Book Reviews

Zuckerman: Scientist Extraordinary by Bernard Donovan BioScientifica, Bristol, 2005, 555pp. ISBN 1‐901978249 £24.95 Negotiating licences for digital resources by Fiona Durrant Facet Publishing, 2006, ISBN 1 85604 586 2 Metadata for Information Management and Retrieval By David Haynes Facet Publishing, 2004, ISBN 1 85604 4890     

Broadway productions and the value of a Tony Award

This article investigates the effect of a Tony nomination or win on the demand facing a Broadway production using a panel of weekly revenues for Broadway productions from 1996 to 2007. Our results indicate that the effect of a nomination or win is positive in the week of the announcement and gradually increases in successive weeks, presumably due to publicity and word-of-mouth. Winners experience an increase in demand as late as 1 year later when awards are publicized for the following season. Moreover, nominees that do not win the award are penalized heavily in the weeks following the Award announcements. We find that winning a Tony Award increases a production’s revenues by 12% in the week immediately following the Awards.

Effects of heat acclimation on hand cooling efficacy following exercise in the heat

This study examined the separate and combined effects of heat acclimation and hand cooling on post-exercise cooling rates following bouts of exercise in the heat. Seventeen non-heat acclimated (NHA) males (mean ± SE; age, 23 ± 1 y; mass, 75.30 ± 2.27 kg; maximal oxygen consumption [VO₂ max], 54.1 ± 1.3 ml·kg^?1·min^?1) completed 2 heat stress tests (HST) when NHA, then 10 days of heat acclimation, then 2 HST once heat acclimated (HA) in an environmental chamber (40°C; 40%RH). HSTs were 2 60-min bouts of treadmill exercise (45% VO₂ max; 2% grade) each followed by 10 min of hand cooling (C) or no cooling (NC). Heat acclimation sessions were 90–240 min of treadmill or stationary bike exercise (60–80% VO₂ max). Repeated measures ANOVA with Fishers LSD post hoc (α < 0.05) identified differences. When NHA, C (0.020 ± 0.003°C·min^?1) had a greater cooling rate than NC (0.013 ± 0.003°C·min^?1) (mean difference [95%CI]; 0.007°C [0.001,0.013], P = 0.035). Once HA, C (0.021 ± 0.002°C·min^?1) was similar to NC (0.025 ± 0.002°C·min^?1) (0.004°C [?0.003,0.011], P = 0.216). Hand cooling when HA (0.021 ± 0.002°C·min^?1) was similar to when NHA (0.020 ± 0.003°C·min^?1) (P = 0.77). In conclusion, when NHA, C provided greater cooling rates than NC. Once HA, C and NC provided similar cooling rates.     

Academic and Extracurricular Support for Refugee Students in the US: Lessons Learned

This article examines students’ experiences as resettled refugee and asylee students in international schools in New York City. Specifically, it looks at how teachers and school leaders provide critical academic and extracurricular support to facilitate students’ adjustment to academic environments that differ markedly from those compared in their countries of origin or the countries of asylum visited prior to their arrival in the United States. Drawing on a qualitative study conducted in New York City at two international schools, as well as program staff from an outside organization that often collaborates with international schools hosting refugee and asylee students, the article documents promising practices and offers practical recommendations for teachers working with refugee students.     

Northern Ireland Special Educational Needs Coordinators creating inclusive environments: an epic struggle

A key role in the development of inclusive practices in schools and classrooms is that of the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO), a role that has changed most radically since the introduction of the Code of Practice in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Through interviews with SENCOs in primary and post‐primary schools in Northern Ireland, the present study sought to examine the extent to which they created inclusive environments. Specifically, it investigated the scope and main challenges of their work, the support received and how far initial teacher education and in‐service training underpin inclusion and, thereby, the SENCO’s role. The findings showed that the responsibilities, skills and attributes expected of the SENCO were numerous and that it was a core position, yet carried a substantial teaching load, that the role was strongly managerial and that there was fragmented support in practical terms. Despite expectations that the SENCO would initiate and implement improved inclusive strategies, many significant obstacles persisted and progress could be slow considering, for example, teacher knowledge of, and attitudes towards, special needs. A much sharper focus is needed on all phases of the teacher education continuum as they impact on inclusive cultures at whole‐school and classroom level. The SENCOs identified their own perceptions of key factors to make inclusion work.     

Sexuality education: findings and recommendations from an analysis of 10 United States programmes

In this study, we identified 10 sexuality education programmes from different locations in the USA that aim to give young people knowledge and skills to develop healthy relationships, as well as avoid pregnancy and disease. We conducted in-depth interviews with programme administrators to develop a series of case studies and provide concrete recommendations for education and public health professionals to implement similar approaches in their communities. Many programme administrators succeeded in developing partnerships, adapting existing curricula to suit their environments, engaging external evaluators and garnering support from teachers and parents. However, few programme developers conducted formal needs assessments before developing programmes and many struggled to implement curricula with fidelity and to employ rigorous evaluation designs. Nearly all participants identified concerns over funding as a threat to sustainability. We conclude that schools and organisations need technical assistance to build capacity for rigorous programme planning, implementation and evaluation, as well as additional funding streams to support emerging programmes.     

The didactics tradition in South Africa: a reply to Richard Krüger

There has been a growing interest in the European Didaktik tradition as part of a process of ‘internationalizing’ curriculum studies. Krüger provides useful insights into some aspects of Didaktiek in South Africa. However, the essay does not contextualize this tradition within the broader history of South African education. This reply contends that Didaktiek was interwoven with ‘fundamental pedagogics’ and as a consequence played a role in reproducing apartheid ideology—it did not provide a language of critique or possibility. This is one reason why the tradition has seen its demise in post‐apartheid South Africa. I argue that curriculum theory, which crucially deals with the relationship between schooling and society and highlights the socially constructed nature of schooling, offers a more useful alternative for critiquing apartheid education policy and for charting a process of transformation of education in South Africa.