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Sushi is now recognized as a typical Japanese food throughout the world. Being sold in a wide variety of shops including both supermarkets and high-end restaurants, it has become one of the world's most coveted delicacies during the past few decades. This simple food has gained great popularity across the world which has resulted in a cultural phenomenon being shared across national borders and regions. Sushi's popularity and longevity contribute to both its perceived historical trajectory and its modern transformations. When talking about sushi, neither "tradition" nor "modern" can be ignored. In this thesis I will examine sushi's changes from its emergence in ancient Japan to the current sushi boom in global markets. I will explore the "authenticity" of modern sushi and its relation to its ceaseless evolution of sushi. I will show that with regulation from Japanese authorities and individuals the "Japaneseness" of sushi does continue.

The Liao dynasty, founded by the Khitans who originated from the northeast corner of Manchuria, is often characterized by its women's exceptional political authority and high social standing. This dissertation investigates various activities of the Khitan aristocratic women, particularly the imperial women, in the public realms, such as politics, military, and court ceremonies. In addition to Chinese official dynastic histories, this study utilizes archaeological data obtained largely from excavation reports of the Liao tombs that produced female occupants. This dissertation is intended to reconstruct as concrete picture of their lives as possible by adopting an interdisciplinary approach. In doing so, it seeks to explain how and why the Khitan women of the Liao dynasty were granted such high social prestige and political power. It also contemplates on the question whether the Khitans were assimilated by the Chinese culture by the late dynastic period. The first part of this study is focused on analyzing the patterns of the Khitan imperial marriage and their traditional inheritance practices in the context of the consolidation of the empire. The Liao imperial clan, the Yelu, maintained an exclusive marriage alliance with another ruling clan, the Xiao, which produced all of the Liao empresses during the entire dynastic period. This marriage alliance, devised to ensure their monopoly of power, eventually worked for the advantage of the Xiao women, as well as their clansmen who dominated the Liao political power. Women's conspicuous participation in various public affairs was deeply rooted in the Khitan tribal tradition. The Khitans lacked the Chinese concept of segregation of gender roles and the Khitan women were employed at the court in the capacity of a religious professional (shaman) or even as a military commander. The observation of the mortuary practices of the Khitan suggests that they remained attached to their cultural traditions until the late dynastic period. This can be attested by the discovery of the unique Khitan funerary paraphernalia, such as gold masks and metal burial suits, and the evidence of animal sacrifices in their tombs.

