In July, 1969, the Malaysian Minister of Education announced 'a new education policy' under which English, Chinese and Tamil schools were required to begin the process of conversion to Malay medium instruction in stages, beginning in 1970. This policy to introduce Malay as the medium of instruction took roughly forty years to evolve. The aim of this study is to examine how this was achieved through four phases of politics and government in West Malaysia: (i) The British Colonial Administration, 1930-1941; (ii) The Post-War Colonial Administration, 1945-1954; (iii) The Alliance Government, 1955-1961, and (iv) The Alliance Government, 1962-1971. It was observed in this study that though non-Malay demands for the preservation of their vernacular schools were persistent and consistent they lacked political unity and cohesiveness in successfully pursuing their demands. The Malays, in contrast were initially apathetic towards the language question. They became politicized during the period preceding Independence, however and were able to establish their political supremacy. A consequence of this was that they were able to pursue a communally oriented language policy with great effectiveness so that Malay became established as the medium of instruction. The policy was successfully pursued by a series of Government Ordinances and Acts that were designed to ensure that the provisions of the Constitution with regards to the Malay language were adhered to while permitting flexibility in their implementation. However, it was found that the constitutional contract between the Malays and the non-Malays was an important and integral aspect of the policy making Malay the medium of instruction. Perhaps the most important reason for the successful establishment of the policy lies in the gradualistic and incremental nature in which the policy was implemented. / Arts, Faculty of / Political Science, Department of / Graduate

This dissertation examines the evolution of development practices in a Native American community by looking at how participation becomes more or less present in local-level decision-making. By using education as a lens to track changes in development practices, I describe the challenges and opportunities that arose for a small-scale development enterprise - referred to as 'the Nonprofit'- as it negotiated program implementation with various different players and stakeholders. I analyze how different strategies were developed and adopted during the first three years of the Nonprofit's operations to show how it gradually became more structured as development programs expanded from the community to the district.

Iroquoian philosophy and political thought survived solely in the minds of old men and women at the end of the nineteenth century. These ideas endure today because of ethnographers who patiently transcribed the elder’s oratory. One such ethnographer was a Tuscarora tribal member named John Napoleon Brinton Hewitt (1857-1937). Hewitt was a linguist who worked at the Smithsonian Institution’s Bureau of American Ethnology for fifty-one years and dedicated himself to preserving Iroquois thought. He was self-educated and became expert while assisting other staff ethnologists. Hewitt’s “Iroquoian Cosmology Parts I & II” (1903, 1928,) sealed his reputation as the leading Iroquois scholar of his day. In spite of this accomplishment, Hewitt’s reputation faded quickly after his death. This dissertation seeks to understand why Hewitt decided to withhold some material from publication, and looks towards Hewitt’s complicated relationship with the Iroquois – for whom he was both a fellow tribal member and a professional ethnographer – for the probable answer. Finally, I re-evaluate Hewitt’s place in the field of Iroquois Studies as the last of a group of notable self-trained ethnographers and examine the lasting impact of his work on contemporary Tuscaroras and other Haudenosaunee people.

Using Indigenous epistemology blended with qualitative methodology, I spoke with forty-five Indigenous people about navigating the problematic processes for multiple American Indian identities within different contexts. I examined Indigenous identity as the product of out-group processes (being invisible in spite of the prevalence of overt racism), institutional constraints (being in the unique position where legal identification validates Indian race), and intra-ethnic othering (internalizing overt and institutionalized racism which results in authenticity policing). I find that overt racism becomes invisible when racist social discourse becomes legitimized. Discourse structures society within the interactions between institutions, individuals, and groups. Racist social discourse becomes legitimized through its normalization created within social institutions--like education, media, legislation, and family. Institutions shape social norms to make it seem right to enact racial violence against, and between, Indigenous Peoples, using stereotypes, racist labels, and laws that define "Indian" race by blood quanta. Ultimately, Indigenous Peoples can reproduce or contest the legitimized racism of Western social norms. Therefore, this work explores the dialectical and reciprocal relationship between notions of structure and agency as represented in negotiations of Indigenous identity.

