Issuu

the graduate union newsletter

NOVEMBER 2020

Contents Christmas Donation Appeal 3

Feature

A message to our readers

A Story of Discovery and Exploration by Claire Radbourne

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on vulnerable children by Professor Rosemary Sheehan

Australian Millennials in the Workplace International Consultants Centre

The Commerce of a Varied Life Chris Arnold AM

One of the Biggest Contributors to Preventable Deaths isn’t a Health Problem by Jane Inall and Kelly Bartholomeusz

‘Thank You’ Photo Essay for Parkville Biomedical Precinct Workers

Metro Tunnel Project’s Tunnel Boring Machines

GU Promotions 5

Graduate House Takeaway Food Pick up or have delivered!

Jams and Relishes

Christmas Hampers

Graduate House Christmas Menus

COVID SAFE at Graduate house 10

Open and Safe at Graduate House

GU Face Mask

Graduate House Accommodation

GU COLLEGIATE 12

REview

Monthly Luncheon – 11th November Dr Ross McMullin Members’ Christmas Party Book now!

A vaccine – is it possible? And by when? Laureate Professor Peter Doherty

October Monthly Luncheon Associate Professor Nicola Reavley

Optimism – your super power – the why and the how Victor Perton

Coming dates 14

International Days – November

Graduate House News 16

Other

Migrant and Refugee Women in Australia: Nationwide Survey

Call for Quotes for our “Calendar of Hope”

www.graduatehouse.com.au

Innovation How hackable is your password?

CHRISTMAS DONATION APPEAL

Christmas Donation Appeal Dear Readers, Since our establishment in 1911, our Association has faced a number of challenges, including two world wars, the depression, global financial crises and now the COVID-19 pandemic. Along with many other businesses, not-for-profits and individuals, our Association has been severely impacted by this once-in-a-lifetime ‘hit’. We are thus fighting for our survival and we need your support to help us save our Association – our Union, our House, our community – and to be safe with reopening. We have continued to support our residents to live in a safe and caring environment during this difficult period, by being financially responsible and prudent, but your support has never been more important than now. We thank those who kindly donated to our COVID-19 staff and resident funds during 2020. However, this time, we are making an exceptional call for a one-off and larger than normal donation to help us recover and return to the vibrant Association that we were at the beginning of this year. In our almost 110 years, we have survived and prospered with the support and dedication of our Members. More than ever, we need your financial support at this time. I do so hope that you will be able to assist by donating online at: https:// www.graduatehouse.com.au/give-here/graduate-house-christmasappeal/. Not a fan of online payments? Give us a call on +61 3 9347 3428 to speak with a real live person here at Graduate House who will help you to make your donation OR email admingh@graduatehouse.com.au if you would like us to call you. Thank you. Yours sincerely, Dr Kerry Bennett CEO/Head of College

ABN 55610 664 963 / IARN A0023234B

CHRISTMAS DONATION APPEAL

Christmas Donation Appeal My Contribution 500

1,000

5,000*

I would like to give a major donation/bequest and receive information about the Association’s giving opportunities.

10,000

Other, please specify $AUD _________________

My Contact Information Title

Acknowledgement

First Name

I wish to be named as a supporter^

Yes

‘Yes’ indicates that you are happy to be acknowledged (first name and surname) for your donation in our publications. ‘No’ indicates that you wish to remain anonymous. If neither ‘Yes’ nor ‘No’ is selected a ‘Yes’ response is assumed.

Last Name Contact Number Email Postal Address Postcode

Payment Options Mastercard

Credit/Debit Card

Visa

Direct Debit

Card Number Expiry Date

Financial Institution /

CSV

BSB

Cardholder Name

Account Number

Signature

Bank Transfer

Cheque

Account Name: The Graduate Union of The University of Melbourne Inc. Bank: National Australia Bank BSB: 083 170 Account Number: 515 612 137 Swift Code: NATAAU3303M Description: ChristmasAppeal2020

I would like to give regularly through my selected payment option Commencing: Amount $AUD: Weekly

Directed to: The Graduate Union of The University of Melbourne Inc.

www.graduatehouse.com.au

/ / 2020

Fortnightly

Monthly

All contributions above $2 are tax deductible.

Yearly

GU PROMOTION

GRADUATE HOUSE

TAKEAWAY FOOD Graduate House Crane With design inspiration from the Metro Tunnel Parkville Station cranes, the Graduate House Takeaway Crane enables safe serving of takeaway food from Graduate House to those out on Leicester Street and in University Square enjoying the wonderful sunlight and green. The Crane is located outside the door at 224 Leicester St, between the Johnston Library and the Barbara Funder Lounge. Open for pick up from Monday to Friday, 7.00am to 7.00pm and on weekends from 7.30am to 1.00pm, you can order by telephoning, emailing or ordering online at: https://www.graduatehouse.com.au/ takeaway/.

For home delivery, please visit their respective delivery sites: https://www.doordash.com/store/graduate-house-carlton-1146237/en-AU https://deliveroo.com.au/menu/melbourne/carlton/graduate-house https://www.menulog.com.au/restaurants-graduate-house/menu https://www.ubereats.com/au/melbourne/food-delivery/the-graduate-union-house/ azU-kCjoTbCOuJhVV80UrQ

ABN 55610 664 963 / IARN A0023234B

GU PROMOTION

GRADUATE HOUSE

JAMS AND RELISHES AVAILABLE NOW

300ml

6.50 each

TRY OUR DELICIOUS, HOMEMADE FLAVOURS Strawberry Jam, Tri-berry Jam (blueberry, raspberry and strawberry) Tomato Relish and Capsicum Relish

To order, please go to www.graduatehouse.com.au or call us on +61 3 9347 3428 or email us at admingh@graduatehouse.com.au

www.graduatehouse.com.au

GU PROMOTION

GRADUATE HOUSE

CHRISTMAS HAMPER AVAILABLE NOW

BUILD YOUR OWN HAMPER WITH OUR HOMEMADE, FESTIVE TREATS! Included (but not limited) in the hamper are Gingerbread men (60gm @ $4.00), Graduate House jams and relishes ($6.50 each), White chocolate brittle (150gm @ $6.00), Choco-coconut Christmas balls (5 balls @ $5.00), Christmas cake ($7.50) and No bake chocolate fudge slice (not pictured). To order, please go to www.graduatehouse.com.au or call us on +61 3 9347 3428 or email us at admingh@graduatehouse.com.au

ABN 55610 664 963 / IARN A0023234B

GU PROMOTION

Function Menu Traditional Christmas 2020 Set menu for lunch or dinner For each course, choose two options Table service is 50/50

EntrĂŠe Prawn cocktail with pineapple (gf) Peking duck salad (gf) Gnocchi with pesto sauce (v) Main Course Seasoned turkey breast with apricot and macadamia stuffing served with gravy (gf) Baked salmon fillet with herbs in lobster sauce (gf) Roasted vegetable quiche (v) Dessert Plum pudding with custard and brandy sauce (v) Mississippi mud chocolate Christmas cake Summer fruit salad (v+) (gf)

(gf) gluten free (v) vegetarian (v+) vegan (df) dairy free Two courses $58.50 per person | Three courses $69.00 per person Minimum 15 Guests

ABN: 55610664963 IARN: A0023234B

www.graduatehouse.com.au

GU PROMOTION

Christmas Summer Barbeque Menu Set menu for lunch or dinner In the Graduate House courtyard

Main Course Porterhouse steak (gf) (df) Lamb chops (gf) (df) Gourmet sausages Tikka chicken thighs (gf) Vegetarian burgers (v) Grilled summer vegetable platter (v+) (gf) Onions (v+) (gf) Selection of summer salads (v) (gf) Dessert Blueberry pavlova (v) (gf) Fruit salad and cream (v) (gf) (gf) gluten free (v) vegetarian (v+) vegan (df) dairy free $59.50 per person Minimum 15 guests

ABN: 55610664963 IARN: A0023234B

ABN 55610 664 963 / IARN A0023234B

COVID SAFE AT GRADUATE HOUSE

Open and Safe at Graduate House

Graduate House is the ideal place to live – we are clean, safe and take care of you.

Our food is prepared and served with your safety in mind (Class 2 registration, Melbourne City Council).

We have increased deep cleaning and sanitisation of all surfaces.

We adhere strictly to the 2 metres physical distancing rules.

We have online ordering and cashless transactions for all purchases.

Contactless hand sanitisers are positioned conveniently throughout Graduate House.

GU Face Mask - New Colours in stock! Reusable and Durable

E SAL00

Available for purchase at Graduate House Reception and online at www.graduatehouse.com.au/product/face-masks

Made with three layers of breathable fabric.

15. h* eac

Outerside layer — stout durable 100% drill cotton fabric with a strong diagonal bias in the weave. Internal layer — unwoven fabric, 100% breathable filter. Innerside layer — the inside fabric is a strong and sturdy 100% cotton fabric. Additional pocket to insert another filter for added protection. Fits snugly but comfortably. Secured with elastic bands around the ears. Easy to hand wash and dry overnight. *Postage not included

www.graduatehouse.com.au

COVID SAFE AT GRADUATE HOUSE

Room Types, Prices and Features the safest place to stay while in Melbourne over the summer break

• Single room private bathrooms • Double room private bathrooms • Stella Langford large/medium apartments • Double rooms with separate lounge and private bathrooms • Barkly Place and Barry Street apartments

• 7 breakfasts, 7 dinners delivered to rooms during lockdown • Bed linen • Weekly housekeeping • Wifi • Utilities (electricity, gas, water) included in rent • Short term accommodation – one night, a few weeks • Long term accommodation – months, semesters, years

ABN 55610 664 963 / IARN A0023234B

GU COLLEGIATE

Monthly luncheon Wednesday, 11th November 2020 Dine in: 12:00noon for 12:30pm start | virtual: 1:10pm log-on for 1:15pm start

The November Monthly Luncheon will be a hybrid event, subject to the easing of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions: • lunch and guest speaker at Graduate House, commencing at 12:30pm; or • online only for guest speaker via Zoom, commencing at 1:15pm. To book, see online booking link, or email/ phone us. Turning Defeat into Victory: What Really Happened at Polygon Wood Dr Ross McMullin is an award-winning historian and biographer. His most recent book is Pompey Elliott at War: In His Own Words, his second book about Australia’s most famous general in World War I. Ross’s previous biography, Pompey Elliott, was awarded the Christina Stead Award for biography and the Melbourne University Press Award for literature. His multi-biography Farewell, Dear People: Biographies of Australia’s Lost Generation was awarded the Prime Minister’s Prize for Australian History and the National Cultural Award.

Cost $ 10 Members — Virtual $ 15 non-members — Virtual $ 35 Members — Dine in $ 40 non-members — Dine in Telephone (03) 9347 3428 Email admingh@graduatehouse.com.au Book Online https://www.graduatehouse.com.au/ coming-events/monthly-luncheonwith-dr-ross-mcmullin/

For those attending at Graduate House, we want to reassure you that Graduate House is safe and hygienic with all precautionary health and safety measures in place. There will be gathering limits – so please book early. Should restrictions not be lifted, a partial refund will be made for lunch and you will be able to attend online via Zoom at 1:15pm. For Zoom only participants, we recommend that you connect 5 minutes before the event to ensure you are able to view the presentation and that, for question time, your speakers and microphone work properly. www.graduatehouse.com.au

GU COLLEGIATE

MEMBERS’ CHRISTMAS PARTY Friday, 11th December 2020 6:00PM arrival for a 6:30PM start Graduate House 220 Leicester Street, Carlton Table service is 50/50

Entrée Thai prawn with tamarind sauce (df) (gf) Herb crusted chicken breast served with a brandy cream sauce Spinach and ricotta ravioli with roasted pumpkin sage sauce and shaved parmesan cheese (v) Main Course Seasoned turkey breast with apricot and macadamia stuﬃng (gf) Seared salmon with saﬀron dill cream and a touch of champagne (gf) Roasted vegetable quiche (v) Dessert Plum pudding with custard and brandy sauce (v) Mississippi mud chocolate Christmas cake Summer fruit salad (v+) (gf) (gf) gluten free (v) vegetarian (v+) vegan (df) dairy free

RSVP: Monday, 7th December 2020 E: admingh@graduatehouse.com.au P: (03) 9347 3428

$20.00 Resident Members $58.50 Non-resident members $69.00 non-members $60.50 non-member concession

ABN 55610 664 963 / IARN A0023234B

COMING DATES

international days – November 10th November – World Science Day for Peace and Development

16th November – International Day for Tolerance The United Nations (UN) is committed to strengthening tolerance by fostering mutual understanding among cultures and peoples. This imperative lies at the core of the United Nations Charter, as well as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and is more important than ever in this era of rising and violent extremism and widening conflicts that are characterised by a fundamental disregard for human life. In 1996, the UN General Assembly invited UN Member States to observe the International Day for Tolerance on 16th November. This action followed up on the United Nations Year for Tolerance, 1995, proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1993 at the initiative of UNESCO, as outlined in the Declaration of Principles on Tolerance and Follow-up Plan of Action for the Year.

