Monash ,Review

vYrat's f'Je.N in Education,Research and Community Servce

3-75 Dr. Terr y Hare tuu ) and HfARU technical office r, Mr . Ro n Cro ssley, stud y on e 01 the spht -sc ree n vIdeotape recordtnce 01 teecner-ouoi! gaza beh avio ur. With migrant pupils, the eyes have it

AUSTRALIAN teachers may need special in struction in the non -verbal communicati on of eye and body " lan guage" to hel p them get on better with migrant pupils.

Th e idea come s from a speci aI stud y by M onash educational psychol ogist Dr Terry Hore. dir ector of the universit y ' s Higher Educa tion Advi sory and Research Unit (HEARUI.

He compares such a scheme with one now used at Oxford University to teach Engli sh diplom ats how to cope with the non-verbal beh av iour patterns of their Ar ab colleague s.

In the p resent stud y , f inanced by Au stralian Research Grants Com m itt ee gran ts totalling $13 ,0 0 0 , Hore has concentrated on t each er-pup il eye conta ctand come up with ev idence sugge sting it cou ld playa vital ro le in the cla ssroom. It appears to be particularly valuable to newly-arrived migrant child ren w it h a poor kn owledge of Engli sh.

These migrant pupil s, he say s, can be likened to deaf chi ld ren who have yet to learn finger-spelling, and who stare e t a

MONASH REVIEW IS proouced I,,,, limes yearly by the Inf ormation ornce . M ona s~ Uni,ersHy, Welling lon Road , Claytqn . V ic to ria. 3168. InQulnes shoul d be addressed to the Edit or . clo th e InfOrm ation Ottice .

speak er' s f ace in an eff ort to pi ck up clu es to what is being sai d, Au stralianborn c hi ld ren and migrant c hi ld ren with a good gra sp of Engli sh rel y m ostl y on th e v erbal me ssage and its acc ompanyin g intonat ion.

The study also showed that teachers spen t twice as much lime seeking eye contac t with " low language " migrant c hi ld ren ... suggesting th ey w ere subc onsc ious ly using it as a method of moni toring performance .

Hor e used h idd en TV cam era s to rec ord th e amount of eye language between 58 pupil-teach er pairs performing a co-ope rat ive learning task. The teach ers, all speciali sin g in Engli sh, were rand oml y selected from 157 postgraduates in th e M ona sh Faculty of Education .

Language groupings

Th e ch i ld ren came from grades fou r and f ive at Springval e state primary schoo l in M elbourne, They were selected in three groups: Australian-born , migrant children wh o had been in Australia for four years or more and wh ose use of Engli sh w as flu ent. and chi ld ren here for two yea rs or less with I im ited knowled ge of the language.

,'L .....L_ The ro o tn- ln- u- roo m set up, wf h h idd en cameras, sp ecially b ust! 10 collecr data lo r th e stu dy.

Type 01 tes« se t lo r the tee cne r-ouoit pairs: decld mg , th rough d iscussion , which 01 al ght c ame ls on a ce rd he ld by one 01 them ma tch ed the sm gle an ima l tteu) on a ca rd fl e ld b y tne o ther . Teachers and pup i ls co uld no t see whal wes on the other 's ca rd . Two practice ena six more compl rceted sets 01 amm al ca rd s were use d ,

A spec ia l " roo m within a room " w as built for th e tests. Thi s contained a table with facing chairs and a mi crophone linked to recording equ ipment. Remoteco ntro lle d, zoom lens TV cameras were set up behind fl y-wire screens at either end of the room to sec ret ly record full face shots of the teach er-pupil pair s as the y sat at the table .

The camera signa Is were fe d i nto a speci al effects gen erator t o pro vide a spli t-sc reen vi deo tape reco rd ing o f both faces for later anal ysis . The idea w as to tabu la te both the number and duration o f contmueo page :I

MONASH REVIEW JULY, 1975

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Fantasy thatl a Tolkien original PROFESSOR Arlh u r Brown . of th e

d epart m ent of Engli s h , i s becomi ng v ery po p u la r am on g M onash fan s of Engli sh f antasy author J. R. R. T olkien.

