Situated in the changing context of Mandarin learning in the United States, Mandarin these days is changing from a less commonly taught language to a more commonly offered foreign language option in American secondary schools. However, in the applied linguistic literature, "few empirical studies have focused on pre-college CFL learning" (Ke, 2012, p.98). Moreover, the transition from high school to university often entails complex social, cultural, and emotional changes (e.g., Nathan, 2006). The goal of this dissertation project, therefore, is to investigate how students' investment in Mandarin is socially and historically constructed at these three levels: personal, familial, and institutional, as they transition from high school to university. This study draws upon the theory of identity and investment (Norton, 1995) to examine how these teenage language learners are multidimensional beings with multiple desires, and how their investment is produced or reproduced from social interactions, and is subject to change. Three high school campuses were chosen, because Mandarin classes are now offered from kindergarten through twelfth grade in these schools. Six students who expressed their intentions to continue learning Mandarin in university consented to participate in this study. Data collection for this study lasted from March to December 2015, which covered these students' last semester of high school, their first semester of college, and the period between. Data were collected from interviews and monthly informal Skype chats, and supplemented with class documents. Using qualitative analysis methods, the findings show the following factors as salient to their investment in Mandarin learning at the high school stage: 1) the students' personal interest, and 2) the influence from their families and their institutions. In the university setting, these students' investment in Mandarin was mostly mediated at the personal and the institutional levels. The results reveal the identity shift from childhood to adulthood these adolescent learners experienced during the transition. Specifically, the adolescent learners became more independent in making their own decisions, and less dependent on their families, both financially and symbolically. Second, the findings also highlight how these individuals' investment in Mandarin could be constrained at the institutional level. This points to the need for L2 educators to pay attention not only to individual students' personal interests and motivations in language learning, but also to a better understanding of how students perceive their own identities and whether foreign language learning is accessible to learners institutionally.

The conflict and violence of both the unrest in the southernmost provinces which claimed thousands civilians and officials in the last few years and the deep social division among the people throughout the country make peace education as a key tool for solving these problems for Thailand. The role of teacher education has been used for solving these conflicts. This study explores the universities’ policy on peace education in the teacher training process of the early childhood education programmes of Rajabhat Universities as the biggest groups of universities in teacher training across the country. Two main research questions were explored: 1) has peace education been delivered in early childhood education programmes of Rajabhat Universities in Thailand? and 2) if so, how does it differ across universities? The study employed both quantitative and qualitative methods to understand the phenomenon in two Rajabhat Universities. Quantitative methods employed questionnaires to collect data from students of both universities from the first to fifth year (N=100). The data from both universities has been analysed by the Mann Whitney U Rank test (p<0.05). Qualitative methods employed semi-structured interviews to collect data from six chief administrators, ten lecturers in the Early Childhood Education Programmes, and four experts in peace outside the university. Four focus groups composed of five students in each group were used to collect data from the first- and fourth-year students of both universities. Collected documentations relating to curricula were analysed. Thematic analysis was used to analyse qualitative data. The findings presented four key areas: University’s Policies on Peace Education; Teaching, Learning and Curriculum about Peace Study in RUs; Participants’ Ideas about Peace Studies; and Culture, Climate and Peace Studies in the RUs’ Contexts. The findings from quantitative and qualitative methods were integrated into the Peace Education Model of Rajabhat Universities (PEMRU) framework. The findings revealed that the policies of Rajabhat Universities have included peace education in teacher training programmes. However, very few policies have been named directly. Peace education has been integrated into classroom activities and universities’ activities as well as the universities’ regulations. The significant differences across universities were found in that one university had both direct and indirect policies on peace education whilst never officially naming them. The other university had both direct and indirect policies on peace education, which in contrast, were promulgated officially by the University Council. The study also found that the concept of peace in the Thai context was a combination of outer and inner peace; the role of the teachers was emphasised as a method of teaching peace education. Finally, the key concepts emerging from the analyses were developed into the Proposed Model of Peace Education for Rajabhat Universities. This model was composed of the concepts of peace and peace education in the Thai contexts as the centre of the model to work with; the three main components were the dynamic work-units (university’s policy, peace education centre, peace education curriculum); and five influential components surrounding the model as the supporters and conditions to work with (politics and government, religions and cultures, economic and equality, environment and responsibility, and ethnicity and identity). This proposed model is hoped to be a dynamic, rapid and sustainable way to solve conflicts and violence in the country.