Celebrated every 10 November, the Day highlights the significant role of science in society and the need to engage the wider public in debates on emerging scientific issues. It also underlines the importance and relevance of science in our daily lives. By linking science more closely with society, World Science Day for Peace and Development aims to ensure that citizens are kept informed of developments in science. It also underscores the role scientists play in broadening our understanding of the remarkable, fragile planet we call home and in making our societies more sustainable. th

13th November – World Kindness Day World Kindness Day is celebrated annually on 13th November. On this Day, participants attempt to make the world a better place by celebrating and promoting good deeds and pledging acts of kindness, either as individuals or as organisations. It was first launched in 1998 by The World Kindness Movement, an organisation formed at a 1997 Tokyo conference of like-minded kindness organisations from around the world. There are over 28 nations involved in The World Kindness Movement which is not affiliated with any religion or political movement. The mission of the World Kindness Movement and World Kindness Day is to create a kinder world by inspiring individuals and nations towards greater kindness. Here are some kindness ideas for the Day: https:// www.randomactsofkindness.org/kindness-ideas.

19th November – World Philosophy Day “Philosophy is a valuable tool for thinking about change; but it is also an approach that promotes dialogue and tolerance.” — UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay Philosophy is the study of the nature of reality and existence, of what is possible to know, and of right and wrong behaviour. It comes from the Greek word phílosophía, meaning “the love of wisdom”. It is one of the most important fields of human thought as it aspires to get at the very meaning of life. World Philosophy Day was introduced in 2002 by UNESCO and is observed annually on the third Thursday of November to honour philosophical reflections around the world. It is a day for people to share thoughts, openly explore and discuss new ideas and inspire public debate or discussion on society’s challenges.

14th November – Hindu Festival of Diwali Diwali is the five-day Festival of Lights, celebrated by millions of Hindus, Sikhs and Jains across the world. Diwali, which for some also coincides with harvest and new year celebrations, is a festival of new beginnings and the triumph of good over evil, and light over darkness. The word Diwali comes from the Sanskrit word deepavali, meaning “rows of lighted lamps”. Houses, shops and public places are decorated with small oil lamps called diyas. People also enjoy fireworks and sweets too, so Diwali is really popular with children. www.graduatehouse.com.au

COMING DATES

20th November – Universal Children’s Day World Children’s Day was first established in 1954 as Universal Children’s Day and is celebrated on 20th November each year to promote international togetherness, awareness among children worldwide, and improving children’s welfare. The 20th November is an important date as it is the date in 1959 when the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. It is also the date in 1989 when the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Since 1990, World Children’s Day also marks the anniversary of the date that the UN General Assembly adopted both the Declaration and the Convention on children’s rights. World Children’s Day offers each of us an inspirational entry-point to advocate, promote and celebrate children’s rights, translating into dialogues and actions that will build a better world for children.

25th November – International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women Every year on 25th November, UNESCO marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. This day was first commemorated in 1999 following a proclamation from the UN General Assembly. Globally, one in three women has experienced either physical or sexual abuse, most often perpetrated by someone she knows. Violence against women is a gross violation of human rights, profoundly impacting victims, their communities and society as a whole. The most severe consequence is death – globally about 38 per cent of all murders of women are committed by intimate partners. Family and domestic violence affects women’s ability to pursue economic security, to care for themselves and their families, and to lead active and positive lives. The International Day is a timely opportunity to raise awareness for the health and social consequences of violence against women and strengthen our commitment to collective action. Only together can we eliminate violence against women and girls.

November — Daniela Yaneva and joshua rhee

ABN 55610 664 963 / IARN A0023234B

GRADUATE HOUSE NEWS

Migrant and Refugee Women in Australia: Nationwide Survey

The Migrant and Refugee Women in Australia: Nationwide Survey is a research partnership between Harmony Alliance: Migrant and Refugee Women for Change (Australiaâ€™s national migrant and refugee womenâ€™s coalition) and Monash Migration and Inclusion Centre. Please forward the link below through your networks to encourage responses from all migrant and refugee women across Australia. The results will increase our understanding of major issues and the advocacy for women, especially in the midst of COVID-19 and the recovery. The survey will close by 6th November 2020, so please act quickly. Take the survey and/or forward this link to your contacts: https://bit.ly/34BbykI.

www.graduatehouse.com.au

GRADUATE HOUSE NEWS

Call for quotes for our “calendar of hope” We are assembling our Graduate House calendar for 2021 and we hope to make it a “calendar of hope” with quotes centred on hope for each month (we could do with more hope after this year!). Below are three examples: “If you light a bulb for someone, your own path will be bright too.” – Words of Wisdom from Buddha “Ogni scarafone è bello a mamma so!” (“Even cockroaches (or not so nice people) are loved by their mums!)” – Italian saying “We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love… and then we return home.” – Australian Aboriginal saying We are asking for Members to submit their quotes of hope for our “calendar of hope” to publications@ graduatehouse.com.au and we will choose the ones that we like best. Hopefully!

ABN 55610 664 963 / IARN A0023234B

FEATURE

A Story of Discovery and Exploration by Claire Radbourne

knowing you only have six months until you finish was tough enough. Add to that the pink hair and being the only non-Aussie at the school and you have a rough picture of the next six months. Post-completion (if you can call it that) of my Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE), I started a one-year advanced Diploma in Business, Legal. In all honesty, this was the last course on my VTAC list and was a five-minute walk from my house. Knowing how much I had struggled at school I didn’t see the next 12 months going particularly well but jumped in the deep end anyway. My first day I fell in with a great group and we stuck together for the next 12 months, working together on projects and studying together on weekends and after classes. I finished the year off as one of the course’s top performing students and was offered a direct entry into a Bachelor of Laws which I accepted.

In April 2020 I launched my own business, which in many ways was a little unbelievable. People called out of the blue to ask for my thoughts and opinions, they listened – really listened and valued what I had to say. I’ve learned more about myself in the last couple of months than in the previous year. But the truth is that my career journey has not been conventional. At times I felt simultaneously lost and found, I’ve failed more times than I care to remember, there have been late nights and early mornings, failed attempts, technical failures and just all-round disasters.

That was the leap of a lifetime – first year law is tough enough, but standing in that courtyard on day one with 150 other students who had attained the 90+ ENTER (Equivalent National Tertiary Entrance Rank) score was intimidating and I’m not ashamed to say I was terrified. I felt bound for failure. Above all odds and keeping friends close, I settled in relatively well and after a bumpy start (read as “failed Tax Law”) I got into the swing of things. Reflecting on it now, asking for help at the library in the first week was a smart move. I signed up to every extra workshop or This is a story of discovery and exploration. class there was, learning how to reference and I’m 35, and moved to Melbourne from London in access support services if you needed them. I 2001 with zero friends, having just failed every knew that I wasn’t going to find the academic side exam possible at high school. Traditional education easy, so I figured getting ahead in other areas was did not work for me and I had a really hard time at a good start. school. My biggest mindset shift at university was I arrived in a new country with really no dreams, understanding self-motivation. There was no one no plans and feeling pretty lost. I was too young to to encourage or check in on you if you didn’t hand go into higher education, so I went to high school things in on time or you were struggling – this in the western suburbs of Melbourne for about was your journey and you had to grow the hell six months. Moving to a new school, aged 17, and www.graduatehouse.com.au

FEATURE

up and own it! I lived about an hour away from campus in the CBD and spent the train ride both ways studying, making the use of the downtime. I knew full well I didn’t have the academic smarts, so I needed to be really disciplined and focused.

host a live stage at Pause Fest (the world’s leading festival for business and creativity), where I made some incredible connections both nationally and internationally. I launched TheXword earlier in the year. We aim to educate and empower small business on the benefits of Customer Experience (CX) and how it can be leveraged to improve customer loyalty. I predominantly work with big business in my fulltime role, so I could see the progress that these industries were taking to level-up their CX, putting Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) at a real disadvantage. TheXword aims to close that gap.

Once I’d realised there was a direct correlation between how motivated I was to achieve something and the results, I knew I was on to a good thing, powering through a four year degree in just over three. I can’t say I was ever really passionate about being a lawyer; as a child I had wanted to be a flight attendant, a forensic scientist and run the Melbourne Fashion Festival. But once I started, I became particularly interested in the philosophical, ethical and historical elements of study, understanding why and how the law was created. Three years later I graduated valedictorian.

For many small businesses, the concept of client experience is a real unknown. There is a perception that customer service is the same as customer experience. The real challenge at the moment is around education – I’m really passionate about upskilling small businesses with the tools and understanding to really upgrade their customers experience with their brand.

During my degree I was employed part- and then full-time, working as a librarian for some time, then working for Victoria University as a Recreation Officer, initially as a short term secondment and progressing over a number of years. I also took on a number of additional voluntary roles to challenge myself, both personally and professionally. I was State President for Tertiary Recreation and Entertainment Victoria (TREV) and then National President for Australian Association of Campus Activities (AACA).

Looking back I’ve been fortunate to have some incredible mentors in my life. I’m passionate about personal development, so I’ve always valued someone willing to ask me the hard questions. I had a mentor some years ago who really pushed me to connect with people currently employed in roles I could see myself in. That was a game changing experience for me – I learned a lot about what (I thought) I wanted and built some incredible networks. Every experience I’ve had has informed who I am as a person, changing and evolving every day. My university experience (not just academic) pushed me to a place of purposeful, self-motivated work that makes a difference.

These volunteer roles led me to being identified for a role with oOh!media. I’ve been with the business for five and a half years and my current role is Commercial Client Experience Director. I’ve always been passionate about pushing myself and seeing what I could achieve, so in early 2020 I was accepted into a start-up accelerator and launched my own business, TheXword.

If I had to give graduates one piece of advice… on the journey of life, take the path less beaten. The well-trodden track is safe and simple, but it won’t get you to the best views.

Fully acknowledging my academic smarts weren’t going to get me to the place I wanted to be, I took on various volunteer and internships over the years. One in particular that will always stick with me was with a lawyer specialising in Wills and Probate. This was in the early 2000s, and I recall he had no filing system at all – just wall-towall paper folders and had no idea how to use a computer.

*** From high school misfit to Law Valedictorian, Claire Radbourne is the Founder behind awardwinning client experience start up, TheXword. Fiercely determined to achieve anything she sets her mind to, Claire is passionate about empowering and enabling others to champion their pathway, through personal discovery and networking.