This thesis is a cross-disciplinary study of one of the culture-specific words important for a given society ("concepts") – concept chest' (honor) - that has a considerable weight in the Russian cultural tradition. The study aims to transcend disciplinary boundaries in order to examine the cultural construction of honor in the Russian Worldview. "Concept" is not just a lexical item but a distinctive "file" containing semantic and aesthetic information. "Concepts" reflect and pass on people's values, ideals, attitudes as well as a way of thinking about the world. They provide important clues to the understanding of culture. Elucidation of a concept chest' marked by a moral significance is thus able to provide a better understanding of a particular period of Russian cultural history – the first four decades of the nineteenth century. / The study analyzes the integrated structure of concept chest' which includes different components (Chapter 2). The analysis uses a variety of methods, including etymological and componential approaches, followed by an examination of relevant conceptual metaphors and the correlation between such concepts in the Russian Worldview as honor – conscience (chest' – sovest'), honor – dignity (chest' – dostoinstvo), honor – shame (chest' – pozor), conscience – shame (sovest' – styd). The gender component of concept chest' is also examined. / Since concept chest' is one of the key words of Russian Romanticism and has a culture-specific meaning that reflects society's past experience, Chapter 3 not only discusses the evolution of the concept connected to the cultural changes, but also traces the reconstruction of the concept chest' in the literary context of the period focusing on the works of K.Ryleev, A.Bestuzhev-Marlinskii, and M.Lermontov. Concept chest' was shaped in a gentleman's code of honor and bound to a dueling ritual (duel of honor) and gambling (debt of honor). Although it was the golden age of noble personal honor, the explication of the given notion in Lermontov's works shows the beginning of the concept's transformation that led to the subsequent devaluation of the meaning of chest' in society. / Cette thèse constitue une étude interdisciplinaire des mots spécifiques à une culture, qui sont importants pour une société donnée (des "concepts") – et plus précisément le concept tchest' (honneur), ayant un poids considérable dans la tradition culturelle russe. L'étude a comme but de transcender les frontières disciplinaires afin d'examiner la construction culturelle de l'honneur dans la perception russe du monde. Les « concepts » ne sont pas seulement des termes de vocabulaire, mais également des « dossiers » contenant de l'information sémantique et esthétique. Les « concepts » reflètent et transmettent des valeurs humaines, des idées, des attitudes, ainsi qu'une manière déterminée de percevoir le monde. Ils fournissent des pistes importantes permettant de comprendre une culture. L'élucidation du concept tchest' d'une perspective morale permet de mieux comprendre une période particulière de l'histoire culturelle russe, soit les premières quatre décennies du XIX siècle. / Cette étude analyse la structure intégrée du concept tchest' prenant en considération différents composants (chapitre 2). L'analyse utilisée s'appuie sur une variété de méthodes, incluant les approches étymologique et componentielle, suivies d'un examen de métaphores conceptuelles importantes et d'une corrélation des concepts dans la conception du monde russe tels que : honneur – conscience (tchest' – sovest'), honneur – dignité (tchest' –dostoinstvo), honneur – honte (tchest' – pozor), conscience – pudeur (sovest' – styd). Le composant du genre du concept tchest' est également abordé. / Étant donné que le concept tchest' est un des mots-clefs dans le romantisme russe et possède une signification culturelle qui reflète l'expérience sociale découlant du passé, le chapitre 3 discute non seulement de l'évolution du concept reliée aux changements culturels, mais aussi redéfinit le concept tchest' dans le contexte littéraire de cette période, se centrant sur les œuvres de K. Ryleev, A. Bestuzhev-Marlinskii et M. Lermontov. Le concept tchest' fut bâti dans le code d'honneur des gentilshommes et était relié à un rituel de duels (duels d'honneur) et de jeux (dettes d'honneurs). En dépit du fait que c'était l'époque dorée de l'honneur personnel des nobles, l'explication de ce concept dans l'œuvre de Lermontov montre le début de la transformation du concept qui a véhiculé la dévaluation subséquente de la signification de tchest' dans la société.

Fedor Dostoevskii and Petr Verkhovenskii, the author and one of the main protagonists of the novel Demons, exhibit the same communication style and pursue similar propagandistic purposes in their public communication. Both figures function in the framework of public relations, employing mass communication for the sake of publicizing their political messages to broad audiences. In the process of their public communication, the author and the hero of the novel merge literature and journalism, fictional and factual discourse, subvert a critical analysis of their respective messages and encourage an unconditional, if unwarranted, acceptance of their communication. Relying on the theoretical findings of John Austin, Jurgen Habermas, as well as using the theoretical models of mass communication, the present study shows the underlying bond between Dostoevskii and Petr Verkhovenskii in terms of their communication style despite the ideological gulf that separates the two seemingly irreconcilable sides.

