Winter 2006 - Faculty of Business and Law - Victoria University

DEGREES 

WINTER EDITION 2006 

SCHOOL OF HOSPITALITY, TOURISM & MARKETING 

INSIDE 

SUCCESS ON WHEELS...p 4 

THE PASSIONATE ENTREPRENEUR...p 9 

XSIGHTMENT AHEAD FOR VU...p 10 

COVER STORY: RISKY BUSINESS...p 11


A FLYING START 

Ryan Stapely (BBus Hosp & 

Tourism Mgmt, 2006) turned 

his volunteer time at the recent 

Melbourne Commonwealth Games 

into a terrific job. Here’s his story. 

‘I volunteered for the Commonwealth Games 

and was made a Print Distribution Assistant, 

really just a glorified photocopier, a rather 

disappointing role. But just before the start 

of the Games an email went out to all 

‘vollies’ (volunteers at the Games) asking 

if they would be available for extra shifts: 

the marathons, the Games Village and the 

airport were all available. I’ve always been 

a big fan of commercial aircraft (working in 

the aviation industry has been my lifelong 

ambition) so I put my hand up for airport 

shifts, where I was made Arrivals/Departures 

Assistant for the Melbourne Airport night 

shift, 10.30 pm to 7.00 am. Mind you, I was 

also working full time in my retail job during 

the day so it was quite a stretch for me to 

manage it all! 

‘I did five night shifts before the start of the 

Games, which ranged from helping arrivals 

into cars through to greeting athletes as they 

arrived, and then I moved into the role of 

Air Data Co-ordinator and VIP Liaison, a 

job usually held by a paid employee during 

the day and afternoon shift, so it was a 

pretty significant job. It proved to be terrific 

and I was delighted to get a role with such 

responsibility. I was really proud of the day I 

had three Nigerian officials turn up at 4.30 

am saying that the Nigerian President was 

on a flight arriving at 5.30 that morning, and 

they needed a limousine for him to the city. 

So at 4.40 in the morning I made a few 

phone calls and arranged a limo that turned 

up just as he came out of the VIP rooms!’ 

Would you like a job 

‘The Monday after the Closing Ceremony 

I mentioned that if they were short-staffed 

at the airport I would be pleased to come 

back and help. And at 1 o’clock that 

afternoon they called me at work to find 

out when I could get out to the airport! I 

ran the international departures level floor, 

which was heaps of fun. At one point we 

had over 1,000 athletes on five flights from 

12 countries... I sure did a lot of running! I 

wound up spending most of my time with the 

staff at Emirates since they had the majority 

of the athletes. The Passenger Services 

Manager at Emirates gave me his business 

card, asked me to come back the next 

night to help out and to give him a call in a 

couple of days, which is what I did. 

‘When I came back on the next day, I was 

asked to run the floor again. The night went 

well, except when the bus carrying the 15 

disabled Nigerian athletes broke down... I 

really wanted them to be first through. But 

we got all flights out on time, and I was told 

to email my resume to Menzies Aviation with 

whom I’d been working. 

‘By now I had emailed my resume to both 

Emirates AND Menzies. Emirates was the 

first to reply with a position in their Business 

and First Class Lounge, but it wasn’t to start 

until October because the lounge wasn’t 

built yet!’ 

Or would you prefer this job 

‘On 25th April I received a phone call from 

Menzies and on Monday 16th May I started 

my new job as a Customer Service Officer! 

Menzies operates in 23 countries and 90 

airports around the world. They are a ground 

handling agent, so initially I’m being trained 

as a Check In Agent, but there’s so much 

opportunity here. At Melbourne they do 

the ground handling for Austrian Airlines, 

Emirates, Thai Airways and Singapore 

Airlines, as well as the ramp, cargo and 

mishandled luggage for Cathay Pacific. 

‘I’m on the Singapore Airlines account, 

and the training we’ve received so far is 

fantastic. I have had the opportunity to sit in 

the tug (the vehicle that pulls out planes) as 

the ramp guys pushed back a 777, toured 

the tarmac, cargo sheds and baggage sort 

room, walked through a Singapore aircraft 

and even been up into the cargo hold of a 

Cathay Pacific plane. How cool is that’ 

How great is this job 

‘I’m just in my element. We start system 

training for Singapore Airlines in a week and 

I check in my first passenger on Friday of the 

following week. 

‘With everything I’d learned at VU, and all 

the support I got from the staff, I had the right 

knowledge and the right attitude. And I also 

knew that being a ‘vollie’ at the Games was 

going to give me great experience. I was 

exhausted and excited for a few days while I 

did the volunteering, but the benefit of being 

seen, knowing what to do and having the 

right attitude has sure paid off!’ 

To contact Ryan Stapely email him 

at ryan_s_stapely@hotmail.com 

Degrees is produced by LongDog & 

Associates on behalf of the Publisher: 

School of Hospitality, Tourism & 

Marketing, Footscray Park Campus, 

Victoria University, PO Box 14428, 

Melbourne, Victoria 8001, Australia 

Editors: 

Jane Odgers, ph: (03) 9919 4413 

email: jane.odgers@vu.edu.au 

Austin Norman, ph: (03) 9919 4472 

email: austin.norman@vu.edu.au 

Fax: (03) 9919 4931 

Copy, Design and Production: 

LongDog & Associates, 

ph: (03) 9524 3141 

Email: tracey@longdog.com.au 

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2 VICTORIA UNIVERSITY


DEVELOPING PROTÉGÉES 

The prestigious, and chilly, Stanford 

University (below) in California 

USA was home to PhD student 

Brooke Abrahams (BBus (Hons) 

Info Systems, 2002) for a week 

in January 2005. Brooke was 

attending the Protégé Ontology 

Engineering four day short course, 

which gives an in-depth introduction 

to the field of ontology engineering 

using the world’s leading ontology 

development environment. 

‘Ontology is basically an intelligent data 

model for representing key concepts in 

a particular domain,’ explained Brooke. 

‘My research involves the development of 

ontology that provides a consensual, shared 

and formal description of key concepts in 

the accommodation services domain of the 

Australian tourism industry.’ 

Many attending the course were experts 

in the area of artificial intelligence and 

semantic web technologies and included 

web developers, programmers, and 

computer scientists, providing Brooke with 

an exceptional opportunity to network with 

people involved in similar research. 

