Talk:University of Queensland

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Contents

[edit] Uni structure

The whole structure of the uni's divisions will change next year.

I'll add the Departments and Divisions Later.

The listing for the Faculty of Natural Resources, Agriculture and Veterniary Science needs to be updated. The Faculty now only consists of four schools (School of Agriculture and Horticulture, and the School of Land and Food Sciences was officially merged on 02 January 2007 to form the School of Land, Crop and Food Sciences). See www.uq.edu.au/lcafs for verification. --20:49, 23 January 2007 (UTC) User:Wally

[edit] Name

The official name of the university is "The University of Queensland", not "University of Queensland". This change was made a couple of years ago (see all of the logos on the UQ website for verification of this). This article needs to be updated (including it's entry in wikipedia as 'University of Queensland'). --20:49, 20 November 2006 (UTC) User:Wally

[edit] UQ Union

I'm deleting the part about the advent of VSU in 2006. Even Brendan Nelson has said that it isn't likely VSU will come into effect in 2006. --14:37, 10 November 2005 (UTC)Jimar

I've put it back in as it is very likely that at some point in the next year that it will be enacted. VSU is a real possibility and it deserves attention. Jaems 03:08, 13 November 2005 (UTC)

The whole section is unnecessary - a very brief overview and a link to the UQ Union page should suffice. Also, the University runs the Health Service, not the Union. Natgoo 12:05, 13 November 2005 (UTC)

Hey, Jimar, vindication is sweet - VSU has been enacted; but instead of putting it back in this article, I've left it out for the reasons Natgoo stated. Jaems 10:55, 15 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Rivalry with Griffith

The user bilous has taken it upon himself to attack the Griffith page and do everything in his power to create a mudslinging war between the two on wiki. It should be pointed out that UQ's own Student Law Society have serious qualms with the TC Beirne School of Law - http://www.uqls.com/?action=view_content&content_id=145. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Never29 (talk • contribs)

Hi there Never29, I am not sure how I missed this all the way back when. However my edits at that time were intended to modify the fairly charged accusations of theft/property damage etc into less defamatory statements. Call it defending my Uni against claims someone may have once destroyed a giant stuffed animal, call it cleaning up Wikipedia - regardless it's no longer in the article (at someone else's discretion) and hopefully this supposed rivalry can fade away. Bilious 16:54, 1 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] POV Quirk Removed

The reference to the TC Beirne School of Law being currently considered to the be the best law school in Queensland has been changed to the imperfect form- "was once". This was done to remove this biased POV reference, and also to reflect the more contemporarily relevant situation, given the current GUG rankings of law schools in Australia and the poor state of the TC Beirne School of Law, which apparently is not going to be rectified any time soon.

References to the other Australian universities as having "top law schools" have also been removed, given the recent GUG rankings, which are surely more persuasive than the self serving word-of-mouth used by the elitist private school graduates. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 144.133.215.4 (talk • contribs)

It seems to me that the Good Guides are rather vague about what they do. I have never actually read the guides myself since it requires either finding a hardcopy or getting into their pay-per-view site, but from all the big-noting I see over the place there are a variety of criteria by which a faculty/university can claim to be the "best". For example, Bond claim to be the best Law School in Australia in 2004. I know I shouldn't laugh. Perhaps in the alternative, the TC Beirne could be described as the "oldest" or having a "large number of noted alumni" and not rely on a commercial entity's analysis. Bilious 16:54, 1 February 2006 (UTC)

The Good Universities Guides are publications linked to the Graduate Careers Council of Australia (GCCA), which was the body which undertook the research to give the findings- Proctor, February 2006, at Page 3. The GCCA is a very well established and highly respected organisation, with its findings linked to the ABS and Vice Chancellor's Committee of Australia- http://www.dest.gov.au/archive/highered/hereview/submissions/submissions/G/GradCareersCouncil.htm; http://www.abs.gov.au/Websitedbs/d3110120.nsf/670754cd251ab689ca2566e1000501f2/2a26a102fee8c0acca256c2200283a10!OpenDocument I know that you are trying to discredit the findings presented in the Guides as meaningless promotions made by a "commercial organisation" (to quote one of your earlier comments, "how much does a copy of this Guide cost?"). The GCCA is a not for profit organisation, and would only be charging for use of its resources in order to recover the costs of disseminating its findings. Some of its findings may well be available without a pay-per-view, but I am too busy to run around looking for links. The findings of the Council are of far more weight than myths about the UQ Law School's quality (i.e. that it is somehow as good as it was 20 or so years ago)- myths which, repeated often enough, are almost given the appearance of truth. However, even oft-repeated mistruths will not stand in the face of the very real situation in the UQ Law School today. 144.133.214.247 13:50, 10 March 2006 (UTC)

As to the above- the ongoing problems of UQ's TC Beirne School of Law are serious and must remain noted. Alongside promotions of the (somewhat ailing) reputation of the School, there must be, for the sake of accuracy, a description of the School's unfortunate problems. 144.133.214.101 00:49, 3 February 2006 (UTC)


Probably, but it needs referencing, and so I've tagged it as such. Is there any confirmation of either these problems or that its being reveiwed? Iorek85 03:28, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

Re: "Citation needed"- Citation was provided in the form of the University of Queensland Law Society 2004 report, which highlighted many pressing academic and non-academic concerns facing the school. The report is currently offline, but will hopefully be available again online soon. I possess a copy of the report, and have written to the UQLS so that they might once again provide this report to all concerned parties. This report is part of the review process. As to the implementation of any of the recommendations, we all await the school's reform and correction of the problems listed in the report with anticipation.

