Four Charles Sturt University (CSU) Middle School education degree students will travel with three Wodonga Middle School teachers to the United States next week to attend the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) Summer Institute. Jane Hill, Caralea Glen, Courtney Mitchell, and Mandy Walker will participate in the latest professional development with middle and high school teachers from the United States when they attend the program in Sacramento, California. The students will also meet local middle school teachers, students and families involved in the AVID program. CSU middle school lecturer Dr William DeJean said this was an opportunity for pre-service teachers to acquire professional insights into how to increase academic performance, engagement, and eventually university enrolment for middle school students.

Students from around Australia and overseas will gather with families and friends at Parramatta in western Sydney on Friday 13 June to graduate from the Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) School of Theology. Almost 100 students will receive their undergraduate and postgraduate awards from CSU, which is the largest provider of theological studies in the Asia Pacific region. Professor Tom Frame, Head of the School of Theology said that the University has become a premier venue for theological learning and research in Australia. “The collaboration between St Mark’s National Theological Centre in Canberra and the United Theological College brings a very significant ecumenical focus to bear on a range of disciplines including biblical studies, ethical reflection and pastoral care. The increasing number of students graduating with postgraduate degrees is particularly encouraging as we seek to meet the needs of Australian churches, educational institutions, welfare organisations and the health care sector,” he said. CSU Chancellor, Mr Lawrence Willett, AO, will preside over the graduation ceremony. The Occasional Address will be delivered by theologian Emeritus Professor Peter Matheson, of Knox Theological Hall, Otago, New Zealand. The Lord Mayor of Parramatta, Councillor Paul Barber, will be a special guest at the ceremony.

Microscopes have been enlisted in the fight against the summer perennial weed Silverleaf Nightshade. Researchers at the EH Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation, an alliance between Charles Sturt University (CSU) and the NSW Department of Primary Industries, are half way through a project to look for innovative solutions to tackle the invasive weed. Silverleaf nightshade is estimated to cost agriculture millions of dollars every year in reduced crop and pasture production. Project leader Dr Rex Stanton says new research has shown that trichomes, or fine hairs, on the underside of the leaves may hold the key to tackling the invasive weed."Under a microscope the hair like structures are visible and they penetrate deep into the leaf, so understanding the basic anatomy of the plant may help us come up with better techniques to manage it," said Dr Stanton. The researcher is about to start planting trials with pasture species such as lucerne, phalaris, coxfoot and biserrula at sites across NSW. The project is funded by Meat and Livestock Australia.

Eight Charles Sturt University (CSU) teacher education students leave this week for a one month exchange program with Hannam University at Daejeon in central South Korea. This is the second annual exchange of teacher education students with Hannam University. “The exchange emphasises the University’s commitment to providing enriching experiences for its students so they are better rounded and better able to work professionally in classrooms anywhere,” said  Professor Toni Downes, Dean of the CSU Faculty of Education. “Three weeks are spent on a cultural tour and one week is spent doing a placement in a local school. The students have to apply to go and are chosen by the Faculty based on the criteria of good academic results combined with the right personalities to be representing the University,” Professor Downes said. There are six students from the CSU Bathurst Campus, one from Wagga Wagga Campus and one from Albury-Wodonga Campus. They leave Australia on Sunday 15 June and return in the middle of July.

A Wiradjuri woman from Wagga Wagga has been appointed to a key position in the four Indigenous Support Units (ISU) covering Charles Sturt University (CSU) campuses in Albury-Wodonga, Bathurst, Dubbo and Wagga Wagga.  Based in Wagga Wagga, Ms Therese Reid, the Units’ Programs Coordinator oversees the Koori Admissions Program, an alternative admission to university program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, and the Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme, as well as supporting Indigenous students who travel to CSU for study including many students studying the Bachelor of Health Science (Mental Health). Ms Reid was the first Indigenous Coordinator at the Ashmont Community Resource Centre in Wagga Wagga for three years and is the daughter of Wagga Wagga Elders’ Group member, Ms Isabel Reid. “Therese’s role in supporting Indigenous students is a critical part of the University’s mission to enhance our communities by promoting Indigenous access, participation and success in tertiary education,” said Executive Director of Student Services at CSU, Mr Andrew Callander.