Based on what he learned from the course, 

Brooke created a Protégé course that will 

be used in conjunction with a web page 

annotation tool AcOntoWeb. ‘This will 

generate semantically marked up web pages 

that are interpretable by intelligent query 

applications; we call this the semantic web,’ 

Brooke explained. ‘The ultimate aim is to be 

able to handle user requests at semantic levels 

so we can overcome the limitations associated 

with conventional keyword-based search 

engines such as Google.’ 

One particular benefit of ontology-based 

information retrieval is the ability to infer 

knowledge about concepts that are not 

explicitly stated`. For example, using the 

semantic web it would be possible to infer 

that certain attractions are automatically 

associated with a particular resort based on its 

geographical location. 

Brooke Abrahams’ PhD scholarship 

was awarded by the Sustainable 

Tourism CRC (see page 5). 

ONTOLOGY DEFINED 

An ontology is a specification of a 

conceptualization. In the context of 

knowledge sharing, I use the term 

ontology to mean a specification 

of a conceptualization. That is, an 

ontology is a description (like a formal 

specification of a program) of the 

concepts and relationships that can 

exist for an agent or a community of 

agents. 

Tom Gruber, Stanford University, 

Knowledge Systems Lab 

TRAVELLING ON THE SMELL OF AN OILY RAG 

You would have to be living under 

a rock not to know that the price of 

fuel has risen amazingly in the past 

few years. But what sort of impact is 

this having on our travel 

In September 2005, after several months 

of significant fuel price rises, VU colleagues 

Assoc Prof Barry O’Mahony and Paul 

Whitelaw, together with Dr Brent Ritchie from 

the University of Canberra, undertook a study 

of the impact of rising fuel prices on Australian 

residents’ propensity to travel. The study 

was funded under a research grant by the 

Sustainable Tourism CRC (for more information 

on STCRC see page 5) and sponsored by 

various state tourism agencies. 

Surprisingly, the data suggested that the impact 

of fuel price rises is not as dramatic as the 

popular media would suggest. In terms of 

past holiday behaviour, ninety six of the 640 

respondents (15%) took holidays recently but 

modified their behaviour through their spending 

strategies because of the increasing price of 

fuel. However, 70% of the respondents who 

had recently taken holidays (223 respondents) 

were not impacted in any way by changes in 

fuel prices on their recent holidays. 

The disparity between the actual behaviour 

(30% changed) and the forecast behaviour (1% 

plan to change) may be a function of either the 

optimism of the respondents (they don’t think 

rising prices will have an impact upon them) or 

that they have grown accustomed to the price 

increases and thus have altered their mind set 

and travel plans accordingly. 

Interestingly, only 1% of respondents, or 10% 

of those changing their plans, are doing so 

explicitly because of the increasing price of 

fuel. In the subsequent stages of the research, 

this critical point will be further explored. 

The findings of the research were presented to 

the STCRC and the state tourism organisations 

in early 2006. 

For more information contact 

Barry O’Mahony at 

barry.omahony@vu.edu.au 

VICTORIA UNIVERSITY 

3


WHEELY SUCCESSFUL 

‘In December 2001, I was riding 

to work, and suddenly my life 

changed forever,’ Michael Dobbie 

said. ‘I was hit by a 4 wheel drive 

towing a caravan, which shattered 

two vertebrae and snapped my 

spinal cord.’ 

Michael was told he would never walk 

again... very tough news, especially for a 21 

year old. 

‘My accident has changed almost every 

aspect of my life in some way, from little 

things like the people I socialise with, to 

obviously bigger things like now having to 

get out bed into a chair just using my arms. 

Stumbling out of bed after a big night is all of 

a sudden a hell of a lot harder!’ 

Today, Michael is studying for his BBus 

(Marketing/Event Mgmt) and hopes to finish 

in 2009. ‘I’m taking my time because I have 

so much to do – including preparing for the 

Paralympics in 2008. 

Michael is a top wheelchair tennis player. 

This year he was selected to represent 

Australia for the first time at the World Team 

Cup in Brazil, the ‘Davis Cup’ of wheelchair 

tennis. ‘Brazil was an amazing experience!’ 

he enthused. ‘It was my first time travelling 

with the whole Australian team and also 

playing team tennis. I’m hoping that my 

playing will remain in top form so I can make 

the Australian team for the Beijing Olympics.’ 

Michael (far right) with his team mates at the World Team Cup in 

Brazil earlier this year 

Once exams finish, Michael begins 

preparation for the US Open and 

representing Australia again at Far East 

and South Pacific Games for the Disabled 

(FESPIC) in Kuala Lumpur. ‘I have found it 

easier to train earlier in the morning on my 

days off uni and at night on the days when 

I have uni. This means I can keep on top of 

things and stay motivated to achieve at the 

highest level at both.’ 

Michael’s home campus is Sunbury, where 

he enjoys the atmosphere. ‘The lecturers have 

all been so supportive in helping me achieve 

my goals.’ Even the landscape helps him - the 

‘Hill’ on the campus can be tough for him, 

but his coach thinks this ‘training’ is great. ‘He 

thinks I should do a lap of the uni before I 

come home every day!’ 

Since the accident Michael has had the 

opportunity to meet some wonderful people, 

travel to schools and work places in Victoria 

talking to the staff and students about 

wheelchair awareness, travel the world with 

tennis, and return to study to enhance his 

career opportunities. ‘It’s definitely been an 

incredible four years,’ he added. 

People with a disability or 

medical condition are welcomed 

at Victoria University, where 

Disability Services aims to ensure 

these people are given assistance 

to actively participate in all 

aspects of university life. 

For further information go to 

www.vu.edu.au/Services/ 

Equity_and_Social_Justice_ 

Branch/Disability_Services 

‘Apart from the mobility 

problems that I face, my 

life has probably 

improved’ 

Planning for the future 

Michael selected event management and 

marketing because he felt he needed a 

solid fallback career once his tennis career 

ended, and with some experience in event 

organisation, it seemed like a sensible career 

choice. ’I like the fact that I could do some 

marketing too, because no matter what 

industry you work in, you need to understand 

what companies may be looking for when 

it comes to sponsorship opportunities. This 

degree will give me that knowledge too.’ 



