Dissertations / Theses: 'South Asian Languages'

1

Khan, Tafseer Ahmed [Verfasser]. "Spatial Expressions and Case in South Asian Languages / Tafseer Ahmed Khan." Konstanz : Bibliothek der Universität Konstanz, 2009. http://d-nb.info/1017235945/34.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

2

Asif, Noor A. "Understanding Postcolonial South Asian Communities Through Bollywood." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2016. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/788.

Full text

Abstract:

Inspired by my personal experience as a South Asian-American, I chose to create a series of paintings that seek to analyze the relationship between South Asians and a Western environment. I was further influenced by Bollywood painted posters, which I argue encapsulate postcolonial aesthetics in the form of fair skin, colored eyes, and exoticism. Moreover, I believe that Bollywood has continued to disseminate these aesthetics to the South Asian collective community. Bollywood and its implicit fascination with the West, in addition to its inherently South Asian identity, embody the struggle that many South Asians face. This struggle, which I as a South Asian-American woman painter have also experienced, includes a constant internal conflict between desiring to fit into Western culture and trying to maintain one’s cultural heritage within a Western environment. Ultimately, through these paintings and this essay, I seek to shed light on this complex relationship between South Asian culture and a Western context.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

3

Guha, Papia. "Regional Cooperation in South Asia." W&M ScholarWorks, 1991. https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd/1539625686.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

4

Aswani, Niraj. "Designing a general framework for text alignment : case studies with two South Asian languages." Thesis, University of Sheffield, 2012. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/2618/.

Full text

Abstract:

Building machine translation systems for many South Asian languages (such as Hindi, Gujarati, etc.) using statistical methods is problematic. The primary reason is insufficient parallel data to learn accurate word alignment. Additionally, these languages are morphologically rich and have free word order. When it is difficult to rely purely on statistical methods due to insufficient data, research shows that better performance can be obtained by building hybrid systems that rely on language specific resources, such as morphological analysers or dictionaries, as well as statistical methods. However, it is difficult to find such language specific resources for many South Asian languages. Since languages such as Hindi, Gujarati, Urdu, Bengali, Punjabi and Marathi are all very similar in structure and the main differences lie in the script and vocabulary used for these languages, we hypothesise that it is possible to develop resources for one of these languages and generalize the approach to allow rapid bootstrapping of similar resources for the other closely related languages -- with minimal effort and similar accuracies. To verify this, we develop a few resources for the Hindi language, including a sentence alignment algorithm, a morphological analyser and a transliteration similarity component and generalize the approach to allow rapid bootstrapping of similar resources for the Gujarati language. We show that the approach works on both the Hindi and Gujarati languages and achieves results that are comparable to similar state-of-the-art (SOA) resources available for these languages. We also hypothesise that it is possible to develop a high performance hybrid word alignment algorithm that relies on such language specific resources. To verify this, we design, implement and evaluate a novel English-Hindi hybrid word alignment system that uses the Hindi specific resources developed by us. Not only do we show our word alignment system outperforms other SOA English-Hindi word alignment systems, but also how simple it is to adapt it to the English-Gujarati language pair.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

5

Bal, Surinder Kaur. "The Lived Experiences of South Asian Same-Sex Attracted Women Residing in the United States." ScholarWorks, 2016. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/2953.

Full text

Abstract:

South Asian same-sex attracted women in the United States experience discrimination and marginalization that puts them at an increased risk for mental health issues. Research shows their rates of counseling and psychotherapy use are low due to perceptions of stigma, lack of knowledge, and concerns about culturally insensitive treatment plans. Mental health providers lack the literature needed to inform culturally sensitive treatment plans to address these concerning gaps in services, and an extensive literature review found no studies on the lived experiences of this population. Guided by feminist theory, this research study examined how discrimination, oppression, and marginalization mold women's lived experiences; this knowledge aims to serve as a means to advocate for social and political change for this population. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of this population. An emergent hand coding analysis, using experiential anecdotes, of data collected from interviews of 10 participants generated 10 major themes and 25 subthemes of experiences. Themes included importance of cultural values; familial relationships; marital life plan; intersectionality; and discrimination from gender disparity, patriarchal hierarchy, and sexual modesty. The study contributes to social change initiatives by providing culturally and contextually practical information to mental health professionals, counselor educators, and educational institutions that provide services to this population.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

6

Ching, Yin Fong. "Socio-demographic effects on native language retention for groups speaking Spanish and groups speaking Asian languages in South Florida." FIU Digital Commons, 2002. http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/2340.

