News from the College of Business, Government & Law

We acknowledge the traditional owners, both past and present, of the various locations Flinders University operates on, and recognise their continued relationship and responsibility to these lands and waters. We recognise that Flinders was established on the lands of the Kaurna nation, with the main Flinders campus located near Warriparinga

Welcome to the September edition of the College newsletter.  

The headline story for our September newsletter is wellbeing and the upcoming Thrive Festival, which BGL will be hosting for the second year. It can sometimes be extremely difficult taking care of ourselves – through exercise, sleep, and nutrition – when we are busy. Our Thrive Festival is a reminder that we cannot be effective – especially in the longer term – unless we do take care of ourselves.

Otherwise, our newsletter includes the reflections of some of our colleagues on doing leadership, education and research; a big bump in research publications courtesy of the new water and resource economics team; eight new PhD students in the College (10% growth in a month); and the announcement of a generous new PhD scholarship courtesy from one of our most recent graduates, Mark Govier.

Kind regards,
Michael

Professor Michael Gilding
Vice-President and Executive Dean

Feature Stories

Join us this coming Tuesday for the Thrive Festival 

BGL is excited to be hosting Thrive Festival for the second year in a row on Tuesday 10^th September from 11am-2pm. 

In 2023 this was the biggest activation event in the Law and Commerce Courtyard to date, and it's set to be bigger and better than before! 

Open to all staff and students, Thrive Festival is run as part of Wellbeing Week for semester two, and offers you evidence-based tools, resources, and inspiration to empower you to take charge of your physical and mental wellbeing – and thrive! 

Hear from a range of experts and thought leaders on topics relating to sleep, the psychology of wellbeing and nutrition, from left to right in the image above this includes:

• Professor Danny Eckert, Director of Adelaide Institute of Sleep Health
• Ms Dimity Dutch, Dietitian and PhD Candidate
• Dr Annabelle Neall, Lecturer in Mental Health and Wellbeing
• Ms Tamsin Simounds, Leadership Strategist & Executive Coach 

Whether you want to listen to the panel or feel like enjoying the diverse food options, getting creative with hands-on workshops, purchasing food from small businesses, or perhaps challenging yourself to an ice bath or Pilates class, there's something for everyone! 

It will be great to see BGL staff supporting this College led initiative, so we look forward to seeing many of you there! 

College photoshoot & staff headshots are on Sep 18

College photo & official headshot - book in now!

The all staff College photo will be taken at 2pm immediately after the VP&ED Briefing - looking forward to seeing you there.

Official headshots are important for your staff profile, media opportunities, events and external engagement, your professional social media presence and more. If you don't have an official Flinders headshot yet, we strongly encourage you to join our next session - it's completely free, and only takes 5 minutes.

College Photoshoot (after the VP&ED Briefing #3)
Wednesday 18 September | 2.00pm
Law & Commerce Courtyard (lower level)

Individual Headshot Session
Wednesday 18 September | from 9.30am
Room 243, Law & Commerce Courtyard (upper level)

Click 'book now' and pop your name down in a timeslot that works for you, making sure to add this to your calendar to attend on time. 

Tales from inside: Education

Explore how BGL is redefining the educational landscape through innovative initiatives and a commitment to student success, as shared by Professor Christopher Kee, Dean (Education).

From industry-integrated course development to significant advancements in student outcomes, learn how the College is setting new benchmarks in teaching and learning. Plus read about the challenges we're facing and the promising future we have ahead of us.

September Spotlights

Research

Top Research Publications 
Top 10%/ A*/A/Q1

*Based on notification emailed to CBGL.research@flinders.edu.au from 22 July – 22 August 2024. Current BGL staff in bold.

Balasubramanian, M., Shafei, A. A., Liang, Z. (2024). Editorial: Innovations in older adult care and health service management: a focus on China. Frontiers in Public Health, 12, Article 1404227 (Scimago: Q1 (23.93%) in Medicine) 

Balasubramanian, M., Shafei, A. A., Liang, Z. (2024). Editorial: Innovations in Older Adult Care and Health Service Management: a focus on the Asia Pacific Region Frontiers in Public Health, 12, Article 1369827 (Scimago: Q1 (23.93%) in Medicine) 

Brennecke, J., Coutinho, J.A., Gilding, M., Lusher, D., Schaffer, G. (2024) Invisible Iterations: How Formal and Informal Organization Shape Knowledge Networks for Coordination Journal of Management Studies (Scimago: Top 10% (2.52%) in Strategy and Management) 

