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PEER ASSISTED LEARNING (PAL) PROGRAM A peer learning support scheme, funded by a grant from the Vice Chancellor’s Development Fund and led by Professor Rod O’Donnell, is being trialled in first semester 2003 in two first year units: ACCG100 and COMP115.   Under the PAL scheme, groups of first year students are assisted in their learning by selected and trained second and third year students in the role of PAL Leaders. The aim of Peer Assisted Learning is to maximise the academic and social integration of first year students in units that are perceived as “high risk” because of large classes and/or high failure rates Enrolment in the program of weekly one-hour PAL sessions is voluntary. Each group of up to 25 students is led by two leaders who facilitate collaborative learning, guide students in understanding key concepts, develop strategies for using unit resources effectively and help preparation for exams. PAL programs provide positive benefits to all parties. First year students gain through help with their studies and meeting fellow students, second and third year students gain through paid employment and the acquisition of valuable skills and experience (and thus an enhanced CV), academic staff gain through more attentive students and improved grade distributions, and the University gains through having more contented, better integrated and successful students. The pilot program in the two selected units will be evaluated quantitively in terms of overall improvement in student grades, and qualitatively through feedback from PAL students, leaders and academic staff regarding the effectiveness of the program. While PAL programs are not new in the higher education sector, they are not common in Australia. The aim of the project is to develop a model that best suits the unique context of Macquarie, and the particular circumstances and needs of its Departments. If the outcomes of the PAL program are significantly positive, it is hoped that it will be extended to a wider range of units across the university. Jenny Barr PAL Supervisor

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Media mentions:  We are now using both print and broadcasting monitoring services, but they do sometimes miss Macquarie mentions. To ensure a more comprehensive and accurate MACQUARIE IN THE MEDIA column, please always let us know whenever you have been a subject or an author of any print media item, including reviews of your work or letters-to-the-editor from you, and if you appear on the electronic media.  Kindly forward the information by email to Kathy Vozella: kathy.vozella@mq.edu.au by fax to (9850) 9457; or through internal mail to W6B 148.  Mr David Blair (Humanities): said there is a lot of printed evidence around the 1830s and earlier which says quite categorically that children born here didn’t speak with any trace of dialects from Britain and Ireland and that Ned Kelly would have spoken with the Australian accent common to all Australians of his generation, Sydney Morning Herald, 22 March; said he found it very surprising that Ned Kelly had an accent when his older brother Jim had a typical Australian-English accent, ABC Radio Tasmania, 27 March Miss Anita Chang (Asian Languages): was mentioned as participating in the launch of the first collection of The Australian Chinese Literature, which includes seven articles by her, Chinese Daily, 8 March Professor Peter Curson (Health and Chiropractic): is presenting a public lecture titled “Silent warfare: smallpox reborn – an Australian perspective” at Macquarie University on April 2, Sydney Morning Herald, 27 March Dr Robyn Dowling (Human Geography): said many suburbs are becoming more child-friendly but retain that cosmopolitan lifestyle that is so important to 30-somethings, Sunday Telegraph, 30 March Dr John Franklin (Psychology): believes the urge to lie sometimes can be traced back to a person’s earliest years, and likens the lying phenomena to a gambler, Daily Telegraph, 29 March Dr Chris Forbes (Ancient History): interviewed on the discovery of the Ossuary or “bone box” of James, the “brother of Jesus”, ABC Radio National, 26 March Dr Jim Gillespie (Politics): said that though the (new Carr Government) super-ministries model was seen in other jurisdictions, it could be partly in response to the available talent pool, Australian Financial Review, 31 March Professor Murray Goot (Politics): wrote (about the Iraq war Newspoll opinion polling) that you can get the answer you want if you change the question you ask, Australian Financial Review, 29 March Mr Mark Gregory (Centre for Flexible Learning): his article “Poets Against War” was printed at: http://wobblyradio.com/news.php?do=news&id=571 Professor Brian Gulson (Graduate School of the Environment): is leading research which has found that lead leaching into the bloodstream plays a part in making bones brittle in older people, a discovery Australian researchers are using to help develop potential new treatments for osteoporosis: http://www.abc.net.au/cgi-bin/common/printfriendly.pl?