Home Economics Institute of Australia Biennial Conference, Sydney, Australia
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8 Jan 07

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  • Donna Hay
  • Keynote Speakers
  • Industry Visits
  • Workshop and Paper Options
  • Submitted Paper Options
  • Celebrity Chef Alternative


  • Donna Hay

    I look forward to meeting Home Economists from all over Australia and New Zealand at the HEIA Biennial Conference in Sydney January 2007.


    Keynote Speakers

  • Associate Professor Gay Hawkins
  • Dr Don Edgar
  • Gavin Hazel
  • Dr Michael Carr-Gregg
  • Professor Terence Lovat


  • Industry Visits

  • Industry Visit Option 1 - Full
    Masterfoods

  • Industry Visit Option 2
    CSIRO Food Science Institute

  • Industry Visit Option 3 - Full
    Longina Phillips Digital Printing Design Studio and Bonds Pacific Fabrics

  • Industry Visit Option 4 - Full
    Women's Weekly Test Kitchen and Simon Johnson Purveyor of Quality Foods

  • Industry Visit Option 5 - Full
    Gourmet Dinners

  • Industry Visit Option 6
    Vaucluse House


  • Associate Professor Gay Hawkins

    Associate Professor Hawkins, from the School of Media, Film and Theatre at the University of New South Wales will present Putting out the garbage-Ethics in action at home and in industry. She will explore the nature and dynamics of ethical practices in domestic and wider social life, and consider how ethics are diverse, ubiquitous and often contested, and provide justifications for particular practices that are central to senses of wellbeing. She will argue that without them we would have no criteria for judging whether the ways we live are good and right.


    Dr Don Edgar

    As the Foundation Director of the Australian Institute of Family Studies, Dr Edgar has significantly influenced government family policies. He advises businesses, governments and community organisations on a range of issues, including community development, education for the future, the work/life balance and healthy workplace cultures. He is one of Australia's leading writers on workplace change, family-friendly work practices and business-community relations. Dr Edgar's address The war over work examines the struggles between corporate need and private greed, unions and employers, men and women, old and young.


    Gavin Hazel

    Mr Hazel has worked for over ten years in the area of educational research and teacher training, and in 2005 worked on the development of a social and emotional curriculum package for tertiary teacher educators to use with pre-service teachers. His presentation, Social and emotional wellbeing-More than an add on will explore the efficacy of adapting a Social and Emotional Wellbeing (SEW) perspective as a means of integrating ethical, social, emotional and pedagogic domains of classroom practice that underlie effective teaching.


    Dr Michael Carr-Gregg

    Dr Carr-Gregg is one of Australia's highest profile psychologists. He is official ambassador for the National Depression Initiative beyondblue as well as Mindmatters, founded the world's first national teenage cancer patients support group, Canteen and served on the advisory committee for the Commonwealth's Boys' Education Lighthouse School Programme. He has extensive experience in the media, and in 2002 was asked to be the official psychologist to Girlfriend Magazine, the best selling magazine for young women in Australia. Dr Carr-Gregg will explore 'living with and educating' the 'Click and Go' generation. He will consider life on the home front of adolescents, as well as life on the classroom front, taking into account gender considerations. Dr Carr-Gregg appears by arrangement with Queensland Speakers Bureau.


    Professor Terence Lovat

    Professor Lovat is Professor of Education and Pro Vice-Chancellor at The University of Newcastle in New South Wales. His address, Values Education at the heart of Quality Teaching, will look at recent research that underlines the crucial role played by the teacher in student success, defined academically and more broadly. The same research also points to the importance of the values dimension as being at least as central to those teacher characteristics that elicit success as is technical prowess. This opens the way for a re-evaluation of Values Education to be seen as at the heart of Quality Teaching.


    Industry Visit Option 1 - Full

    Masterfoods (max 20 delegates)
    Delegates will travel by mini-bus to the NSW Central Coast to explore the factory floor and recipe/product development resources at Masterfoods production base. Delegates will be given the opportunity to discuss company policy with regards to issues such as environmental sustainability and commitment to promoting health, and see how this is reflected in the production and manufacture of goods.