In truth, I’ve always been a big fan of the word “yes”. I’ll say yes to pretty much everything if I think I can learn something new. This has led me to build broad and deep networks which have exposed me to a wide range of industries and experiences. Earlier in the year I volunteered to

https://thexword.com.au/ 19

ABN 55610 664 963 / IARN A0023234B

FEATURE

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on vulnerable children by Professor Rosemary Sheehan

The stress and anxiety facing parents who have lost their jobs, coupled with social isolation and educational disruption, is likely to put many children at a significantly higher risk of poor education and health outcomes. Extreme employment stress in jobless households can compromise the quality of parenting and home environments. Providing basic necessities can be challenging, and lead, for example, to poorer child nutrition. Professor Sheehan reports seeing an increase in child malnourishment because parents cannot afford to feed their children, and/or neglect to feed them and/or feed them an unhealthy fast food and snack diet.

In this article, Professor Rosemary Sheehan explores the impact of the pandemic on vulnerable children, outlines some of the problems faced by at-risk families and children in lockdown and looks at recent referrals to the Childrenâ€™s Court.

A familyâ€™s socio-economic status is the biggest factor influencing the educational opportunities of children in Australia. Children from struggling families are 10-20 per cent more likely to be missing key educational milestones compared with their peers.

Vulnerability is seen as a consequence of a child facing complex circumstances which have a significant impact on their wellbeing and which may make a child unsafe and at risk of harm.

Children in families experiencing job loss are more likely to start school developmentally vulnerable, repeat a grade and leave school early, and are less likely to gain a qualification that will help set them up for employment.

The SARS-CoV-2 virus (COVID-19) has disrupted every childâ€™s life. The extent of this disruption falls along a continuum from manageable to very vulnerable.

Heightened tensions in the household, added stressors placed on caregivers, economic uncertainty, job loss or disruption to livelihoods, and social isolation are increasing the rates of family violence. In recognition of this the Victorian Government has allocated $20 million to domestic violence services.

How a child, and their vulnerability, is affected depends on a range of factors: family, community, education, health, income, how much space there is in the family home, etc. The Conversation reported (7th June 2020) that three quarters of a million Australian children are likely to be experiencing employment stress in their family as a result of COVID-19. This is on top of around 615,000 children whose families were already dealing with employment stress, whose situation may have worsened.

Children witnessing or suffering violence and abuse can also expose them to new protection risks. When it comes to violence, a number of factors related to confinement measures are likely to result in increased risk for children who are increasingly witnessing intimate partner violence.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that 2.7 million people left their job or had their hours reduced between March and April 2020. This jobs crisis affects 1.4 million Australian children. www.graduatehouse.com.au

School closures are keeping children at home all day every day and this brings particular mental health pressures to bear, especially for those 20

FEATURE

schooling opportunities, poor nutrition and poor health outcomes they are clearly vulnerable and clearly at risk of continuing as vulnerable.

who are vulnerable. Closures have intensified social isolation. There is a lack of connection to the friends (and their friends’ families) who would have ordinarily provided important safety valves, and there is a lack of opportunities for the learning of alternative and important socialisation skills.

The management of COVID-19 has comprised schooling at home and having to stay in the house for 23 hours a day. Though obviously necessary, this management strategy has been predicated on people having resources, laptops for children, Wi-Fi, space for them to do their lessons, a helpful adult, a calm household, sufficient quiet for being able to concentrate, food available, etc. This is a response that assumes a level of income, accommodation and family functioning, that is not universal. It is a response that is seeing many more children falling between the gaps and becoming the hidden forgotten victims of COVID-19. Little attention has been paid to the community’s response to how we protect these children.

Children are spending a lot more time with their families and this can heighten anxiety, risk and lack of safety. This is all the more so with complicated family structures whereby the child might be moving between households and living with adults with whom they are not familiar. Many children do not ever have a sense of ‘feeling at home’ even in their own homes. More often than not, they are feeling ill at ease and fearful. For many children, school is a protective factor. It is a safe place to be during the day. Generally also, there is access to food.

Martin Foley, when he was Victoria’s Minister for Mental Health (he was recently appointed as the Minister for Health), said that the state’s mental health system “wasn’t fit for purpose”. He spoke about the “missing middle” – the people who fall between the gaps and who may not be unwell enough to get care.

Stating the obvious, the health and well-being issues caused by the crisis are undermining a child’s learning and efforts to re-engage with school; and children who do not receive a good education are more likely to have poor longterm health outcomes. Children are experiencing heightened anxiety and worry which is affecting their well-being.

The same can be said about vulnerable children as the “missing middle”. Is there a ‘culture of indifference’ to vulnerable children?

Children whose families do not have money for laptops or iPads, or who live in households that do not have Wi-Fi, miss out on vital learning and also face the risk of stigma and shame.

UNICEF noted recently that children risk being among the pandemic’s biggest victims, as many children’s lives are being changed in profound ways. Children are being affected, in particular, by socio-economic impacts and, in some cases, by mitigation measures (such as isolation, schooling at home etc.) that may inadvertently for some do more harm than good – and their vulnerability is going unnoticed and without an adequate and comprehensive response.

Speaking to one school as an example in the Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, the vast majority of the children at this school do not speak English as their first language and did not own a computer. Ninety-five per cent live in nearby public housing. Fortunately, Bendigo Bank and The Smith Family stepped in to assist the school in providing laptops and iPads, as well as portable Wi-Fi packs, to all students. This has helped the school achieve a 97 per cent attendance rate.

*** Professor Rosemary Sheehan is Director of the Higher Degrees by Research Programme in the Department of Social Work at the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences at Monash University. Her research focuses on child welfare and the law, family violence, mental health, judicial and corrections responses to offenders and social work curricula.

On the whole, these children are supported by at least one helping parent. However, many more children, who are not supported, are coming through the Children’s Court. There has been a significant increase in the number of referrals on grounds of neglect and of child maltreatment, often in the context of parental mental health problems, addiction and family violence – factors that heighten even more the disadvantages that these children experience. With no family life to keep them safe, poor 21

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Australian Millennials in the Workplace International consultants centre

International Consultants Centre (ICC) conducted Australia-wide research into the motivations, expectations and preferences of Australian Generation Y professionals – the socalled millennials.

work, only 47% felt that they were being sufficiently challenged, and, of these, the majority (74%) were less likely to be looking for a job elsewhere. The few millennials who had mentors (25%) expressed greater satisfaction with their current role and were six times less likely to be hunting actively for alternative jobs than those without a mentor. Sixty per cent felt that it was very or extremely important to meet with their manager regularly to discuss career development, and there was a strong correlation between a manager understanding the professional’s skills and capabilities and overall satisfaction with their role. On-the-job and targeted face-to-face workshops were the preferred professional development and training approaches, with less than a quarter preferring online modules or workshops. The vast majority of millennials (98%) say that it is important for their organisation’s values to align with theirs.

ICC’s key question was ‘What does it take to engage and retain Australian professionals aged 23-38?’ Six hundred professionals in this age range responded to a survey which had three key domains of interest in relation to millennials: 1. reasons why they might leave a job; 2. factors that contribute to their engagement at work; and 3. the effect of workplace environment and culture on their engagement. The findings suggested that many millennial stereotypes were not supported. Millennials are not job-hoppers by choice. The majority of respondents would like to be employed by their organisation for a long term (at least four years) and with their next role being with the same organisation. The majority expressed satisfaction with their current salary and though they regarded salary as important, they also sought challenge and variety in their role.

Recommendations for this domain were thus to: • find out if employees are being sufficiently challenged and, if not, provide challenge and variety in their role; • gain an understanding of their skills and capabilities, and seek to utilise these where possible; • facilitate mentorship opportunities within the organisation;

Recommendations for this domain were thus to: • increase the level of challenge or offer a change of role every few years to keep millennials engaged;

• ensure regular face-to-face meetings with managers and discussions about career development; and

• offer stable contracts and conduct regular salary reviews, with professional development and regular salary increases as they progress through the organisation; and

• provide on-the-job training opportunities wherever possible. Millennials look for leaders who mentor, develop and lead by example, with 83% indicating that leadership in their organisation is very important or extremely important to their level of job satisfaction. Workplace culture is also important for job satisfaction,

• provide flexibility with hours and with the work location. While the majority of millennials (69%) expressed the want to be challenged by their www.graduatehouse.com.au

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As noted by the CEO of ICC, Ms Wanda Smith, the results were markedly consistent across millennial age groups, notwithstanding a 15year age gap between the youngest and oldest millennials. “Salary is a key professional driver, while being sufficiently challenged and having quality workplace relationships and workplace location are fundamental to engagement and job satisfaction.”

particularly with respect to relationships between colleagues, communication and collaboration. Important considerations in the physical working environment included workplace location (47%); having an assigned desk or workspace (rather than ‘hot-desking’) (38%); having adequate equipment and resources (particularly with respect to current information technology hardware and systems); and having the opportunity to work from home.

*** International Consultants Centre delivers tailored workshops, coaching sessions and team building programs that enable greater engagement, encourage long term workplace satisfaction and boost productivity. See https:// internationalconsultantscentre.com/.

Recommendations for this domain were thus to: • give exposure to leaders who mentor, develop and lead by example; • provide an assigned workplace with adequate and up-to-date IT hardware and systems; • provide opportunities to develop strong and healthy relationships with their work colleagues; • communicate whenever possible in person and directly; and • find ways to help millennials feel that they have some influence, asking for their input and tapping into their expertise as much as possible. 23

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The Commerce of a Varied Life Chris Arnold AM

His first job was in the Victorian public service as a finance officer, in the Department of the State Development (Industrial Development Division). His role was assessing subsidy grants and applications for loans from country industries. Chris said that he enjoyed travelling around the state and getting to know businesses. It was a useful start and stood him in good stead. It also confirmed that he wanted to be more involved with operations beyond accounting. He also had an interesting job with the public service doing management reviews. One of the most interesting tasks was a review of the state mental health facilities’ organisational arrangements. So the die was set for the rest of Chris’s professional career. He had several senior roles in hospitals, commencing in the role of Deputy CEO of the Royal Children’s Hospital at the young age of 30. He was the GM/CEO at two mid-tier Melbourne law firms and of the eastern Victorian region of accounting and financial advisory group of the WHK Group (later Crowe Horwath and now Findex). The driving in his early years stood him in good stead for the five years of that role when he drove every day to Warragul and back from Kew (always against the sun!). His final executive job was Executive Director of the then Skin & Cancer Foundation Inc. in Carlton (now called the Skin Health Institute Inc.). He led this medical organisation for 10 years, trebling its revenue over that time and increasing its reputation for clinical service and dermatology education. Consulting wise, he continues to work with the Australasian Society of Cosmetic Dermatology. Pro bono, he is a personal member of the Australasian College of Dermatologists eHealth Committee and the national MelCOR Melanoma data base project executive.

When Chris Arnold AM BCom MBA FCPA FAICD AFACHSE was 11 years of age, he was offered a position as a choir boy at St Paul’s in Melbourne which also provided a scholarship to Trinity Boys’ Grammar School in Kew. That began the long round trip from Maidstone to Kew and back every day. Little did he know that he would come back to the Anglican Diocese in Melbourne as part-time interim CEO in the year that he had officially “retired” from executive management to focus on part-time consulting and board roles. Reflecting on his career, Chris observes that everything can be relevant to your career, including the experience in competitive tennis and his study of the piano. To this day, now and again, he still plays the first movement of Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” to call people to the dinner table. At Trinity, he threw himself into music, sport and theatrical productions, but it was only in Year 10 that his professional ambition crystallised. Chris’s commerce teacher told the class that if he studied commerce at The University of Melbourne, he would end up being of value to both employers and professions. That idea appealed to Chris and so it was commerce at The University of Melbourne. www.graduatehouse.com.au

Chris attributes his commerce degree as the foundation of his career. It enabled him to do an MBA at Monash University, which built on his commerce degree technical subjects. 24

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Chris also fondly reflects on the Economic History Unit taught by Professor Geoffrey Blainey at The University of Melbourne. Chris loved the placing of economics into its historical perspective. He is still a great fan of Professor Blainey.

compilation of the world’s first freely available global data base on BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes.

