Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Hamburg, 2005. / Title from PDF file.

News media play a significant role in shaping the national image of other countries, especially in the context of China (PRC). They have been and remain the main source of information for the British public about developments in China but representations evolve over time. This thesis examines how a particular aspect of China s state actions has been reported. The study examines how the national imagery of China and Tibet has been represented in the British national press over the Cold War period and beyond. This study investigates media representations of the Tibetan conflict and how the events related to this were represented and portrayed in the British national daily newspapers from 1949 to 2009. It examines the frames chosen by the press and the influence of the sources (especially external journalistic influence) on the frame-building process. Through a comparison of coverage by the British newspapers over time, it determines the changing similarities and differences in representations of Tibet according to their partisanship and newspaper formats. The research involved a quantitative content analysis and a qualitative frame analysis. The research showed that generally there were greater similarities than differences in the way the British press represented the Tibet issue from 1949 to 2009. Only the pro-Communist Daily Working/Morning Star with a purely Communist canon of news values adopted a completely different framing strategy to report the events. Other British press aligned closely with the UK government by reproducing and reinforcing the dominant capitalist ideology. This political motivation resulted in their approval of stable and familiar frames. In addition, there were differences in the frame types used by the British press between the early Cold War, near the end of the Cold War and the post-Cold War periods. The year 1989 could be seen as a turning point. The research enriches the concept of Herman and Chomsky s propaganda model and contributes to existing media framing studies on Western media s representations of China.

abstract: As much as 40% of the world's human population relies on rivers which originate on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) (Xu et al. 2009, Immerzeel et al. 2010). However, the high alpine grasslands where these rivers emanate are at a crossroads. Fed by seasonal monsoon rains and glacial runoff, these rivers' frequent flooding contributes to massive losses of life and property downstream (Varis et al. 2012). Additionally, upstream grasslands, which regulate the flow of these rivers, are considered to be deteriorating (Harris 2010). This thesis examines the regional vulnerability of these rivers and highlights the impacts of several policy responses, finding that both climate change and grassland degradation pose significant challenges to Asia's water security. Additionally, I suggest that many of the responses elicited by policy makers to meet these challenges have failed. One of these policies has been the poisoning of a small, endemic, burrowing mammal and keystone species, the plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae) (Smith and Foggin 1999). Contrary to their putative classification as a pest (Fan et al. 1999), I show that the plateau pika is instead an ecosystem engineer that actively increases the infiltration rate of water on the QTP with concomitant benefits to both local ecosystems and downstream hydrological processes. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Biology 2012

The academic interest in diasporas has mushroomed in recent decades. More specifically, a debate about the role of diasporas in violence/peace and whether these groups should be seen as spurring violence from afar or acting as agents of peace. This thesis contributes to this debate by investigating the Tibetan diaspora in Sweden. The Tibetan diaspora has not yet to featured in this debate, and their role has in general been undertheorized. As this diaspora is traditionally considered a Buddhist diaspora, the work also relates to and draws on a second academic debate, ie. the Buddhism-violence nexus. The research questions addressed were:  (1) In what way has the conflict in Tibet had an impact of the lives of the members of the Tibetan diaspora in Sweden, and how, if at all, do they respond to it? and (2) Do members of the Tibetan diaspora in Sweden believe that there is room within Tibetan Buddhism to legitimize violence, and if yes; how and under what circumstances? These questions were answered through semi-structured interviews with fourteen adult members of the Tibetan diaspora in Sweden. Two analytical frames were adopted, one being the Triadic Relationship of diasporas and the second Igor Kopytoff’s Frontier Model. The findings suggest that the conflict in Tibet has influenced the interviewees both practically and emotionally. The interviewees shared a view of Buddhism as utterly non-violent but saw Buddhists as human beings, and as such; capable of violence. Buddhism is perceived as something distant and as posing ideals that cannot be achieved. Besides what the Frontier Model suggests two other potential explanatory models presented themselves. Firstly, that the answers were influenced by the particular-ness of the diaspora setting as detached from the homeland conflict, hence enabling diaspora members to keep an idealized stance. Secondly, that Tibetan Buddhism is a particularly peaceful branch of Buddhism and that a more nuanced understanding of the religion is needed when discussing the Buddhism-violence nexus.

No description available.

