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This dissertation looks at the political behavior of three Taiwanese Buddhist organizations since 1989: the Buddhist Association of the Republic of China (BAROC), the Buddha Light Mountain monastic order (or Foguangshan) and the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Association (or Ciji). It concentrates on trying to understand the rationale behind the different strategies that each of them has adopted in its interaction with the government. The BAROC has adopted a strategy of lobbying in an attempt to remedy the steady decline of its status throughout the 1990s: it has tried to sway the government to adopt a law that would restore the authority over Buddhists the association held before 1989. Foguangshan has resorted to a strategy of remonstrance to advance its religious ideals between 1995 and 1997: its founder Xingyun supported the bid of his lay disciple Chen Lii'an for the presidency of the Republic of China (ROC) and launched large public demonstrations critical of the government that followed that election. During the same period of time, Ciji has steered away from the controversies over the law on religion and conspicuously avoided supporting Chen, while continuing to grow to become the largest organization of its kind in Taiwan. The theological views of the three organizations' leaders are examined as key factors explaining the rationale behind the political strategies these organizations have adopted. Other factors such as availability of material resources, lay support, congruence between leaders and their followers on the dimension of ethnicity and gender are explored as possible sources of constraints on the leaders.

The purpose of this study was to generate an understanding of the process of program planning in a senior centre. Of particular interest was the extent to which technical, contextual, and social-political dimensions of planning were represented in the planning practice of programmers. Indepth interviews were conducted with four programmers who were responsible for planning programs at one Lower Mainland, British Columbia senior centre from April 1996 to April 1997. Observations of programming meetings and documents pertaining to program planning supplemented interview data. This exploration revealed that all three dimensions of planning were evident in the programmers' practice. When planning programs, the programmers completed four technical stages: generating ideas, selecting ideas, developing programs, and organizing details. Daily planning activities revolved around these stages and their related tasks. The way in which programs were developed at this centre was also a highly contextualized process. The programmers were influenced by a variety of contextual factors internal and external to the centre which shaped the structure, process, timing, and organization of planning as well as the selection and development of programs. When examining planning as a social-political process of negotiation, it was evident that planning practice was characterized by power relationships, interests, and negotiation. While negotiating interests was one form of action in which the planners engaged, it was not the dominant form of planning activity. Planning practice at this centre was best depicted as a highly contextualized technical process which entailed information gathering, criteria-based decision making, negotiating interests, and recording program details. The way in which planning occurred at this centre implies that technical, contextual, and social-political dimensions are interrelated and that the interplay between the technical and social-political dimensions is influenced by contextual factors. While much of the planning literature has focused on a single dimension, this exploration of practice suggests that an integrated way of thinking about planning is needed which acknowledges varying degrees to which technical, contextual, and social-political dimensions may be emphasized depending on the planning environment.

The goal of this study is to develop a general theoretical perspective for the archaeological study of intersocietal interaction among hunter-gatherers. Several theoretical frameworks have been offered for the study of interaction, including acculturation, ecological interdependency, peer polity interaction, world-system theory, and a number of more particularist approaches. Although all offer valuable insights, only world-system theory has the potential for application to all types and scales of intersocietal interaction, past and present. The perspective developed here represents an experimental modification of the world-system perspective, with the addition of aspects of previous hunter-gatherer studies, most of which are strongly influenced by cultural ecology. / This theoretical perspective is used to develop a model of change in hunter-gatherer world-systems. Particularly important factors in this model are the density and spatio-temporal distribution of subsistence resources, and the availability of "preciosities" (exchanged objects of high value). These factors are hypothesized to affect hunter-gatherer world-systems in terms of three variables: (1) "breadth", the number of interacting regional groups; (2) "depth", the relative importance of the interaction to each regional group; and (3) "internal differentiation", the degree of variability among regional groups within the interacting system. Finally, the model is tested on the archaeological and ethnographic records of the Inuit inhabitants of Herschel Island, northern Yukon Territory, and adjacent regions during the "contact period" of the past 500 years. The test predictions are largely supported by the data, which indicate that the increasing availability of preciosities and the changing distribution of subsistence resources during the contact period caused the indigenous world-system to increase in depth and breadth, and to begin to change in pattern of internal differentiation.

There is no abstract available for this dissertation.

Esta tesina indaga cuestiones conectadas con el Libellus de Medicinalibus Indorum Herbis, un texto médico azteca que constituye la primera descripción de la materia médica americana. El marco médico de los azteca se entraña profundamente con la cultura misma, y se basa en la investigación empírica además de fuentes sociales y religiosas. Aspectos de este marco médico—particularmente sus aportes culturales y botánicos—se presentan todavía en la medicina mexicana folk contemporánea. La época pos-conquista en que el Libellus fue producido constituye un ámbito complejo y agitado, un fundamento que demuestro a través del aparato sociopolítico que dirigió la producción académica de aquella época. Sin embargo, demuestro que la integridad y la originalidad de la materia médica azteca ha prevalecido. El primer capítulo abarca el marco folclórico de la salud y la medicina azteca, además de los aspectos teóricos y logísticos de la etiología, el diagnóstico, y la terapéutica. Con esta base, planteo la cuestión sincrética de la conquista y las intersecciones entre la medicina europea y la medicina nahua. Por el segundo capítulo—que aborda temas de la traducción—demarco y problematizo cuestiones de la autoría, la pluralidad, y el mestizaje lingüístico. A través del tercer capítulo, realizo mi propia traducción del Libellus desde el español al ingles para indagar intensivamente cómo se acerca este proceso de traducción. Luego, al resumirlo y analizarlo, junto las cuestiones teóricas de la traducción y la materia médica azteca con mis propias experiencias como traductora contemporánea.

La siguiente investigación explora las representaciones de la mujer-madre en el contexto español a través de la historia del siglo XX y XI. Usa “La niña sin alas” de Paloma Díaz-Mas, “Al colegio” de Josefina Rodríguez Aldecoa, y “Espejismos” de Josefina Rodríguez Aldecoa – tres cuentos de la antología Madres e hijas de Laura Freixas – para analizar tres temas particulares que relatan a la situación de la mujer-madre: el espíritu del sacrificio, el perfeccionismo, y el aislamiento. La investigación concluye con una evaluación de los cuentos como “obras femeninas.” Intenta de enseñar el valor de estos cuentos por sus perspectivas únicamente femeninas y por sus estéticos universalmente excelentes. The following investigation explores representations of the woman-mother in the Spanish context through the history of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. I use “La niña sin alas” by Paloma Díaz-Mas, “Al colegio” by Josefina Rodríguez Aldecoa, y “Espejismos” by Josefina Rodríguez Aldecoa – three stories from the anthology Madres e hijas by Laura Freixas – in order to analyze three themes that particularly relate to the situation of the woman-mother: the spirit of sacrifice, perfectionism, and isolation. The investigation concludes with an evaluation of the stories as “feminine works.” The intention is to show the value of these stories because of their uniquely feminine perspectives and their universally excellent aesthetics.

This thesis investigates the failed state label on Lebanon. The thesis explores how Lebanon falls under the paradigm and how Lebanon contradicts, at times, the failed state model with the inclusion of Hizbullah.