A/Prof Amy Forbes - Research Portfolio

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About

I am Associate Professor of Communication and Journalism, and Associate Dean, Teaching and Learning. I teach foundation and capstone Humanities subjects in the Bachelor of Arts.

My research interests are multi-disciplinary and cut across the areas of media history and censorship, communication, gaming and social capital formation, and mental health. As Associate Dean, Learning and Teaching (2015-2017; 2019-2021), I provided leadership and engagement in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) in the college, and led work in curriculum development and review, staff professional development as well as student transformation and transition into and out of the university. My teaching and research activities in Work Integrated Learning (WIL) have been recognised by way of awards including two JCU Citations and a national Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning from the Office for Teaching and Learning (OLT).

As an academic, I have over 30 years of tertiary teaching experience in the Philippines, the US and Australia. I have also worked as a journalist across media platforms and produced television news, documentaries and public affairs programs for the major television channels in the Philippines. I was a founding staff member and columnist for the Daily Tribune.

I received a Fulbright Scholarship and studied at the New School for Social Research (now New School University) in New York. I am a fellow of the Salzburg Global Seminar.

Before moving to Australia in 2003, I was associate professor at De la Salle University (Manila). I joined Monash University in 2004, then moved to JCU in 2008. I am currently based in JCU's Nguma-bada campus in sunny and tropical Cairns.

Teaching

BA3000: Arts Edge (Level 3; CNS)
CU1010: Effective Writing (Level 1; CNS & ONL)
CU1200: Effective Speaking (Level 1; TSV)
JN1005: Introduction to Multimedia Journalism, Writing and Communication (Level 1; TSV)
JN3304: Multimedia Writing Projects (Level 3; TSV)

Interests

Research

Media censorship
Mental health
work-integrated learning (WIL) and curriculum development
gaming behaviour and the production of social capital; political engagement
Youth justice and community safety
Intergenerational and multicultural communication

Teaching

Multimedia production
Work Integrated Learning and embedding placement into subjects
Curriculum design and delivery including eAssessment and authentic assessment
Public relations and campaign management

Experience

2019 to present - Associate Dean, Learning and Teaching, James Cook University (Cairns, Queensland)
2017 to 2018 - Coordinator, BA, James Cook University (Queensland)
2008 to 2018 - Senior Lecturer, James Cook University (Queensland)
2015 to 2017 - Associate Dean, Learning and Teaching, James Cook University (Queensland)
2012 to 2016 - Coordinator, Bachelor of Multimedia Journalism program, James Cook University (Queensland)
2004 to 2008 - Lecturer, Monash University (Victoria, Australia)
2003 to 2005 - Columnist, The Philippine Times: Australia's Filipino Newspaper (Melbourne, Victoria)
1987 to 2003 - Associate Professor, De La Salle University (Philippines)
2000 to 2002 - Columnist, The Daily Tribune (Manila, Philippines)
1991 to 1993 - Executive Assistant to the Dean, New School for Social Research (New York, USA)
1986 to 1991 - Executive Producer (AV and TV), Visions, Inc. (Manila, Philippines)
1986 to 1988 - Supervising Producer and Video Editor, Nightline:Manila (Manila, Philippines)
1985 to 1987 - Columnist and Publisher, Balitang Kababayan (Manila, Philippines)
1984 to 1986 - Research Associate to the Dean, Institute of Mass Communication, UP (Manila, Philippines)
1981 to 1986 - Lecturer, University of the Philippines (Manila, Philippines)

Research Disciplines

Socio-Economic Objectives

Honours

Awards

U.S. Fulbright Scholar
2021 - JCU Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning - For developing an inclusive and responsive Humanities capstone curriculum that motivates diverse cohorts to develop capabilities for work-readiness as critical thinkers and problem-solvers
2018 - CASE Strategic Funds; Enhancing the Bachelor of Arts degree with a focus on work-readiness and employability through internship and placement in the capstone, $10,000
2017 - TropEco Award for Partnerships and Engagement - High Commendation for CrimWatch; weekly radio segment on TripleT Townsville Community Radio station
2015 - JCU COGNOS Top User of the Year
2014 - Australian Award for University Teaching -- Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning -- Wired for Employment: For leadership and excellence in developing and delivering a pioneering WIL-based curriculum in Multimedia Journalism
2014 - JCU Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning
2013 - Top Paper Award (with Dr Lilnabeth Somera and Dr Francis Dalisay), 63rd Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (Intergroup Communication Interest Group). London, England, June 17-21, 2013.
2009 - DEEWR (Curriculum Refresh -AUFT), $67.644 Curriculum Refresh project: Establishing the new Bachelor of Multimedia Journalism (with Dr Lindsay Simpson)
2009 - Carrick Institute for Learning & Teaching, $ 6000 Work Integrated Learning and Multimedia Journalism benchmarking project