Full text

Abstract:

This thesis examined the contribution of socio-demographic characteristics to native language retention among Hispanics and Asians in Miami-Dade County (MDC). Data from the 1990 Public Use Microdata Samples (US Census) for MDC were used. Because the dependent variable, native language use in the home, was dichotomous, logistic regression was employed. Consistent with the ecological perspective and the hypothesized effects of a Spanish-speaking enclave in MDC, the results confirmed linguistic household isolation, residential segregation, household size, and employment were statistically significant predictors of parental language retention for Hispanics. However, for Asians, only linguistic household isolation and household size were found to be statistically significant predictors of native language retention with no effects for residential or work environments. The findings also indicated the processes of parental language maintenance differed between Hispanic and Asian groups in which native language retention was greater among Spanish-speaking groups when compared to groups speaking Asian languages in Miami-Dade County.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

7

Akhtar, Raja Nasim. "Aspectual complex predicates in Punjabi." Thesis, University of Essex, 2000. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.310091.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

8

Dastoor, Tehnaz Jehangir. "Regionalism in India: Two Case Studies." W&M ScholarWorks, 1989. https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd/1539625532.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

9

Avadhanam, Ramya. "First -Generation Hindu Indian-American Undergraduates’ Grief After Death of Grandparent(S) in India." W&M ScholarWorks, 2018. https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd/1530192632.

Full text

Abstract:

The proposed study aims to capture the unique experiences surrounding grief of first-generation Indian-American undergraduate students. Tummala-Narra (2013) defines immigrants as having been raised in the country of origin and migrating to the United States in late adolescence or adulthood and first-generation as those born in the United States or arrived to the United States as young children. Research has shown that bereavement can have profound emotional health consequences for those surviving a loss (W. Stroebe & Stroebe, 1987). Additional components such as loss of expectations, traditions, and culture (Price, 2011) may contribute to mental health challenges for the South Asian population that are often overlooked across the immigrant and first-generations (Tummala-Narra, 2013). The United States Census Bureau (2010 ) stated that the total U.S. population on April 1, 2010 was 308.7 million, out of which 14.7 million or 4.8 percent were Asian. South Asians (i.e., people from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal) were the fastest growing subgroup among the Asian population. (United States Census Bureau, 2007). Trends in Education shifted for Asians over time. In 1988, at least 38% of Asians had earned at least a bachelor’s degree, whereas in 2015, 54% of Asians who were 25 years old or older had a bachelor’s degree or higher (Ryan & Bauman, 2016) implying that there is a continued increase in the Asian undergraduate student population. Content includes a description of immigrant demographics, reasons for immigration, impact of immigration to the United States on family dynamics across generations, mental health stigma for this population, a review of the literature, gaps in the literature, theoretical foundation for the proposed study, purpose and relevance of the study, and future implications of this research.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

10

Kanjilal, Sucheta. "Modern Mythologies: The Epic Imagination in Contemporary Indian Literature." Scholar Commons, 2017. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/6875.

Full text

Abstract:

This project delineates a cultural history of modern Hinduism in conversation with contemporary Indian literature. Its central focus is literary adaptations of the Sanskrit epic the Mahābhārata, in English, Hindi, and Bengali. Among Hindu religious texts, this epic has been most persistently reproduced in literary and popular discourses because its scale matches the grandeur of the Indian national imagining. Further, many epic adaptations explicitly invite devotion to the nation, often emboldening conservative Hindu nationalism. This interdisciplinary project draws its methodology from literary theory, history, gender, and religious studies. Little scholarship has put Indian Anglophone literatures in conversation with other Indian literary traditions. To fill this gap, I chart a history of literary and cultural transactions between both India and Britain and among numerous vernacular, classical, and Anglophone traditions within India. Paying attention to gender, caste, and cultural hegemony, I demostrate how epic adaptations both narrate and contest the contours of the Indian nation.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

11

Frazee, Amy E. "Military Civilian Relations in Post-Revolutionary Transition: The Transformation of East Asian States and the Future of Egypt." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2012. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/409.

