[HERDSA]: The Weekly Email News Wed 12 Oct 2011

Wed Oct 12 10:03:52 EST 2011

Dear List Members

This week we have:

	A Request for Contacts in Sydney in December.

	Forthcoming Conferences

	Position Vacant in Abu Dhabi 

	Updated Data Bases in International Education.

	Transforming Assessment Webinars-Recording Available

	News from Higher Education

A Request for Contacts in Sydney in December.

Vivienne Bozalek, who is Professor and Director of Teaching and Learning at the University of the Western Cape in South Africa, will be visiting Sydney on 8,9 11 Dec after the Ascilite conference and would like to meet those who are working in the areas of flexible learning, strategic planning 21st Century graduate attributes, the scholarship of teaching and learning and emerging technologies.

If you would be able to meet Vivienne during her visit please contact her direct at 
vbozalek at gmail.com

FORTHCOMING CONFERENCES

Tertiary Education Research in New Zealand Conference at Victoria University, Wellington, 23-25 November 2011.

This year's TERNZ conference will be held at Victoria University of Wellington, Kelburn Campus.
Since 2002 TERNZ has provided a forum for enquiry into learning and teaching in the New Zealand tertiary sector. It aims to support and develop a community who share a common interest in research. At a time when universities and polytechnics are under considerable external pressure to change, it provides an opportunity to step back and examine the direction in which education is moving, and the means by which practitioners might influence that direction. A distinctive feature of the conference is the emphasis on creating time for discussion and space for reflection. We aim to continue a dialogue, which transcends disciplinary boundaries, and to promote further exploration of a research approach to teaching and learning.

Visit http://www.herdsa.org.nz/Ternz/2011/ to submit an abstract or register. Call for papers closes 28th October.  Registration is $185, which includes conference attendance, welcome reception, conference dinner and morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea.

Please contact Amanda Gilbert (Amanda.Gilbert at vuw.ac.nz) for further information.

NTED2012 (6th International Technology, Education and Development Conference)
5th- 7th of March, 2012
Valencia (Spain)
Website: www.inted2012.org
Email: inted2012 at iated.org
Abstracts submission deadline: 24th of November 2011 
On-line submission at www.inted2012.org/submit 

POSITION VACANT

The Arts and Sciences Program at the Petroleum Institute, Abu Dhabi, invites applications for a Faculty position in Communication.

Position Description: The appointment will be at the Assistant Professor level. Teaching responsibilities will include teaching first year Communication Skills courses and sophomore to senior year support programs. Problem-solving and team-work are highlighted in project-based courses which focus on developing the ability to articulate both orally and in writing, academic, scientific and technical observations, ideas, and arguments. A strong interest in interactive, collaborative, project-based classroom teaching is therefore considered essential. Communication faculty is also required to participate in on-going syllabus, materials and assessment development and to engage in scholarly activity and institutional service. Teaching at the Petroleum Institute involves an average of 10 to 15 contact hours per week with classes generally limited to 20 students.

Qualifications: Applicants are required to have an earned Ph.D. (preferably in Applied Linguistics or a related field) from a well-recognized university, or be close to graduating with an earned PhD. Applicants without PhDs will not be considered unless they are in the final stages of completion.

We are particularly interested in candidates who have experience in several of the following:

*          Teaching ESL students in higher education contexts
*          Communication in / Language Across the Disciplines
*          Project-based/task-based learning, collaborative learning, problem-based learning
*          Teaching relevant areas of English for Special Purposes (e.g. English for Science and Technology, English for Academic or Professional Purposes, Technical Writing, Communication,) plus knowledge of genre, discourse and rhetoric in writing
*          Research into Academic Competence
*          Communication Center/Writing Center development and activities
*          Relevant academic and industrial experience pertaining to the petroleum industry in the region

Salary/Benefits: Salary and benefits will be commensurate with qualifications and experience. The total compensation package includes a tax-free 12-month base salary, and a benefits allowance that covers relocation, housing, initial furnishings, utilities, transportation (automobile purchase loan), health insurance, child(ren) education, end-of-service benefit and annual leave travel. Applicants must be in excellent health and will be required to pass a pre-employment physical examination.

To Apply: Interested candidates should submit all materials online at http://www.pi.ac.ae/jobs. Successful applicants should be available to take up the post in January, 2012 The final deadline for applications is 31st October 2011.

Updated Research Data Bases in International Education

The IDP Database of Research on International Education has been updated with 176 new records for September/October, see the New Additions page at:
?http://www.idp.com/idp-today/research-database/new-additions.aspx??

Next week IDP Database staff will be attending the Australian International Education Conference in Adelaide (http://www.aiec.idp.com/). If you are there stop by the IDP booth to say hello. 

If you are not at AIEC, you can follow the action via twitter:?http://twitter.com/#!/aiec?http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23AIEC2011?http://twitter.com/#!/IDPDRIE??As always, send us news of any international education publications you are involved with - ndrie at acer.edu.au??

The DEHub Database of Research on Distance Education has been updated with 134 new records for October, see http://opac.acer.edu.au:8080/drde/index.html??-

The Indigenous Education Research Database has been updated with 53 new records, see http://www.acer.edu.au/ierd??

Transforming Assessment Webinars 

Transforming Assessment webinar recording now available for:
"OpenLearn - Rationale behind the new Moodle 2.1 Quiz" held on 5th October 2011.

View / download via 
http://www.transformingassessment.com/events_5_october_2011.php 

News from Higher Education

AUSTRALIA: Science under siege
Geoff Maslen
The very basis of science and of an informed, progressive and enlightened society are under siege, Australia’s Chief Scientist Professor Ian Chubb told a conference on Thursday. Chubb said scientists were caught up in a rearguard action against critics who sought to question and tear down “the very ideals, the values, the principles and the practices of science”.
Full report on the University World News site
http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20111007120109519

To see Ian Chubb’s lecture in full see:
http://www.universityworldnews.com/filemgmt_data/files/Ian%20Chubb-%20NTEU%20Address%206%20October%202011.pdf

AUSTRALIA: Push for research funding overhaul
A leading scientist says Australia is squandering its intellectual wealth through a federal system of short-term grants rewarding publication of academic papers ahead of long-term research to develop and manufacture new products, writes Rosslyn Beeby for The Canberra Times.
More on the University World News site
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/national/national/general/push-for-research-funding-overhaul/2312018.aspx?storypage=2

NEW ZEALAND: Canterbury University staff asked to quit
Canterbury University is calling on staff to consider taking voluntary redundancy as it struggles to balance the books after losing students because of the earthquake that struck the city earlier this year, reports TVNZ.
More on the University World News site
http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/canterbury-uni-invites-staff-resign-4436598

Times Higher Education ranks University of Melbourne Australia’s best but experts urge caution
http://theconversation.edu.au/times-higher-education-ranks-university-of-melbourne-australias-best-but-experts-urge-caution-3761?utm_source=The+Conversation+Daily+updates&utm_campaign=270c2494ca-DailyNewsletter&utm_medium=email

Roger Landbeck
List Moderator