CSU grant funds study on key Port Macquarie playground

Tuesday, 6 Sep 2016

A new study funded through a Charles Sturt University (CSU) grant scheme has found that a playground in Port Macquarie is achieving its goal of social inclusion.

Opened in 2014, Livvi's Place in Westport Park was planned and designed as an inclusive all-abilities play space by the group Touched by Olivia and Port Macquarie Hastings Council.

Touched by Olivia funded the study through a $2 500 grant from CSU's Rural and Regional Community Initiated Research Grants Program. The not-for-profit group wanted to assess if Livvi's Place was meeting its goals of social inclusion, including accessibility and inter-generational play.

The research was undertaken by sociologist Dr Janice Ollerton, an independent researcher, and Associate Professor Rosemary Black from the School of Environmental Sciences at CSU in Port Macquarie.

The study, involving 193 online and face-to-face surveys of park users during April and May 2016, found that Livvi's Place promotes a sense of social inclusion. During the research, users of the playground expressed feelings of safety, welcome and belonging.

Dr Ollerton said, "We found that the main user group is families with children under 13 years and predominantly preschool-aged children. Livvi's Place is especially popular with families of children with disabilities."

Professor Black said, "We also found that Livvi's Place encourages its users to be themselves, live in the moment, and enjoy their experiences there.

"The friendships formed, conversations started, and playful interactions experienced at Livvi's Place demonstrate how it helps people connect and become members of the local community."

Port Macquarie-Hastings Council Director Ms Tricia Bulic said, "Livvi's Place is a playground destination of choice for locals and visitors alike, and Council are pleased to have partnered with the community to provide such a safe, welcoming and interactive play space that all families can enjoy."

The findings also revealed that people recognised creative learning took place through play at Livvi's Place and together with the relationships forged at the playground, suggests it's a space where people can feel part of the local community.

Areas for improvement were identified by some respondents that, if implemented, may enhance inclusive play and improve the safety aspects of Livvi's Place.

The Rural and Regional Community Initiated Research Grants Program is part of CSU's Community-University Partnerships (CUP), which aims to support the development of the regions. Read more about the grants available through CUP here.

Personalised learning for nursing students in Dubbo

Wednesday, 31 Aug 2016

A final year nursing student has spoken of the personalised learning environment she is experiencing while studying at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Dubbo.

Bachelor of Nursing student Ms Jill Carnell said, "Our class sizes at Charles Sturt University in Dubbo are small. There's between eight and 12 students in lectures and tutorials, and we all get along well together.

"It gives us the advantage of having a personalised learning environment, and we have a lot more time to go through the subject matter and study it closely.

Her comments come as a nursing information session for prospective students will be held at CSU in Dubbo from 6pm on Tuesday 13 September.

Ms Carnell said, "We form good relationships with our lecturers, making the study environment much more enjoyable and relaxed.

"The lecturers have time to spend on us, they help us brush up on some of the things we might be hazy on and make sure we understand.

"Basically, we're really able to put a foot forward on our learning because there's more time for us to go through the content."

Ms Carnell from Dubbo says she is motivated to pursue a career in nursing by a desire to care for people at some of the most vulnerable points in their lives.

"Whatever the reason someone is in hospital, I want to make the process easier for them and their family, and I want to be there for them the best way I can.

"I also love the science in nursing, including learning about medication and different medical procedures and treatments and how they work on the body.

"It's fascinating to be a part of something that is constantly evolving and changing with the sole purpose of making life better for people."

The CSU student says a highlight of the nursing degree has been the range of hospitals offered to students for their workplace learning.

"I've had the privilege of doing some clinical placements in major tertiary hospitals, and it's made me really appreciate both sides of nursing: the nursing that comes with hospitals with 1 000 beds and specialist services, and the nursing that comes with a 30 bed hospital and the on-call doctor.

"It's helped me see the different demands that the different environments place on nurses.

Her advice to prospective nursing students includes a need to understand what they're undertaking.

"Nursing is learning for life because the field is forever changing. "

"You need to be passionate and determined, and you need to know how to de-stress."

Ms Carnell has applied for a new graduate position at Dubbo Base Hospital, and she'd eventually like to work in trauma and critical care for the Rural Flying Doctor Service or the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service. 

The CSU nursing information session will hear from current nursing students and graduates, health administrators, and lecturer from the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health at CSU in Dubbo Ms Cathy Maginnis.

Nursing and medical students aim for shared understanding

Tuesday, 30 Aug 2016

Nursing and medical students will come together to improve their health assessment skills during an inter-professional education session at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Orange on Wednesday 31 August.

