James Cook University archaeology students visited Laos on a research trip to study the Plain of Jars, with funding from the New Colombo Plan.

By Nick Palmisano

Eight JCU College of Arts, Society and Education (CASE) archaeology students returned from a research trip to the Plain of Jars, an ancient site in Laos, with funding from the New Colombo Plan covering their travel costs.

Six of the eight students received grants from the New Colombo mobility grant to assist them with travel and research expenses.

The New Colombo Plan is an initiative from the Liberal Government, an evolution of Labour’s AsiaBound program, which was designed to provide opportunities for Australian tertiary students to visit South East Asia for study and research experience.

The NCP opens up scholarship options for both long and short term exchanges, including mobility grants designed for research trips like the Laos project.

Archaeology major Hollie Gill received $3000 to fund her journey to Laos which was essential for her to take part in the project.

“The grant covered all of my flights as well as some extra costs like part of my accommodation, says Hollie.

“Gaining experience in the field is an essential part of any degree, especially archaeology, and would not have been financially possible for me without this grant.”

Hollie hopes that the Laos project brings more awareness about the situation in Laos, and encourages discussion around its leftover explosives.

“I think archaeological work at the Plain of Jars will assist in developing and promoting tourism within the area, especially if it is eventually declared a World Heritage Site, says Hollie.

“This will hopefully bring funding for more extensive clearing of the UXO for the communities, as well as assisting the rehabilitation programs in place.”

ARTEFACT: Lan Xang Smoking Pipe found at the Plain of Jars

Plain of Jars Site

The Plain of Jars is a grassy plateau in central Laos’ Xieng Khouang province, surrounded by mountains, creating a bowl like valley that was once home to a Bronze Age culture.

This civilization is assumed to be responsible for the creation of hundreds of stone jars of various sizes, some only three feet high, with the larger ones measuring ten feet. Archaeologists don’t yet know their true purpose or origin but there are many theories.

JCU archaeology professor and research trip organizer, Dr Nigel Chang, offers one of the more accepted explanations.

“The jars may have something to do with people burying their dead, or filling them up with crematory remains.

“The problem is the jars were discovered a long time ago by international scientists, and they’ve been known about in the country for a lot longer.

“Most of the jars have been heavily looted and are now missing a lot of artefacts, so they’re a bit of a mystery to work out what they’re for, and we don’t know who the people who made them were,” he said.

During the Vietnam War, the US military dropped more than two million tons of bombs on Laos. Today it is estimated that there are 80 million unexploded bombs still remaining in the country.

Unexploded Ordinance Teams accompanied Nigel, his students, and other researchers, clearing areas of explosives before archaeological work could begin. The process is painstaking, as Nigel says.

“Every area we work has to be cleared one way or another, by people who know what they’re doing so we don’t find unexploded bombs when we’re excavating. We do a lot of traditional surveys, walking across the land very precisely, very carefully, and that becomes much harder to do,” says Nigel.

Exchange student Julia Dunn held a poetry slam last Thursday night in a James Cook University first. 

By Jemma Boisen

The Uni Club created history last Thursday night by holding a poetry slam, organised by American exchange student Julia Dunn.

THIS SICK BEAT: Event Organiser Julie Dunn slam-dunks her poetry reading CREDIT: Luke Brooks

Julia, an environmental education major, said that poetry is something that she and her friends really enjoy at home in the United States.

“It’s been great sharing something that shows my identity and giving back to the university.”

“I hope to organize more slams before I go back home, hopefully once a month,” Miss Dunn said.

The poetry slam featured nine poets who had four to five poems written, and was hosted by JCU student and comedian from the Comedy Generation, Laurie Page.

One of the first applicants, 17 year old Chloe Dow, said the night was a major success.

“I was really happy that I made it into the second round…I feel more confident in my writing and oral skills now because of the poetry slam,” Chloe said.

The poetry slam progressed through four elimination rounds resulting in a winner, Olivia Lee Mei Lin.

Olivia, a Malaysian exchange student, experienced competitive poetry writing for the first time.

“I saw the poetry slam flyer and my friends suggested I do it.”

“This was the first time I wrote something serious,” Olivia said.