Full text

Abstract:

There are several theories involving civil-military relations that have been established since the Cold War. Shaped by the political transitions of Europe and Latin America, how do these theories apply to the Third Wave of democratizations? How does a more contemporary analysis of theory help understand more contemporary insurgencies such as the Arab Spring?

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

12

Atreya, Gagan. "Group Status and Inter-Group Trust in Nepal and India." W&M ScholarWorks, 2015. https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd/1539720279.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

13

Bropleh, Minger. "Incongruent Premodern and Modern Beauty Ideals: A Case Study of South Korea and India's Reconciliation of Current Beauty Trends With Foundational Religious Ideals." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2014. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/810.

Full text

Abstract:

This thesis is an in-depth analysis of beauty ideals in South Korea and India. These two countries have recently turned to skin lightening and cosmetic surgery in order to achieve their new beauty standards. Not only do these two countries share a propensity for those two trends, but they also have an overwhelming majority of the population that identifies with a specific religion; Hinduism in the case of India and Confucianism in the case of South Korea. However, it is not clear that the current beauty ideal in each country aligns with the beauty ideal set out in the respective foundational religion.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

14

Shaheen, Shabana. "The Identity Formation of South Asians: A Phenomenological Study." VCU Scholars Compass, 2017. http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/5042.

Full text

Abstract:

This research explores the lived experiences of South Asians college students. This research, through a qualitative study that is rooted in the philosophy of phenomenology, explores the essence South Asians’ identity formation. Qualitative data was collected through semi-structured interviews with South Asian college students. The data analysis was under a phenomenological lens that centered the lived experiences and the essence of these experiences in the results. Seven themes emerged from this phenomenological study: negotiating bicultural identity, model minority expectations, meaningful impact of religious spaces, understandings of intra-community tensions, racialization of Islamophobia, understandings of South Asian identity and efficacy of Asian American identity. This study’s findings provide a foundation to build a more expansive framework for understanding the identity formation of South Asians.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

15

Singh, Alaka. "The Political Economy in India: Interest Groups and Development (1947-1990)." W&M ScholarWorks, 1992. https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd/1539625751.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

16

Mobbs, Michael Christopher. "Languages as identity symbols : an investigation into language attitudes and behaviour amongst second-generation South Asian schoolchildren in Britain, including the special case of Hindi and Urdu." Thesis, University of London, 1991. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.360315.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

17

Moorthy, Radha. "Re-ethnicization of Second Generation Non-Muslim Asian Indians in the U.S." Scholar Commons, 2017. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/6731.

Full text

Abstract:

When discussing Asian Indian population in the U.S. their economic success and scholastic achievement dominates the discourse. Despite their perceived economic and scholastic success and their status as a “model minority”, Asian Indians experience discrimination, exclusion, and marginalization from mainstream American society. These experiences of discrimination and perceived discrimination are causing second generation Asian Indians to give up on total assimilation and re-ethnicize. They are using different pathways of re-ethnicization to re-claim and to create an ethnic identity. This thesis provides evidence, through secondary sources, that Asian Indians in the U.S. do experience discrimination or perceived discrimination, and it is historic, cultural, and systemic. This thesis also uses secondary sources to explain several pathways of re-ethnicization utilized by second generation Asian Indians who have given up on complete assimilation. The process of re-ethnicization provides second generation Asian Indians agency, positionality, and placement in American society. Asian Indians through re-ethnicization occupy and embrace the margins that separate mainstream American society and the Asian Indians community in the U.S. It allows them to act as “go –betweens”.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

18

Mehta, Pangri G. "Behind the Curtain: Cultural Cultivation, Immigrant Outsiderness, and Normalized Racism against Indian Families." Scholar Commons, 2017. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/6899.

