Charles Sturt University (CSU) will hold its annual tertiary learning and teaching conference CSUEd2010, in Bathurst from 9-11 November, with six pre-conference workshops on Tuesday 9 November. The Conference Chair, Associate Professor Som Naidu, the Director of Teaching and Learning Quality Services in the CSU Division of Learning and Teaching Services, said the theme of this year’s conference is ‘Educating for 2020 and beyond’.“The two conference keynote addresses will be delivered by Professor Jeannie Herbert, Foundation Chair of Indigenous Studies at Charles Sturt University, and Professor Ron Barnett, Emeritus Professor of Higher Education at the University of London in the UK. The pre-conference workshops will allow staff from across the University to actively discuss a range of topics related to learning and teaching at the University including education for practice, blended and flexible learning, and curriculum renewal,” Professor Naidu said.

A leading international community critical psychologist and Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic, Professor David Fryer, will speak as part of the CSU public lecture series in Bathurst on Wednesday 17 November. Professor Fryer, a lecturer and researcher at the CSU School of Psychology in Bathurst, says his topic, Unemployment from a Community Critical Psychology Standpoint: Misery, Mental Ill-Health and Marienthal, examines the relationship between unemployment, misery, mental health and community life. “Although the first research into this topic commenced in the 1930s, the question has seldom been more internationally relevant, nor answers more needed, than since the recent global financial crisis which has led to mass unemployment, under-employment, and insecure employment in many of the world’s major economies. Social scientists agree that unemployment leads to mental health, social and community problems, not only among those directly affected but also in the wider community. This lecture will look at these problems from a community critical standpoint and discuss their international and local relevance,” Professor Fryer said.

Society has been transformed by computing and data transfer technology in the last two decades. The success of Charles Sturt University (CSU), which was established in 1989, owes much to the innovation and capacity of its Division of Information Technology (DIT) which celebrates its 20th anniversary with a staff barbeque on Friday 26 November. DIT Executive Director, Mr Garry Taylor, said, “Charles Sturt University was created as part of the Dawkins-era reform of the Australian higher education sector, and the University’s success is partly due to the early and deliberate priority to develop technology to ensure success. We were one of the first universities in Australia to adopt video conferencing technology, and we now have more than 100 terminals, which is important for teaching, learning and collaboration, as well as reducing the need to travel which is important for the environment. In 1990 Charles Sturt University was one of the first regional universities to connect to the Internet, and at one stage our website had the most ‘hits’ of any website in Australia in 1995-96. We also had a world-first enterprise-wide Online Learning Environment in 1997. We now have the fastest single and direct internal network link in regional Australia and the largest wireless network in the Southern Hemisphere.”

About 50 prospective Indigenous students from all over NSW and two from Queensland are participating in the three-day Darrambal Skills Assessment Program at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst this week. Mr Ray Eldridge, Manager of CSU’s Indigenous Student Services, said, “Darrambal is an innovative skills assessment program designed for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. The program compares participants’ existing skills and abilities with the entry requirements for their preferred courses at CSU, and assesses their potential to succeed in university study. Darrambal allows participants to attend university-style classes, learn skills needed for success at university, and meet lecturers and other staff in a supportive environment. Those who successfully complete Darrambal may be offered a place at CSU to study their preferred or an optional course. Alternatively, they may be encouraged to first undertake some other course of study.” More information can be found here, or phone Wammarra Indigenous Student Service Centre at CSU in Bathurst on mobile 0457 866 905.

Economic uncertainty and population decline was a common feature of life in inland NSW and inland Australia generally in the first half of the twentieth century, but it did not become a serious problem until the 1930s, according to a Charles Sturt University (CSU) researcher. Dr Robert Tierney, a lecturer at the School of Business at CSU in Bathurst, will present his findings at a public seminar at the University on Wednesday 8 December. “There was a far greater fall in wheat production in the Lachlan Valley region than wheat production across NSW as a whole during the Federation drought years of 1902-03 and the harsh dry seasons of 1918-20,” Dr Tierney said. “Faced with further suffering due to the Great Depression, and from the second world drought of 1937-1945, the people of the Lachlan wheat belt began to see themselves as the third generation to experience greater hardship than others in the NSW wheat belt. As a result young people left the Lachlan catchment between 1933 and 1947 in great numbers, in contrast to the rest of non-metropolitan NSW which grew. My research highlights the climatic and regional economic factors which underpinned the specific fragilities of agriculture and population in the Lachlan Catchment area.”

