The current literature suggests that familial ethnic-racial socialization of ethnic-racial minority individuals is significantly associated with various aspects of ethnic-racial identity which in turn, is associated with their psychosocial well-being. However, little research attention has examined this indirect effect path for South Asian American adults. The current research explored the direct and indirect effects of familial ethnic-racial socialization on selected psychosocial well-being variables via ethnic-racial identity and religious identity variables in this understudied group—South Asian American adults. Potential participants were recruited through SONA and social media to complete an online research questionnaire that measured all variables of interest. After the data cleaning procedures and removal of those disqualified, a total of 178 South Asian American adults were included in the final sample for analyses. Hypotheses were investigated using exploratory factor analyses, path analyses, and moderated mediation analyses. Findings identified three specific indirect effect paths of familial ethnic-racial socialization on general self-efficacy and life satisfaction through different ethnic-racial identity and religious identity variables. Additionally, results of the exploratory factor analyses demonstrated that religious identity variables were integral and distinct components in the identity development of South Asian Americans by being a coherent yet distinct factor from the ethnic-racial identity variable. The hypothesized moderator effects of gender, family cohesion, and ethnic-racial composition of current and childhood social network on various paths of the indirect effect model were not significant. Limitations, future directions, and implications for counseling, diversity, and advocacy issues are outlined.

This dissertation explores the interrelated processes of religious community formation, changing state regulation, and literary production in early modern India by focusing on two figures of the Caitanya lineage: Mahipati Taharabadkar (1715-1790) and his predecessor Uddhav Cidghan (d. 1690). While the community of Vitthal devotees (Varkaris) came to hold a prominent and strategic place in devotional histories of the Deccan, I demonstrate that several 17th-century facets of ascetic practice and sectarian identification that Mahipati inherited were obscured in his celebrated 18th-century hagiographies, especially the Bhaktavijaya (1762, Victory of Devotees). First, I highlight the lineage’s Mahanubhav connections through a study of Marathi and Persian documentary archives. The Mahanubhavs had a crucial and fraught social presence till they were deemed criminal in 1782-83 (Chapter I). I then focus on Uddhav’s Bhaktamālikā (A Garland of Devotees) to explore the lineage’s Dasanami milieu (Chapter II-III). Uddhav tethers the lineage to a trans-regional, multi-linguistic, and supra-sectarian community that Mahipati later expands on and transvalues. Diffused forms of state support that Mahipati’s family benefited from, and his access to scribal, courtly, performative, and Ramdasi networks, I demonstrate, enabled him to achieve a large-scale reconfiguration of the lineage’s social history (Chapter IV). In doing so, he excludes the Mahanubhavs and introduces a paradigm that becomes definitive for the Varkaris: the devotee and his or her family are presented as the loci for experiencing devotion.