KEEPING OLD MAN RIVER ROLLIN’ ALONG 

The Murray River, at 2,757 km, 

is the second longest river in 

Australia, and runs from the 

Australian Alps in New South 

Wales, borders Victoria, then 

empties through South Australia 

into the Southern (Indian) Ocean. 

It is a vital social and economic 

resource as well as a major 

national icon and is the focus 

of a research project currently 

underway involving Paul 

Whitelaw, Senior Lecturer at the 

School of Hospitality, Tourism & 

Marketing. 

‘This research will explore the relationship 

between the communities which use the river 

(residents, tourists and businesses) and how 

their attitudes and values can be managed 

and aligned to enhance the long term 

management of the river.’ 

The research seeks to link the attitudes of 

residents and visitors to the Murray River 

region with key locations along the river and 

through the Murray River basin. In particular, 

the project will survey residents, tourist and 

tourism business as well as other business 

operators to understand its impact on their life 

and lifestyles. 

Using advanced statistical analysis and 

geospacial software, the research project 

will produce, amongst other things, a series 

of maps of the river showing areas of key 

social, environmental and commercial value 

as viewed by these different groups. 

By identifying areas of common interest, 

and thus potential conflict or mutual benefit, 

management agencies such as Parks Victoria 

will be able to better manage these resources 

for everyone. 

‘The project will enable the various agencies, 

including local, state and commonwealth 

governments, to understand how this great 

resource is viewed and valued by its various 

communities,’ Paul explained. 

The research is funded by the STCRC as 

part of its Sustainable Destination research 

program. Data is being gathered during 

2006 and the final report will be produced 

in early 2007. 

For more information contact Paul 

Whitelaw at paul.whitelaw@vu.edu.au 

The Sustainable Tourism CRC 

(STCRC) was established under 

the Australian Government’s 

Co-operative Research Centres 

Program. Its mission is the 

development and management 

of intellectual property to deliver 

innovation to business, community 

and government, enhancing the 

environmental, economic and 

social sustainability of tourism. 

Victoria University is a partner 

with the STCRC, and supports the 

Centre through staff secondments. 


5


‘Lecturer Martin Fluker, my Course 

Co-ordinator at Victoria University, 

used to tell me over and over 

that to find a job in tourism you 

need to use your connections,’ 

laughed Carla Sheridan, who is 

on a break from studying for her 

BBus Tourism Mgmt. ‘I owe it to 

him, because that’s exactly how I 

started working with Topdeck here 

in London!’ 

Top: Carla and friends at the well-known Moulin Rouge in Paris 

Below: With the famous donkeys on Santorini Island in Greece 

Carla had just returned from a weekend’s 

break in Paris to her London base. She got 

her start through a chat with a fellow Aussie 

one evening. ‘He told me he was a driver for 

Topdeck and invited me on his next UK tour. 

On the tour the tour guide mentioned that the 

company needed staff. The next morning I 

called his boss and a week later I took my 

first tour!’ 

When Carla finished her first season, she 

was invited to return for the next year. ‘I 

had planned on returning home and going 

back to uni, but with another year left on 

my visa Andrew Kelleher, Festival & Events 

Manager, suggested I might like to stay on as 

Operations Assistant, so here I am.’ 

Carla and her family travelled every school 

holidays together, which fuelled her love 

of travel. As she grew up she realised her 

parents wouldn’t be funding her travel 

forever, so a degree and a career in tourism 

was an easy choice. 

‘VU offered a degree in tourism which 

included the compulsory Co-operative 

Education Year (through Work Integrated 

Learning) which no other uni offered,’ she 

explained. ‘That makes the degree especially 

useful, so you’re experienced when you finish. 

I wanted a career, not just a job.’ 

Topdeck began when a keen Australian 

traveller in London saw a paddock full of 

old double-decker buses, and bought one 

thinking riding in it would be a great way to 

see the world. He convinced his friends and 

other keen travellers to join him on a bus trip 

to Morocco... and Topdeck was born. 

Today the company has abandoned 

the double deckers, instead travelling in 

luxury coaches around Europe and Egypt, 

appealing to younger solo travellers. 

‘The work is non-stop, and all the staff put in 

hours and hours of overtime, but I have never 

worked for a better company! The owners 

and managers look after their staff so we 

look after them.’ Carla’s role as Operations 

Assistant involves making bookings and 

liaising with the company’s accommodation, 

transport and activities suppliers, and 

preparing all the documentation that the tour 

leaders need when they are on the road. 

‘With over thirty trips at any one time in the 

high season, you can imagine that the office 

gets fairly crazy,’ laughed Carla. 

‘I can’t believe how much 

I’ve learned about the 

travel industry, European 

destinations and also 

myself. This has definitely 

been the experience of 

a lifetime.’ 

Carla will be back in Melbourne at the end 

of the year, and plans to finish her degree in 

2007. She hopes to return to work with APT, 

the parent company of Topdeck, when she 

finishes. 

For people thinking about working in 

the industry Carla’s advice is ‘...don’t be 

frightened of pushing your boundaries and 

moving out of your comfort zone because 

your adventures will never end!’ 

Carla turned 21 in London this year, loves her 

job and the travel. Surprisingly for someone 

working and living in London, she says she 

loves surf lifesaving, surfing and everything 

to do with the beach! And although she’s 

missing her family, the experiences she’s 

having will be ones she remembers forever. 

To contact Carla Sheridan email her 

at carla.sheridan@students.vu.edu.au 



SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS 

‘As a growing global industry, I 

believe tourism can help countries 

like India tremendously,’ explained 

Deon Brown. As recipient of 

the inaugural THE-ICE/Victoria 

University scholarship Deon now 

has the opportunity to complete an 

MBus in Hotel Management at VU 

in Melbourne. 

‘It was always in my mind to finish my 

Masters. If I can get education and 

international experience I can bring that back 

to India. I want to make my family and my 

country proud, to give back as much as I can 

for what I’ve been given in my 23 years.’ 

Deon is from Calcutta, India. He completed 

a BA in Tourism & Hotel Admin in 2003 

at Schiller-Stamford International University, 

Thailand. ‘I’m very interested in the 

international aspects of hospitality. I think 

there is a lot of opportunity in the hotel 

industry in India. 

