The research from the University of South Australia found that staff who worked outside of normal hours were more likely to suffer from burnout, psychological distress, and poor physical health.

With nearly two years of working from home blurring the lines between work and home life, the researchers found that large numbers of staff feel pressured to be available all the time.

The researchers surveyed 2200 staff across 40 Australian universities and found that 26 per cent felt they had to respond to work-related texts, calls and emails from supervisors during their leisure time.

While 57 per cent of employees said that they’d sent work-related digital communications to other colleagues in the evenings and 36 per cent reported it was the norm to respond immediately to digital communication at their institution.

UniSA researcher Dr Amy Zadow said that Australian workers are feeling more pressure than ever because of the need to be available 24-7.

“Since COVID-19, the digitalisation of work has really skyrocketed, blurring work boundaries and paving the path for people to be contactable at all hours,” Dr Zadow said.

“But being available to work both day and night limits the opportunity for people to recover – doing things such as exercise and catching up with friends and family – and when there is no recovery period you can start to burn out."

Zadow and her team found that those uni staff who were under pressure to respond out of work hours reported reported higher levels of psychological distress (56 per cent compared to 42 per cent); emotional exhaustion (61 per cent compared to 42 per cent); and poor physical health (28 per cent compared to 10 per cent).

“Our research shows that high levels of out-of-hours work digital communication can have a significant impact on your physical and mental wellbeing, affecting work-family relationships, causing psychological distress, and poor physical health," said Zadow.

“Conversely, workers who kept their work boundaries in check experienced less stress and pressure.”

Created in the wake of the Napthine Review, the role of the commissioner will be to oversee the implementation of the strategy to improve regional, rural and remote tertiary education.

Nash, a former Nationals deputy leader, served as Senator for NSW between 2004-2017 and held key portfolios such as Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Regional Communications and Minister for Rural Health.

Since leaving politics, Nash has been the strategic adviser for regional engagement and government relations at Charles Sturt University, and this year became a director of the New South Wales Skills Board.

Minister for Regionalisation, Regional Communications and Regional Education, Senator Bridget McKenzie, said Nash brings a strong knowledge of education to the role, and will be a fierce advocate for students in the area.

"I know Fiona is committed to driving implementation of the recommendations from the Napthine Review, and will work to reduce the disparity between city and country students, particularly in relation to education participation and attainment.

“The role of the Commissioner will bring a national focus and direction for regional and remote education and champion the educational needs of students in regional communities.

“This will include advocating for the improvement of education policies spanning early childhood education and care, schools, and tertiary education to better support regional, rural and remote students."

Nash said she looks forward to working with all stakeholders in the sector in the pursuit of improving educational outcomes for students.

"The Napthine Review identified country Australians are less than half as likely to obtain a university degree by the age of 35, compared to those in our cities,” she said.

“There are many factors that contribute to this gap, and I welcome the opportunity to work to ensure every Australian has the option to access and benefit from a high-quality education, regardless of where they live.”

Nash will serve an initial three-year term.

Deeks comes to Murdoch from University College Dublin, where he has served as president since 2014. He was the first Australian to lead an Irish university.

The move will be a homecoming for Deeks who was educated at The University of Western Australia, where he received a first class honours degree in civil engineering, a masters and his PhD, as well as starting his academic career there from 2004 to 2009.

Murdoch has been searching for a new VC since March this year when previous VC Eeva Leinonen resigned after five years at the helm.

Murdoch University Chancellor Gary Smith said the Murdoch senate accepted the recommendation of a specially established selection committee.

"I am delighted Professor Deeks has accepted the position and will be leading Murdoch University at such a critical time for the higher education sector and what we expect will be an exciting time in Murdoch University’s history,” Smith said.

Deeks said that he is excited to come back to WA and help Murdoch thrive in this time of disruption.

“Murdoch University has a global reputation for its research, teaching and learning, particularly in the areas of the environment, health and food, and with its tradition of free thinking is ideally placed to contribute to the solution of global challenges and to further promote social inclusion and equity,” Deeks said.

“I am particularly excited to be part of Murdoch University’s Reconciliation Action Plan, as this is an agenda which has moved forward considerably during my time abroad.

“I am delighted to have the opportunity to bring the knowledge, skills and experience I have gained from more than 12 years in leadership positions in leading UK and Irish universities back to WA, and I look forward to contributing to the advancement of Murdoch University, WA and Australia."

