gap between high culture and popular culture, moving smoothly between highly literary writers such as A.S. Byatt and Angela Carter, and popular writers such as J.K. Rowling of Harry Potter fame.

Her paper Abandoned Boys and Pampered Princes: Fantasy as the Journey to Reality in the Harry Potter Sequence, has attracted considerable interest around the literary world. It was published in the December 2008 issue of the journal

Papers: Explorations into Children’s Literature.

In this paper, she looked at the seven Harry Potter novels. Webb showed how they steadily evolved from the cosy world of the British school story in the first three editions to the last book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, a “bloodbath... with over 20 deaths of named characters.”

She argues that the series requires the maturing reader to journey from the ‘happy-ending’ world of childhood, to adolescence and the readiness for a moral and intellectual encounter with reality. “The Harry Potter sequence has lured a generation of children to

take a journey from the consolatory fantasy of the orphan boy rewarded by becoming the hero of a magic school to the reality of the human condition,” she wrote.

Webb’s major research project at present is a book she is writing called From Wonderland to the Discworld: Postmodernism and the British Fantasy Tradition. This will trace the trajectory of British fantasy literature, bringing in a huge range of works from Alice in Wonderland, Lord of the Rings and the Narnia series, through to the popular fantasy of Terry Pratchett.

ENGAGING WITH FANTASY

RESEARCH 2009 | 13

STAR WARS AND THE ROAD TO CHRISTIANITYWhen the University of Newcastle and the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle embarked on an international search for the inaugural Chair in Theology, creativity, energy and the ability to bring academic rigour to the discipline were prerequisites. An affinity with Star Wars, on the other hand, was not.

In Professor John McDowell, a former Cambridge researcher with an international reputation for his work on Swiss theologian Karl Barth and the interaction of theology with other disciplines, it was a package deal.

Author of The Gospel According to Star Wars: Faith, Hope, and the Force, McDowell often draws on popular culture to illuminate theological concepts and to critically test the theological values assumed by popular culture.

“The Star Wars space epics have strong overlaps with Christianity,” McDowell said. “I admit my work on Star Wars is contentious, but I do examine

the films from an ideological perspective so that they can be read in their own contexts rather than be reduced to Christian concepts.”

Previously the Meldrum Lecturer in Systematic Theology at New College at the University of Edinburgh, McDowell has been given the opportunity to shape the future of theological study in Newcastle. The introduction of a Bachelor in Theology in 2008, supported by the Anglican Diocese, provides the platform for the evolution.

McDowell’s major research interests centre on questions of hope and he has been inspired by the writings of the eminent

Swiss theologian Karl Barth. “The reason that hope interests me is because philosophers have often described it as the central facet of life. Without hope there is no future.

“What Barth challenges Christians to consider is that hope is not something that directs us away from the life of this world into some ‘other’ world, but instead grounds and shapes so-called ‘good’ actions.”

Implicit in his research is an intimate knowledge of Christian theology, however some of his teaching questions many popular ways of understanding the relationship between the church and the secular world, hence his interest in popular culture. “The irony is that those [Christians] who tend to oppose Star Wars and other modern stories like Harry Potter don’t see the Christian underpinnings in both texts.”

McDowell said George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, was drawn to Christianity, especially to Christian stories and rituals he experienced, but felt they were essentially self-concerned. Lucas saw his religiously eclectic films as a way to provoke people to think harder about human responsibility.

Research interests aside, McDowell is excited about the potential for the broader engagement opportunities as a result of establishing theology as a discipline in a mainstream university.

“The fact that the study of theology largely takes place in denominational colleges in Australia makes the position in Newcastle appealing, and hopefully it will contribute significantly to theology in Australia,” McDowell said.

“The prospect of encouraging theologians to maintain the highest education standards while engaging with many other disciplines within the University is exciting. Conversely, it provides an opportunity for universities to take theology seriously as an academic pursuit.

“Add to this the possibility of developing links with theologians and theological colleges within Australia and South East Asia, the opportunity to come to Newcastle was too good to pass up.”

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ENGAGING WORDS INSPIRING ART

Art has an enduring ability to provoke commentary, conversation and debate. For Professor Anne Graham, a prolific artist with a portfolio encompassing performance, installation and sculpture, dialogue is often the starting point for creation.

One of her approaches centres on using conversation with individuals or groups as the basis for creating collaborative artworks, a concept she explored in her PhD thesis Dialogues in diverse communities: performance, process and things.

Graham, Chair of Fine Art, said an aim was to foster creative interaction between people and the place they live.

