“Lazarus with a triple bypass”. The year was 1989, and John Howard had just lost the Opposition leadership. One reporter at the media conference asked him if he felt like a “political corpse”, another if he thought he could ever regain the leadership. How did John Howard go from that moment in political time, to today marking his tenth year in office with four straight election wins, making him Australia’s second-longest serving Prime Minister? Dr Wayne Errington (left), Lecturer in the School of Social Sciences and Liberal Studies at Charles Sturt University (CSU) is currently writing a biography about John Howard, and will present a paper to a weekend conference looking at Mr Howard’s skill as a politician and his refusal to succumb to political rejection. “He’s grown as a politician, he’s a much more calm person than he was 10 or 15 years ago, he’s much more measured in his policies, he’s prepared to compromise to get things through the senate or to mollify public opinion, and that’s a recipe for a much more successful conservative politician.” Dr Errington’s paper also examines all the elements that have led to John Howard’s remarkable four election wins.

Are you around 50 years, female and have a pain in the heel? Podiatry honours student at Charles Sturt University (CSU) Luke Hewitt is looking for middle aged women with heel and foot pain in the Albury-Wodonga area. “Heel pain affects over 10 per cent of the population and is more common among middle aged women. As part of our research we will test treatments including orthotics to lessen or cure heel pain,” said Mr Hewitt. If you are a woman aged between 30 and 60 years and you suffer pain on the bottom of your heel, Mr Hewitt, supervised by qualified CSU podiatrists, will assess the condition and treatment options as a free service as part of his research at the CSU Allied Health Clinic. The clinic is located on the corner of Guinea and Olive Streets, Albury, each Wednesday and Thursday starting tomorrow, Wednesday 1 March. To take part in the study, contact Mr Hewitt on telephone 02 6051 6733.

The story of two women living on "a knife's edge" in the Villawood Detention Centre has won an inaugural international broadcasting award for former Charles Sturt University (CSU) student Kirsti Melville. The Commonwealth Broadcasting Association (CBA) Amnesty International Award for Human Rights Programme was presented to Ms Melville by Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty International at a ceremony in New Delhi. The Radio National documentary is described as "the human story behind the federal government's stance on deporting long-term visa overstayers". Ms Melville, a 1994 graduate with a BA Communication (Broadcast Journalism), says it was a compelling program "because their stories were equally moving and powerful as those of refugees, but they are voices you don't hear very often. I think it was one of the first times I felt like I had had a little bit of an impact. You become very aware of your responsibilities as a journalist and to the people involved." The news that she won came as a surprise, "I was completely gob smacked, and on top of that to find out I was going to India in two weeks to accept the Award was mind-blowing." Kirsti's next documentary is about ageing Holocaust survivors in nursing homes in Sydney.

Recent media has highlighted a large study linking hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and higher risk of breast and other cancers. Charles Sturt University (CSU) biomedical researcher Dr Christopher Scott will present the science behind HRT, including the role of oestrogen and testosterone in males and females and how they are used in HRT during a public lecture in Albury tomorrow, Wednesday 15 March. He will also discuss the benefits and potential risks of HRT using his own research. The lecture will start at 6pm in the Nowik Lecture Theatre, Guinea St, Albury. Dr Scott joined CSU as a lecturer in physiology in 2003 and has studied the role of  sex hormones for the past 17 years in Australia and USA.

Hailed as a leader of Australia’s new generation architects, Peter Stutchbury has won the national competition to design a $10 million development on the Charles Sturt University (CSU) Albury-Wodonga Campus. The multi award winner, well known for his innovative, environmentally sensitive structures, will design the new Learning Commons building, which will house a student based centre for collaborative learning and academic community, incorporating library, computing and learning skills staff and technologies. “Due to be completed by 2008, the project demonstrates CSU’s continued investment in higher education in regional Australia and on the NSW-Victorian border,” said Head of the Albury-Wodonga Campus, Professor Gail Whiteford. The launch marks the start of the third and final stage of the University’s move from the Albury city site to the campus site based at Thurgoona.

Is it fair that educational achievement can depend on where you live? Anecdotally, it is known that young, inexperienced teachers fresh out of university are usually sent to unpopular destinations such as western NSW. Another assumption is that school students in these areas have uneven educational outcomes. Now these "hunches" have been verified by the Rural (Teacher) Education Project, and the search is on for some solutions. "It’s all about attracting, preparing, retaining and renewing teachers for the bush," said project leader Professor Bill Green from Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Faculty of Education. "One key issue was that location matters. You’re getting young teachers working with often the most disadvantaged groups. They have energy and enthusiasm and embrace innovation, but the downside is they don’t have experience." Some of the early recommendations to emerge include nominating certain isolated schools as professional development centres, better preparation of student teachers, changing staffing patterns so that groups of teachers are appointed to a region, and involving local communities and government agencies so that young professionals are connecting socially. More complete findings are due next month.

Diabetes is the fastest growing disease in Australia and a Charles Sturt University (CSU) research project that has run for the past four years aims to develop a cost-effective early warning system to detect diabetes in people living in regional Australia. CSU researchers are using simple blood and heart monitoring tests and eye and foot observations to compare known people with diabetes with "normal" people aged over 40 years to develop this system. "Rural Australians have poorer access to health services that could detect early symptoms of diabetes that affect their eyes, feet and hearts," said research team leader Dr Herbert Jelinek, based on CSU’s Albury-Wodonga Campus. The researchers will make their next round of observations of people in Albury-Wodonga starting next Monday 24 April for two weeks.

As the Federal Government urges innovation in housing and urban design to take Australia’s ageing population into account, one scenario could be acres of empty ‘McMansions’ as older people flee to smaller homes with easy access to healthcare and social ties. Community for All Ages – Building the Future seminars were recently held all over the country to discuss the topic. Facilitated by Dr Keith Suter, he will now put together a formal report and other findings and recommendations. Celia Bevan, senior lecturer in Gerontology at Charles Sturt University, says "one of the interesting things to come out of this circuit of conferences is that architecturally, we should be looking at housing which is adaptable", homes that are accessible for everybody, regardless of age or ability or mobility. It’s called Universal Design, but unlike architecture, the emotional needs of older Australians are anything but universal. "There are people who absolutely love retirement villages and that life suits them, but then there are other people who do not. To just look at an ageing population and say well, this is the kind of housing they would want would be as disastrous as leaving it as it currently is." But can governments successfully legislate for change? Probably not, according to Ms Bevan. "The will has to be there and the cultural shift has to occur. Obviously architects and the housing industry have to be able to see that there’s something in it for them, because our whole philosophy around housing is around profit as well. The industry has to be persuaded to see that it is in their interest to engage in a new form of housing."

It is a week of celebration this week at Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Albury-Wodonga Campus with a number of events highlighting the achievements of CSU students. The academic excellence of current allied health, business, environmental science and information technology students will be rewarded during prize giving ceremonies to be held around Albury this Thursday 27 and Friday 28 April. Some of the University’s top students will also be recognised at the CSU Foundation Scholarships evening where they will receive scholarships worth $2 000 to $6 000 from international and local businesses and organisations on this Thursday evening 27 April. Celebrations in the town will culminate on Thursday 27 and Friday 28 April at three formal graduation ceremonies for over 500 graduates to be held at the Albury Convention and Performing Arts Centre in central Albury.