This thesis is a comparative study of public and private health care provision in Northeast Thailand. It main objective is to explore the question of whether private health providers are more efficient and effective than their public health counterparts The thesis also examines equity concerns raised by the growth of private sector medical institutions The study commences by describing the changes in health problems, health policies and health care delivery in developing countries and Thailand that have led to the development and growth of private health care. This is followed by detailed consideration of the Northeast of Thailand including the socioeconomic context, health indicators and health delivery systems development paying particular attention to private sector growth. The remainder of the thesis is comprised of an empirical study of selected public and private sector hospitals in Northeast Thailand and an analysis of the results Much of the data was collected from questionnaires delivered to patients and staff in the study hospitals. The major findings include roughly similar levels of patient satisfaction between public and private hospitals; patients utilizing public hospitals often had no choice of which institutions to use, and the average incomes of patients attending private hospitals were above those of public hospital patients. There was undoubted inequity of access to private sector facilities. Data gathered from hospital staff showed greater levels of satisfaction with staffing levels and quality in private hospitals than in public ones. Salaries were more compressed in public hospitals due to central government rules than in private hospitals whose management was based on market considerations. However, higher salaries were paid to skilled professionals in the private sector. Public sector hospital management was typically bureaucratic with central government guidelines and decisions determining many aspects of hospital organization. It was found that comparison between public and private hospitals was complicated by the different missions and activities of institutions in the two sectors. The thesis concludes by arguing that the mixture of public and private health care providers has contributed to a more competitive atmosphere which has encouraged greater concern with quality and efficiency in the delivery of health services in Thailand.

本論文分為七章十九節，約十四萬字。第一章為本文的導論，文中分為四節，分別就研究動機與目的、研究途徑與架構、研究範圍與限制及資料來源與名詞解釋做一簡單扼要的說明。第二章探討影響中共外交深鉅的矛循世界觀，然後，再論述和平共處五原則與統一戰線兩項外交基本策略第三章為冷戰時期中共東北亞外交政策的回顧。文中從政治、經濟及軍事三個層面，依時間序列分別探討中共與美國、前蘇聯、日本及南北韓在冷戰時期的互動關係。第四章為後冷戰時期的東北亞國際關係結構。文中分為兩部份，第一節結構層次探討區域的四角關係權力結構、區域安全整合的困境及區域經濟合作的趨勢；第二節單元層次，分別探討美國東北亞角色的調整、俄羅斯對外政策的轉變、日本的政治大國理想、中共的軍備擴張及朝鮮半島的緩和與變遷。第五章為後冷戰時期中共東北亞外交政策。第一節首先論述影響中共東北亞外交政策的因素；第二節探討獨立自主及睦鄰友好兩項外交取向；第三節則探討反霸權主義的國家角色；第四節探討保障國家安全及實現四個現代化兩項政策目標。第六章為後冷戰時期中共與東北亞各國的互動關係。第一節探討中共與美國的人權與最惠國待遇爭議及中共與俄羅斯夥伴關係的建立；第二節探討中共與日本、南韓及俄羅斯的經貿合作關係；第三節則探討中共與俄羅斯軍事交流及中共在北韓核武危機中的角色與目標。第七章為本文的結論。文中將擷取歸納本論文各章的精華，對後冷戰時期中共東北亞外交政策，作一整體性的評估與展望。

The purpose of this thesis is to document and analyse the development of the 1985 Clyde River - Broughton Island Memorandum of Understanding on Polar Bears. Based on a population estimate of 400 to 600 polar bears on Northeast Baffin Island, the quotas for Clyde River were reduced from 45 to 15, and the quotas for Broughton Island were reduced from 22 to 10. The case study approach to the analysis is organised according to various scales of analysis (from the individual to the global level) for the political, ecological, and cultural variables in the analysis. Three chapters are dedicated to a presentation of the three variables of analysis identified in the case study. The ecological variable is concerned with evaluating the biological data that were used to calculate a reduction in quotas. The political variable evaluates the structure and proceedings of the negotiation meetings, and the cultural variable evaluates the role that cultural meaning may have played in the creation of the agreement. The major finding is that a comanagement approach to wildlife management does not guarantee that decision-making power is equally distributed amongst user groups and territorial agencies.

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The purpose of this thesis is to document and analyse the development of the 1985 Clyde River - Broughton Island Memorandum of Understanding on Polar Bears. Based on a population estimate of 400 to 600 polar bears on Northeast Baffin Island, the quotas for Clyde River were reduced from 45 to 15, and the quotas for Broughton Island were reduced from 22 to 10. The case study approach to the analysis is organised according to various scales of analysis (from the individual to the global level) for the political, ecological, and cultural variables in the analysis. Three chapters are dedicated to a presentation of the three variables of analysis identified in the case study. The ecological variable is concerned with evaluating the biological data that were used to calculate a reduction in quotas. The political variable evaluates the structure and proceedings of the negotiation meetings, and the cultural variable evaluates the role that cultural meaning may have played in the creation of the agreement. The major finding is that a comanagement approach to wildlife management does not guarantee that decision-making power is equally distributed amongst user groups and territorial agencies.