Julia received many applicants for the slam but had to turn some away due to popularity.

WORDSMITH: The Poetry Slam crowd enjoying the rhymes CREDIT: Luke Brooks

Julia hopes the next slam is bigger and better with a more vocal audience.

“Back home in New York the audience yells out and participates more with the poet,” said Julia.

To join the next poetry slam at JCU, contact Julia Dunn or look out for a new flyer posted around campus.

25 John Flynn College residents are fundraising to change the lives of thousands of young people living in extreme poverty.

By Gabrielle Vacher

James Cook University students fundraising for Oaktree’s Live Below the Line campaign have reached the final month of donations.

Along with thousands of Australian participants, 25 John Flynn College residents restricted themselves to eat only $2 worth of food a day between May 5^th and May 9^th to better understand and raise awareness for extreme poverty.

Although college students have little control over the meals prepared in the dining hall, Brenton Mayer and Rosie Mathews coordinated with the chefs to provide the 25 participants with five days of cheap nutrition.

“Brenton, myself and 28 others were keen to tackle the Live below the Line challenge in 2013, but we didn’t see how it would be feasible to prepare all of our meals on college with such a large group participating and such limited cooking facilities to share,” Rosie says.

“Our head chef Rob and the rest of the cooking staff were very supportive and helpful when we approached them about coordinating with us, and it was so successful last year that they were more than happy to take part take this year as well.”

Challenge: JCU students are endeavouring to ‘Live Below the Line.’

Rosie says the cooperation of the kitchen staff encouraged more students to participate.

“Knowing that the meals would be prepared for us definitely had a huge impact on the number of residents who decided to partake in the challenge,” she says.

“We students only had to organise the ingredients by pooling our money and then buying all of the food in bulk, which was split evenly between us.

“The cooks also asked us for meal ideas and the Live below the Line website provided some great recipes that we adapted, and even students from Flynn had some awesome ideas and improvements from last year.

“Most importantly, by collaborating with the kitchen staff we were able to raise so much more awareness on college as we were eating our meals at the same time and in the same place as everybody else – in the dining hall.

“We even had the chance to do some fundraising during lunch and dinner.”

Rosie believes it was the ‘simple things’ that made a difference during the five days of low-budget dieting.

“It was the cheap tea, cordial and jelly that provided something tastier to our otherwise bland menu – these were considered our ‘treats’ and the sugar hit definitely increased the moral of the group!”

“Apart from that we had ‘no brand’ bread, jam, and butter to share for the week, as well as some corn flakes for breakfast and rice, pasta and frozen vegetables for dinner,” Rosie says.

John Flynn College residents Sky Brunker and Emma Green struggled to find the energy for sport and physical activity throughout the five-day challenge.

“Receiving only carb-based foods for every meal affected me, as the change was so rapid and I was no longer receiving the essential vitamins and nutrients I needed,” Sky says.

“My immune system become quite vulnerable and I fell sick towards the end of the trial.

“The biggest problem was then how much the diet affected my ability to do physical activity – I would become instantly light-headed and if I continued I would become quite nauseous.”

“We really did eat so much white bread and rice!” says Emma.

“Overall it wasn’t as bad as I expected, particularly considering our college did it in a large group – it is easier having people to do it with you.

“I really missed fruit and vegetables though, and it was definitely a struggle to play sport.”

The Live below the Line movement is run by Oaktree, Australia’s largest youth-run organisation with over 150,000 members and funded almost entirely by public donations.

Since 2010 it has grown into a multi-million-dollar fundraising campaign that dedicates 90.1 per cent of all money raised to those living in poverty by providing scholarships, renovating schools and training teachers to offer quality education for thousands of young people in East Timor, Cambodia and Papua New Guinea.

Rosie, Sky and Emma agree that the campaign is one of the best ways to raise awareness for extreme poverty.

“It was a massive eye opener for me to consider how many people live on less than this for a lot longer than five days,” Sky says.

“It is an amazing cause that is changing so many lives for the better and I would definitely encourage more people to participate.”

“Even though living on $2 of food a day is clearly not in any way close to simulating the lives of people living in extreme poverty, it does release a strong message,” Rosie says.

