Higher Learning

The University has more than 3600 research higher degree candidates, and graduates more than 400 PhD candidates each year – a 100 percent increase on just over a decade ago.

With the second-highest number of PhD candidates and second-highest highest number of international PhD candidates in Australia, UQ’s researchers supervise more PhD candidates per head than colleagues at other Australian universities. More than $20 million in scholarships are offered to ease the financial burden for our research higher degree candidates. In 2008, the University provided about 500 new scholarships – in addition to all the scholarships offered by schools, faculties, individual research groups and external agencies.

In 2008, UQ also became the first Australian university to make it easier for candidates to apply for research scholarships all-year-round. Here is a sample of some of the high quality research undertaken by candidates at the University.


Rich remnants... some pieces found
Photo: courtesy Stephen Nichols and Karen murphy
Milling  About

Archaeologists have found remnants of a school and a strong presence of women and family life at one of Queensland’s most significant historical villages. Pieces of writing slates and ceramic ink wells, as well as sewing needles, decorative buttons, jewellery, perfume bottles, ceramic doll hands and feet and parts of a concertina or harmonica have been unearthed from the Mill Point Archaeological Site, north of Noosa Heads. The frontier settlement based around Lake Cootharaba in the southern end of the Great Sandy National Park, was home to several hundred people and one of Queensland’s first sawmills from 1869 to 1892.

Dig leaders, UQ PhD archaeology candidates Stephen Nichols and Karen Murphy, said the new artefacts – 10,000 have been uncovered so far – challenged its traditional, masculine history. Ms Murphy, who is researching 19th century family life at Mill Point, said she believed more than half the population were women and children. The Mill Point Archaeological Project was a recent joint winner of the Australasian Society for Historical Archaeology’s award for the Martin Davies Award for Best Public Archaeology Initiative. 
    

  


Dr Lucy Carter

GM  Evaluated

Australian states should not ban commercial production of genetically modified plants and food as the risks are alarmist and exaggerated, according to a new study. The PhD study found the benefits of GM plants and food outweighed the risks and no compelling evidence of harm to humans from GM plants. GM plants have been trialled in most states with South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia the only states to ban GM plants. South Australia and Tasmania are reviewing their moratoriums. Study author, ethicist Dr Lucy Carter, spent three-and-a-half years examining arguments and evidence for and against the development and use of GM plants and food in Australia and in the developing world.

Dr Carter said there was no evidence to justify continuing moratoriums on commercial GM planting so long as thorough risk assessments were done. Food products that contain more than one percent of a GM ingredient must be labelled and most people have already eaten GM products contained in some supermarket junk food. “I think the risks and benefits are overstated by both sides of the debate,” she said. She said GM plants were often made drought, pest and virus resistant and could theoretically produce enough food to feed developing countries. Dr Carter, from the United Kingdom, studied under a joint scholarship between UQ’s School of History, Philosophy, Religion and Classics and UQ’s Centre for Integrative Legume Research.
Photo: Jeremy Patten.

Sleep  Equation


Left to right, Dr David (Gus) Cooper, PhD candidate Philip Terrill and Associate Professor Stephen Wilson
Photo; Stewart Gould
A researcher has created a new way to measure breathing patterns in sleeping infants, which may also work for adults. The researcher, PhD candidate Philip Terrill, has created a mathematical formula that measures varying breathing patterns that indicate different sleep states, such as active or quiet sleep. Mr Terrill said a band, placed around the child’s chest, recorded breathing rates, which were then analysed using the new formula based on the maths of chaos theory. It has been successfully tested on 30 children. Current sleep monitoring involves an overnight stay in a hospital sleep lab with specialised equipment needing regular attention of a nurse, doctor or sleep technician.

Mr Terrill said he hoped his formula would form the basis of an automated sleep-monitoring system that was cheaper and easier to use than current methods. Minor infant sleeping problems can result in daytime sleepiness and inattention with prolonged problems causing behavioural and learning difficulties. Mr Terrill said clinical research showed that up to 20 percent of Australian children had symptoms of sleep problems and there were very few facilities available to investigate sleep problems in Queensland children. Mr Terrill’s work is part of MedTeQ, a centre within UQ’s School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, which links biomedical engineering expertise from UQ and Brisbane’s major hospitals.

 

Eco  Enthusiasm

Installing renewable energy is economically viable for tourist accommodation despite being considered too expensive and inefficient, according to the first Australian study of renewable energy in tourism accommodation. The study shows the performance and economics of renewable energy is not consistent with poor perceptions of the technology. The survey canvassed 150 regional Queensland tourism operators and 350 tourists mostly from Queensland and South Australia.

Tourism operators and tourists were asked about their attitudes to renewable energy such as wind and solar power in tourist accommodation. UQ PhD graduate, Dr Gordon Dalton, who conducted the survey, found 70 percent of tourism operators were interested in adopting renewable energy although they were worried about set-up costs, reliability and efficiency. He found 50 percent of tourists were willing to pay at least five percent more to stay at a hotel with renewable energy.

 

All stories: Miguel Holland

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