This thesis looks at literature by two South Asian, diasporic writers, Jhumpa Lahiri and Monica Ali, as a space where creative, cross-­cultural and independent identities for diasporic women might be created. The central claim of the thesis is that diasporic migration affects South Asian women in particular ways. The most positive outcome is that these women adopt new trans-­border identities but that these remain shaped by class, culture and gender. Hence a working class milieu such as the one depicted by Monica Ali, leads to an immigrant, ghetto-­ised, community-­based identity, located solely in the land of adoption, with return or travel to the homeland no longer possible. However, the milieu imagined in Jhumpa Lahiri’s text, a middle-class, suburban environment, creates a solitary, transnational identity, lived between countries, where travel between the land of birth and the land of adoption remains accessible. / English / M.A. (English)

This thesis looks at literature by two South Asian, diasporic writers, Jhumpa Lahiri and Monica Ali, as a space where creative, cross-­cultural and independent identities for diasporic women might be created. The central claim of the thesis is that diasporic migration affects South Asian women in particular ways. The most positive outcome is that these women adopt new trans-­border identities but that these remain shaped by class, culture and gender. Hence a working class milieu such as the one depicted by Monica Ali, leads to an immigrant, ghetto-­ised, community-­based identity, located solely in the land of adoption, with return or travel to the homeland no longer possible. However, the milieu imagined in Jhumpa Lahiri’s text, a middle-class, suburban environment, creates a solitary, transnational identity, lived between countries, where travel between the land of birth and the land of adoption remains accessible. / English / M.A. (English)

Chronological Bible storying generally assumes a universality of the story teller's theological perspective in selecting and shaping Bible stories interculturally. This paper argues against this approach and proposes a method of crafting contextualized Bible stories which resonate with the worldview of a receptor culture. The influence of the theological and cultural presuppositions of the story teller is reduced through the utilization of the receptor culture's worldview assumptions - those values and beliefs through which the impact of scripture is experienced. The empirical research consisted of observing the responses of Sindhi Muslim men to a reading of John 13:1-10 and then interviewing them to generate cultural expressions which revealed a relationship between their culture and the scripture passage. Analysis of the data disclosed themes which have scriptural referents and can be used as the basis for selecting and crafting Bible stories that resonate with worldview assumptions. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M. Th. (Missiology)

The purpose of this thesis is to assess Pakistan’s relationship with Afghanistan before and after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. I argue that the nature of the relationship was transformed by the region becoming the centre of Cold War conflict, and show how Pakistan’s role affected the development of the mujahidin insurgency against Soviet occupation. My inquiry begins by assessing the historical determinants of the relationship, arising from the colonial legacy and local interpretations of the contested spheres of legitimacy proffered by state, tribe and Islam. I then map the trajectory of the relationship from Pakistan’s independence in 1947, showing how the retreat of great power rivalry following British withdrawal from the subcontinent allowed for the framing of the relationship in primarily bilateral terms. The ascendance of bilateral factors opened greater possibilities for accommodation than had previously existed, though the relationship struggled to free itself of inherited colonial disputes, represented by the Pashtunistan issue. The most promising attempt to resolve the dispute came to an end with the communist coup and subsequent Soviet invasion, which subsumed bilateral concerns under the framework of Cold War confrontation. Viewing the invasion as a major threat, Pakistan pursued negotiations for Soviet withdrawal, aligned itself with the US and gave clandestine support to the mujahidin insurgency. External support enhanced mujahidin military viability while exacerbating weaknesses in political organization and ideology. Soviet withdrawal in 1989 left an unresolved conflict. Faced with state collapse and turmoil across the border, heightened security concerns following loss of US support, and intensified links among non-state actors on both sides of the frontier, the Pakistan government drew on its recently gained experience of working through non-state actors to attempt to maintain its influence in Afghanistan. There would be no return to the relatively stable state-state ties prevailing before 1979.

「對外發展援助」作為歐盟施展全球影響力之重要途徑，其具體作法與實際成效在於維繫歐盟「文明權力」之可信度。時值國際金融海嘯衝擊，而歐洲債信仍危機四伏之際，歐盟能否持續推動發展援助政策，已然成為新時期歐盟全球戰略之迫切問題。爰此，本研究旨在探討歐盟發展援助政策，希冀經由對此一政策形成、推動、發展與演進之分析，輔以亞洲地區援助計畫個案討論，全面檢視當代歐盟發展援助政策之實踐與展望。首先透過文獻資料蒐集與整理，系統地回顧歐盟發展援助政策之沿革，並就其相關法理基礎進行初步檢視與探索。其次探討歐盟對亞洲發展援助之架構與策略，闡述歐盟自1994年啟動《邁向亞洲新策略》以來歐亞關係之演進與變遷。最後則以南海海嘯作為分析個案，評估歐盟對亞洲發展援助政策之實踐與現況，進而分析該政策對我國影響與啟示。 / As being the essential approach for EU global influence, European development policy has maintained the credibility of EU “civil power” by its real measures and effects. After the impact of the global financial crisis and the European debt crisis, to maintain the development policy became an imminent challenge for EU global strategy in this new era. In order to explore the regional cooperation and development policy in Asia, there is a need to systematically review the background and legal basis of EU development policy, then to analyze the framework and strategy of EU development policy in Asia and the inner EU-Asia relations since 1994 “Towards A New Asian Strategy”. After all, understand the actual performance of development policy in Asia by evaluating the case study of 2004 South Asian Tsunami, which can also be infer as the policy implication for Taiwan.