In a new initiative, Master of Nursing students from CSU will be joined by 14 Doctor of Medicine students from the University of Sydney's School of Rural Health for a four-hour session during a residential school underway this week.

Associate Professor of Nursing Rachel Rossiter from the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health at CSU in Orange and Associate Professor Gabriel Shannon from the University of Sydney hope that bringing together the two sets of students will further improve collaboration between the healthcare professions and the respective universities in this region.

"This is a rare chance for medical students to train alongside Master of Nursing students," Professor Rossiter said.

"It is an opportunity for the students to develop a shared understanding of their respective roles before they enter the workplace where a hierarchical structure can exist in the busy healthcare environment.

"During the residential school, the nursing and medical students will participate in a series of clinical scenarios focusing on health assessment, clinical reasoning and critical thinking activities."

Professor Shannon said: "Our medical students are aware that the model of care in the healthcare environment is one of teamwork and this workshop is an important initiative to strengthen that component of their learning.

"Inter-disciplinary learning is an increasingly important part of the medical curriculum and this workshop signals the intention of both universities to work together to their students' benefit."

Several community members have agreed to attend the inter-professional session to act as 'patients' in the scenarios.

The Master of Nursing is a three-year program offered through CSU Online to provide Registered Nurses with postgraduate qualifications. Read more here.

CSU study looks at tennis elbow

Thursday, 25 Aug 2016

People suffering from a condition commonly known as tennis elbow are being invited to take part in new research at Charles Sturt University (CSU).

The study, by Bachelor of Physiotherapy (Honours) student from CSU in Albury-Wodonga Mr Charlie Shepherd, (pictured) aims to gather more information about the condition to contribute to the development of new treatments.

Not confined to tennis players, tennis elbow, or lateral epicondylalgia, is degeneration of the tendons of the elbow caused by overuse of the arm, forearm or hand.

Mr Shepherd said, "Tennis elbow can be a chronic, painful condition as well as debilitating for those who suffer from it.

"It can also be hard for health professionals to establish if there are improvements in the patients they are treating for the condition.

"It's currently unclear whether commonly used clinical outcome measures for tennis elbow, such as grip strength, are valid for determining the improvements in the condition."

The study is being supervised by lecturer in physiotherapy in the School of Community Health Mr Tim Retchford and Wodonga physiotherapist and CSU graduate Mr Nathan Mobbs.

Participants in the study must be aged between 18 and 60 and have tennis elbow in only one arm.

They must be able to attend a 30-minute session at the University's Community Engagement and Wellness Centre at Thurgoona or Personal Best Physiotherapy in Wodonga to complete a questionnaire and have measurements of their muscle strength taken with a handheld device called a dynamometer.

Further information about the study is available by sending an email to: charlie.h.shepherd@gmail.com

CSU offers its Bachelor of Physiotherapy at CSU in Albury-Wodonga, Orange and Port Macquarie. Read more here.

CSU hosts meetings with top NSW judge in Bathurst

Tuesday, 23 Aug 2016

The new Centre for Law and Justice at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst will host meetings between a senior figure from the NSW courts, local law professionals and CSU students.

On Wednesday 24 August, the Honourable Justice Margaret Beazley AO, President of the Court of Appeal of NSW, will meet with the Central West Law Society at an informal evening event hosted by CSU. Then on Thursday morning 25 August at 9am, the ground breaking judge will address students in the new law degree at CSU.

"Her Honour Justice Beazley has enjoyed a remarkable career in law, she is a real change-maker who is an inspiration to our students," said Associate Professor Alison Gerard, Director for the Centre for Law and Justice.

Justice Beazley will address the students for one hour in Room 223, Building 1292 at CSU in Bathurst at 9am on Thursday 25 August before preparing to officially open the Centre and the new CSU laws degree at 11am.

Japanese students’ cultural visit to CSU Wagga Wagga

Friday, 19 Aug 2016

A group of engineering students from Iwate prefecture in northern Japan arrives at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga for a week of cultural exchange and English language enrichment from Monday 22 to Friday 26 August.

Mr David Gilbey, adjunct senior lecturer in English in the CSU School of Humanities and Social Sciences, has organised the visit and program with Professor Yoshihiko Hatakeyama of the National Institute of Technology Ichinoseki (NITI).

"The aim of the program is to give Japanese students an understanding of Australian university life by staying on campus, and provide them with a range of experiences of life and culture in and around Wagga Wagga," Mr Gilbey said.

