The aim of this thesis is to analyse the public communication activities of Korean people from the Chason dynasty to the present day using the conceptual category of the public sphere theorised by Jurgen Habermas. It is mainly concerned with two fundamental issues: the issue of 'communication and democracy,' and that of 'communication and culture.' Emphasising tradition and culture as among the most significant elements in the consideration of communicative action and the public sphere in the Korean context, the thesis takes issue with the claims to universality in Habermas's theory. My argument is that Habermas's theory cannot easily be applied to non-Western societies unless there is sufficient consideration of their idiosyncratic traditions and cultures. To develop this argument, the thesis addresses the impact of Confucianism on speech acts in Korea and the extent of their difference from those in a Western context. In identifying 'silence' as a key term, the situation of women in Korean cultures is particularly pertinent. The second consideration is the question of political authoritarianism which is responsible for the repression of free expression of opinion in collusion with Confucianism. I have discovered that several kinds of public domains of communication have developed through Korean history, despite those two repressing mechanisms, Confucianism and political authoritarianism, public domains which I suggest are more appropriately called 'the public sphere' according to Habermas's terminology. It is meaningful to filter and interpret various communication activities across historical periods from within the analytic framework of the public sphere. In relation to modem Korea, the thesis focuses on the media-saturated public sphere and the current civil movements to demonstrate the dynamics between power and money and their impact on the democratisation process

Due to a weak industrial base coupled with devastation from the Korean War, South Korea was a latecomer in industrialization, and formal economic development began during the 1960s under heavy state intervention. Within this broader context of industrial development, this research examines the role of state in the development of South Korea’s semiconductor industry. The results show that government support for semiconductors has gradually shifted from full-fledged intervention through both initial technology procurement and commercialization during the 1960s, to a minimal role of developing human capital and promoting private sector investment in R&D at present. But despite the importance of adhering to principles of free trade, the Hynix crisis of 2003 and the recent economic crisis of 2008 demonstrate the continued importance of the government’s role in protecting and promoting strategic industries such as semiconductors. / text

This study examines ideas of self and self-cultivation as developed during the first half of the Choson Dynasty (1392-1911) by focusing on introductory texts or commentaries, diagrams, or Korean annotations on the Great Learning. Moreover, given that much of this material is pedagogical, how and to whom these ideas were presented will also be examined. The scholars examined here were leading thinkers during the first half of the Choson Dynasty— Kwon Kun (1352-1409) helped introduce and lay the intellectual framework of Ch'eng-Chu Neo-Confucianism in the early period of the Choson Dyansty. T'oegye (1501-1570) is often seen as the foremost Confucian scholar of the Choson period. His ideas served as the foundation of a major school of thought during the Choson Dyansty, the Yongnam school. The last scholar, Yulgok (1536-1584), is also seen as one of the great scholars of the period. His ideas form the basis of the other major school of thought in Korean Neo-Confucianism- the Kiho school. Examining the ideas of these thinkers will reveal how ideas of human nature and self-cultivation developed and changed over the early course of the Choson Dynasty and how and to whom these ideas were presented.

Intercountry adoption (ICA) is growing in controversy as it grows in popularity. While heart-warming stories of families with babies from abroad dominate the media coverage on this subject, this represents only a small segment of the entire situation. Using Korea and China as case examples, this thesis extensively reviews and analyzes policy and the cultural, social, economic and political layers of the ICA mechanism from a political-economy perspective and argues that children are treated as commodities in both supplying and receiving countries. ICA is used by governments to solve internal social problems while promoting international relations. The thesis concludes that only a small number of children and parents actually benefit from ICA and the majority of persons involved--unadopted children in both countries, birth parents and some adoptive applicants--do not gain from ICA and may actually experience suffering as a result of it.

The purpose of this thesis was to suggest exemplary factors of adoption ministry programs to successfully support adoptive parents who have experienced difficulties in their adoptive family life by examining adoptive parents' practical needs and practical consideration of adoption ministry programs in adoption ministry churches. Chapter 1 presents the research concerns, introduces the context of the research problem, and explains key words related to the research. Chapter 2 consists of literature reviews related to adoption and adoption ministry. This chapter provides biblical, theological, and practical perspectives on adoption and adoption ministry as well as examines the present circumstance of adoption ministry in Korean churches. Chapter 3 explains the methodological design of the study. This chapter contains an overview of the research design, and an explanation of the research sample, the research instrumentation, and the procedures of the research. Chapter 4 analyzes the data collected from the study through a general demographic questionnaire and an open-ended essay questionnaire. The study surveyed and interviewed two sample groups. According to the comparison of responses between adoptive parents and adoption ministers, in general, I found that most adoptive parents understood the biblical, theological, and practical meaning of adoption and that adoption ministry positively influenced the church. Adoptive parents and adoption ministers must play a key role in creating an adoption culture in the church, but the leader of adoption ministry should be the senior pastor. Chapter 5 discusses the research implications and how those implications apply to the adoption ministry in Korean churches. The study aimed to effectively support adoptive parents through adoption ministry programs. The results offer several exemplary factors of adoption ministry programs such as education, counseling, adoptive family meeting, and financial support.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of an inservice workshop on the attitudes and perceptions of South Korean educator participants toward community based instruction for students with mental retardation. Thirty South Korean educator participants from EMI, TMI, SMI, and SXI focused on classrooms were asked to respond to a questionnaire containing items that demographics, importance of community based instruction, necessity of community based activities for their students' adult lives, required instructional time for community based activities, satisfaction with their current instructional time for community based activities, and potential barriers to community based instruction. For the treatment procedure, an extensive in-service workshop on community based instruction was given to all educator participants. Results indicated that in general, educator participants expressed overall positive attitudes toward community based instruction and showed strong support for the necessity of community based activities in their students' adult lives. Interestingly, all of the 13 community based activities provided in this questionnaire received at least one rating of "never would be needed" in the adult lives for students with mental retardation. In general, these educator participants appeared to be dissatisfied with the current amount of instructional time allocated for community based activities. In addition, these educator participants perceived limited staff, transportation, scheduling, cost, and administrator reluctance factors as the major potential barriers to community based instruction. Further, differential responses between EMI educator participants and TMI, SMI, and SXI educator participants were noted for the questionnaire items related to necessity of community based activities, and satisfaction with the total amount of instructional time in community based activities. EMI educator participants indicated community based activities were more necessary and more satisfied with current amount of, time allocated in community based instruction than TMI, SMI, and SXI educators. Implication concerning the future prospects for community based instruction in South Korea for students with mental retardation were also presented. / Department of Special Education