Full text

Abstract:

This qualitative dissertation uses an Indian dance studio based in the suburbs of a mid-sized Florida city as an entry point to examine how racism impacts the local upwardly mobile Asian Indian community. Utilizing two and a half years of ethnographic data collected at the studio as a Bollywood instructor, 24 in-depth interviews with Indian immigrant parents and their children, 12 self-portraits drawn by children during their interviews, and home visits with 13 families, this project examines the strategies of accommodation and resistance that Indian families use to construct a sense of home and belonging. Applying socialization, visual research methods, critical race, and feminist scholarship to the exploration of how the local Indian immigrant community builds a sense of home and belonging within a nation whose success is a product of racial domination, this project makes four innovative and distinctive contributions to sociological research on socialization, U.S. immigration, and contemporary race relations. In the first data chapter, I coin and develop the term cultural cultivation to describe strategic ethno-cultural socialization efforts immigrant parents use to preserve a culture ‘left behind’ (Ram 2005). Cultural cultivation adds a nuanced dimension to ethno-cultural socialization studies by demonstrating that these efforts are laborious, often regarded as women’s work, and effectively operate as an ‘added step’ to Hochschild and Machung’s (2003) work on the “second shift.” The second data chapter utilizes an innovative research technique of having children draw self-portraits. While cultural cultivation helps children develop a meaningful attachment to Indian culture, self-portraits and interview data uncovered experiences of being teased and feeling ‘left out.’ As a result, many children forged what Portes and Rumbaut (2001) call a “reactive ethnicity” as a way to cope with prejudice and discrimination and construct a sense of identity and belonging. The third data chapter examines the ways families minimized and internalized experiences of prejudice and discrimination. Rather than recognizing them as a part of structural racism, many immigrant parents regarded racial offenses as a deserved response to individual misbehaviors or inadequacies that were to be pointed out and corrected. This internalization prompted several of the interviewees to police their and their children’s actions when in the presence of non-Indians in an attempt to preemptively minimize prejudicial statements and discrimination. For the last data chapter, by revealing the enduring hardships related to socialization and assimilation, I argue that high levels of assimilation and acculturation were also commonly accompanied by what I call immigrant outsiderness, or the subjective dimensions of the migration experience which are marked by 1. Lack of cultural inclusion, 2. Lack of social inclusion, and 3. Feelings of emotional disconnect. Data demonstrate that in spite of meeting the objective benchmarks typically associated with successful structural integration, acculturation, and assimilation, the immigrant experiences of this “model minority” are bounded and characterized by cultural and social exclusion as well as an emotional disconnect. This dissertation concludes by urging both a critical exploration and integration of how Asian Indians and South Asians fit into the contemporary racial landscape beyond terms like “model minority” and “honorary white” so that we can have a more honest and complex understanding of the role racial domination plays in our everyday lives.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

19

Kothari, Jahnavi. "Finding Parallels Between Jain Philosophy and Sartrean Existentialism: Recognising the Richness of South Asian Religious Philosophy Against the Developments in Continental Philosophy." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2019. https://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/1367.

Full text

Abstract:

As a Religious Studies and Humanities: Interdisciplinary Studies in Culture major, I have noticed several striking similarities between South Asian religious philosophies and Continental philosophy. However, this also brought my attention to the severe lack of representation of South Asian philosophies. I began to see the resonances with Jainism and Jean-Paul Sartre’s Existentialism is a Humanism. Therefore, my thesis explores the similarities between atheism, subjectivity and responsibility as common concepts between Sartrean Existentialism and Jainism.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

20

Evans, Katherine A. "Die Selbstdarstellung des Staates durch die olympischen Spiele: München 1972 und Seoul 1988." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2013. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/277.