“The World Bank estimates that extreme poverty may be eliminated by 2030, so if Oaktree can spread awareness and trigger some much needed action then this is certainly a worthwhile cause!”

Support the Oaktree Live below the Line campaign by making a donation to your fellow University peers at: https://www.livebelowtheline.com.au/ – donations close Friday 30^th June.

Norway’s Creative College Norges Kreative Høyskole is looking to welcome exchange students from JCU for a semester in classes that would be taught in English.

By Cornelia Koppang Henriksen

The Nowegian school Norges Kreative Høyskole (NKH) has previously only offered two-year courses as a vocational school.

NKH students then had the opportunity to complete their third and fourth years at an overseas university.

In past years, several NKH students have come to JCU to complete their New Media Arts degree at the School of Creative Arts, or a Bachelor of Multimedia Journalism degree at the School of Arts and Social Sciences.

As of this year NKH is introducing its own Bachelor courses and will also give JCU students the opportunity to undertake their exchange at NKH.

The school also wants to invite students from other countries to take their fifth semester in Norway.

Bachelor of Journalism course leader at NKH Lars Richard Bache says that only journalism would be offered exclusively as a Bachelor course.

“We are welcoming students from James Cook University to Norway,” Lars says.

“The whole fifth semester will be taught in English if there are English speaking students.”

The Associate Director for International Recruitment and Admissions at JCU Jan Mo has not yet heard of the changes in the curriculum at NKH in Norway.

“This is without doubt interesting news and we will certainly take this into consideration and try and make it possible for our students to take a semester at NKH,” Jan says.

If plans are set into motion, JCU students can add the NKH as another destination in the growing list of Study Abroad locations now on offer.

If you are a JCU student and want to do a semester overseas, contact the JCU Exchange Program by email exchange@jcu.edu.au.

Cyber Bullying is still a problem especially among young adults.

By Domanii Cameron

Despite the vast technological advancements that society experiences, cyber bullying should not be considered inescapable if children are educated appropriately.

Cyber bullying continues to affect both children and adults daily through various means of online communication.

Mackay Crime Prevention Unit officer Sergeant Nigel Dalton says education is a key element in helping to decrease the frequency of cyber-bullying.

“Bullying has been around but the fact that we can now have it 24/7 on our phones or computers means that it’s more constant in a more direct way, where as before you had to catch up with someone face to face.

“It’s about learning how to communicate with each other again,” he says.

Legislation surrounding cyber-bullying should not be kept separate for children and adults.

“If we divide things up too much, then it becomes something like ‘he was nearly out of that age group; he was nearly an adult’ and vice versa and it all gets messy.

“It’s a really grey area,” Sargeant Dalton says .

“It has to be backed up with a huge amount of education.”

Cyber bullying does not have to exist. PHOTO CREDIT: Social Media Marketing

CEO of Queensland Youth Services Wendy Lang however, says that laws should be kept separate.

“A child can probably and innocently break the law and when I say innocently, I mean they don’t realise the consequences,” she says.

Lang says compared to a child,  an adult should be aware of what they are doing.

“A young person is likely to write emotional comments using the technology without understanding the consequences of writing those comments,” she says.

“I don’t think someone whose maturity levels who aren’t as quite as developed as an adult’s quite understand the repercussions of their actions.”

James Cook University tutor and PhD candidate Kerryn Brack says there is concern that children do not realise what they are doing.

“Children don’t understand the consequences of it [cyber-bullying],” Brack says.

“I think the laws that need to be brought in, need to be focused on educating not just punishing.”

Brack is writing her PhD on cyber bullying and is currently conducting a survey for it.

She says that programs being adopted overseas could work in Australia.

“There was chat, sort of in Australia, but mostly overseas that looked at bringing in programs in schools where children actually set up and decide what is appropriate and what isn’t,” Brack says.

“It has the dual affect of educating them; what they think is wrong and what’s not acceptable and letting them feel that they have control over it and that they can help stop and prevent it.

“Having children involved when trying to look at preventative measures is a really important thing,” she says.

There isn’t one form of technology that cyber-bullying is worse in.

“Every study finds a different type of technology that is worse,” Brack says.