This research investigates how community-based stewardship and governance of urban parks benefits both biodiversity conservation and local residents‟ quality of life. The main objective of this research is to examine successful strategies to improve biodiversity and human well-being in urban parks. In this research, two stories of renowned city parks in metropolitan areas are interpreted: Seoul Forest Park in Seoul, Korea and Stanley Park in Vancouver, Canada. These parks are compared on the basis of the history of their creation and restoration, their strategic plans, challenges to managing the parks, the role of community-based stewardship, and the relationship between city governments and community stewardship groups. By comparing two famous metropolitan city parks, this study makes recommendations for each park. To understand the beneficial programs and approaches, I further explore how the parks‟ management plans address improvement in biodiversity, and how park governance and operations encourage it, particularly how stewardship groups have improved biodiversity. Based on the research findings, this study drew several main benefits of community-based stewardship and governance of urban parks. First, supportive legislation, policies, and plans for biodiversity conservation have a decisive effect on the implementation of biodiversity improvement. Next, regular ecosystem monitoring and linking fragmented areas are mandatory to preserve and improve urban biodiversity. Also, urban green space restoration contributes not only to biodiversity conservation, but also to citizens‟ quality of life. In addition, listening to citizens‟ opinions, ensuring the safety of park users, offering cutting-edge services, and providing various cultural and educational programs, contribute to enhanced citizens‟ well-being in urban parks. Lastly, community-based stewardship groups play an essential role for improving biodiversity as well as citizens‟ quality of life in urban parks. Therefore, a successful partnership between the Parks Division in city governments and community-based stewardship groups creates a more powerful synergy that sustains biodiversity and human well-being. / Graduate

This research investigates how community-based stewardship and governance of urban parks benefits both biodiversity conservation and local residents‟ quality of life. The main objective of this research is to examine successful strategies to improve biodiversity and human well-being in urban parks. In this research, two stories of renowned city parks in metropolitan areas are interpreted: Seoul Forest Park in Seoul, Korea and Stanley Park in Vancouver, Canada. These parks are compared on the basis of the history of their creation and restoration, their strategic plans, challenges to managing the parks, the role of community-based stewardship, and the relationship between city governments and community stewardship groups. By comparing two famous metropolitan city parks, this study makes recommendations for each park. To understand the beneficial programs and approaches, I further explore how the parks‟ management plans address improvement in biodiversity, and how park governance and operations encourage it, particularly how stewardship groups have improved biodiversity. Based on the research findings, this study drew several main benefits of community-based stewardship and governance of urban parks. First, supportive legislation, policies, and plans for biodiversity conservation have a decisive effect on the implementation of biodiversity improvement. Next, regular ecosystem monitoring and linking fragmented areas are mandatory to preserve and improve urban biodiversity. Also, urban green space restoration contributes not only to biodiversity conservation, but also to citizens‟ quality of life. In addition, listening to citizens‟ opinions, ensuring the safety of park users, offering cutting-edge services, and providing various cultural and educational programs, contribute to enhanced citizens‟ well-being in urban parks. Lastly, community-based stewardship groups play an essential role for improving biodiversity as well as citizens‟ quality of life in urban parks. Therefore, a successful partnership between the Parks Division in city governments and community-based stewardship groups creates a more powerful synergy that sustains biodiversity and human well-being. / Graduate

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The process of modernisation has created tension and confusion in selfidentity in spite of its various new opportunities. This impact of modernity is more intense in a non-western society. Korea is experiencing a unique pattern of the dynamics and dilemmas modernity has presented. Korean women are experiencing clashes between modernity and tradition, capitalism and Confucianism, and Western and Korean cultural values. The gap created from these tensions is widely mediated by the logic of consumerism. This process is clearly revealed in women's values and attitudes towards food and eating. Although rapid economic development and social changes have considerably modified people's eating habits, women's roles and expectations in regard to food and eating are much more ambiguous and confusing than in the past. Korean advertising displays sharp contradictions of these aspects. While advertising reflects and actively reshapes the prevailing images of women, women constantly reconstitute their identities by selecting, rejecting and negotiating with the public messages in their everyday lives. This thesis aims to examine the changing female identities in contemporary Korea in the process of modernisation and Westernisation by exploring the tensions and contradictions in regard to women's values and attitudes towards food and eating, through the examination of the representations of Korean advertising and women's everyday experiences and negotiations.