Former Deakin VC and UWA interim VC Jane den Hollander will act as Interim vice chancellor until April 2022.

Professor Sue Bennett is the University of Wollongong’s new executive dean of the Faculty of the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities.

Bennett has been acting executive dean since May this year, and brings nearly 30 years’ experience in teaching, research and academic leadership in education, technology and the humanities.

UOW vice-chancellor Professor Patricia Davidson said Bennett was the right person at the right time for the university.

“With her impressive track record in teaching and academic leadership, combined with her research in the field of technology enhanced learning, Professor Bennett’s insights into the needs of today’s ‘digital natives’ and the importance of digital inclusion makes her the perfect choice for this role.”

MEREDITH STEPS UP

Flinders University has appointed Associate Professor Maree Meredith director of Poche SA+NT – an Aboriginal-led centre focused on improving health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Meredith, a Bidjara woman, joined Flinders in 2012 as an academic and student, and has been acting director of Poche SA+NT since August 2019.

She said the appointment “demonstrates a commitment to growing grassroots leadership at Flinders as I was the first Poche PhD graduate and now as the director, I can help to grow the next generation of leaders and scholars”.

FIRST NATIONS FOCUS

Charles Darwin University has appointed Professor Reuben Bolt as deputy vice-chancellor First Nations Leadership.

CDU becomes just the third Australian university to make such an appointment.

Bolt, a proud Yuin/Wandandian and Ngarigo man, joined CDU in January 2020 as the Pro Vice-Chancellor Indigenous Leadership and Regional Outreach.

“This appointment is significant for the country, and it tells the community that the university is serious about addressing issues that First Nations people experience around unemployment and addresses the lack of representation of First Nations peoples in senior leadership roles,” Bolt said.

BISHOP BACKS UP

ANU has voted to reappoint the Hon Julie Bishop as chancellor for a second four-year term, commencing in 2023.

“It is a privilege for ANU to have as its chancellor one of the nation’s most eminent leaders in Julie Bishop,” said vice chancellor Brian Schmidt.

“She has raised the university’s profile domestically and abroad, and has further extended the university’s global connections through a tireless program of engagement and advocacy, hindered, but not deterred, by the pandemic.”

Bishop is ANU’s first female chancellor, and was appointed to the role in August 2019, before beginning her first term on 1 January 2020.

NEW DEPUTY VC AT UOW

UOW has appointed Warwick Shanks as deputy chancellor, taking over from Dr Elizabeth Magassy who has held the position since 2017.

He was appointed to the UOW Council by the NSW Education Minister in 2018, and will serve alongside fellow deputy chancellor, Robert Ryan.

Shanks brings over 30 years’ experience in corporate governance, audit and risk management.

CHESWORTH NEW UA DEPUTY

Universities Australia has appointed Peter Chesworth as its new deputy chief executive, succeeding Anne-Marie Lansdown who retired in November.

UA chief executive Catriona Jackson said Chesworth’s policy expertise and wealth of experience in the public sector made him ideally qualified for the role.

“Peter has had a long and distinguished public service career, culminating in his most recent role with the Department of Defence,” she said.

“Peter brings a deep understanding of the operation of government and parliamentary processes, as well as broad policy experience and knowledge.”

In an address to Labor faithful in Sydney, Anthony Albanese will outline his pitch to open up 20,000 additional university places and make TAFE free for courses that address areas of critical skills shortages.

Under the $1.2 billion plan, 465,000 free TAFE places will be created in addition to a further 45,000 fee-paying places.

“This is good policy for jobs, good policy for people looking to train or retrain, and good policy for businesses, which need more skilled workers,” Albanese said.

Earlier this week, the Morrison Government boasted it was doing the “heavy lifting” to support TAFE.

“The Morrison Government has delivered the highest number of trade apprentices on record,” Skills Minister Stuart Robert said.

“Hundreds of thousands of Australians are upskilling or reskilling thanks to JobTrainer, TAFE funding has increased, and record levels of Commonwealth financial supports are in place to support Australians to get world-leading job-ready skills.”

But since the coalition came to power in 2013, there are 85,000 fewer apprenticeships and traineeships.

“One in four Australian businesses are experiencing critical skills shortages at the same time there are two million Australians who are either looking for a job or want to work more hours,” Albanese said.