Dumbrell, N.P., Wheeler, S.A., Zuo, A. Adamson, D. (2024).  Comparing Australian public and farmer views on agricultural land use and management practices for sustainability. Ecological Economics, 219, Article 108149 (Scimago: Top 10% (6.07%) in Environmental Science) 

Gleeson, D., Scheibner, J., Tenni, B.F., Townsend, B., Nicol, D. (2024) Pandemic Agreement Must Include Levers to Redirect Pharmaceutical Industry Behaviour During Pandemics; Comment on “More Pain, More Gain! The Delivery of COVID-19 Vaccines and the Pharmaceutical Industry’s Role in Widening the Access Gap International Journal of Health Policy and Management (Scimago: Top 10% (2.38%) in Leadership and Management) 

Hutchinson, C., Lester, L., Coram, V., Flatau, P., Goodwin-Smith, I. (2024) Beyond the bottom line: assessing the social return on investment of a disability-inclusive social enterprise. Social Enterprise Journal. Advance online publication. (Scimago: Q1 (21.91%) in Economics, Econometrics and Finance) 

Kandulu, J.M., Zuo, A., Wheeler, S., Dusingizimana, T., Chagunda, M. G. G. (2024) Influence of climate-smart technologies on the success of livestock donation programs for smallholder farmers in Rwanda. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, 29(3), Article 24. (Scimago: Q1 (19.35%) in Ecology

Niknam, F., Sharifian, R., Bashiri, A., Mardani, M., Akbari, R., Bastani, P. (2024) Technological aspects and recommendations for applying teledentistry in oral medicine: a scoping review Systematic Reviews, 13(1), Article 209. (Scimago: Top 10% (7.97%) in Medicine (miscellaneous)) 

Quach, S., Zuo, A., Thaichon, P., Roberts, R., Tang, W. (2024) Using Social Media Analytics to Understand the Impact of Government Intervention on Consumer Behaviour During a Pandemic Australasian Marketing Journal. Advance online publication  (Scimago: Q1 (15.69%) in Economics and Econometrics) 

Seidl, C., Wheeler, S.A., Page, D. (2024). Understanding the global success criteria for managed aquifer recharge schemes Journal of Hydrology, 628, Article 130469 (Scimago: Top 10% (3.05%) in Water Science and Technology) 

Tingey-Holyoak, J. L., Wheeler, S.A., Seidl, C., Zuo, A. (2024). Understanding viticultural financial returns: A case study from the Riverland, South Australia Journal of Rural Studies, 110, Article 103334 (Scimago: Top 10% (4.05%) in Forestry) 

Weerakoon, C., McMurray, A. J. (2024). Fostering social enterprise innovativeness: the interplay of learning, market orientation and stakeholder engagement within a capability framework. Social Enterprise Journal. Advance online publication (Scimago: Q1 (21.91%) in Economics, Econometrics and Finance) 

Wheeler, S.A., Owens, K., Zuo, A. (2024). Is there public desire for a federal takeover of water resource management in Australia? Water Research, 248, Article 120861. (Scimago: Top 10% (0.01%) in Environmental Engineering) 

Wheeler, S.A., Zuo, A., Pickersgill, J. (2024). The propensity for negative media reporting of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan in Australia Journal of Rural Studies, 109, Article 103320 (Scimago: Top 10% (4.05%) in Forestry) 

Wheeler, S.A., Xu, Y., Zuo, A. (2024). Developing an economic quality assessment framework and applying it to water economic studies in the Murray-Darling Basin Environmental Science and Policy, 152, Article 103654, (Scimago: Top 10% (4.37%) in Geography, Planning and Development) 

Xu, Y., Wheeler, S.A., Zuo, A. (2024). Drought and hotter temperature impacts on suicide: Evidence fromthe Murray-Darling Basin, Australia Climate Change Economics, 15(1), Article 2350024  (Scimago: Q1 (21.13%) in Economics, Econometrics and Finance) 

Zuo, A., Wheeler, S.A. (2024). The Australian public's preferences for further environmental and cultural water recovery options in the Murray-Darling BasinJournal of Hydrology, 633, Article 130983. (Scimago: Top 10% (3.05%) in Water Science and Technology) 

New Research Funding Awards*

*Based on notification emailed to CBGL.research@flinders.edu.au from 22 July – 22 August 2024. Current BGL staff in bold.