Coronary artery disease (CAD), Hypertension (Ht) and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) are all global health problems. This is particularly evident amongst South Asian population groups. The conventional risk factors do not fully explain the higher prevalence of these diseases among South Asians. The endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase (eNOS) gene is responsible for the production of Nitric Oxide (NO), which may contribute to the physiology of all three disease states. Endothelial dysfunction (which is characterised by a reduction in basal NO) has been shown to be present in, or prior to all three diseases. Numerous variations exist within the eNOS gene, of these variations three have been shown to have a possible functional effect. The first is the Glu298Asp polymorphism within the exon region of the gene, resulting in an amino acid substitution of Glutamate (Glu) to Aspartate (Asp). The second, known as the T-786C polymorphism, is a thymine to cytosine mutation at position -786 in the promoter region. Finally a VNTR polymorphism in Intron 4 causes either a 4 27bp repeat or a 5 27bp repeat. It is hypothesised that these variations could have an effect on the ability of eNOS to produce NO and thus may increase the risk or contribute to the development of the diseases. Previous studies on these variants have shown conflicting results and further studies are warranted to understand and confirm the role of eNOS gene polymorphisms in cardio-metabolic diseases. There is very limited research into the distributions of these genetic variants and their interaction in diseases processes in North Indian populations. Objectives: 1. To analyse through a case control study three different polymorphisms of the eNOS gene for possible association with Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), Hypertension (Ht) and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) in North Indian population groups. 2. To statistically evaluate descriptive statistics including; age, gender, smoking, dietary behaviours and lipid parameters for possible influence on disease and potential interaction with genetic polymorphisms. 3. To evaluate linkage disequilibrium between the three eNOS variants and carryout haplotype analysis to work out haplotype risk in different diseases. 4. To analyse through a case control study the deletion variant of the Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene for possible association with Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), Hypertension (Ht) and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) in North Indian population groups. 5. To determine a possible interactive effect of the eNOS polymorphisms with the ACE polymorphism. Subjects and Methods: The Glu298Asp and Intron 4 variants were genotyped using a PCR-RFLP technique, the T-786C variant was genotyped using a real time-PCR technique. The ACE deletion variant was also genotyped using a standard PCR technique. The genotyping was undertaken in a total of 457 CAD patients and 220 matched controls from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh in North India, 319 T2DM patients and 307 matched controls from Punjab, North India and 210 Ht and 162 matched controls, also from Punjab, North India. Results: CAD: The Glu298Asp was significantly associated with CAD among smokers (TT+GT vs. GG OR=2.84 (CI: 1.61-5.0), p<0.001). The Intron 4 variant was also significantly associated with CAD in a smoking dependent manner (4aa+4ab vs. 4bb OR=0.56 (CI: 0.33-0.96). The T-786C variant showed no overall influence on CAD risk. There was also evidence for both synergistic and haplotypic effects of the eNOS gene on CAD status (haplotype G-C-4b OR=4.76 (CI: 1.43-15.78), p<0.001). The ACE genetic variant was confirmed to be a strong independent risk factor for CAD under a dominant model (OR=2.18 (CI: 1.46-3.25), p<0.001). There was no evidence for an interactive effect between the ACE deletion and any of the three eNOS variants incorporated in the current study. Ht: The Glu298Asp variant was not shown to increase Ht risk, with a reduced risk association found under a recessive model (OR=0.316 (CI:0.089-1.116)), p=0.061). The T-786C variant s role in disease remained unclear with the findings showing a non significant increased risk. The Intron 4 variant was also shown to increase Ht risk, in a non significant manner. Sufficiently powered studies would be required to clarify these possible associations. The combined analysis, using logistic regression and haplotype analysis revealed no significant associations, but there was a possible protective effect of