Book Description







Playing With the Boys


Book Description

Athletic contests help define what we mean in America by "success." By keeping women from "playing with the boys" on the false assumption that they are inherently inferior, society relegates them to second-class citizens. In this forcefully argued book, Eileen McDonagh and Laura Pappano show in vivid detail how women have been unfairly excluded from participating in sports on an equal footing with men. Using dozens of powerful examples--girls and women breaking through in football, ice hockey, wrestling, and baseball, to name just a few--the authors show that sex differences are not sufficient to warrant exclusion in most sports, that success entails more than brute strength, and that sex segregation in sports does not simply reflect sex differences, but actively constructs and reinforces stereotypes about sex differences. For instance, women's bodies give them a physiological advantage in endurance sports, yet many Olympic events have shorter races for women than men, thereby camouflaging rather than revealing women's strengths.




School Rules


Book Description

Rebecca Raby reflects on how regulations are made, applied, and negotiated in educational settings in the accessibly written School Rules.




Our Boys


Book Description

An inspiring portrait of the extraordinary high-school football team whose quest for perfection sustains its hometown in the heartland The football team in Smith Center, Kansas, has won sixty-seven games in a row, the nation's longest high-school winning streak. They have done so by embracing a philosophy of life taught by their legendary coach, Roger Barta: "Respect each other, then learn to love each other and together we are champions." But as they embarked on a quest for a fifth consecutive title in the fall of 2008, they faced a potentially destabilizing transition: the greatest senior class in school history had graduated, and Barta was contemplating retirement after three decades on the sidelines. In Smith Center--population: 1,931--this changing of the guard was seismic. Hours removed from the nearest city, the town revolves around "our boys" in a way that goes to the heart of what America's heartland is today. Joe Drape, a Kansas City native and an award-winning sportswriter for The New York Times, moved his family to Smith Center to discover what makes the team and the town an inspiration even to those who live hundreds of miles away. His stories of the coaches, players, and parents reveal a community fighting to hold on to a way of life that is rich in value, even as its economic fortunes decline. Drape's moving portrait of Coach Barta and the impressive young men of Smith Center is sure to take its place among the more memorable American sports stories of recent years.




The Identities and Practices of High Achieving Pupils


Book Description

How do some students manage to excel in their studies and be popular while other high achievers are treated as social outcasts? This lively and accessible text looks at the relationships between gender, race and social class, and attainment and popularity, for high-achieving pupils. The internationally renowned authors present a lucid theoretical framework that reflects the complexity of these issues, placing them within the broader context of the policies that cause and constrain particular behaviours among teachers and pupils. The authors draw together empirical data, bringing the realities of young people to life and presenting the lessons that can be learnt to enhance the educational achievement of all students. It is an engaging text for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students exploring the debates on identity and achievement.




The Last Lecture


Book Description

The author, a computer science professor diagnosed with terminal cancer, explores his life, the lessons that he has learned, how he has worked to achieve his childhood dreams, and the effect of his diagnosis on him and his family.




International Sport Management


Book Description

International Sport Management is the first comprehensive textbook devoted to the organization, governance, business activities, and cross-cultural context of modern sport on an international level. As the sport industry continues its global expansion, this textbook serves as an invaluable guide for readers as they build careers that require an international understanding of the relationships, influences, and responsibilities in sport management. Through a systematic presentation of topics and issues in international sport, this textbook offers a long-overdue guide for students in this burgeoning subfield in sport management. Editors Li, MacIntosh, and Bravo have assembled contributors from all corners of the globe to present a truly international perspective on the topic. With attention to diversity and multiple viewpoints, each chapter is authored by distinguished academics and practitioners in the field. A foreword by esteemed sport management scholar Dr. Earle Zeigler emphasizes the importance of a dedicated study of the issues in international sport management. All chapters in the text use a global perspective to better showcase how international sport operates in various geopolitical environments and cultures. The text is arranged in five parts, each serving a unique purpose: •To outline the issues associated with international sport management •To examine sport using a unique perspective that emphasizes its status as a global industry •To introduce the structure of governance in international sport •To examine the management essentials in international sport •To apply these strategies in the business segments of sport marketing, sport media and information technology, sport facilities and design, sport event management, and sport tourism Written to engage students, International Sport Management contains an array of learning aids to assist with comprehension of the material. It includes case studies and sidebars that apply the concepts to real-world situations and demonstrate the varied issues, challenges, and opportunities affecting sport management worldwide. Chapter objectives, key terms, learning activities, summaries, and discussion questions guide learning in this wide-ranging subject area. In addition, extensive reference sections support the work of practitioners in the field. With International Sport Management, both practicing and future sport managers can develop an increased understanding of the range of intercultural competencies necessary for success in the field. Using a framework of strategic and total-quality management, the text allows readers to examine global issues from an ethical perspective and uncover solutions to complex challenges that sport managers face. With this approach, readers will learn how to combine business practices with knowledge in international sport to lead their current and future careers. International Sport Management offers readers a multifaceted view of the issues, challenges, and opportunities in international sport management as well as the major functional areas that govern international sport. The text provides students, academics, and practitioners with critical insights into the practice of business as it applies to international sport.




Handbook on the Economics of Women in Sports


Book Description

'In the Handbook on the Economics of Women in Sports, Leeds and Leeds put together an impressive list of heavy hitters in the sociology and economics literature on sports to produce a tour de force volume. The entire spectrum of international perspectives is covered, from US, Korean, and Australian sports to world competition at the highest level of the Olympics and international championships. Whether your interest is attendance at women's events, performance and rewards in women's pro sports, gender issues in US college sports, or international performance and how women compete, this handbook is a must read for any serious fan, and for all serious scholars interested in the impacts of being female on sports performance and competitiveness.' Rodney Fort, University of Michigan, US 'Leeds and Leeds have filled a gaping hole in sports economics with this revealing collection of essays. The economics of women in sports has been too long neglected. By covering everything from women as sports spectators, to women as participants in individual and team sports at the collegiate and professional levels, to women's sports internationally, Title IX, and women's differential response to incentives, this volume not only demonstrates that there is much fertile ground to be studied, but also that the subject matter is both interesting and important.' Andrew Zimbalist, Smith College, US Women's sports have received much less attention from economists than from other social scientists. This Handbook fills that gap with a comprehensive economic analysis of women's sports. It also analyzes how the behavior and treatment of female athletes reflect broad economic forces. Contributors to this volume use current theoretical models and econometric tools to examine the legal, social, and economic forces that affect the experiences of female athletes. They address such traditional topics as discrimination against female athletes and coaches and the effect of athletic events on the economies of host countries. They also apply theory and estimation to new settings, such as how women respond to tournaments in skiing and figure skating or how the growing dominance of Korean women on the LPGA tour is a form of immigration. This groundbreaking book is a valuable resource for professors, students, and researchers in sports economics, sports management, and women's studies.