This thesis set out to ascertain the position of recent Australian Governments on the latest instalments of Asian regionalism in the context of an assessment of whether there has been a redefinition of Asia and thus a redefinition of Australia???s engagement with Asia. It will concentrate on the broad themes of politico-strategic and economic engagement. Whilst there has been extensive research and documentation on the Asian economic crisis there has been less work on the issue of a new Asian regionalism and the implications for Australia???s complex and variable engagement with the region. This is the basis for the claim to originality of this thesis, a claim supported by its focus on the practical and policy implications of Australia???s engagement, or lack of it, with regional institutions. The process of regional integration has been extremely slow, thus supporting the conclusion that there is no evidence of a major redefinition of Asia. Efforts at Asian regionalism are meeting obstacles that pose immense challenges. Asian regionalism remains nascent and poorly defined. This reflects the diversity and enormous disparities in cultures, political systems and the levels of economic development and differences over economic philosophies within East Asia. What is discernible is that the regionalism is proceeding more rapidly on financial issues than on trade, and in the security area it is conspicuously absent. This research highlights the fact that the question of Asian engagement remains a sensitive issue in Australia and continues to grow more complex. Australia???s engagement with Asia since 1996 has been variable because of the Howard Government???s broader balance of priorities between global and regional issues, and because of the changing nature of the Asian region. The perception gleaned from sources is that, for the Australian Government, regionalism initiatives are characterised by much discussion but lack substance. Consequently, this appears to have led the Government to the position that exclusion from some manifestations of regionalism is not so important. Australia is excluded from some of the regional architectures being constructed. In its efforts to seek inclusion in ASEAN + 3 and ASEM, Australia is facing the same barriers that have stood in the way of an AFTA-CER agreement. Exclusion would be important if the performance of regional groupings was not so indifferent. Exclusion from ASEAN + 3 and ASEM, however, does not equate to Australia???s exclusion from the region.

This thesis set out to ascertain the position of recent Australian Governments on the latest instalments of Asian regionalism in the context of an assessment of whether there has been a redefinition of Asia and thus a redefinition of Australia???s engagement with Asia. It will concentrate on the broad themes of politico-strategic and economic engagement. Whilst there has been extensive research and documentation on the Asian economic crisis there has been less work on the issue of a new Asian regionalism and the implications for Australia???s complex and variable engagement with the region. This is the basis for the claim to originality of this thesis, a claim supported by its focus on the practical and policy implications of Australia???s engagement, or lack of it, with regional institutions. The process of regional integration has been extremely slow, thus supporting the conclusion that there is no evidence of a major redefinition of Asia. Efforts at Asian regionalism are meeting obstacles that pose immense challenges. Asian regionalism remains nascent and poorly defined. This reflects the diversity and enormous disparities in cultures, political systems and the levels of economic development and differences over economic philosophies within East Asia. What is discernible is that the regionalism is proceeding more rapidly on financial issues than on trade, and in the security area it is conspicuously absent. This research highlights the fact that the question of Asian engagement remains a sensitive issue in Australia and continues to grow more complex. Australia???s engagement with Asia since 1996 has been variable because of the Howard Government???s broader balance of priorities between global and regional issues, and because of the changing nature of the Asian region. The perception gleaned from sources is that, for the Australian Government, regionalism initiatives are characterised by much discussion but lack substance. Consequently, this appears to have led the Government to the position that exclusion from some manifestations of regionalism is not so important. Australia is excluded from some of the regional architectures being constructed. In its efforts to seek inclusion in ASEAN + 3 and ASEM, Australia is facing the same barriers that have stood in the way of an AFTA-CER agreement. Exclusion would be important if the performance of regional groupings was not so indifferent. Exclusion from ASEAN + 3 and ASEM, however, does not equate to Australia???s exclusion from the region.

Parental involvement plays an essential role in the United States (U.S.) educational system. However, parental involvement poses many challenges for Hmong parents in American schools. Many assumptions are made on the parts of teachers, staff, and Hmong parents about parents' roles pertaining to their involvement in their children's education. Hmong parents struggle to reconcile beliefs, attitudes, and values that they bring with them from Laos with the expectations found in the U.S. due to their unfamiliarity with the U.S. educational system. This study employed the used a qualitative, descriptive case study approach to examine the perceptions of Hmong parents involvement at a K-6 Hmong American charter school in Northern California. The primary data collection method used in this study was interviews with four school-community stakeholder groups. The purposeful-selected interview participants included two administrators, four teachers, six parents, and four students. The interviews were dialogically coded and nine themes were developed related to parental involvement. These nine themes were: communication with parents, committee involvement, flexibility of staff, enrichment programs non-traditional school schedule, importance of field trips, cultural events and presence of other cultures, recommend school to others, and positive behavioral reinforcement. The study concludes with a presentation of the implications of the nine themes on the design of parent involvement models and recommendations are offered related to policies and connected strategies for how to design culturally relevant supports for parent involvement in education.

