Posts Tagged ‘School of Education’

Avondale’s vocational training ‘a model of best practice’

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Dr Wayne Miller
Coordinator, vocational education and training
Avondale College of Higher Education

Avondale is both a higher education provider and a provider of vocational education and training (VET). State regulatory authorities recently conducted audits of all private Registered Training Organisations in Australia. After a comprehensive review of Avondale’s VET sector, the senior member of the audit team stated that Avondale presented as “a model of best practice.” There were no non-compliance issues.

Avondale passed another significant milestone in 2010, gaining Commonwealth approval to offer VET FEE-HELP to students in the Diploma of Outdoor Recreation. VET FEE-HELP is a Commonwealth loan scheme assisting eligible students with all or part of their tuition costs. Eligible students in Avondale’s Diploma of Outdoor Recreation do not need to pay tuition fees up front. The fees can be deferred and repaid to the Commonwealth via the tax system over a period of years after the student graduates and begins earning above a specified level.

A third milestone in 2010 was Avondale’s re-registration for a further five years as a Registered Training Organisation. Re-registration was granted without the usual re-registration site audit, a further acknowledgement of the quality of Avondale’s vocational education and training sector.

Outdoor Recreation

Avondale offers two training package-based programs in Outdoor Recreation, the Certificate III in Outdoor Recreation and the Diploma of Outdoor Recreation. We were delighted with a record enrolment this year with 11 in Certificate III and 19 in the Diploma. We believe the record enrolment in 2011 is a result of VET FEE-HELP approval.

If you were to visit the Outdoor Recreation Department on the ground floor of the Chan Shun Auditorium, you would meet the brightest-eyed students you could hope to see. Some might rattle as they walk with an assortment of hardware as they prepare to hone their roping skills in the nearby Watagan Mountains. Some may be loading sea kayaks in anticipation of a day trip to Broken Bay, Port Stephens or Port Jackson, where emerging guiding skills can be put to the test.

Kahleb Radford mastering the white water

A highlight for diploma students this year was a four-day skill development adventure hosted by the New Zealand Kayak School on pristine big-flowing rivers on the west coast of the South Island. When I asked three participants why the trip stands out, they described the experience as “a hard-hitting white water experience. We learnt so much in four days,” they said. “We not only learnt to paddle well but to instruct well.”

Outdoor Recreation also supplies services to Avondale’s higher education sector, enabling students in selected degree units in teacher education courses to gain skills and qualifications (dual-badging), as recommended by the outdoor recreation industry for persons who will work in outdoor adventure programs.

The Outdoor Recreation Department is also expanding its partnership arrangements with Adventist Schools Australia, offering web-based support to school principals, outdoor education coordinators and camping program supervisors with resources such as Standard Operating Procedures, notification forms and links to industry-based bodies. Through a partnership with Gilson College, Macquarie College and Avondale School, we train their teachers through short courses and then these teachers in turn mentor our Outdoor Recreation students in the field during work placements.

While rock climbing, abseiling, sea kayaking, white water kayaking and bushwalking are fun and provide the endorphin kick some of us enjoy, they also foster personal growth and development in our adventure activity leaders-in-training.

While we integrate faith and learning in all Outdoor Recreation units, certain units are specifically designed to enhance students’ understanding and experience of Christian spirituality. In these units, aptly called Visionary Leadership in the Outdoors I and II, Adrian Ellison mentors students in the religious, ethical and social values of Avondale’s philosophy of outdoor recreation. What a blessing that our students are beneficiaries of Adrian’s fifty years of experience in adventure-based learning from a Christian perspective!

Undergraduates showcase their research

Friday, May 27, 2011

Thirty-one undergraduate students showcased their research at a one-day conference at Avondale last November entitled Critical Issues in the 21st Century. The conference was a new initiative highlighting the importance Avondale places on developing research capability right from undergraduate level.

The conference was the brain-child of Dr Jane Fernandez-Goldborough, senior lecturer in English in the Faculty of Arts and Theology. In her opening remarks, she observed that the conference was intended to further Avondale’s objectives to build a research culture, to develop the nexus between teaching and research, and to build a community that makes learning cooperative and innovative.

