Master Class 2008
Master Class program schedule and class descriptions
- Master Classes available in May 2008: Wednesdays 14, 21, 28 May 2008
- Master Class Day (multiple classes available in one day): Wednesday 2 July 2008
- Master Class session descriptions
- Apply for Master Class 2008: Applications close Friday 11 April 2008
Master Classes available in May 2008
| Date | Time | Class title (select a class title to see its description) |
|---|---|---|
| Wednesday 14 May 2008 | 4pm-5pm | The art of persuasion - does advertising really work? |
| Wednesday 21 May 2008 | 2pm-3pm | Blood, love and hounds |
| 3.30pm-5pm | Australians are living longer - will their retirement savings last? | |
| Wednesday 28 May 2008 | 4pm-5pm | Beautiful minds, bad people, and how to tell them apart |
Master Class Day (multiple classes available in one day)
Master Class Day is a special program allowing students to attend multiple Master Classes on the one day.
Select a class title to see its description.
Wednesday 2 July 2008: 10.15am-4.30pm:
| Registration: 10.15am-10.45am | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Session A | |||
| 11am-12noon | 11am-12noon | 11am-12noon | 11am-1pm |
| Session A1 I'm inFORmatics: turning raw data into useful information |
Session A2 The role of law in protecting the environment |
Session A3 Minds, machines and me |
Session A4 Psychology: science, art...common sense |
| Session B | |||
| 12.15pm-1.15pm | 12.15pm-1.15pm | 12.15pm-1.15pm | |
| Session B1 Fake or fossil: from dinosaurs to lava tubes, the spectacular world of fossils |
Session B2 Between a rock and hard place - ethical dilemmas in law |
Session B3 Secrets of economic forecasting |
|
| Lunch break: 1.15pm-2.15pm | |||
| Session C | |||
| 2.30pm-3.30pm | 2.30pm-3.30pm | 2.30pm-3.30pm | 2.30pm-4.30pm |
| Session C1 I can't believe my eyes |
Session C2 (repeat) I'm inFORmatics: turning raw data into useful information |
Session C3 (repeat) Minds, machines and me |
Session C4 (repeat) Psychology: science, art...common sense |
Master Class session descriptions
Australians
are living
longer - will their retirement savings last?
Presenter: Dr David Pitt
This class will introduce students to the world of Actuarial Studies with the aim of helping students to understand some of the issues relating to financing a long and financially comfortable retirement.
The class will begin with a presentation on life tables. Students will be stepped through examples of how to use population life tables to answer questions such as: "What is the probability that a retired female aged 65 will die before age 90?" or "Out of 100,000 male retirees aged 60, how many would we expect to celebrate their 100th birthday?" The class will then discuss how average life spans have increased over the past century and why we expect these increases in life expectancy to continue into the future. We will then use Excel spreadsheets to analyse how these longer lifetimes require people to save more money prior to retirement.
The class will be of most interest to students who enjoy mathematics and are keen to see why number skills are so valuable in the real world. The presenter will be available at the conclusion of the class to answer questions participants may have about the presentation or other career related issues.
Beautiful minds,
bad people, and how to tell them apart
Presenter: Dr Nikos Nikiforakis
Every day we make decisions that influence our lives: we choose friends and who to trust; we choose how much to work and how much to relax; we decide whether to be kind or unkind to others etc. Most of the times we do not pay much attention to these decisions, but if we did we could learn a lot about who we are, who others are and how to make smart decisions.
This class will introduce a simple framework that social scientists use to analyse situations and interactions, and present a simple-to-use method of evaluating others, ourselves, markets and public policies! In the beginning of the class, participants will take part in two entertaining and commonly-used experiments in social sciences. The experiments will be used as the basis of the subsequent discussion.
Between a rock
and hard place - ethical dilemmas
in law
Presenter: Mr Gary Cazalet
The cases of David Hicks, Dr Haneef, and the Tampa, the litigation over asbestos with James Hardie and tobacco in the Rolah McCabe case, raise fundamental questions about our justice system and the role of lawyers in our society. What tensions and conflicts did our justice system need to deal with in these famous cases? What would you have done if you had been the judge or a lawyer involved? In a practical class we will use cases and problems to explore how lawyers and the law deal with real ethical dilemmas.
Blood, love and
hounds
Presenter: Dr Cathy Deague
Dogs, like humans, need blood transfusions for a wide variety of reasons. The Canine Blood Bank at the Faculty of Veterinary Science is the only supplier of blood for transfusions in dogs throughout Australia. Learn about why we need to collect blood and how we process it. Find out why the blood bank has strict guidelines on who can donate. Discover if dogs have different blood types. Find out about this essential life saving service the veterinarians and dog lovers depend upon.