Modifications to Brandon Road Lock and Dam (BRLD), located on the Des Plaines River in northeastern Illinois, have been proposed to prevent the upstream transfer of aquatic invasive species, particularly Asian carps, into the Great Lakes Basin. These modifications, including the installation of an electric barrier, acoustic fish deterrent, and air bubble curtain, are designed to completely eliminate all upstream fish passage and may negatively impact native fish populations in the Des Plaines River by reducing upstream movement and potentially fragmenting populations. BRLD is situated just 21 km upstream of the Des Plaines River mouth, and fish are only able to pass upstream via the lock chamber. Fish species richness within the Des Plaines River watershed has increased over the last 35 years. It has been suggested that the majority of new species to the upper Des Plaines River have migrated upstream past Brandon Road Lock and Dam (BRLD), from the Illinois, Kankakee, and lower Des Plaines rivers. However, documentation of emigration needed to support that contention is lacking and there is limited knowledge of the current rate of BRLD passage by native species. To assess native fish passage through the lock, a microchemical study was conducted using fin rays from fish collected from the Des Plaines, Illinois, and Kankakee Rivers. The edge of each fin ray, which contained the most recently deposited material, was assumed to contain a microchemical signature reflective of residency in the river where the fish was sampled. Fin ray edge strontium:calcium ratio (Sr:Ca) was used to define taxonomic and river-specific signature ranges for four taxonomic groups: centrarchids, catostomids, ictalurids, and lepisosteids. Fin ray edge Sr:Ca data were input into a random forest classification model, and the classification accuracy of fish to their river of capture based on their fin ray edge Sr:Ca was > 97% in each taxonomic group. The classification model was then applied to the entire fin ray of each fish sampled upstream of Brandon Road to infer retrospective environmental history. Upstream BRLD lock passage was suggested by the presence of Sr:Ca signatures indicative of prior downstream residency in the Illinois or Kankakee rivers in a fish sampled upstream of BRLD. Results indicated some evidence of downstream residency that suggested upstream BRLD lock passage for centrarchids, catostomids, ictalurids, and lepisosteids, ranging from 15 – 37% of individuals sampled depending on taxa. An additional 19 – 80% of individuals within each taxonomic group were classified as fish with uncertain downstream residency, whereby the possibility of BLRD lock passage could not be rejected, but there was higher uncertainty in establishing downstream residency in the Illinois or Kankakee rivers. The impact of BRLD modifications and passage restriction on Des Plaines River fish populations is unknown and merits further investigation.

<div> <p><a>Biotic interactions play key roles in determining invasive species’ establishment success in receiving ecosystems (Tilman 2004). The invasional meltdown hypothesis suggests that initial invaders can facilitate subsequent invasions through direct (e.g., commensalism, mutualism) and indirect (e.g., changes in habitat and energy flow) pathways (Simberloff & Holle 1999; Simberloff 2006). Such positive interactions among invaders can alter community-level processes, but little research on this has been done in aquatic-terrestrial landscapes. My dissertation explores the links between reciprocal facilitation of invasive species and ecosystem change in a desert river system in the southwest USA. </a></p> <p> Like most rivers in the southwestern United States, the San Juan River has been altered by hydrologic regulation and biological invasions that affect ecosystem function and act synergistically to induce substantial ecosystem change. Invasion of channel catfish (<i>Ictalurus punctatus</i>) has drastically altered the fish assemblage of the San Juan River, yet the impacts of riparian invasion by a fruit-bearing tree, Russian olive (<i>Elaeaganus agustifolia</i>) have largely been ignored. Channel catfish have been observed consuming Russian olive fruits, but the level of facilitation between species and corresponding impact on the ecosystem is unclear. </p> <p>Channel catfish may benefit directly from Russian olive invasion by feeding on fallen fruits and/or indirectly from habitat alteration and invertebrate prey production from Russian olive detritus. Additionally, channel catfish may facilitate germination, growth, and seed dispersal of Russian olive. Mutualism between these invaders could increase the fitness of each species, thereby facilitating invasion success. Plant-animal mutualism is the most common form of facilitation among invaders, but no studies, to our knowledge, have evaluated facilitation between invasive riparian plants and aquatic invaders and their combined impact on ecosystem function. My goal preparing this dissertation is to determine whether mutual facilitation between riparian and aquatic invasive species influences ecosystem change through biotic interactions. </p> <p>To test for mutual facilitation, I first determined the contribution of Russian olive fruits to channel catfish growth by evaluating seasonal diet composition across four sites and six time periods. I then used replicated growth experiments to determine assimilation rates of Russian olive fruits consumed by channel catfish. Using bioenergetics models, I then determined how Russian olive subsidies in San Juan River contribute to channel catfish biomass. To determine whether channel catfish benefit Russian olive reproduction, I compared germination rates of seeds consumed by channel catfish to seeds consumed by terrestrial mammals and control seeds that had not been eaten. </p> <p>Russian olive fruits were the most important diet item for channel catfish during the fall and spring, comprising up to 57 and 70% of stomach contents by mass, respectively, and were consumed throughout the year. Feeding trials revealed that Russian olive fruits contributed little to growth or lipid deposition, but they did provide metabolic energy allowing channel catfish fed exclusively Russian olive fruits to maintain weight. In addition, Russian olive trees received a reproductive benefit through increased germination success of seeds consumed by channel catfish over those transported by water. Using bioenergetic models, I showed that Russian olive fruits subsidized 46% of San Juan River channel catfish biomass, indicating that the subsidy from Russian olive fruits had a population-level impact. This dissertation thus establishes mutual facilitation by non-native species across ecosystem boundaries, a phenomenon that few studies heretofore have demonstrated in the ecology or invasion biology literature.</p> </div> <br>