    Industry Visit Option 2

    CSIRO Food Science Institute (max 40 delegates)
    Delegates will travel by coach to the Food Science Institute at Ryde where they will see how CSIRO deals with food related research in the areas of food safety and quality, food structure, processing innovation and food and health.



    Industry Visit Option 3 - Full

    Longina Phillips Digital Printing Design Studio and Bonds Pacific Fabrics (max 20 delegates)
    The first part of this tour is to see Information and Communications Technologies in action at Longina Phillips Printing Studio. Delegates will travel by coach to see the future of textile printing, digitising through to a multi-colour print direct to fabric. Following this tour, delegates will travel to Bonds Pacific Fabrics in Wentworthville to find out about the latest technology related to dyes, finishes and computerised cutting and apparel manufacture. Delegates will also have opportunity to discuss Bonds commitment to environmental sustainability and the impacts this has for a company dealing mainly with cotton.



    Industry Visit Option 4 - Full

    Women's Weekly Test Kitchen and Simon Johnson Purveyor of Quality Foods (max 20 delegates)
    In the first part of this tour, delegates will walk (10-15 minutes) to the Women's Weekly test kitchen and experience how foods are tested for recipes before publication in magazines and cookbooks. The presenter will discuss what drives the decision-making regarding which recipes, ingredients and products to use and the values that sit behind their decisions. Following this, delegates will travel by mini-bus to Simon Johnson Purveyor of Quality Foods, the leading provider of Australia's finest range of imported and home grown quality food. Delegates will be able to discuss with Simon the values that sit behind his decisions, and how moves towards environmental sustainability and the local/imported debate are impacting on his practices.




    Industry Visit Option 5 - Full

    Gourmet Dinners (max 20 delegates)
    Delegates will travel by mini-bus to Brookvale to see the cook-chill production kitchen, which provides chilled/frozen meals to both individuals and institutions throughout NSW. Home economist Janel Horton, who developed the company, believes that a focus on taste, health and convenience allows Gourmet Dinners to stand out in the crowded takeaway food market. Delegates will have the opportunity to talk to Janel about how far she takes her stance on health-- is she considering organics, local foods, packaging etc?



    Industry Visit Option 6

    Vaucluse House (max 40 delegates)
    Delegates will travel by coach to Vaucluse House, one of Sydney's only 19th century harbourside estates, to experience a two-part program related to both food and textiles. Delegates will be able to explore what was valued 'then' and 'now'. By examining food preparation and processing practices, and using the 19th century kitchen, larder, scullery, cellars and the unique kitchen garden of Vaucluse House, delegates will be able to compare past practices to contemporary food technology issues. In the second part of the program, the extensive Vaucluse House heritage textile collection will provide a focus for an exploration of textile design elements and principles, construction, properties and social significance. A practical workshop includes dyeing, printing and rendering activities and a framework for critical analysis.


    Workshop and Paper Options

    1.1 Ethical environmental decision making in the classroom
    Dr Kim Walker, University of Bath, England
    The workshop will discuss environmental decision-making in the classroom, including strategies for incorporating environmental education in the home economics curriculum and strategies to involve students in their own decision-making about the environment. The workshop will include a short presentation, group discussions and ethical decision-making exercises.

    1.2 Food in Australia digi stories: Cultural diversity and inclusive teaching practice using information and communication technologies
    Lyndall Foster, NSW Department of Education and Training
    Julie King, NSW Department of Education and Training

    Food in Australia digi stories is an online resource developed by NSW Department of Education and Training to enhance teacher ICT skills and understandings of cultural diversity and inclusive teaching practice in Food Technology. This workshop explores a new approach to cultural perspectives by using the resource to empower students to tell the authentic stories of the food habits of people in their local community. It will assist participants to support their students in creating digi stories or other digital media products.

