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Professor
Ross Mouer is head of the new School of Asian Languages and Studies and Arts
coordinator for Peninsula campus, where he has introduced a new Bachelor of
Arts degree (International Communication).
The administrative and strategic challenges posed by these appointments have given Ross first-hand experience of some of the issues he researches as an industrial sociologist.
Born in the US, Ross left an increasingly conservative America in the late 1960s to do his PhD in the then ideologically explosive Japan. Eight years later, after a shake out of radicals and increasing moderation in Japanese academia, he came to Australia during the Whitlam sacking - another atmosphere of intellectual change.
He compares the fast-paced industrial reform process which has taken Australia a mere 10 years to achieve with that in Japan which has occurred over 30 to 40 years,and sees many similarities.
"At universities in Australia, the benefits have perhaps been better teamwork, communication and a growing awareness of the need for research," he said.
"But this should be balanced against the spread of formula-driven teaching and research, which may have lifted teaching effectiveness overall but can also make universities less intellectually challenging and exciting."
During his 11 years at Monash, Ross has also observed the developing relationship between Australia and Asia. He co-authored Images of Japan, which contributed to new directions in the development of Japanese studies.
He is currently researching the relationship between work and family life and is co-authoring a book on the organisation of work in Japan - themes of interest to many in this age of continuing change.
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