news
Most employable
Almost all UC postgrads find work
within three years.
T
he University of Canberra has
narrowly beaten Flinders University
to top the list in postgraduate
employment rates after three years, scoring
98.4 per cent – a mere 0.2 percentage
points higher than its rival.
Flinders students can also look forward
to promising careers after returning to
university for further studies, with the 2019
Graduate Outcome Survey – Longitudinal
Shake it off
Research shows prolonged
handshakes produce discomfort.
I
t’s one of US president Donald Trump’s
signature moves: an unusually long
handshake. If his intention is to generate
feelings of anxiety among recipients,
research out of Scotland has confirmed
he’s right on the money. But the University
of Dundee study also suggests the move
could have a negative impact on working
and personal relationships.
4
campusreview.com.au
(GOS-L) – published by Quality Indicators
for Learning and Teaching – ranking the
institution second in the medium term
(three years) in graduate employment in the
country, and first in South Australia.
“Three years after completing a degree,
98.2 per cent of Flinders postgraduates are
employed; 94.6 per cent of them full-time,”
said Professor Clare Pollock, deputy vice-
chancellor (students).
“Flinders’ postgraduate median
full-time salary of $81,200 closely mirrors
the national average of $81,400, and our
undergraduate median salary of $60,000
matched the national average and was
the best in South Australia.
“The key reason for this strong result
is the relevance of our courses, which
are future-focused and future-proofed
with a strong emphasis on embedding
employability skills throughout the course
so that graduates are prepared to adapt
to change.
“Strengthening the employability and
earning ability of our undergraduates
and postgraduates has been a priority
for Flinders, and we are pleased with our
consistently strong performance.”
Trump shakes hands with French president
Emmanuel Macron. Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP
Researchers randomly assigned different
handshake lengths to 36 participants.
Some received a ‘normal’ handshake,
lasting under three seconds, while others
encountered a ‘prolonged’ handshake of
greater than three seconds. The control
group shook no hands.
The purpose and nature of the
handshakes were disguised by a semi-
structured interview.
After conducting a frame-by-frame
analysis of the participants’ behaviours
Pollock added that one of Flinders’
priorities was imbuing students with skills
in critical thinking, communication and
team work. She's aware that jobs are
rapidly changing, and the adoption of new
technologies is something students must
become adept in to be employable.
The results of the survey are gleaned
from information graduates supplied to
the GOS-L.
This year’s survey was open to any higher
education institution that participated in
the 2016 survey. Overall, 75 institutions
participated, including 40 universities and
35 non-university providers. The overall
response rate for the survey, which was
completed in 2018, was 55.9 per cent,
representing a jump from 39,744 completed
surveys in 2015 to 42,466 in 2018.
Overall, the results of the study reveal
some interesting changes and also raise
questions about furthering one’s study
over both the short and medium terms.
For instance, in 2016, 80.9 per cent of
postgraduate research graduates were in
full-time employment, compared with 72.6
who had completed an undergraduate
qualification only . ■
before and after the handshakes, the
team determined that those in the
longer handshake group showed more
behavioural freezing (decreased amount
of smile) and increased self-comforting
(indicated by increased ‘hands on hands’,
and decreased ‘hands on body’ behaviours)
than the other participants.
Study lead Dr Emese Nagy, a reader in
psychology, said the findings highlight the
importance of appropriate introductions.
“Handshakes are a particularly important
greeting and can have long-lasting
consequences for the relationships that we
form,” she said.
“There has been evidence to suggest
that many behaviours, such as hugs, fall
within a window of approximately three
seconds, and this study has confirmed that
handshakes that occur in this time frame
feel more natural to those who participate
in the greeting.
“While shaking hands for longer may
appear to be a warm gesture on the
surface, we found that they negatively
affected the behaviour of the recipient,
even after the handshake was finished.”
The results can be found in the
Perceptual and Motor Skills journal. ■