Teaching Shakespeare to young ESL learners in Hong Kong

Teaching Shakespeare to young ESL learners can be one of the most challenging tasks for English teachers and parents. Because of the difficult vocabulary and unusual language, Shakespeare is often left unread and unexplored both in school and at home. With a view to helping children overcome reading obstacles and learn to appreciate Shakespeare and his plays, the Hong Kong Public Libraries and I co-hosted a weekly Shakespeare teens’ reading club for K12 learners from local grammar schools. Four Shakespearean plays were introduced to about twenty Cantonese child participants who had no or little experience reading or studying Shakespeare’s works. To enhance imagination and interactions among child readers, various learner-centred, interactive, and multimedia pedagogical activities such as the reader’s theatre, movie screenings, creative writing tasks, comics reading and drawing, etc. were used in the reading club. In this paper, I will share teaching ideas and reading activities that make Shakespeare understandable and enjoyable for ESL young readers

Female Cross-Dressing in Chinese Literature Classics and their English Versions

Cross-dressing, as a cultural practice, suggests gender ambiguity and allows freedom of self expression. Yet, it may also serve to reaffirm ideological stereotypes and the binary distinctions between male and female, masculine and feminine, homosexual and heterosexual. To explore the nature and function of cross-dressing in Chinese and Western cultures, this paper analyzes the portrayals of cross-dressing heroines in two Chinese stories: 《木木木》 The Ballad of Mulan (500–600 A.D.), and 《梁梁梁梁梁梁台》The Butterfly Lovers (850–880 A.D.). Distorted representations in the English translated texts are also explored

Cardiac mitochondrial respiration in two rodent models of obesity

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 95-107)Obesity is a major contributor to the global burden of disease and is closely associated with the development of type II diabetes. Recent studies have demonstrated that increased circulating free fatty acid (FFA) levels may have detrimental effects on the diabetic heart. In this study, we hypothesized that with obesity and obesity-induced insulin resistance/type II diabetes, increased FFA supply decreases cardiac mitochondrial bioenergetic capacity. Furthermore, we also hypothesized that females possess innate cardioprotective programs that will result in enhanced bioenergetic capacity compared to males. We examined our hypothesis employing two rodent models i.e. a) a rat model of diet-induced obesity and b) a transgenic (leptin receptor deficient) mouse model of obesity-induced type II diabetes. For the diabetic mouse model, we determined cardiac mitochondrial respiratory function in an age-dependent (10-12, 18-20 and 55-56 weeks) and gender-dependent (male versus female) manner. We found impaired mitochondrial respiratory capacity in obese rats in baseline and when isolated mitochondria were stressed by anoxia-reoxygenation. We speculate that this may be dure to reduced expression of mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes in the insulin resistant rat heart. For the mouse model and type II diabetes we found increased respiratory capacity at 10-12 weeks, thought to respresent the stage of metabolic syndrome, with no evidence of oxygen wastage or reduction of respiratory capacity. However, 18-20 week-old obese mice were unable to increase respiratory capacity. We also found increased mitochondrial ultrastructural damage and intracellular lipid accumulation in 18-20 week-old diabetic mouse hearts. We propose that this occurs as a result of a mismatch between increased FA uptake and decreased FA oxidative capacity

Darstellung des Monströs-Femininen in ausgewählten Werken von C. S. Lewis, Roald Dahl und Philip Pullman