This thesis aims at discussing the nature of relations between Russia and China and the Northeast Asian security during the post-Soviet era. The research question is whether Russia and Northeast Asian countries still pursue ideological policies after post-Cold War era. In this respect, the thesis argues that these countries act pragmatically instead of ideologically in the post-Cold War era. This has resulted in a rapprochement between communist China and post-Soviet Russia in the post-Soviet era. Moreover, ideological differences among any regional states do not constitute the basis of regional conflicts. It is rather North Korea&rsquo / s nuclear program that has become the main regional security threat. The thesis is composed of six chapters. After the introductionary chapter, the second chapter examines Russian-Chinese bilateral relations. The following three chapters discuss Russian-Chinese relations concerning the roles of Japan, South Korea and North Korea respectively in the Northeast Asian security. The last chapter is the conclusion.

Abstract In order to understand the source, transport pathway and sink of settling particulates off northeast Taiwan, time-series sediment traps (PPS-3/3) were deployed on the north slope of Ilan ridge (T18) and in the Okinawa trough (T15 and T16) to collect settling particulates. The trapped particulate samples were determined for apparent mass flux (T18), particle size distribution, and contents of lithogenic portion, metals (Al, Mg, Ca, Fe, Mn, Cu), opal, OC (organic carbon) and IC (inorganic carbon). The results show that mass flux in winter is higher than in summer except for typhoon or rainstorm in summer which may cause high particulate flux. At mooring T11 and T17, only 2 cups had collected particulates but with rapid decrease, and the remaining cups were empty. It is not clear whether Kuroshio plays a role and further investigation is needed. The trapped particulates were mainly clay and silt in the north slope of Ilan ridge and south Okinawa trough, and were sand and silt in the Mien-Hwa canyon. The portion of coarse silt and larger particles (>31 mm) decreases with an increase of distance from the land (from T11 to T18). The grain size distribution of particulate at T18 is similar to that at T15 and T16, but the mass flux in the north slope of Ilan ridge is an order of magnitude higher than in the south Okinawa trough. The size distribution pattern below 600m water depth is very similar at both T15 and T16, but the coarse fraction (> 31 mm) is more at the upper than lower traps, presumably due to lateral transport. The Mn content of the trapped particulates in the south Okinawa trough is twice as hign as that in the north slope of Ilan ridge. High Mn/Al ratio in the trough suggests that Mn is supplied by hydrothermal activities. Lithogenic portions occupy about 84~88.5% at T18, T16 and T15. Relative to other marginal seas biogenic contributions are clearly lower.

Human body size and limb proportions can provide important information about adaptation, population movements, and health disparities. This study investigated changes in body size and limb proportions of adult Egyptians temporally and geographically in relation to climatological, sociopolitical and economic developments. It was predicted that Egyptian groups that experienced more environmental stress would be shorter and exhibit less sexual dimorphism. It was also predicted that Egyptians would be intermediate between higher and lower latitude populations in body form and limb length ratios. The main skeletal sample consisted of 492 males and 528 females, all adults from the Predynastic and Dynastic Periods, a time spanning c. 5500 BCE-600 CE. Egyptian body dimensions were compared to Nubian groups, as well as to modern Egyptians and other higher and lower latitude populations. The present study found a downward trend in ancient Egyptian stature for both sexes through time, as well as decreased sexual dimorphism in stature. The decreases may be associated with dietary and social stress with the intensification of agriculture and increased societal complexity. Modern Egyptians in the study's sample are generally taller and heavier than their predecessors; however, modern Egyptians exhibit relatively lower sexual dimorphism in stature. Ancient Egyptians have more tropically adapted limbs in comparison to body breadths, which tend to be intermediate when plotted against higher and lower latitude populations. These results may reflect the greater plasticity of limb lengths compared to body breadth. The results might also suggest early Mediterranean and/or Near Eastern influence in Northeast Africa.

The process of defining heritage is fraught with the inequalities of social and political power concomitant with colonialism. As a result, disenfranchised and marginalized groups worldwide have been given little say in heritage matters until recently. Though often perceived as "experts" on the past, archaeologists are just one of many stakeholders with interests in how the past is used in the present. As such, archaeologists today face the challenge of decolonizing heritage work through engagement with diverse stakeholder communities. In this dissertation, I explore the ways that archaeologists have been working at this over the last two decades through a variety of community-based approaches to the archaeological dimensions of heritage work. I propose a multi-stakeholder model--what I call a "poly-communal approach"-- that builds on and address several shortcomings I identify in these efforts. This approach engages diverse local and non-local stakeholders in collective heritage work that aims to restructure traditional power relationships in archaeological projects. I explicate this approach and, through a case study, evaluate its effectiveness as a tool for decolonizing practice and dominant histories. The case study focuses on the social relationships of multiple stakeholders (Native American descendant communities, heritage institutions, archaeologists, landowners, avocational archaeologists, local residents, and scholars) catalyzed by the archaeology of a seventeenth-century Native American site in Deerfield, Massachusetts. The site, believed to be a fortified place of Pocumtuck peoples, plays a critical role in the dominant English and early American colonial history commemorated in the town for a century. The Pocumtuck Fort is popularly, though inaccurately, believed to be the last place the Pocumtuck lived before they "disappeared" just prior to the first English settlement in Deerfield and this dominant narrative has contributed to historical erasures of Native American peoples in the New England interior. Here, I combine a poly-communal approach to heritage work, archaeological research, and current fieldwork in this case study. I conclude that poly-communal heritage work, like that of the Pocumtuck Fort Archaeology and Stewardship project, can transform sites of historical erasures to places that mobilize and facilitate intercultural discourse and action, demonstrating that heritage and the power to mobilize the past can be shared.