"Highlights will include touring and using some of the specific facilities at Charles Sturt University as well as visits to museums, art galleries, the botanic gardens, saleyards, shopping, farm and factory visits at Junee and Wantabadgery. It is intended that this exchange program will motivate and focus the students' study of and skills in English by designing short language tasks that arise out of their experiences here."

Network for physiotherapy students

Wednesday, 17 Aug 2016

An initiative to help prepare physiotherapy students for professional life will be held at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Orange on Thursday 18 August.

Final year Bachelor of Physiotherapy students will meet with practitioners, including physiotherapists working in public hospitals and private practice in the central west of NSW.

Lecturer in physiotherapy Ms Kerstin McPherson said, "This is an opportunity for our students to meet with real local physiotherapists to hear stories of transition into professional practice."

The evening will be held in room 224, School of Community Health, building 1014 from 4.30pm to 7pm.

The Bachelor of Physiotherapy is a four-year program offered through the University's School of Community Health in Albury-Wodonga, Orange and Port Macquarie.

Intensive stuttering treatment on the border

Tuesday, 16 Aug 2016

A program run through the Charles Sturt University (CSU) Speech Pathology Service in Albury-Wodonga will give adults who stutter greater access to an intensive treatment close to home.

The week-long program from Monday 12 September is targeted at the one per cent of adult speakers who stutter.

Speech pathology lecturer at CSU's School of Community Health, Dr Lisa Brown said intensive programs can have a significant impact on speech in a short period of time.

"The intensive format enables in-depth speech training, practice and mastery of techniques used to speak without stuttering," said Dr Brown.

"People can typically achieve stutter-free speech by the end of the third or fourth day of treatment, and use the rest of the week to practice speaking without stuttering in a variety of situations to boost their confidence using the techniques.

"Intensive treatments are not typically offered by public health services and can be very costly when offered through private speech pathology services.

"Charles Sturt University is the only university providing intensive treatment in a regional setting."

Dr Brown recently completed her PhD on stuttering treatment methods. Read more here.

The program will be delivered by final-year Bachelor of Speech and Language Pathology students, supervised by Dr Brown.

"Delivering intensive stuttering treatment provides students with significant experience working with adults who stutter within a short period of time," said Dr Brown.

"Many of our graduates will go on to work in regional and rural areas, away from specialist metropolitan services and this will help them to better serve adults who stutter wherever they go."

The program will run from Monday 12 September to Friday 16 September with an initial assessment before the treatment and two follow up sessions.

Bookings are essential and the cost is $300. Contact the CSU Community Engagement and Wellness Centre on (02) 6051 9299.

While the program is aimed at adults, adolescents aged between 15 and 18 years can also contact Dr Brown to discuss their suitability for this treatment.

Hugh Mackay lecture: The search for meaning - with or without religion

Tuesday, 9 Aug 2016

Author and social researcher Dr Hugh Mackay AO will examine the thorny issue of how we find meaning and purpose in our lives when he delivers public lectures in Albury-Wodonga and Wagga Wagga this month.

The latest in the CSU Explorations Series, Dr Mackay's lectures will discuss the themes from his new book, Beyond Belief: How we find meaning, with or without religion.

 He'll explore the changing role of religion in Australia and the ways we search for spiritual direction in a society where traditional religious faith and practice are in sharp decline.

"While our attachment to a traditional idea of God may be waning, our desire for a sense of meaning remains as strong as ever," Dr Mackay said.

In the lectures, he'll identify some of the factors that have driven people away from organised religion, and examine the rise of the "spiritual but not religious" movement.

Dr Mackay is an honorary Professor at CSU and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University in 1995 recognising his contribution to our understanding of Australian society during his long career as a psychologist and social researcher.Beyond Belief is his seventeenth book.

The lecture at CSU in Albury-Wodonga will be held from 6 pm on Monday 15 August at the CD Blake Auditorium, building 751, room 104, near car park 2, off Elizabeth Mitchell Drive in Thurgoona.

The lecture in Wagga Wagga will be held at 6 pm on Tuesday 16 August at the CSU Riverina Playhouse, 8 Cross Street in Wagga Wagga.

Looking after the aged at Albury-Wodonga

Tuesday, 9 Aug 2016

Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga is looking after the aged – particularly its trees.

To help maintain the health of existing large trees on the campus, CSU students and staff will be planting around 400 native grasses and shrubs underneath them.

CSU in Albury-Wodonga Campus Supervisor, Mr Richard Overall said "By re-establishing Indigenous under storey grasses and shrubs, birds and insects that are drawn to these plants will also help control diseases in the older trees."

The annual Tree Planting Day at CSU in Albury Wodonga commences at 10am on Wednesday 10 August and runs until 12.30pm.