The Solihull Adventure: an attempt to reintroduce selective schooling

In September 1983 it was announced that Solihull Metropolitan Borough was considering reintroducing selective education in its secondary school system. This article documents the concerted opposition to the proposals that developed amongst parents, teachers, politicians and others which led to the idea being soundly voted out in 1984. The nature of this opposition is discussed, and it is argued that, while on the surface the defeat might be seen as a victory for the ideals of comprehensive education, a deeper analysis shows that support of those ideals was not at the forefront of the opposition.     

Evaluating computer‐based assessment in a risk‐based model

There are three purposes for evaluation: evaluation for action to aid the decision making process, evaluation for understanding to further enhance enlightenment and evaluation for control to ensure compliance to standards. This article argues that the primary function of evaluation in the ‘Catherine Wheel’ computer‐based assessment (CBA) cyclic model is evaluation for action and secondary functions are evaluation for understanding and control. By studying segment and cyclic dependencies, conducting a risk analysis and identifying key stakeholders it is possible to identify where action evaluation has the most effect, what is required to be evaluated, who will perform the action and how it will be controlled. Each segment and cycle in the CBA model must therefore be monitored and the observations made must have meaning for the elimination or reduction of pedagogic, operational, technical non web‐based, web‐based and financial risks. It is important to consider stakeholders because they have differing views on what is most important in the evaluation process and inevitably will be involved in the evaluation process itself. CBA system stakeholders include management, academic, support and administrative staff together with external verifiers and students. The information gained from these stakeholders provides quality enhancement and assurance and forms the basis for change.     

Analysis of the finite element method : by Gilbert Strang and George J. Fix. 306 pages,diagrams, 6×9 in., Prentice-Hall,Englewood Cliffs,N.J., 1973. Price, $16.00.

Prior work by this author has shown how the voltage step response of an initially quiescent RC line can be concisely expressed in terms of a set of higher transcendental functions. For convenience, the latter were defined in termsof integrals of elliptic theta functions and are termed “diffusion functions”. These same diffusion functions are also found to be useful in expressing closed-form solutions for the voltage response of distributed RC lines with a non-quiescent and discontinuous initial potential distribution. Results herein provide functional expressions for this voltage response with either open-circuited or short-circuited terminations. A variety of solution plots show how the responses change for different positions of the discontinuity. Also, plots of the diffusion functions are supplied showing their behavior over one complete cycle and more information on their symmetry properties is provided than was included in the initial paper.     

Balancing acts in the half‐way houses: the role of resourced provisions in mainstream schools

This article by Gordon Stan White, who is SENCo and Head of the Foundation Stage Resourced Provision at Lowerhouses CE School in Huddersfield, considers the role of resourced provisions or ‘units’ within the present school system. Issues discussed include transition, the impact of children being transported out of their local communities, the social and academic benefits and tensions for the children, implications for mainstream teachers and support assistants, and the impact on school standards. The article also discusses the role of resourced provisions in the wider debate over inclusion, analysing whether they are an integral part of genuinely inclusive educational provision or simply make up deficiencies within a fundamentally flawed system. The author concludes that, in the absence of the political will and funding to create a truly inclusive system, although resourced provisions have significant limitations, the access to a mainstream environment with mainstream peer role‐models coupled with specialist support provides the best opportunity within the present system for children with special educational needs to make academic, social and emotional progress.     

The educational quality of early school leavers and the cross-national variation of their income disadvantage

The average quality of available educational resources varies significantly across Europe. This not only affects school success and failure but also subsequent labour market outcomes. The main research question in this paper is to what extent this compositional variation among early school leavers (ESLrs) in particular can account for the cross-national variation of their income disadvantage relative to higher educated individuals. Findings from 3 consecutive years of cross-sectional data (EU Statistics on Income & Living Conditions [EU-SILC], 2005–2007) show that, controlling for the influence of other important country-level indicators, both educational expenditure and a country's mean PISA achievement test score interact with the effect of early school leaving on gross personal income. The income disadvantage of ESLrs is smaller in countries where the average quality of available educational resources is higher. Furthermore, this also applies to educational resources currently available to ESLrs, with the prevalence of lifelong learning yielding the same moderating effect on the income disadvantage of ESLrs.     

