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SMH - Men seek kudos, women flexibility

Women want flexibility and men want kudos when it comes to selecting a university or degree, a national survey of postgraduate expectations has shown. But although women are more mindful of juggling study, work and family when deciding to continue tertiary education, a smaller proportion of female than male students was married or had dependents, the survey found.

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Diamonds are a heart’s best friend

Scientists at Brunel University, in West London, may have found the key to preventing blockages that cause thrombosis and heart disease.

By coating flat sheets of collagen with a diamond like carbon (DLC) substance, researchers believe that they can prevent blood vessels from becoming clogged.

DLC coatings are currently used on catheters that commonly become clogged due to build-up of matter or encrustation. However, they have not previously been used as coatings inside blood vessels.

By coating sheets of PermacolTM – a collagen implant used for surgical reconstruction – with DLC, rolling them up into tubes and inserting them in the body, bypassing the clogged or blocked blood vessels, the researchers at Brunel University believe that future clogging will be prevented.

Almost one in eight people in the UK (12 per cent) have been diagnosed with a disease of the heart or circulatory system – and this figure does not include the millions who live with blocked arteries without even knowing it.

Brunel University’s research is critical to tackling the disease. The research is being conducted by Dr Ian Kill of Brunel University’s School of Health Sciences and Social Care, in collaboration with Professor Joe Franks of Brunel University’ School of Engineering Design.

According to Dr. Kill, “Natural and artificial biomaterials are now commonly used in medical applications in order to treat, augment, or replace a tissue, organ, or function of the body. DLC is tough as well as slippery so substances do not stick to it.

“It is also inert and does not generate an immune or inflammatory reaction within the body. It is therefore an ideal substance to be used for this purpose, “ he said.

Dr Kill added: “Brunel University has developed the protocols to coat a hydrated proteinaceous sheet with DLC. We know that we can generate coatings of varying and controlled thickness and that the coatings are stable inside the body.

“We are currently seeking additional funding to complete our research. We still need to ascertain more about how coated collagen will behave in the body, how other proteins and cells interact with the surface, whether cells can grow into the DLC layer and how to seal the join line when we form the tube.

“There is plenty of research to be done but the findings could potentially have a huge impact on tackling one of Britain’s major fatal diseases.”

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Malaysian students take their medicine in country Victoria

Fifty-two aspiring doctors from Malaysia will spend this week in the country town of Rawson, near Moe in central Gippsland, learning about issues unique to rural medicine.

The students, who are the first intake of Monash University Malaysia 's Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery, will talk to local residents, visit healthcare services and tour industry to gain an appreciation of rural medicine.

They will spend the next two years studying with their Australian counterparts before completing the remaining three years of their degrees in Malaysia . All students studying medicine at Monash undertake rural placements in their first year of study.

A special program has been devised for the Malaysian students that includes social activities as well as practical experience.

They will meet local healthcare groups including aged care providers and dermatology clinicians who have agreed to talk about their experiences of healthcare in a small town.

They will also visit the snowfields at Mount St Gwinnear and visit a local national park in the hope of spotting native Australian animals.

The head of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences at Monash University Malaysia Professor Dato Dr Anuar Zaini will join the students this week.

The head of international projects in the medicine faculty, Professor Chris Browne, said the program would give the Malaysian students an idea of medical facilities in country Victoria as well as a sense of what rural Victoria is like.

"At Monash we like all our students to get an international experience; this is one way we can enhance the Australian experience for our Malaysian students," he said.

In Malaysia , all medical students are sent to country areas to practise once they have completed their degrees. The same will apply for the Monash University Malaysia medical students.

"The medical facilities in country areas in Malaysia are underdeveloped compared to Kuala Lumpur , so it is appropriate that the students go into country areas that are not as well developed as Melbourne," Professor Browne said.

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New youth subculture seeks escape from "easy listening"

A new, global, youth subculture obsessed with internet radio has emerged within Generation Y. The "Net Radio Generation" identified by Monash academic Ms Andrea Baker tends to be white, male, middle-to-upper-class, aged 18-24, urban-based, tertiary educated and in search of alternative music not found on conventional radio.

Net radio is radio programming transmitted over the Internet instead of the airwaves.

Ms Baker has compared the consumption of net radio by more than 100 tertiary students enrolled in media, communications and journalism programs at Monash University, the City University of New York and New York University .

She has found that a Net Radio subculture has clearly emerged and is thriving among North American tertiary students and is also developing in Australian tertiary students.

"North American and Australian tertiary students are disillusioned with public and commercial, conventional, terrestrial radio; and are fighting for, and building, new alternative media outlets such as net radio stations," Ms Baker says.

