Flinders News - Latest news from Flinders University

The global financial crisis has already had a devastating effect on business, banking and employment - but a drop in living standards is set to have a big impact on our health.

Professor Fran Baum, Director of the new Southgate Institute for Health, Society and Equity at Flinders University, says it is inevitable that as unemployment rises and household incomes diminish, the incidence of disease and chronic conditions such as diabetes and obesity will increase.

“The research and academic literature over the best part of a century is conclusive that the status of your health is largely determined by where you live and what work you do,” Professor Baum says.

“A drop in household income, or losing your job altogether, can have a negative effect on the quality of your housing, the food you eat, your ability to pay the bills and to live a well-balanced lifestyle generally,” she says.

And there is also likely to be an increasing gap between the health of the “haves” and the “have-nots”.

Professor Baum says the creation of the Southgate Institute comes at a critical time in the public debate on health.

“Improving daily living conditions and tackling the inequitable distribution of power, money and resources were the two main recommendations of the World Health Organization’s Commission on the Social Determinants of Health last year.

“That a requires serious study of the structures and settings that shape people’s lives, which the Southgate Institute at Flinders University is perfectly placed to lead.

“Researchers at the Southgate Institute will be developing the policies and structures needed to help support people’s lives.”

In addition to an ambitious research agenda, the Southgate Institute aims to foster community debate on matters of public health through regular public lectures, seminars and workshops.

The Southgate Institute for Health, Society and Equity has been established through Professor Baum’s Australian Research Council Federation Fellowship, supported by the SA Department of Health, the SA Social Inclusion Unit and the Premier’s Science and Research Fund.

The Southgate Institute is named after the late Associate Professor Deane O Southgate, Head of then Department of Primary Care and Community Medicine in the School of Medicine, Flinders University at the time of his death in 1991.

The Institute aims to build on the international, national and local reputation of Flinders University for conducting policy and practice relevant research on the social and economic determinants of health and health equity in particular.

The research focus will be on what can be done about the underlying factors that determine the distribution of health and wellbeing outcomes, with a particular emphasis on labour market, social exclusion, housing, structure of suburban environments; economic, social and structural determinants of risky and unhealthy behaviours (including drug and alcohol and other addictions, interpersonal violence, injuries, low physical activity levels and nutrition); and social, cultural and economic barriers to health and other related service use.

A study of the aged care workforce by the National Institute of Labour Studies (NILS) at Flinders University has found that community-based workers enjoy higher job satisfaction than workers in residential facilities.

This is despite casual work and very short working hours making up much of community-based aged care.

Professor Bill Martin [pictured right], one of the study’s chief investigators, said workers attribute greater job satisfaction to less time spent in administration, their ability to spend more time with those they care for, and less stress.

“The fundamental thing is that aged care workers get most of their job satisfaction out of their relationships with the people that they care for. The way the work is organised in community-based set-ups is more conducive to satisfied workers,” Professor Martin said.

The analysis is based on two consecutive surveys conducted by Professor Martin and Dr Deb King [pictured left].

An initial survey of workers in residential age care facilities was commissioned by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing in 2003, and presented the first comprehensive and accurate picture of that workforce. A follow-up survey in 2007 was expanded to include samples of community-based aged care workers.

A significant trend discovered by the comparative study is a continuing shift in the workforce in residential facilities towards “personal carers” and away from registered nurses. Registered nurses are less involved in day-to-day care and essentially have taken up managing roles, Professor Martin said.

Simultaneously, in response to Government initiatives, there has been a marked increase in the proportion of personal carers with qualifications, typically at TAFE certificate level.

While there is continuing debate about appropriate skill levels in aged care, Professor Martin said it is clear that the carers themselves feel that they have the skills they need.

Charlie Huveneers says diving with sharks is never boring. It’s a masterful understatement from the newly appointed shark ecologist at the Port Lincoln-based Lincoln Marine Science Centre.

