In brief
Vital role in environmental and social sustainability
UniSA’s Professor of Business Law, Jennifer McKay has been appointed a member of the Natural Resources Management (NRM) Council in South Australia. The Council is the state’s peak advisory body for NRM and is the first to be established nationally. It has the country’s most comprehensive and integrated approach to managing the state’s natural assets – soils, water, plants, animals and the diversity of landscapes and ecosystems.
Prof McKay, who is also director of UniSA’s Centre for Comparative Water Policies and Laws, was chosen for her national and international experience in water policy and research, as well as business law and corporate governance.
"The focus of the Council is to review and promote integrated management of the state’s natural resources, and provide advice to the Minister for Environment and Conservation about achieving a healthy, resilient and productive landscape that is ecologically sustainable through effective natural resources management," Prof McKay said.
Australian history now online
Everyone with an interest in Australian history, from school children to academic historians, will be able to search, free, for information on 11,000 people who have played a significant role in Australia’s history thanks to a national treasure of more than 10,000 articles now available online. UniSA’s Emeritus Professor Alison Mackinnon was one of the chief investigators who worked on the three year project, which presents concise, accurate details about the lives of important people in Australia’s history in an easily accessible format.
The Australian Dictionary of Biography (ADB) Online is based on the printed volumes of the Australian Dictionary of Biography, which have been published on the Internet as a database with links to other resources. The ADB Online has a range of search options from a simple text search to more sophisticated searches by categories such as occupation, cultural heritage and religious influences. The project was funded by the Australian Research Council, with support from nine universities including UniSA, and the National Library, Museum and Archives of Australia.
Australian history now really is at everyone’s fingertips and could not have come at a better time, according to Prof Mackinnon, who is also President of the History Council of South Australia. "As there is now considerable national debate about the place of history in the school curriculum, ADB online provides a user-friendly entry into a rich world of historical figures". To access ADB Online, go to http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/adbonline.htm
Strong Hong Kong links
UniSA took out the Judges Award for its work in expanding educational services for Hong Kong students in last month’s Hong Kong-Australia Business Association Awards.
Mike Rowse, director-general of Invest Hong Kong and visiting keynote speaker, said two-way trade was growing, particularly with Hong Kong acting as a gateway to China. "The world has gasped at the speed at which China has developed," he said.
UniSA has developed strong links with Hong Kong and continually increased student numbers.