Full text

Abstract:

This thesis examines the planning and organization of the Munich 1972 and Seoul 1988 Olympic Games with a specific focus on how the South Korean and West German governments attempted to use the Games to positively change their images abroad. Both countries attempted to distance themselves not only from their own war torn pasts, but also from their Communist counterparts, East Germany and North Korea. The West German government (and the Munich Olympic Committee) hoped to create a “peaceful” and “carefree atmosphere” that would directly counter images of Nazism, and the South Korean government (and the Seoul Olympic Committee) sought to use the Olympics to legitimize a military dictatorship and prove the country’s economic growth following the Korean War. By giving the Games so much importance, however, both governments transformed the Olympics into a flashpoint for international and domestic conflicts, and unforeseen events, such as the Black September terrorist attack, the South Korean democracy movement, and North Korea’s demands to co-host the Games, changed and defined the public images of both the Games and their host countries.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

21

D'souza, Ryan A. "Representations of Indian Christians in Bollywood Movies." Scholar Commons, 2019. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/7772.

Full text

Abstract:

This dissertation uses discursive formation as the methodological approach to examine representations of Indian Christians in eleven Bollywood movies released during the 2004-2014 decade. The decade witnessed the exit and eventual re-entry of the Hindu Right, and the citizenry during that period experienced centrist, liberal, and secular governance. Since the present of Indian Christianity is inextricable from a colonial past, and Bollywood emerges in response to colonialism, a postcolonial intervention in methodology and theory is undertaken. A postcolonial perspective illuminates the discourses that enable the formation of the postcolonial nation, i.e., the ways a nation imagines its culture, people, traditions, boundaries, and Others. There is a suggested relationship between the representations of Indian Christians in Bollywood movies and the decade of secular governance because the analysis is approached from the position that culture and media produce and re-produce each other. The representations of Christians in Bollywood movies are a product of contemporary and historical cultural, legal, political, and social discourses. This dissertation demonstrates that representations of Christians as hypersexual women and emasculated men within an emergent Hindu modernity discursively constructs India as a Hindu nation, and Christians as the westernized Other. The theoretical contributions pertain to belonging in the nation through homonationalism and hypersexualization; the relationship between democratic representations and media; the postcolonial ambivalent identity of the Bollywood industry because of way it represents Indian Christians in response to colonialism; and the Indian Christian community’s postcolonial identity as a way to make sense of their contemporary and historical identity.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

22

Holland, Daniel L. "Abjection, Telesthesia, and Transnationalism: Incest in Park Chan-wook's Oldboy." Scholar Commons, 2015. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/5492.

Full text

Abstract:

Many consider Oldboy be the defining film of the most recent wave of South Korean cinema, with scholars such as Terrence McSweeney and Kim Kyun Hyun arguing the film's representation of South Korean culture through collective memory, trauma, and Westernization. However, most of the current scholarship that surrounds the film does not adequately address the film's prominent theme of incest. My thesis explores the anxious implications of the film's incestuous imagery and reads it as a figure for the film's transnational presence. Specifically, in my project, incest is the nucleus on which I build each argument outward. First through abjection and desire for self and other, onto telesthesia and desire for private and public, then finally, transnationalism and the desire for national and global. These desires we typically take as binaries, but in fact, we experience an anxiety of being simultaneously on both sides of the binary. I argue that attentiveness Oldboy`s representation of the incest taboo brings necessary nuances to the current scholarship that surrounds it: Contemporary South Korean culture cannot be a primary focus, as South Korea has always been entangled within an "other", be it through Colonization, Westernization, or more recently telecommunications. In conclusion, by closely examining the incest taboo in Oldboy, this project sheds light on the simultaneity within the desires of self and other, private and public, and finally, national and global.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

23

Qualls, Barbara. "The Poetry of Li-Young Lee: Identity, Androgyny & Feminism." TopSCHOLAR®, 1993. https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/2737.