Community organisations and projects have been a parallel “career” and passion in Chris’s life – from secretary of the local tennis club, President of Rotaract, later a member of Rotary, member of numerous not-for-profit (NFP) boards and adviser to others.

Chris and Margot have three children who are also professionals – Megan in public health in Canberra; Luca, an entertainment lawyer in Melbourne; and Vanessa, a writer in Melbourne.

For Chris’s role with the project and a number of other health initiatives, he was honoured to be awarded an Order of Australia (AM) in January 2019, which was both a surprise and a delight.

Chris and Margot run their own consultancy advising owners of professional business – doctors, lawyers, accountants and property developers. Chris’s appointment as CEO of the Melbourne Anglican Diocese Corp is interim only, based on having assisted the diocese in fundraising for the restoration of St Paul’s Cathedral and having been on the Board of Christchurch Grammar, a primary school in the Diocese and in that behalf having been an initial trustee of its Foundation.

He is married to Margot Costanzo, whom he describes as “another Melbourne graduate (BA LLM), who has been a great mentor by increasing my self-confidence”. As a professional services trainer, and former Vice-Chair of the International Bar Association, she has contributed “much to my self-esteem and being able to deal with the many challenges that arise professionally and personally”. Together, they have a fund in the Australian Communities Foundation. They have just commissioned internationally renowned Australian composer Elena Kats-Chernin to write a second chamber music piece. Chris also spent six years on the board of peak body, Philanthropy Australia.

His advice to all alumni is to do what you enjoy and do not overlook your interests or fail to grasp the opportunity to develop your leadership skills in community development. “You can never tell what skills and experience employers will value, nor can you predict where His crowning volunteer achievement, however, your opportunities will necessarily come from. was his involvement with the Human Variome Good technical skills, good communication project which also began from happenstance. skills, an interest in people and a desire to This not-for-profit project was started by Dick achieve real outcomes are valued everywhere,” Cotton in the late 1980s, expanded substantially Chris said. between about 2010 and 2017, where a formal “COVID-19 has been challenging for many board was established to oversee activities. Chris was appointed to the Board after a chance people, but I am sure we will all get through this trial by continuing to work together,” Chris conversation with Dick. The project involves said. “Our garden has certainly never had so the free sharing of genetic data for clinical much attention. Our garage has been cleaned and research purposes on a global basis. Since out – twice! I have added 3 COVID-kilos to my 2017, it has been based – under the new name waistline (I do the cooking!) and I have never Global Variome Ltd – in the UK. The current spent so much time on Zoom. Recently we chair is another Australian, head of Genetics Zoomed in to the Melbourne Digital Concert at Melbourne Health and The University of Hall concert by the wonderful Katie Noonan, Melbourne, Professor Ingrid Winship AO. and followed it with a Zoom coffee with our Substantial numbers of geneticists and children to discuss the concert. We are well; genomists from over 81 countries are they are well and for that we are thankful. My collaborators in the project, which has achieved life and career continue to be diverse, for which Associate status (the highest possible) with I am also grateful.” UNESCO and a Memorandum of Understanding with the World Health Organisation. Chris cannot think of another Australian organisation to achieve this joint affiliation. With funding from Astra Zeneca, it also coordinated the 25

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One of the biggest contributors to preventable deaths isnâ€™t a health problem but a record-keeping problem â€” and it is one that can be solved. by Jane Inall and Kelly Bartholomeusz

The Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative is a global initiative that has partnered with low- and middle-income countries to reach an anticipated 1.5 billion or more people. The Initiative aims to dramatically improve health data, including improving understanding of the leading causes of premature death, with the ultimate goal to save more lives by ensuring countries have more accurate public health information through strengthened civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems. The University of Melbourne, through the Global Burden of Disease Group in the Melbourne School of Population & Global Health, is one of six implementing partners of this Initiative.

The Global Burden of Disease Group currently provides this technical assistance in Myanmar, China, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea.

Pre-testing of paper verbal autopsy (VA) forms at a rural health facility in the Solomon Islands.

In addition to the provision of technical assistance, the Global Burden of Disease Group conducts a CRVS Fellowship program to build capacity in emerging civil registration and vital statistics leaders, and has developed the CRVS Knowledge Gateway to ensure countries have lasting access to vital resources and upto-date information to support CRVS system development. Through these interventions, participating countries and cities are equipped with the necessary knowledge and technical capacity to target specifically issues affecting public health.

Participants of the SmartVA (Smart Verbal Autopsy) training session 25th to 28th June 2019, Cagayan de Oro, Philippines.

The implementing partners focus on improving national capacity, skills and knowledge to strengthen CRVS systems. Interventions include technical assistance to: increase the registration of births and deaths, improve the quality of cause of death information at hospitals, apply verbal autopsy to better understand probable causes of death in communities, produce highquality data sets and develop data analysis skills for policy and program analysis. www.graduatehouse.com.au

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May’s Story

From left: Dr John Hart (Fellow supervisor), Dr May Thu Zaw (Fellow) and Dr Tim Adair (Fellowship Director), The University of Melbourne.

Information for prospective PhD students

Dr May Thu Zaw is the Deputy Director for the Planning Division for the Department of Medical Service at the Ministry of Health and Sports (MOHS) in Myanmar. During her Fellowship she conducted an analysis of mortality data from three hospitals in Myanmar. May mentions that since the Fellowship, she has incorporated monitoring and evaluation (M&E) activities into interventions in her region. Additionally, she has recently applied for funding from the MOHS for implementation research, which will improve Cause of Death (COD) accuracy in her region. May’s favourite part of the Fellowship program was the one-on-one ANACONDA training from Dr. Lene Mikkelsen.

For more information, go to: https://crvsgateway. info/about and subscribe to our newsletter here: https://crvsgateway.info/news#Subscribe.

Data for Health at The University of Melbourne is keen to hear from prospective PhD students to work on research projects related to CRVS systems development in low- and middleincome countries. For more information, please email crvs-info@unimelb.edu.au.

*** Jane Inall is the Senior Project Coordinator and Kelly Bartholomeusz is the Communications Officer at the Global Burden of Disease Group, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne.

More information The work by The University of Melbourne on the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative is funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. 27

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‘Thank You’ Photo Essay for Parkville Biomedical Precinct Workers

As part of the Metro Tunnel Creative Program in Parkville, a beautiful Thank You photo essay has been installed on the Grattan Street east site hoarding that faces Royal Parade, near the Royal Melbourne Hospital, to thank all the people in the Parkville Biomedical Precinct whose work is directly related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Metro Tunnel Creative Program was developed to maintain Melbourne’s vibrancy, liveability and public engagement during the construction impacts of the Metro Tunnel Project. The Creative Program features activities and events designed and led by a team of designers, curators and place managers dedicated to enhancing city life alongside the construction of the Metro Tunnel. Local photographer Phoebe Powell captured 52 people from the precinct to include in the photo essay. After completing a Bachelor of Arts in Photography at RMIT, Phoebe has gone on to a successful career in photography with clients ranging from boutique wineries to large aviation companies. Phoebe’s artistic statement for the project was: As a photographer, I use portraiture to speak to an audience. I am asking the viewer to take a moment and connect with the subject. This connection can be an opportunity for insight into the normally unknown or unnoticed. With these images, we are introduced to some of the dedicated individuals working to manage the pandemic and secure a safe future for us. At a time that can feel ambiguous and uncertain, our frontline healthcare workers and our clinicians and medical researchers can inspire confidence, and this series is a work of appreciation and acknowledgement. See all 52 portraits here: https://bit.ly/3n12RbU.

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Metro Tunnel Project’s Tunnel Boring Machines

component is the cutterhead, which weighs 100 tonnes and acts as a drill that can tunnel through rock six times harder than concrete.

The $11 billion Metro Tunnel Project involves the construction of two 9 kilometre-long rail tunnels up to 30 metres below the streets of Melbourne, connecting the Sunbury Line to the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines, with high capacity trains and five new underground stations, including Parkville Station, close to Graduate House.

Each TBM is equipped with a state-of-the-art navigation system to ensure they dig accurately along the tunnel alignments. They are staffed and monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and fully equipped with staff facilities, including an office, kitchen and toilets. A crew of up to 10 people, including a TBM operator, work on the TBM at any one time.

Some of Melbourne’s busiest metropolitan train lines – Sunbury, Cranbourne and Pakenham – will run exclusively through the new tunnels. By taking these lines out of the City Loop, other lines will be able to run more services. Capacity will thus be created on the network to enable half a million more passengers to use the rail system during each peak period.

The Metro Tunnel Project is using mix shield TBMs – commonly known as slurry TBMs – that are purpose-built to suit the local ground conditions. Once the TBM’s cutterhead bores through the ground, the excavated material is mixed with slurry and transported back to the above-ground slurry treatment plant. The excavated material is then separated from the slurry and transported to a disposal site.

The Metro Tunnel is the first step towards a ‘metro style’ rail network for Melbourne with the ‘turn up and go’ train services that are the hallmark of the world’s great cities such as London, New York, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Since May 2020, two TBMs – Joan and Meg – were launched separately from the Arden Station site towards the Parkville Station site. Tunnelling was completed first to the new tunnel entrance at Kensington and just recently through the west end of the Parkville Station. After having been transported to the east end of this station box, TBM 1 (Joan) has broken through to pass just to the north of the Graduate House terraces under Grattan Street. TBM 2 (Meg) will break through this eastern wall in early November to join Joan heading south to the new State Library Station.

Four tunnel boring machines (TBMs) are being used to build the twin tunnels. TBMs can bore through a variety of ground conditions, from hard rock to sand. The geology of the area is variable. The TBMs are required to excavate through soft soils such as Coode Island Silt, and hard basalts under the Yarra River and in some sections of the western alignment. Many sections of the tunnel alignment feature a ‘mixed-face’ geology, which is both parts hard and soft. To construct the tunnels, the TBMs are progressively lining each tunnel with curved concrete segments as they dig. The twin tunnels will comprise 56,000 individual concrete segments. On average, TBMs move around 10 metres every 24 hours. During tunnelling, noise, vibration and ground movement are monitored and managed in line with strict Environmental Performance Requirements (EPRs).

The two TBMs constructing the tunnels in the east – Alice and Millie – will complete the section of the tunnel between the Anzac Station site and the South Yarra site, and will then tunnel between the Anzac Station site and the Town Hall Station site. The four TBMs are named after ground-breaking women: Victoria’s first female Premier Joan Kirner, Australian women’s cricket captain Meg Lanning, wartime medical hero Alice Appleford

Each TBM is 7.28 metres in diameter, weighs more than 1,100 tonnes and is 120 metres long – as long as 3 E-Class trams end-to-end. The heaviest www.graduatehouse.com.au

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Tunnel Boring Machines are named after ground-breaking Victorian women.

Tunnel Boring Machine Joan breaks through at Parkville Station in August 2020.

and Victoria’s first female Member of Parliament Lady Millie Peacock.

Construction on the Metro Tunnel Project has continued during the COVID-19 pandemic, with workers adhering to strict COVID-19 safety measures in line with the Victorian Government’s restrictions.

As informed by the Premier of Victoria Daniel Andrews early in 2019, tradition dictates that a TBM is given a female name before it can start tunnelling, granting good luck for the project ahead. The tradition dates from the 1500s when miners and military engineers using explosives for excavation prayed to Saint Barbara – the patron saint of tunnellers and miners.

The Metro Tunnel is on track and is expected to be completed by 2025. *** Tunnel Boring Machine video: https://bit. ly/3jL2q3e.

