News

The academic community continues to recognise the quality of an Avondale College education as this staff research update shows.

AWARDS
Dr Drene Somasundram, chaplain on the Sydney campus and lecturer in the Faculty of Nursing and Health, has received the Ken Goulding Prize for Professional Excellence in recognition of the quality of her Doctorate in Professional Studies.

Drene developed a gender inclusive model for theological training that seeks a more fluid approach to training and embodies both gender inclusive pedagogy and so-called "thirdspace" thinking. According to the summary of her thesis, Drene found "the major themes of ambivalence in identity formation, the struggle to question dominant hegemony and existence in hostile environments depict the lifeworld of clergywomen."

Drene completed her degree through Middlesex University in December this past year and graduated this past month (July).

GRANTS
The Australasian Research Institute has endorsed a $5000 research application submitted by Brad Watson, a lecturer in the Faculty of Arts, to evaluate the effectiveness of Asian Aid's hysterectomy program in Nepal.

Dr Jason Morton, a lecturer in the Faculty of Science and Mathematics, has received a $6900 Lake Macquarie Environmental Research Grant to support his "The importance of rocky reef habitat for fish assemblages in the Lake Macquarie estuary" project. Jason is completing the project in collaboration with Dr William Gladstone from the University of Newcastle.

PAPERS
Lyn Daff, a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Business and Information Technology, presented a paper at the 6th International Conference on Accounting in Athens, Greece, July 7-10. "Towards educating the whole accountant" examines the commonalities between emotional intelligence and generic skills in an accounting context. Lyn will also speak at the Biennial Conference in Philosophy, Religion and Culture, at the Catholic Institute of Sydney in October. The preliminary title of her paper is, "Conversations about God: does skills training make a difference?"

PUBLICATIONS
And the April edition of the Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing has published a refereed article by Dr Alison Smedley, a senior lecturer and assistant course coordinator in the Faculty of Nursing and Health. The article is entitled, "Becoming and being a preceptor: a phenomenological study." Alison has also had a paper accepted for a conference hosted by the Ontario Nurses' Association and another for an Australian conference in Tasmania in collaboration with dean Dr Paul Race.