<p>The subject of this qualifying paper is an Edo Period N&omacr; theater <i> ch&omacr;ken</i>. Upon receipt, this choken was in very poor condition. There were six types of damage that needed treatment. </p><p> <i>First</i>, there was extensive warp breakage along the full length of the shoulders and sleeve bottoms and one area of full loss to the base fabric, exposing wefts. <i>Second</i>, a couched metallic thread was used as an outline to five vase motifs and as patterning for four butterflies. All used &lsquo;urushi,&rsquo; better known as Japanese lacquer, for an adhesive binding a metal foil its paper substrate. This couched thread had either loss to the metallic surface, to the combined metallic and lacquer surface, or was hanging, and at times twisted back upon itself. <i>Third</i>, there was a cut and finely woven, metallic coated paper used for some of the leaf and insect wing motifs that was tattered, unaligned, had loss to its metallic surface, and was not secure to the base fabric. <i>Fourth</i>, there were areas of weft breakage exposing warps. <i>Fifth</i>, the six exposed selvages that run the full length of the two sleeves and one body panel all needed to be strengthened. <i>Sixth</i>, there was one 3 by 4 inch area in the lower back of the body panel which had complete fabric loss. </p><p> Untreated areas were: areas of warp distortion in the front body panel; a few loose embroidery threads throughout the five floral/vase motifs; and a small amount of loss due to insect infestation. </p><p> Research was done and methods developed in order to find treatment techniques for the lacquer based metallic thread, the cut and woven paper motifs, and the extensive warp breakage extending along the shoulders and sleeve bottoms. </p><p> Due to the difficulty of finding English equivalents to Japanese textile terminology, I included a Comparative Glossary that I hope will be useful to other researchers in this field. </p><p> This project proved to be challenging, but in the end, very rewarding with a new body of knowledge concerning materials used in this type of cultural object. </p>

<p> This dissertation explored how Korean students from a Midwestern university use social media when they come to the United States for the first time to start graduate school. In order to do so, I conducted a netnography which examines their virtual communities to observe language use (both English and Korean) within the their virtual circle of friends. I did so for a period of one semester, with archival data dating back to when they first found out they were coming to the US. This thesis is based on the argument that Korean graduate students go through a shift in linguistic, cultural, and social identity, and that social media can provide those in the field of literacy, culture, and language education a glimpse into the literacy and language practices of international students outside of the classroom. This dissertation also explains the theoretical framework behind virtual communities, analyzes current literature about virtual communities in language education, uses Kozinets&rsquo; (2009) netnography as a methodology to conduct the research, and analyzes semi-structured interviews, social media, and questionnaire data through Creswell&rsquo;s (2008) notion of thematic analysis. I conclude that the use of social media generally provides a means of identity expression for Korean graduate students, and that their linguistic, cultural, and social identities are not shaped by social media itself, but social media provides an outlet where we can see negotiation of identity from when they apply to the school and through their first semester of study; by using Korean as a language of social and cultural expression and English as a means of sharing information about their programs.</p>

