When professional athletes change sports: Sport development,sanctity of contract,and restraint of trade in the NRL

This case study provides insight into a current issue faced by sporting leagues—the movement of professional players to different sports. As the case illustrates, the movement of professional players across sport codes can have a profound impact on the management of sport development, the management of player contracts, and legal issues in restraint of trade.     

Effect of Match Length on Ranking Accuracy of round Robin Tournaments: A Computer Simulation Study

Computer simulation techniques were used to study the accuracy with which true rankings of table tennis players could be estimated from round robin tournaments based on matches of different length. Tournaments based on best-of-three-games, 21-points-to-win, and 11-points-to-win matches were studied. The simulation design also allowed study of the effect of both the number of players and the homogeneity of their ability on the efficacy of the three types of tournaments. Accuracy of the rankings produced by different types of tournaments was ascertained by computing Spearman's Rho rank correlations between the known, true ranking (known from the statistical model on which the simulated model was based) and empirical rankings in repeated tournaments. Results demonstrated that for groups of players of mixed ability, tournaments based on matches of shortened length were highly effective in estimating the true ranking, Spearman's Rho coefficients being generally well above .90. Tournaments based on longer matches exhibited only a small increase in accuracy of estimation of the true rankings. The difference between mean Spearman's Rho coefficients for tournaments based on best-of 3-games and 21-point matches approximated .02; between coefficients for tournaments based on 21-point matches and 11-point matches this difference approximated .03.     

Do black women still come first? Examining Essence magazine post Time Warner

Essence magazine is the longest operating magazine catering to a predominately African-American women audience in the US. In 2000, media conglomerate Time Warner purchased 49% of Essence parent company Essence Communications Inc. In 2005, Time Warner purchased the remaining 51% of the black-owned company. As a media conglomerate, Time Warner owns major publishing houses, film, and television production companies, including 130 magazines, New Line Cinema, CNN, and HBO. Essence states it is “the voice and soul of Black women” Collins [Collins, P. H. (2000). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment. New York, NY: Routledge] argues that black women must speak in their own voices in order to reject prevailing stereotypes operating on the bodies of black women. The mission statement of Essence aligns itself in what Collins calls “safe spaces” for black women to self-define themselves and articulate their lived realties. A critical theoretical framework allows uneven power relations to be examined and offers emancipatory perspectives. The goal of this study is to examine if Time Warner’s purchase of Essence has caused a shift in the voice and content of this magazine.     

Young Children’s Prosocial Behavior Protects Against Academic Risk in Neighborhoods With Low Socioeconomic Status

Children raised in neighborhoods with low socioeconomic status (SES) are at risk for low academic achievement. Identifying factors that help children from disadvantaged neighborhoods thrive is critical for reducing inequalities. We investigated whether children’s prosocial behavior buffers concurrent and subsequent academic risk in disadvantaged neighborhoods in Bradford, UK. Diverse children (N = 1,175) were followed until age seven, with measurements taken at four times. We used governmental indices of neighborhood-level SES, teacher observations of prosocial behaviors, and direct assessments of academic achievement. Neighborhood SES was positively associated with academic achievement among children with low levels of prosocial behavior, but not among children with high levels of prosocial behavior. Prosocial behavior may mitigate academic risk across early childhood.     

Hidden Expectations Behind the Promise of the Flipped Classroom

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the student experience of pre-service teachers in a compulsory primary science education course that adopted a flipped classroom approach. Participants (n = 79) were surveyed at the conclusion of the course exploring their perceptions of engagement, enjoyment, and degree of learning as a result of participating in this course. At the end of this course, the majority of participants indicated they were happy with learning outcomes and enjoyed some aspect of the online videos; however, they also indicated they did not watch all of the eight mandatory weekly videos. In fact, the majority only watched about four out of the eight videos. This paper explores why students were reluctant to engage with the online videos and asks if there is an underlying aspect to flipped classrooms that disengages students.     

Exploring the Connections Between Action Research and Teacher Leadership: A Reflection on Teacher-Leader Research for Confronting New Challenges

ABSTRACT

This reflective article examines the relationship between teachers’ engagement in action research and their ability to lead within their schools. As part of The New Educator’s special issue, “Developing an Inquiry Stance toward Instructional Improvement: Teacher-Leader Action Research,” this article demonstrates the development of an inquiry stance. It shares the story of two practicing teacher leaders within the new and challenging circumstance of adjusting to, and studying, the professional development they provided to help teachers deal with a challenging transition to a radically different school space. This article examines the ways practitioner inquiry supported these teachers to be leaders in the new architectural space designed to promote innovative instruction for twenty-first-century teaching and learning. We posit that coupling teacher leadership and teacher research enables teachers (a) to lead with literature, (b) to lead from data, (c) to lead through sharing, and (d) to lead by example.     

EUROPEAN COMMUNITY SOURCES OF SUPPORT FOR HIGHER EDUCATION AND RESEARCH IN 1990: A POLICY PAPER

The following is an overview of European Community activities in the domains of higher education, research and development, and the furthering of co‐operation between higher education and Industry. A fourth domain presented, the so‐called Jean Monnet Action, Is a Community effort aimed at introducing the European Communities concept into the courses offered in universities throughout the Community. Examples of specific activities are described under each of the four principal rubrics.