Chalmers, R., Grigg, B., Lisk, J., Calverley, G., Darkson, B., Lane, J., Brown, J. & E Nys, R. Smart Navigation of Regulation, Marine Bioproducts Cooperative Research Centre, AgriFutures Australia, Flinders University ($43,995)

Guo, S, Ing, H. Blood and Belonging: Nationality and Chinese Australians who fought in World War 1, Australian Army History Research Unit ($12,790)

Mizzi, J., Goodwin-Smith, I., Halsey, M., Hughes, C., de Vel-Palumbo, M, Deegan, S., Cleary, J. & Ferraretto, M. Making it easy: A re-entry wayfinding app, Government of South Australia, Department for Correctional Services ($90,909)

Yoon, J. & Goodwin-Smith, I. Co-designing a Digital Skills Training Framework for People with a Disability, EPIC Assist ($134,000)

PLUS new 'Mark Govier PhD Scholarship' now available 

Congratulations to Mr. Mark Govier for completing his Master by Research thesis “Political Alignment of the Early Royal Society: 1662-1703.” Mark was awarded A/A – an outstanding examination result. Mark was supervised by Professor Adela McMurray.

Mark is also supporting the 'Mark Govier PhD Scholarship' designed to support and encourage research in the intersection of government and society, particularly focusing on the relationship between the Royal Society of London and the British Government.

Welcome to new HDR students in the College

CBGL is delighted to welcome seven new Higher Degree Research students to the College who joined us in July or August 2024. Pictured are three of our new PhD students – Fadhila Dhia Malihah from Indonesia, Thi Thuy Ngan Nguyen from Vietnam and Jiaqi Fan from China – alongside HDR student Tapas Bala from Bangladesh. Fadhila is exploring the Impact of Indonesian International Student Mobility on the Students' Career Direction, Employability, and Capacity Building; Ngan is exploring ways to Enhance Domestic Waste Classification in Vietnam, whilst Jiaqi is studying The Economic Impact of Drought on Farmers in Regional Australia.

The College also welcomes new PhD students Hamish Gamble, Barry Mitchell, Stefanny Ruedaflores and Donna Hedstrom. Hamish is exploring “Economic complexity: business dynamics and microeconomic impacts”; Barry is exploring “Role of Human Rights in the Climate Change Litigation in Australia”; Stefanny is exploring “AI driven transformation in South Australia’s Mining Sector” and Donna is exploring “Voices of young people with disability and their experiences of social exclusion.”

What's been happening in BGL?

Record-breaking attendance at Flinders Open Days

Open Days provided an excellent opportunity for future students to explore the campuses, engage with current students, and engage with you, our expert team. BGL had a strong presence across the three days at Bedford Park and Flinders City Campus.  Key highlights included:

• 5,389 total registrations, with 1,968 at the city campus and 50+ for the Riverland
• 58 school buses transported 2,440 students from 35 schools on Friday
• 12,322 information session attendees (11,151 at Bedford Park and 1,171 in the city)
• 2,471 people walked through the doors at the city campus

On Sunday, our first open day in the city was a resounding success. The festival atmosphere was vibrant, with Flinders staff in gold welcoming guests, interactive activities including law public art, business cookie give-aways, giant cut-outs of Harris & Biden and a criminology police line up. A huge thank you to all the BGL staff and students who contributed to the success of these events!

Inaugural welcome for Cricket Diploma students

The orientation for the Diploma in Sports Management (Cricket) students was held on September 2 with 18 of the 22 students attending.

Students were welcomed by SACA CEO Charlie Hodgson, given a cricket tour of Adelaide Oval, visited the High Performance Centre with an introduction from members of the high performance team, connected with the Flinders city campus team and enjoyed lunch catered by SACA while enjoying the 150 years of SACA hard cover book generously gifted by SACA to each student.  

Congratulations to the Flinders Business team!

BGL 3MT Congratulations

Judges and HDR Coordinators of the BGL and HASS 3MT Heats (as pictured above) were impressed by the excellent set of 3MT presentations.

Congratulations to our BGL Winner and Runner Up:

• Winner – Brooke Crabtree – Impacts of stigma and discrimination on access to AOD services in regional Australia.
• Runner Up – Zuby Osman – Exploring High functioning Performance at the Workplace: A study of Financial Advisers in Singapore.

The 3MT competition asks PhD students to quickly and succinctly explain their research to peers and the wider community in less than 180 seconds.  Every year Flinders University PhD students are invited to compete to develop communication skills, boost their career and be in the running to win the 3MT Asia-Pacific 3MT prize of a $5,000 research travel grant. 