This paper examines the representation of female antagonists in three popular children’s books – C. S. Lewis’s Narnia books, Roald Dahl’s The Witches, and Philip Pullman’s The Amber Spyglass – by referencing Kristeva’s theory of abjection and Creed’s discussion of the monstrous-feminine. In both the Narnia series and The Witches, female antagonists are simplified, stereotyped and negatively portrayed as evil figures that threaten the stability of a well-ordered community. They are represented as the abject that blurs the borderlines between life and death, human and non-human, masculine and feminine. At the end of both narratives, the monstrous-feminine is ejected, eliminated, and the ‘purification’ brings relief and a vengeful pleasure. In Pullman’s book, the harpies are represented as monsters that can be reasoned with. They are honoured as generous and “Gracious Wings”. Yet, while the attempt of positive reinvention of the monstrous-feminine is noticeable, they play only a secondary role acknowledged by the symbolic order – the monstrous-feminine stereotype is nevertheless perpetuated.Rad istražuje načine prikazivanja ženskih likova u ulozi protivnika u trima popularnim književnim pripovijedima za djecu – u ciklusu Chronicles of Narnia [Kronike iz Narnije] C. S. Lewisa te u romanima The Witches [Vještice] Roalda Dahla i The Amber Spyglass [Jantarni dalekozor] Philipa Pullmana – pozivajući se na teoriju abjekcije Julije Kristeve i na raspravu o čudovišno-ženskom Barbare Creed. I u ciklusu o Narniji i u romanu Vještice, ženski su protivnički likovi pojednostavljeni, stereotipni i negativno okarakterizirani kao zle figure koje prijete stabilnosti dobro organiziranoga društva. Prikazane su kao abjekti koji nejasnima čine granice između života i smrti, ljudskoga i ne-ljudskoga, muškoga i ženskoga. Na kraju obiju pripovijedi čudovišno-žensko se izbacuje, eliminira, a ‘pročišćenje’ donosi olakšanje i osvetničko zadovoljstvo. U Pullmanovoj su knjizi harpije prikazane kao čudovišta s kojima se može razborito razgovarati. Časti ih se kao velikodušne i imenom „Dobrohotna Krila.“ Pa ipak, premda je uočljiv pokušaj ponovnoga uspostavljanja pozitivnoga pojma čudovišno-ženskoga, takvi likovi igraju tek drugorazrednu ulogu koju im nameće simbolički poredak, a stereotip se ipak i dalje održava.Anknüpfend an die Abjektionstheorie von Julia Kristeva und an die Diskussion über das Monströs-Feminine bei Barbara Creed werden in diesem Beitrag die Darstellungsweisen der Frauengestalten als Kontrahentinnen in drei populären kinderliterarischen Erzählwerken – im Romanzyklus Chronicles of Narnia [Die Chroniken von Narnia] von C. S. Lewis sowie in den Romanen The Witches [Hexen Hexen] von Roald Dahl und The Amber Spyglass [Das Bernstein-Teleskop] von Philip Pullman – erörtert. Sowohl im Narnia-Zyklus als auch im Roman Hexen Hexen werden diese Frauengestalten auf eine vereinfachte, stereotype und negative Weise als Verkörperung des Bösen dargestellt, die die Stabilität einer ansonsten gut organisierten Gesellschaft bedrohen. Sie werden als ‚Abjekte’ dargestellt, die die Grenze zwischen Leben und Tod, dem Menschlichen und dem Unmenschlichen, dem Männlichen und dem Weiblichen, verwischen. Am Schluss beider Erzählwerke wird das Monströs- Feminine ausgegrenzt bzw. eliminiert, wobei diese als ‚Purifikation’ empfundene Aktion das Gefühl der Erleichterung und Zufriedenheit hervorruft. In Pullmans Werk dagegen werden Harpyien als Monster dargestellt, mit denen dennoch eine vernünftige Kommunikation möglich ist. Man verehrt sie als großzügige Wesen, weshalb man sie u.a. als „Sanfte Flügel“ bezeichnet. Obwohl darin der Versuch einer Wiederherstellung des positiven Begriffs vom Monströs-Femininen zu erblicken ist, spielen solche Gestalten jedoch nur eine – von der symbolischen Ordnung zugewiesene – zweitklassige Rolle, so dass das Stereotyp trotzdem erhalten bleibt

Delimit Imagination? A Comparison of Unabridged and Abridged Versions of Peter Pan

Adaptations of English literature have thrived in the last decade to cope with the ever-expanding market of teaching English. The reading public seems to endorse it as a pedagogic device to increase children’s interest in reading and improve their language. Whether it has increased language proficiency remains a matter of debate. Our main concern, however, is the cultivation interest in literature through abridgement and to impact young learners’ imagination. At first glance, abridgement seems to open the door to the world of the classics so that children may have first-hand experience of literature, yet to achieve its ultimate purpose one needs imagination vis-à-vis the reading text. Does the abridgement which favours less demanding verbal dexterity operate at the expense of children’s imagination?Pertaining to the question, we conducted a comparative study of J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan (1911), the unabridged version, and G. Clemen’s abridged version (2000), their contexts and lexicons, in particular the deletion of some famous lines and passages, the replacement of some significant expressions and, eventually, how all these impact children’s imagination. While it can be argued that the abridged text makes reading easier for learners, its characters have largely been flattened and the recurring theme of not growing up has been disparaged. The interplay of sexuality becomes banal. A visible example is the omission of the poignant start “All children, except one, grow up”.Our assertion is that abridgement should be executed and refined not only for the advantage of lightening the linguistic burden but, more importantly, of nurturing the imagination in the young minds. To unleash their imagination, light but purposeful and exuberant reading with a fine adjustment of authenticity and aesthetics is deemed necessary and beneficial. Ultimately, children will improve their language and develop a life-long interest in English literature