Since you are on the St Lucia campus (I presume), you could visit the UQLS office to ask them about the status of the current report and review, maybe ask where one may obtain the 2004 report online (as it is not on the UQLS Web site at this time). That might be more helpful than prodding busy people by e-mail, as I have had to do.

Please note that the 2004 report is a review of the law school. The 2006 review of the LLB is not its equivalent.

Re: TC Beirne;To be honest I don't think any opinionative evaluation of something as subjective as the quality of a Law School belongs in what should be an Encylcopaedia. Particularly given the writer doesn't include what exactly is wrong with it, nor even a simple explanation of what a quality law school is now, nor the example of the current 'best law school'. As for Bond ... In my opinion private tertiary institutions in this country possess now and will continue to possess the stigma of a purchased, rather than an earned education, and while that persists graduates will likely be perceived as spoilt brats by the "Sandstone set" old boys' clubs. Bond himself doesn't do much for the rep either. As for the UQLS; I wouldn't exactly define their findings as scientific - they're a motley crew part-timing a social club that needs to have an agenda of educational evaluation otherwise they wouldn't get their $5 grand from the Union. I think this whole section should be excluded - whether TC Beirne is a quality law school is far too subjective, and largely irrelevant in this arena. ---Cuomo111 00:44, 21 June 2006 (UTC)

It's been nearly a month. I can't leave a POV section like that in there without references. Yes, I go to U.Q, but I have no qualms with criticising the establishment. The disclaimer just looked wrong, and if the section needs one, then it shouldn't be in wikipedia. As soon as some referenced criticisms can be found, of course, anyone is welcome to put them in. Iorek85 01:05, 21 June 2006 (UTC)

Good call Jaems 23:47, 21 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Infobox Australian University and Logo Updates

I've changed the Infobox template from the generic university one to the Australian University one. Additionally I've rendered up the logo of UQ and uploaded it in the superior PNG format. I think it looks quite fetching. Bilious 16:54, 1 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Don't Forget the Staff

Anyone editing who knows anything about notable staff (i.e. ones who'd pass WP:PROF) should feel free to add them to the "Notable Staff" section I've created. Elson, Moorhead and Sussex are there because I know that the former two are regarded as authorities and because the third has his radio show, but there must be leading scholars in the other schools/faculties as well, I just don't know a famous engineer or legal academic from a hole in the wall. Just use their pages on the UQ site for starters, or if you're in their good books you could probably get some info out of them by Email or in person. BigHaz 11:21, 30 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Notable Staff

I believe that Professor John Quiggin should be added to the UQ Notable Staff list. All one must do is read his wikipedia article to realise what an amazing economist this man is.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Quiggin http://www.uq.edu.au/economics/johnquiggin/

Also, Dr. Carl Ungerer is a genious in the study of terrorism (which is a hot topic at the moment). He used to be the Foreign Affairs and National Security Advisor to the Leader of the Federal Opposition. Furthermore, he has appeared on the ABC program 'Lateline' on more than one occasion.

http://www.uq.edu.au/solutions/researcher/ungerercj.html

I'll add Quiggin. Ungerer I'm not sure about, but if you think he's notable enough then add him in. The bottom line is that anyone and everyone can do this. BigHaz 08:48, 11 August 2006 (UTC)
Ungerer is in fact notable (I've read up on him since I posted this) and I'll give him a skinny bio later this week once I'm free of exams). BigHaz - Schreit mich an 02:17, 3 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Merge tag

Who the duckins suggested that the entry for an Australian university be merged into that of a subject-specific organisation? I am removing the tag. Anyone who wishes to replace it can do so, so long as they come up with some basic rationale. Elysium 845 00:17, 3 November 2006 (UTC)

I think you'll find that it's a poor application of the way these things are meant to work. The Institute's page has the same tag on it (of course operating in the opposite direction) and I think it's meant to be taken as merging the Institute into UQ itself. There are better tags which could've been applied, but that's how I read the situation. BigHaz - Schreit mich an 02:17, 3 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] UQ people

UQ has a lot of distinguished graduates and staff, i've started and article here, based on the other Aus. university articles in the same category. Please add it to you watchlist and help fill in the gaps.--Peta 04:20, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] PAIN - Physics Association ...

