A disputed evidence on obesity: comparison of the effects of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rcan2</Emphasis><Superscript>−/−</Superscript> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rps6kb1</Emphasis><Superscript>−/−</Superscript> mutations on growth and body weight in C57BL/6J mice

It is widely accepted that body weight and adipose mass are tightly regulated by homeostatic mechanisms, in which leptin plays a critical role through hypothalamic pathways, and obesity is a result of homeostatic disorder. However, in C57BL/6J mice, we found that Rcan2 increases food intake and plays an important role in the development of age- and diet-induced obesity through a leptin-independent mechanism. RCAN2 was initially identified as a thyroid hormone (T3)-responsive gene in human fibroblasts. Expression of RCAN2 is regulated by T3 through the PI3K-Akt/PKB-mTOR-Rps6kb1 signaling pathway. Intriguingly, both Rcan2^?/? and Rps6kb1^?/? mutations were reported to result in lean phenotypes in mice. In this study we compared the effects of these two mutations on growth and body weight in C57BL/6J mice. We observed reduced body weight and lower fat mass in both Rcan2^?/? and Rps6kb1^?/? mice compared to the wild-type mice, and we reported other differences unique to either the Rcan2^?/? or Rps6kb1^?/? mice. Firstly, loss of Rcan2 does not directly alter body length; however, Rcan2^?/? mice exhibit reduced food intake. In contrast, Rps6kb1^?/? mice exhibit abnormal embryonic development, which leads to smaller body size and reduced food intake in adulthood. Secondly, when fed a normal chow diet, Rcan2^?/? mice weigh significantly more than Rps6kb1^?/? mice, but both Rcan2^?/? and Rps6kb1^?/? mice develop similar amounts of epididymal fat. On a high-fat diet, Rcan2^?/? mice gain body weight and fat mass at slower rates than Rps6kb1^?/? mice. Finally, using the double-knockout mice (Rcan2^?/?Rps6kb1^?/?), we demonstrate that concurrent loss of Rcan2 and Rps6kb1 has an additive effect on body weight reduction in C57BL/6J mice. Our data suggest that Rcan2 and Rps6kb1 mutations both affect growth and body weight of mice, though likely through different mechanisms.     

Using Microsoft<Superscript>®</Superscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">PowerPoint</Emphasis>™ to Support Emergent Literacy Skill Development for Young Children At-Risk or Who Have Disabilities

The increasing availability and use of technology applications for teaching emergent literacy skills in early childhood education settings nationwide requires that early childhood education professionals develop skills with readily available software programs. This paper provides general recommendations in using Microsoft^® PowerPoint? to support emergent literacy skill development for young children at-risk or who have disabilities. Specific suggestions are presented in the areas of phonological awareness, alphabetic principles, comprehension, concepts about print, and vocabulary development.     

The “Fighting Sioux” Conflict: Lessons on Social Justice for Higher Education

Conflict over the University of North Dakota's (UND) “Fighting Sioux” logo and nickname has been protracted and bitter, lasting over 40 years. This article presents four explanations for UND's status as one of the last universities to maintain a Native American nickname and logo: the dynamics of racism, the power of booster culture, North Dakota cultural features, and the influence of a wealthy donor. The article contributes to an understanding of how American Indian sports monikers and images represent the intractable nature of institutionalized white privilege and reflect the consequent failure of educational systems to promote social justice.     

“We Are Not Free”: The Meaning of <Freedom> in American Indian Resistance to President Johnson's War on Poverty

This essay examines how the ideograph <freedom> was crafted through dialectical struggles between Euro-Americans and American Indians over federal Indian policy between 1964 and 1968. For policymakers, <freedom> was historically sutured to the belief that assimilation was the only pathway to American Indian liberation. I explore the American Indian youth movement's response to President Johnson's War on Poverty to demonstrate how activists rhetorically realigned <freedom> in Indian policy with the Great Society's rhetoric of “community empowerment.” I illustrate how American Indians orchestrated counterhegemonic resistance by reframing the “Great Society” as an argument for a “Greater Indian American.” This analysis evinces the rhetorical significance of ideographic transformation in affecting policy change.     

Graduate Education in Kinesiology: Are We Part of “America's Backbone for Competitiveness and Innovation”?

Graduate education in the United States has been identified as being the backbone of American competitiveness and innovation in a recent report by the Council of Graduate Schools. The report provides a framework for examining the role of graduate education in partnership with business and government to advance an action agenda for achieving competitiveness and innovation. The role and positioning of graduate education in kinesiology in this agenda for change is addressed and a challenge issued.     