An escalating environmental phenomenon is transpiring across global shorelines. Sea level rise and other factors effecting coastal geomorphology have not only resulted in significant land loss but loss of historical communities. Coastal Terrebonne Parish, located in southeastern Louisiana, experiences a complexity of detrimental factors. Communities with similar stories of diaspora and social marginalization have settled the region. For centuries, they have largely maintained their distinctive cultural identities, through deep rooted social networks and resiliency, are now jeopardized due to an increasing loss of place. The intent of this research is to propose alternative methods of mitigation to affected communities by evaluating case studies of community relocation, gathering empirical information and providing relevant recommendations. Accounting for the potentially significant loss of cultural fabric, additional mitigation techniques, such as cultural documentation, are discussed. / 0 / SPK / archives@tulane.edu

specialcollections@tulane.edu / This dissertation looks at the complex set of representations of Native Americans of the upper and lower Mississippi Valley at stake in four French cultural productions of the late 17th to mid-18th century (1683-1753). These cultural productions extend throughout the French colonial effort in Louisiana. They include two travel narratives – Louis Hennepin’s Découverte de la Louisiane (1683) and Jean-François Benjamin Dumont de Montigny’s Mémoires Historiques (1753) – a newspaper chronicle from the Mercure de France, which relates the visit of five Louisianan Natives to Paris in 1725, and Jean-Philippe Rameau’s entrée Les Sauvages (1736) from his opera-ballet Les Indes Galantes. Through a close literary and musical analysis of these four cultural productions, this dissertation uncovers the multifold and dissonant discourses displayed when representing Native Louisianans. This research is grounded in the understanding that representations of indigenous characters provide limited knowledge about the Louisianan tribes, yet reveal extensive information about their authors, intended audience, and consequently about French identity and culture during this time. These dissonant discourses reflect major uncertainties about the French colonial venture in Louisiana, inquiries into other models of societal organizations and sets of values, interrogations about the potential degeneration of European civilization, questioning of the universality of the Christian faith, and epistemological contradictions associated with the curiosity toward foreign cultures. Moving away from the binary opposition between the “noble” or “ignoble” savage, this dissertation demonstrates how the complex image of Native Americans is fabricated and used to mirror the contemporaneous conflicting epistemologies characterizing the late years of early modern France. / 1 / Sophie Capmartin

The Očhéthi Šakówiŋ (Seven Council Fires; “Great Sioux Nation”) occupied an area from the woodlands to the Great Plains. The landscape and the wind influenced their language and culture in a way that suggests a long occupation. Major landmarks like Ȟesápa (Black Hills), Matȟó Thípila (Bear Lodge; “Devils Tower”), Pahá Makȟáska (White Earth Butte; White Butte, ND), and Oǧúǧa Owápi (Images Burned Into The Stone; Jeffers Petroglyphs, MN) were woven into the cultural identity of the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ. The pictographic record, traditional song, and oral tradition recall events like first contact with the horse at the Čhaŋsáŋsaŋ Ožáte (White Birch Fork), or the James River-Missouri River confluence in C.E. 1692. The historical pictographic record, oral tradition, and occupation will be examined in this paper to support the idea that Očhéthi Šakówiŋ have a cultural occupation of the Great Plains that long predates the European record.