Students and teachers at Avondale are encouraged to consider how to turn their learning/teaching into research items, how to extend their research skills, and how to benefit the community through research. Research topics are developed in discussion between staff and students, and students are encouraged to produce publishable products. Kiel Winch, a student presenter and member of the organising committee, described the conference as ‘a historic event in the life of Avondale Р a chance to step into the higher world.’

The conference presentations, some of which are summarised below, focused on a range of key contemporary issues, including the environment, gender, education, and issues in society, culture and religion. Many of the findings have significance for the Christian church.

The environment

Miranda Leijser explored the role Christians can play in modelling ecological awareness. Sarah-Jo Huber challenged some less than satisfactory Christian attitudes to climate change, suggesting alternative approaches compatible with scientific findings and biblical admonition. Kirsten Bolinger discussed environmental problems in the event industry, proposing sustainable solutions for event management. Lee Hancock explored ways in which teachers can contribute to the development of ecologically literate students by engaging with nature outside the classroom. Environmental sustainability is one of the Australian government’s National Research Priorities.

Gender

Ben Reynolds examined the identity of Junia (or Junias?), described in Romans 16:7 as ‘prominent among the apostles.’ The Greek form of the name is ambiguous, with the result that some English versions of the Bible translate it as the feminine Junia, others as the masculine Junias. Reynolds showed that linguistic and historical evidence strongly favours the feminine Junia. Historical evidence also supports Junia’s identity as an apostle.

Bethany Turner examined the passage in Deuteronomy 21:10-14 about the treatment of brides captured in war, arguing that in a culture where women typically had few rights, this law was compassionate in its concern for the welfare and rights of the woman.

Daniel Mateo examined in their biblical and cultural contexts Paul’s instructions about women in 1 Corinthians 11 and 1 Timothy 2. He argued that Paul’s advice that women should cover their heads (1 Corinthians 11:5, 6) was understandable in a culture where the women who went uncovered were typically prostitutes or elderly. Mateo pointed out that Paul’s advice about women in this chapter must be read in the context of his pivotal statement about the equality of the sexes in verses 11 and 12. Mateo argued further that Paul’s advice that women should not teach (1 Timothy 2:12) must be read in the light of Paul’s commendation of Phoebe as deacon (Romans 16:1) Р a role which in the early church included preaching, evangelism and pastoral care.

Nikkari Parker researched the pressures that church expectations place on ministers, their spouses and children, exploring pathways to facilitate support and pastoral care for ministers’ families.

Education

Kimberley Sharman researched student attitudes to interactive white boards in schools and the implications for children’s engagement with learning. Mandi Hill researched the effectiveness of partnering students of different age levels in a tutor-tutee relationship. She found that most students in the school where the research was conducted enjoyed the tutoring program, which contributed to enhanced self-confidence, self-esteem and self-efficacy among participants. Kiel Winch explored the key arguments and positions in debates surrounding the teaching of history in Australia, and investigated the potential for more effective and innovative teaching of the subject. Brooke Pellegrino and Rosanna Laredo explored ways of integrating spiritual values into teaching in Christian schools.

Society and culture

Joseph Mapuor undertook a critical examination of efforts reduce poverty, hunger and disease within the framework of the Millennium Development Goals. Rebekah Bamford and Jotham Kingston examined issues relating to cross-cultural prejudice.

Religion and spirituality

Kiel Winch examined various ways in which non-believers have conceived of religious belief, comparing three historical theorists (Freud, Marx, Durkheim) with the views of two contemporary atheists (Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens). Hannah Bennett studied spirituality in the work of the Indian poet Kahlil Gibran.

The papers were generally of excellent standard. The conference program included the following note by the external moderator of Avondale’s English program, Dr Tony Simoes da Silva, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies in the Faculty of Arts, University of Wollongong: ‘Having read many of your English papers over the last eighteen months, I have been very impressed with the quality of the writing, the maturity of the reasoning and the willingness to take risks in your responses to the material.’ The same could be said of most of the papers presented at the conference.