    1.3 Bone builders-Building strong bones for a lifetime
    Sharon Hoelscher Day, University of Arizona, USA
    Both the United States and Australia osteoporosis associations project that 50% or more women over the age of 60 will have osteoporotic fractures. This interactive workshop will explore options for women of all ages to prevent osteoporosis. Workshop participants will identify nutrition and weight-bearing exercise behaviours that can help prevent osteoporosis, plus modifiable risk factors resulting in osteoporosis. Participants will explore the pros and cons of prevention and treatment choices.

    1.4 School-based prevention of obesity and eating disorders
    Zali Yager, PhD student, University of Sydney
    A heavy focus on nutrition and obesity in the media has made school-aged young people very sensitive about issues of eating and body weight. This workshop, developed by Dr Jenny O'Dea, and her PhD student Zali Yager, will outline evidence-based, safe and effective approaches and activities to be used with students in secondary schools, including what not to do when teaching about eating disorders and obesity.

    1.5 Packaging our World-Protect, preserve, contain, inform
    Prudence Frost, Packaging Council of Australia
    John Neill, Huhtamaki Australia

    This workshop will consider resources available for teachers from the Packaging Council of Australia, and in particular 'The Pack pack - packaging unwrapped', an education kit produced by the Curriculum Corporation that includes practical activities on roles, functions and issues related to packaging. Participants will consider new ways to pack and store food to maximise shelf life, recycling, modified atmosphere packaging, award winning innovative designs and design challenges for students.

    1.6 Multimedia in the hospitality classroom
    Sharon Galloway, Futura Training
    This workshop will explore the use of a multi-media package developed for the hospitality classroom. The resource allows the teacher and student to experience the hospitality industry at the click of a button. The resource, covering all competency standards required by Registered Training Organisations (RTOs), includes exams, answers, work sheets, assessment templates, attendance sheets, lesson outlines and food orders. The resources are up to date and monitored on a regular basis to ensure currency of information and compliance with the training package.

    3.1 ICTs and relationships
    Dr Michael Carr Gregg
    Dr Michael Carr-Gregg will explore the impact of Information and Communications Technologies on relationships. He will consider, for example, the impact of mobile phones, internet sites, chat rooms and the like on relationships that adolescents form with one another and their impact on adult relationships and on cross-generational relationships.

    3.2 The place of cooking in healthy eating: A study on the perception of young people in Hong Kong on food preparation skills - Refereed paper
    Theresa Lai Yeung Wai-ling, The Hong Kong Institute of Education
    This paper reports findings of a study conducted in Hong Kong on young people's experience and attitudes on food preparation. The cooking culture at home is defined and young people's needs and perceptions regarding cooking skills are identified. Attempts are made to provide useful information for schools initiatives of hands-on approaches to food and nutrition education.

    3.3 Food Choices the IT way
    Dr Janet Reynolds
    Food Choices the IT Way is a curriculum resource designed to encourage students to use IT to make healthy food choices by quickly and accurately making in-depth dietary analyses. The resource comprises a nutritional analysis computer program, a Teacher's Manual with 11 units of work and 49 supporting student resource sheets. The workshop includes a demonstration of the software program, including the Nutrition Panel Calculator and an analysis of how to use such a resource in the classroom.

    3.4 The vision splendid? The national values education initiative
    David Brown, Curriculum Corporation
    Leanne Compton, Curriculum Corporation

    This session will outline the Australian Commonwealth Government's Values Initiative, in particular the National Framework, and how the values education program relates to schools and teachers. The myths and realities of what this initiative is endeavouring to achieve will be explored. This session will focus on the Good Practice Schools project and the development of curriculum resources including samples of units of work suitable for the home economics classroom.

    3.5 Housing sustainability and equity issues: Ethical decisions and values
    Professor Shirley Niemeyer, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA
    The purpose of this paper is to identify ten major housing and environmental problems and related ethical decision-making within the context of the 1) physical environment issues; 2) people in poverty; and 3) values. The perspective is from a situated or green ethics (standards focused on the interrelationship of humans with the natural world) and social contract ethics (relationships with nature and responsibility for the common good of people).