Colombia covers an area of approximately 114 million hectares (ha) of which the potential forestly land has been estimated at 60.7 million ha, about 53% of the total area. Only 54 million ha are considered as natural forest, leaving approximately 29 million ha to be used for livestock and agriculture. In order to provide an alternative source of timber, Colombian groups have planted approximately 327 000 ha to different species of Pinus, Eucalyptus and native species. This clearly represents only a small proportion of the total area that might be used for forestry, which is set to grow in the future. In general, trees established in plantations have been grown as monocultures that allow for substantial productivity per management unit. But this is also a homogeneous genetic resource that is highly susceptible to damage caused by insect pests and diseases. It is therefore, surprising that relatively little work has been conducted on pests and pathogens negatively affecting plantation foresty in Colombia. In this regard, the studies presented in this thesis present the first comprehensive treatment of the topic for the country. It is consequently hoped that these will form a basis for the future management and sustainability of forestry in Colombia. In the first Chapter of this thesis, I provide a historical background and the current pest and disease situation for the forestry sector in Colombia. This includes an overview of the main pest and diseases affecting commercial nonnative trees, especially species of Pinus and Eucalyptus. A wide range of sites occurring in Colombia were considered and the document also includes the impact of different climatic conditions on the incidence and management of the various pests and diseases treated. Some of the most important defoliators in Colombia reside in the order Phasmatodea and one of these, Litosermyle ocanae, was treated in studies presented in chapter two. The overall aim was to contribute basic knowledge of L. ocanae including an understanding of the biology, egg population dynamics, and potential biological control assessments based on early detection of the insect. vi Chapter three includes the discovery of one of the members of the Geometridae that causes serious damage due to defoliation of Pinus and Eucalyptus plantations. This pest, known as Chrysomima semiluteraria, has been known in Colombia for many years and this study included a comprehensive evaluation of its biology and field monitoring contributing to an Integrated Pest Management strategy for it. The insect was studied under field and laboratory conditions and a special emphasis was placed on its biological control using the egg parasitoid Telenomus alsophilae. Pinus plantations in Colombia have been affected by numerous pests, including recently, the adelgid Pineus sp. To establish management strategies to assist commercial forestry operations, the life cycle of this insect and the susceptibility of different Pinus species were determined in Chapter four. In addition, the possible role of a Ceraeochrysa sp. as a biological control agent was investigated. In chapter five, Fusarium circinatum is recorded for the first time on Pinus spp. in Colombia. The discovery of this fungus, known to cause the disease Pitch Canker has had an important impact on forestry, especially with regard to management strategies aimed at reducing its impact. Studies in this chapter included those to evaluate the susceptibility of families and provenances of Pinus spp., which are currently used in forestry planting programs in Colombia. The first emergence of the foliage pathogen Dothistroma septosporum as an important constraint to pine forestry in Colombia is treated in chapter six. This fungus is a serious pathogen of many species of Pinus around the world. It was, however, not recognised as a serious threat to forestry in Colombia until it emerged as a serious source of damage to Pinus tecunumanii. In this chapter, the aim was firstly to confirm the identity of the pathogen based on DNA sequence data. Subsequently, the host range and distribution of the pathogen was established in different Colombian forestry areas. The impact of the disease and the susceptibility of different provenances of P. tecunumanii was also assessed. In chapter seven, the main objective was to described the susceptibility of E. grandis clones to a new species of Ceratocystis and to identify clones resistant to it. The fungus was described as Ceratocystis neglecta and management strategies are suggested for it. This thesis includes two Appendices treating new reports of insect pests and an important Eucalyptus pathogen. In Appendix 1, I report on the importance of three different pest insects. Appendix 2 includes a description of a new disease, as well as the potential risks that this disease poses for the Colombian forestry sector. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2013 / Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI) / Unrestricted