<p> In order to investigate the actual instructional experiences for students with reading disabilities in Taiwan, a qualitative study was conducted using the method consisted of observation of the special education environment and interviews with two students with reading disabilities, one parent of the student, and three Resource Room teachers. On a macroscopic scale, the researcher looked at the special education system&rsquo;s implementation in a public middle school in Taiwan, while on a microscopic scale, the researcher focused on the remediation of the reading disabilities that the students were receiving in special education. The ultimate goal of this research was to benefit the special educational system in Taiwan in educating students with reading disabilities. Therefore, this was written in both English and Mandarin for the benefit of readers in Taiwan and in the U.S.</p>

<p> Ethno-demographic grievances define the conflict between Buddhist and Rohingya-Muslim populations in the Rakhine State of Myanmar. Nationalistic Buddhist leaders, such as the controversial monk Ashin Wirathu, maintain that the Rohingya population&rsquo;s rapid growth and high fertility rates threaten to overtake local Buddhist populations, reflecting local Rakhine State sentiments. This study seeks to identify quantitative and qualitative differences between the Rohingya and Buddhist populations in Rakhine State and to elucidate the theoretical and practical implications for Buddhist-Rohingya relations. Due to the government&rsquo;s decision to avoid enumeration of self-identifying Rohingya, this study has relied on several recent local surveys to reconstruct a local demographic description of the Rohingya. The &ldquo;Demographic Security Dilemma&rdquo; theory, which specifies expectations for minority-majority conflicts and their resolution, will be used to discuss the relevant forces that underlie the Buddhist-Rohingya conflict.</p>

<p> This dissertation addresses the formation of scholar identity as informed by an identity- conscious approach to doctoral student socialization, doctoral student development, and racial identity as expressed through the critical narratives of Asian American and Pacific Islander doctoral students in the field of higher education. The study explored the intersections of race, doctoral student socialization, and doctoral student development &mdash; three areas that have been approached as separate entities in existing literature. By using life history methodology and narrative inquiry, this study contributed to a more thorough understanding of racialized experiences in doctoral studies. Critical narrative was used as a methodological approach concerned with power and language in society where individuals can concretely question their own realities and identify the socio-ideological influence of systems on their practices and beliefs (Souto-Manning, 2012). Rather than use terminology of counter-narrative, which positions a narrative as counter to an existing dominant narrative, the use of critical narrative is highlighted as a way to position the stories of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders as their own central story. This inquiry advances our understanding of ways to create and sustain more inclusive and engaging learning environments that support racial diversity in higher education and to better understand the barriers that have socially and historically marginalized Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders both in general and in doctoral education. Recommendations for practice include developing identity-conscious approaches to scholar formation, including but not limited to inclusive pedagogy and curriculum; mentoring and advising; culturally affirming networks; program and organizational orientation; and doctoral student support. A model of identity-conscious scholar formation is presented in which socialization, development, and racial identity must be operationalized as bidirectional and interactional processes.</p>

published_or_final_version / Microbiology / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

