The polyadenylation code: a unified model for the regulation of mRNA alternative polyadenylation

The majority of eukaryotic genes produce multiple mRNA isoforms with distinct 3′ ends through a process called mRNA alternative polyadenylation (APA). Recent studies have demonstrated that APA is dynamically regulated during development and in response to environmental stimuli. A number of mechanisms have been described for APA regulation. In this review, we attempt to integrate all the known mechanisms into a unified model. This model not only explains most of previous results, but also provides testable predictions that will improve our understanding of the mechanistic details of APA regulation. Finally, we briefly discuss the known and putative functions of APA regulation.     

A Lost Dimension? The political education of women in the suffragette movement in Edwardian Britain

It is argued that present‐day definitions of education that focus upon educational forms, such as schools, further education, universities and adult education, have little relevance for the educational experiences of the majority of women in the past. To illustrate this point, the article explores the ‘education’ of women in a major political grouping in Edwardian Britain, namely the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) which, as a militant women‐only organisation, became the most famous of all the groupings campaigning for the enfranchisement of women. The WSPU offered its women members the opportunity to invade and enter the male sphere of politics. Thus, in its early years, members learnt a political role through peaceful means of campaigning, such as heckling politicians, carrying petitions to parliament, public speaking and writing to the press. Later, after many years of such protesting, when the government refused to yield on the issue of women's enfranchisement, more militant roles were adopted by a minority of the membership. These ‘guerilla activists’ engaged in activities such as the large‐scale breaking of windows, vandalising art treasures and setting fire to empty houses. For many of these WSPU women, their participation in the feminist movement was the educational experience of a lifetime, that far outshone any more formal schooling that they might have received in schools, adult education or colleges.     

International perceptions across the sea: Patterns in Japanese young adults

The international perceptions of Japanese young adults were explored in 172 professional education students in two Tokyo colleges. They classified 30 nations according to their “current” and “future” affinity to Japan. Little difference was detected in the Q-sorts between institutions arid sexes, while the “current” and “future” sorts correlated .96 with each other. In cluster analyses, many two-nation units (e.g., Czechoslovakia-Yugoslavia) were found to be the building blocks for the overall pattern. The total configuration consisted of three broad groups: mostly Western European nations, problematical nations (China, Russia, Israel, Egypt, etc.), and remote and neutral nations. Structurally, the results were similar to those for American young adults, but the contents were different. The notion of cultural metastereotypes thus received tentative support.     

Native Teacher Education in a Community Setting: The Mount Currie Program∗

The planning and implementation of a teacher education programme for the original population of Canada must take into account five important elements: the participation of the community itself, the integration of their language and culture, decentralisation of administration, revision of admission criteria, and the quality of the program. An experiment of this kind, which was a success, was tried out at Mount Currie. The Mount Currie program, even though it could serve as a model for other programs, cannot without any modification be transposed to all the other communities. In fact, the program only corresponds to the particular needs of a particular community and of the persons who make it up.