Inspired to serve

Friday, May 27, 2011

Service opportunities inspire Avondale students, many of whom are strongly motivated by the vision of a needy world and the desire to make a difference.

Kids' club in the Philippines. Photo credit: Colin Chuang.

Philippines

Last summer the Avondale student organisation One Mission sent twenty-three volunteers to the Philippines. They ran a kids’ club with 200-300 children and an evangelistic program each evening attended by 300-400 adults and up to 150 children. They also built a children’s playground at a local Adventist school, commenced work on a multi-purpose covered outdoor learning area for the school, ran feeding programs for school children in six surrounding villages, renovated a public high school library, and ran a children’s Christmas program at an orphanage. The students raised over $30,000 for these projects in addition to their airfares. The evangelistic series, with three students sharing the preaching, climaxed with a baptism of thirty people. The students’ work made a significant impact. A tearful grandmother said, ‘You gave our community hope; where would our children be if you hadn’t come?’

Jasmine Lynch with children in the Philippines. Photo credit: Colin Chuang.

Solomon Islands

Fifteen One Mission volunteers spent three weeks in the Solomons constructing a nurses’ residence for a health clinic in a remote village on Guadalcanal. The clinic was completed eight years ago, but was not yet operational because there was no residence for nursing staff. An Avondale One Mission team commenced the residence last year, and this year’s team completed the roof, exterior walls, flooring and interior walls. The group is now fundraising for the $25,000 still needed to provide electrical and plumbing work, interior fixtures and fittings, and solar power. (Contact the chaplain on the Lake Macquarie campus for details). When operational, the clinic will greatly benefit the local people, who now have to walk for hours to reach the nearest hospital.

Solomons project: start of work in 2011.

In the evenings the group conducted an evangelistic program attended by up to 250 people, and group members shared their experience of Christ on a one-to-one basis. A team member with paramedic experience provided education in health and hygiene as well as treatments within the scope of his expertise. The group grew spiritually as they prayed about the challenges of their project and talked together about spiritual things.

Zimbabwe

In July 2010 six Avondale students conducted evangelistic programs in separate locations in and around Bulawayo, the second largest city in Zimbabwe. The result was a total of 261 baptisms. Joseph Mapuor, studying International Development Studies at Avondale, initiated the trip, managing the financial and other arrangements. Most of the six students had never run an evangelistic campaign before. Second-year theology student Adam Tonkin said, ‘I was blown away by the response.

Joseph Mapuor (R) preaching in Zimbabwe.

I felt the Lord had given me this experience so that I could see him work. I learned more reliance on God and less on self.’ Bekezela Sibanda was overjoyed to bring people to Christ in the country of his birth. Joseph Mapuor said, ‘It was inspiring to see people committing their lives to Jesus.’ Gideon Kang described it as ‘a life-changing experience. I will accept every invitation to participate in evangelism from now on,’ he said. Laufili Ah You said, ‘I saw the Holy Spirit move far beyond my previous imagining. I came, I saw, I’m on fire!’

Indonesia

Seven students spent part of their summer vacation teaching English in Indonesian high schools. They also had opportunity to discuss with religious leaders in the schools some of the common ground between Muslim and Adventist lifestyle and beliefs, and to dialogue with school students about spirituality. They were well received in the community.

StormCo ministry

In July 2010 about fifty students conducted StormCo projects (Service to Others Really Matters) in three remote towns in the north-west of New South Wales: Moree, Gwabegar and Goodooga. The groups ran a children’s program each morning and community projects for the towns in the afternoons. The Moree group, for example, ran with the theme ‘Jesus is our lifesaver.’ The three towns have a significant indigenous population that especially appreciated the work done for their children.

Caption: Kids’ club in the Philippines. Photo credit: Colin Chuang

Caption: Jasmine Lynch with Philippine children. Photo credit: Colin Chuang

Caption: Solomons project: start of work in 2011.

