This study employs Butler's concept of
to unpack how non-elite Chinese university academic women negotiate gender identities under the influence of the wider social discourses around gender in their ...institutional context.
The study includes two empirical investigations of (i) semi-structured interviews and (ii) photovoice interviews with six women academics from six different non-elite Chinese universities.
We found that most interviewees tended to value their teacher identity and meanwhile downplay their researcher identity in the professional field; while in the private field, they paid more attention to their mother identity at the cost of downplaying their career development. The study also reveals that, in the process of gender negotiation, the interviewees commonly adopted two strategies: (i) creating space and time for identity performance, and (ii) persuading with selves to accept multiple identities. This article contributes to the understanding of Chinese academic women in non-elite public universities from a Butlerian perspective.
This study employs a holistic and indigenous theoretical model called Whare Tapa Rima to examine the project-based learning (PBL) experiences of Asian students in a private training establishment, ...the W institution, at the tertiary level in New Zealand. The analysis shows that Asian students face challenges in their PBL journey in physical, cultural, interconnected emotional and intellectual, social, and spiritual dimensions. Implications from the research analysis may be considered about how to provide better support and international services to Asian students involved in PBL programs worldwide by adopting the responsive, theory-informed framework of the Whare Tapa Rima Model.
The outbreak of COVID-19 had a profound impact on the practice of university leadership in China. This study employs a case study as the research method, interviewing five Heads of the Departments ...from the Z University in China to examine the challenges to leadership in Chinese universities during the COVID-19 pandemic and explores effective countermeasures. Research findings reveal that the challenges they faced manifested in the government's closed management requirements and the students' demands for freedom of entry and exit, the dynamic and flexible disciplinary development and the rigid teaching evaluation, and big data-enabled governance and the habit of human experience-oriented management. In response to these challenges, this study proposes suggestions for the Z University leaders in the post-pandemic era: establishing rules and regulations with a relaxed degree, tolerating ambiguity in online teaching, improving the ability of intelligent technology, and taking opportunities to learn.
In seed plants, the ovule is the precursor to the seed. The process of ovule development and differentiation is regulated by multiple factors, including starch metabolism and endogenous hormones. ...Castanea henryi produces nuts with high nutritional value. However, the high proportion of empty buds restricts the commercial use of the tree. Previous studies have shown that the empty bud phenotype is closely related to ovule abortion. If none of the ovules in the ovary expand rapidly and develop in 7-8 weeks after pollination, an empty bud will form. Therefore, we studied the development and molecular mechanisms underlying single seed formation in C. henryi.
We found that 49 days after pollination (DAP) is a critical period for the formation of fertile and abortive ovules. The morphology and starch distribution of the fertile and abortive ovules differed significantly at 49 DAP. The fertile ovules were smooth and round in appearance, with a large amount of starch. In contrast, abortive ovules were smaller with only a small amount of starch. The embryo sac of the abortive ovule proceeded to develop abnormally, and the entire ovule lacked starch. We identified 37 candidate genes involved in metabolism with potential roles in the regulation of starch levels. Three ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (AGPase) genes, one granule-bound starch synthase (GBSS) gene, and two beta-amylase genes could affect starch accumulation. The levels of auxin, cytokinins, gibberellins, and jasmonic acid in fertile ovules were higher than those in abortive ovules. In addition, the levels of endogenous abscisic acid and salicylic acid in abortive ovules were higher than those in fertile ovules of the same age, consistent with the expression patterns of genes related to the synthesis of abscisic and salicylic acid and signal transduction. We identified and mapped the differentially expressed genes associated with hormone synthesis and signal transduction.
These results improve our general understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying single seed development in C. henryi and the phenomenon of empty buds, providing directions for future research.
Castanea henryi
is a monoecious woody food tree species whose yield and industrialization potential are limited by its low female-to-male flower ratio. Here, the male flowers on the male ...inflorescence of
C. henryi
were converted to female flowers by triple applications of exogenous cytokinin (CK) (N-(2-chloro-4-pyridyl)-N’-phenylurea, CPPU). To study the role of exogenous CK in flower sex determination, cytological and transcriptomic analyses were performed on samples from the five stages after CK treatment. Cytological analysis showed that stage 3 (nine days after the last CK treatment) was the critical stage in the differential development of the pistil primordium and stamen primordium. On this basis, one key module and two modules with significant positive correlations with stage 3 were identified by weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), combined with transcriptome data. The CK and GA biosynthesis- and signaling-related genes, three transcription factor (TF) families, and 11 floral organ identity genes were identified in the related modules. In particular, the TFs
WRKY47
,
ERF021
, and
MYB4
, and floral organ identity genes
AGL11
/
15
,
DEF
, and
SEP1
with large differences are considered to be critical regulators of sex determination in
C. henryi
. Based on these results, a genetic regulatory network for exogenous CK in the sex determination of flowers in
C. henryi
is proposed. This study contributes to the understanding of the role of CK in the sex regulation of flowers and provides new insights into the regulatory network of sex determination in
C. henryi.
The Curriculum Design Coherence Model (CDC Model) was created as a universal curriculum design method to connect disciplinary knowledge to teachers’ expertise in a bid to promote professional ...teaching and learning. However, research into how the CDC Model has been adopted and localized in the Chinese educational context is scarce. This article focuses on the application and impact of the CDC Model on the resulting teaching practices in China’s Early Childhood Education (ECE) settings. The data collected through a focus group discussion with 21 teachers from a model kindergarten at the municipal level in China reveals that the CDC Model has increased the teachers’ professionalism by promoting their curriculum initiative, forging curriculum knowledge orientation, strengthening the conceptual structure within the kindergarten-developed curriculum, and enhancing the coordination between the curricula of the different courses offered by the kindergarten. This positive influence has also helped the teachers bridge their disagreement on curriculum content and pedagogy and overcome some difficulties in using the CDC Model. The study has implications for revitalizing the value of disciplinary knowledge and for viewing ECE teachers as active professional agents in ECE curriculum design and teaching.