W ord ha s leaked out th at Brown. hi m se l l a T ol k ien en thu siast , owns an or igi nal manu scri pt by the creato r of The H obbit and The Lord of the Ring s. who d ied in 19 73.

Wh at 's causing part ic ul ar exci temen t amo ng the T ol ki eni tes i s t hat the ma nu script is an unpub li shed work . T itl ed Do Worst . it is based on fact, not f ant asy - a hum oro us acc oun t o f w hat Tol ki en de sc ri bed as " the ho wl ers " unwitt ing ly utt er ed by students taki ng th e ora l exa mina t io n in Engl i sh a t Ox ford Un iver sity in 19 3 2 .

Tol k ien , in hi s capac ity o f Rawlin son and Bosw orth Pr of essor o f Anq lo-Sax on at Ox for d 's Pem brok e Co ll ege. w as one o f th e exa m ine rs . He presen ted Do Wor st to a c lose f riend . Pro f essor R. W , Cha m bers, as a Ch r istmas pre sent the fo l lo wing year .

It is a poe m. o f abou t 2200 word s. whi ch Br own desc r ibe s as " w r i t ten in the me tre and sty le of the g reat Mid dl e Engli sh { 14 th Centu ry) poe ts " .

" More parti cula rl y . " he says , " it is based on a w ell -kn ow n poe m of that pe riod call ed Pie rs P lo wm an.

" The m ean ing of Piers Pl o wm an is the quest for God . in t hree stages- Do - Well , Do-Bet te r , and D o-B est. Th e fir st stage, Do- Well . is the I ite o f act iv e labor in the w orl d. Th e second . higher stage , D oBett er, i s the c lerk ly o r m on asti c l i fe of renun c ia t ion , c har i ty , poverty. and co ntempla ti on . Th e thi rd . h ighest stage. D'oBest, is represen ted by the m an w ho , having ren oun ced eve ryt hing , i s ca lled back in to ac ti ve l i fe to ru le and di rec t o thers as a Prince 01 th e Chur ch .

Lourdains and lubbers " T he ope ni ng li nes o t T ot kle ns poem,

wi th thei r alli tera t ive met re and de script ion 01 the setting , are a lso remi ni scent of Pier s P lo wm an :

In a summer season when su ltry wa s

th e sun Wi th lourd ains and lubbers

lounged in a nel l , A nd wood in h is w i t s wa s each w i gt

as me seeme d: On his head was a hat as hard as a

board. On h is neck w as ther e kno t te d a

noo se al l of whit e, With bow big and broa d as a b utte r

lIy 's w ings . . .

the references bei ng . o f co urse, t o t he m ortar boa rds and whi t e bo w ti es w o rn by s tud ents at Oxford on the occa s ion o f thei r exa m inations . Mu ch o f the hu mor i n t he poe m d epe nds upon a know ledg e o f the p roce d ures at the Ox ford ' orals'. and cannot eas i ly be exp la i ned to th e

MO NAS H REV IEW

un in itiated . Bu t the reaction of the Tol ki en too k a lot o f tr oubl e prepari ng exa miners , Plat o , Bri ton er, Regulu s and t he manuscri pt as a g ift. I t i s o rn at ely Gr im , to the ha l t ing and la rge ly non hand-wr itten and ill uminat ed on h igh sens ica l ans we rs at th e unf ortunat e Quali ty paper ( 19c m x 24 cm) and bou nd At kins to the ir Quest ion s, and the sen in a har d . vellum cover . O n the front , tence passed by them on h im, will sta mped in go ld , is pe rhaps g ive some id ea of t he poem's D O WO RST f lav o r; Q U OD J . R. R.

