Renewed but not Redeemed: Revising <Emphasis Type="Italic">Elsie Dinsmore</Emphasis>

Elsie Dinsmore, the first book in a late 19th century childrens series, is unique because it had not been adapted, just reprinted, until 1999. It is also unique in the setting, the mythic Southern plantation life of the 1850s. The 1999 edition ameliorated what is now recognized as racist language based on the images of the minstrelsy tradition, though consonant with the views of the time period. However, the deep structure of the story—its dependence on the plantation myth, its belief in the basic inferiority of African Americans, and its acceptance of slavery as compatible with Christianity—is not changed. The new edition is a comment on the publishing industrys disregard of racial history and the importance of context for understanding literature.     

Aesthetic Concepts: A Paradigm for Dance

A survey of literature in dance and aesthetics fmds eight recurring fundamental components which form a concrete framework for the dance composition. These are (a) content, (b) the raw material of movement, (c) movement vocabulary, (d) process, (e) form, (f) performer and (g) production accessories, resulting in (h) expression. In addition, central to the art of dance is its unique medium of expression, the human body through which all flows. The interaction and interrelation of these components produces an integrated gestalt which becomes the dance. Awareness of the potential and diversity within each area and skill in the manipulation of these constitutes the craft of choreography. From this underlying aesthetic theory emerges a model which is a pragmatic and firm foundation for thorough analysis of a dance. Its application serves to increase the understanding of the complex process of choreography and therefore is useful to historian, scholar, choreographer, critic, and student.     

Critical Thinking Versus Vocationalism: A Matter of Class?

Popular demands for greater access to higher education may have diluted the “college isn't for everyone” claim, but some members of the privileged class are making a more subtle argument: A classical liberal arts curriculum should be reserved for the elite with low and middle income students receiving vocational training. In this article, we examine the historical and contemporary manifestations of differentiated educational experiences based on class and highlight how this bifurcated phenomenon continues to surface within post-secondary's newest venue—online education. Drawing upon the theoretical tenets of knowledge production and class formation, the methodology section of this article constructs a multilayered sequence model to analyze how the college admission process reinforces this binary in stark, yet unassuming, ways. We present the resulting social justice implications in terms of students’ participation in a classist educational system as well as the antidemocratic repercussions for public institutions. Lastly, we call for recommendations designed to bolster public education's commitment to critically educate all students and to restore its bedrock democratic mission.     

New Literacies and Multimediacy: The Immersive Universe of The 39 Clues

The 39 Clues (2009) is a multimedia series produced by Scholastic for readers 7–14 years old that includes printed texts released periodically; trading cards also published periodically in print and virtually; and a complex, intriguing, and entertaining website. To fully experience the multimedia series, the publishers expect that readers can read printed text, negotiate the website that blurs the boundaries between history and fiction, author, character, and reader, compete for prizes, and build online communities. The more able a reader is to use multiple media sources for her own purposes, the more likely she is to reach the end goal of solving the central mystery of the series and win cash prizes. We found that The 39 Clues is a unique instantiation of new literacies (e.g. Knobel and Lankshear, A New Literacies Sampler, 2007) in action.     

Men’s Perceptions of Pregnancy-Related Weight Gain: A Psychosocial Firestorm (Upheaval) Intertwined With Supportive Intentions

In-depth interviews were conducted with 16 men who had a significant other who had given birth within the last 5 years. Men were asked about their perceptions of pregnancy-related weight gain, and content analysis was used to identify themes from the interviews. Men described nine themes related to perinatal weight gain: (a) negative perceptions, (b) eating behaviors, (c) exercise habits, (d) health impact, (e) body changes, (f) weight-loss success, (g) “it bothered her more than me,” (h) “the weight gain wasn’t a problem,” and (i) intimacy. Together, these themes offer a glimpse into men’s experiences and highlight the discord and balance between experiencing negative feelings/perceptions and being a supportive partner. This information on how men perceive pregnancy-related weight gain can be used to develop interventions to assist men to support their significant others in meeting weight loss goals following pregnancy.     

Neural correlates of face and object recognition in young children with autism spectrum disorder,developmental delay,and typical development

This study utilized electroencephalographic recordings to examine whether young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have impaired face recognition ability. High-density brain event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded to photos of the child's mother's face versus an unfamiliar female face and photos of a favorite versus an unfamiliar toy from children with ASD, children with typical development, and children with developmental delay, all 3 to 4 years of age (N = 118). Typically developing children showed ERP amplitude differences in two components, P400 and Nc, to a familiar versus an unfamiliar face, and to a familiar versus an unfamiliar object. In contrast, children with ASD failed to show differences in ERPs to a familiar versus an unfamiliar face, but they did show P400 and Nc amplitude differences to a familiar versus an unfamiliar object. Developmentally delayed children showed significant ERP amplitude differences for the positive slow wave for both faces and objects. These data suggest that autism is associated with face recognition impairment that is manifest early in life.