Around 110 education researchers and educators from Charles Sturt University (CSU) will gather on the University's Dubbo Campus for the first time between Wednesday 26 and Friday 28 September. Ms Tracey Simpson, Associate Head of the School of Teach Education at Dubbo and host of the forum, said the forum is usually held every two years. "The forum is for all members of CSU's Faculty of Education to reflect on progress, discuss future plans and evaluate how the Faculty fits into the progress of the University,” she said. The major issues for discussion include teaching and learning for the University's new Indigenous Education Strategy, course changes, flexible teaching and learning approaches and research. There will be a performance by the boys dance group from Buninyong Public School, and forum participants will attend the Croc Festival Community Performance on Wednesday evening 26 September 2007.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) 2006 television production graduates Luke Heywood and Tim Pass are ecstatic with the news that their production Chance Your Hand will be screened at the 2007 New York Television Festival Independent Pilot Competition. Chance Your Hand, a situation comedy showing the behind the scenes drama of a television game show, was a major project during the students’ third year studies. Produced at the CSU School of Visual and Performing Arts studios at the Wagga Wagga Campus in inland NSW, Chance Your Hand is one of only three productions selected from outside the United States. CSU Associate Lecturer Patrick Sproule says, “this is a major accolade for the both the course and the students, showcasing just how capable, creative and talented our television, acting and theatre design graduates are”. Luke and Tim will travel to New York to attend the festival from 5 – 9 September and hope to meet network executives to further their television careers.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) is reaching out to students in distant and remote locations through the growing education resource of podcasting, the broadcast of audio files across the internet. CSU School of Computing and Mathematics lecturer Anthony Chan says: “Podcasting is now happening in CSU biomedical sciences, accounting, information technology, food and wine sciences and commercial radio and management courses. Podcasts are provided to students before and after classes and include interviews with experts from around the world”. An international collaborative project between CSU and USA’s Bentley College allows students in a first year computing subject to learn from each other and another lecturer half way round the world. The School of Computing and Mathematics also uses podcasting with a local Wagga Wagga high school, with their work in Japanese learning and teaching featured on Japanese television. Studies within CSU have shown that podcasting reduces the effects of isolation and promotes inclusiveness. Surveys with CSU undergraduate students also show podcasting reduces their stress levels, especially students who are coming into a higher education environment for the first time.

Estimating the number of people in the Federal Calare electorate aged 55 to 75 years with respiratory disease is the goal of a new Charles Sturt University (CSU) research project. Dr Debbie Burton, a senior lecturer and Associate Head of the School of Biomedical Sciences at CSU’s Orange Campus, says the project will screen people for asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and the related disease Congestive Heart Failure (CHF). “The free lung health test uses a breathing test, where participants take a full breath in, then breathe out fully and with maximum effort into a tube, to check how well they can ventilate their lungs. Most people diagnosed with COPD experience moderate to severe shortness of breath and reduced lung function before discussing this with their doctor. This delays the diagnosis of COPD and increases the risk of getting the related disease CHF. Once diagnosed, people with these diseases can be managed medically so that the diseases progress more slowly and the quality of life for these people improves.” The study results will be used to identify ways to more easily screen and detect these diseases earlier in older people. If you have received an invitation letter and wish to take part in the study, contact Jillian Webb on telephone 02 6365 7823.

Charles Sturt University ( CSU ) winery has enhanced its reputation as an innovative producer of fine wines. The CSU Winery, based at the Wagga Wagga Campus, was awarded one silver medal and four bronze medals at the recent Royal Melbourne Wine Show. The 2004 Shiraz was awarded a silver medal, with this wine also earning four Bronze Medals at other major Australian wine shows. Bronze medals were awarded to CSU ’s 2005 Shiraz , the follow up vintage to the silver medal winning 2004 Shiraz , the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot, the 2005 Limited Release Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot and the 2004 Limited Release Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot. The Melbourne Wine Show is one of the major wine shows in and is very highly regarded worldwide. CSU Winery Mark eting Manager Richard Lawson says “there were over 3 600 entries from around , so it is a great achievement”.

Medical researchers at Charles Sturt University are receiving overseas assistance to develop an early-warning system for detecting diabetes and heart disease in regional Australians. “Over 1 900 Australians are diagnosed each week with diabetes. We are looking to find the risk factors to help calculate the chance of a patient developing this debilitating disease, using common medical tests and computer software,” said research group leader, Dr Herbert Jelinek. For the past five years, around 800 participants from Albury-Wodonga and surrounding areas have provided heart rhythm readings, inner eye photographs, blood samples and feet tests, which are being analysed to find trends that will help detect the disease in its early stages. All this data is now part of comprehensive database developed over three months for the CSU research group by Emilien Pecoul, a postgraduate student from the University of Poitiers in France. “We are looking to prevent diabetes rather than deal with it after it happens. This software will enable us to search more efficiently and effectively for simple tests and factors that could signal early signs and help patients and medical professionals deal with it before it develops further,” Dr Jelinek said.

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) researcher is off on a trip offering “excitement of a life-time”. The trip to a remote Alaskan island is to gather an inventory of guns left behind by Japanese military forces after World War II. Archaeologist and principal researcher with CSU’s Institute for Land, Water and Society (ILWS), Associate Professor Dirk Spennemann has been contracted by the US Fish and Wildlife Service to inspect and document the guns on Kiska Island in the Bering Strait and to assess their state of conservation. He is one of a party of five who will spend five days on the island. Professor Spenneman says “This research fits into my interest in modern heritage and the planning problems. We can’t plan for the island’s volcano erupting but at least if we can document what we have now, then we can plan for future management and how we might stop these guns rusting away or being stolen.”

The Interactive Learning Centre (ILC) on the Dubbo Campus of Charles Sturt University (CSU) is the venue for the twentieth annual Western Districts National Exhibition of Photography. Ms Lorna White, the co-coordinator of the photography competition and exhibition, says that approximately 1000 entries were received from 105 amateur photographers from around Australia for the five categories – Open Colour, Open Monochrome, Nature, People, and Photojournalism. “The subjects of the photographs were varied and the standard was very high,” Ms White said. “Judging took place in June, and we have selected about 110 framed photographs to display.” The exhibition is open to the public this coming weekend, Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 July, and is easily accessed through the CSU main entrance.

Two senior academics at Charles Sturt University (CSU) have pointed at the serious shortfall in accounting and information technology graduates and its potential impacts. “There have been fewer students enrolling in university courses in recent years. Local, national and global businesses both small and large are all competing for a declining pool of qualified graduates,” says CSU's senior lecturer in information technology, Dr John Atkinson. He says that includes Border companies who have trouble attracting and keeping computing professionals. “Even the Australian Computer Society is unable to find enough applicants for over 100 scholarships for Australian computing students to undertake work experience in India.” CSU accounting team leader Dianne McGrath says accounting firms, including international firm KPMG and many government and business organisations, were concerned at the lack of new accounting graduates available to fill positions in Albury and Wodonga. “A recent report by Access Economics also states graduates in these professions are in the top five most sought by Australian businesses. CSU is keen to train local people for positions in local firms as it has been shown that they are more likely to stay in Albury-Wodonga.” To address this shortfall, all courses offered by CSU’s School of Business and Information Technology will be offered for mid-year enrolment until 31 July. Contact Sue Petzke at the School on telephone (02) 6051 9874.