Full text

Abstract:

In my investigation of Li-Young Lee's poetry, my concerns were two-fold: first, to find evidence of an androgynous quality or ideal; secondly, to demonstrate that ideal as authentically feminist. In the introduction, I investigate the feminist debate about the traditional definition and concept of androgyny, demonstrating the difference between the patriarchal traditional androgyny and the androgynous elements in Lee's poetry. In Chapter Two, the rose as image and as symbol in Lee's poetry is examined and found to be strikingly androgynous as a symbol. As an image, however, it is more often than not used as a vehicle to describe the destructive nature of social tyrannies such as the patriarchal symbolic order. In Chapter Three, Lee's heavy implications of an existing "other" is examined. This examination is particularly pertinent when considering the feminist debate, since one of the major problems with the idea of androgyny is that it often necessitates a binary thought system in which the male is usually the "one" and the female is usually the "other." In Lea's poetry, I found no significant evidence of that kind of phallocentricism; rather, I found substantial evidence that Lee's poetry demonstrates the destructiveness of insisting on any being's otherness. Lee's search for identity, and for the meaning of personal identity, involves the acceptance of the mutability of identity. In conclusion, although I don't find androgyny to be authentically feminist, I find Lee's poetry--and its particular use of an androgynous ideal--to be authentically feminist.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

24

Garg, Shantanu. "Foundations of a Political Identity: An Inquiry into Indian Swaraj (Self-Rule)." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2014. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/891.

Full text

Abstract:

India is celebrated as the largest democracy in the world but is it truly democratic? Is it the nation-state that its founder’s envisioned it to be? Has it addressed it ancient issue of social diversity? This paper seeks to assess the present problem faced by the Indian Democracy; problems based on India’s inherent social diversity. Furthermore the paper seeks to recommend a solution based on Amartya Sen’s Open Impartiality approach that will allow the country to reassess its democratic platform. The paper also aims at providing a starting point to execute Sen’s approach by exploring the vision of two of India’s independence leaders: Mohandas Karamchandra Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

25

DiOrio, David Robert. "The Implementation of Governance to Counter Islamist Militancy in Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province." ScholarWorks, 2016. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/2150.

Full text

Abstract:

Militancy inspired by Islamists is escalating globally, and government action is necessary to protect vulnerable populations. Security professionals generally agree that governance may complement the use of force to defeat militants; however, current doctrine does not address the concurrent integration of governance in a comprehensive strategy. This interpretive case study explored Pakistan's application of governance during the 2009 Khyber operation in Swat Valley, code-named Operation Rah-e-Rast. The central research question focused on how governance activities were integrated with military operations to subdue militancy. Data were collected through interviews with 6 planners, Pakistani secondary source survey data, and government artifacts. Data were inductively coded using a progressive axial coding process and validated through methodological triangulation. Data were then analyzed using a case study analytical model, grounded in neo-Clausewitzian theoretical principles, to derive key themes. Key findings indicate that an interministry collaborative approach to regain the public trust was more effective in placating violence than was solely using military action. Sound governance, enabled by strategic communications and intelligence, fostered tribal relationships that promoted confidence and undermined the militant support base. The civil-military planning protocols were successful, but mainly ad-hoc and suboptimized. Formal training, standing civil-military planning forums, and planning process improvements stemming from the Pakistan experience could instill social change by assisting national leaders in developing a cogent countermilitancy strategy to defeat the global Islamist movement.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

26

Helland, Madeline. "Syncretic Souvenirs: An Investigation of Two Modern Indian Manuscripts." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2018. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/1185.

Full text

Abstract:

The objective of this project was to establish a provenance for two Indian manuscripts that were recently discovered in the collections at Scripps College. Based on their illuminations, script, and binding structure, I was able to conclude that these two manuscripts are Hindu religious texts created around the 19th or 20th century. To determine an approximate origin and the significance of these volumes, my research focused on the syncretism of religion, material history, and power dynamics in India. Their context was specifically framed within the history of manuscript construction and conservation.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

27

Sengupta, Aparajita. "NATION, FANTASY, AND MIMICRY: ELEMENTS OF POLITICAL RESISTANCE IN POSTCOLONIAL INDIAN CINEMA." UKnowledge, 2011. http://uknowledge.uky.edu/gradschool_diss/129.