/science/news/health/HealthRepublish_803081.htm Dr Geoffrey Hawker (Politics): interviewed about the State election and the differences in major party policies, Radio 2SER, 18 March Professor John Hewson (MGSM): has helped set up a new ratings system to “out” the unethical practices of Australia’s top 100 companies, Northern Star (Lismore), 18 March; interviewed about why John Howard wants to go to war, Radio 2SER, 25 February; wrote that bigotry and polls are driving the Howard Government’s defence and foreign policy, Australian Financial Review, 28 March; interviewed about the war and said John Howard doesn’t have a “policy bone in his body”, Radio 2UE, 28 March Mr Leonard Janiszewski (Modern History): discussed the research which he and Effy Alexakis are conducting into the history of the “Greek café” together with its significance in the Americanisation of Australian eating and social habits, Radio 2UE, 16 March; interviewed about this project on 891 ABC Radio, Adelaide, 26 March Dr Jim Kohen (Biological Sciences): was a speaker at the “Makings of a City History Conference” celebrating 200 years since the first official land grants were issued to European settlers at Castlereagh, Penrith Press, 25 March Dr Annabelle Lukin (Centre for Language in Social Life): wrote a piece about the important role of language in waging war and saying that grammatical choices limit the emotional impact of battle on the public, Sydney Morning Herald, 25 March; interviewed on this topic on Radio 3AK Melbourne, 26 March Professor Pam Peters (Linguistics): interviewed about loaded language such as the term “weapons of mass destruction” and other words being used by the media in the war coverage, ABC Radio Victoria Statewide, 21 March Dr Greg Pemberton (Politics): interviewed about the Newspoll which shows Australian support for the war has risen and said he believes Australian relations with the Middle East after the war will be hostile, Radio 2GB, 25 March Mr Robert Stokes (Business Law): interviewed on native vegetation laws in NSW and Queensland and their impact on private property rights; ABR Radio Mackay (Queensland) FM 101.1; 31 March Dr Andrew Vincent (Politics): interviewed about what may happen with the Iraq crisis and said the fallout from this war will negatively affect the United States, ABC Tropical Queensland, 19 March; interviewed about the impending war, Sky News Australia, 20 March; interviewed by KB00 Radio in Portland Oregon; interviewed about the history and culture of Iraq, ABC 702, 21 March; interviewed about the war on Iraq and took talk-back calls, Radio Triple J, 24 March; participated in a panel discussion about images of American prisoners of war being shown on Iraqi television saying that the complaints are hypocritical and that the media underestimated how long and difficult war with Iraq would be, ABC 702, 24 March; interviewed on Sky News Australia, 26 March; interviewed about the history of political leaders in Iraq, Radio 2SER, 25 March; said scores will be settled after the war, Radio 3RN Melbourne, 25 March; ABC Radio Victoria Statewide, 25 March; said he suspects the current war in Iraq will cause an upsurge in terrorism worldwide, Radio 774 ABC Melbourne, 25 March; interviewed on Radio 3AK Melbourne, 27 March Mr Raphael Veit (Politics): interviewed about Iraq after the war, ABC Radio National, 26 March Professor Di Yerbury (Vice-Chancellor): said she hasn’t decided whether to run as AVCC President in the August election, The Australian, 26 March Issues and Events The MegaLex Macquarie Concise Dictionary has a powerful search engine to trawl zillions of definitions, The Australian, 18 March The Macquarie Trio’s Macquarie Theatre concert was reviewed in The Sydney Morning Herald, 18 March Macquarie University is having a general careers fair on 2 April, Sydney Morning Herald, 19 March Macquarie University is one of six universities linking to form a new higher education industry grouping – Innovative Research Universities Australia, The Australian, 19 March Macquarie University is proud to welcome an intriguing new sculpture – Calcium Sonata – into its world class collection, Northern District Times, 19 March The causes and consequences of war in Iraq is the topic for discussion at Macquarie University, presented by the new Social Inclusion Research Centre, Northern District Times, 19 March Despite its Gold win at the Cannes Advertising Festival two years ago for the Macquarie University print campaign, George Patterson Bates’ creative reputation still suffers, The Australian, 27 March A joint research project between ASIC, the Capital Markets Cooperative Research Centre, the University of Sydney and Macquarie University will aid the development of an automatic Internet document classification system called “Scamseek”, Mercury (Hobart), 20 March Iraqi-Australian Macquarie University student Hassan Mahdi marched in Sydney with a group of 30 students, Sydney Morning Herald, 21 March At Macquarie University a Bachelor of Creative Arts (International) has a UAI of 95 compared with 85 for the straight course, Australian Financial Review, 22 March Macquarie University brought in philosophers, media specialists and anthropologists for a war forum looking at human rights, the humanitarian response, migration, international law, ethics and the impact on Australian affairs, The Australian, 26 March A reader’s letter said he was telling his son, who is in his second year at Macquarie University, to change his degree options while he can as IT in Australia has become a dead end, The Australian, 25 March Youth Ambassador, Sally Asker, has a masters degree in environmental education at Macquarie University, Mosman Daily, 27 March Callers to talkback radio discussed the word “coalize”, which is not in the Macquarie Dictionary but is in the Oxford Dictionary, Radio 3AW, 31 March Representatives from Macquarie University were among those attending the launch of the Auburn Child Pedestrian Safety project, Auburn Review Pictorial, 26 March Students at Truscott Street Public School and members of the community in North Ryde have access to a common facility with broadband connections to the internet and Macquarie University ICT Innovations Centre, Weekly Times (Gladesville), 26 March In 1996 it was reported that the deputy chairman of Hunter Orchestra, Phillip Berriman had fabricated his qualifications, saying he had a MBA from Macquarie University, Newcastle Herald, 29 March Studies by CSIRO and Macquarie University revealed South Creek Valley at Bringelly was a sinkhole for pollution from the Sydney basin, Sydney Morning Herald, 31 March Many westies would like to study at Macquarie University and would gladly swap the M2/Pennant Hills/Cumberland Highway snarl for a quick, relaxed train trip, Parramatta Sun, 26 March   Kathy Vozella, Media Manager