This study examines the theoretical and practical tensions and contradictions of multiculturalism in Taiwan. It combines cultural theory, cultural studies, and cultural policy to explore how western theories of multiculturalism can been practised in Taiwan's experience, and discuss the development of cultural policy in Taiwan. Based on its unique history, Taiwanese society is struggling with two problems. One is the lack of common national identity. The clash between Chinese identity and Taiwanese identity has led to other conflicts within the whole society. The other problem is related to inequality among the various cultural communities, which has created a crisis in political legitimacy and social justice. In response to these challenges multiculturalism has become an important influence in cultural policy in Taiwan, and 'multicultural Taiwan' is constructed as a new national identity. Because of the contradictory aspirations of homogeneous national identity and recognition of cultural differences three major challenges are posed by the emergence of multiculturalism in Taiwan. The first is related to national identity. Under the name of 'multicultural Taiwan', the government is seeking to construct a more complex, multifaceted and sustainable version of Taiwanese culture capable of mediating between the diversity and conflicts arising from ethnicity. However, multiculturalism, which is based on the recognition of various ethnic identities, also leads to tension between an integrative national identity and separate ethnic identities. The second challenge is related to cultural policy, which shows the tensions between integration and separation, between individual rights and collective rights in cultural policy. The third challenge is related to citizenship in Taiwan. The new concept of multicultural citizenship demands the acknowledgement of more rights, such as collective rights, cultural rights, minority rights and global citizenship, in defiance of the traditional views of citizenship based on civil, political and social rights, and national boundaries. Three case studies have been selected to reflect each issue: the Taiwanese aborigines, the Hakkas and migrant workers. By considering these three challenges, I try to redefine multiculturalism and cultural policy in the Taiwanese experience. Firstly, I seek to redefine multiculturalism as 'multicultural citizenship' in the case of Taiwan. Multicultural citizenship is seen as a new balance between 'integration' and 'diversity' in the development of multiculturalism in Taiwan. On the one hand, multicultural citizenship is related to the construction of a common public sphere and nation; on the other hand, it is also related to respect for cultural diversity and special communities in the private sphere. Secondly, I try to redefine cultural policy in Taiwan in terms of cultural rights and multicultural citizenship, which embody the link between people and the state. Cultural policy should protect cultural rights and strengthen the relationship between people and cultural policy. Similarly, multicultural policy should be based upon cultural rights and multicultural citizenship. When implemented, it should then improve multiculturalism. Thirdly, I conclude that the problems of national identity and cultural differences should be considered on the basis of multicultural citizenship.

The present study is concerned with the problems of race relations in Peninsular Malaysia, with special reference to the Chinese community. My main thesis is that Chinese institutions and organizations, together with their values, economic and political activities tend to make interaction and integration difficult in the conflict-prone Malaysian plural society. However, despite the tremendous amount of dissensus and conflict, the society has managed to survive through the fact that the various component segments are bound together not only by political institutions, but also by their being involved in the same economic institutions. The study begins with an Introduction, which examines the main structural features of the Malayan society during the colonial period to 3erve as a background for discussion. Chapter 1 deals with the overall stratification and structure of the Chinese community. Particular attention is paid to Chinese guilds and associations which tend to perpetuate social distinctions between Chinese and Malays. Chapter 2 attempts to examine Chinese role in Malaysian economy. It tries to show the relative position of the Chinese in Malaysian economy and concludes that the Chinese are far from controlling Malaysian economy as has been alleged. Chapters 3 and 4 trace Chinese politics in pre-war and post-war Malaysia. Three main currents of influence on the Chinese during the pre-war period - Chinese secret societies, The Kuomintang and the Malayan Communist Party - are examined. For the post-war period, an attempt is made to examine Chinese participation in party politics as well as their relatively subordinate position in the Alliance Party. Chapter 5 examines Chinese education in Malaysia. Attention is focused on the various governmental efforts to devise a national education policy and its implications for Chinese education. The political significance of the education issue is also examined. Chapter 6 endeavours to analyse race relations in Malaysia, focusing on the sources of conflj o - : between Chinese and Malays. A brief account of the 1969 iial riots is also provided. Chapter 7 deals with the problems of national unity. It is argued that the Malaysian plural society is held together by political as well as economic institutions. Some deliberate attempts to foster unity are also examined. Chapter 8 attempts to examine some theoretical framework. It focuses on two major problems, namely the inadequacy of some Western theoretical models and the theory of the plural society and its relevance in Malaysia.