Sir Pl at o turned pale as wi th pa ng TOLKIEN et the h ear t, On the in side ba ck cover is in sc r ib ed

Cast his hoo d o 'er h is head and hid " Bo und by Do ug las Cockere l l & Son , up h is face. Letchw orth Garde n Ci ty" . Thi s i s in a

Sir B rilon er ba wled ior th , ' The sma l l, neat han dwr it ing , p resuma bly th e basta rd is m ad !' b ind er 's . " Obv ious ly he d id it as a

S ir Re gulu s retched and wr ink led spec ia l job fo r T olkien, " says Br own. his nose, The book fi ts in a spe c ia l ly- made

S ir Gr im rent his go wn and gu lp ed cardboard sli p case . Thi s i s covered in a in his throat, tvpica I COC ke re l l paper in a ma rbl ed

Th en spintoo t he sp rang an d spr in ted pattern . T olk iens illum inat i on of th e to the bell . hand wr itt en tex t co ns ist s o f ca p ita l

An usher then en ter ed and asked lert er s in de cora tive form and co lored-wh at he wished. wi th va riou s inks. p lus a nu mber o f

And the clerks w i th a clamour a ll de corat ive sc ro lls . cr ied ou t toqether: A tt ached to th e in side of the book 's

'H ale fo rth this ha rlot and hew h im back cover is a lett er in To lk lens no rma l wi th sta ves! handwriti ng . Th is is on a sheet of no te

Kick him f ro m th ese cloist ers 10 pap er embossed a t the tOP w it h Tol kien 's Carfa x and fu rthe r. add res s: 20 Northm oor Road , O x for d.

Then p lough him in p ieces w it h The lett er, dated December 2 1st. 193 3 , plo ughsha re s keen. read s:

A s red -hoc as wra th-no ruth he " M y Dear Cham be rs, d eser ves!' " " T han k you fo r you r no te . I am sorry

.~- ~ - FAR LEFT: Pag e one of the poem, show rng th e orna te tett ennq .

......'~ ~ · "~~·l '; ~1:"' :;;:'; ·I;"' .;" ':'.(, . ' '' :; ;''\ I ; _ · LEFT : The accompanyin g feller 10 Chambers .

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Medical ex emin et ror: lor fri nge camp children whUe an Abor:g inal Btl /sf sk e tches the scene .

GOATS, garden5 and breast feeding are an unlikely combination for a doctor 10 recommend in a "get fit "

....,- program.

Bu t they ar e three of many remedies prescr ibed by Dr Trevor Cutter of Monash for improving the health and welfare of Aborigines in central Australia.

Cutter. from the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine at the university's Alfred Hospital medi cal school , recently com p leted a survey of health and li ving standards in Aboriginal fringe camps around Alice Springs .

Apart from improved medical car e. the camp dwellers need better sani ta tion, housing and parti cularly a more nutr itious diet , he says.

Cutter, who is on loan to the Central Australian Aboriginal Congres s {CAAC ). is now extending his investigation to scattered Aboriginal communi ties in rural areas.

Th os e li ving in the Alice Sp r ings f r inge camps are suffering from a 100ear time lag in health status, according

to th e head of the Department of Socia I and Preventive Med icine, Professor Basil Hetzel .

" Standard s of nutrition and sa nita tion are as low of those of most whites in Australia a century ago ," he says. " The infant mortality rate is at least three times the Austra lian average. "

Hetzel . too, has bec ome directl y involved in the work of the CAAC, as a

... 4t;

j -

Fighting fringe camp

misery consu ltan t. On a recent visit to Alice Springs he cha i red a meeting between Co ng res s members and government off ic ia ls. inc lud ing the Di rect or of Health f or the Northern Territory. Dr Charles Gurd .

The meeting resol ved to seek fed eral suppo rt for new health car e i ni t iat iv es . The CAAC has sugg ested two pr ojects: an Aborig inal health servi ce in Al ice Springs and ano ther covering rural are as .

Response from Canberra has been favorabl e . The Minister for Aboriginal Affa irs. Mr . L. R. Johnson . has announced a s 100.000 initial grant to get th ings moving.

In both cases the aim is a " total approa ch " embracing such th ings as nutrition. sani tati on and housing as well as im m ed ia te hea lth care . The proposed Alice Springs centre will serve 2000 Aborig ines nor reached by existing services. including more than 600 people living in the fringe cam ps in undesirabl e cond it io ns.

