What About Susan? Gender in Narnia

Critics of C.S. Lewis argue that his misogyny is present in his portrayal of female characters. While Lewis himself was self-contradictory in his attitudes towards women, his depictions of female characters in The Chronicles of Narnia are both realistic and progressive. Both the male and female characters throughout the series demonstrate individual strengths and weaknesses that are not dependent on their gender. The criticism against Lewis focuses on his treatment of Susan, especially regarding her being the only child not to return to Narnia at the end of the series. Unlike what the critics argue, however, Susan is not excluded simply for her sexuality

Projective representations and spin characters of complex reflection groups G(m,p,n)G(m, p, n) and G(m,p,∞)G(m, p, \infty), III

This paper is a continuation of two previous papers in MSJ Memoirs, Vol.\,29 (Math. Soc. Japan, 2013) with the same title and numbered as I and II. Based on the hereditary property given there, from mother groups $G(m,1,n)$, the generalized symmetric groups, to child groups $G(m,p,n)$, the complex reflection groups, we study in detail classification and construction of irreducible projective representations (= spin representations) and their characters of $G(m,1,n)$ for $n$ finite. Then, taking limits as $n$ tends to infinity, we obtain spin characters of the inductive limit groups $G(m,1,\infty)$. By the heredity studied further, this gives the main kernel of the results for $G(m,p,\infty)$ with $p|m, p>1$.Comment: 88 pages, typos corrected, references correcte

Tootle

Tales of artificially animated characters, alternatively known as “it-tales”, are among the more interesting stories written for young children. Although the psychosocial attributes of such characters are as timeless as those found in animal and human characters, they are especially interesting historically since they are a product of the state of technology extant at the time the story was written or in which the story events are located. Thus they reflect both the technology of the characters and the attitude toward such technology, both those of the reader or child and of the caregiver who transmits such tales to the child. The story of Tootle is described and discussed as an example of the steam-engine tales that were especially popular in the early to middle part of the twentieth century, and analyzed in the light of the author’s personal experience, prevailing gender role stereotypes, dynamics of heroic characters, potential impact of such stories on children’s creativity and relevant pedagogical viewpoints such as authoritarian vs. learner-initiated approaches to teaching. Critical approaches based on ideological (especially Marxist) and Jungian perspectives are also discussed. Comparisons are made between Tootle and tales of other steam-engine and similar characters. Potentially negative aspects of the Tootle story are elaborated and a hypothetical alternative ending to the Tootle story is offered

Online Child Sex Solicitation: Exploring the Feasibility of a Research 'Sting'

A small scale test of the integrity of Internet Web 2.0 social network sites was undertaken over several weeks in 2007. The fictional identities of four female underage children where posted on three network sites and later introduced to relay chat forums in order to explore the impact of apparent vulnerability on potential selection of Internet victims. Only one of the three social network sites in the study recognised that the postings violated child protection policies and subsequently closed down the underage postings. Two basic identities were created: one that engendered a needy and vulnerable characterisation of a child while the other identity was created to represent a happy and attached child character. The number of contacts and suspicious contacts were monitored to test assumptions about child ‘vulnerability’ and risks of unwanted sexual solicitations. The characters created also included either an avatar and/or contact details. These variants of the experiment showed that the inclusion of an image or access details increased the likelihood of contacts, including suspicious contact regardless of ‘vulnerability’. This small experiment noted that although vulnerable children with additional cues maybe at more risk all children who posted details about themselves on social network sites faced the risk of contact by predators. The need for further research and better means of regulating such sites was suggested

Emphasizing Common Childhood Anxieties in Children’s Fantasy: An Analysis of the Illustrations in Matilda and Charlotte’s Web

In children’s literature, illustrations are just as important to story as a book’s text; illustrations contribute to the overall tone of the story and to the way readers interpret its events

Recommendations for Responsible Food Marketing to Children

The marketing of unhealthy foods to children and youth is a major public health concern. Children in the United States grow up surrounded by food and beverage marketing, which primarily promotes products with excessive amounts of added sugar, salt, and fat, and inadequate amounts of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. This document provides a comprehensive set of model definitions for food marketing practices directed to children. The recommendations, developed by a national panel of experts convened by Healthy Eating Research, define the child audience range as birth to 14 years of age; address the range of food marketing practices aimed at children; and specify the strategies, techniques, media platforms, and venues used to target children. When paired with sound nutrition criteria, these recommendations will help support responsible food marketing to children by addressing current loopholes in food marketing definitions and self-regulatory efforts that allow companies to market unhealthy foods and beverages to children

New findings and a new species of the genus Ammothea (Pycnogonida, Ammotheidae), with an updated identification key to all Antarctic and sub-Antarctic species

Specimens of the pycnogonid genus Ammothea collected during the Polarstern cruise XXIII/8 (23 November 2006–30 January 2007) were studied. Nine species were recognized in this collection: Ammothea bentartica, A. bicorniculata, A. carolinensis, A. clausi, A. longispina, A. minor, A. spinosa, A. striata and A. tibialis. Three of them (A. bentartica, A. bicorniculata and A. tibialis) are reported for the second time, enlarging their known geographical and bathymetric range. In the present contribution, the observed morphological variability of all collected Ammothea species is described and discussed. For the identification and description of the material, different museum specimens were consulted. Among them, we have consulted part of the Discovery collection housed at the Natural History Museum in London. That material was initially identified by Isabella Gordon, a reputed author in the field of pycnogonid taxonomy. A new species, based on a museum specimen previously highly confused in the literature, is proposed in the present contribution as Ammothea isabellae n. sp. The new taxon is compared with its closest congeners, especially with A. longispina and A. stylirostris. Finally, we propose an updated dichotomous key to species covering all currently known Antarctic and sub-Antarctic Ammothea specie

Why are the Children Dying?: Mixed-Race Children in Chang-rae Lee’s First Five Novels

The mixed-race children in each of Lee’s first five novels constitute an overarching set of symbols, reflecting, at first, society’s intolerance of miscegenation and its resulting mixed offspring, as demonstrated in the dysfunctional behaviors of the parent(s) (or society) and the death or disappearance of the mixed-race child. Then, later in the novel, a second mixed-race child’s birth, or its impending birth, signifies an acquired racial awareness on the part of the parent(s) and an overcoming of trauma that leads to hope for a more tolerant and understanding social environment for the mixed-race child

Colossendeis species (Pycnogonida: Colossendeidae) collected during the Italica XIX cruise to Victoria Land (Antarctica), with remarks on some taxonomic characters of the ovigers

The pycnogonid fauna of the genus Colossendeis collected during the Italica XIX cruise to Victoria Land (Ross Sea, Antarctica) was studied. A total of 19 specimens of six species were collected: Colossendeis australis (6), C. wilsoni (3), C. scotti (2), C. robusta (3), C. lilliei (2) and C. megalonyx (3). In the present contribution the observed variability of all collected Colossendeis species is described and illustrated. The previously synonymised C. lilliei is considered a different species from C. robusta. The observations made in this study lead us to discuss a controversy about the total number of oviger segments in this genus. Despite the currently established 10-segmented status, a short basal element is here considered to be a possible 11th segment. A detailed SEM study of the last oviger segment is carried out in all collected species, showing some intraspecific and the interspecific variability in the structures examined (shape and number of rows of compound spines, morphology of terminal claw, etc.). Finally, we discuss the taxonomic value of these characters of the last strigilis segment for distinguishing the Colossendeis species, and their possible utility in establishing internal phylogenetic relationships in future contributions