In a break with tradition, the Royal School of Church Music is holding its annual summer school for Australia and New Zealand at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst. Mr Matthew Owens, the Organist and Master of the Choristers at Wells Cathedral in the United Kingdom, will lead the summer school, which is open to church musicians of all Christian denominations, from Tuesday 4 to Tuesday 11 January. Participants will live, learn and practise their music at CSU during the school, while the services and concerts will be held in Bathurst’s major churches.

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.

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.

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.”

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.”

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.

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 passion for horticulture has earned Charles Sturt University (CSU) student Mr Timothy Whitehead the Australian Institute of Horticulture (AIH) Student of the Year award for 2010. The award is open to students aged under 30 who are currently studying a nationally recognised horticultural course. “Each applicant had to submit an overview of their study and a motivation of what they would contribute to the industry in the future,” said Mr Whitehead. Having worked in the industry for seven years before studying the Bachelor of Horticulture at CSU, Mr Whitehead has a particular interest in vineyards and orchards. “In my application I mentioned that I have an interest in microbiology applied to horticulture, improving irrigation methods, and using these two areas of development to aid food production in the developing world.” As part of his award, Mr Whitehead will represent the AIH as a student ambassador in 2011 while continuing his studies at CSU.

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.