The 2023 winner for the university was BGL's own Vinicius Guedes Goncalves de Oliveira and the 2024 winner is Thomas Beltrame from CSE, who is now set to compete in the 2024 Asia-Pacific 3MT competition. 

AIIA and the Government Team: Out and About

Industry engagement is a priority for the Government Team, who have been presenting at a range of different Australian Institute of International Affairs events:

• De Leoni Connah, What do the Indian General Elections tell us about Kashmir's Future? (and pictured above)
• Dr Intifar Chowdhury, A Global Crisis of Democracy and Youth (Dis)Engagement in Australia: The Culpable Youth?
• Associate Professor Rob Manwaring, The 2024 General Election: A new era in UK Politics?

Government Team: Hosting SA Model UN Competition

Model UN simulations engage many 1,000s of students each year, and the Flinders Government team are continuing to host the South Australian Competition in 2024, in partnership with UN Youth, forming part of their student engagement activity.

Hosting five different events in Tonsley, Bedford Park and the Flinders City Campus throughout August, the team are now leading up to hosting the semi-finals.

Flinders Law Team: Out and About

Schools engagement activity for the Flinders Law team included the Year 12 Legal Studies Q&A Inquiry night, held on August 8, quickly followed by the Legal Education Teachers Association of South Australia (or LETASA) conference on 23 August 2024.

Many thanks to the Flinders Law team for answering all of the complex legal questions from Year 12 students, and congratulations to Dean of Law Tania Leiman for the keynote presentation at the conference.

What's on 📢

Open to Staff & Students

Check out the range of events and resources available to you during Wellbeing Week, and get involved in as many as you can.

BGL's Thrive Festival forms part of the week, but there is much more including a Forest Walk, meditations, RU Ok? Day and more.

Thrive Festival 2024 - 10 September 2024

Our very own Director of College Services Pam Zorn is hosting the Vision Board Workshop.

Secure your booking so you don't miss out.

Flinders Active Challenge - starts 16 September 2024

This year Flinders University is running a North to South Coast Tournament, it starts in Port Douglas, Queensland and travels south through Hughenden, Charleville, Dubbo and Melbourne before ending your virtual travels in Hobart, Tasmania. Each team members’ steps contribute to the virtual walking journey to reach the Tournament goal. We're encouraging teams of up to 10 people to compete in the 10,000 Step tournament. If you have a large team consider multiple teams and some create some healthy competition.

To count your steps and record other physical activities during the challenge, you can:

• Sync your steps by connecting your Fitbit, Google Fit, Apple Health app or Garmin activity tracking account.
• Use a free app available for smart phones.
• Request a free pedometer from Challenge Coordinator there are a limited number available – so it’s first in, first served!
• Record other moderate or vigorous intensity activities in the Step Log.

Teams need to be set up before September 16, so start setting up a BGL team!  Contact Challenge Coordinator Karen Hayden on karen.hayden@flinders.edu.au or (08) 8201 3117.

Festival of Food - 26 September 2024

If you need a change in lunch options and want to check out the Sturt campus at Bedford Park, then the Festival of Food is for you. 

You can book a ticket for a free Greek lunch with lamb, chicken or vegan yiros options plus Greek donuts for dessert.  You could also book into a FoodLab session, where you can make your own dolmades to take home.

New menopause awareness online course - coming up

Did you know that over 65% of our Flinders University staff identify as women, and 23% of those are aged 51-60, and a further 29% between 41-50?

The People and Culture team are piloting two information sessions in October, one specifically for managers to support staff and one for any staff member interested in learning more:

• Menopause Awareness for Staff - Wednesday 23 October
• Menopause Awareness for Managers - Monday 14 October

Coming up: Taster Days for Year 12 students

Taster Days are being marketed throughout the change of preference period with the aim of retaining students that preference Flinders first, and improving the second to sixth preferences.

College staff have been working hard creating compelling events for year 12 students.  Taster Days are for year 12s, where we invite applicants to come on campus and have an immersive experience related to their preferred course.

Share Your News!

We know you have stories to share, and we want to hear from you. It could be important milestones coming up, staff achievements, exciting new research, innovative developments, people and culture updates, and more.

The newsletter is complemented by the staff-only blog - College of Business, Government and Law News - which is great for longer form content.

More info including timelines is here. 

Important University Dates 📅

View the university's calendar here.

We embrace innovative knowledge and practice to tackle the challenges of our time, with a strategic focus on technology, health and social impact. 
-Our Mission- 

College of Business, Government and Law, Flinders University