By September 2020, the Metro Tunnel Project’s twin rail tunnels were halfway to completion, with the state’s biggest ever public transport project forging ahead. The TBMs have so far excavated more than 364,000 cubic metres of rock and soil and installed more than 30,000 individual concrete segments, each weighing 4.5 tonnes, to line the tunnel walls as crews worked around the clock. 31

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A vaccine – is it possible? And by when? Laureate Professor Peter Doherty

A live virus is also the ‘gold standard’ for virus challenge studies in animals, a usual part of the vaccine testing regime. The animals with COVID-19 that are particularly useful for vaccine evaluation include genetically modified mice that have the ACE-2 (Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2) molecule – the molecule with which the virus binds to get into the cell. The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI) have had these mice for some time. Scientists at the Doherty Institute have had some access to the PC3 (Prostate Cancer Cell Line) level mouse facility at the WEHI for virus challenge studies, using a natural variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that binds ACE-2 to the mouse, and are currently developing another collaboration in Melbourne that will allow them to do more extensive animal studies with live virus.

In our 2nd October Special Online Event we heard from Laureate Professor Peter Doherty on vaccines for the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 virus (SARS-CoV-2) that is responsible for COVID-19 (the coronavirus disease). Professor Doherty began by pointing the audience to his ‘Setting it Straight’ blog on the Doherty Institute website (https://www.doherty.edu.au/ news-events/setting-it-straight), where he aims to write about 800 words a week. With about 26 episodes under his belt, Peter thinks of these as his weekly sermons and as having stemmed from his Methodist upbringing and lay preacher tendencies! He then progressed to the topic of vaccines, noting that Australia got on to the research and development of vaccines ‘fast and well’.

Another animal that is particularly useful is the hamster. Australia had not previously used these desert-dwelling animals because, if released accidentally into the wild, they would multiply quickly (like rabbits) and have devastating effects on the native fauna and flora. However, a facility in the United States has now been identified for virus challenge studies in vaccinated hamsters.

The Chinese published the gene sequence of the virus in mid-January, very shortly after they had isolated the virus. Once the gene sequence was published, that was all the information needed by vaccine developers to get on with making vaccines. Australia reported its first case of COVID-19 on 24thJanuary 2020. Fortunately, the returning traveller had been very responsible and had selfreported before presenting and being admitted to the Monash Medical Clinic. Scientists at the Doherty Institute gained a sample from this patient and after isolating the virus were the first to supply the infectious virus to other scientists around the world.

The Doherty Institute now has two vaccines under development, one further ahead than the other. The Institute has also been undertaking a lot of testing to help CSL and the University of Queensland with their novel vaccine being made under the umbrella of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). CEPI was cofunded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, The Wellcome Trust and a consortium of nations, and launched formally at the World Economic Forum in 2017. The Chair of CEPI is Jane Halton, National COVID-19 Coordination Commissioner and, previously, Secretary of the Australian government’s Health and Finance departments. CEPI endeavours to develop vaccine platforms that can be deployed in global emergencies. Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the World Health

This was a very important first step for vaccine development for a number of reasons. Firstly, scientists need the infectious virus to do virus neutralisation tests that detect the presence in the blood of antibodies that prevent the infectivity of the virus. These virus neutralisation tests are the ‘gold standard’ of measuring antibodies in a virus infection. (Various molecular surrogate tests have been developed since.)

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Organization are also involved in the global collaboration to accelerate the development, production and equitable access for every country in the world to COVID-19 tests, treatments and vaccines.

one ‘attenuated virus’ vaccine under development. These vaccines tend to have a long development time.

To make vaccines in the ‘old days’, one approach was to grow the virus up and then kill it (the approach still used for the influenza vaccines). Another approach was to attenuate the virus by passaging it repeatedly through cell cultures or animals, and thus gaining genetic mutations of the virus that were progressively weaker and thus less virulent for humans.

All are dedicated primarily to the development of an antibody response. To understand what is meant by the ‘antibody response’, Professor Doherty suggests going to his ‘Setting it Straight’ site where he has a few blogs giving user-friendly and simple-to-follow explanations (see link above in second paragraph of this article).

Several other and different types of vaccines are also in the development pipeline.

He also explained this response during the presentation. When infected with a virus we get T-Cell and B-Cell responses. T-Cells and B-Cells are different classes of lymphocytes that recognise (through very, very specific receptors) something on the virus and then multiply again and again (dividing every six hours) to generate quickly an enormous number of lymphocytes.

With reference to poliomyelitis, Professor Doherty explained further these two approaches. The Salk vaccine (developed in the 1950s by Jonas Salk) was a typical example of a vaccine developed in the older style whereby ‘buckets’ of the virus were grown up and then killed. The vaccine holding this killed virus was then given by injection. If the killing stage is done properly, this is a safe vaccine. Unfortunately, however, there was a breakdown in this approach at the US-based Cutter Institute. The so-called ‘Cutter Incident’ involved the failure to inactivate (kill) completely the polio vaccine licensed for use in the United States – meaning that people were injected with live polio – and the resulting epidemic of iatrogenic paralytic polio. Obviously, this cannot happen again.

B-cells make the antibodies – they differentiate into plasma cells that secrete the antibody proteins into the blood, lymph or any other body fluid. These antibodies then float around in the body fluid and, in the case of SARS-CoV-2, including hopefully in the nose mucus. If the antibodies encounter the virus or the particular bit of the virus for which they have specific receptors, they will ‘grab hold of it’ and they can block the virus from infecting or label it for destruction by various other body mechanisms.

The Sabin vaccine is an example of an attenuated vaccine. The poliovirus was passed over and over in tissue cultures to keep it alive but in a weakened state. People took this vaccine on a sugar cube. The world is near the point of eradicating polio worldwide, and thus this vaccine is not right for use to achieve this end state. This is because the weakened virus grows a little in the cells (usually the gut) and may thus revert to virulence. A live virus can thus be produced in one person, defaecated and passed on to others – obviously, not the aim for total annihilation of the poliovirus. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries where polio has not been eradicated. This is partly because of conflict situations and partly because those developing or delivering the vaccine were killed following propaganda that the vaccination teams were being used to spy on people.

Acknowledging that this process sounded complicated, Professor Doherty reassured us that immunology is the most complicated subject! All viruses are obligate intracellular parasites. This means that they lack metabolic machinery of their own to generate energy or to synthesise proteins. They thus depend on host cells to carry out these vital functions. Antibodies are basically molecules floating around in our body fluids that grab hold of the virus and either stop it from getting into the cell where it has to go to multiply; or attach to the virus and, in doing so, make the virus a target for destruction through such mechanisms as phagocytosis (ingestion; engulfment), endocytosis (dragged into the cell, chopped up and bathed in acid) or attach it to a complement cascade (a biochemical process that helps the immune system cells to eliminate the invading virus by ‘blowing holes in things’).

Returning to the topic of a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, Professor Doherty expressed his understanding that there has been a ‘killed virus’ vaccine given to some military in China and that there is at least

Another component of the immune response is the T-Cell response, which is what Professor 33

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codes for the spike protein on the surface of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is then put into this disabled adenovirus, which is then grown up for vaccine production in a ‘packaging cell line’ containing adenovirus genes that allow the disabled virus to be produced in quantity. When given as a vaccine, the disabled virus then goes through a partial growth cycle in human cells, so that virus proteins are produced but no infectious progeny are made.

Doherty worked on throughout his career. Killer T-Cells are the ‘assassins’ of the immune system. They travel around the body and kill off damaged or abnormal cells (and for this reason are being used in new cancer therapies). They also ‘bump off’ virus-infected cells and virus particles. They are not the ideal vaccine candidate because once the immune response has settled down after a first infection or vaccination there is a return to a resting state. The T-Cell response would thus need to be restimulated. Notwithstanding this need for restimulation, some programs (e.g., those developing new RNA vaccines) are testing products that will prime both T cell and B cell responses.

The spike protein is the protein that attaches to a molecule called ACE-2 on our cells and it is what allows it to get into our cells and start to multiply. Many vaccines are directed very specifically at the receptor binding domain (RBD) on this spike protein. To date, though there have been some mutations of the SARS-COV-2 virus, none of these have seriously affected the RBD on the spike protein in a way that antibodies against it do not neutralise it or block it. To grow the virus up to make the vaccine to make it fully infectious, it must be grown in a cell line that has adenovirus components. Some objections to this vaccine have been raised by the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney because the cell line developed at the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia over 30 year ago originates from a medically aborted foetus.

There are five vaccines in the well-funded American Operation Warp Speed initiative. This initiative has the goal of producing and delivering 300 million doses of safe and effective vaccines by January 2021. One of these five is the Jenner AstraZeneca vaccine being developed by the Jenner Institute and the Oxford Vaccine Group at the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca, a BritishSwedish multinational pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical company. Australia has signed up for this vaccine and CSL has agreed that they can make this vaccine.

There are a number of other genetically modified ‘fake spike protein’ vaccines being developed based on human adenoviruses. The aim with these vaccines is to train our bodies to detect and end any real SARS-CoV-2 infections. These adenovirusbased vaccines use adenovirus25 (Ad25), Ad26 and Ad5. At least one of the Warp Speed vaccines is an Ad5 vaccine that is being tested in the United States. The Russian Source: Funk, C.D., Laferrière, C. and Ardakani, A. (2020). A Snapshot of the Global Race for Sputnik V vaccine is Vaccines Targeting SARS-CoV-2 and the COVID-19 Pandemic. Frontiers in Pharmacology, based on two adenovirus 19 June, https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2020.00937 vectors (Ad5 and Ad26), modified with the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. The Jenner AstraZeneca vaccine is a chimp There are also protein vaccines like those being developed by the University of Queensland (UQ) using their proprietary ‘molecular clamp’ technology. As explained previously, the SARSCoV-2 virus enters a host cell. Prior to this entry, the spike proteins are referred to as being in a

adenovirus vectored vaccine. This approach has been used previously in various experimental strategies but has not led to a commercially produced vaccine. The adenovirus is disabled so that it cannot go through a full growth cycle and make new infectious progeny. The gene that www.graduatehouse.com.au

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rolled out as early as the first quarter of next year due largely to $1B funding given to each of the ‘Warp Speed’ companies to proceed with vaccine production. Clearly, no vaccines will be deployed before FDA approval, which will require data for at least some individuals assessed two months after getting the last dose of vaccine, and the evaluation of those results will likely take another one to two months. Some of these vaccines have, however, been on trial at some level since July. How they will be used is being actively considered, and it is impossible to be too prescriptive before results are in.

prefusion native virus surface form. After the virus becomes enveloped within the host cells, it drives fusion of the virus and host cell membranes; and the spike proteins are then less stable, change shape and are not recognised efficiently by the immune system. The UQ technology thus aims to lock the stable prefusion version of the surface spike proteins in their native virus surface form and to grow these in huge vats under GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice – extremely high-quality and safe conditions and standards). CSL has the capacity to make at least 100 million doses of the adenovirus vaccine or the UQ vaccine annually at its plant in Broadmeadows. These might be the vaccines that Australians will get, possibly from about the middle of 2021, if all goes well with the trials. Though the UQ vaccine is behind in the trial schedule it looks good so far in the animal studies, with, for example, hamsters administered with this molecular clamp vaccine demonstrating a neutralising immune response that was better than the average level of antibodies found in patients who had recovered from COVID-19. CSL has a strategy in place to advance this vaccine into Phase III clinical trials in 28,000 people later this year in the United States.

There are thus a number of very encouraging signs that we shall have vaccine success. We know that human beings can make antibodies to these vaccines and they look good. We know that we can protect animals from severe lung disease following challenge with the SARS-CoV-2 virus in challenge animals of choice – hamsters and ferrets, and nonhuman primates (African green monkeys, rhesus macaques) – and with no vaccination danger signals. However, we still do not know what happens when a vaccinated human being gets infected – that is, how well the vaccine protects them from the virus and from developing the COVID-19 disease. Hence, about 150,000 people are being tested (given the trial vaccines) in areas of the United States where there is a high incidence of the SARSCoV-2 virus. Many other people are also being tested in high-incidence areas in Brazil, South Africa and various other countries

The vaccines that are currently in Phase III clinical trials in the United States include the Jenner AstraZeneca clinical trial (though this is currently on hold in the US, perhaps because of a problem in the control group, it is continuing in the UK and Brazil). Another vaccine (a DNA product) is also on hold, but this is probably to do with the virus administration system (electroporation), rather than any safety concerns about the vaccine product.

