Yvonne Toft y.toft@cqu.edu.au Ergonomics, OHS Law, Systems Design Central Queensland University Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value...

Why I Teach

I could say that it was the paper. I love books and the potential gems that they might hold (happy to say that I am now developing similar feelings for the web!). I just love being around anything and everything that might provide an opportunity for me to learn.

But more than that - I love people and the potential gems they might hold!!! I would like to think that I am a learning facilitator - someone who provides the very best learning opportunity they can for the inherent qualities, virtues and potential of every student to be realised.

I teach so that I can witness the joy of learning.

The Obligatory Bio

Here goes ... time to share a little about myself as well.

I am married to Graeme and we have five children. The eldest two (Lynna - 26 and David - 24) are my step children but they have been with us for much of the time since they were 7 and 4 - so very much my children as well. Our other three children are Temily (11), Sam (8) and Sunita (a few months short of 2). The family doesn't end there as we also live with a German shepherd (Woody) and two cockatoos (Sweetlips and Fugly). Our home is a haven for any animals that are lost, sad or hurt. We have a small acreage north of Yeppoon (for people who don't know this area, Yeppoon is a coastal town near Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia) and have lived in the area for 13 years which is the same length of time that I have worked as a lecturer at the uni. Graeme is also a safety professional and operates Queensland Safety Solutions - an OHS consultancy specialising in construction safety, contractor safety management and training. Gray also works as a casual lecturer with our school.

I started my professional career as a registered nurse. Within weeks of finishing my qualification I left for Europe and spent nearly four years living and working in England and Italy. This was a great platform for lots of travel and provided an opportunity to spend time in the Nordic countries, the then eastern block (Russia, Poland, East Germany), central Europe, the Mediterranean, the Middle East and southern Europe. I have also spent time in NE Thailand as a volunteer English teacher. I have been lucky enough to return to Europe and Asia many times since. These were wonderful and exciting years that I will cherish for always.

While temping in London, most jobs were in Occupational Health Nursing, a concept I had not heard of in Australia at the time (early 80s if you are trying to do the math!!). On returning to Australia I spent two years as a Rehab Unit coordinator (the closest thing I could find to OHN) in Rockhampton. My husband was than offered a job in the West Kimberley region so we packed up and found ourselves in one of the most remote parts of Australia, spending many years working for BHP in an iron ore mine. Koolan Island (the location of the mine) is described in the Australian Geographic Kimberley book as one of the most beautiful yet daunting places on earth. We had wonderful days mostly connected with exploring the 800 nearby islands in the Buccaneer Archipelago.

While working for BHP I decided it was time to consolidate my interest with some study and completed full time graduate studies in OHS through Curtin University while working in the mine. During the years at Koolan I had many positions - initially as an OHN and from there moved into safety. Realising finally that my love areas were ergonomics and design toward the end of my time there. In the late 80s it was still relatively rare for women to be accepted in the safety area. My first application for a safety related position received a reply that there is no future for women in safety at ... (How I wish I had kept that letter!!!). Safety at that time (in mines) was dominated by firemen, who had no theoretical background in OHS, but were promoted on the strength of the fire / safety relationship. Thankfully my graduates now have a more equitable entry into their career path!

We returned to Queensland from WA in 1992, when regulated OHS was in its infancy in Qld (the original Act being passed in 1989). I approached CQU with the idea of starting OHS programs and to their credit they saw the potential. All of the health and safety related courses offered by CQU are a product of that time. From these small beginnings we have grown consistently and I am happy to say that industry can not get enough of our graduates and most often there are more requests for our graduates then people to fill them. A few years ago I completed a Masters degree through QUT - my thesis drawing on human factors concepts (specifically the relationship between engineering education and the reduction of design-induced end operator error).

Apart from teaching full time - I am also studying full time and have a passion for my research area. I will submit my doctoral thesis in November this year. My topic of research is 'Creating a cultural norm for engineers to consider people in their system designs from original concept development'. I have just finished co-writing a book to help engineers develop a better understanding of OHS (on behalf of the National Occupational Health & Safety Commission) and an online learning resource centre aimed at engineering educators for the Australian OHS Trust. Professionally I am a member of the Human Factors & Ergonomics Society of Australia, International Commission on Occupational Health, Australasian Association for Engineering Education (national executive committee member) and serve on expert advisory panels for the Queensland Department of Industrial Relations (WHS) and UK Institution of Electrical Engineers. In the International Ergonomics Association EQuiD (Ergonomics Quality in Design) program, I serve on the sub committee tasked with establishing accreditation standards and processes. I am currently collaborating with Ford Australia and the Victorian State Coroner to develop a database for the prevention of accidents through design. I am also one of the foundation researchers (here at CQU) in the Cooperative Research Centre for Integrated Engineering Asset Management (CIEAM) - an Australia wide research cooperative.

Hobbies - I have little time for any. Graeme has an ultra light which means that we spend a lot of time around planes. My family is my source of happiness and joy - I spend every moment I can with my children. My little ones are without doubt my greatest achievement! I love portrait painting and photography whenever I get the chance (sometimes it’s a year between paintings!) but with little ones there is always plenty of photo opportunities. Spirituality is a very important part of who I am and the spiritual inspiration in my life comes from the Baha'i Faith.

Web sites I Like

Creating designs 'fit' for people: Learning Resource Centre

We love to share our learning

Bad Human Factors Design

A picture speaks a 1000 words - a great introduction to why the area I teach is so important.

Live 365 Internet Radio

I love music while I work - so many genres!

The Baha'i World

A portal to my spiritual inspiration!!!

This is a personal homepage. Let's hope it reflects the views and opinions of the person who posted it. http://web-and-flow.com/members/ytoft/default.htm