Communication central to lecturers’ papers
Two Avondale College lecturers presented communication-themed papers at the Biennial Conference in Philosophy, Religion and Culture at the Catholic Institute of Sydney, October 3.
Dr Richard Morris’s “The interior landscape: metaphors for faith and belief in the religious paintings of Colin McCahon” examined the New Zealand artist’s ability to communicate “with a profound delicacy potent biblical themes” through minimal means, such as the use of a virtually black and white palette. Richard, a senior lecturer in visual arts, described the paintings as having an “austere aesthetic of colour and form” and a “sobriety of content” giving them an “‘interior’ beauty of ‘means.’”
Lyn Daff, a senior lecturer in accounting in the Faculty of Business and Information Technology, discussed her qualitative study, “Beyond hello: Christians in conversation.” The study, co-authored with lecturer in marketing Don Dickins, examined the change in conversations of 11 people who completed training in relationship skills. A key finding: the participants were more mindful of and purposeful and intentional in their conversations post-training. The paper built on a quantitative study Lyn presented at the same conference in 2008.
Recognition of service . . .
Lyn has received an award from the Institute of Chartered Accountants recognising her 25 years of service to the profession. She began in the Melbourne office of international firm Arthur Andersen before moving into accounting and tax services in a suburban practice. A 10-tenure at Monash University followed. Lyn then joined the faculty at Avondale after working briefly for interdenominational training organisation Caleb Leadership Ministries. She has served at Avondale for nearly five years.
. . . for poet laureate
A cousin’s frustrating real-life experience inspired Lyn to write a poem that is now published in the November 2010 issue of the journal Critical Perspectives on Accounting.
“Confusing Communication” reads, in part: “I left my accountant, almost in tears/ They had done nothing at all, to alleviate my fears/ . . . The more questions I asked, the greater the fee/ Is the problem with them, or is it just me?/ The issues are real, though they’re stated in rhyme/ Can anything be done, so it’s better next time?”
Lyn is studying accountants’ communication within the not-for-profit sector for her PhD. “When I tell people I’m studying accountants’ communication, they say, ‘That’s an oxymoron.’ It’s frustrating, but that’s the perception.”