Media Releases 2006 Archive
13 December 2006 - UNSW@ADFA Degree Conferral Ceremony
6 July 2006 - Doping in Sport: Social Science Weighs in for the Fight
16 May 2006 - The Launch of the defence and security applications research centre
1 May 2006 - CDF Launches Elite Academic Program for Midshipmen and Officer Cadets
28 February 2006 - UNSW@ADFA Launches Academic Language and Learning Unit.
7 February 2006 - New Professor of Geography at UNSW@ADFA Canberra
1 February 2006 - SPORTS, DRUGS AND SOCIAL SCIENCE: ASDA CEO TO OPEN FORUM
13 December 2006
UNSW@ADFA Degree Conferral Ceremony
The UNSW Chancellor, Mr David Gonski awarded 401students with their degrees across two conferring ceremonies on Wednesday 13 December at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra.
A total of 254 undergraduate midshipmen and officer cadets and 147 postgraduate students were presented with their degrees in Arts, Business, Science, Engineering and Technology from the University of New South Wales. The Chancellor also presented one of two University Medals awarded to this year’s graduating students and awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters to a serving senior Naval Officer.
University Medals were awarded to Andrew Wegener, Royal Australian Army, and Pilot Officer Paul Andrews Royal Australian Air Force. Both students were awarded First Class Honours Degrees.
The University Medallist, Pilot Officer Paul Andrews, a graduating Science student of UNSW at the Australian Defence Force Academy was presented with a First Class Honours Degree of Physics and the UNSW University Medal during the Degree Conferring Ceremonies for Science and Engineering.
PLTOFF Andrews joined the Royal Australian Air Force in May 1994 as an Airman. After completing trade training as an Aircraft Technician he had various postings and in 2002 began Officer Training at Point Cook in Victoria. After completing his training, PLT OFF Andrews moved on to the Australian Defence Academy to complete a Science degree and an Honours Year with UNSW.
PLTOFF Andrews is married with one child and will take up a post with theAir Defence Officer’s course at the Surveillance and Control Training Unit at RAAF Base Williamtown.
The Honorary Doctorate of Letters was presented to Rear Admiral James Goldrick, Royal Australian Navy. RADM Goldrick is the Commander Joint Offshore Protection Command and Director General Coastwatch. He has 32 year’s service in the Royal Australian Navy and has a strong interest in naval history and contemporary naval affairs. He has lectured and written extensively on various topics. The Honorary Doctorate was awarded on the basis of RADM Goldrick’s eminent service to the community.
RADM Goldrick gave the Occasional Address for the Business, Humanities and Social Science conferral ceremonies.
The Engineering, Science and Technology Occasional Address was delivered by Professor Veena Sahajwalla, who leads the research on Sustainable Materials Processing at UNSW and is also a frequent panel member on the ‘New Inventors’ television series.
BIOGRAPHY
PLTOFF PAUL ANDREWS
Pilot Officer Paul Andrews joined the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) on 3 May 1994, posting into No 1 Recruit Training Unit (1RTU) at RAAF Base Edinburgh to begin his training as an Airman. On successful completion of 1RTU, Paul moved to the RAAF School of Technical Training to commence training as an Aircraft Technician. Following this, he posted to No 501 Aircraft Maintenance Wing in RAAF Amberley in June 1995. Over the next six year of service he was posted to a number of units at RAAF Amberley including 1 Squadron and 382 Expeditionary Combat Support Squadron.
On the 13th September 2002 Paul received his commission and commenced Officer Training at the Officer Training School, Point Cook, in Victoria. At the completion of Officer Training Paul commenced his Bachelor of Science degree through the Airmen at ADFA (AAA) Scheme.
During his four years at ADFA Paul has achieved exceptionally high Academic standards and has excelled beyond the expectations placed on him. At the end of 2005 Paul completed his Bachelor of Science degree and as a result of his exceptional academic record was approved to undertake an honours year.
