Thesis (M.Phil.)--Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 71-74). Also available in electronic version.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Nevada, Reno, 2005. / "May 2005." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 125-134). Online version available on the World Wide Web. Library also has microfilm. Ann Arbor, Mich. : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [2005]. 1 microfilm reel ; 35 mm.

Name of Thesis: Research on the political participation of the Aboriginal Tribes, Taking Taiwu Hsiang for Example Type of Program in School: Special Master Program of the Graduate School of Politics of National Sun Yat-sen University Time of Graduation and Type of Synopsis: Synopsis of Master Degree Thesis for the Second Semester of Academic Year 2001 Graduate: HO, Hsin-An Counseling Professor: Professor TSENG, Yi-jen Contents of Thesis Synopsis: Among the aboriginal tribes in Taiwan, the Paiwan Tribe owns not only their typical social systems and abundant cultural art, but a set of refined traditional political systems. For the first time, substantial change took place on the traditional political system of the aboriginal tribe in Taiwu Hsiang, Pingtung County during the Japanese Occupancy Period when it accepted the political operation of the Japanese police. Secondly, after Taiwan was restored by the National Government, the democratic politics was taken into effect. The KMT Party attained their object to take control of the Taiwu Hsiang by way of the election and eroded and disintegrated the basis of its traditional political system. The research of this thesis strives to explore the local politics of the aboriginal tribes in Taiwu Hsiang in terms of the historical development of the aboriginal tribe¡¦s participation in politics in Taiwu Hsiang, its internal and external environment. This thesis is mainly composed of five special articles on ¡§Research on the political participation of the Aboriginal Tribes, Taking Taiwu Hsiang for Example¡¨. Its focus is concurrently put on historical and future way of thinking; its scope of dissertation includes as possibly as it can the traditional and modern development of the political participation in Taiwu Hsiang and all subject matters of the relevant topic research. Chapter I is an introduction, discussing the research motivation of this thesis, the research objective, the research scope, and the research method and structure. Chapter II concerns ¡§the historical development of the political participation in Taiwu Hsiang¡¨, designed to understand the historical development and change of the Taiwu Hsiang aboriginal tribe¡¦s participation in politics all the way from the Japanese Occupancy Period through the time when the martial restriction was released in Taiwan up to date. Chapter III, the Internal Environment of the Development of the Taiwu Hsiang¡¦s Political Participation, investigates an overview of the changes of such internal scenario as the traditional political system, political culture and the local segments in Taiwu Hsiang. Chapter IV relates to the external environment of the Taiwu Hsiang¡¦s political participation and development, mainly exploring the political operation of the KMT Party and Democratic Progress Party as well as the analysis on the tendency of the Taiwu Hsiang¡¦s political participation and development and the significance it suggests. Chapter V is the conclusion which brings forward the synthetic viewpoints and theoretical implication of the Taiwu Hsiang¡¦s political participation and development under the influence of the transition of the traditional political system, evolution of the internal environment and the external surroundings. In the meantime, it proposes the suggestions based on the future research prospect. Key word¡GAboriginal¡Fpolitical participation¡Fpolitical culture¡Fpolitical party.

This dissertation develops and empirically tests a theory of political participation that posits that the local economic context moderates the effects of individuals’ socioeconomic status by influencing their prospective financial outlooks. These perceptions, in turn, affect individuals’ likelihood of engaging in various political activities. I examine the theory using indicators of economic vitality and status both for the entire population and for racial and ethnic group-specific economic conditions. This two-pronged approach allows me to assess the extent to which group-specific conditions are more salient for minority group members than are more traditional contextual (full population) measures that reflect the economic status of the entire population. Thus, such questions as whether blacks’ financial outlooks are influenced more by the visibility of black-owned businesses or by the total visibility of business activity are addressed. Hypotheses are tested using the 1992 National Election Study, the 1995 Texas Minority Survey, and economic data collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, 1992 Economic Census. Results indicate that the financial perceptions of blacks and Latinos are significantly related to levels of political activity while the financial outlooks of Asians and whites are not significantly related to their political activity.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Open University. BLDSC no. DX222333.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--UCLA, 2009. / Vita. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 334-354).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Notre Dame, 2004. / Thesis directed by David Soloman and Paul J. Weithman for the Department of Philosophy. "January 2004." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 312-314).

No description available.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate if the political participation has increased in practice for the former excluded indigenous people in Bolivia during the Morales administration and with the establishment of a new constitution, in order to see whether democracy has been deepened in the country or not. The thesis is carried out with a case study design and material consists mainly of qualitative interviews with different indigenous organizations and NGOs, as well as previous research on the area. The theoretical framework is based on dimensions on participation in where the three areas of inclusion, spaces for participation and influence are examined in order to investigate the purpose. The thesis argues that the political participation has not increased for all of the different indigenous groups, but for some; the smaller indigenous groups in the lowland have not experienced an increased political participation, whilst the three biggest indigenous groups, Aymara and Quechua in the highland, and Guaraní in the lowland, feel that their political participation has increased. Since some indigenous groups have experienced change and an increased political participation it is argued that the democracy has been deepened to a small degree.

Situated between the state and civil society, the role of the public sphere is seen to be one of mediating between the two through the circulation of information, ideas, and the subsequent formation and propagation of public opinion. However, there is an ambivalence within conceptions of the public sphere in terms of how it is to best effect this mediation. This sense of ambiguity in the understandings of the public sphere is a reflection of a deeply rooted and unresolved tension about whether democracy should mean some kind of popular power or an aid to decision-making. This dissertation argues that defining democracy as a political method provides a means by which to navigate the ambiguity imbued within current understandings of the function of the public sphere. Understanding democracy as a public, instrumental process underscores the extent to which the character of the public sphere should be seen as being derived from and shaped by the institutions and practices that make up the state. Of all the institutions within the public sphere, it is within perceptions of the media that the conceptual tensions underlying the public sphere and democratic theory are best reflected. While the media are a major forum for political communication, the nature of this forum remains theoretically underdeveloped and conceptually misconceived in the literature. It is the contention of this dissertation that the political role of the media should not be understood in relation to some abstract idea of democracy and public opinion, but rather in contrast with and connection to the concrete political institutions and practices of democracy.