“This creative interaction can inspire objects, installations and temporary or permanent artworks that reflect a community’s own view of its identity, history and power to effect change.”

On this basis, Graham’s sculptural installations have recurring themes surrounding the history of place and objects unlocking personal and cultural memories. Through public exhibitions in Australia, England, Poland, Japan, Korea and the United States over the

past three and a half decades, she has aimed to give people a sense of ownership over the space and historical events that mark the sites.

In Nanatsugama, Japan, for example, Graham was commissioned to create a public artwork for a once-neglected parkland. After spending considerable time talking with locals it was clear they wanted an artwork that responded to the history of the area and that they would like to be a part of the project.

The result was ‘The Snake Path’, a sinuous 150 metre walkway studded with mosaics designed by a massive team led by Graham, 16 of her students from Newcastle and 70 local community groups. Based on a local folk tale about a fisherman chased by a large snake, the exuberantly decorated path writhes up and down, sometimes disappearing under vegetation. It ends with

a tranquil stone sculpture that doubles as a picnic table and chairs, and communities now feel they own the revitalised park.

In July 2009, Graham travelled to Japan for the Water and Land Festival to complete an installation celebrating the history of the seaside fishing village of Kakumihama. Erosion had resulted in all but one of the traditional wooden houses in the village being washed away. The preserved house was relocated to nearby Gokahama, where Graham set about recreating the memory of its original purpose and location.

She hung laser cut fish-shaped sculptures in the front windows, giving the house the appearance of being full of fish. A separate work inside honoured the ‘singing sands’ of Kakumihama, a hallmark of the village due to the large quantity of quartz in the sand along the shore. Graham built

a series of sculptures using glass funnels that the sand and tiny quartz pieces passed through, creating a musical sound similar to waves crashing on a beach. Outside, a herb garden was planted in memory of the women of the village and their historic role as peddlers of medicine.

“Each work responded to the oral, written and physical history of Kakumihama,” Graham said. “People loved the transformative magic of the work and its sense of place.”

Over the past 20 years Graham has extended her influence to encompass policy making in the creative arts, particularly at a postgraduate level. In particular Graham is credited with transforming postgraduate fine art at the University of Newcastle from being virtually non-existent to a burgeoning program supporting many of Australia’s most talented emerging artists.

RESEARCH 2009 | 15

LAW OF THE JUNGLE

The Australian industrial relations landscape has undergone a seismic transformation since Professor Mark Bray debuted as a lecturer in the early 1980s. In those days, the unions reigned supreme and strikes were a way of life.

“In the 70s, in particular, strikes were common in a whole range of areas that affected people’s lives,” the University’s Foundation Chair of Employment Studies recalled. “Petrol, mail, beer supplies – you name it, there were strikes all the time.”

While he acknowledges that industrial relations reforms over the last two decades have made Australia more internationally competitive, Bray’s research suggests that the trade-off has been a diminished capacity of workers in certain industries to influence wages and working conditions.

“Over the last 10 or 15 years, some industries have become much more ‘law of the jungle’,” Bray said. “The peak of that was really the WorkChoices period from 2006 to 2007 when many people were being forced to accept individual contracts.”

His research has found that the most affected industries, such as retail and hospitality, tend to have lower rates of unionisation than those with relatively resilient wage levels. In August 2006, employees in the hospitality and retail industries had the lowest wages, with average hourly earnings of just $19.20 and $19.60, respectively. By contrast, those in the coal mining industry were earning an average of $46.70 per hour.

Bray’s analysis of union membership over the same period revealed that only eight per cent of employees in the hospitality industry and around 10 per cent of employees in retail (outside the big supermarkets and department stores) were union members, compared with almost 67 per cent in the coal mining industry.

Bray’s focus on researching industrial relations at the industry level is something of a

rarity. While industrial relations and legal scholars have tended to debate the merits of policies at the national level, and management studies scholars have typically zeroed in on individual organisations, Bray’s research concentrates on an aspect of industrial relations that has often been overlooked.

His findings on the variations between industries could potentially have significant implications for the future of Australia’s industrial relations system, for example, in terms of policies regarding instruments of wage negotiation.

“The trend over recent years has been to force all industries to adopt enterprise bargaining or individual contracting,” Bray explained. “However, this does not suit industries where there are many small companies in fierce competition with each other. These industries need industry-wide standards to prevent unfair wage

competition that ends up sending good employers broke and exploiting workers.”

