A healthy view for the future

Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003
Charles Sturt University (CSU) allied health students will meet with employers in the health sector in Albury on Thursday 16 October to consider their futures. Potential employers have been invited by CSU to promote positions and careers to the final year students before they finish their degrees. This year’s annual CSU Job Market, now in its sixth year, will have an international flavour as a group of health employer representatives from Singapore will also attend the market. The expo will include prospective employers for speech pathologists, occupational therapists and physiotherapists. “There is always a buzz in the room at this expo. As they face the end of their courses, the students are considering their options and this expo brings many of these options under one roof,” said Dr Megan Smith, physiotherapy course coordinator at CSU. Research shows that between 2002 and 2007, up to 60 per cent of graduates from CSU started their careers in regional, rural and remote Australia.

Valuing frog habitat

Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003
Some of the most mysterious and interesting creatures in the Murray River floodplain - tadpoles and frogs - will be the subject of a field night with Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Dr Skye Wassens near Albury as part of national Water Week. A researcher at CSU’s Institute for Land, Water and Society, Dr Wassens will present a 30-minute talk about the frogs of the region, how to identify them and how to create frog-friendly habitats. This will be followed by a spotlight and listening tour around the Wonga Wetland lagoons near Albury and a demonstration of how to identify different frogs by their calls. Dr Wassens is currently leading a research project funded by the Murray Wetlands Working Group, looking at the relationship between different flood management regimes and the breeding responses of frogs in wetlands along the Murray, from the Hume Dam to the South Australian border. She is an expert on the Murray River’s most endangered frog species, the Southern Bell Frog.

Head teacher retires after 35 years

Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003
After 35 years as a lecturer at Charles Sturt University (CSU) and its predecessor institution, Mitchell College of Advanced Education (MCAE), Associate Professor Noel Thomas has retired from his role as Head of the School of Teacher Education. Professor Thomas began his teaching career in 1968, and after completing a Masters degree in mathematics, taught at the University of Papua New Guinea before joining MCAE in 1973. Associate Dean in the Faculty of Education, Professor Jo-Anne Reid, said Professor Thomas’s distinguished career as a teacher educator has brought the respect of both students and colleagues. “Retiring as Head of the School of Teacher Education, the largest School on the Bathurst Campus, Professor Thomas has shown his capacity to grow and change over the years, developing a research profile and working in the classroom with children learning mathematics right up to the end of this career,” she said. Professor Thomas will be farewelled by colleagues at a dinner at the University on Monday 20 October.

Drug and alcohol awareness at CSU Bathurst Campus

Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003
The Charles Sturt University (CSU) Bathurst Campus Health Promotion Service is holding a free ‘Chill Out’ barbeque on the library lawn at 11.30am on Thursday 16 October to promote awareness of mental health, sexual health, and alcohol and other drug issues. CSU spokesperson and University nurse, Ms Kathryn Foster, said October is Mental Health Month at CSU and this promotion has been designed to bring in relevant organisations to encourage a closer link between the University and the wider community. “Often, mental health issues can influence students’ intake of alcohol and drugs, leading to poor sleep, course failure, violence and unsafe sex,” she said. “So it is important for everyone to be aware of the services available in our community to help when stress, anxiety or depression are affecting our daily lives.” A range of services and personnel will be present to advise students and guide activities.

Students receive inaugural vet science scholarships

Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003

Mammography images to improve

Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003
A new academic at Charles Sturt University (CSU), Mrs Kelly Spuur, is passionate about mammography and is close to completing a PhD which aims to improve the quality of clinical breast images. A mammographer is a radiographer trained in breast imaging. Mrs Spuur believes her field is gaining popularity as an occupation, with mammographers in high demand around the world. After 16 years at Riverina Medical Imaging and BreastScreen in Wagga Wagga, she moved to CSU earlier this year. Mrs Spuur convenes a biennial mammographers conference in Wagga Wagga which this year attracted 130 specialists from across Australia. Her PhD examines the quality and evaluation of breast images in a clinical setting with the goal of developing a computer program to enhance the digital images. “This program will improve image quality and the ability of mammographers to screen using established quantitative imaging criteria,” she said. Mrs Spuur also teaches undergraduate students at the School of Dentistry and Health Sciences in subjects about radiological equipment and x-ray production.

Do kids hate maths?

Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003
The deep aversion some people feel towards mathematics will be among the topics to be discussed at a public forum in Wagga Wagga on Wednesday 29 October. The final Edversations Professional Forum for 2009 will pose the question, do kids hate maths? A panel from Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) School of Education in Wagga Wagga, local schools and support agencies will participate in the forum. The current ideas about maths and controversies in mathematics education will also be on the agenda. The Edversations Professional Forum series is an initiative of CSU and Wagga Wagga City Council. CSU wine and cheese will be served after the forum.

Heart Foundation to address dietitians

Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003
Dietitians working in Wagga Wagga and the surrounding district, as well as final year Charles Sturt University (CSU) nutrition and dietetic students, will gather at CSU on Tuesday 28 October to hear from Ms Barbara Eden, dietitian with the Heart Foundation in NSW. Ms Eden will address local dietitians working in the public and private sectors about the Heart Foundation’s new catering recommendations as well as the health impact of other Heart Foundation initiatives. Based at the School of Dentistry and Health Sciences in Wagga Wagga, CSU’s Bachelor of Health Science (Nutrition and Dietetics) is the first of its kind offered outside a metropolitan area in Australia.

Pharmacy prescribes sport for the perfect weekend

Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003

Education for Sustainability conference at CSU

Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003
The Charles Sturt University (CSU) School of Teacher Education will stage a conference about environmental sustainability at the Bathurst Campus on Friday 24 October. Ms Jan Page, lecturer at the School of Teacher Education, said the conference, Education for Sustainability: Connecting Classrooms and Communities, will provide practical ideas for teachers and community members to adapt and adopt. “The focus is on ways that education for environmental sustainability can be used as an integrating tool for both the school curriculum and for connecting classrooms and communities. The conference is particularly timely given the attention that environmental issues are receiving, and aims to raise the importance of environmental education in schools,” Ms Page said. The conference will include a panel discussion with teachers who have experience of implementing environmental initiatives in schools.