“While many states and territories have invested in the skills and training sector, the Morrison Government has neglected the backbone of our vocational educational system – public TAFE.”

Albanese will also promise that if elected a Labor government will invest $481.7 million to deliver up to 20,000 extra university places over two years.

Funding would be prioritised for universities who offered additional places in areas of national priority, such as engineering, nursing, IT and education.

Places would also be prioritised for universities offering places for people in regional, remote and outer-suburban areas, those who are the first in their family to study at university, and Indigenous Australians.

“Our Year 12s have had the final school years from hell. Our students didn’t ask for this significant disruption,” Albanese said.

“Labor’s commitment will help lighten the load for school leavers at a very stressful time.”

The Education Minister went public with his extramarital affair with former staffer Rachelle Miller last year.

But on Thursday, Miller came forward with allegations their relationship was abusive and the result of a power imbalance.

Scott Morrison said the issues were “deeply concerning” and “deeply distressing for Miller, Tudge, and the families affected by these events”.

“I have discussed Ms Miller’s statement with Mr Tudge, who refuted the allegations made,” Morrison told parliament.

“Given the seriousness of the claims made by Ms Miller, it’s important these matters be resolved fairly and expeditiously.

“To this end, the Minister has agreed to my request to stand aside while these issues are addressed by my department, through an independent and fair process.”

Mr Tudge denied the accusations in a strongly worded statement, insisting that while he “deeply regretted” the affair, the relationship was entirely consensual.

“I completely and utterly reject Ms Miller‘s accusations,” Tudge said.

“Both of us have acknowledged publicly that we had a consensual affair in 2017. This is something that I regret deeply. It contributed to the end of my marriage that year.

“It should not have happened.”

Tudge declared he would be taking personal leave until Christmas, due to the “personal impacts” of Miller’s claims.

Morrison said the investigation would enable his department to provide him with any further advice regarding any implications for the ministerial standards.

“I do wish to stress that this action, in no way seeks to draw a conclusion on these matters,” he said.

“I note that Minister Tudge has welcomed this process, and he looks forward to participating.”

Morrison’s chief of staff will contact Miller.

Speaking earlier at Parliament House, Miller said she wanted to say that what had happened to her “was not OK”.

She claimed that while on a work trip with Tudge, where former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and other government ministers were in attendance, she had woken up “completely naked” after a night of drinking.

“I could not remember a single thing from the night before. I don’t remember how we ended up in the room. I don’t remember leaving the bar. I don’t remember if we had sex. I don’t remember if we used protection,” she said.

“I still don’t. I was too afraid to ask if he remembered.

“I had no option but to bury it and continue my job on an extremely busy day a long way from my home.”

Tudge has firmly refuted Miller’s claims, saying “I completely and utterly reject Ms Miller’s version of events”.

Earlier, Liberal senators Holly Hughes and Jane Hume both rejected calls for the Minister to step down.

Senator Hughes said while she hadn’t spoken to Miller, she did not believe anyone could be sacked on the basis of an unproven claim.

“I don’t think people should be sacked because someone makes an accusation against them,” she said.

“This was a consensual affair. That’s he said/she said, and Minister Tudge has denied those allegations.

“I don’t think you can be sacked on the basis of an unproven allegation that occurred in a consensual affair that they’ve both said they regret.”

Hume said she would urge Tudge to “reflect on his behaviours”.

“Mr Tudge is a close colleague and a good friend. I think he’s excellent in his portfolio, and without allegations substantiated … I think he should be staying in,” she said.

She said she felt “really sad” that Rachelle Miller did not participate in a review into the affair.

The review was carried out by the Department of Finance.

“If she had felt supported to participate in that review, maybe there would have been a different outcome,” Hume said.

“But the review found that the allegations were unsubstantiated.

“If that independent inquiry had have happened today, I would hope that Rachelle Miller would have felt supported enough by her colleagues and by her workplace to be able to come forward and make her case.

“Every woman should feel comfortable coming forward if they feel that they have been treated poorly, if they feel that they’ve been harassed, if they feel that they’ve been bullied … Everybody should feel supported in this place.”

Tensions are rising over the conduct of members of parliament, after Greens senator Lidia Thorpe apologised for inappropriate comments levelled against Senator Hughes.

