XJTLU book corner

We’ve collected some of the latest books from Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University’s academic staff. New releases include a mix of edited works and monographs about:

• China’s international communication, edited by staff at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences;
• using technology to improve knowledge transfer in the financial industry, edited by staff at International Business School Suzhou;
• Australian and Chinese perspectives on urban regeneration and rural revitalisation, edited by staff at the Design School;
• the cultural impact of the anime series “UFO Robot Grendizer” in Europe; and
• music and sound in Japanese animation, edited by staff at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences.

China’s International Communication and Relationship Building

Edited by Dr Xiaoling Zhang, Head of the Department of Media and Communication at XJTLU, and Dr Corey Schultz of the University of Nottingham Ningbo China

This book, part of the Communicating China series, is an exploration of the methods and impact of China’s media strategies. The 16 chapters, written by a range of China scholars, are divided into three sections: China’s global communication strategies, narratives from China to the world, and international reception of China’s stories.

The next book in the series, “China from the Margins: New Narratives of the Past and Present”, will be published in July.

Imprint: Routledge
Release date: January 2024

Harnessing Technology for Knowledge Transfer in Accountancy, Auditing, and Finance

Edited by Dr Samuel Kwok, Associate Professor of Practice at the Department of Accounting, and Dr Mohamed Omran, Senior Associate Professor at the Department of Accounting, both at XJTLU

Focusing on the use of technology in knowledge transfer, this book covers topics including audit digitalisation, using AI to detect corporate greenwashing, machine learning models for interest rate predictions, and AI-driven hospital accounting.

Dr Samuel Kwok, one of the book’s editors, explains that technology is changing the industry so rapidly that knowledge transfer has become crucial, especially when it comes to ethical considerations. “Technology is a partner,” he says. “But we have to keep an eye on ethics. Technology without ethics is not the future we want.”

Publisher: IGI Global
Release date: February 2024

Australia and China Perspectives on Urban Regeneration and Rural Revitalization

Edited by Dr Raffaele Pernice of the University of New South Wales, Australia, and Dr Bing Chen, Head of the Department of Urban Planning and Design at XJTLU

This volume explores case studies and research from China and Australia, comparing the urban regeneration and rural revitalisation efforts of both countries. This research has received support from UNSW Sydney, XJTLU and the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations.

Through case studies and research, the book covers worldwide concerns, such as climate change, sustainability, green architecture and the future of the city. From water bodies in Kunming, China, to livestock landscapes in Australia, the book focuses on a range of important contemporary issues in Australia and China, and features chapters by international experts and early-career and established academics.

Imprint: Routledge
Release date: April 2024

Goldrake dalla A alla U. Origine, viaggio e ritorno della Sentinella nel blu, 1975-2024 (Italian)
(Grendizer from A to U: Origin, journey, and comeback of the Sentinel in the blue, 1975-2024)

By Dr Marco Pellitteri, Associate Professor at the Department of Media and Communication

A media studies-driven monograph on the Japanese science fiction animation character UFO Robot Grendizer, created in 1975 as a television animated series by major animation studio Toei Animation. The book explains the concepts of anime platforms and media mix in Japan in the 1970s. The book also describes how UFO Robot Grendizer contributed to the shift in media content for children in Italy and France, where it became a big commercial phenomenon that shows its long-lasting effects still today. It also played a unique cultural role of hope and moral guidance for kids in Lebanon, a country that, in the 1970s and ‘80s, was devastated by civil war.

Publisher: Rai Libri
Release date: April 2024

The Palgrave Handbook of Music and Sound in Japanese Animation

Edited by Dr Marco Pellitteri, Associate Professor at the Department of Media and Communication

The book fills gaps in current animation research, finding intersections between studies on music in popular culture and studies on Japanese animation. The book is a collection of essays by established scholars and early career researchers on the development of music, songs, and sound in Japanese animation for cinema and television from the 1930s to the early 2010s. Each chapter deals with a particular era, focusing on the composers, performers, films, series, and musical genres of the time.

The work also includes interviews by the editor and contributors with prominent figures in the area of music in anime.

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Release date: July 2024

If you have a book you would like us to highlight, contact us at news@xjtlu.edu.cn or notify your School/Academy’s UMC External Liaison Officer.

Compiled by Patricia Pieterse, Yiyi Gu and Ruoyi Zhao
Edited by Catherine Diamond and Tamara Kaup