    3.6 An analysis of communication and safety considerations of college students cell phone use
    Professor Peggy S. Meszaros, Center for Information Technology Impacts on Children, Youth, and Families, Virginia Tech, USA
    This paper examines cell phone usage with 605 US college students. Findings indicate that the cell phone is used for a variety of purposes with safety issues and communication with family and friends high profiles. The degree to which students are dependent on their cell phones and what they view as the negatives of their utilization are also examined, as well as features they desire in future cell phone technology.



    Submitted Paper Options

    2.1 Comparing home economics: A cross cultural perspective on values (Refereed paper)
    Dr Donna Pendergast, The University of Queensland
    Yvonne Dewhurst, University of Aberdeen, Scotland

    This paper goes beyond the local boundaries of home economics to consider home economics curriculum in another location of the world, literally seeking out new horizons by comparing the Scottish with the Australian, and in particular the Queensland context. The purpose of this comparison is to seek similarities and consistencies, and also discontinuities and contradictions, such that the question about what is valued, valuable and of value about home economics can be highlighted.

    2.2 Softwear to Software (Refereed paper)
    Rose Sinclair, Department of Design, Goldsmiths College, University of London, UK
    The implementation of CAD/CAM has resulted in teachers and students moving between the real and the virtual when designing and making textiles products. This paper will use case studies and exemplars to look critically at how teachers have implemented Speedstep software as a learning and teaching tool in the classroom, and discuss the Speedstep accredited teaching programme. The workshop will discuss how the software has provided a new impetus and direction for teaching textiles and consider how it will impact on the teaching of textiles for the future.

    2.3 The role and function of the school food service and its position within the school system (Refereed paper)
    Claire Drummond, PhD student, University of South Australia
    Dr Lorraine Sheppard, University of South Australia (not presenting)

    This paper provides a snapshot of a project that uses a case study design to investigates links between healthy eating and the design and management of school food services that are underpinned by a systems approach in keeping with the 'healthy promoting schools model', The paper also investigates the ethical role school canteens play and will lead to the development of usable and sustainable design and management recommendations that aim to influence children's eating habits through the school food service.

    2.4 Corporate responsibility-Making healthier foods
    Megan Cobcroft, Corporate Nutritionist, Unilever Australasia
    Nutrient benchmarks are a useful tool for food companies to use to reduce the content of saturated and trans fats, sodium and sugar in the food supply. This paper will consider Unilever's development of a globally applicable nutrient benchmarking method (Nutrition Score) to assess and enhance the nutritional composition of its products. The Nutrition Score has been used to improve the nutritional composition of products particularly in the area of sodium reduction. Already, the sodium content of more than 130 products has been reduced by 25%.

    2.5 Improving the financial literacy of college students
    Professor Brenda J. Cude, University of Georgia, USA
    Assistant Professor Angela Lyons, University of Illinois
    American Council on Consumer Interests Consumer Education Committee, USA

    This paper will review the strengths of the various models for improving the financial literacy of college students and suggest appropriate ways to evaluate the merits of the different approaches.

    2.6 Building whole-school wellbeing-Action for teachers and school communities
    Jill Pearman, NSW Project Officer, MindMatters
    In this session, delegates will explore MindMatters, a mental health-promotion resource for secondary schools that uses a whole school approach to mental health promotion and suicide prevention. The resource aims to enhance the development of school environments where young people feel safe, valued, engaged and purposeful, recognising that social and emotional health and wellbeing have been linked to improving outcomes for young people.

    4.1 The value of textiles education: promoting the moral, spiritual and cultural development of students (Refereed paper)
    Louise DuVernet, Australian Catholic University, NSW
    The study of textiles is now experiencing a 'revitalization movement'. For that movement to be successful in returning the textile teaching community to a steady state of valued existence, it is important to be aware of the cultural barriers to and enablers of that steady state. This paper, based on a doctoral study of the value of textiles education in secondary schools, argues for the study of textiles as vital in promoting the moral, spiritual and cultural development of students.

    4.2 Cooking up a storm: The health implications of fats and oils used in popular magazines
    Vanessa Lake and Nicole Senior, Sydney University & Unilever Australasia
    This paper reports on a survey of the types of fats and oils used in recipes within high-circulation magazines. The study suggests education may be required to assist the Australian food media promote a variety of healthy fats consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Australians.

