“The big question is, do some adults improve their lives after a parent’s cancer experience? It sounds quite odd, because how could anything good possibly come from this?” Janelle Levesque from Charles Sturt University’s School of Humanities and Social Sciences will research how having a parent with cancer impacts on their adult children. “For some, cancer can act as a wake-up call. Some realise life is too short to stay in work they don’t like while others switch to more family-friendly or part time work. Another change may be the realisation that the little things are not so important. The wet towel on the bathroom floor really doesn’t matter, what matters is making time to speak to the kids for 10 minutes before bed.” Ms Levesque says the biggest area of change is that “most people find that their family grows closer through the experience”.

A senior Charles Sturt University (CSU) social researcher is leading research and discussion into the influence of globalisation on economic development and human security in the Asia-Pacific region. Dr Manohar Pawar, a principal researcher in CSU’s Institute for Land, Water and Society, believes globalisation “is good if it helps erradicate poverty and reduce global inequalities”. In October, Dr Pawar organised a major international conference on the topic in Thailand, in collaboration with Thailand’s Thammasat University and Taisho and Kyushu universities, Japan. “Confronted by extreme poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, disorder and violence and many other social problems, the conference delegates presented positive examples from the region showing that alternative social development approaches must include and allow participation in the planning and implementation of projects by the people affected by them,” Dr Pawar said.

Parents, teachers and others who work with children in a variety of settings are invited to hear about the latest research at an information day at the Research in Early Childhood Conference 2006 to be held in Dubbo tomorrow (Friday 10 November) at Charles Sturt University (CSU).   Presented by CSU Dubbo 3rd Year Early Childhood students and Early Childhood Australia Inc NSW Central Far West Regional Group (ECA), the conference will feature research from “nationally-known speakers who are very well known in the field,” according to Laura McFarland, a lecturer with the School of Teacher Education.   “Margaret Young, National President of ECA, and Judy Kynaston, Executive Director of the Country Children's Services Association of NSW, will both be talking about current trends in Early Childhood.”   Ms McFarland says student’s research topics include “a series of interviews with teachers in the field about their behaviour management techniques and what is successful, another group looked at fertility choices of university students and non university students, another was about food choices of parents and children, and also how parents decide on when to send their children to kindergarten.”   The Dubbo community and local media are welcome to attend the conference. “The student research projects are applicable to parents, teachers as well as the community in general.”   Media note: Media are invited to attend the conference. For interviews, contact CSU Media.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) Health and Safety in Early Childhood Settings students will once again be holding their annual Health and Wellbeing Expos, this year at Kelso Public School as well as a local shopping centre in Dubbo. Lynda Ireland, a lecturer in CSU’s School of Teacher Education, says the expos are about “trying to encourage early childhood professionals students to see there is a connection between community health and early childhood education. It is really nice to show that the University is out there interacting with the community. The students get a real buzz from the response that they get to their health topics”. She says the topics include “asthma, road safety, sun safety, emotional wellbeing, caring for babies, water safety, farm safety, allergies, anaphylaxis, things that are relevant to the children.”

Superlatives flow like fine wine when it comes to the James Halliday Australian Wine Companion: “a must have for any serious lover of Australian wine”, “the No. 1 bestselling guide to wineries and wine in Australia”, “keenly anticipated by winemakers, faithful collectors and wine lovers alike”. In the 2007 edition, it is James Halliday who waxes lyrical about the Charles Sturt University (CSU) Winery, giving it, and its 2005 Orange Chardonnay, the highest rating. Only “outstanding wineries capable of producing wines of the highest calibre” can receive five stars from Halliday, while the 2005 Orange Chardonnay was an “outstanding wine of the highest quality” and “outstanding value”. CSU’s winemaker Andrew Drumm says the Winery is “very pleased to receive this honour, especially from someone like James Halliday. It makes the students feel proud of the time spent in the winery and reinforces our education and research activities.”

Charles Sturt University (CSU) is inviting the private sector to take part in the University’s plans to significantly increase student accommodation on or near its main campuses in Albury-Wodonga, Bathurst, Dubbo, Orange and Wagga Wagga. Later this month, CSU is calling for expressions of interest to finance, plan and build student accommodation next to or near the CSU campuses, with the option to also manage the facility. “We want to provide well-located and competitively priced accommodation for our students that is also commercially sustainable and in keeping with our ecologically sustainable development goals,” said CSU Executive Director of Financial Services Jim Hackett. As part of the University’s expansion of student accommodation, CSU is also developing and financing facilities to house 200 students in self catering accommodation on its Bathurst, Albury and Wagga Wagga sites.

Business performance has remained steady across the Central West region of NSW over the September quarter compared to the previous quarter, according to the latest Reliance Credit Union’s Central West Business Survey, compiled by Charles Sturt University’s Western Research Institute (WRI). Chief Executive Officer of the WRI Tom Watson said “despite the drought, more than three-quarters of Central West businesses surveyed reported that sales performance had been maintained or improved in the September quarter. Parkes, West Wyalong, Bathurst and Orange were the strongest performers. A marginal decline is expected in the December quarter, but on the whole performance should remain relatively steady.” The survey also addressed the issue of drought in the Central West. Central West Regional Development Board chair Sandy Morrison noted that nearly 90 per cent of businesses had not decreased staff numbers as a result of the drought, indicating that many regional businesses are relatively insulated from the effects of the drought and they understand it would be easier to retain workers than attract new workers in the future, given the skills shortage. However, almost 60 per cent felt business would decline if drought conditions continued for another six months. Tom Murphy in analysing survey results said, “Although agriculture is important in the region - the diverse nature of the Central West economy means it is resilient to the drought.” The business survey, released on Thursday 2 November, included 100 businesses in the Central West region of NSW and a further 299 across the rest of regional NSW.

As Year 12 students continue sitting their Higher School Certificate (HSC), latest performance research on the NSW HSC Online study resource by Internet research company Hitwise shows it is in the top 10 education websites in Australia. Now in its tenth year, NSW HSC Online was heralded for providing access to quality learning resources, especially for students in rural and remote areas. The current performance data support this success in providing equity, with high use by students living in provincial centres, who traditionally have below average use of the Internet. There were also more boys than average for an educational website going to HSC Online in the lead-up to the HSC, with 58 per cent males and 42 per cent females using www.hsc.csu.edu.au. The research also revealed excellent brand recognition and a strong association of the site with CSU. Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) Professor Lyn Gorman said the website’s success highlights its value in bringing high quality resources to all HSC students, regardless of where they live. The NSW HSC Online project was initiated and continues to be maintained and updated by the University in collaboration with the NSW Department of Education and Training.

Research that defines the NSW central west labour market will be presented at a lunchtime seminar from 12.30pm to 2pm at Charles Sturt University’s Bathurst Campus on Wednesday 1 November. Dr Parikshit Basu from the School of Marketing & Management will present work based on research he co-authored with Professor John Hicks and Richard Sappey. Titled Overview of an ‘Established Rural Regional Inland’ Australian Labour Market Dr Basu analyses the operation of a local labour market in the NSW Central West, the oldest European-settled inland region of mainland Australia. It seeks to contribute to a classification of labour markets that would be useful for forming policies at local, State and Federal levels. The seminar will be held in Syndicate Room 2 in the Centre for Professional Development, CSU Bathurst Campus, from 12.30 pm.