Paul is married to Magdalena and they have a daughter Cordell. Paul now graduates from the Academy to commence his Air Defence Officer’s course at the Surveillance and Control Training Unit at RAAF Base Williamtown.
6 July 2006 - Doping in Sport: Social Science Weighs in for the Fight
UNSW Social Science researchers will present preliminary findings from studies into drugs in sport at a special workshop the National Convention Centre, Canberra on the 6th of July 2006.
Doping, anti-doping and anything to do with drugs in sport is becoming more and more of a concern for governments, sports organisations, athletes and parents of athletes. Australia, as a world leader in anti-doping, has taken another leap forward, this time by involving social science to find out the who, what, when, where and why of drugs in sport.
The Australia Government, through the Anti-Doping Research Program (DCITA), has funded a project to guide social science research into drugs in sport. The first workshop in this project saw social scientists from around Australia, including economists, lawyers, psychologists and sociologists, work on developing a guide on the key drugs in sport issues social science can best research.
"Social science is in a good position to give advice about the use and abuse of drugs in sport," says workshop co-ordinator Dr Jason Mazanov from UNSW@ADFA. "Anti-doping is a really difficult issue. Athletes get banned for taking performance enhancing substances at their place of work. If you drink coffee at work, should you be banned too? Should GPs be prevented from using caffeine to get through their day? Should musicians using beta blockers to steady their hands before a big concert be stopped from playing? As a social scientist this leads me to question why athletes are held to such a different standard to the rest of us."
The rest of the team have been looking at how different aspects of social science view the drugs in sport issue. The results of this work support the Government's strategic move towards funding social science research into drugs in sport.
Dr Dennis Hemphill, Sports Ethicist from Victoria University, argues that calling it a 'war on drugs in sport' may produce unjust consequences for athletes, stifle debate on alternative strategies for drug control, suppress research on safe performance enhancing drugs, or reduce the autonomy of national or local sport institutions to develop policies that suit their particular sport.
Dr Keiran Sharpe, Economist from UNSW@ADFA, builds on Dr Hemphill's point about the stifling of debate by suggesting that the costs and benefits of alternatives to the anti-doping stance have not been assessed. In other words, we have no idea about the cost effectiveness of anti-doping relative to other drug control strategies.
Mr Ken Norris, an experienced Sports Administrator, has suggested that there is a lack of knowledge about athlete's attitudes towards anti-doping and drugs in sport. Differences between the attitudes of athletes and the way anti-doping policies are implemented could reduce the effectiveness of anti-doping activity.
Ms Anne Amos and Dr Saul Fridman, Lawyers from the University of Sydney, ask whether mandatory universal sanctions affect particular sports / athletes differently. Assuming some difference may exist (currently, there is no evidence either way), they go on to ask whether it is fair for anti-doping sanctions to affect different sports differently.
The workshop will be opened by the CEO of the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority, Mr Richard Ings. The workshop will also include a panel discussion with national sporting coaches, national and international athletes and parents of athletes to identify areas for future research. The proceedings of the project will be published as a book in 2007.
16 May 2006 - The Launch of the defence and security applications research centre
Senator the Honourable Sandy MacDonald, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence today launched the Defence and Security Applications Research Centre (DSA) located at the University of New South Wales Campus at the Australian Defence Force Academy (UNSW@ADFA).
Lieutenant General Kenneth J. Gillespie, the Vice Chief of the Defence Force and Professor Les Field, Deputy Vice Chancellor Research of UNSW welcomed guests to the launch ceremony. Attendees included Major General David Morrison, the Commander of the Australian Defence College, Brigadier Brian Dawson, Commandant of ADFA, Professor John Baird, the Rector of UNSW@ADFA, academic staff and a number of government and industry representatives.
Associate Professor Hussein Abbass, the Director of DSA, gave an overview of the Centre emphasising that the establishment of this Centre is a continuation of UNSW commitment to Defence.
