<p> This study examined the motivational factors that lead East Asian backpacker tourists to choose backpacking, and whether the destination choices of East Asian backpackers vary by nationality.</p><p> A sample of 100 East Asian backpacker tourists who travelled to Yunnan, China was surveyed. Both male and female was surveyed from a variety of age, vocation and nationalities.</p><p> The results may shed light on the reasons why East Asian backpacker tourists want to participating in backpacking. Information of the study showed that East Asian backpacker tourists found many motivational factors to be important when seeking backpacking and these factors varied based on demographic characteristics. </p><p> Understanding the importance of relative motivational factors studied may help tourism service providers better understand East Asian backpacker tourists' motivations so to customize the various types of services for different backpacker tourists. The associated tourism services, such as transportation, food service, accommodations, and recreational activities, may also benefit from the research findings.</p><p> <i>Keywords:</i> backpacker tourists, backpacking, motivation, destination choice.</p>

This thesis attempts to evaluate the lending policy of Thailand's Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) from a developmental perspective. Firstly the question of access to institutional credit is examined in terms of the distribution of BAAC loans spatially and by the economic status of borrowers; secondly, the study uses the case study approach to analyse the farm-level effectiveness of three types of lending instrument a) short-term production loans, by scale of farming operation and access to irrigation (the "credit-only" model); b) short-term production loans with extension support (the credit extension model) and; c) long-term investment loans disbursed within the project framework (the project lending model). One of the case studies is drawn from the Central region and two from the Northeast. The results of the study indicate that for a variety of reasons, BAAC directs subsidised loans mainly towards the country's most agriculturally productive areas and most economically secure farmers. This orientation is long-established and is likely to have contributed to the problem of inequality in the distnbution of income and wealth in rural areas. Since 1975, institutional credit has been an important part of a government strategy to increase the flow of funds and provision of support services to the rural sector. The Bank has recruited large numbers of relatively poorer farmers. However, using farm-size as a measure of economic status shows that BAAC clients generally have larger farms than their neighbours. In the Northeastern region, the percentage of BAAC clients with farms below the median is only 11 per cent compared to 23 per cent for the Central and Eastern regions and 20 per cent country-wide. The bulk of loan disbursement is also directed towards medium- and large-scale farmers. Inter-provincial variations in the recruitment of and disbursement of loans to small-scale farmers, are explained in terms of varying strategies employed by branch managers to meet the terms and conditions of the Branch Evaluation Procedure, despite convincing evidence that repayment rates for this group are as good if not better than for larger-scale operators. Regardless of the Bank's economic orientation farm-level analyses of the effects of short-term borrowing show that production loans are most critical to and are used most effectively by small-scale farmers, particularly those in rainfed areas. At present, however, the farm-level effect of technical support, given in association with loans to small-scale farmers, though positive, is still weak. Improvement in the impact of the credit-extension model will depend on further development of the working relationship between BAAC and the Department of Agricultural Extension (DoAE). The effectiveness of long-term project loans, in terms of increasing the productive capacity and income-generating potential among smallscale farmers, is also limited. The challenge to the Bank is to develop projects that meet the Bank's criteria with regard to financial viability and also yield a good return to the borrower after loan repayment obligations have been met. The extent to which the BAAC can provide an equitable and effective service within the context of rural development policy as a whole, depends on active government intervention to prevent the erosion of the Bank's capital base, promotion of the type of interagency cooperation necessary to provide integrated support services to farmers, and prioritisation of planning for the small farm sector.

<p> This ethnographic study will analyze data collected through field-based observations, primary ritual texts, and locally conducted interviews of the yin-yang practitioners in the three small villages of Fanmagou, Qijiazhuang, and Wangdazhuang in northwestern China. The practice referred to as yin-yang in this region is part of an archaic folk religious system that can be traced back to at least the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). Despite its deep cultural roots, it is becoming endangered due to the impact of national policies (governing religion and culture) and the general adaptation to modernity in China. Due to the localized nature of this cultural system, the main research method used will be qualitative ethnographic description, with a Geertzian "thick description" approach to interpretive analysis. The collected data is roughly divided into three categories: (1) transcriptions of interviews with yin-yang practitioners and other local villagers; (2) video tapes, photographs, and field notes of local religious rituals, specifically memorial and burial rites that are led by the yin-yang practitioners, and (3) my own translations of yin-yang scriptural texts that are used in leading the rituals themselves, as well as for the teaching and training of young yin-yang apprentices. The interpretive ethnography that is produced from these rich primary sources will also be considered for its curriculum applications in two primary higher education contexts: 1) As a rich primary source for courses in Chinese culture and language&mdash;conducted in either Chinese or English language context, and 2) As a source of engaging and culturally relevant texts for courses in content-based ESOL for Chinese students (in China presumably).</p>

