What do we want Albury-Wodonga’s heritage to be for the next generation in 30 years’ time? And how do we get there? Hosted by Charles Sturt University's (CSU) Institute for Land, Water and Society, a public lecture on Tuesday 6 June will address the issues of managing the cities’ emerging and future heritage. CSU’s Associate Professor in Cultural Heritage and Management, Dirk Spennemann will address issues associated with the heritage of modern buildings such as the University’s award-winning buildings at Thurgoona. He will also be looking at the future cultural significance of ‘space junk’ such as satellites, space stations and robots. The public lecture will start at 6pm at the CSU Nowik Lecture Theatre, Guinea St, Albury.

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic hopes the latest research into the youth labour market will put to rest the mistaken belief that young Australians are prone to unemployment and there is a need for drastic action and policy change to avoid youth joblessness. Associate Professor Erica Smith from CSU’s Faculty of Education said a recent study released by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) challenges reports of a “crisis” in the youth labour market and supports her own national research conducted over the past eight years. “Young people are not deficient or victims when it comes to entering the labour market. My studies and now other national research shows that they can confidently navigate the transition from school to work,” said Professor Smith. “The risks of the myth that young people are disadvantaged when entering the job market from school is that the school curriculum is constantly being challenged and sometimes amended to mould young people when the changes are unnecessary,” said the vocational education and training specialist.

As Australia’s population ages, a Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic is warning that Australia is not ready or prepared for the impending changes. Rhonda Shaw from the CSU School of Social Sciences and Liberal Studies wants to establish a community-based group to think about what is happening in older people’s lives now and in the future. The Ageing Issues Interest Group (AIIG) would then identify these issues, and consider ways of preventing, or at least decreasing, the impact on older people’s lives. “They could be health, public transport or social isolation issues. A big problem with older people, especially those who live on their own, is malnutrition,” said the CSU associate lecturer. Ms Shaw is concentrating on the central western city of Bathurst, but says if the AIIG is successful, it could branch out into other areas. She is hoping that the Group will attract interest from those who work with the aged, researchers interested in ageing issues, aged carers, and of course, older people themselves.

“Water is life and central to Charles Sturt University’s (CSU’s) research plan for the future,” said Professor Paul Burnett, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Research and Graduate Training as he turned on the tap last Friday (19 May) to commission CSU’s new Irrigation and Horticulture Research and Demonstration Area. The new facility at CSU’s Wagga Wagga Campus will be used for research on irrigation systems and testing their performance on a field scale with all the required monitoring facilities. Before the area was developed there was no facility available at CSU and most irrigated agriculture research had to be done on farmer’s fields with limited control environments. Professor Paul Burnett said it was appropriate to be commissioning the new research facility during Water Week at CSU which brought together key international delegates to develop a cooperative approach to agriculture and water management. “CSU is enriched by sharing research projects and infrastructure and this new facility will boost CSU’s competitiveness in bidding for specialist research projects and funding on irrigated crops,” Professor Burnett said. The area will also be used for research projects by students in the School of Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences. Richard Burbury, 19, of Tasmania, a first-year student in CSU’s Bachelor of Irrigation Science degree, was presented with the $10,000 three-year Irrigation Initiative Scholarship to pursue his studies in irrigation.

Award winning science broadcaster Adam Spencer will attempt to convince you to “pull your finger out” when he speaks on the future of Australian science at the 2006 Albury-Wodonga Futures Festival to be hosted this Saturday 27 May by Charles Sturt University (CSU) and Albury City Council. Spencer will be joined by DJ Beat 33, aka former Albury Youth Mayor and final-year CSU business student Ben Carroll, who will provide modern beats for the event to be held on the University’s Thurgoona site. Other activities include a school competition to build a bridge with spaghetti with prizes for best construction; displays for Albury’s Future Community Awards; a Future Music Video Exhibition and tours of CSU's award winning Thurgoona site. The Festival’s major activities will run from 11am to 2pm at Charles Sturt University, off Elizabeth Mitchell Drive at Thurgoona.