‘When I first arrived here it was difficult for 

me to adjust to the Australian accent. How 

Aussies talk and behave was quite surprising 

at first! But it soon became second nature 

to me since I love talking to people and 

I’m very outgoing. I find it easy to interact 

with people from different backgrounds and 

races.’ 

Prof Brian King, Head, School of Hospitality, 

Tourism & Marketing, explained, ’A Master of 

Business is a highly adaptable qualification 

that develops both administrative and 

practical skills.’ He agrees with Deon in his 

assessment of the opportunities in India. ‘The 

country has very real prospects in the middle 

hotel market.’ 

Eventually Deon hopes to open a business in 

Calcutta to educate people in the hospitality 

industry. He believes Australia has done very 

well in tourism, and would like to see India 

come up to the same level. 

At some point in the future, Deon also hopes 

to set up a foundation to fund an education 

institution in West Bengal to train restaurant 

and catering staff for the workforce there. 

For Emily Wilson, currently 

studying for her BBus in Tourism & 

Event Mgmt, winning the inaugural 

2005 Compass Group Scholarship 

for Overseas Study was almost 

inevitable. It wasn’t the 11 high 

distinctions she achieved in her 

first two years’ study, or the 

wide range of volunteer and paid 

employment she’s undertaken to 

expand her events management 

knowledge, or even her completion 

of a semester as a VU exchange 

student in Mexico... it was the 

combination of all of these which 

demonstrated her drive and 

initiative. 

Emily finished semester two 2005 in Mexico, 

as a VU Exchange Student, where she 

studied Spanish as well as the core subjects 

for her degree. Her scholarship allows her 

to travel to Barcelona in Spain and Athens 

in Greece, to compare the European event 

management industry with that of the Asia- 

Pacific region. 

Emily’s research includes examining the 

long-term impacts of mega events, such 

as the recently held Commonwealth 

Games. She has a particular interest in 

exploring how these events can promote an 

appreciation and understanding of cultural 

diversity. Longer term she hopes to organise 

community-based art events that highlight this 

diversity. 

Compass Group Scholarships 

Compass Group is the world’s 

leading foodservice and hospitality 

company. It employs over 400,000 

staff in over 90 countries, with an 

annual revenue of around £11 billion. 

Over the next five years, Compass 

Group is offering $50,000 worth 

of scholarships to both TAFE and 

higher education students at Victoria 

University to encourage students to 

build a career in hospitality. 

If you or your company would like 

to discuss establishing a scholarship, 

award or prize at VU, please contact 

Julie Tester on (03) 9919 1207 or 

email julie.tester@vu.edu.au. For more 

information on VU scholarships visit 

www.vu.edu.au/Services/Student_ 

Services/Scholarships. 

THE-ICE/VU Scholarship 

The International Centre of Excellence 

in Tourism and Hospitality Education 

(THE-ICE) is a federally funded, 

Australian government initiative to 

develop excellence in tourism and 

hospitality education. Last year 

THE-ICE partnered with Victoria 

University to offer a Masters 

scholarship for international students 

to study tourism and hospitality in 

Australia. The program takes one 

and a half years to complete, and 

the scholarship covers full tuition 

fees plus a grant towards living costs 

(total value of approx $50,000). 


7


PAC PROFILE ROGER JAMES 

The Programs Advisory Committee 

(PAC) is responsible for reviewing 

all of the School of Hospitality, 

Tourism & Marketing’s courses. 

Members come from a wide range 

of industries and from Victoria 

University. Its purpose is to 

provide advice from an industry 

perspective about the courses and 

opportunities at Victoria University 

and the School of HTM, providing 

a reality check and acting as a 

sounding board for the staff, as 

well as assisting with networking 

where possible. This ensures that 

the School stays at the cutting 

edge, so that students graduate 

with up-to-the-minute skills and 

are immediately employable. 

Career progression: Roger James has 

a varied professional background: he left 

school to study law, dropped out, worked 

for five or six years mainly as Gallery 

Manager of the-then Museum of Modern 

Art and Design of Australia, and later as a 

motorcycle salesman, before returning to 

tertiary studies. 

He gained degrees in Arts and Science 

in English, philosophy, psychology and 

physiology, then taught psychology for two 

years at Monash University, before moving 

into the road safety business, where his 

interest in marketing germinated. 

After road safety, he was headhunted twice, 

first to run a Policy, Planning, Research and 

Evaluation Division for the Victorian Ministry 

of Housing, then as Marketing Manager for 

Mazda Motors in Australia. 

Current role: In the eighties Roger set up 

his own firm, which undertakes research, 

communications, marketing strategy and 

business development assignments. He 

says he runs his firm in his spare time, when 

not working as the President of the AMI (a 

voluntary position). 

PAC involvement: Roger’s involvement 

with VU goes back a long way, since he has 

known and worked with Senior Lecturer Paul 

Whitelaw for many years. A PAC member 

since 1999, he says it’s a valuable interface 

between industry and academia. ‘I have 

no doubt that there are benefits on both 

sides, where both practitioners and teachers 

can share relevant experiences. Further, the 

Course Review process offers the opportunity 

to align the needs of employers with the best 

educational outcomes.’ 

‘When you’re at uni, you think you are 

learning everything you need to equip you 

for the real world. Of course, that’s not true 

because the real learning starts when you 

get out and work in your profession. My 

studies were not vocational, although they 

were very useful, but they were so different 

from the VU model today, where courses are 

designed and delivered with employment 

outcomes in mind, like the Core Graduate 

Attributes model.’ 

Roger James is National President of the 

Australian Marketing Institute. 

The Australian Marketing 

Institute 

The AMI is the professional 

association for marketers. It 

offers: 

• A respected and authoritative 

voice for the profession. 

• Strong advocacy of the 

highest standards in 

marketing. 

• The opportunity to achieve 

career advancement and 

enhanced credibility in 

the profession through 

professional development 

programs, access to the latest 

information on marketing 

practice and networking with 

fellow practitioners. 

Members of AMI benefit from 

the programs available, the 

opportunities for continuing 

education and development, 

advocacy of the Institute, and 

sharing ideas and knowledge 

with fellow professionals. 

For more information go to 

www.ami.org.au 

ADVANCING ETHICS RECOGNISED 

Penn State College of 

Communications in Pennsylvania 

in the United States of America has 

named Prof Michael Polonsky of 

VU a Page Legacy Scholar. 