This thesis focuses on the Manyi Fault in Northern Tibet which experienced a M_w 7.6 earthquake in 1997. The remoteness of the area limits the feasibility of measurements in the field, however the climate makes it ideal to study by remote sensing, specifically Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR). The mechanics of the earthquake have been well documented however there are still numerous questions about the other stages of the earthquake cycle (postseismic and interseismic) across the fault. Previous studies of the postseismic motion across the Manyi Fault using four years of ERS SAR data show the deformation can be explained by either viscoelastic relaxation of a Standard Linear Solid body with a viscosity of 4x10¹⁸ Pa s or afterslip. We use the ERS timeseries and ratemaps formed from a network of ENVISAT SAR scenes from 2003-2010 to analyse the postseismic deformation. We create a series of afterslip models based on rate-and-state frictional laws, along with series of viscoelastic models with various rheologies (Maxwell and Burgers). Our results show that an afterslip model fits the data slightly better than a Burgers rheology but not within resolvable errors. A range of afterslip models fit the data well, with frictional parameters ranging from 8x10^-4 to 2x10^-3 and a preseismic slip rate of 8 to 20 mm/yr. The best-fitting Burgers rheology has a Kelvin element viscosity of 4x10¹⁸ Pa s and Maxwell element viscosity of 6x10¹⁹ Pa s. We analyse the interseismic InSAR signal observed before the 1997 earthquake using ERS data from 1992-1997 to find that the Manyi Fault was accumulating strain at 3+/-2 mm/yr. We also find the seismic locking depth was 22+/-15 km which correlates with the maximum depth of slip during the earthquake. We show there is no significant deformation across the fault to the north of the Manyi Fault which may be an extension to the Kunlun fault. We discuss an analytical 2D thin viscous channel model from literature that has been shown to match the data in this thesis. We show that, once errors are properly accounted for, their model cannot explain both the post and preseismic datasets.

No description available.

No description available.

In the late eighteenth century, a Qing-centered, pluralistic legal order emerged in the Tibetan regions of the Qing empire. In the Gansu borderlands known to Tibetans as "Amdo," the Qing state established subprefectures to administer indigenous populations and prepare them for integration into the empire. In the 1790s, the Qianlong emperor asserted the dynasty's sovereignty in central Tibet and embarked on a program to reform the Tibetan government. This dissertation examines the nineteenth-century legacy of these policies from the twin perspectives of the indigenous people of the region and the officials dispatched to manage them. On the basis of Manchu and Tibetan-language sources, Part One argues that the exercise of Qing sovereignty in central Tibet was connected to the Qianlong court's desire to monopolize indigenous arts of divination, especially as they related to the identification of prominent reincarnations. The Qing court exported a Ming-era bureaucratic technology--a lottery, and repurposed it as a divination technology--the Golden Urn. The successful implementation of this new ritual, however, hinged on the astute use of legal cases and the intervention of Tibetan Buddhist elites, who found a home for the Urn within indigenous traditions. / East Asian Languages and Civilizations

西藏因青藏高原的地理環境和不利漢人居住往來的氣候，所以在中國歷代並沒有和西藏有官方性質的接觸，直到松贊幹布統一吐蕃開啟和唐朝政治、文化交流。在清朝時在西藏設立駐藏大臣，並頒布「欽定藏內善後章程」二十九條，明確規定中央和西藏地方關係。但至中華民國成立初期政局紛亂，中斷中央對西藏的治理。 國民黨在國共內戰挫敗，並撤退至台灣。1949年中共政權在北京成立，「昌都之戰」後中共開始治理西藏，並成立西藏自治區。但因西藏的宗教、文化的不同而產生隔閡和衝突。2006年青藏鐵路興建完成後，改變中共對西藏的治理。達賴喇嘛之前曾一度肯定青藏鐵路對西藏的開發將是有目共睹，但之後又改稱，青藏鐵路不利於西藏。青藏鐵路究竟是一把北京政府直插西藏的利刃，還是一條改善西藏人民生活的「幸福線」？就如同達賴前後兩種看法般眾說紛雲。 但是青藏鐵路的興建對西藏的影響是不可否認的，本論文將以政治影響、社會變遷、經濟發展三方面來探討。 / Tibet is a region on the Qingzang Plateau that inclement and precipitous surrounding. Official communication of Tibet with ancient China started from Tang dynasty. In period of Qing dynasty, the emperor set up Ambans to Tibet, and issued a 29-point decree which appeared to tighten Qing control over Tibet. The rule is interrupted during the period of Republic of China. And Dalai Lama ruled Tibet without Chinese interference. The People's Republic of China was established and governed Tibet after Battle of Chamdo. There are many conflicts between Han and Tibetan due to difference culture and religion. Furthermore, China government decided the construction of Qinghai-Tibet Railway. The railway is very meaningful and influenced on Tibet. This essay will be discussed and investigated the impact in the three terms of politics, society, and economic.