Are books becoming extinct? That is the question which will be posed by the School of Education at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Wagga Wagga during a public forum on Wednesday 27 May. In the first Edversations Professional Forum for 2009, CSU academics will join representatives from schools, education support agencies and the wider community to discuss the topic. While the next generation of children has embraced new technologies such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and SMS, the expert panel will explore the significance of hard copy texts. “The issue is important for educators and parents alike as children are being immersed in a technological world and we need to ensure that they are equipped with the skills to navigate that world,” said one of the forum’s facilitators Ms Letitia Galloway from the School of Education. “We need to ask ourselves 'What place do books have today in the education and development of children?'” The forum is hosted by CSU and Wagga Wagga City Council.    

Actor and author Mr Brendan Cowell, who graduated in 1997 from the theatre/media course at the School of Communication at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Bathurst, narrowly missed out on the Play Award when the winners of the NSW Premier's Literary Awards 2009 were announced at the Art Gallery of NSW in Sydney last night, Monday 18 May. Mr Cowell’s play Ruben Guthrie  was one of six plays short-listed for the prestigious award. Theatre/media lecturer, Mr Jerry Boland, said Brendan Cowell is an immense talent whose success is highlighted by the calibre of the other nominees and by the public acclaim for his work. “Brendan has enjoyed major success both within Australia and abroad, and I congratulate him for his nomination with such illustrious company.”

The process of how mathematics is learnt by school students has long been investigated by Charles Sturt University (CSU) senior lecturer Dr Tamsin Meaney. The academic has worked with non-English speaking students in Sydney, Indigenous students in the Northern Territory, teachers in the Republic of Kiribati, and in a Maori school in New Zealand. At a public lecture in West Wyalong on Wednesday 27 May, Dr Meaney will discuss how children come to school with a wealth of mathematical experiences learnt outside the classroom. She will examine the common measurement experiences at home and how they assist school lessons. “The more that parents and teachers work together, the more likely that children will learn with confidence,” said Dr Meaney. ”Often with mathematics, this has lead to an emphasis on the parents having to learn about what happens in schools. However, teachers can also learn a lot about what happens at home and use this in planning more tailored learning opportunities.”  

Is it possible to exercise to improve thinking skills? This is being investigated by researchers at Charles Sturt University (CSU). “The high school jock stereotype is not usually associated with great intelligence, but maybe they are smarter than if they didn’t exercise,” explained Dr Matthew Thomas from the School of Social Science and Liberal Studies at CSU at Bathurst. “We know there are benefits in aspects of mental processing from a short bout of exercise and also for people who exercise over several months. What we want to test in this study is whether there is an effect on the mental performance of healthy young and middle-age adults with just four weeks of exercise.” Residents of Coffs Harbour and Bellingen in northern NSW are being invited to participate in this new study. “We’re looking for people who don’t usually exercise. Couch potatoes if you like,” said Dr Thomas. Assessments of participants’ mental processing will be conducted by local resident, Ms Jenny Grant, as part of her Bachelor of Social Science (Psychology). “It’s like having your brain fitness tested,” said Ms Grant.

It’s hoped a trip to the Philippines will contribute knowledge towards research currently underway into plant breeding for disease resistance. E H Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation research student Mr Ray Cowley will travel to the major rice producing country this Saturday 16 May to participate in a three-week workshop into the practical aspects of plant breeding at the headquarters of the International Rice Research Institute. “The challenges faced by plant breeders are common across many agricultural crops and I’m hoping to learn the practical aspects of plant breeding and genetics and how they manage the breeding and plant selection process in rice,” Mr Cowley said. “Despite focusing on lupins, the research addresses universal problems relating to breeding crops which are disease resistant.” He said the outcome of this type of research can mean the development of better plant varieties which leads to improved crop yields, which in turn improves the livelihood of farmers, not only in Australia but overseas.