The awards were made to researchers who 

were considered to have made important 

contributions to the understanding and 

advancement of ethics and responsibility in 

public communications. 

The grants total US$12,000 and Michael 

is the only Australian to have received a 

grant. His paper, prepared in conjunction 

with Stacey Landreth-Grau who is based at 

Texas Christian University in the School of 

Communications, was entitled ‘Measuring 

and Communicating the Social Impact of 

Nonprofit Organisations’. The research 

involves measuring the social value of 

charities so that comparisons between their 

activities can be made. 



THE PASSIONATE ENTREPRENEUR 

Leon Burman, BBus Hosp & Mktg, 

1993, had worked with two 

entrepreneurs before deciding 

he was ready to set up his own 

business. ‘My experience together 

with my education were the right 

combination to start the business,’ 

he explained. 

Leon selected a degree in hospitality and 

marketing because the combination of the 

two matched his passion for hospitality and 

events. This choice meant he could work in 

both areas equally well, which is exactly 

what happened. 

‘After completing my business degree, 

I worked in Front Desk and Marketing 

departments of Sheraton Towers Melbourne 

for four years, which was an incredible 

experience. Then I worked in the marketing 

department at the ANZ Bank before moving 

to CTS Travel where I ran conferences and 

incentive groups for Australia’s leading 

companies.’ 

When CTS Travel merged it was consumed 

by Flight Centre which changed the culture. 

So Leon became the Marketing Manager of 

an entertainment company. 

‘Then in 2001, I met Jan Upton and David 

Hummerston. We’d worked together at 

CTS. They were also ready to start their own 

company which is how we ended up starting 

the ETM Group of Companies.’ 

Recently ETM was named as Australia’s sixth 

fastest growing startup company by Business 

Review Weekly magazine. ‘We were also 

finalists in Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the 

Year.’ 

The ETM Group of Companies is a travel 

and event management company with just 

under 50 staff. ‘We operate in four areas: 

corporate travel, conferences, incentives 

and events; we have a graphic design 

studio with two designers and a production 

department so we can produce corporate 

and conference videos; we do conference 

theming; and we also provide strategic 

consulting services to some large financial 

institutions.’ 

On a day to day basis, Leon’s role involves 

both the growth and general management 

of the company, as well as the development 

and conceptual stage of every conference, 

incentive program and event that ETM 

runs. ‘I am also very involved in business 

development for the company.’ 

Married for six years to Alissa, and with 

two children Mia, 5 and Romi 3, he loves 

his family and the Carlton footy team. ‘My 

advice to students is that if you want to be 

successful both in your studies and your 

work, you must be passionate. Complete 

what’s expected of you, and then exceed it 

wildly with proactive initiative!’ 

To contact Leon Burman email 

him at leonb@etmgroup.com.au, 

ph: (03) 9521 5355 

VICTORIA UNIVERSITY 9


XSIGHTING TIMES AHEAD FOR VU 

In 2004 Michael Edwardson, 

Marketing Lecturer at Victoria 

University School of Hospitality, 

Tourism & Marketing, attended 

the launch of a new software 

program called XSight. He knew 

straight away that this would 

be immensely beneficial for his 

marketing research students, 

who previously relied on manual 

or basic computer methods for 

qualitative data analysis. 

In 2005, Michael introduced XSight 

terminology and processes into the course 

lectures. ‘The lectures were very successful, 

so the software has been introduced into the 

computer lab tutorials as part of the 2006 

curriculum for Advanced Marketing Research 

students.’ 

Michael believes students needed a much 

more rounded perspective and a greater 

‘hands on’ appreciation of the world of 

qualitative research and analysis. He was 

keen to provide students with a broader 

understanding of this area of marketing 

research. ‘Although students may not do 

their own research, they may commission it 

and it is important for them to understand 

the processes and what is now possible, 

Michael said. 

XSight software enables users to 

explore unstructured or text-based 

data more easily, so interpreting 

and clarifying becomes easier. 

With XSight, researchers can 

compile, compare and make 

logical connections. 

What particularly appealed to Michael was 

that the software followed the processes that 

market researchers go through. ‘It seemed 

to have formalised the processes that were 

really useful.’ 

Michael believes that teaching XSight 

will provide students with an advantage 

over students studying similar courses at 

other universities. Research undertaken by 

both Michael and the developer of XSight 

indicates that VU is ahead of all other 

universities in terms of both its qualitative and 

quantitative marketing research class. ‘It really 

does put VU students ahead of the rest in 

terms of the marketing research subject,’ said 

Michael. 

Getting an edge 

‘Students will develop a range of skills that 

will make them employable and give them an 

edge over their competitors,’ said Michael. 

‘Easily the biggest benefit that students will 

gain from using the software is they will be 

given a framework by which to analyse their 

qualitative research,’ he went on. 

‘Normally you would do this with a piece of 

paper and some highlighters and then add 

in your verbatims, your articulations and so 

forth. XSight mirrors this manual process so 

that the students follow the ‘normal’ processes 

you go through as a researcher. The last 

thing you want is to have software that makes 

patterns in the data itself; it takes away the 

real skill.’ 

Michael sees this as a good method of 

making students aware of the process, as 

well as enabling them to have a record of 

results – which is not normally what happens 

and is something clients of research in the UK 

are demanding. 

‘Students picked it up very quickly. They 

were guided through the key components 

and seemed to grasp the concepts easily,’ 

he said. ‘They see immediately why it’s 

important, and once they understand the 

basics they can see how rigorous qualitative 

analysis is. XSight certainly makes the whole 

process a great deal easier.’ 

XSight was developed by QSR International, 

which develops qualitative research software 

for academic, commercial and government 

customers worldwide including Australasia, 

the UK, Europe and the US. The software 

is used by many large companies around 

the world to give them a competitive edge. 

Student exposure to this type of software will 

help create a point of difference when they 

graduate and start looking for work. 


Michael Edwardson at michael. 

edwardson@vu.edu.au 



RISKY BUSINESS 

Jumping out of planes, scaling 

cliff faces, rushing down fast 

flowing rivers – it’s not necessarily 

everyone’s idea of fun. But the 

idea of ‘adventure tourism’ 

presents an interesting set of 

circumstances – there are tourists 

who actually seek, or at the very 

least accept, the risk of sustaining 

physical injury during the 

adventure tourism experience. 