Hughes said Thorpe had said “at least I kept my legs shut”, in a comment that “every single person” that spoke to her in the aftermath inferred was a reference to her autistic son.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been so offended,” she said.

“I hope people really take some stock over the Christmas break and think about their behaviour and the way they conduct themselves, but I do believe most people in this place act incredibly well.

“There are obviously a few bad examples, and I think Senator Thorpe displayed last night that she needs to spend a lot of time thinking about how she engages with her fellow senators.”

Thorpe said in a statement she regretted interjecting with inappropriate language, and apologised “unreservedly” to the Senator.

“However, I thoroughly reject any suggestion that I directly or indirectly referenced Senator Hughes’ family,” she said.

“That characterisation of my interjection is completely untrue, and more importantly, harmful to every disabled person.”

While Tudge stands aside, Stuart Robert will act as Education Minister.

But what is the Metaverse?

Put simply, the metaverse is a version of the real world and everything in it, available through Virtual Reality (VR) for an online connected environment.

The Metaverse now is in the same stage of development as the internet was in the 1990s. It’s largely unknown to the masses and full of potential.

Facebook may have changed its name to Meta, but no one person or company will ever own the Metaverse. Soon there will be a plethora of enablers and content creators designing Metaverse spaces that are inclusive, open and available to everyone.

For the education sector, we are now in a critical discovery phase. The opportunity exists to look at how businesses can incorporate the Metaverse into their offerings and design the future of online learning.

Taking education up a grade

Although COVID-19 accelerated the adoption of online education, the sector had been on this trajectory before the pandemic. Virtual Reality (VR) can take us the rest of the way.

We’ve already seen examples of VR across training in medicine and even mechanical engineering. Students can be transported to surgical suites in some of the world's leading hospitals to work on a patient, or can see a motor deconstructed piece by piece to learn how it operates.

One recent example came via Unitec New Zealand, which enlisted Method’s help to create a new online learning experience for its students. Using VR, we were able to take students from the classroom and shrink them down to the size of the micro creatures they were studying. Then, we used this online space to show them a different way of discovering information, therefore creating a new, engaging way to learn.

Online learning through the Metaverse will be the new field work. Students will have access to endless professionals and real-life experiences to help them discover more about the world.

But as with any new technology, it is safer to take baby steps. If you move people out of their comfort zone too quickly, it will be hard to make lasting changes.

Start from the beginning

For those in the space, creating familiar environments within the online world is an excellent first step. It’s the ideal way for people to begin their Metaverse journey without causing too much disruption.

Start by looking at what you currently do, and how that can appear in an online environment. Most likely you’ll begin in a virtual class where students can come and connect with the topics and be present in an immersive space. Take it a little further with something a bit out of the ordinary and make the most of what VR was made for – fully immersive experiences – and you’ll see a more natural engagement with students and lecturers alike.

Although we can expect individual providers to start building spaces online based on traditional thinking, what will create true innovation is when people really think outside the box.

Consider what the next level could look like. Ask yourself what would you do if you were able to make this a more inclusive, interesting, engaging, fun way to learn.

Auckland University's Your World Your Way is a great example of using immersive technology to take a standard offering and create a new engaging experience for students. The portal was presented as an online virtual world with areas to explore, events to join and people to connect with. Although this was a simple online portal, it is a great example of starting something small which can grow, with the help of virtual reality, to become even more immersive.

The Metaverse is certainly not limited to online classrooms, but it is a good place to start to open up traditional forms of learning.

Hire outside the box
Moving away from tradition is going to be hard for many organisations within the education sector. So it’s important to bring in people who can think outside the square. By leaning on those who aren’t in the sector – those with the ability to help frame environmental learning – you are providing a new level of strategic thinking to your offering.

The key to making the most of the Metaverse is working together. The whole industry can start to engage diverse thinkers to create the new age of digital learning.

It’s time to start looking at this space seriously and that will only happen with collaboration. There needs to be a leader in the space, one who is not just creating marketable content for new students, but truly reworking their education framework to target the students of the future.

And if you think it doesn't concern your business, be aware: the Metaverse isn’t a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.

Sam Ramlu is the founder and managing director of Method, a creative technology studio.

The Monash University Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences on Tuesday said it was well prepared to make a specific vaccine to protect against the new variant of the virus if necessary.

“The new variant Omicron has an unprecedented number of mutations in its receptor binding domain. How concerned we should be about this variant remains to be seen,” research team head Colin Pouton said.