<p> My dissertation traces the genesis and growth of the Chinese emergency management organizational field over the ten-year period since the 2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak. I conducted my fieldwork in Beijing in 2012, using a multi-method approach that involved interviews, participant observation, and analysis of archival materials. </p><p> I found that governing elites and academic experts within the emerging field&mdash;what I call the "establishment"&mdash;relied upon insider cultural knowledge (e.g., myths) and party-state ideologies (e.g., communist folklore) to legitimize a new risk governance framework and create an emergency management policy domain separate from existing domains. The emergency management establishment enabled these legitimizing claims through its embedded position in government and academia. By using a strategy of <i>curation,</i> it carefully (re)assembled culturally-accepted accounts and ideas, both indigenous and adapted from afar, to create its claims. By becoming <i>institutional evangelists,</i> academic experts in particular entrenched the risk governance framework and propagated the ideas that helped form the field by advocating, advising, and training government officials through multiple field organizational entities. </p><p> By also incorporating Foucault's concept of governmentality, I found that the legitimacy project conducted by the establishment consisted of shaping the conduct of emergency management government officials according to its own risk governance framework. This expands current Foucauldian studies on governmentality by highlighting that not only the general population but also elites can be subjected to governmentalization. It also provides a more nuanced reading of the "hollowing of the state" thesis by highlighting how the Chinese party-state strengthened its role as the legitimate emergency manager by including the civil society and the private sector, albeit in lesser roles. </p><p> My findings draw attention to the foundational quality of cognitive legitimacy vis-&agrave;-vis pragmatic and moral legitimacy, an area which has received scant discussion in the neoinstitutional literature. It also informs the understudied topic of the interrelated influences of power relations, ideas, and experts on emerging organizational field formation within neoinstitutional theory, especially in a non-Western context. Finally, my research updates current understanding of national emergency management policies in the international arena, and especially in China.</p>

The main objective of this study is to examine to what extent, how and why gender issues influence the process of migration decision-making and social change through the combination of household relations and gender relations. The rationale underpinning this objective was that such changes have brought about considerable adjustments to livelihood strategies when faced with some social and economic constraints. There are two main themes to be investigated in this study: (1) to examine the interrelationships between household relations, gender relations and other external socio-economic factors in the framework of the process of migration decision-making, and (2) to examine the extent to which migration reversal and re-migration have acted as household coping strategies in different ways between male and female migrants during the current economic crisis in Thailand. With respect to the first theme, household relations, gender relations, and other external factors are examined in the specific context of migration decision- making, which are hypothesised to differ between male and female migrants. The analysis will examine the factors that have a genuine influence on migration decision-making, comparing factors internal to the household and external factors. These will be explored not only in connection with contemporary migration flows but also in relation to patterns of migration across time, through the collection of information on community histories and migration histories in the study areas. The focus will be on male and female migration, out- and return-migration, and migration reversal and re-migration. The second theme aims to investigate the rural household coping strategies that have been deployed in the context of the economic crisis in the light of patterns of migration reversal and re-migration. This is done in order to examine the gender dimension in the contemporary process of migration in relation to household economic constraints and also their responsiveness in the face of rapid social and economic change. Within these overall themes, the investigation emphasises the ways in which gender issues and social change interact with the migration decisions of individuals and households within the rural communities. Two key issues, namely the influence of household relations and gender relations on migration decision-making amongst migrants and other household members, are highlighted throughout the thesis.

The years immediately following the formation of Malaysia in May 1961, were an especially critical time in Brunei's political development. The key issues connected with the Malaysia proposal, namely the Brunei Revolt 1962, Brunei's refusal to join the Federation, Communist connections with the Party Rakyat Brunei (PRB), the claim to Limbang, foreign involvement in Brunei's internal politics and lastly, the British role in ensuring the survival of the Brunei Islamic State will be examined in depth. The main focus of this study is to trace the political development of Brunei from the announcement of the Malaysia Proposal in May 1961 by Tunku Abdul Rahman up to the abdication of Sultan Sir Omar Ali Saifuddien III in 1967. As background, the thesis also examines the proclamation of the Brunei Constitution in 1959. However, the implementation of the Constitution did not give sufficient power for the people to voice their opinions in the affitirs of the state. This led to the formation of a left-wing political party known as the Brunei People's Party or Party Rakyat Brunei in 1956. The PRB subsequently opposed any policies introduced by the government and demanded the introduction of full democracy in the state. This was the beginning of conflict between the people and the government in modem Brunei political history. The conflict intensified in 1961 when Tunku Abdul Rahman proclaimed the Federation of Malaysia comprising II Malayan States, Singapore, Sarawak, North Borneo and Brunei. The issue of whether or not to join the Federation posed a dilemma for Brunei. The situation worsened when the Sultan announced his decision to support the concept of Malaysia in principle in December 1961, whereas most of his subjects were opposed to it. As a result, a revolt broke out on 8th December 1962 led by the PRB. However, after the revolt the Sultan refused to join Malaysia, which resulted in him raising the claim to Limbang. In the meantime, the internal political conflict in Brunei intensified and led to the involvement of Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, the United Kingdom and Communist elements. The conflict spread beyond Brunei's borders and resulted in its involvement in the Malaysia- Indonesia Confrontation in 1963-1966. At the same time, the British also tried to push Brunei into the Federation of Malaysia between 1963-1966 in order to hasten its independence and to ensure the survival of the Sultanate. However, the Sultan was not interested in this idea and preferred to stay out of the Federation. Eventually, Sultan Omar Ali Saifaddien, who depended on the British for the survival of his Malay Islamic Monarchy, abdicated from the throne in 1967 in favour of his son, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Muzzaddien Waddaullah. Therefore, the concept of Malaysia and its formation had influenced the internal and external political development of Brunei in the period 1961-1967. Ultimately, however, Brunei has been able to sustain and maintain itself as a Malay Islamic Sultanate to the present day.