Transgressing the gender borders: the subversive re-inscription of Eve in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials

As a gendered rewriter and a gender boundary transgressor, Philip Pullman uses the Holy Bible as a “pre-text” (Stephen and McCallum 1998: 2) when writing His Dark Materials (1995 – 2000). He boldly challenges the masculine discourse in the Bible, crossing the oppressive and insufficient gender boundary propagated in the Book of Genesis. With the objective to examine how Pullman breaks down gender boundaries, in this paper I will first re-read the creation story of Genesis of the Holy Bible and discuss Eve’s sexist portrayal. Then, I will compare the traditional, biased representation of Eve with the portrayal of the new and perfected Eve, namely the female protagonist – Lyra Belacqua in Pullman’s His Dark Materials. Through examining the re-inscription of Eve (as well as Adam) in Pullman’s re-version, the paper will reveal ways in which stereotypical gender implications are played out in the Holy [email protected] Wing Bo Tso, PhD, is a lecturer in English and Applied Linguistics who teaches postgraduate and undergraduate courses at the Open University of Hong Kong. Her research interests include language arts, children’s fantasy, gender studies and translation studies. She has published articles in various refereed journals, including The International Journal of Early Childhood, Libri & Liberi: Journal of Research on Children’s Literature and Culture, and SPECTRUM: NCUE Studies in Language, Literature, Translation and Interpretation.The Open University of Hong Kong2294

Darstellung des Monströs-Femininen in ausgewählten Werken von C. S. Lewis, Roald Dahl und Philip Pullman

This paper examines the representation of female antagonists in three popular children’s books – C. S. Lewis’s Narnia books, Roald Dahl’s The Witches, and Philip Pullman’s The Amber Spyglass – by referencing Kristeva’s theory of abjection and Creed’s discussion of the monstrous-feminine. In both the Narnia series and The Witches, female antagonists are simplified, stereotyped and negatively portrayed as evil figures that threaten the stability of a well-ordered community. They are represented as the abject that blurs the borderlines between life and death, human and non-human, masculine and feminine. At the end of both narratives, the monstrous-feminine is ejected, eliminated, and the ‘purification’ brings relief and a vengeful pleasure. In Pullman’s book, the harpies are represented as monsters that can be reasoned with. They are honoured as generous and “Gracious Wings”. Yet, while the attempt of positive reinvention of the monstrous-feminine is noticeable, they play only a secondary role acknowledged by the symbolic order – the monstrous-feminine stereotype is nevertheless perpetuated.Rad istražuje načine prikazivanja ženskih likova u ulozi protivnika u trima popularnim književnim pripovijedima za djecu – u ciklusu Chronicles of Narnia [Kronike iz Narnije] C. S. Lewisa te u romanima The Witches [Vještice] Roalda Dahla i The Amber Spyglass [Jantarni dalekozor] Philipa Pullmana – pozivajući se na teoriju abjekcije Julije Kristeve i na raspravu o čudovišno-ženskom Barbare Creed. I u ciklusu o Narniji i u romanu Vještice, ženski su protivnički likovi pojednostavljeni, stereotipni i negativno okarakterizirani kao zle figure koje prijete stabilnosti dobro organiziranoga društva. Prikazane su kao abjekti koji nejasnima čine granice između života i smrti, ljudskoga i ne-ljudskoga, muškoga i ženskoga. Na kraju obiju pripovijedi čudovišno-žensko se izbacuje, eliminira, a ‘pročišćenje’ donosi olakšanje i osvetničko zadovoljstvo. U Pullmanovoj su knjizi harpije prikazane kao čudovišta s kojima se može razborito razgovarati. Časti ih se kao velikodušne i imenom „Dobrohotna Krila.“ Pa ipak, premda je uočljiv pokušaj ponovnoga uspostavljanja pozitivnoga pojma čudovišno-ženskoga, takvi likovi igraju tek drugorazrednu ulogu koju im nameće simbolički poredak, a stereotip se ipak i dalje održava.Anknüpfend an die Abjektionstheorie von Julia Kristeva und an die Diskussion über das Monströs-Feminine bei Barbara Creed werden in diesem Beitrag die Darstellungsweisen der Frauengestalten als Kontrahentinnen in drei populären kinderliterarischen Erzählwerken – im Romanzyklus Chronicles of Narnia [Die Chroniken von Narnia] von C. S. Lewis sowie in den Romanen The Witches [Hexen Hexen] von Roald Dahl und The Amber Spyglass [Das Bernstein-Teleskop] von Philip Pullman – erörtert. Sowohl im Narnia-Zyklus als auch im Roman Hexen Hexen werden diese Frauengestalten auf eine vereinfachte, stereotype und negative Weise als Verkörperung des Bösen dargestellt, die die Stabilität einer ansonsten gut organisierten Gesellschaft bedrohen. Sie werden als ‚Abjekte’ dargestellt, die die Grenze zwischen Leben und Tod, dem Menschlichen und dem Unmenschlichen, dem Männlichen und dem Weiblichen, verwischen. Am Schluss beider Erzählwerke wird das Monströs- Feminine ausgegrenzt bzw. eliminiert, wobei diese als ‚Purifikation’ empfundene Aktion das Gefühl der Erleichterung und Zufriedenheit hervorruft. In Pullmans Werk dagegen werden Harpyien als Monster dargestellt, mit denen dennoch eine vernünftige Kommunikation möglich ist. Man verehrt sie als großzügige Wesen, weshalb man sie u.a. als „Sanfte Flügel“ bezeichnet. Obwohl darin der Versuch einer Wiederherstellung des positiven Begriffs vom Monströs-Femininen zu erblicken ist, spielen solche Gestalten jedoch nur eine – von der symbolischen Ordnung zugewiesene – zweitklassige Rolle, so dass das Stereotyp trotzdem erhalten bleibt

