Despite a gloomier national and international economic outlook, 36 organisations that employ university graduates will participate at the Charles Sturt University (CSU) 2009 Careers Fair at the Bathurst Campus on Monday 9 March. The Event Manager and Student Services Career Counsellor at CSU Bathurst, Ms Vicki Anderson, said that the global financial crisis was now impacting on jobs nationally and the next few years could make it harder for graduates to attain a job or career in their chosen area. “Employers of graduates are now making hard decisions about where they can recruit the best graduates. The world of graduate employment has turned face-about, and it is now an employers’ market,” Ms Anderson said. “The 2009 Careers Fair will showcase Charles Sturt University as a professional organisation that encourages its students to be proactive in shaping their futures.” Employer organisations will host displays and present workshops throughout the day to educate students on the attributes that graduates require, and CSU representatives from Alumni, Marketing, Career Services and Faculties will also attend to advise students.

The development of the study of victimology will be explored by Dr Diane Westerhuis, lecturer in Justice Studies at the Charles Sturt University (CSU) School of Social Sciences and Liberal Studies, during the conference, 'Stalking' on Friday 6 March in Bathurst. “Victimology is an indication of the concerns we have as a society about ever-increasing levels of violent crime,” Dr Westerhuis said. “In order to understand how to respond to such levels of violence and to program for prevention, we need to study the impact such violence has upon the innocent, particularly children and women, who are most often the victims. Victims of stalking are particularly vulnerable, because the nature of stalking affects the victim’s long term psychological, social and interpersonal functioning. This is a particularly difficult issue to research, because stalking is not always reported, and you will not find stalking identified in the latest crime statistics.”

Many business leaders around the world are aware that they must ‘do something’ about HIV/AIDS. However, in order to take effective action, they need to understand the diverse economic, social, political and health issues relating to the epidemic. Charles Sturt University (CSU) postgraduate student Ms Saskia Faulk aims to develop a risk management tool for companies seeking to understand the extent and dynamics of HIV/AIDS so they can put into place HIV/AIDS workplace programs. Ms Faulk is completing a CSU Doctorate of Business Administration by distance education from Switzerland. Ms Faulk has also co-written a book, AIDS and Business, which presents case studies of businesses in countries including Brazil, India, Mexico, Morocco, Thailand, South Africa, and Switzerland. “The spread of HIV/AIDS affects businesses in all sectors, all industries and all countries, so companies and organisations must take action,” she said. 

Four Charles Sturt University (CSU) students from the School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences have returned with a wealth of experience after a three week visit to Pakistan where they worked with dairy farmers to improve the nutrition and health of their animals. A highlight for the CSU students Ms Amanda-Lee Charman, Mr Rhys Duncan, Ms Emma Hand and Mr Shahid Khalfan was conducting a seminar for 40 Pakistani students on topics including calf management, animal nutrition and health and fodder production. “The visit broke through new frontiers as the CSU students introduced new concepts in learning,” said CSU’s Professor Peter Wynn, who is leading an Australian project to assist Pakistani dairy farmers. “Our host, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Veterinary and Animal Science in the city of Lahore was very interested with the students’ approach to the seminars and he hoped that his University would be able to adopt similar ‘problem solving’ teaching techniques.”

Two species of parasitic wasps, identified in southern NSW during on-going research at Charles Sturt University (CSU), could unlock new ways to fight fruit fly in Australia. PhD student Mrs Jennifer Spinner has been collecting fruit ‘stung’ by fruit fly in home gardens during the fruit fly season (October to May) in Albury, Cootamundra, Ganmain, Gundagai, Lake Cargelligo, Lockhart and Wagga Wagga. The fruit has been held in a laboratory at CSU at Wagga Wagga in a controlled temperature environment until adult fruit fly or parasitic wasps emerge. “I am examining whether the wasps are present in inland NSW and whether large releases of the wasps could be used for the biological control of fruit fly,” said Mrs Spinner. The female wasp lays her eggs inside the fruit fly larvae, which hatch and feed on the fruit fly larvae, ultimately killing the pest. In 2009, the PhD student will travel to Guatemala, Hawaii and Mexico where releases of parasitoids have improved the management of fruit fly.

As part of their engagement with their local community, over 30 third year speech pathology students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) will again participate in Cooinda Family Support Services, a community organisation assisting families in the Albury-Wodonga district to support themselves. CSU clinical coordinator Ms Marion Vile says the annual Cooinda student project allocates pairs of students to individual families for up to 14 weeks. The students work closely with clients and their families to develop an individual assessment and intervention program and then implement the program. “The students also gain in-depth learning experiences and can hone their skills under the supervision of an experienced speech pathologist,” Ms Vile said.  

Celebrations for the 200th anniversary of the birth of the ‘father of evolution’, Charles Darwin, will include a seminar highlighting two prominent Charles Sturt University (CSU) scientists this weekend in Wagga Wagga. A workshop will be held on Saturday 7 March to discuss the theory of evolution and Christian faith, with keynote speakers including CSU’s Dean of the Faculty of Science, Professor Nick Klomp, who will speak on science and evolution. Internationally recognised water scientist and active Christian, Professor David Mitchell from CSU, will then talk on ‘The role of uncertainty in the pursuit of truth’, while seminar coordinator, Fr Roger Munson, will discuss evolution and its implications for a progressive faith in the 21st Century.  

Blood donations are set to flow this Friday 6 March when the Red Cross Donor Mobile Unit arrives at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Orange. Staff and students will have the chance to assist Victorian bushfire victims by taking on the ‘North-South’ challenge. As part of CSU’s 20th anniversary celebrations this year, the University has issued a challenge where the total staff and student blood donations at CSU at Dubbo, Orange and Bathurst (North) will be tallied against donations at Wagga Wagga and Albury-Wodonga (South). “This is a great opportunity for staff and students in Orange to do their bit for the bushfire victims,” said the Head of Orange Campus, Professor Kevin Parton.

A collaborative project is helping young parents ease into parenthood, especially after the birth of their child. With the help of young parents in the Albury-Wodonga region, three nursing students from Charles Sturt University (CSU) and the Upper Hume Community Health Service’s (UHCHS) Young Parents Program have developed a booklet titled Young Parents Survival Guide for Pregnancy.  “Young parents helped us develop a booklet that fills a gap in information and knowledge for others in the same situation.  It is about what happens during pregnancy and what they can do to maintain a healthy pregnancy,” said Beverlie de Jong from the CSU School of Nursing and Midwifery. Ilena Young from UHCHS said the collaborative project worked closely with young parents to develop a resource to help others in the same situation.