Instead of the fear that sharks instil in most people, Dr Huveneers has admiration for the subjects of his research which involves underwater surveys, tagging and biopsy sampling. The tagging program also occurs on the surface where white sharks, more colloquially known as ‘white pointers’, are producing some fascinating insights into shark behaviour.

Dr Huveneers said a variety of acoustic and satellite-linked tracking devices are used to collect data on swimming patterns, residence times, migratory corridors as well as water depths and temperatures.

“The general goal is to develop an understanding of the way in which sharks interact with the fishing industry and, of course, improve beach safety as well,” Dr Huveneers said.

“Some of the sharks that we are studying are protected but are still caught as by-catch from fishing operations in South Australia. Trying to get a better understanding of where the sharks are, and how much time they are spending in a particular area will help us reduce these fishing interactions.”

“Sharks are very important players in the marine ecosystem. There have been some recent overseas studies that showed how the decline in shark numbers impacts other organisms lower in the food chain. For example, the over-fishing of large predatory sharks in Northwest Atlantic led to an increase of smaller sharks and rays. As a result, the enhanced predation from those on their prey was sufficient to terminate a century-long scallop fishery.

“Such an example really illustrates how the numbers of sharks can have major influences on the entire ecosystem and on the people relying on that ecosystem in a place like Port Lincoln.”

A day in the ‘office’ for Dr Huveneers could find him diving to survey numbers, tagging sharks like wobbegongs – which tend to make the task easier by lying motionless on the seabed – and taking small biopsy samples with a modified hand spear as other sharks swim past for later genetic analysis. He might also be dissecting sharks to increase the knowledge of basic shark ecology and biology, which is lacking for many species.

On the surface, other species including white sharks, are lured close to a boat and tagged using a modified hand spear or drawn onto a sling with a barb-less hook before having an acoustic tag planted internally into the stomach cavity or a satellite tag fixed to a dorsal fin.

Some of the results obtained in collaborations with WA Fisheries, CSIRO, and the Australian Acoustic Tagging and Monitoring System have surprised researchers.

“Some of these sharks cover huge distances.  We’ve had a white shark tagged at Neptune Island, off Port Lincoln, that was detected by a receiver deployed on Ningaloo Reef located, in the north-west of Western Australia. That shark had swum nearly 4000 kilometres in about 40 days, a very large movement in a very small amount of time,” Dr Huveneers said.

“There are a lot of very exciting project opportunities in South Australia because there has not been a lot of shark research done previously.  The Lincoln Marine Science Centre is a fantastic platform for shark research. There is one of the largest aggregations of adult white sharks on the doorstep at the Neptune Islands, and there are many major fishing operations based here in Port Lincoln. As a result, this Centre will provide great support for scientists and students studying sharks in the area.”

Dr Huveneers says people’s perceptions of sharks, particularly white sharks, can change with greater familiarity.

“White sharks are supposedly the most dangerous sharks in South Australian waters and some people doing a cage dive will start off very afraid. However, that initial fear often becomes admiration when they realise that the sharks are hardly noticing the cage and bait in the water, but swim around like any other animal and do their own thing in their own environment – and there is nothing to be afraid of,” he said.

Dr Huveneers role – which is jointly funded by Flinders University and South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) through Marine Innovation SA – will also include lecturing in fisheries science and marine vertebrates at Flinders in the second half of the year.

Over coming months, many more of the 5000 works of art in the Flinders University Art Museum’s collection will be seen on campus as the roll out of a new art rental scheme begins.

It is part of the plan of newly-appointed Museum Director, Fiona Salmon, to encourage staff and students to engage with the collection by making it more visible.

“We have a really strong profile in the city with the Flinders University City Gallery located in the State Library on North Terrace through which we run an excellent public program,” Ms Salmon says.

“But I think it makes good sense that the resources we have here in the museum are appreciated and used on campus,” she says.

