A visit to the small, historic village of Brungle near Tumut, NSW, is on the itinerary for international historians visiting the region next week for a conference organised by academics from the School of Education at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga. The 2010 Australian and New Zealand History of Education Society (ANZHES) conference has attracted about 50 historians of education from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the USA from Monday 6 to Thursday 9 December. “One focus of the conference is on Indigenous people’s educational histories in Australia, New Zealand and North America, highlighted by a keynote address by CSU’s Foundation Professor of Indigenous Studies, Professor Jeannie Herbert, at 8.30am on Wednesday 8 December,” conference co-convenor Dr Peter Rushbrook said. “As a part of this focus, the historians will visit Brungle Public School near Tumut from 12.30pm to 6.30pm on Wednesday 8 December. The school, established in 1868, is known for its excellent Indigenous education program, and a paper about the school’s history will be presented to the conference delegates on the coach on the way to the school.”

International research for the teaching professions at Charles Sturt University (CSU) will be marked during a ceremony at CSU in Wagga Wagga on Monday 6 December following the signing earlier this year of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for Academic Cooperation by CSU and the University of Western Ontario (UWO) in Canada. Dean of CSU’s Faculty of Education, Professor Toni Downes, will welcome UWO Associate Professors Allan Pitman and Anne Kinsella to CSU. Professor Bill Green from CSU leads the cooperative initiative between the two universities for research in professional education. Similar agreements involving CSU’s Research Institute for Professional Practice, Learning and Education (RIPPLE) have been signed in recent years with the University of Tromsø in Norway, the University of Gothenburg (Sweden), and the Utrecht University of Applied Sciences (the Netherlands). Leading these latter agreements is Professor of Education at CSU, Professor Stephen Kemmis. He will also oversee two meetings from Monday 6 to Friday 10 December of about 70 academics and PhD students from Australia, Canada, Finland, Norway, Sweden and The Netherlands.  The researchers are exploring how teachers in Australia and overseas can ‘develop the moral, social and professional capabilities characteristic of excellent teachers’.

Research being conducted by Charles Sturt University (CSU) should lead to happier, healthier pigs and better quality pork on supermarket shelves. Ms Rebecca Doyle, an associate lecturer with the School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences at CSU in Wagga Wagga will be working with Australian Pork Limited (APL) to help farmers and veterinarians to better assess the wellbeing of their pigs. “It is hoped this research will develop some best-practice standards which producers can adopt to the benefit of their profitability and the welfare of their pigs that suffer pain or sickness,” Ms Doyle said. “The research will be conducted on-farm and at specialised research facilities. The aims include developing a postgraduate researcher with specialist expertise in pig welfare and to provide industry with practical, easy to use tools for assessing the wellbeing of pigs. Ultimately, healthier pigs will lead to better quality pork for consumers.” The project is due to start in March 2011 and will continue for three years. Ms Doyle is also a member of the EH Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation - a collaborative alliance between CSU and Industry & Investment NSW.

Strategic Research Professor of Agriculture at Charles Sturt University (CSU), Professor Jim Pratley, has been honoured for his outstanding contribution to weed management in Australasia. The Council of Australasian Weed Societies Inc. (CAWS) named Professor Pratley as the recipient of the 2010 CAWS Medal for Leadership. President of the Weed Society of NSW and a member of the EH Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation, a collaborative alliance between CSU and Industry & Investment NSW, Dr Rex Stanton, said Professor Pratley has been recognised for his “sustained and nationally influential contributions in the fields of weed management research, teaching, administration and extension. He has had an extensive influence on weed management in southern Australia over more than 30 years. He has an international reputation in weed science research and teaching as well as administration.” Read more about the 2010 CAWS Medal for Leadership here.

Questions surrounding the social policy aspects of water are being examined in a project by Charles Sturt University (CSU) Professor of Social Work, Professor Manohar Pawar from the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at CSU in Wagga Wagga. The project looks at critical issues of access and fair distribution of water to disadvantaged communities and the need for sound social policies for water sustainability. At the recent ‘Water and Social Policy’ international workshop in South Korea organised by Professor Pawar, papers were presented from Australia, India, Nepal and Thailand. Some of the critical questions raised were: who owns water and who should own it?  “Resolutions to these questions have significant consequences in terms of privatisation and the marketing of water,” Professor Pawar said. “The laws in some of these countries are silent on some critical issues, which allows for their interpretation by powerful groups. Cultural and social aspects are often ignored. For water sustainability, and to ensure the just and fair distribution of water, broad policy guidelines need to be developed.”  The project is due for completion in April next year.

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.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) is this week home to the annual Riverina Summer School for Strings. In its twenty-fourth year, the school runs until Saturday 15 January and caters for players of violin, viola, cello, double bass and guitar of all ages and levels of experience.  Students come from across the Riverina as well as Canberra, Sydney, Darwin and even Finland. “The school provides a great atmosphere and we have many families who make this their annual holiday,” explains President of Riverina Summer School for Strings Mr Jeff Donovan. The camp’s Music Director Mr Carl Pini has invited some of the best string players in Australia to instruct and inspire the students in orchestral and ensemble classes. The tutors present world-class chamber music and tango performances in the Sounds of Summer Concert Series which takes place most evenings during the week of the school at Joyes Hall on the CSU campus. The school culminates in the Grand Finale concert at 2pm on Saturday 15 January at the Wagga Wagga Civic Theatre where all school participants take part. “The students have come well prepared and the quality of performance is very good this year,” said Mr Donovan.