"We are looking at both Military and Civilian Security. Our definition of Security is broad and covers a wide spectrum of areas including safety issues in land, sea and air, crowd behaviour and dynamics, domestic stability, surveillance and intelligence, spread, management and control of epidemics and bushfires, and policies and standards. We are looking forward to working closely and supporting activities in the defence and security industries," said Associate Professor Abbass.
Professor John Baird said that UNSW@ADFA is uniquely positioned as a faculty of UNSW with expertise from a variety of areas in Science, Engineering, IT and Humanities. "DSA will be a single point of entry to Defence and Security Applications Research on the UNSW@ADFA campus with a strategic aim to provide expertise that DSTO and other defence and government organizations can leverage."
DSA undertakes fundamental research, research and development, linkages with industry and government projects, consultancies, post-graduate training (Masters and PhD for both defence and civilian students), and short specialized training courses. DSA is looking for young bright students who wish to build multiple skills in Defence and Security by undertaking post-graduate studies in this area.
Background Information: www.dsa.adfa.edu.au
1 May 2006 - CDF Launches Elite Academic Program for Midshipmen and Officer Cadets
The Chief of the Defence Force, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, today launched an elite academic undergraduate program for midshipmen and officer cadets attending the University of New South Wales at the Australian Defence Force Academy.
Professor John Baird, Rector of UNSW@ADFA said that "These exciting and stimulating programs are collectively known as the Chief of Defence Force Students Program".
"We have introduced this suite of undergraduate degrees for high-performing students, either entering the Australian Defence Force Academy with a high Entrance Rank (UAI/TER/OP) or those who achieve a high Weighted Average Mark (WAM) in their first year of study," said Professor Baird.
In launching the program, Air Chief Marshal Houston said that the new degree options were a testament to the commitment of the Australian Defence Force Academy and the University of New South Wales at ADFA in seeking and encouraging academic and military excellence from its students".
The aim of the program is to build a strong research culture into a high achievers degree by developing critical thinking and independent research skills beyond that available in the existing undergraduate degree programs.
Air Chief Marshal Houston said that the midshipmen and officer cadets’ education and training at the Academy is both physically and mentally demanding.
"As they undertake their education and training at the Academy, we ask them to work very hard in becoming the very ‘Best Leaders for the Australian Defence Force’ that they can be," he said. "ADFA and UNSW have created a fitting program for these gifted and committed cadets. Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston applauded the innovative academic program and said he was honoured to have the title of CDF associated with this wonderful program.
"I congratulate ADFA and UNSW for providing an exceptional opportunity for gifted students to reach their full academic potential". Students enrolling in the Chief of Defence Force Students Program are expected to maintain a high level of academic and military performance over all sessions in order to remain within the program.
The Chief of Defence Force Students Program will be on offer across all five schools of the Academy and is an exceptional opportunity for gifted students to reach their full academic potential. Degree programs are available in Business, Arts and Science and across the engineering disciplines of Aeronautical, Civil, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering.
28 February 2006 - UNSW@ADFA Launches Academic Language and Learning Unit.
On Monday 27 February, Professor John Baird, Rector of UNSW at the Australian Defence Force Academy (UNSW@ADFA), formally launched the new Academic Language and Learning (ALL) Unit in Canberra.
The purpose of the ALL Unit is to enhance the student learning experience at UNSW@ADFA by providing students with opportunities to develop their academic skills and master academic language and literacy strategies. This process will enable students to clarify their academic expectations and ultimately allow them to achieve their academic potential. Professor Baird said that the work being carried out by the unit was not new. UNSW@ADFA had a strong history of providing academic skills support for its students. The ALL initiative finally put into place a network of coordinated support activities from across the five academic schools.
"Our aggregated failure rates at UNSW@ADFA are approximately half those of other GO8 Universities and we can attribute this achievement in part to our student support mechanisms. Through consolidation and coordination of effort, more students will be able to achieve their potential", said Professor Baird.
