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In my thesis I address two questions regarding the aluminum market in China. The first question analyzes the degree to which the Chinese aluminum market is integrated into the world market. I use the Johansen test for cointegration of time series data in SAS statistical software to compare the volatility of daily aluminum spot prices quoted at the Chinese aluminum Commodity Exchange market in Shanghai (SHFE) relative to its counterparts in London (LME), and New York (COMEX) in order to determine the degree to which prices at SHFE follow the same pattern as prices at LME and COMEX. I also perform a series of cointegration tests to determine whether the results derived for Commodity Exchanges also apply to the physical aluminum markets. The results indicate that the three Commodity Exchange markets are not integrated together as one market system. SHFE displays a certain degree of economic integration with the LME but cannot be regarded as economically integrated with COMEX. Nevertheless, LME and COMEX exhibit a relatively high degree of economic integration between themselves. The results can be extended to the physical aluminum market in the Shanghai region but not to China as a whole, most likely because of insufficient number of data observations. The second question concerns the efficiency of aluminum trading at SHFE, relative to COMEX and LME. The precision, with which termed aluminum futures contract prices on their maturity are able to predict spot prices, serves as a standard measure of Commodity Exchange efficiency. Using the same testing procedure as for the first question I compare relative volatility of spot and futures prices at each Commodity Exchange, and rank their relative performance. The results show that SHFE displays somewhat better efficiency results than LME but worse than COMEX. In level terms, the efficiency of LME cannot be confirmed, SHFE comes close to being efficient and COMEX can be regarded as highly efficient.

This paper looks at a group of thirteen Chinese language (CSL) textbooks for foreign students. It focuses on analyzing the representation of Chinese ethnic minority groups, revealing that when present in CSL texts, they present the foreign student with a picture of minorities that sing and dance, are rural, and have unique traditional customs and festivals. This paper also reviews much of the discourse regarding stereotypes and changes in ESL/EFL and other language textbooks and relates this to the case of minorities in CSL texts. It concludes that similar to the concern for political correctness in other language texts, the portrayal of minorities in CSL texts is also politically correct, but in a different sense. Currently, attitudes about minorities in China, unlike the compulsive assimilation policies of the Cultural Revolution, emphasizes minority characteristics and celebrates the diversity they add to China and this is seen in the presentation of minorities in CSL texts.

In this thesis, I study how food resources and dietary conditions were determined by social and economic status during the Han period in China, B.C. 206~A.D.220. Even though earlier scholars have published research concerning the Chinese food culture of this period, these studies were limited in that they only illustrated the dietary culture of the upper class or the available food resources in one geographic area. Also, without any persuasive data, it has been assumed by these earlier scholars that there were big differences in food resources and food consumption between the upper and lower classes. In this thesis, for comparison among the classes, I divide the social and economic classes into five stratified groups: nobles, officials, peasants, soldiers and convicts. After a brief introduction of the nature of each social class, I examine the food resources and nutritional condition of each group using information such as the wealth and income of each group, the market price of food resources, the agricultural products of peasants, and the amount of food distribution to soldiers and convicts. I found these data from archaeological remains, received historical records and pictorial data, and excavated texts. This research shows a broader view of Chinese dietary condition focusing not only on the variety of food resources of nobles, but also on the different food accessibilities among the officials, and the food deficiencies of peasants. It also deals with the situations of food supply for soldiers and convicts in an effort to reveal the true dietary consumption and nutritional conditions for all Chinese. This research proves that the various classes during the Han period in China had different food resources and dietary conditions.

