“Cry God for Scott, England and St George”

St George’s Cross emblazoned CQU’s chancellery yesterday. Apparently there is a soccer tournament on somewhere and VC Scott Bowman is pleased about something the English team did.

In Features today, David Myton looks at why universities may face a new round of “demand-driven” reforms.

Having just paid for a specialist’s string of polo ponies CMM turned to Anthony Scott’s new report on the economics of  Australia’s medical specialists in the hope of information to endorse outrage. Alas what he found was a mass of evidence and analysis carefully and comprehensively constructed.

This is a great example of the policy power of expert academic research applied in the public interest by  Professor Scott and colleagues at the University of Melbourne’s Institute for Applied Economic and Social Research. And all credit to the ANZ Bank for sponsoring it (although the bank did include a reference to credit applications on its report page, which is  curious  -specialists generally pay cash for their polo mounts.)

Flinders U has 31 students nominated for a Rookie, the digital arts and games industry awards founded by Australians Alwyn Hunt and Andrew McDonald. Last year Flinders with Adelaide partner CDW Studios was named best digit illustration school (CMM September 27 2017). This year 31 students of the partners are finalists, chosen from 2900 entrants at 500 institutions worldwide.

No one talks about what happens when the China boom in international education ends but Murdoch U is doing something, small, about it, getting into a new market – Myanmar. The university’s MBA and grad cert in bus admin will be taught in Yangon, by staff from partner Kaplan. It has to be a growth market. Some 24m Myanmars are under 25 and Australia has close to no-share of the education market. Last year fewer than a thousand were studying at Australian universities.

The magic may have worn off the possum, maybe you less dislike than loathe green eggs and ham – it does not matter. If you have little kids, read those two, or whatever they like, again. And again. New  research based on Longitudinal Studies of Australian Youth data by Ameneh Shahaeian (Australian Catholic U, Brisbane)  and colleagues explains why. Reading to two and three year olds is, “associated with children’s academic achievement directly and indirectly through receptive vocabulary and early academic skills.” Which is good – what is great is that lower SES parents’ reading to their kids can compensate for the absence of other, expensive enrichment opportunities.

And the impact endures; with a link to NAPLAN, reading, writing, spelling and grammar, plus (go figure) maths skills when children who were read to as toddlers are six to eight.

University of Melbourne professor, Joy Damousi is elected unopposed as president of the Australian Historical Association. So were all the other nine members of the new executive committee.

Rowan Callick is joining  Griffith U’s Asia Institute, where he will “facilitate conversations and build links (with) the business community as an industry fellow.” Mr Callick will continue to contribute to The Australian newspaper, where he is now a journalist. This is a big win for GU, Callick is an outstanding new reporter and an astute analyst of East Asia.