Caption: Joseph Mapuor (R) preaching in Zimbabwe

Strong growth in staff research

Friday, May 27, 2011

Research and creative output by Avondale staff grew strongly in 2010, generating understandings and practical outcomes of benefit to society and church.

Research at Avondale is focused mainly in three areas of strength: education, health, and society and culture (a field which includes humanities and religious studies). Interdisciplinary research also contributes to these fields; for example, research in science education, business education, science and health, creative writing and health. Numerous projects involve collaboration with university researchers.

This article features a selection of Avondale’s 2010 research and creative output.

Books

Barbara Fisher, Developing a Faith-based Education: A Teacher’s Manual
(David Barlow Publishing), with contributions by Beverly Christian, Dr Jean Carter and Sandra Ludlow. This book, intended for early childhood and primary teachers, develops an understanding of faith-based education and provides curriculum resources for sharing faith development with students. The book will also be published in Spanish for teachers in Latin America.

Carolyn Rickett, coordinator of Avondale’s communication program, co-edited the poetry anthology Wording the World with Judith Beveridge (University of Sydney), author of four award-winning books of poetry and editor of the literary journal Meanjin. The publisher was Puncher and Wattman.The collection features poems by twenty-four prominent Australian poets and fifteen of Avondale’s creative writing students. It also contains poems by Avondale staff members Dr Jane Fernandez, Bruna Tawake and

Carolyn Rickett, and one by Avondale alumna Althea Halliday, a senior English teacher at Barker College, Sydney. Six Australian poets represented in the anthology attended the book launch at Avondale last October.

Jane Fernandez-Goldborough, The Second Skin: a Critique of Violence. The Search for Scapegoats in the Fiction of K.S. Maniam

(Saarbrџcken, Germany: Lambert Academic Publishing). The explosions of violence around the world in the last half-century have called for ongoing assessments of the character and psychology of violence. Dr Fernandez-Goldborough, senior lecturer in English, explores in this book the psychological screens behind which violence is performed in the writings of K. S. Maniam, a novelist of the Indian diaspora in Malaysia.

Jane Fernandez-Goldborough (ed.), Making Sense of Pain: Critical and Interdisciplinary Perspectives (Oxford: Interdisciplinary Press e-book). A collection of essays originally presented as papers at an international conference in Sydney in February 2010.
In addition to editing the collection, Dr Fernandez-Goldborough contributed the introductory essay and the final chapter.

Brad Watson, Finding David (Signs Publishing Company) is a story for teens addressing from a Christian perspective issues such as relationships, resilience and faith. The book is listed as a resource for Encounter, the new Bible curriculum for Adventist secondary schools. Adventist Schools Australia provided a grant of $2000 to produce teachers’ resources and activity sheets for the book.

Barbara Fisher and husband Colin with Barbara’s book on faith-based education. Photo credit: Trent McCrow; Poetry anthology ‘Wording the World,’ and co-editor Carolyn Rickett; Dr Jane Fernandez and her book ‘The Second Skin.’ Brad Watson with his book Finding David. Photo credit: Colin Chuang

Journals

The Avondale Academic Press publishes three refereed journals: Teach Journal of Christian Education, Christian Spirituality and Science, and The International Journal of New Perspectives on Christianity.

Research in Education

Dr Maria Northcote, Dr Peter Beamish, Associate Professor Daniel Reynaud and Tony Martin, in association with Dr Kevin Gosselin of Texas Tech University, USA, researched key (‘threshold’) concepts in relation to Avondale staff development programs in online learning and teaching. The study resulted in two conference papers and two conference poster presentations with refereed abstracts. Dr Northcote has been in discussion with a senior academic interested in applying the research methodology in an Australian university. Dr Northcote also co-authored with three university researchers a journal article on the use of interactive whiteboards.

Associate Professor Kevin de Berg authored a refereed article and an international conference paper on aspects of the history of chemistry and their implications for learning and teaching. A further article is forthcoming. He co-authored with Rebecca Carruthers, an Avondale Bachelor of Education (Primary) honours student, a refereed article on the use of magnets to teach properties of forces to primary school students. He presented a conference paper on student understandings of solution concentration; and co-authored with Kerry Boddey a conference paper on the impact of Avondale’s chemistry bridging course on nursing students’ confidence in basic chemistry.

