Thesis (doctoral)--University of London, 1989. / BLDSC reference no.: DX92460.

<p> For the last several years, Americans have fallen behind in the area of mathematics when compared to their peers in industrialized countries around the world. Singapore, on the other hand, was at the top of the world rankings in mathematics in the last four Trends in International Math and Science Study (TIMSS) assessments taken by fourth and eighth graders every four years. This project focused on the impact of the Singapore Math program on two cohorts of students by utilizing their Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) scores from the mathematics subtest. The first cohort, A, was comprised of students who were in third, fourth, and fifth grade during the first years of the implementation of the Singapore Math program in 2007, 2008, 2009, and compared with students in Cohort B who were exposed to the math program since first grade, as intended by the publisher. The students of Cohort B were in third, fourth, and fifth grade in 2010, 2011, and 2012, respectively. Data were also analyzed to see if the program had a correlation with a decrease in gender, ethnic, or socioeconomic (SES) achievement gaps when compared to Cohort B. Three tests were given in order to triangulate the results of the MAP test: difference in means by way of a <i>z</i>-test for a difference in means, a comparison of students scoring proficient and advanced through the utilization of a z-test for difference in proportions, and an <i>F</i>-test for difference in variance in MAP scores. </p><p> Results of the study yielded mixed results. While there was not a significant statistical difference in achievement between Cohort A and B in third, fourth, or fifth grade, there was evidence to support that the subgroups that were included in the study (female students, Black students, and students with Free and Reduced Lunch status) performed commensurately with their peers in Cohort B.</p>

This dissertation examines two major kingship rituals-- the coronation and the autumnal navaratri--as discussed in Hindu religious literature and ritual texts, and as practised in Nepal. These rituals are based on sacred myths and primarily oriented to the production of religious and socio-political dimensions of sovereign power. The Vedic, tantric, and other devotional acts as found in these rituals empower the king and construct his personal and corporate identity. The rituals are consequently strongly political, as various divine, human and other agencies invest the king with multiple powers and authorize him to rule; these agencies also negotiate their own relations, domains of influence, and hierarchies. These rituals produce a sacred and divine king and kingship, as well as sacred space, by establishing the king's connection (bandhu) and identification with many sources of power. As myth and ritual are used in the service of power and authority, they jointly promote each other to create, perpetuate, and strengthen these attributes. Since the uses of myth and ritual are strategic and ideological, they can be used to legitimize the status of the king and enforce the use of power on others. As illustrated in the recent history of Nepal, the myth and ritual can also be sites for dialogue, negotiation, resistance, subversion, and replacement of the same power. Religion and politics are deeply intertwined in these ritual activities; in fact, only in the deeply religious and devotional settings can the rituals exert maximum socio-political powers.

<p> This study is designed to answer one main research question: How could tertiary education quality be redefined and measured through the education production function model in developing countries. The study will use Indonesia as the target country to carry out research activities. Quality of tertiary education has been one of the most frequently discussed topics in relevant fields in academia and human development. As enrollment continuously increases and education systems expand in many developing countries, quality becomes their biggest concern. The purpose of this dissertation is to provide stakeholders a different and more practical approach to reevaluate tertiary education quality through quantifiable variables and to measure quality through educational input, equity and equality, labor market relevance, and system assurance factors. </p><p> Human capital theory serves as the guiding theoretical framework for this dissertation. The education production function model is the foundation for quality redefinition. Within the four quantifiable variables, benefit incidence analysis is used to measure equity and equality, economic rate of return is used to measure labor market relevance of the tertiary education system, and returns to investment is used to evaluate how education outputs yield from inputs. The study is designed to have an umbrella structure, with tertiary education quality being at the top of the skeleton and educational input, equity and equality, labor market relevance, and system assurance being the four supporting pillars.</p><p> With the redefinition of tertiary education quality, four main research questions will be answered respectively. Educational input in Indonesia has been improving in the past decade; however, it is still behind compared to peer ASEAN countries and countries with similar economic profiles. Indonesia's tertiary education access inequality is mainly caused by socioeconomic differences. The labor market absorbs a majority of tertiary graduates and yields much higher returns at the tertiary level, and it has been responding very positively toward the continuously expanding graduating class. The quality assurance system suffers from shortstaffing, low financial support, low capacity, and weak government support. At its current accrediting pace, Indonesia's tertiary education institutions will not be able to improve as fast as they are willing to.</p>

<p> The diagnostic category of PTSD does not capture culture-relevant symptomatology, that is, somatization, for Cambodian refugees in the United States. Somatization may function as a buffer against chronic PTSD symptomatology in Cambodian refugees because somatization represents a culture-specific coping strategy for this population. The purpose of the present study is to assess the correlation between somatization and degree of PTSD symptoms. The study also addresses the mental health disparities in the Cambodian refugee population in order to inform the literature on access to better trauma-informed mental health services. </p><p> Participants were recruited from community mental health agencies in Oakland, CA and Long Beach, CA. Two "data-gathering" groups of Cambodian refugees (<i>N</i> = 26) were administered a demographic questionnaire, the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire-Revised (HTQ-R) and the Somatoform Dissociation Questionnaire-20 (SDQ-20) in Khmer and English. The correlational relationship between demographic variables was also analyzed in order to explore contextual factors behind the findings of the study's main research question. Recommendations for assessment and treatment of PTSD in Cambodian refugees were then discussed based on the study's findings. Health care utilization by Cambodian refugees was examined and recommendations were suggested for improvement in public policy and health care services.</p><p> The hypothesis of this study that the level of somatization was inversely related to degree of PTSD symptomatology in Cambodian refugees was not supported. The Pearson Correlational Coefficient analysis produced a statistically significant positive relationship (<i>r</i> = .34) between somatization and traumatization in Cambodian refugees as measured by scores on the SDQ-20 and the HTQ-R. The role of specific somatoform symptoms in the chronicity of PTSD symptomatology was explored. The positive correlation found between the SDQ-20 and HTQ-R supported previous research, demonstrating the relationship between somatoform dissociation and higher PTSD symptomatology in Cambodian refugees. </p>