Phonological and Orthographic Processing of Chinese Characters in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan

Chinese, a non-alphabetic language, is composed of characters made up of strokes and radicals. Unlike English, there are no grapheme-phoneme rules in Chinese. However, there are some orthographic-phonological rules related to the phonetic radical which could give some degree of phonological information to the character. Chinese characters are used in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The type of character used and the instruction methods are different in these places. China uses simplified characters while Hong Kong and Taiwan use traditional characters. Children in China and Taiwan learn to use a phonetic system before learning characters while Hong Kong children learn by rote. How do the three groups differ in their phonological and orthographic processes? Twenty-five adult participants from each place were compared on a series of phonological and orthographic tasks. The phonological tasks included reading aloud real and pseudo-characters. The orthographic tasks included radical-completion tasks and a lexical decision task. It was found that the three groups shared the same central processing patterns and their differences could be explained by the different types of characters used and the absence or presence of a phonetic script. Two important characteristics of the component radical were identified: its type frequency and its sequence effects. The type frequency suggested the influence of its neighbours and the sequence effect suggested a writing sequence influence. Prelim~nary modifications to the existing lnteractiveactivation framework and the Interactive Constituency Model were attempted to illustrate how the component radicals might be represented in the mental lexicon. Theoretical implications and further research were discussed in the domain of developmental studies with both normal and disordered populations

Federated Block Coordinate Descent Scheme for Learning Global and Personalized Models

In federated learning, models are learned from users' data that are held private in their edge devices, by aggregating them in the service provider's "cloud" to obtain a global model. Such global model is of great commercial value in, e.g., improving the customers' experience. In this paper we focus on two possible areas of improvement of the state of the art. First, we take the difference between user habits into account and propose a quadratic penalty-based formulation, for efficient learning of the global model that allows to personalize local models. Second, we address the latency issue associated with the heterogeneous training time on edge devices, by exploiting a hierarchical structure modeling communication not only between the cloud and edge devices, but also within the cloud. Specifically, we devise a tailored block coordinate descent-based computation scheme, accompanied with communication protocols for both the synchronous and asynchronous cloud settings. We characterize the theoretical convergence rate of the algorithm, and provide a variant that performs empirically better. We also prove that the asynchronous protocol, inspired by multi-agent consensus technique, has the potential for large gains in latency compared to a synchronous setting when the edge-device updates are intermittent. Finally, experimental results are provided that corroborate not only the theory, but also show that the system leads to faster convergence for personalized models on the edge devices, compared to the state of the art.Comment: 31 pages, 5 figures. Codes available at this url {https://github.com/REIYANG/FedBCD}. To appear in AAAI 202