Can someone verify this association exists. The material was moved onto the UQ page, but does not belong here. I have moved it back off into an article, *PAIN, University of Queensland. If it does not exist or is not a prominent and there fore notable article then please delete. Rimmeraj 04:43, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

Also, there are many other organisations. can someone fill these in?

I know the association exists (and will try to scare up some hard-copy proof in the next 24hrs or so), since an acquaintance of mine has actually spoken at their Error Bars. With any luck, the proof of existence when I find it will be more than just that and we'll be able to determine notability into the bargain. For the record, though, I agree with the move - there's no point adding "biographies" of student associations to the article on the uni in question. BigHaz - Schreit mich an 04:59, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

I'll own up to having - as is shown in the history - moved material from what's now a redirect to a section under University based Organisations. Rimmeraj, please don't make any additional new articles. it's had two homes already and they are both now redirects back to here. Other contributors are less tolerant of retaining this level of content than I am as can be seen by what has happened to PAIN, University of Queensland. If PAIN is going to be at a different article then it needs to be able to stand as a seperate article having notability, and material attributable to sources independant of the organisation itself.Garrie 23:10, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

I agree. I was not aware of the original article. All I knew of was the addition of the text that should not be in the university article. So as you have already mentioned, I moved it back off the uni article and into its own page so it could either be deleted because it is not notable, or kept. I have reverted the redirect, as it is an inappropriate way to 'delete' content. I am glad to see you have already done what I was directing the original editor to do.. add the delete tags.
as a side point, it was your original edit without following the proper merge process that caused the problem in the first place. If the article has been discussed for merging it would have been made clear that putting the information on the University page was not appropriate before the merge was attempted.

Thanks Rimmeraj 23:35, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

GO along to AfD and the recommendation would be split merge / delete. The page I saw is a redirect now...Garrie 23:51, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Geolinks Top Right Corner

In both Firefox and IE, the inclusion of multiple geographical references pile up over each other to render the coordinates un-readable, and only one clickable. I would remove the multiple references, but I cannot seem to locate them! Is there some sort of external reference that can insert this information? If there is, how do we remove it? Bilious 09:57, 1 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Jacaranda folklore

University exam superstitions like this one are not uncommon and not notable enough to deserve their own articles. Deletion might be the most appropriate option but I'm proposing a merger to give it the benefit of the doubt. Gimboid13 10:25, 3 August 2007 (UTC)

No objection from me. I'm assuming that the article is sufficiently referenced, of course. A lot of the articles on universities in Europe and the US have sections about superstitions and odd things like this, so it wouldn't be revolutionary to include this one here. BigHaz - Schreit mich an 12:18, 3 August 2007 (UTC)
Support merge or rather brief mention in the university article. The article will be deleted otherwise. --Bduke 00:24, 5 August 2007 (UTC)

a merger would be appropriate in this case. it adds a little heritage value to the uni. any big institutions with old and venerable buildings and grounds inevitably have legends and myths surrounding it, UQ can only benefit from the publicity of this superstition.--Emogrande 04:14, 7 August 2007 (UTC)

This is the material that was in the artcile if anyone cares to add part of to the U of Q article. However it needs better sources. The first source below is possably OK but the second is not. Note I have downgraded the headings to ensure they are part of this section.

Large tree in full bloom
Large tree in full bloom

[edit] History

Jacarandas have long graced the St Lucia campus of the University of Queensland. They bloom towards the end of the academic year which has lead to the common comment within the campus that if you haven't started studying by the time the Jacarandas bloom, you're in trouble.

[edit] Myths

From this kernel of truth - you need to get studying before the exam season starts - the Jacarand has come to represent a malign Cherry blossom in the hearts of University of Queensland students. There are a number of myths and legends popular among students, concerning how the falling blossoms affect academic performance.

  • If the blossoms fall on your car, you will fail your next exam.
  • You will drop a GPA (Grade Point Average, ranked 1-7) for each blossom that falls on you.
  • If a blossoms falls on you on your way to the exam, you will fail the exam.
  • A student once articulated this in poetic prose in a message to his loved ones:

"The amazing thing about Brisbane at the moment are the jacaranda trees. They bloom in mass purple and in such abundance that students associate them directly with exam performance. There is a saying up here that if a jacaranda blossom falls on your head before and exam you will fail. I am staying indoors"

[edit] Examples of Jacaranda blossoms symbolising exams

--Bduke 23:43, 7 September 2007 (UTC)

There's not much that can be done with the sources as given, since the NUS one is more about exam preparation than about folklore of this nature. Still, I'll keep an eye out in case I find something on Google. BigHaz - Schreit mich an 00:07, 8 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] faculty number in infobox

The combined number of faculty and staff should be replaced with the figures for faculty only because that is the more useful information about the university, especially in the context of determing faculty-student ratios (which is a key component of many university rankings). 58.174.100.35 (talk) 10:55, 21 December 2007 (UTC)