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Using power for positive results was the strong message delivered last week to a packed Monash lecture theatre by community leader and activist Ms Joan Kirner and lawyer and human rights advocate Ms Moira Rayner.
The two high-profile women were delivering the last in the Monash Postgraduate Association's 1999 Women's Seminar Series on women and power, entitled 'Setting your own agenda'.
In drawing on the experiences of herself and Ms Kirner as well as interviews with other women in putting together their recent book The Women's Power Handbook, Ms Rayner said they found that women prefer to view power as influence.
"But women need to understand that they should grasp power and use it to help themselves and others," she said.
She cited an anecdote from her term as Victoria's Commissioner for Equal Opportunity in the 1980s, when she used her powers to prevent the amalgamation of women's with men's prisons and lost her job into the bargain.
"I believe that I was forced to take action and ask for an injunction to prevent the government from shutting down Fairlea women's prison and moving the women to Pentridge to save money. As I had anticipated, this was misunderstood by the government as a political act, but my decision was clear. My values required me to take this action on behalf of women prisoners," she said.
"I may have lost my job, but others benefited from the way I used my power.
"I also learnt from this experience of the need for us all to develop our own structure for decision-making when the tough choices have to be taken."
Ms Kirner then turned the discussion to universities, giving a clear message that in order to address the issues raised in Professor Belinda Probert's report on 'Gender pay equity in Australian higher education', women needed to be more proactive.
On the broader issue of women and power, Ms Kirner said women need to value their own experiences, have a defined set of values by which to operate, and develop a clear sense of purpose and confidence.
She identified the key tools of power as "smart use of networks and knowing your stuff while maintaining the balance between work/family and yourself and, above all, being able to laugh at yourself".
"My view of power is an inclusive one. Sharing power is ultimately about enhancing your own and other people's humanity," she said.
Information on the Monash Women's Leadership and Advancement Scheme can be found on the web at www.monash.edu.au/ personnel/pdt/Women_leadership/index.html
Religion and theologyThe Centre for Studies in Religion and Theology is sponsoring a study day that explores practical strategies for teaching and learning Buddhist ethics and spirituality in a variety of situations. 'Teaching and Learning Buddhist Ethics and Spirituality' will take place on Saturday 23 October from 9.30 am to 3.30 pm, at the Campus Centre, Clayton. The program will bring together speakers from a variety of Buddhist traditions and ethnic backgrounds. The cost for the course, which includes lunch, is $28 (concession $20). On Tuesday 26 October, Dr David Tacey from La Trobe University will launch a new publication put out by the Centre for Studies in Religion and Theology. Ecology, Gender and the Sacred was edited by centre director Dr Constant J. Mews and senior lecturer in German Dr Kate Rigby. The launch will take place at 5 pm in room 614, Menzies building, Clayton campus. For further information on both events, contact Dr Mews on extn 52185. |
Every week over the past AFL season, about 240 secondary students from across Australia and more than 700 people worldwide have been logging on to the School of Computer Science and Software Engineering's footy-tipping website to place their footy tips.
As an added incentive this year, prizes were on offer to the competition's top 10 secondary student tipsters.
Overall winner of the competition was Adam Stacey, a Year 12 student at Caulfield Grammar School, with students from Traralgon, Western Australia and Tasmania joining metropolitan Melbourne students in the top 10.
According to the coordinator of the competition, computer science and software engineering senior lecturer Dr David Dowe, the competition has greatly expanded this year, with mathematics teachers at several interstate schools encouraging their students to participate.
"There are three types of entries available to tipsters in the competition and we believe that the probabilities competition is the longest running in the world," he said.
And what advice does Adam have for next year's budding tipsters?
"Make your decisions quickly and don't think too much about it - just consider whether they are home or away games."
The footy tipping website can be found at www.csse.monash.edu.au/~footy
Winner of the 1999 Secondary Schools Footy Tipping Competition Adam Stacey being presented with his prize by School of Computer Science and Software Engineering senior lecturer Dr David Dowe.
Monash's Team of Pianists and artists-in-residence will be presenting the Monash Music Marathon on Sunday 24 October in the Performing Arts Centre at Clayton.
The day-long program, featuring three events running simultaneously in different venues, will cover a wide range of music in classical, contemporary and jazz idioms by both professional and talented trainee performers.
Featured also will be master classes to cater for the very young up to the most advanced, as well as lectures and demonstrations.
For bookings and further information, contact extn 51332.
The Examinations and Graduations Branch at Gippsland is preparing for the end-of-year distance education period, which will begin on 25 October.
This year, examinations will be held in 50 countries worldwide and venues include an oil rig near West Timor.
The branch also reports that some students in Papua New Guinea are concerned about sitting their final exams at the designated exam centre as they fear for their safety while travelling to the centre.
Affected students have requested alternative arrangements to avoid this situation.
Third-year students at the School of Nursing, Peninsula campus, last week presented their work at a student conference.
Some of the 113 students chose to present live scenarios for assessment in the operating theatre or laboratory, while others presented simulated emergencies, PowerPoint presentations or songs.
Topics presented included Alzheimer's disease, depression, wound management, cancer, snake bites, burns, resuscitation, cystic fibrosis and drug use in the Aboriginal community.
The conference was designed to encourage the student's creativity, communication and teaching skills.
Information about the conference and photos from the day can be seen at http://www.nursing.monash.edu.au/conference/ and http://www.nursing.monash.edu.au/nursing8/
The Red Cross Blood Bank will be visiting the Clayton campus from Wednesday 20 to Friday 22 October.
It will be located in the Engineering Halls, EH 4/60, Union Loop Road, and will be open from 9.15 am to 3.30 pm each day.
Nurses from the Red Cross Bone Marrow registry will also be in attendance on Wednesday 20 October.
Any staff wanting to register as bone marrow donors should visit on that day or contact Jenny or Ruth on 9694 0290.
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