Although Bray does not have a direct hand in setting the nation’s industrial relations agenda, his work has made a valuable contribution to some of Australia’s most pivotal political debates. In particular, his endeavours to raise awareness of WorkChoices in the lead-up to the 2007 federal election not only caught people’s attention, but also furthered his aim of educating them about the inequities that have developed since the decline of collective bargaining.

By arming members of the public with this sort of knowledge, Bray hopes that his work will ultimately restore some of the balance for less empowered individuals.

| RESEARCH 200916

Australia was not preparing for the imminent threat of a natural disaster, nor poised to act on a flu pandemic. The global financial crisis had hit, employment was the concern and the potential for significant job losses was the feared outcome.

The University of Newcastle-based Centre of Full Employment and Equity (CofFEE) had released its first Employment Vulnerability Index, an economic model to predict areas most likely to be affected by the ballooning global economic crisis.

CofFEE Director Professor Bill Mitchell and his colleague Professor Scott Baum from the Urban Research Centre at Griffith University looked at 2,593 suburbs with populations above 20,000 people in the first ever study of an entire country for potential employment

losses. Based on Census statistics, the population in the red alert areas had at least two significant job loss risk factors, while those in the amber alert suburbs had one.

Mitchell said the biggest risk factors were a lack of formal schooling and qualifications, and the type of industry that provided the most employment. Casualisation of labour was another significant risk, with people in contract roles often the first to be laid off. It was a stark reminder of the reality of economic cycles.

It is data like the Employment Vulnerability Index that is the foundation of Mitchell’s approach to his work. A Professor of Economics, he is a world expert on job creation policies and a strong promoter of full employment, which he sees as a human right and a government responsibility.

“A significant part of my work over the years has been on employment guarantees: the need for the state to guarantee employment as a solution to unemployment,” Mitchell said. “CofFEE promotes research aimed at restoring full employment in Australia and achieving an economy that delivers equitable outcomes for all.”

While employment in the Australian context remains a key focus for Mitchell, the Centre draws on expertise from across the world. CofFEE’s European base is led by Professor Joan Muysken, Professor of Economics at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands. Both academics also work closely with Professor Randy Wray from the Centre for Full Employment and Price Stability at the University of Missouri, USA.

In 2008 Mitchell and Muysken published Full employment abandoned: shifting sands and policy failures. In the book they argue that “labour under-utilisation is a scourge that badly managed modern monetary systems impose on individuals”.

They argue that national governments have the fiscal capacity through spending and taxation to guarantee full employment and ensure everyone could participate at a “reasonable level in society”.

Mitchell commented that he was always opposed to market liberalism, and the 2009 global financial crisis had exposed the weakness of this approach as a basis for sustainable growth. Views such as his, which see a major role for government in managing the economy, are now back in vogue. The job

In March 2009, major Australian cities and key regional centres were ringed with high-risk ‘red alert’ and ‘amber alert’ suburbs.

AUSTRALIA ON RED ALERT

RESEARCH 2009 | 17

creation and employment guarantee programs he advocates are being implemented in developing countries like Argentina, and he has been asked for policy advice by the South African Government and the Asian Development Bank.

In 2009, the International Labour Organisation sponsored an evaluation by Mitchell of the first five years of a South African Government public works program aimed at creating one million jobs for poor people. His work has helped inform new guidelines for the second stage of the Expanded Public Works Programme and to better target future jobs to cover areas of greatest need. Among his tasks was recommending a minimum wage.

CofFEE has now been contracted by the Asian Development Bank to conduct a three-year macro-economic risk assessment for the Central Asian Regional Economic Cooperation Program on countries that have struggled with economic problems since the fall of the Soviet system. This work will also involve the design of regional development and skill generation strategies for government. For Mitchell and his team of researchers, it will mean long hours juggling major international and local research projects.

Mitchell said the idea of job guarantees should be taken up by the Australian Government. “I think the Prime Minister should announce today that if you want a job you should turn up tomorrow at your local depot to claim your job. And if we haven’t got a job for you, we will start paying you so you can get off the dole and start doing community development work.”

He said this scenario was based on research findings rather than wishful thinking. “In 2009, CofFEE undertook an Australian Research Council-

funded study into unmet needs in local communities across Australia and found that around 557,000 full-time equivalent jobs could be created at the federal minimum wage,” Mitchell said. “These jobs would meet essential community development and environmental needs.

“The Government’s net outlay per year to run that scheme would be $8.3 billion. That solves your unemployment problems and meets a lot of needs that are not being met by the private market.”