"The students argue terrestrial radio fails to provide access to the 30 new, alternative music genres on offer on web radio."

Such genres include Ambient Pop, Cowpunk, Boot scooting music; Doom Metal, Folktronica, Clipped computer noises; Hair Metal, Japanese noise; Queercore, Rap Meal; Columbian music and Yodelling Zydeco.

"Youths are huge consumers of radio and net radio is definitely the way of the future," she says. "Net radio streaming in Australia really began in 1999, but its uptake has been slow in comparison to the United States . By January 2001 there were 50 free-to-air traditional radio stations streaming their programs online and about 24 internet-only radio stations in Australia ."

Monash University's student radio station, DIY radio, is internet-only and began streaming in 2001.

Ms Baker says to nurture a more net-savvy youth sector in Australia; Australian tertiary media, communications and journalism programs need to reassess their multimedia training and curricula.

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A Unique Collaboration - Historic Preservation and Museum Studies

Historic Preservation and Museum Studies are intertwined in their focus on the interpretation and preservation of our cultural heritage - from the small scale of a hand-held artifact to the large scale of a historic neighborhood. These inter-related and multidisciplinary fields make meaningful contributions to contemporary communities by helping them protect and understand tangible evidence of the past.

Historians and designers offer different but complementary approaches to the fields of Historic Preservation and Museum Studies: From the historian's perspective, a career in preservation or museum settings offers exciting opportunities for researching, preserving, and interpreting the past to reach a broad public audience beyond the traditional classroom. The opportunity to achieve a deeper understanding of the past through the preservation and study of material culture, broadly defined to include objects, buildings, landscapes, and other cultural artifacts, is one of the chief attractions for historians drawn to these fields.

Approaching preservation from the designer's perspective offers a range of opportunities to identify, document, evaluate, restore, rehabilitate, and adapt the historic built environment. As preservationists work with historic buildings, neighborhoods, urban downtowns, and rural districts, they directly impact the quality of life for local communities as they protect and enhance their sense of place. Working in a museum context offers designers special opportunities for telling a story visually and graphically through exhibit design or historic interiors.

The graduate concentrations and post-baccalaureate certificates in Historic Preservation and Museum Studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro embody the interdisciplinary nature of these fields by drawing on the resources of two strong departments: History and Interior Architecture. The creative collaboration between these two departments offers unique educational opportunities, combining the art of historical research methods and interpretation with the theory and skills of design practice.

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National inquiry into Corby case: Griffith Innocence Project

Queensland: Griffith University’s Innocence Project recommends a Federal Government Inquiry be held to investigate issues raised by the Schapelle Corby case.

The project, established by the Griffith Law School in 2001 under the patronage of celebrated justice advocate Rubin “Hurricane” Carter to review miscarriages of justice, suggests the government has a responsibility to investigate information and evidence pointing to Corby’s innocence.

“The Corby case has raised substantive issues occurring on Australian soil that could point to Ms Corby’s innocence,” Griffith Innocence Project Director Lynne Weathered said.

“Our government has a primary responsibility to investigate whether one of its citizens has been unjustly accused as a result of happenings here in Australia.”

Queensland lawyer and Griffith Innocence Project co-founder Mr Chris Nyst said an independent Commission of Inquiry was the only way to investigate claims made by Ms Corby’s defence that the drugs were planted in Schapelle’s luggage.

“This is an Australian problem, it is not an Indonesian problem,” Mr Nyst said.

“The substantive issues the Corby defence team raised relate primarily to shortcomings with Australian airline security, not with the Indonesian courts and that is a proper matter for inquiry and resolution in Australia by Australian authorities,” he said.

“The Corby case illustrates that when Australian travellers arrive in foreign destinations, they are going to be stuck with whatever is found in their luggage and whatever justice system applies. They need to have confidence that they arrive with the same contents in their bags that they left with.

“Corby claims the drugs were not in her bag when she handed them to the airline, and Australian airline authorities are apparently unable to deny that assertion. Serious allegations have been made regarding airline baggage handlers tampering with baggage in transit, and drug syndicates working within Australian airports.

“This is an issue that affects every Australian who intends to travel. It should be comprehensively investigated so that Australians can be confident that luggage given over to the security of an airline will remain secure.”

The Griffith Innocence Project recommends the Australian Government establish a full judicial inquiry into the issues raised by the Corby case, including the account of prison inmate John Ford and alleged drug trafficker Ronnie Veganza, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) response, the AFP investigation into baggage handlers at Sydney airport, and the recently disclosed Custom’s report.

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