Undertaking a systematic review can have many benefits, beyond any theoretical or conceptual discoveries pertaining to the underlying research question. This paper explores the value of utilising a hybrid academic team when undertaking the systematic review process, and shares a range of practical strategies. The paper also comments on how such a hybrid team sits in a continuum of cooperation, coordination and collaboration. More...

Universities have always been engaged with the economy and society around them. However, in recent years perspectives on this engagement have changed. Considering the history of the university, the emphasis on research and publication is relatively new. Prior to this, engagement with society was more often via teaching and the granting of degrees. More...

The implementation of the Chinese open-door policy in 1978 provided opportunities for a greater number of students from the People’s Republic of China to travel abroad and become more familiar with different cultures (Chiu, 1995). Overseas study therefore is now accessible to many students for whom such an experience would have previously been impossible. Contemporary study-abroad programs offer individuals a chance to develop global awareness and intercultural understanding. More...

This book contains a wealth of stories from and about English language teachers and their students. Many stories are very moving and their variety and complexity are striking.  Acquiring English language proficiency can be vital for employment and mobility for those whose first language is not English. Throughout the book, it is clear that English teachers find their work richly rewarding. The rewards include satisfaction in helping people in a vital area of their lives, meeting a diverse range of people of various cultures who are well travelled and being able to travel yourself with skills and qualifications that are valued worldwide. More...

Much has been written about the changing contours of universities. Now, eminent sociologist, Frank Furedi examines the last 40+ years of university changes. His nine-chapter book starts with the fact that more than 50 per cent of young people attend university. This changes the impact of universities on society as a whole. More...

Iain Hay is an old hand at academic development in higher education and his advice is worth taking heed of. I remember that when he won the Prime Minister’s Award for Australian University Teacher of the Year in 2007, I was impressed with his prodigious output that seemed to be entirely about offering advice to anyone wanting to be a good university teacher. More...

The Knowledge Illusion is written by a professor of cognition and a professor of marketing. Its central themes are cognition, ignorance, knowledge, and the community of knowledge. The book is about cognition – not marketing which, for the most part, is largely concerned with getting us to buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like.  As a non-marketing book on cognition and knowledge, Sloman and Fernbach’s work contains 15 exquisite chapters outlining that we as human beings almost never know anything individually. More...

This book deals primarily with the University of New South Wales’ (UNSW) long-running programs providing higher education to students from overseas in Australia and, more recently, at campuses in their home countries. It is clear that students who have gone through these programs have had life-changing experiences that have equipped and inspired them in their working and wider lives after graduation. This is especially so for those living in the Australian community during their studies. More...