The global financial crisis had hit, employment was the concern and the potential for significant job losses was the feared outcome“ “

| RESEARCH 200918

FUTURE-PROOFING THE WORLD’S FOOD SUPPLYWith the global population projected to double over the next 50 years, attention is turning to the pressure the world’s natural resources will face as a result. Adding to increased pollution and climate change, a major concern will be how to feed in excess of 12 billion people.

China, the world’s most populated nation, already has an increasing focus on how science can support massive population growth. A key interest lies in how to improve the productivity of major food crops to provide a defence against future food shortages.

In its infancy is a collaboration between leading Chinese and Australian plant science experts that is already achieving major advances in crop longevity, yield and quality.

The Australia-China Research Centre for Crop Improvement, launched in October 2008, is being hosted by the University of Newcastle and the Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Hangzhou, China with partner groups from other top institutes including the Chinese Academy of Sciences. A major focus is to improve the productivity of key food crops and make them more adaptable to climate change.

Director of the Australian arm of the Centre is Associate Professor Yong-Ling Ruan. “The Centre is strategically important for various reasons. We are all aware of the problems of climate change and population increases and the impact on food supply. The world is facing the challenge of how to sustain and improve crop yield and quality.

“It is essential that basic science and applied science work together so that research in our laboratories can be efficiently translated into field breeding. That is our main intention and the expertise of partners provides the skills to achieve that.”

Centre scientists have already achieved a major breakthrough by identifying a gene in tomatoes that can be ‘knocked out’ to create sweeter fruits with longer-lasting leaves. The work has been published in The Plant Cell, the world’s top -ranking plant science journal.

They discovered that the gene INVINH1 played a major role in limiting the amount of sugar delivered to each part of the plant and if this gene was prevented from expressing itself, then more sugar could be delivered to seeds, fruit or leaves. When applied to other fruits and vegetables, the technology could increase crop seed yield, fruit quality and lengthen shelf life.

Ruan sees the breakthrough as an exciting development that has resulted from the collaborative focus of the Centre. Much of the research was done by the Centre’s PhD student Jin Ye under Ruan’s guidance with funding support from the University of Newcastle and the National Science Foundation of China.

It is this kind of cooperative research that scientists in China and Australia hope will lead to improved crops that could help feed and clothe millions of people in a time of climate crisis.

Beyond advancing crop quality and future-proofing food supply for generations to come, the Centre is also supporting the next generation of plant scientists and researchers. The Centre plans to jointly supervise PhD students and the host institutions will exchange visiting scientists and experts, further strengthening the burgeoning research relationships between Australia and China.

It is essential that basic science and applied science work together so that research in our laboratories can be efficiently translated into field breeding

“

“

Fairfaxphotos

RESEARCH 2009 | 19

ACHIEVING BALANCE IN BANGLADESHWith an average daily wage of around US$2 per day, it may be surprising that one of Bangladesh’s most valuable commodities is considered a ‘luxury’ product.

A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO ROAD SAFETY

Managing rock fall threat across more than 17,000 kilometres of roads is a major responsibility for the NSW Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA). While it already commits around $20 million each year to manage the risk, even at this rate it is extremely difficult to eliminate the hazard.

While death or injury from rock falls onto roads and railways are rare they occur often enough to cause concern. Even if a rock fall on a major highway does not cause death or injury, the economic losses associated with subsequent delays and disruptions can reach $3 million per day.

The RTA has turned to Stephen Fityus, Associate Professor in Geotechnical Engineering and

a Principal Researcher in the Priority Research Centre for Geotechnical and Materials Modelling, to help find a better, cheaper way to manage the rock fall risk. The research is important because little relevant local information exists.

“The RTA is looking for more effective barrier designs,” Fityus said. “Most of the existing research and associated technology is derived from other parts of the world where rock falls are very different in nature.”

Fityus leads a team of six in examining the characteristics of rock fall hazards in different geological and geographical environments so that appropriate kinetic energy ratings can be used as a basis for an efficient design approach to the new barriers. “A 50-kilojoule rock can be a small rock travelling fast or a big rock travelling slowly. The same barrier might not be the best protection in both cases,” Fityus explained.

Designs will consider the use of readily available materials

and the ease of build and repair. Once the design phase has been completed, testing can begin.

“The team will develop designs using new computer modelling applications that incorporate simulated rock fall motions and high strain-rate material response models. We will then get out in the field and test a series of full scale prototypes under actual impact loads – that will be the proof of the design.”