“But our RBD mRNA vaccine program is perfectly suited to producing a specific vaccine to protect against this new variant.”

The world is holding its breath waiting to find out if the currently available Covid-19 vaccines are less effective against Omicron than the earlier variants.

The chief executive of vaccine manufacturer Moderna told the Financial Times on Tuesday he believed current jabs were unlikely to be as effective against the Omicron strain.

“There is no world, I think, where (the effectiveness) is the same level … we had with Delta,” Stephane Bancel said.

“I think it's going to be a material drop. I just don’t know how much because we need to wait for the data.

“But all the scientists I’ve talked to are saying ‘this is not going to be good’.”

Australia’s chief medical officer Paul Kelly was more optimistic, noting the preliminary information about the new variant indicated its symptoms were “mild” and there was no reason to believe existing vaccines were less effective against it.

“We do not have any evidence at the moment in the laboratory, in clinical studies or from a population-wide basis that there is a problem with the vaccines – as far as we know the vaccines work,” Kelly told Sky News on Monday.

In the event current vaccines were less effective against Omicron, Monash University’s world-class research meant it would be ready to adapt to Australia’s changing Covid-19 needs, vice-chancellor Margaret Gardner said.

“Monash is at the cutting edge of mRNA/RNA therapeutics development, and with the emergence of the Omicron variant, we have been reminded how crucial it is for Australia to develop vaccine and manufacturing sovereign capability,” Professor Gardner said.

“Working collaboratively with the Australian and Victorian governments, other research institutions and our industry partners, Monash is committed to ensuring Australia is well placed for long-term resilience against Covid-19.”

In June, the Victorian Government granted Monash University $5m through mRNA Victoria to manufacture a vaccine.

It has now successfully manufactured the vaccine candidate in preparation for Phase 1 clinical trials to be conducted by the Doherty Institute early next year.

Phase 1 clinical trials are expected to take six months.

Researchers from Edith Cowan University investigated whether coffee intake affected the cognitive decline of more than 200 people over a decade.

They found that those who drank more coffee performed better than in a number of cognitive tests.

“We found participants with no memory impairments and with higher coffee consumption at the start of the study had lower risk of transitioning to mild cognitive impairment — which often precedes Alzheimer’s disease — or developing Alzheimer’s disease over the course of the study,” said lead investigator Dr Samantha Gardener.

Gardener and her team found that more cups produced positive results in certain areas of cognitive function, specifically executive function which includes planning, self-control and attention.

Although the research did not find out what a healthy maximum cups per day might be, it does suggest that increasing that one-cup-per day habit to two-a-day could be incredibly beneficial to brain health.

“If the average cup of coffee made at home is 240g, increasing to two cups a day could potentially lower cognitive decline by eight per cent after 18 months,” Dr Gardener said. 

Gardener said although further research was needed, the study was encouraging as it indicated drinking coffee could be an easy way to help delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. 

“It’s a simple thing that people can change,” she said. 

“It could be particularly useful for people who are at risk of cognitive decline but haven’t developed any symptoms.”

Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted of murdering two people and injuring another at the protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in the summer of 2020, he was just 17 at the time.

The Rittenhouse trial was highly politicised with those on the right claiming he was a patriot who was protecting himself and property from violent protesters, while those on the left see his acquittal as another example of an unjust system which protects a man who adheres to white supremacist ideals. 

And the controversy continued to follow the teen even as the trial ended. 

In his first interview after the verdict, on right wing news channel Fox News and with Fox's most right wing interviewer — Tucker Carlson, Rittenhouse said he had enrolled in online courses at Arizona State University and intends to attend classes in person in the future.

He said he was studying to become a nurse.

However, a group of students at the university demanded this week that Rittenhouse be removed form online classes and ban him from campus, as reported by the Guardian.

Members of Students for Socialism ASU, Students for Justice in Palestine, the Multicultural Solidarity Coalition and Mecha de ASU all called for Ritenshouse's removal and the ASU alliance was planning a “killer off our campus” rally at the university’s Tempe headquarters on Wednesday.

However, a university spokesperson has since told reporters that Rittenhouse is "not enrolled" at the university, according to the Phoenix New Times.

It is still not clear why his status has changed, but the "killer off campus" rally is still slated to go ahead.