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No. of bitstreams: 1 DissRMP.pdf: 15095097 bytes, checksum: 3703e8ef76aeee35c9f43221a9d692f4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-04-20 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) / This dissertation is about the vaqueiros (cowboys) of the municipality of Floresta, sertão of Pernambuco (hinterland), Brazilian northeast, where I conducted my fieldwork from February to May 2016. It is an ethnography about the disputed position of being a vaqueiro, since perspectives that, far from considering it an historical resistance, covered by regionalism and traditionalism, demonstrate the ways in which, nowadays, many vaqueiros are vaqueiros without being true. It means to say that not everyone is in fact vaqueiros, vaqueiros mesmo, in other words, the real ones. In the face of these contradictions and evaluations, I divided the ethnography into three chapters. In the first, I bring a methodological discussion about how my friends characterized what should be, according to them, my analytical object par excellence. In this case, the real cowboy, original and authentic. Afterward, I will discuss some local strategies whose proposal is to turn the category vaqueiro in something essential. Then, I will see how it simultaneously multiply the same category in unexpected ways, in ways that couldn’t one day be imagined. For this reason, the second chapter analyzes how some interlocutors specifically innovate their relationships with the herd, the drought and the past. In the third and last, memory became the central theme of the discussion. According to my arguments, being a vaqueiro gains new senses in the present, taking into account the knowledge of wise storytellers, whose memories glorify them as more cowboys than others, because they lived in old times, the revered past. At the end of the same chapter, it is the human-animal relationships that gain prominence, in the context of the pegas de boi no mato or vaquejada. My contribution is that, in addition to being disputed and prestigious, being a vaqueiro is also an inventive and procedural position. In this sense, the category in question gains a plastic nature in my ethnographic analysis, whose proposal is to understand that there isn’t only the prospect of the end – that the vaqueiros are disappearing or being transformed into something other than the masters of ancient times – but also the actual perspectives of some cowboys who, in turn, do not consider themselves deserters of what they conventionally call tradition, understood as the resource of memory in which are drawn the traits that equate, and at the same time, differentiate all of them from whom is more true, given the uncertainties of being a vaqueiro in the future. / Esta dissertação é sobre os vaqueiros do município de Floresta, sertão de Pernambuco, onde realizei pesquisa de campo de fevereiro a maio de 2016. Trata-se de uma etnografia a respeito da disputada posição de ser vaqueiro desde perspectivas que, longe de considerarem-na uma resistência histórica coberta de regionalismos e tradicionalismos, demonstram as maneiras pelas quais, hoje em dia, uns se dizem vaqueiros sem serem de verdade ou dizem que outros os são para imediatamente asseverarem o contrário. Ou ainda, que só alguns poucos são de fato e de direito vaqueiros, vaqueiros mesmo. Diante dessas contradições e avaliações, dividi a etnografia em três capítulos. No primeiro, trago uma discussão metodológica a respeito de como os meus amigos e amigas sertanejas caracterizavam o que deveria ser, segundo eles(as), o meu objeto analítico por excelência. Neste caso, o vaqueiro de verdade, original e autêntico. A partir daí, deparei-me com estratégias que essencializavam a categoria ser vaqueiro para, simultaneamente a isso, multiplicá-la de formas que talvez um dia não fossem possíveis de serem imaginadas. Por essa razão, o segundo capítulo analisa como alguns interlocutores inovavam de forma específica as suas relações com o rebanho, a seca e o passado. No terceiro e último, a memória protagoniza a discussão. Por meio dela, ser vaqueiro ganha novos sentidos, levando em conta o conhecimento de sábios contadores de histórias, cujas lembranças os glorificam como mais vaqueiros do que outros, pelo fato de terem vivido pegas de boi de outrora. No final do mesmo capítulo, são as relações humano-animal que ganham protagonismo, no contexto das vaquejadas de pega de boi no mato. Minha contribuição é que, além de disputada e prestigiada, ser vaqueiro é também uma posição inventiva e processual. Nesse sentido, a categoria em questão ganha textualmente uma natureza plástica, a fim de compreender que não há somente a perspectiva do fim – de que os vaqueiros estão desaparecendo ou se transformando noutra coisa que não os afamados senhores do tempo de antigamente –, mas também as perspectivas dos vaqueiros de hoje que, por sua vez, não se consideram desertores do que convencionalmente chamam de tradição, por eles entendida como o recurso da memória em que se desenham os traços que os igualam e, ao mesmo tempo, os desassemelham de quem é mais verdadeiro diante das incertezas de ser vaqueiro no futuro.