For Dr Martin Fluker, Tourism Lecturer at 

Victoria University’s School of Hospitality 

Tourism & Marketing, this phenomenon was 

so intriguing that it was the subject of his 

doctoral thesis. 

‘Adventure tourism is unique in comparison 

to other types of tourism,’ said Martin. His 

thesis, entitled ‘Perceived Risk in Adventure 

Travel’, sought to determine the importance 

of experiencing risk when tourists chose to 

participate in different adventure tourism 

activities, and to understand the motivations, 

levels of satisfaction, and post-activity 

intentions of adventure tourists. 

The end objective was to develop specific 

marketing strategies for this type of tourist. 

612 people were surveyed both before and 

after taking part in three different adventure 

tourism activities: white water rafting, bungee 

jumping, and sailing. The results of the study 

led Martin to suggest marketing strategies 

for each of the activities, based on a variety 

of motivations. 

One of these strategies is investigating what 

Martin calls the ‘repetition ceiling’: how many 

times will people undertake a commercial 

adventure tourism activity before never doing 

it again or perhaps doing self-guided trips. 

‘Marketers of commercial adventure tourism 

products need to think how to make the 

experience more challenging as the client 

gains more experience,’ explained Martin. 


Martin Fluker at martin.fluker@vu. 

edu.au 

VU WINS AGAIN 

For the third time, Victoria 

University has won the Australian 

Tourism Award for training and 

education. The award is open to all 

TAFE colleges, universities, private 

providers and tourism operators 

which train in-house; VU won the 

award previously in 2000 and 

1988. 

Prof Brian King, Head, School of HTM, 

said VU was Australia’s longest established 

provider of tourism and hospitality degrees 

and diplomas. ‘We continue to meet the 

needs of our students by forging partnerships 

with the community and industry, and 

through innovative programs such as event 

management,’ he said. ‘VU is recognised 

internationally as a leading provider of 

applied tourism and hospitality research.’ 

The national award follows the University’s 

success at the Victorian Tourism Awards. It 

has now won the state award for tourism 

education and training six times, in 2005, 

2001, 2000, 1999, 1993 and 1988. 

In 2001 VU was inducted into the Victorian 

Tourism Awards Hall of Fame, the only 

university to win such recognition. 



CAUTHE CATCHES THE SPIRIT 

Sofitel Melbourne was the scene 

for the Council for Australian 

University Tourism and Hospitality 

Education (CAUTHE) annual 

conference in February 2006. This 

was the 16th CAUTHE Conference, 

only the second hosted by Victoria 

University, and has been widely 

proclaimed as the biggest and best 

ever. 

1 

Over four days VU hosted more than 380 

delegates and visitors including 52 professors 

and 96 PhD scholars from 77 universities 

across 17 countries. The conference proved 

an overwhelming success for Melbourne 

and for the university. In fact, many of the 

top professors in the tourism and hospitality 

discipline who attended, said that this was 

not only the best CAUTHE or academic 

conference they have attended, but the best 

conference they have ever attended. Coming 

from these senior academics who travel the 

world, attending as many as ten conferences 

a year, this is high praise indeed! 

2 

1: Left to right: Dr 

Janne Liburd, Prof 

Larry Dwyer and 

Prof Peter Jones 

demonstrate that 

the conference 

wasn’t all hard 

work 

2: Winners of the 

Best Ideas Factory 

presentation Dr 

Sue Beeton and 

Dr Gayle Jennings 

with Prof David 

Airey and CAUTHE 

President Jenny 

Davies 

3: Prof Brian King 

(Conference Chair), 

left, and keynote 

speaker Rob 

McGauran present 

the MGS Architects 

Award for the 

best PhD paper to 

Meredith Lawrence 

4: Prof Steven 

Wanhill gets into 

character during 

his presentation on 

theme parks 

3 4 



SAILING INTO SUCCESS 

‘To be honest, the main reason I 

chose hospitality is because my 

parents thought that it would suit 

me! And they weren’t wrong,’ 

laughs Elizabeth McCormack nee 

Curlewis (BBus Hosp & Tourism 

Mgmt, 2000). When she was 16 Liz 

did work experience at the Regent 

(now the Sofitel) in Melbourne 

where she gained experience in all 

areas of the hotel. She enjoyed it 

enormously and ‘...from then on, 

hospitality was all I wanted to do.’ 

Initially Liz undertook an Advanced 

Diploma in Hospitality Management at 

William Angliss College, but when she 

undertook her degree at VU she added the 

tourism component to broaden her career 

opportunities. 

Today she runs the restaurants, bars and 

function centres at Sandringham Yacht 

Club (SYC, pictured above and at right). 

‘I always wanted to run my own business 

and at the end of 2000 one of my old 

bosses contacted me with a great business 

opportunity - I owned and operated the 

catering tender at the SYC from 2001 until 

2004. Then we came to arrangement where 

they took back the running of the catering.’ 

Since then, Liz has worked for the SYC in a 

variety of roles including Food Operations 

Manager, Events and Marketing Manger. 

Now as House Manager she is in charge of 

food and beverage operations as a whole, 

together with the Club’s communications and 

marketing. 

SYC has five food and beverage outlets, a 

fifty seat a la carte restaurant, members’ bar, 

which runs a bistro menu, function room with 

seating capacity for 300 people, a seminar 

room and a bottle shop. 

Her job now as House Manager involves 

managing: 

1. The Club’s food, beverage and events 

services in the Clubhouse and Ken King 

Centre, 

2. Club communications including the 

website, bi-monthly newsletter and 

bi-annual magazine, 

3. Function and corporate sales including 

implementing the marketing plans for 

both, and 

4. The Club’s main social events such as, 

opening day (the first day of the sailing 

season) and the Club ball. 

‘On a day to day basis I plan and oversee 

the operation of the food and beverage 

department ensuring a strong emphasis on 

food and beverage products, training, and 

listening to client and member feedback,’ 

Liz explained. ‘I have to ensure we have 

strong function and corporate sales, I have to 

plan and oversee club communications, and 

ensure achievement of budgets. It’s a big job 

and the Club has an exciting future.’ 

The future looks bright for Liz and husband 

David. ‘We’ll be looking at starting a family 

in the near future, that’s for sure. But for now I 

am just excited about my work here.’ 