This thesis is an analysis of works derived from Russian literature and cinematography as grouped by the morphemes 'kavkaz' and 'plen' in their titles. During the last 200 years at least ten such works have appeared, the most famous being Pushkin's Prisoner of the Caucasus. These have become a fascinating phenomenon of Russian culture and the goal of my study is to analyze the intertextual links among these works. The study as a whole is based on the approaches developed by Lotman, Barthes, Zholkovsky, Likhachev and others. Thus it takes into account the specific social, historical and cultural background, underlying the phenomenon. Motif structures and its significant elements, such as 'plen', 'smert', 'zhizn', 'zerkalo', etc. are also taken into account. This is new to scholarly literature and has not previously been attempted. / La thèse présente une analyse de contenu d'oeuvres issues de la littérature et du cinéma russes regroupées par l'apparition des morphèmes «kavkaz» et «plen» dans leurs titres. Depuis deux siècles, au moins dix œuvres similaires sont apparues dont la plus connue Prisonnier du Caucase d'Alexandre Pouchkine. Celles-ci sont devenues un fascinant phénomène de la culture russe et l'objectif de mon étude est d'analyser l'intertextualité des liens parmi ces œuvres. L'étude est basée dans son ensemble sur les approches développées par Lotman, Barthes, Zholkovsky, Likhachev, et autres. L'étude prend aussi en considération de façon spécifique l'arrière-plan social, historique et culturel, soulignant le phénomène. La structure des thèmes et ses éléments fondamentaux tels «plen», «smert», «zhizn», «zerkalo», etc. ont aussi été pris en considération. Cela est donc nouveau dans une publication académique et n'a jamais été tenté auparavant. Cette étude développe donc des clés d'interprétation pour ces textes. Elle réinterprète les thèmes sur lesquels les textes sont fondés et souligne les thèmes qui n'ont jamais été utilisés précédemment dans la littérature.

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An attempt is made to examine the importance of the Pacific region to the economy of Singapore, using several standard methodologies in the international economics literature. Singapore's trade with and investment flows from the 'region' have been increasing significantly, while its interaction with Europe has diminished. Hence, in light of these developments, it is useful to explore the links between Singapore and the Pacific region, especially with respect to ASEAN. The trade aspect of the theses has been based on models developed by Balassa, who used them in an attempt to analyse the growth and development of the European Community. Firstly, in analysing the changing comparative advantage in the region, a measure of revealed comparative advantage is adopted, Balassa's export specialisation ratio (1965). Secondly, the changing pattern of trade in manufactured goods is examined in relation to changing country characteristics by the use of an econometric technique - ordinary least squares - (Balassa 1979). Then, using a measure of intra- industry trade (Grubel and Lloyd 1975), the figures are examined for ASEAN along with a study of intra-industry trade by commodity group for Singapore. Balassa's method of estimating trade creation and trade diversion (1963), is used in order to test the effectiveness of economic cooperation in ASEAN. Singapore adopted an open strategy towards Foreign Direct Investment (FDl). The effects on Singapore can be conveniently reviewed under the standard industrial economics format of structure, conduct and performance. Using Dunning's adaption of the 'industrial organisation approach' (1973), it is possible to show, by examining the statistical relationship between a number of structural variables and the sectoral distribution within the manufacturing industry (correlation technique - bivariate normal distribution), that the ownership advantages of multinational corporations have assisted Singapore's economic restructuring towards Higher allocative and technical efficiency; and that multinational corporations have adjusted to the changing locational advantages of Singapore's resource endowments rather more positively than national firms.

This is a pioneer and comprehensive study of the political geography of the Red Sea region. Background studies on geopolitics, physical environment, and resources are offered. The thesis is especially concerned with three basic American interests in the Red Sea. Firstly, energy interest: United States deep concern about uninterrupted flow of oil supplies from the Gulf to the former as well as to its Western allies creates an increasing American interest in the Red Sea route, particularly since the Gulf tanker war in 1982. Such interest is clearly seen in United States political, technical, and financial involvement in the Suez Canal (1975) and in the current laying of pipelines from the Gulf to the Red Sea. Disruption of those supplies to the US or its allies may result in American use of force. Secondly, shipping interest: such concern is clearly shown in United States involvement in matters relating to the Suez Canal, the Straits of Bab al Mandeb and Tiran. Freedom of navigation through the Red Sea, especially for Israeli ships, is a major American interest in this respect. United States refusal to sign the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea may involve the former into conflict with some Red Sea States, particularly when American nuclear-powered vessels sail from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean or vice versa. Thirdly, Soviet involvement in Afghanistan, the Gulf war and the resurgence of Islam are becoming increasingly worrying to the US, because such developments are feared as a destabilizing factor to the stability of the oil producing states of the Arabian peninsula, with particular reference to Saudi Arabia, the most important Red Sea state.