Open Silence: An Application of the Perennial Philosophy to Literary Creation is a dissertation that combines a creative component, which is a long, narrative poem, with a framing essay that is an exegesis on the creative component. The poem, entitled The Silence Inside the World, tells the story of four characters, an albino woman in a coma, an immortal wizard, a dead painter, and an unborn soul, as they strive to comprehend the bizarre, dream-like realm in which they find themselves. The narrative utilizes various metaphysical elements of the Perennial Philosophy for the creation of character, event and setting, and also uses the concept of Imagination as the power and place of creative endeavour. The poem comprises 8,170 lines of blank verse arranged in three-line stanzas, for a total of 62,816 words. The exegesis accompanying The Silence Inside the World explains the creative value to the writer of the philosophy underlying the work. It does this by examining the artistic and critical experiences arising out of the writing of the poem. The first half of the exegesis, entitled 'Intentions: Tzimtzum', explores the biographical background of the author, those influences not only on the motivation to write such a creative text, but also on the original desire to investigate such creativity and spirituality in the first place. It also examines those elements of the Perennial Philosophy felt necessary for incorporation into the creative component. The section then delineates the factors Harold Bloom considers necessary for the creation of strong work and considers how the intended creative project may fulfil these requirements. Finally, 'Intentions' presents those creative, mythic and symbolic 2 Word count includes title page and chapter titles. materials gleaned from the critical process that are likely to be prove useful for the creative component. The shorter, second half of the essay, entitled 'Reflections: Tikkun', examines the intricacies of the drafting process for the poem and for the thesis as a whole, as well as the lessons gathered from the project and its overall success. The section ends with suggestions for further work not only for the present author, but also for others, writers and critics alike. The full exegesis, which comprises the segments 'Introduction', 'Intentions: Tzimtzum', 'Reflections: Tikkun', and 'Conclusion', totals 37,077 words.

This study focuses on the development of the English for Architecture Program for architecture students at Chulalongkorn University. The research is set in the context of significant of change being made to the English for Architecture Program at Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. The study is based on a needs assessment within the Proactive Form of Evaluation as categorised by Owen, with Rogers (1999) and Owen (2006). The research was conducted in two phases: a research review and a needs assessment. Following an analysis of these phases, a policy for revised English for Architecture Program was developed. A research review was undertaken to determine current best practice in self-directed English language programs. The needs assessment, involving questionnaire surveys, consisted of three steps, using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The first involved determining the perceived needs of students prior to undertaking the English for Architecture Program; the second involved determining the desired needs of students following their exposure to an introductory English for Architecture Program; the third involved identifying the desired needs of teachers who teach the English for Architecture Program. A comparison of the quantitative outcomes of the surveys, using descriptive statistics, was undertaken in order to make a comparison between the three sets of responses. The issues that emerged – the role of students, learning style, materials, and assessment – were further investigated, using qualitative methods, by a series of semi-structured interviews undertaken with representative samples of students, and with experienced staff teaching the English for Architecture Program. The three sets of responses to the questionnaire, together with the issues that were discussed in the interviews, were used to determine the needs of a revised program. Finally, the needs were matched with the outcomes of the research review in order to provide the basis for a complete course revision. The findings of this study were validated by means of triangulation of the outcomes of the research: the needs assessment and semi-structured interviews undertaken with architecture students and teachers; the outcomes of the research review. The findings in the study indicate that teachers and students agreed that self-directed learning is an appropriate alternative way of teaching that can change the teaching and learning situation in the Thai context, and that such a change might help improve the efficiency in learning. The research has three significant outcomes: the development of a policy for revised English for Architecture Program for architecture students; a demonstration of the effectiveness of Proactive Evaluation in developing such policy; identification of key elements that are required for change in organisations.

This thesis is divided into two volumes, the creative work and the exegesis. The creative work, My ornament, is an Australian novel set in India. It explores - from a feminist perspective - issues of desire, subjectivity, agency and connection among three women and their moving, sexual bodies across time and space. In so doing, its aim is to place women at the centre of literary/critical discourse, emphasising connection rather than differences across cultures. The voices of the two main characters, Rachel and Muddupalani, alternate, cross over, merge and pull apart in the narrative that moves between the 18th and 20th centuries, Australia and India, with the third mythic woman, Radha, a textual presence in the poetry written by Muddupalani. The exegesis constructs an intellectual and fictional genealogy for the novel, situating it in a 21st century discursive space. While it is a work of Australian fiction - with an Australian author and protagonist - I suggest that it contributes to the following writing traditions: South Indian poetics and 18th century culture; Francophone women’s literary theory, in particular ecriture feminine; and notions of 'dancing desire'. This account of choreographing a fiction (of the self within a text) moves along intersecting planes through the liberatory spatio-temporal territory available in cultural nomadism and transnational feminist practice. Together, these two volumes create a new discursive space by linking seemingly disparate elements and fictional characters to create a region in which women - writing and dancing women - can connect and move freely across cultural and time zones; as heterosexual erotic beings, they articulate their desire and reflect it back through their art. It is recommended that the novel be read before the exegesis.

Univ., Diss. 2004 u.d.T.: Wittenauer, Volker: Die Sprache(n) der Hohenzollern (französisch, deutsch. englisch)--Freiburg (Breisgau), 2004. / Literaturverz. S. 311 - 337.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed Dec. 5, 2008). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 235-251).

Zugl.: München, Universität, Diss., 1993.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 1998. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 264-285). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 167-183).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 1999. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 218-235). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print.