John Glastonbury, Associate Professor in Diagnostic Pathology with Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences at Wagga Wagga, is available for comment on emergency management of the swine influenza in animals. Professor Glastonbury’s teaching and research interests include diseases of pigs, and he can describe how the disease behaves in pigs, a history of other outbreaks and its threat to people. A public seminar will be held on the influenza A (H1N1) at CSU at Wagga Wagga on Wednesday 6 May. Read more here.

While influenza A (H1N1), formerly known as swine flu, has not yet been found in Australia, authorities are urging the public to take precautions against infection. Charles Sturt University (CSU) is holding a public seminar on Wednesday 6 May to provide facts and dispel the myths about the pandemic which is unfolding around the global. Associate Professor in Veterinary Pathobiology at CSU, Shane Raidal, said all new influenza viruses are a threat but the mechanisms put in place by the World Health Organisation provide a means for early detection and intervention. He will address the Reassortment amongst and evolution of influenza viruses at the seminar. Associate Professor in Diagnostic Pathology John Glastonbury, will discuss The pathogenesis and pathology of the disease in pigs and humans. Professor Glastonbury’s teaching and research interests include the diseases of pigs. The third speaker, Dr Ross Cutler, holds an adjunct appointment at CSU and is a veterinarian who specialises in pigs. He will speak about Epidemiology, biosecurity and international issues relating to the influenza.

A new book examining the mixed reactions to the influence of Hollywood on national and local cinemas will be launched in Bathurst on Thursday 7 May by the Dean of the Faculty of Arts at Charles Sturt University (CSU), Professor Anthony Cahalan. Loving & Hating Hollywood – Reframing global and local cinema by Associate Professor Jane Mills from the CSU School of Communication, argues that cinema, an art form for more than 100 years, is in a state of constant reinvention due to the interactions between cinemas, films, filmmakers and audiences. Professor Mills asserts that the influence of Hollywood, home of film production in the United States, is often viewed with unnecessary antagonism around the world. “It makes more sense to look at the constant give and take between film cultures in an industry that has been globalised since the very beginnings of cinema. If we focus on a negative view of Hollywood, we ignore or fail to see how all cinemas influence each other. This often results in exciting new films and types of cinemas which push the boundaries of film art,” Professor Mills said.

The war against weeds in the NSW Central West continues and one Charles Sturt University (CSU) researcher is determined to help win the battle. A dominant weed in the region is serrated tussock, one of Australia's most noxious weeds estimated to cost NSW farmers more than $40 million each year in lost production. Dr Aaron Simmons from the University’s School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences will be talking at regional meetings organised by the NSW/ACT Serrated Tussock Working Party about results from research conducted over the past four years by researchers at CSU and the NSW Department of Primary Industries. “The research has been used to improve current guidelines on best management practice for controlling serrated tussock in native pastures,“ Dr Simmons says. “'Serrated tussock has no boundaries - it is not just a 'farmer's' problem, it's an environmental problem that belongs to the whole community.“

The first Wiradjuri person from the Erambie community at Cowra, NSW, to be awarded a PhD will have his degree conferred at the graduation ceremony at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Bathurst on Thursday 7 May. Dr Lawrence Bamblett, who works part-time at Erambie and lectures part-time at the CSU School of Human Movement Studies came to CSU through the University’s Koori Admissions Program in 1999. Last year he re-wrote and delivered that program which has helped many people from Indigenous communities commence studies at CSU. “My graduation is not just a personal achievement but an achievement for my family and the Erambie community because so many people have supported and assisted me,” Dr Bamblett said. “It is important to me that the community receives the recognition and credit they deserve that one of their own has graduated.” The title of Dr Bamblett’s thesis is Mission Style: Sport and Cultural Continuity on Erambie Mission.

Effective communication can help to make the world a better place, says Associate Professor Jane Mills from Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) School of Communication. Professor Mills will speak about the importance of listening to and collaborating with others when she delivers the Occasional Address to communication graduates at the Faculty of Arts graduation ceremony at 2.30pm on Friday 8 May. “Education leads to knowledge and, importantly, to better understanding about the things that matter. This opens the way for more and better communication and the possibility of better relationships between people,” Professor Mills said. “This, in turn, leads to greater involvement and participation as citizens of the community and nation, resulting in better communication and fellowship between different nations and people all over the world. Effective communication is the linchpin in all this, and I strongly believe that our students graduating with communication degrees are poised not only to become world citizens but to make the world a better place.”

Staff from Charles Sturt University (CSU) and the Central West Women’s Health Centre invite members of the public to join them for a riverside picnic to celebrate International No Diet Day at 12.30pm on Wednesday 6 May at the Peace Park in Bathurst. Event spokesperson, Ms Brona Nic Giolla Easpaig from the CSU School of Social Sciences and Liberal Studies, said International No Diet Day has grown for the past decade and is now celebrated in Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Australia. “The day was originally created to protest against the pressures on young women caused by the media’s vision of the ‘ideal body’, and it links closely with protests against the ‘size zero’ phenomenon,” Ms Nic Giolla Easpaig said. “This celebration is open to all and includes a talk by health psychologist Dr Stephanie Quinton on the issue of eating disorders and body image.”

Mr Fraser Corfield, a theatre/media graduate of Charles Sturt University (CSU) has been appointed artistic director of the Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP) in Sydney. The appointment was welcomed by Mr Jerry Boland, course coordinator in theatre media with the CSU School of Communication at Bathurst, who said Mr Corfield was incredibly accomplished. "Fraser has been a quiet achiever since he left Bathurst in 1993; writing plays, working with youth in Queensland, and picking up multiple awards along the way,” Mr Boland said. “His appointment at the ATYP is only the latest evidence of the high regard that his peers have for his track record of leadership and innovation in youth performing arts. He has also been appointed to the Theatre Board of the Australia Council, the nation's peak arts policy and funding body, recognition that he is an insightful and accomplished practitioner who has much to offer the highest councils of arts practice and policy development in Australia."

For the second successive year, a Charles Sturt University (CSU) student has been selected as the Sydney Royal Showgirl. Twenty-one year old Ms Kimbalee Morris was named the 2009 Sydney Royal Showgirl during a ceremony on Saturday 18 April. Ms Morris, from Coonabarabran in Northern NSW, is a fourth year human movement student at CSU at Bathurst. “It was such a surprise, but I am so honoured to have been selected as an ambassador for both youth in agriculture and women in agriculture, and also for my local community. It is going to be a very busy 12 months but I am so excited by what is ahead,” said Ms Morris. As part of the title, Ms Morris receives $11 200 from the Royal Agricultural Society and The Land newspaper. She must also undertake activities as part of her role as an ambassador for rural NSW, including opening shows, public speaking events and promoting the showgirl competition. In 2008, pharmacy student at CSU at Orange Ms Anna Unger was named the Sydney Royal Showgirl.