Estimated capital cost is S200 ,000

plus $120.000 a year for runn ing expenses. Dr . Cutter say s $65,000 of the initi a I federal gr ant has been used to buy a large brick house near Alice Springs hospital for co nv ersion to a health centre . It shou ld be op erat ional by September .

To begin, it is propose d 10 staff the centre with two doctors. two sisters . thr ee nurses ' aides and a welfare w orker . As well . the aim is t o set up a m obile clinic in a station wagon which can v isi t the fringe camps.

The health serv ic e would also tackle nutritiona I problems in the camps through a meals-on-wheels ser vice . It would aim to improve toilet facilities and water suppl y and eventually help pro vide housing to replace the pre sent lean-tos and other rough shelters . says Hetzel.

The CAAC recently bought and di stri buted 200 army tents whi ch have improved living conditions s light ly. But the long-term need is good quality permanent housing .

Th e CAAC program foll ows gu idel ines set u.p at a national sem inar on Aboriginal health at Monash in May, 1972. There were about 70 people at th e seminar. including 20 Ab origines fr om all parts of Australia.

Cutter in vestigated liVing cond it io ns in 14 Ali ce Springs f r i nge camps.

H is report says there was obvious eviden ce of malnutrition. although generally not severe. and a high rate of unemplo yment among those capable of working. Thi s. plus the poor phys ical cond it ions in the camps. has led to a serious alcohol problem. He estimates up to 70 per cent. of school -age children were pla ying truant fr om school at any one time .

Cutter suggests the growing of vegetable gard en s should be encouraged by improving water supply to th e camps and the ln trocuctlon of goa ts cou Id be exp lo red . They needed little tending and would supply fresh m eat and milk .

The bottle fe ed ing of babies was a matter for concern . he says. Lack of milk storage facil ities meant the cu stom should be discouraged and breast feeding promoted .

In instances when breast feeding was adopted . it was often stopped too early and a bottle subst ituted , with a corr espond ing high risk of the babies contracting ga stro-enteriti s .

somebody bu t sub consci ou sly contrad icting yourself by av oid ing eye contact.TH E EYES HAVE IT ' rom pag e I Further research by one of Hores graduate students. Trevor Hutchins.

mutual glances {ey e-to-eye contact} and comple xities of the se ey e contacts has used a simila r exp erimenta I model

unreciprocated glances (when either child w hich occur for only seconds or split us ing teachers from var ious schools

or tea cher was looking at the other second s at a time-for while we use working with their ow n pupil s.

without the look being returned ) . these behaviours constantly , we do not This stud y has shown more fr equ ent

" T h is is the f irst study to de scri be do so consciously . an d lon ger mutua I gazes between teacher s

t eacher -pupil v i sua l behaviour in such " A second reason is cont ai ned in the and the chi ld ren they consid ered less

detail and one mu st seek rea sons f or the sugg estion that verba I and non-ve rbal likely to suc ceed . This is con tra ry to

relation ships whi ch were f ound , " say s channels of co m mun i ca t ion can simul pr evi ou s theor ies that there would be

Hore. taneous ly tr an smit contradictory m es mor e rapport-a s indicated by mutual

" It is important to understand the sages-for example. saying you like gaze-with brighter pupil s.

MONASH REVIEW 3 JU LY, 1975

Fame for 'funnv fluids' film?

YEARS ago. Holl ywood produced a sclence-fictlon thriller called The Blob, about a huge. jelly-like lump which enveloped peopl e. digested them , and kept growing in size . It was swallowing skyscrapers before the film' s hero found a way to destroy it .

It took a lot of killing. And Chemical eng inee ri ng resear ch stude nt Peter Cable. stud y ing f o r his Ph .D ., has some idea of th e problem . He recently found a " b lob" w eighing m ore than half a tonne quiver ing on the floor of hi s laboratory" l ike a giant egg wh ite".

Fortunately this one wa sn't agg ressive. It was a 150-gallon batch of what he call s a "funny fluid " he is us ing in exp eriments-a so lut ion of indu.str ial polymer in water. Thi s produces a thick, sti ck y mixture w ith some unusual propert ies.