In the Bakumatsu period (1853-1868), Japan experienced many changes and challenges. One of these challenges was regarding how to learn from the West and how to use that knowledge in the building of Japan. One of the most important institutions for such Western learning was the Bansho Shirabesho, an institution created by the Tokugawa government in 1856 to translate Western materials, provide a school for Japanese scholars, and to censor the translations of Western works. This institution eventually gave language instruction in Dutch, English, French, German, and Russian and it also gave instruction in many other practical subjects such as military science and production. This thesis examines in detail how the Shirabesho was founded, what some of the initial difficulties were and how successful it was in accomplishing the tasks it was given. It also assesses the legacy of the Shirabesho in helping to bridge the transition between the Tokugawa periods emphasis on feudal rank and the Meijis emphasis on merit. The legacy of various scholars at the Shirabesho, including Katsu Kaishu, Katõ Hiroyuki, Nishi Amane and Tsuda Mamichi is also addressed. Finally, the thesis summarizes the evolution of the Shirabesho during the tumultuous early Meiji Period into the University of Tokyo by 1877. In addition to the thesis, in the appendix there is a full translation of a previously untranslated speech delivered by Katõ Hiroyuki in 1909 concerning the Bansho Shirabesho.

Hikikomori, a phenomenon which exists to date mostly in Japan, are people who seclude themselves in their bedrooms for an extended period of time and reject most forms of contact with the outside world. These are usually males and young people in their twenties who may comprise nearly a million Japanese citizens. Since Japanese and foreign media as well as scholars express different opinions on potential causes of hikikomori, one of the focal points of my work is to show that causal explanations of the phenomenon, especially those involving multiple causes, that are provided by different authors are not in conflict. I do so by arguing that social withdrawal may be a consequence of each cause on its own, but also the result of interactions between them. To demonstrate it, I analyze discourses of media and scholars and show linkages between the three most salient causes of hikikomori: conformity to Japanese society, the pressure of the educational system, and a problem of communication between parents and children. These factors represent the three distinct categories of my analysis Society, School and Parents. The second issue I address in my work is hikikomori as a form of resistance against the social order in Japan. My study shows that social withdrawal does not have to be an extreme form of behavioral deviation as such, but rather that it could be perceived as a radical manifestation of resistance in the society of Japan originating from within Japanese culture. This argument explains why hikikomori do not decide to choose an active form of resistance. Through a cross-category discussion, the thesis is one of the first to expound on interrelations of hikikomori causes originating from different spheres of life, such as society, school and parents. Moreover, the work elaborately explains the correlations between causes which makes it distinct from other authors publications. My study is also one of the first summaries of all potential factors mentioned by media and scholars that result in the problem of hikikomori, which will supply a better understanding of the phenomenon in the English language literature.

This paper examines Chinas ambitious Campaign to Open the West and its impact upon Han and ethnic minority populations in Xinjiang. It focuses on analyzing the components of the campaign that are being implemented to develop Xinjiang through the intensification of agriculture, exploitation of energy resources, and reforms to Xinjiangs education system, revealing that the campaign, rather than alleviating poverty, is leading to greater asymmetry between Han and ethnic minority populations within Xinjiang. Rather than a plan for bridging the gap of economic disparity between the eastern and western regions of China, as construed by Beijing, the plan fits into a greater strategy for integration and assimilation of Xinjiangs restive ethnic population by Beijing.

This thesis studies the perceived tension between classes in contemporary urban China using the 1992 urban survey data. By investigating people¡¯s class identification and perceived class tension, I find that middle class identification exists widely in urban Chinese society and the perceived class tension is not strong enough to threaten the existing political regime and social stability, or to push further reforms and the progress of democratization. My findings provide some explanations to the two puzzles that have confused researchers of China studies: persistence of non-democratic political institutions despite robust economic development, and persistence of regime stability despite increasing social inequality.

The aftermath of the performance by the Japanese delegation at the Worlds Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893 has been well documentedit marked the beginning of the Wests introduction to Japanese Buddhism. What has been less well documented is the intellectual background and influences that went into producing that performance, in particular the performance of the man who would eventually emerge as the delegations most historically prominent member, Shaku Soen (1859-1919). This paper attempts to use Soen as a case study to examine the intellectual and political milieu which Japanese Buddhism helped to inform, and was informed by, during the Meiji Era (1868-1912). It draws upon established research, as well as primary sources (including Soens own Parliament addresses, writings, and journals) in order to support this examination.