How well these vaccines will work is, of course, another unanswered question. With the influenza vaccines, we know that they are only 40-60% effective. This is the great challenge. Globally, the only respiratory virus vaccine made and deployed for adults is the influenza virus vaccine. We also make the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) for infants, but that is not normally given to older people. Influenza vaccines for adults are thus not the greatest vaccines.

There are also a couple of mRNA vaccines comprising self-amplifying nucleic acid encoding for the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein – that is, just the genetic material of the spike protein is administered. These vaccines look to be good so far. About 30,000 people are involved in each of these Phase III trials on a two-for-one basis – that is, two are given the vaccine and one is given a placebo. Where possible, all vaccines are being tested in older people who are more likely to develop obvious symptoms.

We have wonderful vaccines against measles and polio because these are systemic diseases. When these viruses get into the body, they multiply first in epithelia in the nose and/or the oropharyngeal area. Symptoms then result as a consequence of that locally produced virus being disseminated in the blood. In measles this is evidenced by the skin spots. However, the virus can also go into your ears, your lungs and your brain (with about 1 in every 1,000 infected children in less-developed

To date, these mRNA vaccines look to be making very good antibodies in older people. We may hear some results in October (if they decide to tell us) about how well at least one of the vaccines is working to prevent symptomatic disease, and it is possible that some of these vaccines could be 35

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Like influenza and HIV, SARS-CoV-2 is an RNA virus – that is, it has RNA (ribonucleic acid) as its genetic material and has a smaller genome, usually encoding only a few proteins. HIV is about a third, and influenza a bit less than half, the size of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Neither HIV nor influenza has a mini-proofreading mechanism. Both thus throw off mutants often and at an enormous rate. With HIV, this proliferation of mutants in an infected human being has thus made it so difficult to find a vaccine. Globally each year also, the influenza virus throws out millions of mutants but only one of these emerges every year or so to cause a seasonal influenza epidemic.

countries dying from encephalitis). Similarly, polio gets into the blood and thence, in some, into the spinal cord, killing large motor nerve cells and causing muscle paralysis as a consequence. Systemic vaccines against these viruses are thus very effective because these viruses do not change very much and it is comparatively easy to maintain reasonably high levels of neutralising antibody in the blood. The COVID-19 disease has a respiratory element, with, for example, shortness of breath and lung infection leading to pneumonia. It also has systemic components. The virus can get into the heart and kidneys, and into blood vessel walls, causing severe blood clotting problems (coagulopathy). Cytokine storms are also seen – like those in severe influenza – whereby large amounts of pro-inflammatory cytokines are released, and the inflammatory reaction becomes excessive.

The SARS-CoV-2 virus does not mutate at the same high rates. Researchers at the Microbiological Diagnostic Unit Public Health Laboratory at the Doherty Institute, led by Professor Ben Howden, have pivoted from the sequencing of bacteria to the sequencing of this virus and are now responsible for the sequencing of about 60% of the Victorian SARS-CoV-2 isolates. Such sequencing is the basis for genomic epidemiology whereby known virus mutations have been ‘bar coded’ (according to clades and subclades – strains/sub-strains) and used to track the origins of the virus. For example, genome sequencing and matching to the genome type called clade 20C have suggested that a high number of the current Victorian cases stemmed from one Rydges on Swanston hotel quarantine case.

Though there are parallels with influenza, the SARS-CoV-2 virus is thus a very different infection with a different pathogenesis (chain of events leading to the disease and development of the clinical disease). It would be ideal if the vaccines would work more like the systemic vaccines during, particularly, the systemic phase of the disease. In addition to later-stage pneumonia, these systemic disease components tend to be what is leading to death or severe disability (e.g., following a stroke). The more people who take the vaccine, the better, as this will bring the world closer to the stage of ‘herd immunity’ – the resistance to the spread of the virus in a population that results if a sufficiently high proportion of individuals are immune to the disease. Achieving herd immunity naturally is likely to require that at least 60-70% of people have been infected and have made antibody, a situation that is not yet likely to have occurred anywhere except in very localised regions, and certainly not across any country. Looking, for example, at the United Kingdom, though there are 7,000 new cases and 70 deaths a day (a 1% death rate), this is not near herd immunity levels. Brazil has seen about 40% of its population infected in some regions but this is well below the minimal 60% infection rate required for some herd immunity. No country or region is near herd immunity. Vaccine uptake is thus imperative.

Encouragingly also, though there has been a bit of mutation in the RBD (receptor binding domain), the antibodies are still working against this virus. Mutation can often be associated with a ‘fitness cost’, meaning that a variant strain may not replicate as well as the original non-mutated virus in a naïve population (which is what most of us are) and are thus not able to take over. Mutated viruses may thus, in the main, tend to burn out. With respect to a question about antibodies floating in body fluids and randomly bumping into and latching onto the virus, Professor Doherty explained that there are a variety of delivery systems. The vaccine will likely be injected into the arm. However, it could be inhaled up or puffed into the nose, swallowed in pill form, or administered through a skin patch. Whatever the delivery mechanism, the vaccine material then gets into the lymph system which drains to the lymph nodes where the immune response is stimulated. For example, injection of the vaccine into an upper

In response to a question about mutations, Professor Doherty reiterated that the mutation rate for the SARS-CoV-2 virus was not high. www.graduatehouse.com.au

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In response to a question about the success of a vaccine for people who have compromised lymph systems (e.g., through surgical removal), Professor Doherty suggested asking the vaccinator to deliver the vaccine near an area of healthy lymph nodes. For example, if lymph nodes had been removed under one arm, the injection could be given on the other arm.

arm muscle will result in the vaccine going into the lymph nodes under the arm and the generation of a dynamic immune response in these nodes, and thus a bit of swelling and pain under the arm. After about five to ten days, the antibodies that are produced are secreted from the lymph system into the blood and then yes, they may ‘bump into’ the virus if the person has been infected. There is no ‘dating agency’ for the antibody to meet the virus. It is thus obviously important for the body to generate enough circulating antibody so that the chances of encountering the virus are increased. The more antibody you have in the blood the more protected you are.

In response to a question about the certainty of the results from SARS-CoV-2 virus tests, Professor Doherty indicated that yes, there are some false negatives and some false positives, but, on the whole, the PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test used in Australia is very sensitive and considered the ‘gold standard’ for diagnosis of COVID-19. There are a lot of other tests coming into the market that are not quite as sensitive but with lower processing times, that might prove useful for community testing, especially in high incidence areas.

It is possible that the immunity provided by the vaccine will not be long-lived. We do know that some who have had the disease have been reinfected, and it’s likely that there will be some virus replication in, at least, the nose in those who have been vaccinated, a situation that would provide a natural boost to the vaccine response. In fact, the vaccine will likely be delivered in a prime boost mode with probably two shots (of the same or different vaccines). The first will stimulate the immune response and the production of SARSCoV-2 antibodies. The second would then serve to drive the level of these specific antibodies up to increase the probability of encountering and combatting the virus if reinfected. The frequency for these boosts is not yet known but it may need to be every year or so.

In response to a question about which of the vaccines in trials would most likely succeed, Professor Doherty indicated that we will all have to await the results (if announced). In total, he knew of about 17 vaccines in Phase III clinical trials. The United States has some of the best vaccine development systems in the world and it has allocated $1B to each of five candidates under Operation Warp Speed – thus indicating, also, their uncertainty as to which candidate would be successful. The Chinese have also been testing candidates in their military, and possibly also in Indonesia and the Middle East. Russia was also progressing a vaccine fast. The UQ vaccine was outside Operation Warp Speed. As mentioned previously, these new mRNA vaccines have not previously been deployed, however the pre-Phase III results have been very encouraging.

In response to a question about the lower impact of the SARS-CoV-2 virus (unlike measles and polio) on children, Professor Doherty spoke first to the pattern with influenza noting that young children who have never had the flu are very susceptible to influenza and will, indeed, often bring the virus into the household. In contrast, with SARS-CoV-2 virus, the children are not normally bringing it into the household and are generally the last to be infected when the whole household is infected. Though there have been some cases of very severe infections and deaths in children, the incidence of the clinical disease has been very, very low. One reason for this lower incidence is that an early form of the antibody response – a molecule called IGM (Immunoglobulin M) – may be better in children and thus provide enhanced protection. Another is that the blood clotting cascade (microcoagulation) that has been leading to strokes and clots in adults, matures in adulthood (in the 20s) and may thus be very different and have far less clinical impact for children.

In response to a question about whether or not the development of a vaccine is a gamble and that we might thus have to learn to live with the virus and under governments making appropriate arrangements, Professor Doherty suggested that it is unlikely that vaccines will bring this pandemic totally to an end. However, with a high vaccination rate it is very likely that they will bring us to herd immunity levels. If we can use the vaccine to get up to 60-70% or more of the population with specific antibodies, we should be able to bring the risks from this virus, as well as its ability to spread, right down. At the same time, Professor Doherty mentioned that we are getting better at treating the clinical disease. Those who are 37

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dying now, more frequently have had a number (around four) of comorbidities. About half the people who would have died months ago, are now surviving because of these medical treatment and care improvements. For example, doctors are administering low-dose heparin to counter coagulation, Remdesivir as a broad-spectrum antiviral, dexamethasone to counter excessive inflammation and, as we heard recently, President Trump has been given a cocktail of monoclonal antibodies. Administration of these medications earlier in the clinical disease has also proved to be beneficial.

the public health by ensuring safety, efficacy and security) will only support a vaccine that is at least 50% effective in preventing the disease. Secondly, any vaccine manufacturers must bring the vaccine to the FDA for approval. All nine of these manufacturers in the US have indicated that they will not bring their vaccines to the FDA until they have confirmed the vaccine to be safe and efficacious.

With a combination of vaccination, better medical treatment and better drugs it should be possible thus to live with and manage this disease without repeated shutdowns. It is not normal to shut down the world because of an infection. The reality for many countries has been, however, that shutdowns have been necessary because the hospital system would otherwise have become overwhelmed because of the huge caseloads, those at the front line would also become infected, more younger people (particularly in this workforce and as seen in the early cases in Wuhan) would die and the whole health system would collapse. Professor Doherty suggests that once this pandemic has settled, it will be important to undertake a thorough and objective forensic review from all perspectives – sociological, economic, public health, science, travel, etc. – and to determine criteria-based local and global responses. For example, in preparation for a future and similarly infectious and devastating epidemic, it will be important to gain a global agreement that flights to and from the country with an initial outbreak should be shut off immediately. While previously, and in the influenza community, there had been a ‘mantra’ to not stop the planes because of the flu, Professor Doherty felt that the experience of New Zealand and Australia through closure of their borders demonstrated the success of this strategy, particularly when compared to countries of similar populations that had not restricted travel.

In response to a two-part question about whether the SARS-CoV-2 virus was an old virus and about the features that make it so virulent, Professor Doherty explained that yes, it is an old virus in bats. Though it was known that blood-sucking bats could carry and transmit rhabdoviruses (rabies-like viruses), it was not until the 1990s that immunologists realised that there were other bat viruses that could be transmitted to humans and other animals. The Hendra virus infects large fruit bats and may be passed on to horses and thence humans. The Nipah virus (predominantly in Malaysia) is hosted also in fruit bats and transmitted to humans via pigs. Filoviruses – such as the Ebola virus and the Marburg virus – are now known to be bat-borne viruses. Three coronaviruses have come from bats over the last 20 years – the first SARS virus, the MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus which is still circulating and much more lethal) and now SARS-CoV-2. These viruses have evolved to be in bats and there is something about the bat immune system that allow the viruses to persist. The bat immune system emphasises responses that are different to those emphasised in the human system where there is a greater tendency for cytokine storms. The virulence is particularly high in the elderly, and this has been manifested by severe clinical disease and more deaths. However, we are yet to understand the longer-term effects of the disease across all age groups, and there are thus now many longitudinal studies being undertaken to tease these out.