Dr Cedric Greive co-authored with Associate Professor de Berg and Dr Peter Morey a paper on the teaching of environmental issues in primary schools, presented at the 41st Australian Science Education Research Association Conference. He also presented a paper at the Sixth International Conference in Science, Mathematics and Technology Education in Taiwan.

Beverly Christian published a refereed article in the Journal of Christian Education on developing in pre-service teachers a nexus between a Christian worldview and the social sciences.

Dr Keith Howson presented a paper on the teaching of business ethics at the 22nd Asia-Pacific Conference on International Accounting Issues, and also at the SDA Business Teachers’ Conference at Andrews University, Michigan, USA. He presented a paper on the application of current technologies in teaching accounting at the 11th World Congress of Accounting Educators and Researchers in Singapore. At the same conference Lyn Daff presented a paper on lessons for accounting educators from the medical world.

Several Avondale staff members published refereed articles in Avondale’s Teach Journal of Christian Education.

Research in Health

Dr Terry Butler co-authored with international research teams five refereed articles in 2009 and 2010, including two papers related to the Adventist Health Study-2, one on religion and health, and one on relationships between vegetarian diet, body weight and type-2 diabetes. Dr Butler also presented a paper on health and Christian faith at the Christian Research National Roundtable, Melbourne.

Dr Athena Sheehan’s collaborative research in midwifery, breastfeeding and neonatal intensive care produced five refereed articles, a book chapter and three conference presentations, two in the United Kingdom and one in South Africa. Dr Sheehan was also invited to participate in a multidisciplinary research workshop in Maryland USA, exploring contextual influences on women’s breastfeeding decisions.

Dr Alison Smedley published three refereed articles in the field of nursing and health education, including one co-authored with Dr Peter Morey, and another co-authored with Dr Morey and Dr Paul Race, Dean of the Faculty of Nursing and Health. Tonia Crawford, a lecturer in the Faculty of Nursing and Health, also authored a refereed article on nurse education.

Dr Darren Morton published two refereed articles in the field of exercise science, including one co-authored with Professor Robin Callister of the University of Newcastle. He also co-authored a paper presented at the 4th Exercise and Sports Science Australia Conference in 2010.

Dr Robyn Pearce co-authored with a team of researchers a refereed article on under-nutrition in adolescent girls. She gave a poster presentation with refereed abstract at the National Conference of the Dieticians Association of Australia, Melbourne, pointing out the high sodium content in selected cheese products. She also co-authored the refereed abstract of a poster presentation at the Australian Health and Medical Conference, Melbourne, reporting the findings of a research team on polyunsaturated fatty acid levels in a cohort of Australian adolescents.

Dr Ewan Ward co-authored with four undergraduate science students a refereed article resulting from a student project on the biological and pathophysiological effects of alcohol consumption – a significant achievement for the students involved: Jodie Beecroft, Amanda Kemp, Sophie Lassila and Daniel Sheedy.

Research in Society and Culture

Associate Professor Robert McIver authored a chapter on the content and setting of the gospel tradition in the book Archaeology in Galilee (Eerdmans Publishing), co-edited by Dr Mark Harding, Dean of the Australian College of Theology, and Professor Alana Nobbs, Head of the Department of Ancient History, Macquarie University. McIver also presented a paper on the gospels at the Society of Biblical Literature Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

Dr Steve Thompson published in the Journal of Religious History an article contributing to the debate about which language Jesus spoke, by revealing the impact on the debate of anti-Semitism in nineteenth-century Germany. The article evoked considerable interest among scholars, the journal editor listing it as one of the five most-accessed articles published by the journal in 2010.  Dr Thompson also authored two refereed articles on attitudes to alcohol use in the Greco-Roman world.