This study examines the contextual factors influencing polytobacco use behavior, or the concurrent use of two or more forms of tobacco, among young adult South Asians. Fifteen in-depth and qualitative case studies of South Asian college students were conducted in order to illuminate and understand the intrapersonal, social, cultural, and environmental determinants of polytobacco use. Results from the study highlight the dynamic and diverse nature of tobacco use, as patterns of consumption were found to be profoundly influenced and differentially distributed across lines of gender, socioeconomic status, age, nationality, situational context, and ethnic identity. Participants used two to five forms of tobacco, with 60% using more than two. In addition to cigarettes, several alternative tobacco forms, predominantly hookah, spliffs, and dokha, emerged as popular modes of tobacco consumption among this population. South Asian college students use multiple products intermittently in community settings, where use is normalized as a component of a social activity. The current cigarette-centered model for tobacco control must be adjusted to account for the variety of tobacco forms now accessible to and utilized by young adult South Asians, whose choice of product and frequency of usage is guided by the contextual factors identified in the case studies. Tobacco intervention efforts and cessation programs must develop cultural sensitivity that is attuned and responsive to unique patterns of polytobacco use in order to effectively combat the current tobacco epidemic.

<p> CHIK is a viral infection transmitted by the <i>Aedes aegypti</i> mosquito which causes an illness with symptoms of severe joint pain, high fever, and rash. The joint pain can continue for months, causing disability and economic strain on families. This study included implementation of a baseline needs assessment, and development, implementation, and evaluation of an experimental community-based educational intervention in rural Tamil Nadu, India. A total of 184 households, across 12 purposively sampled villages (six intervention and six control), participated in the needs assessment between August and December 2010. The experimental community-based educational intervention was implemented between December 2010 and August 2011, in the six intervention villages. A total of 180 households, from the same 12 villages, participated in the post-intervention evaluation. A randomized block design with repetition was used to test whether there was a change in CHIK knowledge scores from baseline to post-intervention in the treatment group. A model including respondent variables, household larval status, household container larval status, recent experience with CHIK, numbers of livestock, socioeconomic position (SEP) variables, and water variables were used to predict CHIK knowledge scores in rural Tamil Nadu. Respondent age, measures of luxury amenities and water source were statistically significant predictors of knowledge in this model. The CHIK knowledge score increased from 9.0 to 9.4 in the intervention group (p=0.6457) and from 8.5 to 9.2 in the control group (p=0.393), showing that the educational intervention did not increase CHIK knowledge in the intervention group. Although this low-cost intervention, utilized in a resource poor area of Tamil Nadu, India did not result in an increase of CHIK knowledge, the process of developing the educational intervention may provide a template for future interventions. Future studies should investigate methods of sustainability in the use of educational messages. </p>

<p> As nations have become far more interconnected by means of globalization in the 21st century, the issues that affect one nation often have affects upon others. As India is a nation with a population of more than 1.2 billion, the issues that affect the nation also affect others. As an assault in Delhi, India made international news on December 16, 2012, the international community has become more aware of the incidents of gender-based violence that exist within the country. The ramifications of the international community's knowledge of the assault included a drastic decrease in both its international reputation and its tourism industry. As tourism provided 6.6% of its total GDP in 2012, it is an industry that is integral to the development of the nation. In order for India to increase its reputation and its tourism industry, gender-based violence in the form of assault and trafficking must be eradicated. This thesis will discuss the roots of gender-based violence specifically in India, and a case study of India's fight against colonialism will be used as an example of how a sense of nationalism was essential in meeting the goal of the nation at that time. As colonialism and gender-based violence are both 'enemies' to a nation's autonomy and reputation, this thesis will analyze the fact that the nation's ability to form a cohesive national identity, as it did during British rule, is essential for it to achieve its 2013 goals.</p>

This thesis is an ethnography of the postnatal experiences of South Asian migrant women in Perth, Western Australia. I examine cultural differences relating to mothering and argue that the South Asian culture in which these migrant women were socialized can impact greatly on how they experience the feelings of what is called “postnatal depression” in the Western medical arena. I carried out ethnographic research among the members of the Bangladeshi and Indian communities in Perth. The main focus group of this study is first time mothers who gave birth in Australia, but I also worked with other women who had grown up children. Due to migration the South Asian women and their families experienced social isolation, cultural differences, language difficulties, economic hardship and low job satisfaction. Moreover, when these women gave birth in Perth they were faced with a lack of physical and emotional support, and also distress at not being able to perform their traditional birth rituals. Their difficult situations led the women to cry, feel despondent, to suffer and to experience a sense of hopelessness. Their painful postnatal feelings can be defined as an illness - depression - by the Western medicine. However, I found these women did not perceive their negative postnatal feelings as an illness, but accepted them as a part of life. I analysed these women’s postnatal psychological understandings about “postnatal depression” by examining the South Asian convention of female virtue which is practiced through restrictions on female behaviour. The migrant women in my study, having internalizing the South Asian cultural schema of womanhood, articulate their negative postnatal feelings as a prerequisite of motherhood. In this thesis I argue that feelings are not the totality of experience, rather, experience is also formulated by the particular sociocultural perspective of the individual who is having the experience. The culture a person belongs to, defines how that person will experience his or her feelings. I also suggest that it is possible to modify dysphoric affect by altering the meaning of feelings

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Western Australia, 2005.