the T-C-4b haplotype (OR=0.46 (CI: 0.21-1.01), p=0.054). The ACE gene variant was confirmed to be a strong independent risk factor for Ht under a recessive model (OR=1.81 (CI: 1.20-2.74), p=0.01). Again there was no evidence for an interactive effect between the ACE deletion and any of the three eNOS variants in hypertension. T2DM: The Glu298Asp variant was found to be associated with T2DM under a dominant model, the protective effect remained significant following adjustment for conventional risk factors and other gene variants (OR=0.407 (CI: 0.231-0.717), p=0.002). The T-786C variant showed no overall influence on T2DM risk. The Intron 4 variant also found no overall influence. Haplotype analysis found the T-T-4b was found to be significantly protective for T2DM (OR=0.41 (CI: 0.26-0.65), p=0.0002). Finally the ACE gene variant was confirmed to be a risk factor for T2DM under a dominant model (OR=2.62 (CI: 1.51-4.54), p=0.001). Overall Conclusions: To conclude, this study successfully identified the frequency of three eNOS gene variants and the ACE deletion variant in three complex diseases within north Indian populations. There is a clear role of the eNOS gene in all three diseases and consequently the genetic variants have susceptible/protective associations. The association with disease was found to be present at an individual level, in association with risk factors and at a haplotypic level. These findings warrant further studies to confirm and untangle the genetics of complex diseases and genetic risk profiles calculations which will contribute to the field of medical genomics/personalised medicare and interventions among North Indian populations.

La recherche explore les dynamiques influençant la réussite scolaire des élèves montréalais originaires de l’Asie du Sud (Inde, Pakistan, Sri Lanka et Bangladesh) à l’école secondaire publique de langue française. En effet, au Québec, à cet ordre d’enseignement, parmi tous les élèves immigrants de différentes origines ethniques, ces élèves présentent le plus fort taux de décrochage et ce, même si l’on tient compte de leur départ élevé de la province avant l’âge de 15 ans et de leur fréquentation importante du secteur de l’éducation des adultes. Cette recherche vise, d’une part, à fournir une meilleure connaissance des dynamiques familiales, communautaires et scolaires qui influencent l’expérience socioscolaire et plus particulièrement, la réussite scolaire de ces élèves et, d’autre part, à identifier les moyens les plus appropriés et les plus efficaces pour amoindrir leurs difficultés. Les données ont été recueillies par le biais d’une méthode mixte, consistant en des entretiens approfondis auprès d’élèves d’origine sud-asiatique et de différents acteurs du paradigme éducatif (les parents, les intervenants scolaires et communautaires), et en un questionnaire anonyme adressé exclusivement aux parents sud-asiatiques. Les données ont été analysées selon un cadre où l’élève d’origine immigrée réussit plus ou moins à l’école sous l’influence de cinq types de facteurs : socioéconomiques, linguistiques, culturels, sociostructurels et systémiques. Les résultats de la recherche soulignent le rôle de l’élève comme acteur de sa réussite, tout en insistant sur l’impact des différents milieux qu’il fréquente. La famille est particulièrement interpellée quant à son projet migratoire, ses valeurs et ses pratiques, ainsi que ses ressources linguistiques, socioéconomiques et relationnelles. La communauté ethnique est aussi interpellée quant à son niveau de complétude institutionnelle. La recherche souligne également l’influence du système scolaire quant à ses politiques, programmes et encadrements éducatifs, mais aussi quant aux pratiques et dynamiques au sein de l’école. L’impact du contexte d’accueil et d’intégration des nouveaux arrivants et du climat des relations interethniques au sein de la société d’accueil sont également mis en relief. « Ça prend tout un village pour éduquer un enfant »! Plus précisément, selon les résultats de notre recherche, les défis des parents sud-asiatiques face à l’insertion au marché de l’emploi, leur méconnaissance du français et le fait que certaines valeurs sud-asiatiques soient parfois en contradiction avec les valeurs québécoises sont les principales dynamiques familiales qui nuisent à la réussite scolaire des élèves d’origine sud-asiatique à l’école québécoise de langue française. En ce qui concerne les dynamiques communautaires, la faiblesse institutionnelle de la communauté sud-asiatique et le petit nombre d’organismes à vocation scolaire ont également un impact important à cet égard. De plus, le classement