<p>Applying Kramsch?s (2012) notion of the multilingual learner as a subjective being, this study explores how South Korean elementary students construct their investment (Norton Peirce, 1995) in EFL learning in relation to their economic, social, and cultural capital (Bourdieu, 1986; Bourdieu and Passeron, 1977) as these emerge in their interactional patterns in their EFL classroom. Also, it explores how students perceive the introduction of student-centered instructional strategies and how they construct their investment in EFL learning before and after the introduction of these strategies. The setting for the study was a sixth-grade classroom in a public elementary school located in the central district of a major South Korean metropolitan area. Of the twenty-two EFL learners in the class, ten were selected as participants in the study, and of these, three were chosen as focal students on the basis of their status as low-achieving learners. Data collection methods included ethnographic classroom observations, non-structured interviews with the learners, and their writing and drawing artifacts. For data analysis, thematic coding was employed to generate codes based on two interviews with each learner, which were then categorized to generate themes (Salda?a, 2016). Three principal findings emerged: 1) learners? EFL proficiency, peer relations, parental linguistic support, and linguistic support outside of the school provided significant forms of economic, social, and cultural capital in the EFL classroom; 2) the learners? economic, social, and cultural capital played important roles in their linguistic achievement, but were not as relevant to their perceptions of and attitudes toward their EFL learning; and 3) the students reported that student-centered instructional strategies helped them to acquire self-confidence, strong resolve to learn English, and positive attitudes towards EFL learning. The instructional strategies appeared to be particularly effective in promoting the construction of investment by students with relatively low levels of social, economic and cultural capital. The study concludes that short-term applications of student-centered instructional strategies appear to provide some benefits to students who struggle with EFL learning. Implications include recommendations for further research into short-term and long-term applications of student-centered instructional strategies and their relationship to elementary students? construction of investment.

<p> Asian family businesses comprise the vast majority of economic activity in the Asian region. Therefore, their smooth functioning is of both economic and societal importance. However, little research has been done on how to assess, let alone therapeutically treat, Asian business families. Due to the overlap of family systems and business systems, Asian business families face complex and unique challenges. Family members play multiple roles in both the family and business. Value systems and decision processes between the two systems may vary significantly. Boundaries between the family system and business system are often blurred. Using a hermeneutic methodological approach to research and synthesizing across the limited Asian family systems and business family systems research, the thesis develops an assessment methodology and instrument that allow practitioners to identify issues specific to Asian business families that may arise in therapy.</p><p>

This dissertation investigates the beginning and evolution of Central Asian Studies in the United States. I look at travel accounts, diplomatic missions, popular representations, and scholarly studies of Central Asia primarily for the period between 1860s and 1960s. My main argument is that American understanding and representation of Central Asian <br>politics, history, and culture have almost always been tied to American relations to Russia. How Americans interpreted Central Asia was contingent upon the current American attitudes towards Russia. American attitudes toward the Orient also influenced how Central Asia was viewed and understood in the United States. In addition, I argue that while American understanding of Central Asia generally depended on the political climate and intellectual trends existing at a given time, independent research and <br>scholarship on Central Asian Studies existed since the early Cold War era. As an example, I discuss the development of Central Asian Studies at Indiana University – Bloomington.

In this dissertation, I examine three popular contemporary Japanese female writers—Yoshimoto Banana (b.1964), Ogawa Yoko (b.1962), and Kawakami Hiromi (b.1958), who all debuted after the peak of Japan’s bubble economy in the late 1980s. Focusing on the works of these three living authors, I investigate the ways in which they deal with the theme of spiritual and emotional healing, and how they are original in the world of Japanese literature. Since they are all women, in terms of feminist context, I also look into how differently they respond to the gender issues from the prior generation of female authors.<div><br></div><div>In Introduction, I begin with the examination of how prewar authors dealt with the theme of spiritual healing. Using Snow Country (1937) by the male writer Kawabata Yasunari and “A Floral Pageant” (1937) by the female author Okamoto Kanoko (1899-1939), I discuss the commonality of these two authors, apart from the evident disparities related to their difference in gender. Their stories both end with the description of their protagonist’s spiritual climax, associated with their transcendental leap from their everyday reality. Comparing those prewar authors, I discuss how differently the three contemporary authors approach the same topic. In terms of their common gender, I also address outstanding characteristics of feminist messages delivered by their previous generation of female authors from the postwar to the 1970s, and how our authors are different from the previous ones in terms of their interest in feminism and women’s issues.<br></div><div><br></div><div>Chapter 1 examines the novels of Yoshimoto Banana, the author who debuted before the other two. I begin with an analysis on how her interest in spirituality is related to the social background of the bubble-collapse period between the late 1980s and the early 1990s—in relation, in particular, to the healing boom and the impact of Aum Shinrikyō’s sarin gas attack on Tokyo Subways in 1995. With her critiques on the so-called shin shin shūkyō, newly established religious groups, she claims that spiritual healing should be based on one’s awakening of his or her connection with nature to be blessed. And she stresses and encourages with that awareness to live through everyday reality with hope.<br></div><div><br></div><div>Chapter 2 explores works of Ogawa Yoko. I analyze how she develops her theme of girlhood by examining her earlier works, which recurrently focus on her adolescent protagonists’ anxieties—their fear of separation from their girlhood and their frustration about moving into a sexualized female adulthood. At the end of this chapter, I examine Mīna’s March, a work, which extensively features a young protagonist’s girlhood and her days growing up. Ogawa implies that richness of girlhood—free from sexuality and gender tensions—is the key source for female mental growth.<br></div><div><br></div><div>Chapter 3 investigates stories of Kawakami Hiromi. I begin with an introduction of her essays, which show her core theme of “sakaime” (borderline realm). I examine her earlier stories about relationships between human and nonhuman characters, and as well as her later stories about relationships between two human characters. I consistently find that the “sakaime” opens her protagonists to an animistic vision of a human relationship with nature—a vision which human lives are part of nature’s vast, unsteady, and ever-changing life flows. Ultimately, the animistic sensitivity works for her protagonists’ inner growth.<br></div><div><br></div><div>In conclusion, I summarize the three authors’ differences and commonalities in spiritual and emotional healing and related topic such as female independence, individualities, and the human relationship with nature. I conclude that the three authors responded in a timely and effective manner to the needs of the readers in the contemporary society of Japan.<br></div>