Detecting heart disease before the symptoms start is the subject of new research by Charles Sturt University (CSU) researcher Dr Geoff Currie, a senior lecturer with the University’s School of Dentistry and Health Sciences in Wagga Wagga. Dr Currie is looking at the role that the sympathetic nervous pathways can play in that detection. An examination of the body using thermography, or digital infrared imaging, can also screen for other conditions including diabetes, breast cancer and auto-immune disease. Dr Currie, who lectures in nuclear medicine, is researching the potential for thermography as a cheap, effective and mobile instrument for the early detection of disease in rural and remote Australia. He is part of the CSU-initiated Cardiovascular Research Group, which also includes researchers from Wagga Wagga Base Hospital who work collaboratively with other Australian and international universities and hospitals on research projects, from the diagnosis to treatment for heart failure, coronary heart disease and cardiovascular risk factors.

Early results from research with Charles Sturt University (CSU) students living on the Wagga Wagga Campus show that they are more likely to reduce their electricity use as a result of ‘social marketing’ strategies than simply having a meter to tell them how much electricity they are using.  The CSU researchers used social marketing techniques that identified the barriers and benefits to encourage students to use less energy, and then developed ways to overcome the barriers, encouraging students to change the way they use energy in their residences. Students who received the social marketing strategies significantly decreased their electricity use by 15 per cent over seven weeks, while students with access to meters only decreased their use by five per cent. Students exposed to these strategies used significantly less electricity than students that received nothing. The next stage of the research is to see what happens if students receive both social marketing and meters in their residences. “We can go a long way to reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions by just changing our behaviours,” said CSU’s Dr Penny Davidson. The project is supported by the Public Facilities Program under the NSW Government’s Climate Change Fund, in collaboration with NSW energy provider Country Energy and electrical display unit manufacturer Ampy.

The emerging and serious health problem, chronic kidney disease, will be examined during a public lecture in Tumut on Wednesday 28 May. The lecture coincides with the national Kidney Health Week 2008 being held from Saturday 24 May to Saturday 31 May. Associate Professor Ann Bonner from the Charles Sturt University (CSU) School of Nursing and Midwifery in Wagga Wagga, will explain chronic kidney disease, its risk factors, optimal healthcare requirements and its impact on individuals, society and the Australian healthcare system. Associate Professor Bonner has practised for more than 20 years as a renal nurse and has developed postgraduate renal nursing courses for universities in NSW and Queensland. Dr Bonner is also involved in collaborative research projects with renal health care clinicians in these states. The lecture, presented by CSU and the Tumut Shire Council, will be held from 6pm in the Montreal Community Theatre, 44-46 Russell St, Tumut. CSU wine and cheese will be served after the lecture.

Volunteers are being sought to assist a Charles Sturt University (CSU) researcher with a study into the use of computer games technology to portray Einstein's Theory of Relativity. PhD student Mr David Carr says that there has been growing interest in both research and industry in the use of computer games - so-called ‘Serious Games’ - for teaching and training. “Virtual worlds can be programmed to behave according to Newtonian laws of physics, or other rules, that enable us to experience things that are not possible or feasible in real life,” said Mr Carr. “Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity, which is concerned with travel at close to the speed of light, is a subject which can be visualised through the use of computer software. The aim of my research is to evaluate how this physics can be portrayed in an interactive game, and whether such a game can help people to learn the concepts of relativity. The game was designed with the HSC physics curriculum in mind, so it would be good to hear from high school students in particular, although anyone is welcome. I want to find out if it's fun and if you learn anything from the game.”