In response to a question about potential political influences on vaccine development – for example, in the United States with Operation Warp Speed – Professor Doherty explained that there are two major ‘check and balance’ factors in the United States. Firstly, the FDA (the US Food and Drug Administration agency responsible for protecting

In response to a question about his ultimate goal for medicine in humankind, Professor Doherty spoke, in the first instance, to protecting the young and ensuring greater survival rates for children, mentioning that the world still loses half a million children each year from malaria. He sees childhood vaccines as particularly important.

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In Australia, our federal and state politicians are doing well, and Professor Doherty welcomes the cessation of the blame game and focus on the lessons to be learnt.

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view was that these are problems in Australia’s structure, particularly in relation to silos. Overall, the response has been excellent and particularly when compared to the rest of the world.

With the elderly, he noted that we have people living a lot longer (and not generally dying from an infectious disease until this SARS-CoV-2 virus came along) and facing such conditions as degenerative diseases and Alzheimer’s disease. Medicines and other therapies in this domain are thus of interest. Another area of enormous importance and often under-addressed is medical care for women.

In response to a question about disturbing sideeffects experienced by those who have recovered and the potential for the vaccine to attenuate these side-effects, Professor Doherty expressed his particular concern about these long-term sequelae. Though there are many anecdotal In response to a question about the quality of international collaboration to develop the vaccine, reports, the results from systematic studies are not yet available. This is a huge data gathering Professor Doherty expressed great satisfaction in the collaboration between medical researchers exercise and one that is being undertaken by a number of institutes. For example, the Doherty and the pharmaceutical companies. He gave the example of a company in Colorado coming forward Institute is following up with all those who became infected, especially those who were to test the Doherty Institute vaccine enhancers. hospitalised and released. Imperial College in He noted also that there had been improvements London has a widely distributed App that has in information exchange and sharing. Previously, millions of infected and previously infected people results would not become evident until published signed on to report any later symptoms. There are in a peer-reviewed, high standard journal. Of also a number of studies being reported through late, medical researchers had been adopting the The Lancet, a weekly peer-reviewed general approach used in the field of physics whereby medical journal. pre-prints are circulated for commentary before publication. Though many of these pre-prints on Some people have had severe damage to vaccine development might not make it through their hearts (cardiomyopathy) which may be the subsequent peer-review process, the shared permanent. This means that the virus can get into data and views have nevertheless led to robust the heart, that it can grow in the heart and that it discussion, the incredibly quick dissemination of can kill heart cells. good results and transparency. Professor Doherty Other longer-term problems appear to be explained also that the reason why he is spending time on public health talks such as this was to take resulting from clots. While with influenza, the key cause of death with virus infection of the lungs the burden off the many scientists at the Doherty Institute who are working incredibly long hours on was anoxia (the inflammation causing the alveoli to fill up with fluids that blocked gas exchange and in international committees, conferences and scientific networks that operate across a variety of – a drowning), another problem with the SARSCoV-2 virus is micro-clots in the capillaries (small time zones. blood vessels) of the alveoli (small air sacs), again In response to a question about the lower rate affecting gas exchange, but also bringing the risks of deaths and hospitalisation in the second of clots breaking off and travelling further through wave in Europe, Professor Doherty noted that the blood to become blocked and thus lead to a this was likely in part because older people lack of blood supply beyond the blockage (e.g., had learnt to keep themselves apart and not leading to a stroke or heart attack). exposed to the virus, and that the virus was thus The President of The Graduate Union, The Hon most likely infecting a younger cohort with less Diana Bryant AO QC, gave a closing address comorbidities and a lower incidence of severe clinical disease. The other reason is that treatment to thank Professor Doherty for his clear and articulate explanations of the complex and of the symptomatic disease has improved (anticoagulants, dexamethasone, Remdesivir, etc.). wide-ranging field of vaccine development. She extended gratitude also to the audience for their In Australia, Professor Doherty mentioned that excellent questions, the answers to which from we could not wish for a better response from all Professor Doherty were equally enlightening. levels of government – federal, state, local – in Thanks were also extended to the wonderful terms of supporting the science. Yes, there have team at the Doherty Institute, as well as to the been policy failures, especially with respect to international scientific, medical and public health aged care and hotel quarantine. However, his community. 39

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October 2020 Monthly Luncheon Review Associate Professor Nicola Reavley

Complete Guide to Vitamins and Minerals published by Bookman, Melbourne. She then went on to undertake a PhD in complementary medicine and cancer (working with the Gawler Institute established by cancer survivor, Ian Gawler) and entitled Evaluation of the effects of a psychosocial intervention on mood, coping and quality of life in cancer patients, before starting work at The University of Melbourne in 2007 and shifting her research focus more fully to mental health in 2009. The structure for the remainder of the presentation was around three statements which she put to the audience with True, False and Partly True response options: 1. Australians know a lot more about mental health than they did 25 years ago. 2. Stigma and discrimination towards people with mental health problems are much lower than they used to be.

Associate Professor Nicola Reavley spoke on the topic of Mental Health Literacy and Stigma at our online October Monthly Luncheon on Wednesday, 7th October, held in Mental Illness Awareness Week and in the lead up to World Mental Health Day, 10th October 2020. Associate Professor Reavley is from the Centre for Mental Health at Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne.

3. Media reporting has an impact on attitudes to people with mental health problems. Understanding of Mental Health In addressing the first statement on the understanding by Australians of mental health, Associate Professor Reavley mentioned her research collaboration with Professor Tony Jorm who coined the term ‘Mental Health Literacy’ in a now-oft-cited 1997 publication (Jorm, A.F., Korten, A.E., Jacomb, P.A., Christensen, H., Rodgers, B. and Pollitt, P. “Mental health literacy”: a survey of the public’s ability to recognise mental disorders and their beliefs about the effectiveness of treatment. Med J Aust; 166 (4):182), defining this term as ‘the knowledge and beliefs about mental disorders which aid their recognition, management or prevention’. Professor Jorm has also been instrumental in promoting the funding of mental health research through the Australian Rotary Health Fund.

Associate Professor Reavley began her presentation by introducing herself as having grown up in the south of England, attending Bristol University and working in Belgium and Japan before visiting Australia in 1994 – a year with Paul Keating as Prime Minister (Bill Clinton was President of the United States), the West Coast Eagles winning the grand final, and the films The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Muriel’s Wedding being released. She loved Australia so much that she stayed. All her research career has been in this country. One of her first jobs was to write a book about vitamins and nutrition called Vitamins Etc: The www.graduatehouse.com.au

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Mental Health Literacy comprises the following domains:

stemming from this research thus included the need to focus mental health literacy training on members of the general public, as well as on health professionals. These recommendations were thence translated into policy actions in the Fourth National Mental Health Plan.

• knowledge about how to prevent mental disorders; • knowledge of causes and risk factors; • recognition of when a disorder is developing;

Supported by the Federal government and each Australian state and territory. Beyond Blue was also established. Though the initial focus of this not-for-profit in 2000 was on depression – raising awareness and reducing stigma – Beyond Blue has since added anxiety conditions (in 2011) and suicide prevention (not all suicides stemming from depression).

• knowledge of, and beliefs about, self-help strategies; • knowledge of, and beliefs about, help-seeking options and treatments; and • first aid skills to support others (Professor Jorm and his wife Betty Kitchener AM having pioneered Mental Health First Aid programs).

With these significant investments, the question is thus ‘Have things changed?’

It is important to understand these domains when looking at treatment gaps in mental health. According to the World Health Organisation, 50 per cent of people with mental disorders in high income countries, like Australia, receive no treatment. In low to middle income countries, 85 per cent receive no treatment.

Associate Professor Reavley’s answer to that was a cautious ‘yes’. She pointed to a 2012 publication in the British Journal of Psychiatry (200(5):419-425) entitled Public recognition of mental disorders and beliefs about treatment: changes in Australia over 16 years with herself and Professor Jorm as authors; and explained that similar surveys to that in 1995 were repeated in 2003-4 and then in 2011 to determine whether recognition of mental disorders and beliefs about treatment had changed. Though the results showed improved recognition of depression and more positive ratings for a range of interventions, including help from mental health professionals and antidepressants, there was still potential for mental health literacy gains in the areas of recognition and treatment beliefs for mental disorders, particularly for schizophrenia.

These significant treatment gaps might relate to structural (e.g., availability of health services) and/or individual (e.g., knowledge and belief) factors. In the 1990s much funding and focus was being placed on health services and upskilling in, particularly, the primary health care sector. There was little understanding and focus on the individual factors. Professor Jorm thus undertook the first National Mental Health Literacy Survey in 1995 with questions on each of the above domains. Vignettes were provided for different mental health conditions as defined in DSMIV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition). One vignette, for example, was of John, a 30-year-old with clinical depression. Another was of Mary, a 24-yearold with psychosis in schizophrenia. Survey participants were asked: ‘What, if anything, do you think is wrong?’

Associate Professor Reavley also gave an encouraging answer to the question of whether beliefs and knowledge translate into action; and pointed to further research demonstrating the mirroring of help seeking intentions with increases in service use; the parallels between greater mental health literacy and greater disclosure of experiences and of receiving treatment; the predictions of actions taken following expression of first aid intentions and beliefs; and the improvements to the quality of help given to a person at risk of suicide through mental health training.

The results in 1995 indicated that less than 40 per cent of the population correctly labelled John has having depression and that only about 25 per cent labelled Mary as having schizophrenia. In terms of the best source of help, just over 40 per cent suggested that John see a doctor while less than 30 per cent of the population suggested same (or to see a psychiatrist) for Mary. Given these and other results suggesting poor mental health literacy, the recommendations

Stigma and discrimination In addressing the next major statement regarding stigma and discrimination towards people with mental health problems, Associate Professor 41

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common than avoidance or discrimination by friends and family, and that the reported personal experiences mirrored the reported observations of how people with mental illness were treated.

Reavley spoke to national surveys of stigmatising attitudes, using scales on ‘personal and perceived stigma’ and ‘desire for social distance’, undertaken in 2003-4 (household survey) and 2011 (CATI – computer-assisted telephone interviewing). The domains in the personal and perceived stigma scale include those that regard people with certain mental disorders as ‘dangerous’, ‘weaknot-sick’, ‘to be avoided’ and ‘for employment or to be voted for’. The ‘desire for social distance’ scale asks questions related to likelihood of social interactions with those who have mental disorders, such as how they would feel about living next door, being friends, working closely, marrying into the family, etc.

2014 Mental Health stigmatisation and discrimination survey results. Solid lines reflect personal, while dotted lines reflect observed, experiences.

The results demonstrated a ‘mixed bag’ of changes in stigmatising attitudes between 20034 and 2011. While there was very little change for the majority of domains, positively, a higher percentage of the population would be willing to work with someone who had depression, and regarded depression as a real illness. Though a higher percentage were willing to work with or have someone with schizophrenia marry into their family, there was a jump (10 per cent) in those who considered this condition as dangerous and a rise also in those who would not want to live next door to someone with schizophrenia. In summary, thus, there appeared to have been less progress in reducing stigma towards people with lower prevalence mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and psychosis (of other origin).

As shown in the following graphs, the results in workplace and education settings were similar. However, there were higher levels of discrimination and a lower percentage of positive treatments experienced and observed in these settings, particularly for those with mental illness who were looking for work.

A further national survey was undertaken in 2014 with the aim to capture both negative (avoidance, discrimination) and positive treatment experiences of those with and without mental illness (identified using a screening scale – the 12-month Kessler 6 scale – and questions about diagnoses). Questions on stigmatisation included those on whether friends/workmates/ relatives, etc. had avoided them or discriminated against them in other ways, as well as those on whether these same people treated them more positively because of these problems. There were also questions about what they had observed by way of stigmatisation or positive treatment in others with mental illness.