To contact Elizabeth McCormack 

email her at events@syc.com.au, 

ph: (03) 9598 7444 

‘One thing that I’ve learned is that 

the subjects you didn’t enjoy while 

studying, like law, accounting 

and economics, are the most 

useful when you get to senior 

positions. You need to know 

about reporting, projections and 

understanding the figures because 

you have to do all that in your 

job. So learn them well! And 

obviously being able to jump into 

the kitchen and understand the 

running of a restaurant or function 

facility helps you appreciate all 

facets of a business. 

‘From a business point of view 

you are only as good as those 

you have around you so look 

after your staff and ensure they 

have the support and training 

they require. Always be 

extraordinary... never ordinary!’ 



CATERING TO THOUSANDS 

Lisa Ivey (BBus Hosp & Tourism 

Mgmt, 2000) and Kim Berkers 

(BBus Catering & Hotel Mgmt, 

1995) both work at Delaware 

North Companies Australia (DNCA), 

the company responsible for the 

catering at the Commonwealth 

Games Athletes’ Village, 

Melbourne & Olympic Parks, 

Telstra Dome and Melbourne Sports 

and Aquatic Centre. 

Degrees: You both work at DNCA, but 

what do you do there 

Lisa Ivey: I’m the Corporate Catering 

Manager. 

Kim Berkers: I’m Projects Manager, 

DNCA, at Melbourne & Olympic Parks. 

D: You’re both VU graduates, but why did 

you choose this 

LI: I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to 

do, but I thought Hospitality and Tourism 

Management would give me exposure to a 

lot of areas within those industries. 

KB: I always wanted to be a hotel manager, 

so the course at VU wasn’t even a choice – it 

was the only degree for me. 

D: What’s it like working for DNCA 

LI: It’s both challenging and rewarding. 

You’re exposed to many different facets of 

hospitality and events. We spend the entire 

year working on the Australian Open Tennis 

Tournament, which is our flagship event for 

DNC internationally and one of the most 

widely recognised events for the Asia Pacific 

region. The experience we have with the 

Australian Open certainly assisted us in our 

preparation for the Commonwealth Games, 

as our knowledge of logistics was helpful. 

KB: DNCA had a number of sites involved 

with the Commonwealth Games: Melbourne 

& Olympic Parks which included gymnastics 

(rhythmic and artistic) at Rod Laver Arena 

(seen below, looking very exciting at night), 

cycling, basketball and netball at the 

multi-purpose venue (Vodafone Arena) and 

Olympic Park. We also hosted corporate 

hospitality in the Melbourne Park function 

centre. Other sites included Telstra Dome 

(Rugby 7s, the walks and marathons); 

Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre 

(swimming, diving, table tennis, squash and 

synchronised swimming) and the Athletes’ 

Village in Parkville. 

D: During the Commonwealth Games, what 

did you both do 

LI: I was involved in overseeing the 

Obligatory Catering areas at Rod Laver 

Arena, multi-purpose venue, Olympic Park 

and the corporate dining facilities in the 

Melbourne Park Function Centre. Daily 

charges and reporting for all Obligatory 

areas were provided to the M2006 

Catering, Cleaning & Waste Manager 

at each venue by 8 am each day. (The 

M2006 was the organising committee for 

the Games.) The company also looked 

after catering for the athletes parade 

which involved serving food and drinks to 

over 6,000 athletes prior to the Opening 

Ceremony. 

KB: I was the Obligatory Catering Manager 

across all DNCA venues which involved a 

significant amount of liaising with M2006. 

My role involved moving between sites 

checking all Obligatory Catering areas were 

operating at the highest standard. 

D: What on earth is ‘Obligatory Catering’ 

LI: Oh, not really quite as dramatic as it 

sounds! It’s the catering that M2006, is 

‘obliged’ to provide. It included meals for 

the workforce, volunteers, athletes, media, 

technical officials, Games family, VIP guests 

and Victoria Police. 

KB: Throughout the Commonwealth Games, 

at Melbourne & Olympic Parks alone we 

provided more than 29,000 Obligatory 

Catering meals and served over 2,400 

corporate clients in just four weeks. 

D: You’ve both got very interesting jobs. 

What advice would you give to students 

LI: I wish we’d had more than two electives 

when I did my degree. I think it’s so important 

to broaden your knowledge; the Cooperative 

Education Year is great, but I would 

tell any student not to be afraid to get out 

there into the industry and see what it’s all 

about. These days, 90% of our casual staff 

are uni students, so it’s the perfect opportunity 

to get a foot in the door and gain some 

fantastic experience. 

KB: Make the most of it! 

Any students interested in 

applying for casual work with 

DNCA can email recruitment on 

careers@delawarenorth.com.au 



MARVELLOUS MELBOURNE 

Marketing bonanza 

From a marketing perspective, television 

viewers and spectators at Games’ venues 

would have been hard pressed not to 

notice the major sponsors of the Games. 

Whether at home, watching a giant screen 

or at a venue, our viewing and supporting 

was interspersed with ads from banks, car 

companies, airlines, software manufacturers 

and telephone companies. 

Leanne White, Lecturer in 

Marketing at Victoria University, is 

currently completing her doctoral 

thesis examining official and 

commercial nationalism at the 

Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. She 

attended the Opening and Closing 

Ceremonies of the Melbourne 2006 

Commonwealth Games. 

In the heart of a ‘buffed and polished’ 

sports-mad city there was a buzz in the air 

as the final countdown to the huge event 

took place. After 10 years of planning, 

Melbourne’s biggest ever party, the XVIII 

Commonwealth Games, was hailed as 

an overwhelming success. ‘Marvellous 

Melbourne’ became home to 4,500 athletes 

taking part in 16 sports. 

A global television audience of 1.5 billion 

watched the Opening Ceremony on March 

15 enjoyed by an audience of 80,000. 

Further spectators congregated nearby 

around sites while a crowd of more than 

100,000 watched fish, flags and Australian 

Football League (AFL) players at the ‘River 

Festival’ along the banks of the Yarra River. 

Whether or not the event translates into a 

greater share of tourists coming to Melbourne 

and regional Victoria, time will tell, but the 

Commonwealth Games has reinforced 

Melbourne’s unique place on the world 

stage. 

In the next edition of Degrees, 

Leanne will expand on the 

impact of this ‘mega event’ on 

Melbourne’s growth from a 

marketing perspective. 