Residents around Albury-Wodonga with peripheral vascular disease – a common complication of diabetes - are sought to assess an early detection system being developed by Charles Sturt University (CSU) researchers. With diabetes now the most likely chronic disease to affect people over 50 years old, for the past 10 years Dr Herbert Jelinek and his team have been studying new and more accessible methods for detecting diabetes in patients in regional Australia. “Peripheral vascular disease constricts blood flow in the extremities of our bodies, particularly feet,” said Dr Jelinek.”We are assessing the use of a simple, hand held instrument to measure blood flow into feet and so detect this condition before nasty complications, such as infections and gangrene, can develop.” The study is being conducted through the Diabetes Complications Research Initiative at CSU in Albury-Wodonga. People already affected by peripheral vascular disease and who would like to take part in the study should contact Ms Bev de Jong on 02 6051 6858.  

On International Nurses Day on Tuesday 12 May, lecturers and students at the Charles Sturt University (CSU) School of Nursing and Midwifery at Dubbo have marked the contribution nurses make to the community. “Nursing is an increasingly important profession which plays a vital role in the health care of individuals and communities,” said Head of School, Professor Elaine Duffy. “On International Nurses Day, I am proud to say that CSU, as the University of inland Australia, plays a major role educating nurses who can work in rural regions throughout the nation or anywhere in the world.” Ms Lyn Croxon, lecturer at the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Dubbo, said the Bachelor of Nursing course has been running at CSU at Dubbo for nearly ten years and students undertake their clinical placements in a variety of rural and metropolitan settings. “Each year graduates commence work in regional hospitals to boost the nursing workforce in country areas,” said Ms Croxon. “The first year nursing students are about to embark on their first clinical placement in rural community health settings.”

The international response to the outbreak of the new virus known as influenza A (H1N1), formerly known as swine flu, reveals the tremendous advances that have been made in monitoring and diagnosis of these new strains of influenza in recent years. “It is very encouraging to see the co-ordinated response to the outbreak by the World Health Organisation and countries around the world, including Australia, to prevent the influenza A (H1N1) becoming a pandemic,” said Dr Heather Cavanagh, a specialist in infectious disease and senior lecturer with the School of Biomedical Sciences at Wagga Wagga. Dr Cavanagh noted that “until we know the exact number of people who have been infected we are unable to determine the exact risk of fatality.  People should not panic at the publicity over this outbreak but should use common sense in avoiding areas where there have been confirmed cases, practice high hygiene standards such as hand-washing and see medical attention if flu-like symptoms persist or appear particularly severe.  This virus is currently responding well to anti-viral drugs, however, there is a need to catch it in time to prevent fatalities.”   Dr Cavanagh says there is nothing unusual in influenza viruses crossing species. “But the concern with this outbreak is due to the unusual combination of species susceptible to it, the fact that it can be passed directly from person-to-person and the potential ability of the virus to further mutate as it passes around the world,”  said Dr Cavanagh.

The Bathurst Alumni Common will be dedicated by Charles Sturt University (CSU) Council on Saturday 18 April as part of the University’s 20th anniversary celebrations. The establishment of the Bathurst Alumni Common, which is bounded by Allen House, the Ponton Theatre, Cunningham House and the Heffron Building, aims to honour the student and staff alumni of the Bathurst Experimental Farm (BEF), Bathurst Teachers College (BTC), Mitchell College of Advanced Education (MCAE) and Charles Sturt University (CSU). The Deputy Chancellor of CSU, Ms Kathryn Pitkin, will preside at the unveiling and proclamation which will also include the official unveiling of the Bathurst Teachers College Commemorative Water Feature, a tree planting in memory of Lionel J Allen, and a tree planting to mark the 25th anniversary of the naming of the Ponton Theatre. Mrs Margaret Allen and family will plant the Lionel J Allen tree, and Ms Sarah Ponton, the daughter of Mr Frank Ponton for whom the Theatre is named, and Mr Bill Blaikie, a former lecturer in drama at the CSU School of Communication, will plant the Ponton Theatre tree.