“The Soldiers Came to the House”: Young Children’s Responses to <Emphasis Type="Italic">The Colour of Home</Emphasis>

This article begins by reflecting on the present refugee crisis and its relevance to children in the UK. It identifies the need for teaching about the refugee experience to young children and argues that literature can provide a conduit for this. Since the millennium there has been a rapid increase in the number of books published for children which take this as their theme, aimed at ever-younger readers. Taking as a case study The Colour of Home by Mary Hoffman, a picturebook commonly used in lower primary classrooms, the article considers how this text promotes understanding and validates the circumstances of refugees. It closely examines the motivations and aims of the writer, how the book was mediated by teachers in the primary classroom, and how refugee and non-refugee children read and responded to it. Findings are presented from an interview with Mary Hoffman herself, juxtaposed with data from three classrooms suggesting that pupils gained valuable insight into a complicated and controversial issue. However the research concludes that viewing children through a refugee/non-refugee binary was reductive in not recognising the multi-layered nuances of meaning which were constructed by young readers who brought to bear a wide variety of individual life and family experiences. Furthermore, teachers in the study played a powerful role in mediating the texts when sharing them in the classroom, and devised a selection of stimulating resources to provoke reader response in terms of empathy, “social action”, and some critical literacy.     

The Significance of Physical Education Content: “Sending the Message” in Physical Education Teacher Education

Mind-body dualism has likely influenced how many view human beings and their behavior—mind (i.e., thinking) is elevated over body (i.e., performing)—even in Physical Education Teacher Education. The problem is that such a perspective makes physical education content (i.e., dance, games, play, and sport) subsidiary to more “intellectual” or “academic” content. This article invites Physical Education Teacher Education faculty to consider how to effectively “send the message” to future physical educators that physical education content is valuable and respectable and in many ways epitomizes intelligent human behavior. Specifically, Physical Education Teacher Education faculty are invited to (a) challenge traditional definitions of intelligence and introduce alternative definitions, (b) participate regularly in their own playgrounds, (c) provide a sufficient dose of activity courses in their curricula, (d) teach activity courses, (e) establish a performance-oriented culture, and (f) administer performance and/or game play evaluations.     

“Writing Will Keep You Free”: Allusions to and Recreations of the Fairy Tale Heroine in <Emphasis Type="Italic">The House on Mango Street</Emphasis>

This article explores how Sandra Cisneros alludes to and recasts popular fairy tales in The House on Mango Street to reveal their troubled legacy in the lives of many women in the novel. Drawing upon Latina feminist theory and Cisneros’s autobiographical writing, this article posits that the main character Esperanza’s alternative “happily ever after” comes through locating the vocation of writing as the fulcrum for self-definition and social change. It is suggested that feminist literary criticism can be enhanced through analysis of heroines from diverse cultural backgrounds and theoretical frameworks attuned to racial and ethnic diversity.

From“Angel in the House”to“He For She”UN Women Global Goodwill Ambassador

"家中天使"是英国诗人考文垂.帕特莫尔在十九世纪中叶发表的一首诗,他在诗中描绘了维多利亚时代的极具耐心、自我牺牲的理想妻子的形象,反映了在那个时代的女性角色就是在家中相夫教子作贤妻良母。妇女运动发展到二十一世纪,英国女演员艾玛·沃森做上了"他支持她"运动的联合国世界妇女亲善大使,承担起了争取两性平等权利的重要职责,她现身说法发表了一篇鼓舞人心的演讲,呼吁世界女性要表现出完整而真实的自我,这样才能生活得更加自由。     

History Writing That’s “Good to Think With”: <Emphasis Type="Italic">The Great Fire,Blizzard!</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">An American Plague</Emphasis>

In this article I argue that history books that are “good to think with” narrate history and, at the same time, provide insight into how it is constructed. These books are much more than collections of facts. Specifically, they provide information about historical context, multiple perspectives, sources of information, and original interpretation. This is crucial information for anyone attempting to understand history. As examples, I show how three books by Jim Murphy—The Great Fire, Blizzard! and An American Plague—address each of these essential topics. Myra Zarnowski is a professor in the Department of Elementary and Early Childhood Education at Queens College, CUNY. She is the author of History Makers (Heinemann, 2006) and Making Sense of History (Scholastic, 2006).     

A Comment on “The Adventures of Lead Commander: An Environmental Education Program to Prevent Lead Poisoning in Young Children”

Abstract

This article comments on a study designed to examine the effectiveness of the family-based, environmental education lead-poisoning program, The Adventures of Lead Commander (Marlowe & Trathen, 1996). Design and methodological weaknesses, such as the use of hair lead concentrations as a biomarker, call into question conclusions reached in the study. The effectiveness of the educational program cannot be ascertained from the data collected. It should be stressed, however, that environmental education projects such as The Adventures of Lead Commander are important in helping to educate the public and school children about lead poisoning and ways of minimizing exposure to this neurotoxin. Education and removal of lead sources are primary methods of reducing lead exposure.     

Access to Gender‐Sensitive Higher Education in Eastern and Central Europe: Reflections from the CEPES Project on “Good Practice in Promoting Gender Equality in Higher Education”;

Summarizing the incomplete results of the UNESCO Programme on “Good Practice in Promoting Gender Equality in Higher Education”;, the author asks that any assessment of the progress made in the area of gender‐sensitive education take regional specificities into account. The regional environment is at best neutral and usually hostile to feminism in subtle ways. In spite of the lack of tradition and experience in gender‐sensitive social institutions, valuable things have been happening in the region. Placed within their socio‐economic and political contexts (and not necessarily judged according to western standards) individuals, programmes, and institutions are pioneering in the field. Access to the benefits of an education incorporating a coherent gender dimension is, for the time being, limited. Some reasons for this situation are outlined in this article.