Each year billions of dollars worth of shrimp is farmed in the waters off the South Asian nation and exported across the world. While the financial rewards may be great, the social and environmental impacts are disastrous, according to social geographer Dr Salim Momtaz.

“My preliminary research shows shrimp farming in Bangladesh is creating a greater gap between the poor and the rich”, Momtaz, a Senior Lecturer in Sustainable Resource Management in the School of Environmental and Life Sciences, said.

“Most of the benefits have flowed to the hands of relatively few operators that are usually representatives of the powerful non-resident minority. The wages of the rural shrimp farm workers are not commensurate with industry profits, with annual export earnings of around half a billion US dollars while the average wages of shrimp workers is about one dollar per day.”

Adding to the social division caused by the industry, environmental problems are a major concern. Environmental

problems are related to clearing of mangrove, plus soil and water contamination. The resulting health impact of polluted water is revealed through skin diseases, diarrhoeal diseases, malaria and intestinal worm infestation.

To Momtaz, and his research partners at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania and the Bangladesh Centre for Advance Studies, the solution is multi-faceted. “The emphasis should be on equitable distribution of benefits, but also on how to minimise

environmental impacts so the shrimp industry is sustainable.

“Cooperative ownership of small-scale shrimp farms with farmers receiving micro-credit from non-government organisations can address the social imbalance. The environmental impacts could be reduced if the cooperative members raise shrimps in tanks while continuing to grow food crops.”

| RESEARCH 200920

In today’s world it takes more than talent and good luck to convert a bright idea into a commercial success, particularly if you are a small to medium enterprise. Add to the mix the constant stream of new ideas extolling ‘clean and green’ credentials, and getting heard above the din is an even greater challenge.

Giving Australian firms in the clean energy sector a distinct advantage in getting their ideas from patent to product and onto the global market is the motivation behind a new partnership headquartered at the University of Newcastle.

The Enterprise Connect Clean Energy Innovation Centre (CEIC) is an Australian Government initiative giving small to medium enterprises (SMEs) access to business advice and the latest research and technology. Enterprise Connect is a $50 million per year Australian Government initiative that aims to make SMEs more internationally competitive and to strengthen links between industry and the research sector.

Newcastle Innovation – the commercial arm of the University of Newcastle – is in a prime position to drive the agenda at the heart of the CEIC. With a proven track record in transferring knowledge, technology and scientific research from the academic sector to its commercial partners,

Newcastle Innovation is the lead complementary services partner of the CEIC, working with the Australian Institute for Commercialisation and the Western Australian Sustainable Energy Association.

“What we are offering will be critical to the commercialisation of clean energy technology in the Hunter region and nationally,” Newcastle Innovation CEO Dr Brent Jenkins said. “The Hunter has a very strong voice in the global energy debate, which is crucial to the long-term future of this region. Our political and industry leaders strongly support this position.”

Newcastle Innovation Business Development Manager Dr David Nicolson said the CEIC would benefit from Newcastle Innovation’s expertise in commercialisation and its strong links to researchers. “We can connect clean energy enterprises to the leading technology providers, universities and research institutions across Australia and internationally.

“SMEs are vitally important in the alternative energy sector. It’s about providing them with some of the basic information, linking them with the right people in the commercial or technical arenas and developing their networks.”

Firms will be eligible to receive complementary services after undergoing an on-site business review by Enterprise Connect. In order to qualify for the program, firms only have to meet a small number of criteria including showing an annual turnover of more than $1.5 million and less than $100 million in the previous financial years.

The firms will be given a tailored business review with advice aimed at helping them improve their products and services and ramp up export capabilities. The Newcastle Innovation CEIC staff will give advice on technical issues.

Services offered by the CEIC range from helping companies locate the right research partners to commercialising particular products or services.

Through Enterprise Connect, the Australian Government will provide up to $20,000 matching funding for clean energy companies to implement the changes recommended in the business review.

Jenkins said Newcastle Innovation was a perfect fit for the CEIC. “We have direct access to cutting edge research at the University of Newcastle that is recognised nationally and internationally as leading the clean energy field and have strong links with the technology sector across Australia.

“Add Newcastle Innovation’s track record in commercialisation, and the Hunter is the perfect place to nurture the next generation of clean energy technology.”

CLEAN ENERGY BOOST

RESEARCH 2009 | 21

AN ELECTRIFYING REVOLUTIONImagine drawing down excess electricity from thousands of electric car batteries while they charge overnight, and using that energy to run your home.