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In many ways this thesis is concerned with the meaning of the term 'Naga' especially when it is applied in the identification of historical material culture held in British museums. In the examination of the development and use of Naga collections in British museums, the connections with the ethnology and anthropology of the 19th century are explored. It is fitting, therefore, that we should begin with a reiteration of the early explanations of the word 'Naga', for whilst the theoretical basis and aims of this thesis are different, it could, ironically, be said to be following on from the work of early writers and their search for meaning. The many different early definitions of 'Naga' are of interest for two reasons. First, they give an impression of their writers' ideas, and secondly because they indicate the starting point for the collection of Naga material culture. The following examples are not given in any particular order: from nangta or nanga meaning 'naked' (Butler 1875, Dun 1886, Shakespear 1914); from the name Naga used in the Mahabharat meaning 'beautiful dragon', like the beings against whom the hero Arjuna fought (Dun 1886); from nok meaning 'folk' in some dialects (Chakravorty 1964 from Gait 1826); from the word naga meaning 'snake'; from the Kachari work Naga meaning a 'young man' or 'warrior' (Woodthorpe 1881-82, who also noted the 'naked' and 'snake' explanations); from Na-Ka meaning 'people or men or folk with pierced ears', a name given by the Burmese to Nagas and possibly passed on to the British (Hokishe Sema 1986). Essentially the word seems to have been a derogatory term applied by local outsiders, such as the people of the plains, to the people of the hills, and it was then taken up and used by the British. As early as 1841 Robinson recorded that 'whatever the origin of the word Naga, it appears that the appellation is entirely unknown to any of the hill tribes themselves'. The preoccupation with the derivation of the word continues, for in 1986 Hokishe Sema, as noted above, was suggesting that the name was known in Burma from Na-Ka, and the British got to know of Nagas from the Burmese wars 1795-1826. The practical looseness of definition was realised in the 19th century and comes across in the work of Butler (1875) where he stated that Naga is a 'comprehensive term ... including the whole group of cognate races ... hill and upland' and then gave limits around the compass by reference to geographical features and approximate lines of latitude and longitude; he also suggested that the Kachin and Chin were offshoots of the Nagas. In 1886 Dun firmly noted that: In cases where a large number of tribes have been classed together (Abors, Singphos, Nagas), the differences between tribes separated socially and geograpically from one another have, since the imposition of the name, been discovered to be so great as to suggest doubts as to the advisability of attempting any such wide generic classification. The imposition of the name is the crux of the matter, with connotations for modern identity. Whatever its origin, the term Naga is now used with pride by some hill peoples on the periphery of mainland South-East Asia, predominantly those around what is now the international border of India and Myanmar. Hokishe Sena, a Naga, gives a contemporary view in noting that 'it is a name given by outsiders' and was long resented by the people 'till political expediency caused it to be accepted as describing the separate identity of these people as distinct from other ethnic tribal people and also from the people of the country at large'. Thus, the term Naga already can be seen to offer layers of complex meanings, from its application by outsiders including the British in the 19th century to the centrality of its political use today. It is against this background that this study discusses the ethnography and anthropology of the Naga peoples, particularly in relation to their historical material culture which was collected in the 19th and 20th centuries by the British and deposited in museums in Britain.

International regime theory assume s the hegemon's willingness and capability to be the necessary and sufficient conditions for creating regimes. The larger the power disparity between the hegemon and the subordinate countries, the better the conditions for regime formation will be. But in Asia-Pacific, regime formation has gained momentum since the U.S. hegemonic power began to decline. How do we explain the "anomaly" in Asia-Pacific cooperation? What distinct patterns of regime dynamics have demonstrated in this region? My central assumptions are first, Asia-Pacific regional cooperation is, to a great extent, determined by the respective postures of China and Japan as well as the nature of their bilateral relations; second, regime dynamics in this region can be better captured from the perspective of these two Asian indigenous major powers. I draw upon regime theory, constructivist arguments, and aspects of the traditional Chinese-dominated East Asian order to devise the theoretical frameworks for this study. These theoretical frameworks enable us to capture the fluidity and complexity that have characterized the process of Asia-Pacific regime creation. We find that China's great leap outward has facilitated an ideational change, bringing China closer to the rules, norms, and principles of regional economic regime. Yet China's cognitive support have been mixed and it has refrained from committing to any fora of regional cooperation. Similarly, Japan has adopted a minimalist approach to regional cooperation. Uncertainties and mixed feelings characterize Sino-Japanese relations. China and Japan have not formed and are unlikely to form a political partnership to forge an exclusively Asian bloc, nor have their bilateral relations evolved or are likely to evolve toward confrontation to effect the collapse of regional cooperation. Finally, I summarize how patterns of regime dynamics in Asia-Pacific can be identified and assessed by focusing on the category of the two Asian powers. I conclude that the embedded liberalism defining European-Atlantic regimes could never hold in Asia-Pacific. Regime dynamics in Asia-Pacific have proceeded and will continue to evolve in a fashion that reflects the distinctive power and cultural reality in this world arena.

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No description available.

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