Dr John Skrzypaszek and Dr Richard Ferret contributed by invitation a well-received chapter on Ellen White, ‘a visionary Seventh-day Adventist,’ in the book In the Land of Larks and Heroes. Australian Reflections on St Mary McKillop (AFT Press). Dr Ross Cole published in a leading journal a review of a recent book about the prophecies of Israel’s restoration in Ezekiel 36-39.

In addition to her books listed above, Dr Jane Fernandez-Goldborough authored a book chapter on the Australian author Richard Flanagan’s best-selling work The Sound of One Hand Clapping (about Slovenian immigrants to Australia); delivered four conference presentations, including one in London and one in Cyprus; had a paper published in full in refereed conference proceedings; and published in a refereed journal a review of Carol Leon’s literary monograph Movement and Belonging (Peter Lang, 2009).

Associate Professor Daniel Reynaud’s research on Australian military history and the Anzac legend in Australian films produced a book chapter and two review articles. He also authored the chapter on Australian and New Zealand war cinema in The Directory of World Cinema, Vol. 3 (Intellect Press, Bristol, and Chicago University Press).

Carolyn Rickett’s research on the therapeutic value of poetry writing workshops for patients with life-threatening illnesses informed a conference presentation co-authored with Associate Professor Jill Gordon (University of Sydney) at the 2nd International Arts and Health Conference, University of Melbourne. Carolyn Rickett also co-authored a conference presentation with Dr Sue Joseph (University of Technology Sydney), interrogating some of the ethical concerns that arise from students drawing on personal trauma in creative writing that is to be formally supervised and examined in educational institutions. The paper was presented at the Australian Association of Writing Programs Conference at RMIT University, Melbourne. A refereed abstract was published in the conference proceedings.

Lyn Daff published a refereed article on communication in the accounting profession and presented two conference papers on Christians in conversation, including one co-authored with marketing lecturer Don Dickins.

Brad Watson co-authored a refereed article on a program to treat uterine prolapse in Nepali women, and delivered a refereed conference paper on Adventist medical missionaries and development in Papua New Guinea.

Dr Drene Somasundram, chaplain on the Sydney campus, presented a conference paper on theological education viewed through the lifeworlds of clergy women.

Research grants

Associate Professor Robert McIver won a grant to fund accommodation and resources for three months’ research in Tџbingen, Germany, enabling him to complete two book manuscripts. The grant was awarded by Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst. McIver is also a member of a six-person team appointed by the Council of Deans of Theology, that was awarded an Australian Learning and Teaching Council grant of $150,000 for research in 2010-2012 on the curriculum design and planning of undergraduate theological degrees.

Dr Darren Morton is a member of a four-person research team awarded a $60,000 grant by the Counties Manukau District Health Board, New Zealand, to research Maori obesity.

Dr Jason Morton, in association with Associate Professor Kevin de Berg and Dr Ewan Ward, has been awarded a Lake Macquarie City Council grant of $13,000 to research the effects of beach cleaning on microfauna, macrofauna, microbial activity and nitrogen chemistry on beaches in the Lake Macquarie region.

Brad Watson has been awarded an Australasian Research Institute grant of $5000 to research the treatment of uterine prolapse among Nepali women. He has also gained an Asian Aid grant of $10,000 to review Asian Aid’s child sponsorship program, in association with Helping Hand India.

PhD completions

 

Dr Andrew Matthes with his PhD thesis. Photo credit: Ann Stafford

Dr Andrew Matthes of the Faculty of Education and Science completed doctoral research at the University of Newcastle on the relationship between principals’ leadership characteristics and the ability of primary teachers to deal successfully with change. The research showed that teachers deal better with change when principals’ leadership style is people oriented more than task oriented.

Dr Kayle de Waal of the Faculty of Arts and Theology completed doctoral research at the University of Auckland with a thesis entitled ‘Trumpeting God’s mercy: a socio-rhetorical interpretation of the seven trumpets [in Revelation].’ The research will be published as a book by Edwin Mellen Press.

Senior researchers join Avondale staff

Friday, May 27, 2011

The appointment of two senior researchers in 2011 further strengthens Avondale’s academic staff.