“I guess it depends on which technology is more popular.

“When they first started doing research, things like Facebook weren’t very popular; emails were but now they’ve found that chat rooms and things like Facebook are the worst.”

Brack says cyber-bullying is being reported more frequently.

“Research shows that numbers have slowly increased,” she says.

“It could just be that people are reporting it and recognising it but either way there is more awareness.”

———–

If you are or have been a victim of cyber-bullying, there is help available through Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Every fourth Friday of the month the first year biomedical science students get together for a freaky lunch to relax, meet fellow students and form a community.

By Cornelia Koppang Henriksen

On April 4^th the first year Biomedical students of James Cook University got together for a Freaky Friday Mad Hatter Mid Semester Madness lunch held at the under-croft of the nursing buildings.

Some of the students dressed up as characters from the popular  book, Alice in Wonderland.

THE HARD CORE FREAK: Dr Donnalee Taylor and volunteer students Veronica Munday-Stevens, Stephanie Burges, Rose Blackwood, Philippa Thomas and Taryn Don.

“Sense of Community”

First Year Experience Coordinator for the Bachelor of Biomedicine and Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Dr Donnalee Taylor, says the Freaky Friday workshops bring a completely new experience and opportunity for the biomed students.

“In the past biomedicine has not been that successful in creating a group setting for the students, but now they are staring to feel like they belong to a group, that they are involved,” she says.

“It is nice to create this sense of community.”

Friday’s event was the second Friday lunch, and Dr Taylor and five volunteer students will make every fourth Friday a freaky one, each with different themes.

Get Important Information

It was the academic Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Sally Kift who inspired Dr Taylor to start arranging the regular support event for the students.

Professor Kift says the lunch also helps the lecturers to inform students of important information.

“It is all about providing information to the first year students to support them in their transition from high school or transition back to university,” she says.

“We have guests from around the university, the library, the council and other different areas. They come and meet the students, so they can feel that the comfort level is better when they perceive that they know someone and have a contact if they struggling with something,”

“Never Talked Before”

GOOD OPPOTUNITY: Katielyn Guirguis, Amy Davidson, Hannah Coman and Chloe Mawere says the event is important to meet fellow students.

Most of the attending first year students say the Freaky Friday’s are important in the making of a bio-med community.

Students Katielyn Guirguis, Amy Davidson, Hannah Coman and Chloe Mawere all say they want to continue to attend the event in the future.

“We are often maybe 500 people in one class, so we do not really get to socialize much in that setting,” Amy says.

“The Freaky Friday is fun and it gets everyone together.”

Cameron Brown, another first year student, also says the event is great for meeting new friends.

“This is actually the first time we have talked together. It is really nice to have this chance to get to know each other,” he says.

“It is also nice to get to know our course coordinator.”

If you are a Biomedical student and want to attend, contact Dr Donnalee Taylor.

FREE LUNCH: The first year biomedical students get free lunch at the event.

POPULAR: 50 of 75 students RSVP’d they were going to attend the Freaky Friday event last Friday.

JCU is again paving the way for universities in Australia as staff design a new mathematics subject for James Cook University’s Townsville Campus.

By Marion Walker-Campbell

Dr Shaun Belward, Senior Lecturer in Maths, of the School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, has worked closely over the past three years with Dr Jo Balatti from the School of Education to implement the new Maths subject beginning this semester.

Dr Belward says that typical Maths subjects fail to give Education students an in-depth understanding of the content.

“They go in the other direction and they build on what you already started with and take it to a higher level. Whereas what we’re trying to do is stay at the level but deepen the teachers’ knowledge of Mathematics,” Dr Belward said.

He said this is the first subject of its kind in Australia and the first time something like this has been attempted. He said that in creating this subject, universities will produce better quality Maths teachers once they leave Australian tertiary institutions.

MATHS GURU: Dr Shaun Belward

“We are facing a very strong emphasis on the way we train our Maths teachers at JCU. We understand the direct link between capable Maths teachers and the students who come into the door of our institution to study most of the programs we offer, which would require some sort of Maths – particularly in the flagship areas such as Marine and Tropical Biology and Environmental Science and so on,” he said.

