Awards before and after the Nobel Prize : a Matthew effect and/or a ticket to one's own funeral?

The primary aim of this descriptive exploration of scientists’ life cycle award patterns is to evaluate whether awards breed further awards and identify researcher experiences after reception of the Nobel Prize. To achieve this goal, we collected data on the number of awards received each year for 50 years before and after Nobel Prize reception by all 1901–2000 Nobel laureates in physics, chemistry, and medicine or physiology. Our results indicate an increasing rate of awards before Nobel reception, reaching the summit precisely in the year of the Nobel Prize. After this pinnacle year, awards drop sharply. This result is confirmed by separate analyses of three different disciplines and by a random-effects negative binomial regression model. Such an effect, however, does not emerge for more recent Nobel laureates (1971–2000). In addition, Nobelists in medicine or physiology generate more awards shortly before and after prize reception, whereas laureates in chemistry attract more awards as time progresses.

Introduction : bringing back theory

In a report in the New York Times about a public symposium on the future of theory held at University of Chicago in 2002, staff writer Emily Eakin suggests that theory appears to have taken a back seat to more pressing current affairs – the Bush Administration, Al Qaeda, Iraq. Further, she reports that the symposium’s panel of high-profile theorists and scholars, including Homi Bhabha, Stanley Fish, Fredric Jameson, seemed reticent to offer their views on what is often touted as the demise or irrelevance of theory. The symposium and other commentaries on the topic of theory have prompted the view that the ‘Golden Age of Theory’ has passed and we are now in a ‘Post-Theory Age’. Given these pronouncements, we need to ask – Does theory matter any longer? Is it time for the obituary? Or are reports of the death of theory greatly exaggerated? The question remains whether to mourn or celebrate the demise of theory, and whether the body has in fact breathed its last. The title of this Introduction – ‘Bringing back theory’ – suggests a resurrection, or perhaps a haunting, as if the funeral has passed and, like Banquo’s ghost, theory returns to unsettle or disturb the celebration. It also suggests an entreaty, or perhaps a return performance. Rather than settle on one meaning, one interpretation, we are happy for all possibilities to coexist. The coexistence of different theories, different approaches, different interpretations also reflects the state of literary and cultural studies generally and children’s literature criticism in particular. No single theory or viewpoint predominates or vies for hegemony. Yet, one further question lingers – what is theory?

Micro-credit is necessary but not sufficient for entrepreneurs in desperate poverty

Micro-credit has often been used as a poverty alleviation strategy. However, there is little evidence to suggest that micro-credit alone can promote economic activities because micro-credit does not teach anything by itself (Brett 2006; Mayoux 1999; Sievers & Vandenberg 2007). Mistakenly, the focus of micro-credit has been the alleviation of immediate poverty, rather than the development of economic activity that would provide a long term solution. Paraphrasing the age old saying, "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach him to fish and you will feed him for a life time" micro-credit enables the fisherman to buy a net, but in many cases does nothing to ensure that he knows how to use it to benefit his family and the community. If the borrower doesn't know how to use the net, he will return to his old way of doing things-but with the added burden of having to pay back the debt. Given the state of extreme poverty experienced by the vast majority of the population in developing countries, borrowed money is often used for purposes other than creating the foundations for a sustainable economic growth. Typical examples of how micro-credit is generally used include covering funeral costs, buying food, medicines, and other similarly important necessities. The main problem that derives from using loans in this way is that apart from not improving living conditions in a sustainable manner, borrowers are also exposed to the risk of over-indebtedness, with its subsequent human and social implications.

Effective public speaking for the Australian curriculum

Public speaking has been with us since the great orators of the cultural heritage tradition and is by no means a dying art. There is no substitute for the human voice in real time, and technology-delivered speeches cannot really move an audience in precisely ways that effective, live speaking can. Many teachers go to history to access models such as the great Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech, or Winston Churchill’s call to battle. Most of us can recall Kevin Rudd’s historical apology to Indigenous Australia’s stolen generation, and more recently Noel Pearson’s moving eulogy delivered to a mourners at Gough Whitlam’s funeral. We are fortunate now to be able to access speeches from more recent history, closer to home and in our own accents through online repositories. This paper is, in part, written as a guide for pre-service teachers who did not learn this at school, and experienced teachers may also find it useful.