Associate Professor Phil Fitzsimmons joined Avondale’s School of Education from a previous position as Director of Research, San Roque Research Institute, Santa Barbara, California. For over eighteen years he held positions as lecturer/senior lecturer specialising in language and literacy education in the Faculty of Education, University of Wollongong. He holds the degrees of Doctor of Philosophy, Master of Education (Honours), Master of Studies in Education, and Bachelor of Education. He has produced or co-produced more than sixty publications, including five books and three edited collections; and has been a member of research teams that have won almost $500,000 in Australian Research Council Discovery grants. He has also supervised a number of PhD students to completion. His research interests have included literacy education, children’s and adolescent literature, visual literacy, authentic learning, and creativity. His current classroom-based research foci include the links between emotion, creativity and writing; visual literacy; and spiritual intelligence/awareness. His role at Avondale includes research, research training, and teaching research methods and literacy education.

Dr Barry Gane has been appointed to a research position at Avondale from his previous role as Director of Leadership and Development for the Seventh-day Adventist Church (South Pacific Division). From 1999 to 2005 he was Professor of Youth Ministry at Andrews University, Michigan, USA, directing the Doctor of Ministry and Master of Arts programs in youth ministry. He holds the degrees of Doctor of Philosophy (Leadership), Doctor of Ministry, Master of Arts (Religion) and Bachelor of Arts (Theology). His publications include five books (one co-authored), six book chapters, nine resource manuals for youth ministry, and numerous magazine articles. He has supervised eleven Doctor of Ministry projects to completion and other DMin projects in progress as he continues his role as an adjunct of Andrews University. Dr Gane has been involved in collaborative research on North American research teams in projects totalling more than $1 million. At Avondale he will undertake, foster and supervise research in youth ministry, initially researching data to help understand the roles of family, church and school in the transmission of beliefs and values.

Other academic staff appointments

Lachlan Rogers joined the School of Science and Mathematics from PhD research in physics at the Australian National University, Canberra. His research used lasers to explore the physics of electrons in atomic defects in diamond crystals. This research has been in the broader context of quantum computing or quantum information processing. Lachlan expects to submit his thesis in the first half of 2011. He previously completed a Bachelor of Science at Avondale and honours in physics (first class) at the University of Newcastle. He has co-authored ten refereed publications and presented papers at three international conferences.

Aaron Bellette has joined the School of Humanities and Creative Arts, where he will teach photography, photojournalism and multimedia design. He holds the degrees of Bachelor of Arts (Avondale), Bachelor of Fine Art (1st class honours) (Newcastle), and Master of Philosophy (Fine Art Photomedia) (Newcastle). He has presented a number of solo and group exhibitions, is experienced in freelance photography, graphic design and consultancy, and has taught sessionally at the University of Newcastle and at Avondale.

Lorinda Bruce joined the School of Education after seven years’ teaching English and creative writing to students aged eleven to sixteen. She holds the degrees of Bachelor of Education (Avondale) and Master of Education (Information Technology) (Charles Sturt). She will teach curriculum studies, literacy, numeracy and information & communication technologies.

Three new academic staff have joined the Faculty of Nursing and HealthLinda Cloete has Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in nursing and diplomas in intensive care nursing and nursing education. Before coming to Australia she taught nursing part-time at the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa. Recently she has been a clinical nurse specialist at Sydney Adventist Hospital. Kerry Miller has worked mainly in mental health. She has a Bachelor of Nursing degree (Avondale) and is completing a Master of Health Science (Nursing) in mental health at Charles Sturt University. She also has experience in youth ministry and adolescent health. Linda Pope has wide nursing experience, including clinical nurse educator (anaesthetics and recovery) (Sydney Adventist Hospital), pain management (Liverpool Hospital, Sydney), and sessional teaching in Avondale’s nursing program. She has a Master of Health Sciences (Education) degree; graduate certificates in neurological nursing, pain management, and anaesthetics & recovery room nursing; and Certificate IV qualifications in business (frontline management) and assessment & workplace training.