This thesis analyses the relationship between Indonesian nationalism and ASEAN regional integration, with specific reference to the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA). Traditionally, the relationship between nationalism and regionalism has most often been characterised as contentious. This thesis, however, challenges the argument that nationalism and regionalism cannot co-exist, and argues instead that the two ideologies can stand in a symbiotic relationship to each other. The relationship between nationalism and regionalism can be conflicting or mutually exclusive, but can also sometimes be mutually reinforcing. Therefore, nationalists today are not necessarily hostile to free trade and closer economic ties with other states. In 1992, members of ASEAN agreed to closer economic integration through the formation of AFTA. In principle, this agreement was made to increase the international competitiveness of ASEAN industries and to make the Southeast Asian region an attractive investment location. This thesis analyses the contemporary attitude of Indonesians towards this trade agreement. During the signing of this trade agreement, little opposition was expressed by Indonesian domestic actors because within Indonesian politics at the time Indonesian foreign economic policy was the business of the President, the Nfinistry of Foreign Affairs, the military, and a handful of members of the academic I community. The wave of democratisation that emerged as a result of the economic crisis of 1997 allowed for the greater involvement of domestic actors in determining Indonesian foreign economic policy. Although the majority of the Indonesian political elite remain supportive of AFTA, some Indonesian pressure groups, particularly non-governmental. organisations (NGOs) and civil society organisations (CSOs), have expressed their scepticism. Despite this, scepticism about AFTA is not a result of increased nationalist sentiment in Indonesia, but is due instead to the lack of proper information disseminated to these pressure groups. ii

This thesis attempts to contribute to the social history of Malaya, and of the Malay community within Malaya, in the all-important decade before the Second World War. The major source that it uses for this purpose is the Malay periodical Saudara, which was published in the Straits Settlement of Penang between 1928 and 1941. The thesis will show that, through the period of its publication, Saudara discussed at length within its pages the issues of Malay identity; the role of Islam, globally and within Malay society; the relationship between Malay adat and Islam; the role of Islamic scholars in Malay society; the question of the educational advancement of the Malays; race relations in Malaya; the establishment of the first Malay national association - Persaudaraan Sahabat Pena Malaya (Brotherhood of Pen Friends); the question of the implementation of Islamic law; the status of women; and the developing world-crisis of the pre-war period, and its implications for Malaya. It will, in other words, help to illuminate the development of Malay social, political and religious thinking in a crucial period of transition in Malay society, and will strengthen the argument that Malay nationalism did not 'suddenly' emerge as a consequence of the stresses of the Second World War, but was already taking shape in the inter-war period. It will furthermore show that parts of the Malay elite, at least, had an ambiguous attitude towards the British role as 'protector' of the Malay community in Malaya, and that a 'loyalist' attitude towards Britain need not conflict with a fundamentally nationalist perspective. The thesis is an extension in depth of an area of Malay intellectual and social history that was initially opened up by W. R. Roff. Post-Roff scholarship has tended to concentrate on the earlier Malay-Islamic periodicals, and on the mainly Islamic issues raised in these periodicals. This thesis concentrates on a later Islamic periodical which had a longer run, and concerned itself with all aspects of Malay life at the time.

There are nine chapters in the present study. Chapter one consists of the introduction. Chapters two to four contain brief surveys of the sources from which the present study draws much of its primary information. Chapter five details the changes in the administration of maritime trade in China, and the impact that it had on the role of maritime trade in the Chinese economy and on Chinese maritime trade practices. Chapter six focuses on the Malacca Straits region's maritime state-level diplomatic and trade exchanges with China, against the backdrop of changes in China's view and administration of maritime trade. Chapter seven examines the general trends that occurred in the trade in Malacca Straits region products to China. Chapter eight details the developments in the trade of key categories of Chinese products to the Malacca Straits region, and examines the changing patterns of the Chinese products trade at the regional and sub-regional levels. Chapter nine serves as the conclusion, drawing together the strands of information in the preceding chapters, and providing an overview of the changing patterns of trade between the two regions over a period of four centuries.

No description available.