Research by Avondale staff is gathering momentum, resulting in a growing output of scholarly books, journal articles and conference presentations. A number of staff have developed projects in partnership with researchers in universities—collaborative activity strongly encouraged by the Australian government. Several of these projects have been successful in winning external competitive grant funding. Staff are also engaging with the community in areas of their academic and professional expertise. The following examples are selected from the research output of Avondale staff in 2009-2010. It is significant how many of the research projects have practical applications to education, health, society and ministry in areas relevant to Avondale’s mission and the mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Associate Professor Robert McIver, Dean of the Faculty of Theology, has teamed with a group of researchers selected by the Council of Deans of Theology to investigate theological education in Australia. The group has won research grants totalling $250,000 from the Australian Learning and Teaching Council. Robert McIver has an impressive publication record of books and refereed articles. sHis latest publication is an article co-authored with Dr Ray Roennfeldt, President of Avondale College, on Christian understandings of authoritative texts. The article was published in the journal Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations.

Dr Athena Sheehan, a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Nursing and Health, has teamed with researchers at the University of Western Sydney and elsewhere to study aspects of women’s breastfeeding experience. The research team recently won an Australian Research Council grant of $78,000 to study family, social and cultural influences on first-time mothers’ decisions about infant feeding and early parenting practices. During the past year Dr Sheehan published four co-authored papers in refereed journals and presented several papers at conferences in Britain and Australia.

Dr Malcolm Anderson, postgraduate studies coordinator of the Faculty of Nursing and Health, partners with researchers at the Brain Injury Unit of the Liverpool Health Service and the Centre for Assessment, Research and Development, Hong Kong Institute of Education, to research the effects on family when a family member suffers a traumatic brain injury. Dr Anderson has published a number of refereed papers in this field, the latest co-authored with Dr Peter Morey and Tamera Gosling of Avondale College and three researchers from other institutions.

Carolyn Rickett, coordinator of Avondale’s academic program in communication, is researching the therapeutic value of creative writing workshops for people with a life-threatening illness such as cancer. Ms Rickett partnered with eminent Australian poet Judith Beveridge of the University of Sydney to conduct poetry writing workshops with patients at the Sydney Adventist Hospital. Participants deeply appreciated the opportunity to share feelings and experiences with others struggling with similar issues, expressing their thoughts and emotions in poems of impressive quality. Carolyn Rickett and Judith Beveridge published a selection of these poems in a volume entitled New Leaves Anthology (Darlington Press, University of Sydney). Last year Ms Rickett presented scholarly papers relating to this project at the Association for Medical Humanities Conference, Durham, UK, and at the Arts and Health Conference, University of Newcastle. The papers were co-authored with Dr Cedric Greive of Avondale College and Associate Professor Jill Gordon of the University of Sydney Medical School.

Dr Jason Morton, a marine biologist in the Faculty of Science and Mathematics, has partnered with researchers from the University of Newcastle to study fish assemblages in Lake Macquarie, assisted by a grant of $6,900 from the Lake Macquarie City Council. Dr Morton is also extending his research on the social organization, habitats and patterns of movement of the crimson-banded wrasse fish.  This work is sponsored by Australian Geographic and assisted by research funding from the Avondale Foundation. Dr Morton is about to start a collaborative project with the University of Newcastle on fish surveys using Baited Remote Underwater Video Stations (BRUVS). In 2008 and 2009 he assisted Cardno Ecology Lab, a specialist consultancy laboratory in Sydney, to research grey nurse shark populations, including photographing grey nurse sharks on SCUBA at the Pinnacles, near Laurieton, NSW. Dr Morton has published a number of research papers and has reviewed scientific papers for international journals.

Recent scholarly books by Avondale staff

Dr Jane Fernandez-Goldborough, senior lecturer in English, has authored a book on the work of K.S. Maniam, a writer of the Indian diaspora. The book was published in early 2010 by Lambert Academic Press, Germany. In 2009 she edited an e-book entitled Diasporas: critical and interdisciplinary perspectives (Inter-Disciplinary Press, Oxford). In 2009-2010 she presented conference papers in London and at the University of Sydney.

Barbara Fisher, with contributing authors Dr Jean Carter, Bev Christian and Sandra Ludlow, this year published a book entitled Developing a faith-based education: a teacher’s manual (David Barlow Publishing). A request has been received for the book to be published in Spanish.

Further research output

Associate Professor Kevin de Berg (Faculty of Science and Mathematics) has a prolific publication record, especially in the field of science education. In 2009 he published an article in the Australian Journal of Education in Chemistry and presented a paper at an international conference in Indiana, USA. Dr de Berg has been researching the history of the production and understanding of the chemistry of tin oxide from the eighteenth to the twenty-first century for possible clues for enhancing students’ understanding of the way chemistry knowledge has been produced and validated in its approach to nature. Dr de Berg edits the journal Christian Spirituality and Science, published by Avondale Academic Press.

Dr Darren Morton (Faculty of Education) has published extensively in the field of exercise and sports physiology, including work in collaboration with Associate Professor Robin Callister of the Faculty of Health, University of Newcastle. He currently has two refereed articles in press. In 2009 he presented two papers at the Global Conference on Health and Lifestyle in Geneva, Switzerland, one of these co-authored with Jonathan Duffy, CEO of ADRA Australia.

A number of Avondale staff have authored refereed articles in the TEACH Journal of Christian Education, published by Avondale Academic Press.

Dr Ewan Ward (Faculty of Science and Mathematics) has written a paper on problem-based learning, shortly to appear in the refereed series Christ in the Classroom published by the Education Department of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.

In 2009 Dr Keith Howson, Dean of the Faculty of Business and Information Technology, presented a paper to the British Accounting Association Special Interest Group on Accounting Education (University of Essex, UK) and two papers at the Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand (AFAANZ) Conference in Adelaide. One of the papers was co-authored with Lisa Barnes of the University of Newcastle, another with Jill Philips of Southern Cross University. Lyn Daff (Faculty of Business and Information Technology) presented papers on accounting education at the European Accounting Association Conference in Finland and the AFAANZ Conference in Adelaide.

Brad Watson, coordinator of Avondale’s International Development Studies program, presented a paper at the International Consortium for Social Development Conference, Mexico, on the impact of an Asian Aid supported program to provide hysterectomies for Nepalese women with severe uterine prolapse. Dr Peter Beamish and David Low (Faculty of Education) with Tony Robinson (Gilson College, Victoria) presented a paper at the International Outdoor Education Research Conference, La Trobe University, Victoria. Dr Murray House (Faculty of Theology) presented a paper at the Sydney conference of the Australia and New Zealand Association for Theological Field Education. A number of staff presented papers at the New Perspectives on Christianity Conference and the South Pacific Division Faith and Science Conference, both held at Avondale in 2009.