Polymer materials have broad potential applications for saving water and increasing crop yields in irrigated agricultural systems. However, little is known about how polymers affect the distribution ...and transformation of soil organic carbon. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of humic acid (H) (an alkali extract of cottonseed meal), modified polymer (P) (a mixture of anionic polyacrylamide, polyvinyl alcohol, and manganese sulfate), and composite polymer (HP) (a 1:1 mixture of H and P) applied with drip irrigation on soil aggregate stability and organic carbon stability. The results demonstrated that the H and P treatments significantly increased soil aggregate stability and organic carbon content, compared with the HP treatment. Compared with the controls for corpped soils (CK) and uncorpped soils (CK-NP), the DR0.25 (>0.25 mm soil mechanical-stable aggregate), W-MWD (mean weight diameter of water stable aggregate), and W-GMD (geometric mean diameter of water stable aggregate) of the H treatment increased by 3.9%, 33.1%, and 23.2%, respectively (p < 0.05); the WR0.25 (>0.25 mm soil water stable aggregate), W-MWD, and W-GMD of the H-NP treatment (H treatment for uncorpped soils) increased by 44.7%, 38.0%, and 37.6%, respectively (p < 0.05); the WR0.25 and W-GMD of the P treatment increased by 29.8% and 26.8%, respectively (p < 0.05); and the W-GMD of the P-NP treatment (P treatment for uncorpped soils) increased by 16.5% (p < 0.05). Although the HP treatment also increased the organic carbon content of soil aggregates, it was less effective for improving soil aggregate stability. During the first 20 days of incubation, the mineralisation rate of the CK was the highest. Then, the mineralisation rates for the H and HP treatments increased more rapidly than that of the CK (p < 0.05), with increases of 27.6% and 54.4%, respectively. Results from field experiments (soil microbial biomass carbon content) supported this result. Compared with the CK, the H and P treatments rapidly increased soil labile organic carbon (LOC). The LOC content for the H treatment was 28.9% and 21.6% higher than that of the CK after 30 and 90 days, respectively (p < 0.05), whereas the LOC content for the P treatment was 32.8% and 20.2% higher than that of the CK after 60 and 90 days, respectively (p < 0.05). Redundancy analyses revealed that cultivation vs fallow treatments affected how polymer materials transform soil organic carbon. Cultivation allowed humic acid to improve soil aggregate mechanical-stability, promoting microbial decomposition of carbon and increasing organic carbon content. Modified polymer improved soil aggregate water-stability and reduced aggregate destruction, increasing the proportion of soil organic carbon that can be easily oxidised.
•Humic acid and modified polymers could increase soil aggregate stability.•Three polymers suppressed soil organic carbon mineralisation in the early stage.•The sustained release time of the modified polymer was longer than that of humic acid.•Polymers increased soil organic carbon fractions by improving soil aggregates stability.
Plants regulate responses to salt stress using biological pathways, such as signal perception and transduction, photosynthesis, and energy metabolism. Little is known about the genetics of salt ...tolerance in Rosa chinensis. Tineke and Hiogi are salt-tolerant and salt-sensitive varieties of R. chinensis, respectively, and are good choices for studying salt-tolerance genes. We studied leaf and root tissues from 1-year-old Hiogi and Tineke plants simultaneously grown under the same conditions. A 0.4%-mmol/L salt ion mixture was added to the basic growth medium. Illumina sequencing was used to identify differentially expressed transcripts. GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses were performed to identify differentially expressed genes. We identified many differentially expressed genes associated with salt tolerance. The abscisic acid-dependent signaling pathway was the main pathway that mediated the salt stress response in R. chinensis. Two pathways (plant hormone signal transduction and glutathione metabolism) were also active in salt stress responses in R. chinensis. The difference in salt tolerance in the cultivars was due to different gene sensitivity to salt in these two pathways. Roots also play a role in salt stress response. The effects of salt stress in the roots are eventually manifested in the leaves, causing changes in processes such as photosynthesis, which eventually result in leaf wilting. In Tineke, Snrk2, ABF, HSP, GSTs, and GSH1 showed high activity during salt stress, indicating that these genes are markers of salt tolerance.
With the continuous development of automation technology, the teaching of automation technology in colleges and universities currently plays an important role. For example, in the process of ...automated welding practice, students are required to complete the practical hands-on ability of automated welding technology through the orderly teaching, and master the relevant theories of automated welding technology.
Egocentric distance perception has been widely concerned by researchers in the field of spatial perception due to its significance in daily life. The frame of perception involves the perceived ...distance from an observer to an object. Over the years, researchers have been searching for an optimal way to measure the perceived distance and their contribution constitutes a critical aspect of the field. This paper summarizes the methodological findings and divides the measurement methods for egocentric distance perception into three categories according to the behavior types. The first is Perceptional Method, including successive equal-appearing intervals of distance judgment measurement, verbal report, and perceptual distance matching task. The second is Directed
Method, including blind walking, blind-walking gesturing, blindfolded throwing, and blind rope pulling. The last one is Indirect
Method, including triangulation-by-pointing and triangulation-by-walking. In the meantime, we summarize each method's procedure, core logic, scope of application, advantages, and disadvantages. In the end, we discuss the future concerns of egocentric distance perception.
PDF