problématique des élèves à leur arrivée dans le système scolaire québécois, les relations presque inexistantes entre l’école et les parents ainsi que certaines pratiques inadaptées à la réalité des élèves (liées aux services d’accueil et d’orientation) sont les principales dynamiques systémiques qui défavorisent l’intégration socioscolaire des élèves d’origine sud-asiatique, mais aussi celle de l’ensemble des élèves issus de l’immigration. / This study explores dynamics that influence educational achievement among Montreal students of South Asian origin (e.g. from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh) in public, French-language high schools. At the secondary level in Quebec, compared to other immigrant students of diverse ethnic origins, these students have the highest drop-out rate. This remains the case even when we take into account student departure from the province prior to fifteen years of age, and when we recognize this group’s significant attendance in the adult education sector. This study aims, on the one hand, to provide a deeper understanding of familial, community, and school dynamics that influence the socio-educational experience of these students, and on the other hand to identify the most appropriate and efficient means for diminishing their difficulties. Data were gathered according to a mixed method approach, consisting of in-depth interviews with students of South Asian origin and with different actors holding educational roles (parents, as well as school and community practitioners), and an anonymous questionnaire addressed exclusively to South Asian parents. Data were analysed according to a framework evaluating the schooling achievement or failure of immigrant origin students according to five types of factors: socio-economic, linguistic, cultural, socio-structural, and systemic. Research results highlight the role of the student as an actor in his or her achievement, all the while emphasizing the impact of diverse milieus that students occupy. The family plays a notable role in shaping their migratory project, values and practices, as well as their linguistic, socio-economic, and relational resources. The ethnic community also plays a role at an institutional completeness level. The study underscores the influence of the educational system in terms of its politics, educational programs and frameworks, including in terms of practices and dynamics within the school. Finally, the impact of the context in which new arrivals are welcomed and integrated, and the climate of inter-ethnic relations within the host society are addressed. After all, “it takes a village to raise a child!” Specifically, the study’s results indicate that challenges faced by South Asian parents entering the job market, their limited knowledge of French, and the fact that certain South Asian values sometimes conflict with Quebecois values are the main familial dynamics that undermine the educational success of students of South Asian origin in French-language schools in Quebec. With regards to community dynamics, the institutional weakness of the South Asian community, as well as the small number of organizations dedicated to education, have an important impact. Furthermore, the problematic classification of students upon arrival in the Quebec schooling system, nearly non-existent relationships between schools and parents, and certain services that are maladapted to student realities (with relation to welcoming and orientation services) are the main systemic dynamics that diminish the socio-educational integration of South Asian students, but also students of immigrant origin more generally.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, to fulfil the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Johannesburg 2016 / Fordsburg, in central Johannesburg (Joburg) is a globally connected locality hosting 15-20 thousand visitors every month from all over the world. Fordsburg is a microcosm of Johannesburg’s cosmopolitanism and bears a distinctly South Asian flavour. With a growing south Asian and Indian presence, it has assumed the name ‘Indian market of Johannesburg’. The dedication of the shopkeepers to keep prices low and the options of good bargains for consumers has helped the area to develop its own identity. The passion to rise upwards among newly arrived south Asian migrants marks the mood throughout Fordsburg market.1 This thesis will provide insights on Fordsburg as an area for Indian businesses deriving stories of businessmen, and labourers from various backgrounds, professions and nationalities. [No abstract provided. Information taken from introduction] / MT2017