A senior NSW ambulance officer and a member of the Beaconsfield rescue team believes an “amazing strength of mind” help keep the two trapped gold miners alive for a fortnight, almost one kilometre underground. Dominic Morgan, a Superintendent with the Ambulance Service of NSW, was one of six members of the Service’s Special Casualty Access Team (SCAT) to work in the large rescue effort in Tasmania’s northeast. Working in 12 hour shifts with his SCAT colleagues, the Charles Sturt University (CSU) graduate was mainly responsible for maintaining the mental health of Todd Russell and Brant Webb. Communicating through an 87 millimetre PVC pipe, Superintendent Morgan said his team had to “buoy their spirits” and keep the miners “relaxed and confident as possible”. He said the mine rescue posed a “whole new set of challenges” from normal paramedic work due to its sustained nature. The ambulance officer reflected that the two trapped miners showed how “strong the human mind can be” and displayed “incredible support for each other”.  CSU was the first university to offer pre-hospital care education in Australia with graduates employed as ambulance officers in paramedic and emergency care settings in Australia and overseas.  

A national award from the Australian library sector will be presented to recent Charles Sturt University graduate Tania Barry for her commitment to her profession as a librarian in Victoria. Ms Barry, who graduated from the Bachelor of Arts (Library and Information Science) in April 2006, has been named the recipient of the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) Metcalfe Award for 2006.The Award commemorates John Metcalfe, a former NSW State Librarian, for his contribution to librarianship and library education. Ms Barry is the Children's and Youth Services Librarian for the Wyndham Library Service, Werribee south-west of Melbourne. “Tania has shown a great commitment to the profession, and through her work has created a busy program of events and initiatives that link the library to the community,” said senior lecturer Roy Sanders. “I am pleased to receive the Metcalfe Award because it is a peer-nominated, national award and I feel it provides professional recognition of the programs I initiated to improve literacy levels within the community,” said Ms Barry. The ALIA is the professional organisation for the Australian library and information services sector. Charles Sturt University last year celebrated its 30th anniversary as a lead educator for librarians across Australia and internationally.

A $100 000 scholarship will enable Charles Sturt University (CSU) PhD student Jodie Ivers to conduct research into the way people manage their electricity usage . Ms Ivers is the recipient of Country Energy’s inaugural Energy Efficiency Research Scholarship. The industry scholarship will allow the postgraduate student to research renewable energy or an area known as demand management. “Demand management could be changed using new technology such as  a “smart meter” in people’s homes. The meter could tell the resident how much electricity is being used at any time and how much it is costing,” explained Ms Ivers. At peak times, an alarm would alert a resident to warn them the cost will escalate. And why aren’t more people taking up the option of green electricity? “This is what I have to find out. Basically what I’ll be doing is finding out what consumers think about renewable energy, what they know about it, what their attitudes towards green electricity are and trying to find ways to increase adoption and awareness,” said the CSU student. Originally from the central west town of Oberon, Ms Ivers now lives in Bathurst. “I like the socially responsible aspect of research, so I would love to see my work make a difference in what’s happening in regional areas, and reduce the amount of fossil fuels that we are using,” added Jodie Ivers.

Described as an ardent and vocal supporter of the pharmacy program at Charles Sturt University (CSU), Ian Dean has been awarded a Companion of the University. Mr Dean has worked in the pharmaceutical industry in Australia, Canada, Europe, New Zealand, UK and the USA. From 1990 to 2003, Ian Dean was Registrar and Chief Executive of the Pharmacy Board of NSW. In presenting the Companion of the University, Dean of the CSU Faculty of Health Studies Professor Mark Burton said “Ian Dean has advocated on behalf of staff, students and the University as a whole in various pharmacy and industry forums and most notably within the NSW Government”. “His understanding of the role that CSU plays in the recruitment and retention of rural pharmacists contributed significantly to the establishment of the first Professor of Rural Pharmacy in Australia at CSU in 2005,” Professor Burton added