2014 Mental Health stigmatisation and discrimination survey results. Solid lines reflect personal, while dotted lines reflect observed, experiences.

When asked to give examples of negative experiences, the most common from family and friends was the reducing and cutting of contact, followed by being dismissive, lacking understanding, teasing or verbally abusing and judging. In the workplace, examples included being fired or made redundant, being given changed responsibilities, being dismissive, lacking understanding and being teased/bullied. GPs were reported as the most common health professional to give negative experiences (4.5 per cent to 9.1 per cent of respondents). The most common experience was reported as ‘diagnostic overshadowing’ whereby the health professional would ‘see’ predominantly the mental health disorder rather than other health issues.

An example of the results from this 2014 survey is shown in the following graph which suggests that positive treatment, both from the personally experienced and observed perspective, was more www.graduatehouse.com.au

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Government’s Department of Health under the National Suicide Prevention Leadership and Support Program, supporting safe media reporting, portrayal and communication about suicide, mental ill-health and alcohol and other drugs.

Examples of positive treatment by family and friends included maintaining and increasing contact, checking in on them, trying to cheer them up and other forms of less specific support. In the workplace, examples included nonspecific support or help, being allowed to take time off, have the pressure reduced and making allowances and talking/listening. Encouragingly, GPs were the most common health professional to give positive treatment experiences (17.5 per cent to 36.2 per cent).

Conclusions Concluding her presentation, Associate Professor Reavley acknowledged that progress on mental health literacy over the last two decades, appeared to have been made for higher prevalence conditions, such as depression and anxiety, and that there was room for improvement for less prevalent conditions, such as schizophrenia.

In summary, the findings indicated that positive treatment experiences were more common than avoidance or discrimination (except when looking for work), friends and family were more likely to avoid than to discriminate, and symptom severity, together with a diagnosis of psychotic or eating disorders, predicted experiences of both avoidance and discrimination but not positive treatment.

To inform the Fifth National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan, she was thus consulting with people of lived experience of less prevalent or less understood mental illness types as provided in Priority Area 6 for government to take action to reduce the stigma and discrimination experienced by people with mental illness that is poorly understood in the community. Interviews have been also with mental health advocates, employers, health and other professionals with the aim of gaining consensus about the specific actions to be implemented under this Priority Area 6.

Impact of media In addressing the third statement about the impact of media on attitudes to people with mental health problems, Associate Professor Reavley spoke to the research being undertaken by her PhD student, Anna Ross, on the relationships between media exposure and beliefs about dangerousness; and showed news articles with such headlines as ‘woman ‘floridly psychotic’ when she killed her mother’, ‘Vic mental health crisis means more murder’ and ‘gunman had history of mental illness’.

The following gives a summary of these recommendations gained from the analysis of these interviews:

Data to evaluate this media relationship was gathered also in the 2014 discrimination survey using vignettes like those used in the 1995 survey. The results differed according to the mental health problem. Recall of media reports and having felt afraid of someone were associated with beliefs about the dangerousness of those with schizophrenia but not of those with depression or anxiety. Knowing someone with a mental health problem and having a higher level of education were associated with less belief in the dangerousness of people with either mental health condition. Recommendations stemming from this research have been included in Mindframe guidelines on media reporting of severe mental illness in the context of violence and crime so that stigma is reduced and so that help-seeking behaviour is promoted. Managed by Everymind, Mindframe is a national program, funded by the Australian 43

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Optimism – your super power – the why and the how Victor Perton

On returning to Australia from the San Francisco of ‘flowers’ and positivity, Victor noticed a significant change in Australia towards pessimism. Rather than adopting this pervading and prevailing malaise, he set up instead The Australian Leadership Project to “celebrate, understand and improve Australian leadership”. Under this Project, his interview research involving hundreds of executives led to a characterisation of ‘Aussie’ leaders as egalitarian, with self-effacing humour, and open - ‘you will never die without knowing what an Aussie thinks!’. It also formed the basis for his book entitled The Case for Optimism: The Optimist’s Voices which received the comment from Helen Clark, former New Zealand Prime Minister, that “Good things happen when good people get together in common cause ... this is excellent, thought provoking material to share in conversations”.

In our 20th October Special Online Event we heard from Victor Perton, Chief Optimism Officer at the Melbourne-based Centre for Optimism. Victor began by outlining his interesting ‘graduate pathway’ from economics and law degrees, to joining The Bar in his early twenties followed by positions in politics, including election to Victoria’s State Parliament, and government with periods in opposition and in government as a Minister across a variety of portfolios, including manufacturing, economic development, technology, regulatory reform, data protection and privacy, multimedia, conservation, environment, innovation and education.

Balking at the question oft asked of leaders: ‘What keeps you awake at night?’, Victor suggests asking instead ‘What makes you optimistic?’. His ‘Case for Optimism’ is suggested also from studies around the world in different populations. There appears to be a strong correlation between good health and optimism. One longevity study in Sardinia, Italy by Dr Dilip Jeste and psychologist Anna Scelzo (published in International Psychogeriatrics, 2017) found, for example, that those aged 90 years and above were ‘positive, optimistic and hopeful’ notwithstanding having been through many traumatic events in their lives. At the other end of the age spectrum, research by Harvard University Professor Laura Kubzansky in a population of relatively young and healthy US Army active-duty soldiers found that those who tested highest for optimism at the start of the study had a 22 per cent lower risk of developing hypertension during three-and-a-half years of follow-up than those who scored the lowest.

Leaving politics and government due to a change in culture, Victor returned to the law before being appointed by then Victorian Premier John Brumby as the Victorian Government Commissioner to the Americas, based in San Francisco. This role involved bringing foreign investment to Victoria, protecting existing employment-producing investment interests (e.g., Ford, General Motors, Alcoa) and promoting exports of Victorian produce and products. In his dealings with hundreds of senior executives and board members across the United States he noted their consistent view of Australians as reliable, trustworthy and positive with a ‘can-do’, ‘nothing is impossible’ attitude. www.graduatehouse.com.au

Optimistic people appear to sleep better. Medical University of Vienna epidemiologists found that 44

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the probability of suffering from sleep disorders and/or insomnia was around 70 per cent lower for optimistic as opposed to pessimistic study participants. As explained by Jakob Weitzer, one of the authors in the 2020 Journal of Sleep Research article, other studies have shown that optimists exercise more, smoke less, eat more healthily, have better coping strategies and experience less stress in challenging situations. All these factors would also contribute to this improved sleep for optimists.

• having the ability and self-control to ‘remember to be an optimist’ – noting that we here, in Australia, are in the best place at the best time, living longer and being better educated – to not worry about the things that are not within our control and to limit exposure to constant, repetitive and negative media; • exercise and sleep; • tuning into good and sound journalism; • the not-for-profit sector, particularly towards international aid and development;

An optimistic partner also helps. Recent 2020 research from Michigan State University suggests that those who are optimistic contribute to the health of their partners, decreasing their risk of such age-related conditions as Alzheimer’s disease, dementia and cognitive decline as they grow old together, probably because they are encouraging healthier lifestyles.

• having the right reference points and relativity, distinguishing ‘first world’ from real and intractable problems; • the joy and pride of children and grandchildren; • research and innovation; and • building on ‘congenital optimism’ by learning more about the acquisition and strengthening of optimism skills.

In the workplace, ‘infectiously optimistic’ leaders are key to unlocking optimism in their team members and developing strategy that will lead to success and growth. Victor pointed, for example, to Bob Iger, Chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company, who views optimism as a core principle of good leadership. A March 2020 survey entitled Strategy and Optimism: Through the Pandemic and on to a Brighter Future of 440 professionals saw 90 per cent answering ‘Yes’ to the question “Do you believe that the purpose and objectives of strategy should be optimistic in nature?”.

In conclusion, Victor referred to a message from Julian of Norwich, a fourteenth century author who wrote the earliest surviving book in the English language to be written by a woman: All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well. See www.centreforoptimism.com for more details about the Centre for Optimism founded in 2019 and now with over 3,500 members from 65 countries.

Mr Perton then moved to some key habits of optimists: (1) smiling; (2) laughing; (3) changing the greeting from ‘How are you?’ to ‘What’s the best thing that’s happening to you?’ and (4) meditating.

See www.victorperton.com/aussie-leadership.html for more information on the Australian Leadership Project with over 1,400 members who are global leaders.

He then invited the forum participants to reflect on what makes them optimistic and to share these reflections. Example answers included: • the quality of young people and their attitude that ‘things will get better’;

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How hackable is your Password?

people, places, and things in their personal and professional lives e.g., your dog’s name, your spouse’s birthdate, and other words and phrases related to your life that are possibly discoverable on your social media profiles.

Passwords have become an infinite part of our daily lives for some decades now, acting as a critical gatekeeper and guarding our digital identities. Since the beginning of the cyber age, we have fully trusted that our password will protect us online from hackers and scammers, but a lot has happened since those days when users only needed to remember a few passwords.

According to research by one password management company, an average person has about 70-80 passwords. To put this into perspective, 80 words can make up a four-verse poem, or a pop song, not counting the repetition of the chorus. Eighty passwords are a lot to memorise. Unique passwords will offer better security because if one of your online systems is compromised, the access to another service is not possible. The most commonly used passwords have not changed much in the last seven years, proving that most people do not put enough effort into creating a complex password. The 2020 top five list are: 1. 123456 2. 123456789

3. qwerty With the rapid development of ecommerce, social 4. password media and self-service sites, we now have to get accustomed to managing dozens of usernames 5. 111111 and passwords, and sometimes security answers. Having to memorise a password that is eight characters long and ensuring that it contains lowercase or uppercase letters, numbers and special characters, can be a tiresome chore, only to have it expire in 90 days and having to reset all over again. Unless your password was randomly generated, it is probably locked away in your mind somewhere. Brute-force memory retrieval is not usually very effective, so what can you do to try to remember what your password was? Thank goodness for the “Forgotten your password?” option as a backup. Most people create passwords based on www.graduatehouse.com.au

Qwerty comes from the order of the first six keys on the top left letter row of the keyboard. 46

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But it is not just online accounts that can be hacked, other electronic devices such as WiFi and mobile phone passwords face the same risk. A weak Wi-Fi or mobile phone password can make way for an online fraudster to steal your most precious data and, worse, your other passwords if they are stored on your phone. It is no surprise that some mobile phones can be easily accessed with passwords like 1234, 0000, 1111, etc. Here are some tips from security experts on improving your password strength: “We now partly understand why people use easy-to-guess passwords — they simply have too many to remember. So there is no surprise that people use either very easy passwords or have a few and reuse them for all accounts,” says Chad Hammond, a security expert at NordPass Password Manager.

1. Do not reuse passwords on any account. 2. Use a password that is longer than eight characters. 3. Do not include any words in your email address as part of your password. 4. Always include numbers, capital letters, and special characters in passwords. But many passwords start with a capital letter and end with a number (often the current year). Do not follow that pattern.

“People also often think they have nothing to hide. But no one leaves their house unlocked. Even if there is nothing valuable inside, nobody would like strangers sniffing around. And just imagine them changing the lock. The same applies to your online life. Nobody wants to lose access to their personal accounts, especially paying thousands in ransom afterwards,” explained Chad Hammond.

5. Do not include common names, common cities, or common cultural references. To learn more about passwords and reduce the risk of being hacked, go to: https://bit. ly/2GDaiVN.

The use of first names inside passwords is very common, especially first names that are already included in email addresses, making it easier to remember. Letters in caps, with A being the most used and numbers, e.g., 123 or 789 are the most predictable pattern when creating passwords.

Tell us your password horror stories and tips that you wish, in hindsight, you had adopted by emailing us at: publications@graduatehouse. com.au

Educational domain users and students at tertiary level are likely to choose common passwords. They do not regard their .edu email addresses as useful enough to be hacked, so they tend to create easy-to-guess passwords, with the most common being simple words of their current activity, e.g., soccer, football, etc. 47

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