Back in the mists of time (about 1992) the British government decided that Polytechnics could call themselves universities. This was a strange exercise as it removed, in name at least, the useful distinction between the academic universities and the more vocational institutions where you could learn useful skills like brick-laying and plumbing. It also allowed Oxford Poly to re-moniker itself Oxford Brooks University, which of course lead to all sorts of high-jinks such as calling it Oxford 'B'. It was still 'the Poly' to those of us who lived in Oxford, though.
David Colquhoun points out that another distinction between 'real' universities and ex-Polys is that the latter offer “BSc” degrees in hokum whereas at the former
Academics [...] certainly would not put up with it
But,
you can find quackery in some of the most respected universities, and it gets there not via academics but via Human Resources
Now, I'm not going to rag on HR but I was interested to see if by this criterion the University of Sydney qualifies as a 'real' University or a re-branded Poly. Not actually having direct access to appropriate course matter I had to use the search facility, which I believe is accessible to the outside world.
And what I found was quite interesting. There is a factsheet that answers the question
Are homeopathic preparations an alternative to conventional immunisation[sic]?
with a resounding
NO.
Reading between the lines (without any evidence of efficacy ... there is no evidence to support these claims ...) an Australian might well say 'HELL, NO!'. The sheet goes on to make the point that conventional medicines and vaccines are thoroughly scrutinized and tested, and that homeopathic preparations are not, although it stops short of saying this is because there's nothing in them.
The Faculty of Medicine does offer a cash prize, annually, for the publication
in a peer-reviewed journal, of significant original work undertaken in Australia in one of the following fields: holistic medicine, complementary medicine, exercise rehabilitation, nutriceuticals, aromatherapy and multi-disciplinary whole-patient approach to medical problems
but I can't find any evidence (hah!) that it has ever been awarded.
USyd has a Herbal Medicine research centre but then spoil it all by talking about equipment such as NMR magnets, HPLCs and gas chromatography/mass spec systems, so it looks like they're actually doing real research into if and how herbs work. There is also a Complementary Therapies: Pain Management post-grad course , but critically
The evidence base is discussed, as well as the implications, costs and side effects of these therapies
which again, on the face of it, seems to fly in the face of woo.
So a cautious thumbs up to USyd. If any of my readers do know anything about hokum here I'm sure the other two would be very interested.