TRAINING FOR THE FUTURE 

There is a plethora of training in 

the tourism industry at all levels 

from on-the-job through to higher 

education. The real issue is not 

the amount of training, but the 

outcome – how appropriate is 

today’s training to current and 

future needs 

A project team lead by Paul Whitelaw, 

Senior Lecturer in the School of HTM, 

together with colleagues from four other 

universities, has been commissioned by the 

STCRC to undertake an audit and evaluation 

of the provision of training services for the 

Australian hospitality and tourism industry. 

The project is aimed at assessing whether the 

current training and other provisions meet the 

industry requirements. Part of the study will 

help determine whether various additional 

provisions of mature aged programs or 

holiday visa arrangements can help match 

the supply and demand for trained labour 

in the tourism industry, and then to identify a 

set of training initiatives that will enhance the 

contribution that these groups can make. 

This is being examined in both a skill set 

context and within specific geographic 

areas throughout Australia – including the 

capital cities and regional areas. If gaps in 

training provisions are identified, the study 

will then make recommendations to assist the 

hospitality and tourism industry to improve 

the situation. The report is expected to be 

released in late 2006. 

For more information contact Paul 

Whitelaw at paul.whitelaw@vu.edu.au 



THE THIRD DEGREE JOHN THOMPSON 

Degrees: BA Communications 

1993, Grad Dip (Marketing) 1998, 

MBus (Marketing) 2001 

Current role: I work at the Transport 

Accident Commission (TAC), and at the 

moment I’m working on a new marketing 

strategy. The TAC’s objective is, of course, 

to change behaviour on the roads and so 

lower the road toll. Our campaigns are 

tracked long term, and every week we 

speak to 70 different Victorians about their 

attitudes and behaviour on the road. The 

TAC’s most recent ad campaigns highlighting 

the issues of speeding and drink driving have 

been very satisfying in terms of results. 

Why marketing: Originally I wanted 

to be a journalist, which is why I studied 

Communications. I gained a two year 

PR/Marketing graduate traineeship with 

the old Gas and Fuel Corporation. But 15 

months of that time was in marketing roles, 

so I moved into marketing. My first five 

years as marketing director of Urban Land 

Corporation (now VicUrban) developed a 

first-class marketing team and strategy that 

had a positive impact on the bottom line. 

I’ve worked in marketing for 13 years and I 

love it. 

Why VU All my qualifications are from 

VU! When I was considering doing my 

MBus, I found the current theory being taught 

at VU was very up to date, and the people 

teaching at that time had a great deal of 

expertise. Dr Ruhi Yaman, a Senior Lecturer 

at VU, is a great guide. 

What’s the future in marketing 

I think there will be further media 

fragmentation as marketing segments 

become harder and harder to reach through 

traditional channels. This will impact on 

two areas in particular: databases and 

associated direct marketing communication 

channels, and integrated messaging in 

content. 

What’s with that car I’m currently 

restoring an old English Triumph Spitfire 

sports car. Well, ‘currently’ might not be the 

right word because I’ve been doing this for 

five years and I don’t think I’ll be finished 

until I hit 40... but when it’s done I’ll have the 

perfect mid-life-crisis toy! 

GRADUATES! 

Do we have your email contact details 

Do you receive the monthly VU Alumni 

Email News 

A typical issue includes imminent 

alumni events, conferences and 

seminars, professional development 

programs, short courses and 

employment opportunities. It’s so easy 

to get on the mailing list, simply email 

us at alumni@vu.edu.au 

WHERE ARE THEY NOW 

Nicole Bakes, (BBus Hosp & Tourism Mgmt 

2000), Convention Services Manager, Grand 

Hyatt, Melbourne 

Kim Berkers, (BBus Catering & Hotel Mgmt 

1995), Projects Manager, Delaware North 

Companies Australia, Melbourne 

Leon Burman, (BBus Hosp & Mktg 1993), 

CEO, ETM Group of Companies, Melbourne 

Jacqui Charlton, (BBus Travel & Tourism 

Mgmt 2000), Professional Development 

Coordinator, City of Melbourne, Melbourne 

Amber Cummings, (BBus Tourism Mgmt 

2000), Product Manager - Inbound, The AOT 

Group Pty Ltd, Melbourne 

Angela Drayton, (BBus Tourism Mgmt 

2003), General Manager, Australasian Spa 

Association, Melbourne 

Violeta Gorgiovska, (BBus Mktg 2003), 

16 VICTORIA UNIVERSITY 

Business Counter Manager, Pout Cosmetics, 

Melbourne 

Katrina Hassett, (BBus Hosp Mgmt 2004), 

Function Co-ordinator, Vue Grand Hotel, 

Queenscliffe 

Lisa Ivey, (BBus Hosp & Tourism Mgmt 2000), 

Corporate Catering Manager, Delaware North 

Companies Australia, Melbourne 

Rebecca Jepson, (BBus Hosp & Tourism 

Mgmt 2000), Teacher, Kyabram Secondary 

College, Victoria 

Zaidi Kassim, (BBus Travel & Tourism Mgmt 

1997), Assistant Director, Convention Division, 

Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board, Kuala 

Lumpur, Malaysia 

Anthony Leydin, (MBus Tourism Dvmt 1997), 

Director, The Melbourne Rewards Company, 

Melbourne 

Elizabeth McCormack (nee Curlewis), 

(BBus Hosp & Tourism Mgmt 2000), Events & 

Marketing Manager, Sandringham Yacht Club, 

Melbourne 

Kym O’Shannassy, (BBus Hosp & Tourism 

Mgmt 2000), Team Leader, Flight Centre, 

Sunbury 

Jacinta Richmond, (Grad Dip Hosp & 

Tourism 1992), Director, Coconut Luggage, 

Sunshine Coast, Queensland 

John Thompson, (MBus Mktg 2001), 

Marketing Manager, Transport Accident 

Commission, Melbourne 

Tony Trusler, (Grad Dip Hosp & Tourism 

1987), General Manager, Pacific International 

Apartments, Brisbane, Queensland 

William Wang, (BBus Travel & Tourism Mgmt 

1998), MD and CEO, World Wire Cables (Aust) 

Pty Ltd, Melbourne

Winter 2006 - Faculty of Business and Law - Victoria University

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