Starting school can be exciting and, perhaps, a little scary – and that’s just for parents. Two senior education researchers at Charles Sturt University (CSU) have developed guidelines to help parents, teachers and children as they start school. “Starting school is an important milestone in the lives of children and families. If children have a successful start to school, they are likely to stay connected to school and regard it as a positive place to be,” says Professor Bob Perry from CSU. Drawing on over 15 years of research, Professor Perry and Professor Sue Dockett, who research and teach at the University’s Murray School of Education, have led the way for parents and teachers on how to help all involved feel competent and confident when children start school.

While managers put much energy into improving business performance by investing in innovation, increasing product and service quality or through expansion, little effort is given to improving the culture which is the backbone of every organisation’s operation. A Swiss graduate from Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Doctor of Business Administration program says carefully managing organisational culture can positively influence the company’s bottom line. Dr Patric Maerki is the first graduate to complete his studies through a partnership with CSU and the University of Applied Science in Bern, Switzerland. He devised a way to help manage the aspects of corporate culture influencing business performance. “My research into companies in five different industries showed that corporate culture values such as freedom, risk taking, open and shared communication, and respecting employees can be used to enhance operational performance in innovation, organisational alignment and customer orientation, and to increase profits,” said Dr Maerki. CSU’s distance education program attracted Dr Maerki as he could balance his business commitments with the demands of completing a doctorate while receiving support from a Swiss supervisor.

Primary and secondary school teachers and pupils from schools across the NSW Central West will gather at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst on Monday 15 February for training to help them compete in the regional RoboCup Junior Challenge to be held at the University in June. Mr Allen Benter, a PhD student and researcher at the Centre for Research in Complex Systems (CRiCS) in Bathurst and coordinator of the RoboCup Junior Challenge, said, “This workshop for teachers and pupils will assist them through the process of constructing and programming a robot to compete in one of three events at the competition in June: Dance, Rescue or Soccer. The winners of the regional competition will then advance to the NSW competition. About 45 teachers and students will attend in groups of one teacher and two students from schools in Bathurst, Orange, Wellington, Oberon, Hampton and O’Connell. During the training day they will construct a robot using Lego and write programming on computers.” CSU is the official sponsor of the regional RoboCup Junior Challenge in the NSW Central West.

Researchers from Charles Sturt University (CSU) will hold a number of focus groups in Cowra in March so that residents aged 60 years and over can share their experiences of what is it like to live in a rural community as they get older. Dr Rhonda Shaw and Ms Judith Gullifer, lecturers from the CSU School of Psychology in Bathurst, argue that it is important to understand what it is like to grow older in rural communities like Cowra to gain a more complete picture of ageing in Australia. “Too often research about ageing is conducted using samples from metropolitan areas, and issues or views raised from this research are assumed to apply across rural, regional and remote areas,” Dr Shaw said. “This is a metro-centric perspective of ageing which places emphasis on averages across states or territories rather than on the needs and views of specific communities. This is despite evidence that non-metropolitan areas have older age profiles than metropolitan areas, which is, in part, due to a process that has become known as a ‘tree change’, whereby many older adults from metropolitan areas migrate to rural areas in their retirement.” Cowra residents aged over 60 years who wish to participate in the research can contact Dr Rhonda Shaw on (02) 6338 4826.

New figures released by Charles Sturt University (CSU) show significant savings for the environment in the management of its vehicle fleet. The data prepared by CSU’s Division of Finance reveals that although the distance travelled by CSU vehicles on official business rose last year by eight per cent, from 6.3 million kilometres in 2008 to 6.8 million, the amount of fuel consumed dropped from 664 000 litres in 2008 to 580 000 in 2009, a decline of 84 000 litres or over 12 per cent. “The carbon emissions saved through the greater efficiency of the University’s vehicle fleet is about 380 tonnes of carbon - the equivalent of taking 88 cars off the road for 2009,” said CSU Green Manager, Mr William Adlong. CSU vehicles are used to support staff on official University business including travelling between campuses in five major NSW regional centres as well as in Canberra, Goulburn and Sydney. “We hope to improve these figures with staff encouraged to consider using practical alternatives to travelling between campuses, such as video-conferencing, or sharing vehicles.” Over 60 per cent of CSU’s transport fleet are lower emission vehicles, such as four cylinder petrol, gas, diesel or hybrid.

The earthquake and tsunami that hit Chile on Sunday 28 February are reminders of the harshness of nature and the need for governments, emergency services and relief agencies to plan for natural disasters, says an expert in disaster management from Charles Sturt University (CSU). Mr Ian Manock, lecturer in emergency management at CSU’s Australian Graduate School of Policing, said that with a burgeoning world population and in spite of increasing technology, research shows that the incidence of damage to facilities and harm to people from the impact of natural and technological hazards is increasing exponentially. He said the disaster will no doubt have emergency service agencies in Chile pushed beyond their limits and the international community will be called on to assist.

Academics, staff and students will celebrate the 2010 International Women’s Day (IWD) at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst with a range of activities on the library lawn starting at 12.30pm on Monday 8 March. Two of the spokespeople for the women involved in this event, Professor Jo-Anne Reid, Acting Dean of the Faculty of Education, and  Associate Professor Jane Mills from the School of Communication and Creative Industries, said, “Our theme  is Equal rights, equal opportunity: Progress for all. The event provides an opportunity to focus on the relevance of IWD to issues of student life and culture, and foreground the intellectual and political life of our campus in a way that is both welcoming and inclusive of all students and staff”. The event has support from the Head of Campus, Mr Col Sharp, the National Tertiary Education Union, and the student association, who are all keen to advance the recognition of women in all roles in the university community, as well as in the community broadly.

The newly-appointed Professor of Paramedic Practice and Leadership at Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) School of Biomedical Sciences in Bathurst, Professor Peter O’Meara, has returned from teaching a one week course for paramedics from several states centred around the  US state of Illinois. “They have a very different system in the US to ours in Australia,” Professor O’Meara explained. “The professional practice and management issues are similar, however they have 17 000 ambulance service providers compared to eight in Australia. Services range from very small to moderately sized organisations serving a city or regional community and there are no state-wide services. Many are run by the fire brigade, others by city councils, hospitals and private companies, some for profit and others not-for-profit. In Australia we are well advanced in the education and training of paramedics and ambulance service managers. However, we can learn from experiences in the US where they face challenges over a very large and diverse country. I see potentially great opportunities for the University to extend into the US paramedic education market in partnership with professional associations and other universities involved in paramedic education. I am also pursuing opportunities for CSU paramedic students to undertake clinical placements in the US.”

Parents of NSW Central West senior high school students are encouraged to register for an opportunity to discuss life after Year 12 with staff and current students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) on Friday 26 February. “The Parent Information session will look at options after Year 12 such as a gap year, graduate outcomes, pathways into university and costs associated with university study,” CSU prospective student advisor Ms Fran Dwyer said. “Parents will find out about financial assistance such as scholarships, student support services, discuss regional universities versus metropolitan universities, and we will also offer an optional campus tour.” Running from 9.30am to 12noon on Friday 26 February, the session will take place at CSU in Orange. To register, call Ms Judy Walsh on (02) 6338 6010.