This scenario could become reality with the introduction of intelligent electricity networks, according to Associate Professor Steven Weller, Head of the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. The surges of energy produced by renewable resources will need to be stored and that is where banks of electric car batteries could come into play.

“Consider the possibility that there is an enormous distributed battery bank in the form of electric vehicles parked at peoples’ houses that could be a resource the grid called upon to extract energy back,” Weller said.

Computers in the cars would communicate with the electricity network to ensure that the right amount of power was drawn and batteries remained charged. “It is very important that the network be able to communicate within itself because this will allow

energy from all sorts of renewable sources to enter the grid in a coordinated way.”

Research and development for the technology known as smart grids will be the focus of the University’s new Centre for Intelligent Electricity Networks. The result of a $5 million partnership between EnergyAustralia and the University, the centre will be established over five years and will attract international researchers.

EnergyAustralia Managing Director George Maltabarow said smart grids were the biggest change to the electricity network in 100 years.

“The smart grid network will change the electricity industry in much the same way that mobile phones have re-shaped the telecommunications industry. These technologies will improve reliability and response times to electricity outages, drive productivity gains and allow more renewable energy sources to be connected to the grid.”

Building a smart grid involves overlaying existing electricity delivery networks with communications and computer networks, allowing for the monitoring and repair of the system with minimal human intervention.

The benefits will be significant: utilities like EnergyAustralia will be able to make better use of existing infrastructure; customers will get real time information on costs so they can switch off appliances when energy prices are high; and better integration of wind, solar and other renewable power sources will be possible.

The collaboration will join the market and infrastructure skills of EnergyAustralia with the research and development capability of the University’s Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment.

EnergyAustralia’s Executive General Manager Engineering, Geoff Lilliss, said the partnership highlighted the strong working relationship between the two organisations.

“The Centre will give engineering students the chance to help transform traditional energy networks by researching, developing and testing technologies that will deliver a dynamic, interactive electricity grid capable of changing the way we use, manage, generate and deliver energy,” he said.

Research at the new Centre will mesh with the strengths of the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, including the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Complex Dynamic Systems and Control.

The smart grid network will change the electricity industry in much the same way that mobile phones have re-shaped the telecommunications industry

“ “

Dr Michael Stockenhuber’s revolutionary work began at Britain’s Nottingham Trent University, where he developed a catalyst capable of producing hydrogen from kerosene. Catalysts are substances that perform a sort of ‘chemical judo’, facilitating chemical reactions without being consumed themselves. They have numerous practical uses, from refining petrol to making margarine.

The hydrogen produced using Stockenhuber’s catalyst will be used in planes’ fuel cells to generate all onboard electricity, replacing the inefficient turbine generators. The result will be a reduction in the level of CO2 pollution created by the airliner.

Hydrogen is a clean fuel because it burns to form water. But it boils at a very low temperature and has to be kept extremely cold, making it very difficult to use in liquid form. Stockenhuber’s invention means planes will be able to overcome this by manufacturing gaseous hydrogen on board – and there will be no fire hazard because the gas will always be safely contained within the power generation system.

“I was asked to produce the catalyst by the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company, which manufactures the Airbus. We have shown that it works to their specifications and it is planned to have the first fuel cells producing electricity on board an aircraft within two years,” Stockenhuber, now the University’s Senior Lecturer in Chemical Engineering, said.

Stockenhuber’s hydrogen catalyst is made from a noble metal – one that is resistant to corrosion or oxidation. But for now its exact make-up is under wraps while it is patented.

Catalysts are a fascination to Stockenhuber. “I do a lot of work with them because they provide the possibility of doing very interesting fundamental science, then quickly transforming that into practical applications with lots of benefits for society.”

He probes the complex secrets of catalysts – which are hard to understand because of the disordered nature of their structures – using X-ray absorption spectroscopy, a method of analysing substances based on studying spectra.

Stockenhuber’s wider research goal is to make chemical production processes more environmentally friendly and reduce their carbon footprint. Currently he is working with a subsidiary of Newcastle’s Bloomfield Collieries on biodiesel, a fuel made from renewable resources such as waste cooking oils.

Its production results in large quantities of the by-product glycerol (also known as glycerine), and eliminating glycerol is a growing waste problem. Stockenhuber is looking at ways to produce useful products from the glycerol, and in particular methanol, which could then be used to produce more biodiesel.

CUTTING AIRLINES’ CARBON FOOTPRINT

Within a few years, air travel could be revolutionised with Airbus planes generating onboard electricity using a new clean energy power source.

SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST

Off the New South Wales coast, more than 300 Port Jackson sharks’ dorsal fins carry tags with the contact phone number for marine biologist and researcher Dr David Powter. He has spent the past seven years researching the demographics, diet, spatial ecology and reproduction of Port Jackson sharks (Heterodontus portusjacksoni) in a bid to protect them from local extinction.

Powter’s love of water and the marine environment made a new career choice an easy decision when the former policeman’s hand was forced after being hurt on the job. Already a keen scuba diver, he tagged and tracked the Port Jackson sharks as part of his doctoral research into their reproductive biology.

His most recent research focus has been on the impact that climate change is likely to have on this ancient species. He has already discovered that, with water temperatures increasing, they could die out in parts of NSW.

“The reproductive capacity of the Port Jackson shark is temperature dependent – they capitalise on the decrease in water temperature to lay their eggs,” Powter said. “If you get warmer temperatures each year, the water temperature will take longer to drop to between 17 and 18 degrees Celsius – the critical threshold – and that will shorten the breeding season.”

As the embryonic mortality rate for these sharks is more than 85 per cent – the highest known for any shark species – the addition of warmer waters could prove fatal for localised populations of the species.

Powter and research partner Associate Professor William Gladstone (Director of the group for Sustainable Use of Coasts and Catchments) have published research showing that with the Port Jackson sharks’ slow growth rate and late maturation, protecting the reproductive stock was a priority to ensure that at least one pup of each sex survived to adulthood.

The sharks are particularly sensitive to temperature changes and will only move onto inshore reefs in winter to mate and lay eggs when the sea temperature reaches the 17 and 18 degrees Celsius level. They are strongly attached to particular areas and always return to the same reefs to reproduce and lay their corkscrew-like eggs.

The eggs, which are four times the size of hens’ eggs, drift into crevices in the rocks where their corkscrew flanges harden, wedging them in.

Powter and Gladstone found that out of 1,404 eggs studied from two reefs at Terrigal and Jervis Bay, an average of 86 per cent had been consumed by predators before they could hatch.

It is not only predators that kill the embryos. South Australian researchers found water temperatures below 15 degrees and above 20–21 degrees Celsius were fatal for early-stage Port Jackson shark embryos.

“Climate change models suggest sea temperatures will rise by at least one to two degrees Celsius by 2050. That is enough to change the 17–18 degree breeding threshold quite substantially,” Powter said.

“So while it is not likely to drive Port Jackson sharks to total extinction, because there are other areas further south where the waters are cooler, the northern part of their range may become too warm for them to survive.”

Powter’s ongoing research is looking at the Port Jackson sharks’ breeding habits over an extended geographic area including Victoria and Western Australia. Population distribution is being explored through genetic testing in collaboration with the University of Adelaide to inform future management and protection of the species.

The reproductive capacity of the Port Jackson shark is temperature dependent – they capitalise on the decrease in water temperature to lay their eggs

“

“RESEARCH 2009 | 23

| RESEARCH 200924

BOOK REVIEWS

INCLUSION IN ACTION

Edited by Professor Phil Foreman

Thomson, Australia (2008)

Inclusion In Action (Second Edition) provides teachers with knowledge and practical skills to successfully include students with disabilities into mainstream classes.

With contributions by leading Australian researchers in special education and disability studies, Inclusion In Action explains the evidence base for the development of positive attitudes to inclusion, strategies for creating inclusive environments, and good teaching practice.

Fully revised throughout, the new edition takes into account recent policy and legislative changes in this rapidly evolving field, examining requirements for schools and suggesting ways to implement new measures.

This is a must-read text for those in early childhood, primary or secondary pre-service teacher education programs, demonstrating how to optimise the educational experiences of students with a wide range of abilities.

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF MORALITY

Dr Miles Bore

VDM Publishing, Germany (2008)

The Psychology of Morality: Moral Orientation and a Dissonance Model of Moral Decision Making is the result of extensive international research into moral behaviour, posing compelling alternatives to current measures of moral reasoning.

The area of moral behaviour has been extensively studied in cognitive developmental, psychoanalytic, socioanalytical and social learning approaches. However, without specially designed psychometric measures, the understanding of the psychology of morality has never been complete.

Presenting a new measure, Dr Bore provides a unique insight into why we make particular moral decisions based on the balance between our individual freedom values (Libertarian) and our social duty values (Communitarian).

The Psychology of Morality presents new, challenging ways to think about the choices we make and why we behave the way we do.