    4.3 Embedding ethical decision making into the home economics curriculum
    Renae Stanton, Angela Custance, Jade Sottile, Home Economics Institute of Australia (Queensland)
    This paper will showcase how ethical decision-making was intentionally embedded in three curriculum units focussing on eating green, organic textiles and adolescents teaching adolescents about critical consumerism. It will show the planning process used to explicitly embed specific values and ethical decision-making in the curriculum intent, and then ensure these were reflected in the pedagogy and assessment. The paper will identify some of the teaching and learning strategies that were designed to help students develop an informed opinion about the ethics of practices.

    4.4 Effects of individual, family, and community resources on quality of life (Refereed paper)
    Professor Claudia J. Heath, University of Kentucky, USA
    Assistant Professor Baomei Zhao, University of Akron, USA
    Olga Dekhtyar, University of Kentucky, USA

    This paper reports on a study to consider the relationship among elements of three vectors: personal characteristics, family characteristics, and community resources and their effects on perception of quality of life. The quality of life measure was derived from the question 'Thinking about the needs of you and your household and thinking about the issues in this survey, overall, how do you perceive your situation in life? Would you say you are: (1) thriving, (2) safe, (3) stable, (4) at-risk, or (5) in-crisis?'

    4.5 The Move Well Eat Well for Schools project
    Karen Weitnauer, Department of Education, Tasmania
    The Move Well Eat Well project (MWEW) has developed an audit tool that identifies priorities for action to promote health and wellbeing in the school. The tool has led to reflection by staff as to the anomalies that exist within the school setting between knowledge and practice. This dissonance can be a powerful tool in creating change, and can influence activity at both school and wider community levels. This presentation will explore how MWEW is implementing the audit tool.

    4.6 Bullying in 21st century: The prevalence and effects of cyber verses traditional bullying
    Natasha Magson, Lucy Griezel, Petra Eriksson, Students, University of Western Sydney
    Researchers have postulated that cyber bullying is increasing in frequency and perceived as more distressing by victims. This paper reports on a study to ascertain whether these postulations were supported. It was concluded that cyber bullying is both more common and more distressful than traditional bullying. Results indicated that cyber bullying victimisation lasts longer than the traditional methods. Future focus and research should be directed toward the development of societal interventions to contain this growing phenomenon.



    Celebrity Chef Alternative

    3.7 Chocolate meets education through flexible delivery
    Dean Gibson, Hunter Institute of TAFE
    This presentation will include a demonstration of chocolate tempering and showcase lesson 1 of Chocolate & Confectionary 23165, a course being delivered flexibly to commercial students at Hamilton TAFE by students following instructions (sometimes at home) from either the internet or the CDROM that is provided. Delegates will learn where chocolate comes from and taste a range of excellent chocolate from Callebaut. This presentation is supported by the Hunter Institute of TAFE and industry partners Callebaut and F Mayer Imports.

    2.7 Experiencing the culture of Vietnam through food
    Peter Nguyen
    In this workshop, Peter will not only introduce you to the fundamentals of Vietnamese cuisine, such as 'Ying and Yang' and the medicinal side of Vietnamese herbs and mints, but also take you on a journey of the Vietnamese culture and culinary delights through his life story-the story of one of the first Vietnamese refugees in Australia.

    4.7 Spice appreciation
    Ian Hemphill, Herbie's Spices
    In this session, Ian (Herbie) Hemphill will navigate through the exotic waters of the history of the spice trade-their origins, how they are processed and traded and emerging issues that relate to spices and seasonings such as allergen risks and how to identify them. Herbie will de-mystify their flavours so that you will feel confident in personal use as well as teaching others.

    Conference Organiser
    Homepage: Home Economics Institute of Australia Biennial Conference
    Conference Organiser: ICMS Pty Ltd, 3rd Floor, 379 Kent Street, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
    Telephone: +61 2 9290 3366 , Facsimile: +61 2 9290 2444