Fake or fossil:
from dinosaurs
to lava tubes, the spectacular world of fossils
Presenter: Dr Stephen Gallagher
Fossils can be used to turn back the pages of time to give vivid insights into the history of planet Earth. A wonderful array of fossils exist, from the lowliest bacteria at the dawn of life 3,500,000,000 years ago to the mightiest dinosaur 70,000,000 years ago. In this class we look at spectacular fossils to interpret the ancient climate and environment of Victoria. We will study several naturally occurring weird yet wonderfully shaped "blobs" that look like they were once living things. However, telling a "fake" fossil from a "real" fossil requires some detective work!
I can't believe my
eyes
Presenter: Dr Andrew Anderson
In general, we believe that what we see with our eyes accurately reflects what is going on in the world. But sometimes our perceptions can be distorted, as revealed most clearly to us by the visual tricks used in many optical illusions. This lecture will examine a number of situations where our eyes appear to give us false information about the world around us, and consider what this tells us about how the eye and brain function.
I'm inFORmatics: turning raw data into useful information
Presenters: Dr Andrew Lonie and Dr Bernie Pope
The world is awash with information. In the last 5 years we've produced and recorded more information than in the previous 50,000 years; and almost all of this new information is digital. Informatics is about using computers to work with digital information - gathering, using, storing, retrieving, and visualising information and data. It's the study of tools and technologies to solve problems in all types of settings, like finance and economics, journalism, biology, health, engineering, communication.
In this master class you will participate in a computer programming workshop and get hands-on experience of what it is like to study Informatics. See how the latest technology can be used to analyse everything from climate trends, to data from social networking sites such as Facebook. No previous programming experience is required - we will teach you the necessary skills during the class. You will leave the class with sufficient knowledge to write programs to solve interesting problems on your own, allowing you to turn raw data into useful information.
Minds, machines
and me
Presenter: Dr Marion J
Campbell
If machines can think, what use is your mind?
Humans are enhancing their mental and physical abilities without waiting for biological evolution. Technology promises the means of avoiding such 'undesirable' things as stupidity, suffering, disease, ageing, and involuntary death. Contact lenses and bionic ears are only the tip of the iceberg - in the future, we may have more and more artificial body parts.
The military is already using artificial enhancements and neurological intervention, and we could borrow DNA from other animals to address our biological shortcomings. Should we? Why carry your iPod, when you could have a chip inserted in your head? What does this mean for us, and for questions of identity and ethics? Is the future human?
Psychology: science, art...common sense
Presenter: Dr Meredith
McKague
Our understanding of behaviour comes from many sources...Art, literature, philosophy, genetics physiology...the list continues. All these disciplines say something about human behaviour. The workshops look at how psychologists draw from these and other sources to build knowledge and understanding of human behaviour.
This presentation will highlight the varied research techniques employed in psychological
research and provide an opportunity for students to participate in a research exercise.
Secrets of
economic
forecasting
Presenter: Prof Neville Norman
How do analysts forecast the economy and why do they concentrate on key variables such as interest rates and exchange rates? How can businesses use these forecasts and how do they predict sales and costs? We'll look at ways to measure the accuracy of forecasting and examine some big forecasting successes as well as some spectacular goofs!
You'll come to appreciate the reasons why economic studies remain relevant despite at times being inaccurate.
The art of persuasion - does
advertising really
work?
Presenter: Dr Danielle
Chmielewski
Perhaps the most visible aspect of many firms, such as Coca-Cola, Nike, Intel, McDonalds etc, is their marketing communication efforts. Everyday we are exposed to hundreds of advertisements and sales promotions in a range of mediums, from the TV, radio, magazines and billboards. But, how effective are these promotions really?
This class will introduce you to some of the key components of an effective marketing communications program through an examination of a number of award-winning, highly effective and amusing television advertisements.
The role of law in protecting the
environment
Presenter: Assoc Prof Lee
Godden
The class will examine how law at an international and national level has developed specific
forms of protection and regulation for the Environment. In particular, there will be an
introduction to the range of international environmental treaties and other legal instruments
such as the Kyoto Protocol. Several case studies on climate change and water, the dredging
of Port Phillip Bay, and biodiversity loss will be used to illustrate the major problems facing
environmental sustainability. The class will provide an overview of the major legislation covering
environmental impact in Australia.