The Graphic Arts

Max Gallo's The Poster in History (New York: American Heritage/McGraw- Hill, 1974—$22.95)

Erich Salomon's Portrait of an Age ((New York: Collier Books/Macmillan, 1974—$7.50, paper)

M. Thomas Inge's “American Comic Art: A Bibliographic Guide,” Choice XI:1581-1593

Stan Lee's Origins of Marvel Comics (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1974—$5.95, paper)

John Hedgecoe and Michael Langford's Photography: Materials and Methods published by Oxford University Press. Apparently Focal Press picked it up in London, and now a new smaller format but hardcover edition is just out from Hastings House (N.Y.) for $12.95     

Changing Technologies

UNDERSTANDING NEW MEDIA: TRENDS AND ISSUES IN ELECTRONIC DISTRIBUTION OF INFORMATION,edited by Benjamin M. Compaine (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Ballinger, 1984—$29.95).

ELECTRONIC MARKETING: EMERGING 'IV AND COMPUTER CHANNELS FOR INTERACTIVE HOME SHOPPING, by Lawrence Strauss (White Plains, New York: Knowledge Industry Publications, 1983—$34.95).

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY , by Peter Zorkoczy (White Plains, New York: Knowledge Industry Publications, 1982—$29.95).

INFORMATION NETWORK SYSTEM: TELECOMMUNICATIONS IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY, by Yasusada Kitahara (Edison, New Jersey: Heinemann Educational Books, 1983—$15.00).

CABLE TELEVISION , by William Grant (Reston, Virginia: Reston Publishing, 1983—$23.95).

CABLE TELEVISION: AN ASSESSMENT OF CRITICAL ISSUES IN WASHINGTON, D.C. (Washington, D.C.: Institute for District Affairs of the University of the District of Columbia, n.d., but 1984—price not given, paper).

THE NEW TECHNOLOGIES: CHANGES AND CHALLENGES IN PUBLIC RELATIONS—A SOURCEBOOK OF GENERAL INFORMATION (Washington, D.C.: The Media Institute, 1983—price not given, paper).

INTRODUCING CELLULAR COMMUNICATIONS: THE NEW MOBILE TELEPHONE SYSTEM , by Stan Prentiss (Blue Ridge Sumniit, Pennsylvania: Tab Books, 1984-$9.95, paper).

CHANGING INFORMATION CONCEPTS AND TECHNOLOGIES: A READER FOR THE PROFESSIONAL LIBRARIAN White Plains, New York: Knowledge Industry Publications, 1982—price not given, paper).

BOOKS, LIBRARIES AND ELECTRONICS: ESSAYS ON THE FUTURE OF WRITTEN COMMUNICATION (White Plains, New York: Knowledge Industry Publications, 1982—$24.95).

THE SUBCARRIER PAGING GUIDE, by Alan A. Reite and ThOrnas J. Buono (Subcarrier Publishing, P.O. Box 57011, Washington, D.C. 20037—$75.00, paper).     

Education for an Aging Planet

As low income societies experience rapid aging of their populations, they face major challenges in developing educational policies to prepare their workforce for the future. We review modest efforts undertaken to assist colleagues in three societies: Mexico, China, and Jamaica. Graduate education in gerontology has an important opportunity to expand research, training, and service-learning programs in global aging.     

THE COMMUNITY‐JUNIOR COLLEGE AND ITS ECONOMIC VALUE: A 3‐YEAR STUDY

As local governments tighten their budgets, community‐junior colleges are often caught in the squeeze. Economic impact studies are often appropriate to help explain the monetary benefits of a local community‐junior college. Temple Junior College evaluated its impact on the local Temple, Texas, economy over a 3‐year period. The results have been used as a meaningful public relations tool that has allowed the administration to explain the value of the college in quantitative terms.