The International Relations (IR) literature has been dominated by studies on great powers, often neglecting the role of small states. Moreover, the accounts on small states have generally overlooked the role of geography. This thesis proposes an analytical framework to observe the role of geography by observing the impact of Multinational Transboundary Infrastructures (MTIs) on the relational power of small states. The framework is then applied to the case study of Laos observing the impact of two selected MTIs – the Xayaburi dam and the Boten-Vientiane high-speed railway – on Laos’s relational power with respect to Vietnam and China. Data has been collected through a set of 48 semi-structured qualitative elite interviews mainly carried out during a period of fieldwork in Laos in 2015. The data generated by the interviews, triangulated with other primary and secondary sources, enabled a process tracing analysis of the two negotiation processes on the selected MTIs. The findings show that the two observed MTIs positively affected the relational power of Laos despite the asymmetry that shapes its bilateral relationships with both Vietnam and China in terms of capabilities. The case study therefore indicates that a central geographic position could reduce asymmetries of power and that relational power manifest a greater explanatory capacity than power-as-capabilities. This thesis contributes to knowledge adding empirical material on the diplomatic negotiation on the Xayaburi dam; on the Boten–Vientiane high-speed railway; on Laos’s international relations with Vietnam and China; and on China’s High-Speed Railway Diplomacy. The thesis contributes also to the theoretical literature by identifying a geographic gap in small states studies. Analytically, the thesis contributes developing the concept of MTIs and an original analytical framework to study relational power. Finally, methodologically the thesis provides new insights on how to gain access to elites in Laos.

abstract: This dissertation focuses on the corpus of Zang Maoxun’s literary creations in The Collection from the Fubao Hall and investigates his involvement in the cultural activities of the Jinling Poetry Society. Unearthing how Zang and this Society, as self and community, played an instrumental role in creating and sustaining a network of dramatists and drama critics in the Jiangnan region, a careful review of his poems and prose shows the extent to which text preparation, commentary, and printing were at the center of his communications with his social circle. Moreover, this dissertation unpacks Zang’s contribution to the promotion of dramatic texts through a thorough examination of his ardent editorial work in revising Tang Xianzu’s The Four Dream Plays from the Jade Tea Hall, the epitome of the southern musical drama. By using Zang’s 1618 Diaochong guan edition of his adaptations as a focal point, this dissertation compares it with three late Ming editions of Tang’s plays printed in the dual colors of red-and-black ink. In light of their innovative editorial designs, and the varying evaluations formed in their pages about Zang’s editorial work, this dissertation reveals the importance of Zang’s adaptations in the history of The Four Dream Plays’ textual transmission, as well as the interplay between the tradition of drama criticism and the new technology of multicolor printing and consequent innovation in editorial principles. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation East Asian Languages and Civilizations 2019