Brigadier Brian Dawson, the new Commandant of ADFA also attending the launch congratulated the team on the initiative and said "this unit will be a very valuable adjunct to the academic development of the midshipmen and officer cadets at ADFA".
The ALL Unit’s programs are available to students at all levels including research students and the unit will work collegiately with staff on academic skills issues. Ms. Fiona Cotton, the ALL Unit Convenor said "we are addressing students’ needs in the academic language and learning area by providing short courses and workshops, one on one consultations and online guides and learning resources".
The work carried out by the ALL Unit originated from the work of a small cluster of staff in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences focussing on the academic skills of students within the School. It became evident that a faculty wide approach was needed. Late in 2005, the Rector gave approval for the ALL unit to grow and they have since appointed extra staff to build the unit and its capacity to assist students.
7 February 2006 - New Professor of Geography at UNSW@ADFA Canberra
On 1 February 2006, Professor Brian Lees took up an appointment as Professor of Geography in the School of Physical, Environmental and Mathematical Sciences at UNSW@ADFA. Professor Lees joins the School after twenty years at the ANU in the School of Resources, Environment and Science.
Professor Lees was initially commissioned as a regular officer in the RAF, serving in the Middle East, Europe and Africa. After gaining civil commercial pilot's and flight navigator's licenses he flew with ADASTRA on mineral exploration and mapping projects. He subsequently took a first-class honours degree in geomorphology from the University of Sydney where he also obtained a PhD in 1984.
In addition, Professor Lees has maintained an active research and teaching program focused on aspects of Global Change and the development and application of tools to carry out integrated analysis of global data. He has received a number of awards for his work including the Australasian Institute of Spatial Information Science and Technology (AISIST) Prize in recognition of a "substantial contribution to the study of the science of Urban and Regional Information Systems", 1997; the Land Victoria Fellowship, University of Melbourne, 1999 and the Eminent Individual Award; Australasian Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (AURISA) 1999. Professor Lees is also an editor of the International Journal of Geographic Information Science.
1 February 2006 - SPORTS, DRUGS AND SOCIAL SCIENCE: ASDA CEO TO OPEN FORUM
CEO of the Australian Sports Drug Agency, Mr Richard Ings and Rector of the Australian Defence Force Academy, Professor John Baird, will open proceedings for a forum promoting social science research into drugs in sport on 2 Feb 2006 (8.30 am Derwent Room, National Convention Centre Canberra).
Dr Jason Mazanov, from UNSW@ADFA, has been funded to promote social science research of drugs in sport by the Australian Government through the Anti-Doping Research Program (ADRP) of the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts.
"This is a great opportunity for the Australian anti-doping effort," said Mr Ings. "Using ideas from economics, sociology and psychology represents an important step forward that keeps Australia as a world leader on the drugs in sport issue."
Dr Mazanov says that wanting to win is just one reason athletes start taking performance enhancing drugs. "While it’s a good starting point, I wonder about the effect of peer pressure from their friends, family or coach? Or even worse, the pressure from an entire country!", Dr Mazanov said.
Dr Mazanov adds "Another case is the athlete close to retirement, who might face losing a big sponsor to a younger rival.Making sure their family is looked after could be more important than winning. The problem is we just don’t know how much winning or anything else makes an athlete take this stuff."
A multidisciplinary team from across social science has been assembled to set an agenda for social science research into drugs in sport. The team includes economists, educationalists, sociologists (including prominent sociologist Prof Stephen Mugford), lawyers, psychologists and psychiatrists. The team also includes experienced sports managers, such as the Manager of the ACT Academy of Sport, Mr Ken Norris.
"The team is working hard to put together a book that can be used by everyone from policy makers to parents concerned about their kids," says Dr Mazanov. "We really need to get people talking about drugs in sport using ideas from social science to leverage the work done by medical science and places like the Australian Sports Drug Agency to stop kids even getting into these drugs."
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