Ce mémoire se penche sur l’absurde dans les oeuvres de deux mangakas de l’après Deuxième Guerre mondiale, soit Tsuge Yoshiharu（つげ義春） et Sasaki Maki（佐々木マキ）. Cette étude comparative approche l’absurde comme expérience et tente de penser l’écho que le concept a pu ou non avoir chez les auteurs en question. Pour ce faire, une exploration de divers courants underground des années 50 et 60 au Japon (culture kasutori, nouvelle vague japonaise et avant-garde) est menée afin de retracer comment ceux-ci auraient éventuellement influencés les oeuvres des auteurs analysées, elles-mêmes s’inscrivant dans la culture manga underground de l’époque. Cette section sert également de point d’appui afin de réfléchir sur la place que l’absurde aurait pu prendre au sein de la société japonaise, voyant ses fondements basculer à l’aube de la défaite et contrainte à coopérer sous tutelle américaine. C’est dans cette optique que nous proposons une lecture de l’oeuvre culte de Tsuge Yoshiharu, Nejishiki (ねじ式) comme exprimant une nostalgie propre à une « sensibilité absurde », telle que théorisée par Camus, via le motif de la réparation du corps. Parallèlement à ceci, nous nous attarderons à l’oeuvre de Sasaki Maki au coeur de laquelle le nansensu, compris comme interjection ainsi que référence au courant de l’ero-guro-nansensu, s’érige. À la suite de quoi, nous conclurons sur une comparaison entre les deux expressions de l’absurde chez les mangakas étudiés de manière à dégager, également, ce qui différencie le nansensu de l’absurde. / This text focuses on the artwork of two mangakas of the post Second World War, Tsuge Yoshiharu（つげ義春） and Sasaki Maki（佐々木マキ）. This comparative study investigates the absurd through its experimental component and tries to think the resonance that the concept might have had (or not ) among the authors cited. To this effect, we will explore diverse movements of the 50’s and 60’s in Japan (kasutori culture, Japanese new wave and avant-garde) in order to retrace how they might have eventually influenced the works of the mangakas analysed, themselves being part of an underground culture in the manga community of the time. This section also serves as a starting point for reflecting on the place that the absurd had in the Japanese society of that era, the country being recently defeated and obliged to cooperate under the American occupation which will bring profound changes to the society. It’s in the same vein that we propose a reading of Tsuge Yoshiharu’s masterpiece, Nejishiki (ねじ式), as expressing a nostalgia specific to what Camus calls an « absurd sensibility » through the motive of a body in search of repair. Alternatively, we will analyse Sasaki Maki’s work in the heart of which nansensu, thought as an interjection and in reference to the movement of the ero-guro-nansensu, is present. Finally, we will conclude on a comparison between the two expressions of the absurd in Tsuge and Sasaki’s respective work in order, as well, to elucidate what distinguishes nansensu from the absurd.

Nearly four decades of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-European Union (EU) relationship have witnessed the importance of ideas and identity alongside the economic interests in shaping the behaviour of the two sides. The study takes interest in understanding the EU’s actorness and the EU as a normative actor with and within Southeast Asia through a reflectivist lens. The thesis is an attempt to provide a new perspective on a relationship commonly assessed from an economic angle. It outlines the opportunity of non-traditional security (NTS) challenges to enhance EU actorness and normative influence in Southeast Asia. Against this backdrop, the study explores the dialogue and cooperative initiatives of two regions, which attach relatively little salience to each other. The study employs a NTS lens and draws upon the case of the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997-98, the haze in relation to forest governance, the Bali bombings of 2002 and the political conflict in Aceh. The study assumes that these NTS issues can stimulate processes of threat convergence as well as threat ‘othering’. It argues that these processes enhance European engagement in Southeast Asia and contribute to shaping regional stability in Southeast Asia. Furthermore, NTS crises present situations, where norms can become unstable, contested and substituted. This allows us to better examine the EU as a normative actor. To establish an understanding of the EU’s actorness and the EU as a normative actor, the empirical evidence will focus on the threat perceptions, motivations of action and activities of the EU and its member states. For the purpose of differentiating the EU as a normative actor, the study will also include the discussion of the normative objectives and behaviours of the EU and its member states and apply a reflectivist theoretical framework. Hypothetically, NTS crises trigger external assistance and normative influence and thus, they offer an opportunity to establish a more nuanced picture of the EU in the region. At the same time, the study acknowledges that there are a variety of constraints and variables that complicate the EU’s actorness. The thesis seeks to identify and discuss these. So far, scholarly publications have failed to apply the NTS perspective systematically. This thesis provides the first monograph-length treatment of the EU in Southeast Asia through a NTS and reflectivist lens.