Fellowships

Yale University China Studies Fellow, University of Hongkong
Salzburg Global Seminar Fellow, Austria (https://www.salzburgglobal.org/)

Memberships

Pi Gamma Mu International Honor Society (lifetime)
Australian Collaborative Education Network (ACEN)
2007 to 2020 - Journalism Education and Research Association of Australia (JERAA)

Other

2016 - JCU LTSE grant: E-book production (Public Relations); $2000
2015 - JCU LTSE grant: E-book production (Public Relations); $2000
2015 - JCU LTSE grant: Curriculum Research on 3Cs in Mental Health Education in Social Work; $10,000 with Dr Abraham Francis, Dr Narayan Gopalkrishnan and Ms Claire Swift (JCU Library)
2013 - JCU TLD grant: Curriculum Mapping; $10,510 with the Modern Languages discipline
2009 - JCU Faculty Grants Scheme, $3900 Media industry perspectives on journalism student's work readiness
2020 to 2021 - Australian Awards for University Teaching (AAUT) assessor

Publications

These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU. Hover over Altmetrics badges to see social impact.

Journal Articles

Kushin M, Dalisay F, Kim J, Forbes A, David C and Somera L (2022) Creative Self-efficacy, Political Decision-making, and Offline and Online Political Participation. Journal of Creative Communications, 17 (3). pp. 270-287
Dalisay F, Kushin M, Kim J, Forbes A, David C and Somera L (2021) Motivations for video game play and political decision-making: evidence from four countries. Game Studies - the international journal of computer game research, 21 (3).
Li W and Forbes A (2018) Fang-tan in research among Chinese communities in New Zealand and Australia: a cultural approach to engagement. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 15 (4). pp. 472-488
Forbes A (2015) Courageous women in media: Marcos and censorship in the Philippines. Pacific Journalism Review, 21 (1). pp. 195-210
Forbes A (2013) Tropical imaginings and romantic nostalgia: 75 years of Giliw Ko and the colonial gaze. Etropic: electronic journal of studies in the tropics, 12 (2). pp. 171-179

Book Chapters

Chong M, Forbes A, Francis A and Fellows J (2020) Gender differentials in the presentation of symptoms, assessment, diagnosis and treatment of mentally ill prisoners. In: Gender and Mental Health: combining theory and practice. Springer, Singapore, pp. 207-221
Francis A and Forbes A (2020) Social Worker as a multidisciplinary team member: embedding three cs (competence, confidence and compassion) in social work education in mental health. In: Social Work Education, Research and Practice: perspectives from India and Australia. Springer, Singapore, pp. 59-72
Forbes A (2015) Once upon a time in Manila: managing Marcos and martial rule through humour. In: Pleasures of the Prose: journalism and humour. Abramis Academic Publishing, Bury St Edmunds, UK, pp. 169-185

Conference Papers

Forbes A and Craven A (2012) Rounding the Edge(s) of a (torrid) Region: Designing arts capstone curriculum at JCU. 2012 ACEN Conference Proceedings. In: 2012 ACEN Conference "Collaborative Education: Investing in the Future, 29 October-2 November 2012, Geelong, Victoria
Forbes A (2011) Evidence of learning in reflective practice: a case study of computer-assisted analysis of students' reflective blogs. Proceedings of the New Zealand Association for Cooperative Education Conference. In: NZACE 2011 New Zealand Association for Cooperative Education Conference, 18-19 April 2011, Napier,17274 New Zealand
Forbes A (2010) Reflecting, blogging and learning in journalism: are journalists born or made? Proceedings of the Australian Collaborative Education Network National Conference 2010. 27 September -1 October 2010, Perth, WA, Australia
Forbes A (2009) Utilizing mentoring feedback in journalism work placements: producing work-ready graduates for the 21st century newsroom. NZACE 2009 Conference Proceedings: using experience and research to inform the practice of work-integrated learning. In: NZACE Annual Conference: using experience and research to inform the practice of work-integrated learning, 23-24 April 2009, Waiheke, New Zealand