Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

published_or_final_version / Geography / Master / Master of Philosophy

西部苗族有豐富又多彩的創世故事，這是他們民族分散在廣大的地區並與其他民族接觸的結果。其龐大的神系有需多不同創造天地萬物的神，有的是男神，有的是女神，有的男女神是夫妻而分配創造天地。由於苗族在20世紀起才開始有自己的文字，在此之前他們是以口傳方式延續其創世神話。雖然這些神話故事時有宗教方面的色彩，但是它們本身並無神聖的地位。 希伯來人的創世故事記錄於《聖經》〈創世記〉。它們反映了早期的書寫傳統。他們的神是男神，也是唯一的神。因為這些故事的地位神聖，被視為是其唯一正統的創造故事，因此被留傳下來的版本被賦與不可改變或附加其他內容的神聖地位。 兩個完全不同的創世傳統可以提供非常豐富的對比研究。筆者對兩個創世傳統所反映對神、對宇宙結構與對道德的觀念特別有興趣。透過研究發現，這兩個表面上完全不同的創世傳統，深入探討後，發現二者竟有許多相似之處。共同的概念包含天地被至高無上之神創造、混沌的原始世界、創造好的完美世界被死亡與疾病破壞、樂園的失去、普世的洪水氾濫、泥土造人、善與惡的對立等。筆者假設以上的共同概念，再加上無故土的西部苗族很容易認同歷史上亡國的希伯來人，導致其對基督教的接受度有比較高的傾向。 / The Western Miao have an abundance of rich and colorful creation myths. This is the result of their living scattered over a large area, and interacting with other ethnic groups. Their large pantheon contains many different kinds of creator gods. Some are male, some are female, and some are male/female couples. Because the Miao did not have their own alphabet until the early 20th century, any passing on of their myths was done orally. Although these myths sometimes hint of religious influences, they do not have sacred status in themselves. The Hebrew creation myths are recorded in the Bible, in the book of Genesis. They reflect an early written tradition. Their God is male, and He alone is God. Because of their sacred status, these stories are seen as the only legitimate creation stories. Thus, in passing down these stories, no changes or additions can be made. Two such very different creation traditions provide rich opportunities for comparison. The author is especially interested in examining how these stories reflect different concepts of god, of the structure of the universe, and of morality. This study revealed that while on the surface, these two creation traditions appeared to be very different, a deeper probe revealed many similarities. These included the concept of a supreme creator God, original chaos, a perfect world marred by the introduction of sickness and death, the loss of paradise, a universal flood, man made from clay, the dual opposites of good and evil, etc. The author postulates that these similarities, plus the fact that the Miao, without a homeland, could relate to the Hebrews, contributed to their easy acceptance of Christianity. Key words: Western Miao, Hmong, A-Mong (Hua Miao), Hebrews, Genesis

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references.

The aim of this research is to bridge the correlation of peace and foreign investments through the lens of North et al.’s (2013) Limited Access Orders (LAOs). The research seeks to engage in the discussion of LAOs by providing a perspective from analyzing Chinese investments under the context of New Silk Road policy with the case of Tasang Dam. Current discussion of LAOs does not involve how foreign investments affect institutional transition in LAOs. Therefore this research is a humble attempt to engage in the existing literature from a different perspective.         Tasang Dam is designed to be built in southern Shan State, Myanmar, an area that has encountered continuous armed conflicts. The conflicts between the local armed group SSA-S/RCSS and the Tatmadaw continue even after a ceasefire agreement was signed in 2011. Chinese investors acting under the context of New Silk Road project have tried to involve in creating stability in the area to reduce costs.         According to the LAOs logic, if the access to rents is open to armed organizations, there will be motivations for rival parties to avoid violence. In order to redistribute the resources, there should be an institutional transition. In Tasang Dam’s case, the rents created by Chinese investments are not available to SSA-S/RCSS, but with the Chinese investments as the democratization of Myanmar goes on, there are opportunities to alter the story of repeated violence.

The involvement of low-income and minority parents in their children's education is an important issue. When parents are actively involved, children tend to perform well academically. If the Mong children in California are to have a greater chance of academic success, school principals need to collaborate with Mong parents. This study investigated the strategies elementary and middle school principals use to involve Mong parents in the education of their children, obstacles they encounter, and methods they use to evaluate whether their efforts have been effective. This study also examined whether there are any differences between the strategies principals use to involve Mong parents, obstacles they encounter, and methods they employ for evaluation, based on their demographic characteristics. Data were collected through the administration of a survey. Of the 113 surveys mailed to school principals throughout California, 31.9% were completed and returned. Upon receiving the surveys, frequencies, percentages, one-sample proportion tests, and independent-samples t tests were employed to analyze the data. The results demonstrated that there were 28 strategies school principals used to involve Mong parents (e.g., 97% encouraged Mong parents to participate in the parent organization(s) at school), eight obstacles they encountered (e.g., 86% encountered the Mong parents' lack of knowledge about the school system as an obstacle to encourage the involvement of Mong parents), and nine methods they employed to evaluate their efforts (e.g., 86% used informal discussions with teachers as a method for evaluation). In addition, some of the differences between the strategies school principals used, obstacles they encountered, and methods they employed based on their demographic characteristics were identified. It is recommended that other school principals use the strategies and methods found in this study to improve their relationship with Mong parents as educational partners. It is also recommended that school principals employ a variety of methods to evaluate the effectiveness of their efforts. To increase the academic achievement of Mong children, future research is needed.

This research uses computational grounded theory to explore the human capital formation and stay/return migration experiences of well-educated Mong adults living in various rural/semi-rural Northern California localities within Butte, Yuba, and Sutter Counties. Rural vitality is dependent on the return of these well-educated rural-raised adults. Out-migration of rurality’s best and brightest contributes towards a brain drain and the hallowing out of rurality’s human capital. Findings of this research is conveyed using two research articles examining two different points on the continuum of rural vitality. The first article examines 19 Mong adults’ educational experiences within their rural communities and college education. The second article examines the experiences and factors for the same Mong adults to stay or return. The seven emerging themes describe Mong students’ social capital within their communities towards educational attainment and place affinity.