BACK TO THE CITY

Edited by Professor Steffen Lehmann

Hatje Cantz, Germany (2009)

Imagine a city where grass grows out of buildings or bus stops are set up as living rooms.

Back to the City: Strategies for Informal Urban Interventions documents a series of innovative installations in public spaces, with a focus on an experimental art-architecture exhibition held in Newcastle, New South Wales.

The Back to the City exhibition was a turning point for the revitalisation of the Newcastle city centre, bringing together artists, architects and landscape artists across 18 site-specific installations.

The Newcastle exhibition was the third in Professor Lehmann’s ‘Creative Cities’ series. Back to the City presents 28 inspiring case studies from the series offering readers a view of public art that is far from static, instead providing a dynamic commentary on today’s urban landscape.

A SOCIOLOGY OF FOOD & NUTRITION

Edited by Associate Professor John Germov and Dr Lauren Williams

Oxford University Press, Australia (2008)

A Sociology of Food and Nutrition: The Social Appetite (Third Edition) is an engaging analysis of our ‘social appetite’ and the cultural, religious and societal factors that influence why we eat certain foods and have taboos against others.

Associate Professor Germov and Dr Williams have brought together leading international authors to examine the sociocultural, political, economic and philosophical factors that influence the way food is produced, distributed and consumed.

A Sociology of Food and Nutrition has been widely lauded as a leading text on the emerging field of food sociology.

Now in its third edition, A Sociology of Food and Nutrition includes learning features, sociological reflection exercises, and an expanded Online Resource Centre featuring a range of instructor resources.

The University of NewcastleFor more information about the articles in this publication please visit www.newcastle.edu.au/research

EditorBlythe Hamilton-Scully, Media and Public Relations Blythe.Hamilton@newcastle.edu.au

Project CoordinatorBelinda Peden, Research Division Belinda.Peden@newcastle.edu.au

WritersEditor Group

DesignBounce Design

PhotographyMcKean Photo

Research Division

The Chancellery The University of Newcastle Callaghan NSW 2308 Australia

T: +61 2 4921 7733 F: +61 2 4921 7164 W: www.newcastle.edu.au/research

CRICOS Provider 00109JUoN

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Research is printed on Mohawk Options 100% PC White, which is made from recycled fibre and manufactured using non-polluting, wind-generated energy. This paper is certified by Green Seal and the Forest Stewardship Council, which promotes environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial, and economically viable management of the world’s forests.

Savings from using recycled fibre in place of virgin fibre:

13 trees preserved for the future

17 kg waterbourne waste not created

20,968 litres wastewater flow saved

278 kg solid waste not generated

547 kg net greenhouse gases prevented

Savings from using emission-free wind-generated electricity:

278 kg air emissions not generated

144 cubic metres natural gas unused

This amount of wind-generated electricity is equivalent to:

not driving 976 km

OR

planting 42 trees

Our track record:! Ranked ninth in Australia for externally-funded research! Annual external research income has doubled since 2003 to $78.1 million in 2008! Australian Research Council funding of $15 million in 2008! National Health and Medical Research Council funding of $12 million in 2008! Newcastle Innovation annual turnover $13.8 million in 2008! Research Higher Degree completions 151 in 2008-09

We have 12 Priority Research Centres:! Advanced Particle Processing! Asthma and Respiratory Diseases! Bioinformatics, Biomarker Discovery and Information-Based Medicine! Brain and Mental Health Research! Centre of Excellence for Complex Dynamic Systems and Control! Computer Assisted Research Mathematics and its Applications! Energy! Gender, Health and Ageing! Geotechnical and Materials Modelling! Health Behaviour Research Centre! Organic Electronics! Reproductive Science

We lead two Australian Research Council Centres of Excellence:! Biotechnology and Development! Complex Dynamic Systems and Control

We host large national and international research projects including:! Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health! Australia New Zealand Breast Cancer Trials Group! Enterprise Connect Clean Energy Innovation Centre! WorkCover NSW Research Centre of Excellence

RESEARCH AT A GLANCERESEARCH AND STUDY OPPORTUNITIES ARE AVAILABLE FOR ALL STAGES OF YOUR CAREER. TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT JOINING THE UNIVERSITY OF NEWCASTLE’S WORLD-LEADING TEAM VISIT:www.newcastle.edu.au/research

Model mental health care

Turning back the biological clock

Star Wars and the road to Christianity

Australia on red alert

An electrifying revolution

Survival of the fittest

RESEA

RC

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CONNECTING RESEARCH AND COMMUNITY

ENERGISING

IDEAS