The aim of this thesis is to propose transformational leadership a new pastoral model for South Korean churches. It is argued that authoritarian charismatic leadership has contributed to church growth but, as Korea is changing into a pluralistic society, it has not respond to properly the needs of Koran Christians. So transformational leadership being characterized as both charismatic (visionary) and democratic (participant) is considered as a new alternative since it can meet their new demands for the leadership, which is both effectiveness in evangelism and appropriateness for new changed socio-cultural milieu. Main focus of attention of this thesis is on disclosing the way in which the nature of leadership has to do with Korean religion, culture, and theology. To deal with them the salient features of transformational leadership is first examined in the three dimensions: culture (Confucianism), philosophy (philosophy of life of Koreans), and theology (theology of Korean churches). Then its implication in biblical theology is discussed, which is followed by case studies empirically. In the process it is revealed that transformational leadership can be applicable to Korean churches which, in turn, can give rise to continual church growth and respond to the needs of the times properly.

This study provides a critical analysis of the influence of social class on life chances in post-reform Vietnam. As the country underwent a profound structural transition from a centrally planned to a market-oriented economy in the mid-1980s, social class gradually replaced political class as a major source of inequality. Knowledge about this phenomenon is rudimentary – not least because of the continuing power of state ideology in contemporary Vietnam. Throughout the investigation, Bourdieu’s framework of class reproduction guides both a quantitative analysis of the Survey Assessment of Vietnamese Youth 2010 and a qualitative research of 39 respondents in the Red River Delta region, including young people of the first post-reform generation – now in their 20s and 30s – and their parents. The study discusses the ways in which class determines the ability of parents to transmit different resources to their children, focusing on those that are usable and valued in the fields of education and labour. It finds that, across several areas of social life in contemporary Vietnam, implicit class-based discrimination is disguised and legitimised by explicit and seemingly universal ‘meritocratic’ principles. The study makes a number of original contributions to sociology, three of which are particularly important. (1) Empirically, it breaks new ground for a sociological understanding of both the constitution and the development of class inequalities in contemporary Vietnam. (2) Methodologically, it offers numerous useful examples of mixed-methods integration. (3) Theoretically, it proposes to think with, against and beyond some of the most relevant Bourdieusian research on this topic. The empirical application of Bourdieu’s framework in toto, as opposed to a more customary partial appropriation, facilitates comprehensive insights into: class-specified practices as governed and conditioned by internalised powers and structural resources; the multidimensionality of class-based advantages and disadvantages; and the causative transmission and activation of capital across and within generations.

Background: Childhood obesity is increasing rapidly in China. However, research into environmental contributors to the problem is limited. Formative research that informs theoretically based prevention interventions is also lacking. Objectives and Methods: To inform the development of obesity prevention interventions among urban Chinese primary school students by: 1.exploring perceived factors contributing to obesogenic behaviours (17 focus groups and 4 interviews, n=99 including 42 males), 2. exploring preferred components and delivery strategies for future preventive interventions (17 focus groups), 3. examining the relationship of family and neighbourhood environmental factors, to child weight status as well as related dietary and physical activity behaviours (cross-sectional study, n=497). Results: Inter-related social, historical, regulatory, policy, knowledge and economic factors emerged as factors influencing attitudes, social norms and perceptions of control in relation to obesogenic behaviours. Among those, grandparents emerged as a dominant but relatively easy- to- modify theme. In parallel, the presence and role of grandparents were significantly correlated with child weight status and snacking behaviour. Conclusions: The family environment has important influences on childhood obesity and obesegenic behaviours. Drawing on the overall findings, potential targets, components and delivery strategies are discussed using a Social Marketing framework for future prevention intervention.

This thesis is about the children of former Far East prisoners of war (FEPOWs): their memories of childhood, how they fashioned those memories in adulthood, and the relationship between the two. The FEPOW experience reverberated through postwar family life, and continued to shape the lives of participants across the intervening decades. Although a great deal is now known about the hardships suffered by the men, captivity had a deep and enduring impact on their children, but their history is rarely heard, and poorly understood. In Roots of Remembrance I investigate the lives of these children through in-depth interviews, using a psychosocial approach to both interviews and analysis. By tracing intergenerational transmission through the life course, I show that the memory practices of the children of Far East POWs had psychosocial roots in the captivity experiences of their fathers. For some, childhood was coloured by overt physical or psychological trauma; for others, what passed as a ‘normal’ upbringing led later to a pressing desire to discover more about their fathers’ wartime histories. My research demonstrates the need for a more nuanced and holistic approach to understanding intergenerational trauma transmission within this particular group. I argue that participants made creative use of memory practices across the course of their lives to revisit, review and reconstruct their relationships with their fathers, in order to reach an accommodation with their childhood memories. Findings include the value of attachment theory in understanding the associations between childhood experience and later memory practices, the role of the body and other implicit means of transmitting trauma, and the need for a greater awareness of the impact of cumulative and complex trauma within these families. Finally, I conclude that the psychosocial methodology enabled me to access areas of subjectivity and intersubjectivity that might otherwise have remained in the shadows.