Ms Salmon, who was Collections Manager of the museum for two years, says there is enormous opportunity for the collection to be used in various ways for teaching and research purposes.

She has already had discussions with staff from the history department about the possibility of using a collection of feminist posters from the 1970s and ‘80s as a device to examine contemporary social history.

“We also have a fantastic collection of cartoons by Bruce Petty for example, which provides plenty of fodder for exploring Australia’s recent political history.”

In addition to one of the country’s largest collections of Post Object and Conceptual Art from the 1980s, the Museum holds an extensive collection of master prints dating from the 15th century.

There is also a strong focus on Indigenous art.

“There are parts of the collection that are extremely significant, in particular, the early paintings on boards from Papunya Tula,” Ms Salmon says.

It is an area of special interest for Ms Salmon, who spent five years in Arnhem Land working as a linguist and then as Director of Maningrida Arts and Culture. She then undertook museum studies in Victoria, followed by a stint working on the Museum Accreditation Program (MAP) operating under the auspices of Museums Australia (Victoria).

Fiona Salmon’s passion for her new role at Flinders University has some personal heritage - her great, great, great maternal grandfather, John Pilgrim, was married to Susanna Pearson, Matthew Flinders’ niece.

The Lincoln Marine Science Centre (LMSC) is set to enter a new phase of leading edge research with the opening of Stage II of the Port Lincoln-based Centre.

A $6.59 million development has nearly doubled the size of the Centre that will house around 35 permanent and visiting scientists and educational staff, and cater for increased student numbers.

Flinders Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research) and Deputy Chair of the MISA Steering Committee, Professor Chris Marlin, said South Australia is already leading Australia and the world, developing the technology and research imperatives as the country’s emerging aquaculture industry grows.

“The Lincoln Marine Science Centre is at the forefront for abalone, southern bluefin tuna and black mussel research and our wild fisheries research is widely recognised for its ground breaking ecosystem-based fisheries management research,” Professor Marlin said.

Marine Innovation SA Steering Committee Chair and South Australian Research and Development Institute Executive Director, Affiliate Professor Rob Lewis, says SA’s seafood industry success is built on the drive of industry, complemented by the ingenuity and innovation of marine scientists and fisheries managers.

“Much of this research and collaboration is taking place at the Lincoln Marine Science Centre, right at the industry’s doorstep allowing the development of technology as the need is foreseen,” Affiliate Professor Lewis said.

MISA, a partnership between the South Australian Government, Flinders University, the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI), the University of Adelaide, the South Australian Museum and SA seafood industries, was formed in September, 2005. MISA supports four high priority research areas: seafood product quality and value-adding, aquaculture innovation, ecosystem services and biosecurity.

The goal of closing the gap in health status and life expectancy between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians is unlikely to be met unless racism is tackled, according to new Flinders University research.

The finding, from a major new report on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who live in urban areas, confirms a direct link between racism and poor health outcomes.

In Our Own Backyard: Urban health inequities and Aboriginal experiences of neighbourhood life, social capital and racism is the result of a three-year study conducted by researchers at Flinders University’s Southgate Institute with the support of the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal Health.

One of the project’s chief investigators, Dr Anna Ziersch said 93 per cent of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who took part in the study reported experiencing racism.

“We found that experiencing regular racism was associated with poor health,” Dr Ziersch said.

“But racism also is also experienced when trying to meet basic needs such as renting a house or going to the supermarket,” she said.

Dr Ziersch said addressing racism is likely to have better health outcomes than a single-minded focus on lifestyle behaviours.

“Compared to the general population, twice as many Aboriginal people did not drink and most exercised regularly – and yet they had worse physical and mental health.”

The report concludes that closing the gap in a generation will require significant changes to the way Australian society is currently organised.

“The Federal Government’s aspiration to close the gap will not be achieved unless Australians from all walks of life are aware that racism is unacceptable,” Dr Ziersch said.

