Actor and author Mr Brendan Cowell, who graduated in 1997 from the theatre/media course at the School of Communication at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Bathurst, narrowly missed out on the Play Award when the winners of the NSW Premier's Literary Awards 2009 were announced at the Art Gallery of NSW in Sydney last night, Monday 18 May. Mr Cowell’s play Ruben Guthrie  was one of six plays short-listed for the prestigious award. Theatre/media lecturer, Mr Jerry Boland, said Brendan Cowell is an immense talent whose success is highlighted by the calibre of the other nominees and by the public acclaim for his work. “Brendan has enjoyed major success both within Australia and abroad, and I congratulate him for his nomination with such illustrious company.”

Students from Melrose Primary School in Wodonga think the city is a fun, safe place with friendly caring people. To reflect this attitude a number of students from Year 5/6 are painting a mural. The students will take half a day on Thursday 14 May to complete the mural in the grounds of Melrose Primary, as part of a collaborative project between Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Murray School of Education, Wodonga City Council and Wodonga early childhood services, primary and high schools. The mural designed is based on discussions held by the students over the past three weeks, based on the theme 'Wodonga: a child-friendly city'. Project coordinator Professor Sue Dockett said this project “encourages children to focus on their community, what they value and expect and the ways in which they engage with the community”.

Is it possible to exercise to improve thinking skills? This is being investigated by researchers at Charles Sturt University (CSU). “The high school jock stereotype is not usually associated with great intelligence, but maybe they are smarter than if they didn’t exercise,” explained Dr Matthew Thomas from the School of Social Science and Liberal Studies at CSU at Bathurst. “We know there are benefits in aspects of mental processing from a short bout of exercise and also for people who exercise over several months. What we want to test in this study is whether there is an effect on the mental performance of healthy young and middle-age adults with just four weeks of exercise.” Residents of Coffs Harbour and Bellingen in northern NSW are being invited to participate in this new study. “We’re looking for people who don’t usually exercise. Couch potatoes if you like,” said Dr Thomas. Assessments of participants’ mental processing will be conducted by local resident, Ms Jenny Grant, as part of her Bachelor of Social Science (Psychology). “It’s like having your brain fitness tested,” said Ms Grant.

It’s hoped a trip to the Philippines will contribute knowledge towards research currently underway into plant breeding for disease resistance. E H Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation research student Mr Ray Cowley will travel to the major rice producing country this Saturday 16 May to participate in a three-week workshop into the practical aspects of plant breeding at the headquarters of the International Rice Research Institute. “The challenges faced by plant breeders are common across many agricultural crops and I’m hoping to learn the practical aspects of plant breeding and genetics and how they manage the breeding and plant selection process in rice,” Mr Cowley said. “Despite focusing on lupins, the research addresses universal problems relating to breeding crops which are disease resistant.” He said the outcome of this type of research can mean the development of better plant varieties which leads to improved crop yields, which in turn improves the livelihood of farmers, not only in Australia but overseas.

Residents around Albury-Wodonga with peripheral vascular disease – a common complication of diabetes - are sought to assess an early detection system being developed by Charles Sturt University (CSU) researchers. With diabetes now the most likely chronic disease to affect people over 50 years old, for the past 10 years Dr Herbert Jelinek and his team have been studying new and more accessible methods for detecting diabetes in patients in regional Australia. “Peripheral vascular disease constricts blood flow in the extremities of our bodies, particularly feet,” said Dr Jelinek.”We are assessing the use of a simple, hand held instrument to measure blood flow into feet and so detect this condition before nasty complications, such as infections and gangrene, can develop.” The study is being conducted through the Diabetes Complications Research Initiative at CSU in Albury-Wodonga. People already affected by peripheral vascular disease and who would like to take part in the study should contact Ms Bev de Jong on 02 6051 6858.  

Outstanding Australian alternative rock outfit Faker will be at Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Thurgoona site on Friday 15 May in what has been billed as the biggest concert for Albury in 2009. CSU catering manager in Albury-Wodonga, Mr Tom Hogan said it is hoped the band will attract young people from all over Albury-Wodonga and surrounding districts to the campus off Elizabeth Mitchell Drive for the show, which also includes local Albury band Free Spirits. The support group, which includes students for CSU, will play a lunchtime gig outside the new Learning Commons building on the Thurgoona site at 12noon on Tuesday 12 May, in prepartion for the Faker concert.

The international response to the outbreak of the new virus known as influenza A (H1N1), formerly known as swine flu, reveals the tremendous advances that have been made in monitoring and diagnosis of these new strains of influenza in recent years. “It is very encouraging to see the co-ordinated response to the outbreak by the World Health Organisation and countries around the world, including Australia, to prevent the influenza A (H1N1) becoming a pandemic,” said Dr Heather Cavanagh, a specialist in infectious disease and senior lecturer with the School of Biomedical Sciences at Wagga Wagga. Dr Cavanagh noted that “until we know the exact number of people who have been infected we are unable to determine the exact risk of fatality.  People should not panic at the publicity over this outbreak but should use common sense in avoiding areas where there have been confirmed cases, practice high hygiene standards such as hand-washing and see medical attention if flu-like symptoms persist or appear particularly severe.  This virus is currently responding well to anti-viral drugs, however, there is a need to catch it in time to prevent fatalities.”   Dr Cavanagh says there is nothing unusual in influenza viruses crossing species. “But the concern with this outbreak is due to the unusual combination of species susceptible to it, the fact that it can be passed directly from person-to-person and the potential ability of the virus to further mutate as it passes around the world,”  said Dr Cavanagh.

Students from Melrose Primary School in Wodonga will be supplied with digital cameras on Wednesday 29 April in the name of becoming better citizens. As part of a collaborative project between Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Murray School of Education, Wodonga City Council, and Wodonga’s early childhood services and primary and high schools, the students will be ferried by bus to iconic sites such as the Wodonga Water Tower, Sumsion Gardens, Felltimber Reserve and Willow Park Skate Bowl to develop a photo display using their own photos to describe what they would like to see Wodonga become. “The list of sites was agreed on by the Year 5 and 6 students, who will take photos of what they think is important in these places,” said CSU education professor and project coordinator, Sue Dockett. “These images will then be used by the children to describe what it is it they value about Wodonga, as well as what they would like to see happen in Wodonga to make it a better place in which to live.”

Many business leaders around the world are aware that they must ‘do something’ about HIV/AIDS. However, in order to take effective action, they need to understand the diverse economic, social, political and health issues relating to the epidemic. Charles Sturt University (CSU) postgraduate student Ms Saskia Faulk aims to develop a risk management tool for companies seeking to understand the extent and dynamics of HIV/AIDS so they can put into place HIV/AIDS workplace programs. Ms Faulk is completing a CSU Doctorate of Business Administration by distance education from Switzerland. Ms Faulk has also co-written a book, AIDS and Business, which presents case studies of businesses in countries including Brazil, India, Mexico, Morocco, Thailand, South Africa, and Switzerland. “The spread of HIV/AIDS affects businesses in all sectors, all industries and all countries, so companies and organisations must take action,” she said.