Higher education is likely to involve the majority of people at some time in their lives in the twenty-first century. The main drivers of expansion in the previous century were a belief that widening access promotes social equity and the advance of knowledge as the main factor underpinning economic success for individuals and societies. However, universal higher education in rapidly changing economies raises many questions that have been inadequately treated by previous authors. This volume focuses on the question of whether it is appropriate and inevitable that higher education systems are...

We all like choosing the best-ever Welsh rugby team, but here is a XV with a difference. Here they are not players but writers. The exploits of the people s heroes from Gould to Gareth Edwards are vividly recaptured in some classic prose. So too are the expectations and emotions of the most passionate followers in the world. They deserve the best team we can put out. Here it is, a selection of world-beating writing on Welsh rugby: "The First XV." A collection of biographical, anecdotal, and literary essays on Britain's consuming passion forrugby."

‘Serving Shaka’ is a dramatic evocation of Zulu nation-building, immersing the reader in vivid battle scenes, poignant relationships and tense political machinations. Having masterminded Napoleon Bonaparte’s escape from St Helena with his friend Emile Béraud in Needing Napoleon, history teacher Richard Davey now finds himself stranded on the African coast. Richard and Emile encounter Shaka Zulu, a leader even more ruthless and ambitious than the former French emperor. Richard’s secret, that he is from the future, is revealed; Bonaparte seeks to outmanoeuvre Shaka; and Emile joins...

'Rescuing Richard' is a breathless quest that sweeps the reader from the blood-soaked battlefields of Zululand to the corridors of power in Regency London. Richard is astonished when Shaka appoints him to his inner council, where he vies for influence with his friend, Napoleon Bonaparte. Drawn to a feisty, intelligent young Zulu woman, Richard wrestles with his conscience while confronting betrayal and colonial adventurers exploiting the land he is sworn to protect. Having helped equip the Zulu army with artillery, he is sent as ambassador to the court of King George, where he defends Zulu...