“Those academics in those schools see students come in underprepared out of the secondary school system, and this is our way of trying to address that problem locally.”

Dr Belward said he believes the skill set of the students coming in to tertiary study has declined in terms of their Mathematic skills.

A local senior Maths teacher in Townsville, who prefers not to be named, agrees with this statement, saying that attracting high-quality teachers to Maths, and teaching them the skills needed to teach the content effectively, would undoubtedly have a positive impact on student results.

The long-term senior school teacher also said the quality of upcoming Maths teachers in the industry is poor, as many students use Education degrees as a second preference career.

“There are still wonderful teachers coming through, but why would you be a Maths teacher when you could be an engineer, be far more respected in society and probably earn more money?” the teacher said.

“We aren’t attracting people who love the profession – we are attracting people who see it as their back-up plan.”

The numbers aren’t huge  Dr Belward said, but the number of students training to be Maths students isn’t huge either.

“It’s not a job that many people aspire to, however, what we have done is try to get the attention of students doing science degrees, and sort of dangling a carrot in front of them to get an idea as to what teaching Maths might be like,” he said.

“So there are people doing a science degree, and they would usually do a teaching degree after that, so their students are essentially getting a taster.”

First year Engineering student, Daniel Marais said he has been prepared adequately in the field of Maths, as he believes what he learned in high school is the same as what he is learning at University – only the subject content is extended. He feels he has all the fundamentals and this allows for him to understand the other topics.

“I think so far, what I did at school really helped me get through uni. They really go through things quickly, and I don’t think I would have done too well if it wasn’t for what I got taught at school, as I already had the background knowledge from doing Maths B and C,” Daniel said.

Franz Schnetler, another Engineering student, received distinctions in his first year for Maths and has similar views.

“I thought what I learned at school was fine. Some people just have an issue retaining that information and that’s their own fault, I don’t feel it’s the schooling systems fault,” he said.

“The same thing will happen to those people when they go to university – those same people won’t bother to retain the information.”

The subject has been in circulation for three weeks and Dr Belward said students are enjoying it so far.

“They like the different slant we are putting on the Maths. It’s different to any other Maths we offer at JCU.”

.     A conference to be held at JCU this Friday, October 5, aims to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health.

COALITION: Louise Masters worked with Catherine Ouma, Kathleen Bates and Shinila Varghese to organise the conference

By Hailey Renault

The Let’s Talk About Mental Health conference will bring social work students, community service providers, carers and patients together in important discussions about mental health.

JCU Master of Social Work (Practising Qualified) Louise Masters was the main organiser behind the conference.

“We have a number of students presenting from JCU Townsville on a range of mental health issues like domestic violence, disabilities, and mental health in the Cultural and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) community,” she said.

“We decided to engage with our community through this conference, and we hope it will not only help students, but people in the wider JCU community.”

SOCIAL WORK: Dedicated students helped bring the conference to JCU

Big names, big issue

Students behind the Let’s Talk About Mental Health conference attracted some big names to champion their cause.

The idea for a conference to get people talking about mental health issues, designed by social work students, caught the attention of JCU Vice Chancellor Professor Sandra Harding and Toowoomba MP Claire Moore.

Although Professor Harding is unable to attend the conference herself, she said her role was to encourage participation in the lead-up to the student-run event.

“I wanted to support the initiative and the energy of JCU students who have put this together – I take my hat off to them,” she said.

“Mental health issues are all too often not discussed yet we know depression, bipolar disorders and many other mental health issues are real, and part of the lived experience of so many people in our community.”

Professor Harding said the event needs to discuss issues in people managing a mental illness as well as their friends and families.

“We need to be more open, more transparent and more supportive of people in both categories,” she said.

Queensland senator and Toowoomba MP Claire Moore will be the keynote speaker at the student-run conference.

Senator Moore said working alongside social workers on the front-line made her realise what they come up against on a daily basis.

“We all know the horrors of mental health in our community – we isolate it and almost demonise it,” she said.

“This is a well used example, but if someone has a broken leg we understand they are in pain and are concerned and sympathetic.

“But if it’s someone with mental illness, we aren’t as accepting of it and not at ease, and I think that is driven by fear.”