In parti cular, on ce it star ts flowing in a certain direction, it s high viscosity and ela sticity keep s it going . . . even uph ill. The " b lob" in Cable 's work shop escaped from it s container because he presumably had not noticed a small amount spill over the side.

Wh ile he was out of th e laboratory, the sp i II con t inued wi th a se lf -sipho n ing effe ct. gradually in crea sing in volum e unt il the whole lot flopp ed to t he floor.

Co incidentally , Cable' s work involves filming the anti cs of the pol ymer " b lob" mixture. The result , however, is a little different from the techni color Hollywood epic . Cable's pr odu ction is silent , in plain black and white, and runs only '2 minutes. But it has arou sed world w id e sci ent ific interest.

Flow patterns Th e film show s t he flow patterns of

molten polymers during the comme rci al extrusion process . Its importan ce relates to problems faced by com pan ies in the plastics and polymers fi eld . They are troubled by the tenden cy of th e mater ial to occasionally misbehave during ex trusion .

In the factor ies , pure molten plastics and polymers, heated to temperatures up to 250 Cel sius and under pressures as high as 4000 lb . per square in ch . are forced through d ifferent sized di es . or nozzles, to produce anything fr om thi ck rods to fine thr ead .

But sometimes, instead of emerg in g straight and even , the material will sudden ly start co ming out crinkled and usele ss. Th is is kn own as a " m elt fra ctur e". Cable's film shows how thi s

Perer Cabie (right) and Dr. David Boger prepare -Io ' film Ihe process.s-Picture: Des "Smi th.

Th iS s( ,11 fro m the film sho ws so me of th e ex treme d,slor/,o ns In ttie lIuid flow oe u erns .

occurs. He has managed to f ilm the high- speed pro cess by setting up a sm al l extrusion plant of clear glass tub ing. Through this, he forces polymer I w ate r solution under pressure.

Con struction of the glass extrusion plant wa s possible following th e discovery that so luti ons of from 0 ·1 to one per cent polymer in water have similar fund amental flow properties of viscosity and elasticity as pure molten polymer. The difference is that i nstead of needing high temperatures and pre ssur es,

the solution can be extruded at 40 lb. p.s .I. and at r oom temperature.

This discovery was made with a s45,OOO machine in the M ona sh department of chemical engineering called a Weissenberg Rhe ogoniometer . It i s the only one of its type in Australia and m easures the fundamental flow properties o f va ri ous liquids.

"What it has enabled us to do is subs ti tu te an uncompl icated materia I (polymer / wate r solution) for a more complex one (pure molt en cotvmer l ."

OPEf\J DAY '75

says Cable's supe rv isor, Dr David Boger, a sp ecia li st in the field of rheology-the study of deformation and fl ow of flu ids.

To film how polymer whirls and eddies under pressure as it is pushed towards the ex trusion d ie . Cabl e added a " t racer " to the norma lIy clear mixture . He used a material (mica flakes coated with titanium d ioxid e) which is normally added to paints and cosmeti cs to give them a metalli c glitter. The shiny flakes of tra cer form patterns pi ck ed up on the film.

For researchers Cable is wri ting a pap er on the research

for an A meric an techni cal journal , Transactions of the Society of Rheology . and his film is being made available to re searchers throughout t he world working on the melt fracture problem . Two copies have already been requested- ' one by the Uni versity of Dortmund, Germany, and the ot her by th e U.S . chemical giant Monsanto .

" A lot of people are researching the probtern but they are mo stlv seeking a mathemati cal solut ion and have limited acc ess to exp erimental result s of th is kind: ' says Boger. "The film gi ves them som ething to go to town on in their mathemati cal modelling. "

Late last year he "premiered " the film at international sc ientific gatherings in Britain and the U,S.

He and Cabl e are working on a sequel to their " b lob " film. Thi s one will use slow m ot ion photography to show more precisel y what happens in some of the more complex flow patterns of the extrus io n process.

Monash Review extends an invitation 10 its readers to attend the university's annual Open Day, which this year will be held on Saturday , Aug ust 9, from 10 a.m . to 5 p .rn ,

MONASH REVIEW 4 .JULY, 1975