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) student will represent the University and Australia as a member of the cross-country skiing team in competition at the World University Winter Games in Erzurum in Turkey from Thursday 27 January to Sunday 6 February 2011. Ms Esther Bottomley is an elite cross-country skier who is currently studying a postgraduate Bachelor of Teaching (Secondary) by distance education through the School of Teacher Education in Bathurst. CSU student support officer, Mr Nik Granger, said, “Esther is Australia's number one ranked cross-country sprint skier, and has competed in the 2005 and 2007 Winter University Games. She is presently training in Switzerland for the upcoming Games. Studying by distance education with Charles Sturt University has enabled her to further her studies to become a teacher while allowing her the time and flexibility to train and compete at an elite level in cross-country skiing. During her studies Esther has competed in several World Cup events, the 2009 World Championships in the Czech Republic, and qualified and competed in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games.”

There is nothing worse than ending up in the emergency room with food poisoning on Christmas day and it is just as bad being the host who provides the food. To ensure it doesn’t happen to you this Christmas Charles Sturt University (CSU) School of Biomedical Sciences food microbiology lecturer, Dr Ester Mpandi Khosa has some food safety suggestions. “From a microbiological point of view, food poisoning is a very serious illness,” Dr Khosa says. “Micro-organisms growing on food can cause food-borne illness, which in some reported cases, has resulted in death of the victim.” This is the time of year when a large quantity of food is processed, purchased and consumed, creating a huge potential for food poisoning, if the food is not handled properly. “Every food handler, from farm to table, has a responsibility to make sure food is kept safe from contamination that can lead to food poisoning. The food that one handles is going to be consumed by someone else so it is important to make sure that hands are washed thoroughly, surfaces and utensils are clean and foods are stored at the correct temperature.”

As families prepare for Christmas celebrations, with festive goodies such as candy canes, gingerbread and chocolate within easy reach, Charles Sturt University (CSU) Dental Clinic dentist Dr Ying Shi Chang asks parents to remember the importance of children’s teeth. “Holidays often mean lack of routine and the festive season is a time when people eat more sugar, more frequently, than at any other time of the year,” says Dr Chang. “That can cause serious problems for teeth unless sensible and straightforward steps are taken.” Dr Chang recommends limiting the number of times a day your child eats sugary treats or snacks between meals and avoiding soft, sticky treats that get stuck between teeth. “It is best to eat sugary treats at the end of mealtime while there is still plenty of saliva in the mouth, as saliva helps to wash away the sugars and acids. Drinking a glass of water after eating a sugary treat also helps.” Finally, always have your child brush and floss before going to bed. It is also suggested that parents book their children in for an annual check-up before the start of a school year.

Racehorse injuries and performance are the subject of new research led by Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Dr Brian Spurrell from the School of Biomedical Sciences at CSU in Wagga Wagga. While the equine industry contributes up to $6.3 billion annually to the Australian economy, of which racing contributes around $3.9 billion and equestrian events $0.87 billion, the management of equine athletes and detection of injuries remains a significant problem. The relationship between a horse’s gait and the performance surface may contribute to the incidence of lower limb injuries. “As many as 70 per cent of two year-old thoroughbreds suffer stress related injuries in their lower limbs and up to 35 per cent of racehorses never resume racing as a consequence,” Dr Spurrell said. “The aim of the research is to develop a system which can be used in the field to measure important biomechanical parameters of a horse such as how hard the hoof hits the ground, the way the limb moves and how that relates to joint movement and muscle activity. The system will hopefully also indicate how quickly the horse is tiring, post-event recovery and a comparison to its last monitoring.” The research is expected to produce results in various stages by October 2011 and mid-2012.