The thesis is arranged in three parts. Part One is a survey of the known facts concerning the Ku chin hsiao shuo collection and its compiler, Feng Meng-lung. The intention in Part Two is to further knowledge of the history of colloquial Chinese fiction. Evidence is assembled anti evaluated which relates to the probable periods of composition of the various stories, and to the extent to which they were rexised for publication in the collection. On the basis of the evidence examined, distinctions are made between stories belonging to an oral tradition and originating in the Sung period; stories written or re-written during the Ming period in pursuance of the same tradition; and stories which have closer affinities with the purely written genres. The functions of the editor of the collection are held to have consisted of arrangement and commentary rather than of large-scale revision. Part Two concludes with a detailed description of the hua-pen story as a literary genre. In The third and major part of the thesis, the stories are classified according to subject-matter and criticized individually and in detail. Wherever possible, a description is given of the raw material used by the unknown author. Techniques are analyzed, and the stories evaluated and related to the main branches of Chinese fiction. It is shown that the stories of the highest merit are in general those of the greatest realism, and in particular those of the love and crime groups. Almost all the heroic stories are closely based on fact; they have their own conventions and points of merit. The supernatural is used, as a rule, for worthier ends than mere spine-chilling. In all cases where earlier versions exist, the stories of the collection represent an advance in the art of fiction.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

Longitudinal data refer to multiple observations collected on the same subject (or unit) over time. Zero-inflated data (containing many zeros) frequently occur, resulting in overdispersion in count data. Regression models used to analyze count data are often based on the Poisson and negative binomial (NB) distribution. The Poisson distribution is restrictive when count data are overdispersed; the regression model can, therefore, give inappropriate fits when the variability in the data is larger or smaller than the theoretical variance. These two cases are, respectively, referred to as overdispersion and underdispersion. The NB distribution handles overdispersed data better compared to the Poisson distribution, but not underdispersed data. Another problem with the NB distribution is that it does not accommodate heavy-tailed or highly skewed data well. In this study, the discrete Weibull (DW) and the zero-inflated DW (ZIDW) distributions are explored in a mixed model context that models the median using a Bayesian approach. In contrast, the conventional NB and ZINB mixed-effects regression models model the mean counts over time. Results from the four mixed-effects regression models are compared. It is observed that the Bayesian DW and ZIDW mixed-effects regression models are computationally competitive with the Bayesian NB and ZINB mixed-effects regression models concerning flexibility, implementation, and convergence speed. The DW and ZIDW models are found to be excellent choices to model highly skewed longitudinal count data. / Mini Dissertation (MSc (Advanced Data Analytics))--University of Pretoria, 2021. / NRF / Statistics / MSc (Advanced Data Analytics) / Unrestricted

No description available.

One of the cornerstones of the Cambodian literary canon is the verse novel Turn Teav. There are numerous versions of the story that cover all the major modes of creative expression in Cambodian culture. In addition to the literary and theatrical versions, the story also appears in different historical texts, as it is generally believed that the characters described in the story are based on actual people and events in Cambodian history. Despite Turn Teav's tremendous importance and popularity however, there are no studies that examine the extensive literary criticism on the text or the influence of the story in contemporary Cambodian culture and society. This work is an attempt to present an overview of the literary criticism on Turn Teav and provide the reader w ith an insight into the viewpoints of contemporary Cambodian writers and intellectuals on the major themes in the story. Chapter 1 discusses different versions of the story in various genres, including literary, historical, oral, theatrical, and film, in order to demonstrate the story's importance in Cambodian culture and society. Chapter 2 presents my revised translation of Turn Teav by Venerable Botumthera Som that was begun while completing my MA degree at Cornell. Venerable Botumthera Som's manuscript was completed in 1915 and is the best-known version of the story. 3 Chapter 3 examines different texts of literary criticism on Turn Teav, giving special attention to the controversy concerning the original author of the story. This chapter also discusses major themes in the story, namely traditional codes of conduct, abuse of power, and Justice, and uses various examples from Cambodian literature to illustrate them further. Chapter 4 concludes this work with an analysis of several interviews that I conducted with Cambodian writers and scholars concerning the major themes in the story. Particular attention is given to the influence of Turn Teav in Cambodian culture and society, especially the theme of justice in light of the pending trials of the former members of the Khmer Rouge for crimes of genocide.

With the increasing mobility of the Chinese to the West, there has been an increase in publication and popularity of literary works by ethnic Chinese writers living in the West. This thesis proposes to investigate the image of China and the West in ethnic Chinese writing focusing on autolbiographies and novels, and to explore the role of 'representation' in the diffusion of these texts, a topic that has not yet been systematically and substantially studied. Since ethnic Chinese writers are immigrants or descendants of immigrants who live in-between nations, cultures or languages, the representational issue is examined from both Western as well as Chinese standpoints, using theories developed by Michel Foucault, interpreted by Edward Said and Xiaomei Chen. Different representations of China and the West affect divergent, and often contradictory, receptions of these texts between Western audiences and Chinese readers. The thesis suggests that through negative depictions of China, ethnic Chinese bestsellers in the West concede to a Western positional superiority which assigns China to the position of culturally and politically inferior Other. This in turn often entails criticism of the West and a rejection of these books in China or in the ethnic Chinese community in the West.

No description available.