The Flinders University researchers have identified the following as other key policy issues:

• Indigenous cultures should be promoted and celebrated.
• Changing behaviours is only likely to be successful when people live in environments that are supportive of healthy lifestyles and lifestyle choices.
• If Aboriginal health is to improve relative to other Australians then so must the way in which Aboriginal people compare on the social determinants of health.

•    A holistic approach to improving mental health is essential

Flinders University is planning to introduce a new course in optometry that could reduce the flow of local students interstate and boost eye health in indigenous communities.

The course will involve five years of study with the first intake of students in 2010.

Flinders course will fill a crucial gap in optometry training with the only qualifications currently offered in Queensland, NSW, and Victoria. The State’s lack of optometry studies – which provide the skills to manage important eye and vision problems – is compounded by the fact that some South Australian students remain and practice interstate after graduation.

While details are yet to be finalised in consultation with optometry practitioners and the national accreditation body, Flinders optometry course will be introduced as a specialisation in Vision Science within a three-year Bachelor of Medical Science, to be followed by a two-year Master of Optometry.

Flinders newly-appointed Executive Dean of Health Sciences, Professor Michael Kidd, said the new course would further enhance the University’s existing strength in teaching medicine and nursing, and would also draw on Flinders advanced eye and vision research capability.

“Flinders School of Medicine and Faculty of Health Sciences are highly regarded teaching institutions and a degree in Vision Science and a Master of Optometry will further consolidate the University’s leadership in health sciences education,” Professor Kidd said today.

“Flinders aims to be the first choice for health professional courses in South Australia,” he said.

Flinders initiative will help overcome a shortage of optometrists in rural and remote areas of Australia, and offers a potential boost for the treatment of serious eye problems in indigenous communities.

The University has strong teaching and research activities throughout SA and the Northern Territory with its Rural Clinical School, NT Rural Clinical School, Centre for Remote Health, NT Clinical School and Greater Green Triangle University Department of Rural Health.

Professor Kidd said Flinders regional teaching model, which includes long term placements of medical students in local communities, could be applied to the optometry courses.

Flinders is also exploring possible links and partnerships with optical lens and frame manufacturers in SA.

Register your interest to be kept informed on further developments.

Can you pick the difference between a thylacine’s thigh bone and flightless bird’s fibula?

Members of the public will get the chance to touch and feel the crusty, fossilised remains of thylacines, marsupial lions, short-faced kangaroos, bandicoots and giant flightless birds that are between six million and 30 thousand years old.

Flinders University opens the doors to its prized palaeontology lab during this year’s Palaeontology Week, March 21-29.

For Dr Gavin Prideaux [pictured], Australian Research Fellow in Flinders School of Biological Sciences, it is a chance to join the SA Museum in introducing people to the fascinating world of palaeontology and to demonstrate his team at work.

“South Australia is probably the best state for palaeontology in Australia,” Dr Prideaux said.

“The evidence of some of the earliest forms of life on Earth come from 600 million year old fossils found in the Flinders Ranges and are famous the world over,” he said.

“On Kangaroo Island, there are deposits of fossils that are around 500 million years old, and there are also the renowned opalised marine reptiles from the time of the dinosaurs found around Coober Pedy.

Flinders University has a long association with SA palaeontology. Associate Professor Rod Wells was part of a caving party that discovered the Victoria Fossil Cave at Naracoorte, the most important megafauna deposit in Australia. It was given World Heritage listing in 1994.

“Flinders is one of very few universities in Australia in which field work – literally searching and digging up fossils – is still a major part of the curriculum,” Dr Prideaux said.

The Open Lab will have activities to interest people of all ages. Special guest, Dr John Scanlon, a palaeontologist at the World Heritage Fossil Site at Riversleigh, Queensland, will talk about fossil snakes and other reptiles.

High school students will hear from current palaeontology students and researchers. And children can involved in a variety of hands-on activities, including helping researchers sort fossils.

Everyone, though, will be able to observe Flinders palaeontologists at work.