published_or_final_version / Asian Studies / Master / Master of Arts

published_or_final_version / abstract / Criminology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

published_or_final_version / abstract / Literary and Cultural Studies / Master / Master of Arts

published_or_final_version / Community Medicine / Master / Master of Public Health

published_or_final_version / Architecture / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

A supplier review system can play a significant role in ensuring the enforcement of procurement rules through its deterrent and redress effects. This thesis aims at providing a critical analysis of the current Chinese supplier review system and identifying and evaluating options for improvement of the Chinese system, based on the analysis of provisions on supplier review contained in the UNCITRAL Model Law on Procurement, the GPA, the EU Remedies Directives and APEC Non-Binding Principles on Government Procurement. This thesis first discusses key characteristics of national supplier review system, concerning forum for review, standing and procedures, and the remedies, provided in the Model Law and the other three international instruments; and then examines these main aspects of the current Chinese supplier review system. After critically analysing the current Chinese system, it has been found there are a number of important deficiencies in this system, in particular, there is uncertainty over the forum for review, the whole dispute resolution process can be quite lengthy and the available remedies are ineffective. These problems have hampered the effectiveness of the system and made it inconsistent with the international standards which may soon apply or currently actually apply to China, namely the GPA and APEC NBPs. To make the Chinese supplier review system truly effective and also comply with the existing/forthcoming international obligations, the author recommends reforms that aim to be effective yet capable of realistic achievement and also workable in the particular context of Chinese circumstances and the existing position in China. These include providing a unified supplier review system to all complaints regarding government procurement process, improving the current sequential tiered review system, revising the current provisions on standing and the time limit for initiation, offering clear rules on remedies and deleting unreasonable sanctions on the complaining supplier.

Think tanks are public policy research institutes that seek to play a role in making or influencing policy. While each think tank serves a specific purpose, they all share a common vision to improve their respective spectrum, as well as being a source of new ideas and research. However, think tanks in Asia are misunderstood, rarely acknowledged, and under-researched. This study is a cross-polity and audience comparison, primarily using semi-structured interviews, grounded theory qualitative analysis and ethnography, to gain insight into the perceptive of think tanks, academics, media, policy makers, and chambers of commerce in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore, to answer what role and impact local think tanks have on the policy making process, and to explore why. Findings revealed six themes and 21 sub-themes. Three sub-themes emerged as having been discussed across all three polities by all five sources. The sub-themes in the order of highest reference count frequency first were: “[Think tanks have] Limited effectiveness in the policy making process” followed by “Research and dissemination [as a role]”, and “Limited media presence except for a few standout think tanks”. Overall there were distinct differences between polities, which may, in most part, be due to varying political development in polities. There were also distinct differences between sources - possibly as the role one plays shapes their perception of issues. The source differences were generally consistent across polities, suggesting that source differences are independent of polity differences. / published_or_final_version / Social Sciences / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

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This work is, essentially, an assessment of Saddam's regime in Iraq, one of the cruellest and most violent regimes of modern times, and the Ba'th Party policies and ideological principles, recognised by Saddam as the theoretical basis for his practices. These policies and practices have had catastrophic consequences for Iraq, "home of ancient civilisations", jeopardising its sovereignty and future and permitting the west and the west-sponsored states in the region to gain favourable concessions at the expense of Iraq's interests. This thesis is divided into nine chapters: The first deals with the Ba'th Party, its founding, ideology, set-backs and seizure of power. The second deals with the founding of the Ba'th Party in Iraq, its political development throughout the Monarchy regime, Qasim's regime and the period during which the Ba'thists came to power on 8 February 1963. The third deals with Saddam's early life and his political activities throughout 'rif's regime. The fourth deals with the circumstances in which the Ba'th Party returned to power. The fifth deals with the presidency of Ahmad Hasan al-Bakr and examines Saddam's role and the nature of the Ba'thist authority during that period. The sixth deals with Saddam's presidency and his assumption of all responsibility for the state and the Party. The seventh and eighth deal with the first and second Gulf wars, the occupation of Kuwait and the results these two destructive wars, embarked upon at the whim of one man, have imposed upon the Iraqi army and people. The ninth comprises a summary of the thesis, in which Saddam's strange and unstable personality will be analysed and a possible solution will be suggested for the future of Iraq - a community different in composition and circumstances from any other country

Japanese women have often described themselves as passive "victims" of the Pacific War, and in their wartime memoirs (senso taikenki) they have related their suffering in the hope of preventing future wars. However, when we closely examine Japanese women' s activities and beliefs during the war, we find that women were not necessarily completely detached from wartime efforts. Many women actively and even enthusiastically cooperated with the state. Even if they did not actively fight on the battlefield and kill people on foreign soil, many women were part of the total war structure, helping to stir up the patriotism that drove Japanese to fight in the war. This thesis looks at how Japanese women, through patriotic women' s organizations, were involved in the Pacific War, and what they actually believed during the war, in contrast with their recollections of the war in their senso taikenki.