Reperfusion after global brain ischemia results initially in a widespread suppression of protein synthesis in neurons, which persists in vulnerable neurons, that is caused by the inhibition of translation initiation as a result of the phosphorylation of the a-subunit of eukaryotic initiation factor 2 (eIF2a). To identify kinases responsible for eIF2a phosphorylation [eIF2a(P)] during brain reperfusion, we induced ischemia by bilateral carotid artery occlusion followed by post-ischemic assessment of brain eIF2a(P) in mice with homozygous functional knockouts in the genes encoding the heme-regulated eIF2a kinase (HRI), or the amino acidregulated eIF2a kinase (GCN2). A 10-fold increase in eIF2a(P) was observed in reperfused wild-type mice and in the HRI±/± or GCN2±/± mice. However, in all reperfused groups, the RNA-dependent protein kinase (PKR)-like endoplasmic reticulum eIF2a kinase (PERK) exhibited an isoform mobility shift on SDS±PAGE, consistent with the activation of the kinase. These data indicate that neither HRI nor GCN2 are required for the large increase in post-ischemic brain eIF2a(P), and in conjunction with our previous report that eIF2a(P) is produced in the brain of reperfused PKR±/± mice, provides evidence that PERK is the kinase responsible for eIF2a phosphorylation in the early post-ischemic brain.

The popularization of microblogging in China represents a new challenge to the state’s regime of information control. The speed with which information is diffused in the microblogosphere has helped netizens to publicize and express their discontent with the negative consequences of economic growth, income inequalities and official corruption. In some cases, netizen-led initiatives have facilitated the mobilization of online public opinion and forced the central government to intervene to redress acts of lower level malfeasance. However, despite the growing corpus of such cases, the government has quickly adapted to the changing internet ecology and is using the same tools to help it maintain control of society by enhancing its claims to legitimacy, circumscribing dissent, identifying malfeasance in its agents and using online public opinion to adapt policy and direct propaganda efforts. This essay reflects on microblogging in the context of the Chinese internet, and argues that successes in breaking scandals and mobilizing opinion against recalcitrant officials should not mask the reality that the government is utilizing the microblogosphere to its own advantage.

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Social networks and the internet both have a substantial individual effect on environmental activism in China. In this article, we speculate that social linking patterns between environmental actors, which often facilitate activism on the ground, may also exist in cyberspace in the form of an online network. The article addresses the following empirical questions. Does such an online network exist? If so, who are the constituent actors? Are these the same actors observed on the ground? In addressing these questions the article aims to contribute to the growing debate on the implications of the internet for the potential emergence of social movements in China.

Chen Shui-bian achieved an international reputation for his promotion of Taiwan independence. Whilst that reputation may have been well earned, the analyses on which this conclusion is based are frequently flawed in two ways. First, by using an undifferentiated notion of independence, they tend to conflate sovereignty with less threatening expressions of Taiwanese identity and pro-democracy discourse. Second, by failing to take into account the impact of immediate strategic context, analysts ignore a fundamental element of democratic political communication. In our empirical analysis of more than 2,000 of Chen's speeches, we seek to avoid both flaws by unpacking the concept of independence and taking into account Chen's strategic relationship with his primary audiences. Our findings challenge popular portrayals of Chen, but more importantly they have strong implications for policy makers and students of political rhetoric with regard to current and future ROC presidents.

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This article examines the mobilization of football in relation to Chinese state building projects. Pierre Bourdieu's concept of 'symbolic power' is applied to frame policy analysis of China's 2016-2050 National Football Plan and narrative analysis of developments within China's rapidly expanding football sector. The extensive mobilization of national, provincial and local government institutions forms spaces for civic participation in state-building projects through direct participation in football. These civic spaces allow for active citizenship engagement with state projects and for expressions of consensus and participation with the Chinese Dream while also limiting potential for competing cultural movements to emerge. This paper argues that such developments are driven primarily for socio-political objectives with the aim of fostering shared notions of citizenship through the medium of sport.

This article examines the mobilization of football in relation to Chinese state-building projects. Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of “symbolic power” is applied to frame policy analysis of China’s 2016-2050 National Football Plan and narrative analysis of developments within China’s rapidly expanding football sector. The extensive mobilization of national, provincial, and local government institutions forms spaces for civic participation in state-building projects through direct participation in football. These civic spaces allow for active citizenship engagement with state projects and for expressions of consensus and participation with the Chinese Dream while also limiting potential for competing cultural movements to emerge. This article argues that such developments are driven primarily for socio-political objectives with the aim of fostering shared notions of citizenship through the medium of sport.