Senator Moore said being aware of mental illness in the community was the first step to addressing the stigma.

“The statistics say there isn’t a family that would be immune from it,” she said.

“It could be depression or loss, or issues of reactions to bullying and body image, all the way through to schizophrenia and identified mental health issues.

“The core part of social work is helping people know what is available to them – they really are the gel of the community and connect people with their services.”

New experiences for students

Fourth year social work student Catherine Ouma said planning the conference was an exciting and challenging experience.

“To mix the school agenda and your own personal agenda is difficult, and we had to find that balance,” she said.

“As a student I think it’s a great opportunity to develop your public self away from a student environment.”

Ms Ouma said she wanted to bring out the idea that mental health isn’t just about the people who are diagnosed with a condition.

“Mental health has many faces – it can be the businessman sitting behind a desk, the waitress in the restaurant serving a meal, or the child in the playground,” she said.

“We need to all be able to talk about mental health without the stigma that is often attached when discussing mental illnesses.”

The Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW), the Mental Illness Fellowship (MIF) and other community organisations took a role in supporting the development of this event.

Student volunteer Shinila Varghese from India said one of her aims for the conference was involving the Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) community.

“I really wanted to expose their experiences of mental health and raise their voices in a debate where they’re not often heard from,” she said.

The Let’s Talk About Mental Heath Conference is free to attend and will run on Friday October 5, from 8:30 to 12:30, at the Eddi Koki Mabo library.

JCNN reporters were on the scene to speak with local Catholic school teachers striking over negotiations with their employers.

By Robert Blake with material from Marion Walker-Campbell

Hundreds of teachers from Catholic schools across the state walked off the job last week over delayed employment negotiations.

In Townsville, teachers from 16 Catholic schools went on strike and gathered to discuss the lack of progress in their enterprise bargaining negotiations.

TEACHERS STRIKE: Hundreds gathered at the Mecure Hotel for the rally.
(Photo by: Marion Walker-Campbell)

Independent Education Union of Australia Queensland (IEUAQ) co-ordinator Chris Seymour said the rally was a chance for teachers to have their say.

“We are gathering here to discuss our clear disappointment with employers’ lack of respect, lack of recognition and lack of reward,” he said.

Mr Seymour said Catholic Schools are “well thought of in the community” and have family support, but employers are not supporting the workforce.

“What we need to do is try and send a clear message to an employer that now is the time to reconsider their position,” he said.

“This is certainly not just about salary and wages – this is really about the conditions which are conducive to good teaching.”

Mr Seymour said he hoped the rally, held last Thursday, would persuade Catholic schools across Queensland to rethink their position and come to a resolution.

He said future action was dependent on the outcome of the meetings with employers.

“A lot will depend on the attitude of the employer and in the meeting today, we will consider what action we will take if there is no movement next week,” he said.

Ryan Catholic College teacher Ryan Christoffersen, who was at the rally, said Queensland teachers are getting left behind.

“I am disappointed that other states in Australia are getting a lot more pay than Queensland teachers,” he said.

“It is probably going to be at least 10 years if we get a reasonable pay rise before we can even think about catching up with the other states.”

Mr Christoffersen has been a teacher in the Catholic Education system for 13 years and said past Catholic teachers have fought for their pay rates to be the same as teachers working in government schools.

“I am disappointed at the Union for not taking a harder stance,” he said.

“It has taken this long to actually get some kind of action happening and it’s well overdue.”

St Margaret Mary’s College Principal Kathy Park did not attend the rally on Thursday but said she fully supports those who voiced their concerns.

“I believe they (teachers) are free to express their fair claims as it is in their best interest and I’m fully supportive of their rights,” she said.

“Anything to improve the teaching in Catholic schools and make teaching better is worth supporting.

“It’s a shame it has come to this stage but I hope, as they are doing this in good faith, they may be able to come to a resolution soon.”

The IEUAQ will meet with Catholic schools next week to discuss their concerns.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8DECNE2JC4[/youtube]

Townsville high school students got to be diplomats for the day thanks to JCU Townsville’s Young Diplomats Program.

By Ashleigh Gibson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGb_y3SlOGQ&feature=plc