I am a sociologist in the final year of my PhD at flinders university in Sth Australia. To supplement my scholarship i teach tutorials, with a preference for first year students because i love to see them change from the start of the course to become engaged, critical thinkers by the end of the course. I love what i do - specialising in the field of childhood, consumerism, marketing, complexity theory and social theory. i have an active lifestyle so when i am not trapped behind the several computers i rely on for work and research i try to get out for hikes, haven't been climbing in too long but just started caving and look forward to any opportunity to camp. i am a strong believer in activism, the environment and animal/human welfare issues - i can not sit by and let things go on without voicing my concerns in a political manner and acting on them. i truly believe no one will do what is necessary to save the biodiversity of the environment if they do not engage it sufficiently to appreciate it in the deepest way - and that means closing the beautiful books full of pretty pictures and going outside to breath the air (the smell of pines and gums on a hot day, or after rain) and sitting quietly to watch small reptiles scamper across the path in front of you. i have to work hard at not becoming despondent with the inactivity and lack of interest of so many people around me ... and then i talk to a student and realise i have changed the way they see the world and i know i am doing the right thing :-)