Full text

Abstract:

In spite of the substantial amount of critical work that has been produced on Indian cinema in the last decade, misconceptions about Indian cinema still abound. Indian cinema is a subject about which conceptions are still muddy, even within prominent academic circles. The majority of the recent critical work on the subject endeavors to correct misconceptions, analyze cinematic norms and lay down the theoretical foundations for Indian cinema. This dissertation conducts a study of the cinema from India with a view to examine the extent to which such cinema represents an anti-colonial vision. The political resistance of Indian films to colonial and neo-colonial norms, and their capacity to formulate a national identity is the primary focus of the current study.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

28

Jamass, Maria M. "Images and Perceptions of Muslims and Arabs in Korean Popular Culture and Society." FIU Digital Commons, 2014. http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/1204.

Full text

Abstract:

Interest in Muslim and Arab societies has been on the rise in South Korea, especially since 2001, with many books and various documentaries being published on the subject. Since 2005 there have been a number of television shows and documentaries that include Muslim, and sometimes Arab characters. This study will examine how images of Muslims and Arabs are presented in Korean popular culture through the analysis of various dramas and variety shows, as well as how these images fit into the context of Korean ethno-nationalism and the history of Islam in East Asia. In addition to this analysis this study will also be exploring how these images have been changing from negative to a more sympathetic or realistic depiction of Muslims and Arabs, as well as explore which groups are responsible for this change.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

29

Henadeerage, Kumara, and kumara henadeerage@anu edu au. "Topics in Sinhala Syntax." The Australian National University. Faculty of Arts, 2002. http://thesis.anu.edu.au./public/adt-ANU20060426.142352.

Full text

Abstract:

This study is a detailed investigation of a number of issues in colloquial Sinhala morphosyntax. These issues primarily concern grammatical relations, argument structure, phrase structure and focus constructions. The theoretical framework of this study is Lexical Functional Grammar.¶Chapter 1 introduces the issues to be discussed, followed by a brief introduction of some essential aspects of colloquial Sinhala as background for the discussion in the following chapters. In Chapter 2 we present basic concepts of the theoretical framework of Lexical Functional Grammar.¶ The next three chapters mainly concern grammatical relations, argument structure and clause structure in colloquial Sinhala. Chapter 3 examines grammatical relations. The main focus lies in establishing the subject grammatical relation in terms of various subjecthood diagnostics. We show that only a very small number of diagnostics are reliable, and that the evidence for subject is weaker than assumed previously. All the subjecthood diagnostics that were examined select the most prominent argument in the argument structure as the subject, i.e. 'logical subject'. However, there appear to be no processes in the language that are sensitive to the subject in the grammatical relations structure, i.e. 'gr-subject'. Further, there is no evidence for other grammatical relations like objects. In Chapter 4 we discuss the agentless construction and related valency alternation phenomena. It was previously assumed that the agentless construction, valency alternation phenomena and the involitive construction are all related. We argue that the agentless construction should be treated as a different construction from the involitive construction. We also show that the agentless construction and the involitive construction have contrasting characteristics, and that treatment of them as separate constructions can account for some phenomena which did not receive an explanation previously. The valency alternation phenomena are related to the agentless construction, therefore there is no valency alternation in involitive constructions. It will be shown that verbs undergoing the valency alternation can be distinguished from the other verbs in terms of the lexical semantic properties of individual verbs. Chapter 5 examines the structure of non-verbal sentences in terms of a number of morphosyntactic phenomena. It was previously argued that verbal sentences and non-verbal sentences in colloquial Sinhala differ in terms of clause structure. However, the present study shows evidence to the contrary.¶ The next two chapters deal with modelling contrastive focus and the phrase structure of the language. Chapter 6 is a detailed analysis of the contrastive focus (cleft) construction in various clause types in the language, and proposes a unified syntactic treatment of contrastive focus. Contrastive focus is in some constructions morphologically encoded, while in others it involves both morphological and configurational assignment of focus. The complex interaction between focus markers and verb morphology in various focus constructions is accounted for by general well-formedness conditions applying to the f-structure, and the principles of Functional Uncertainty and Morphological Blocking. In Chapter 7, we discuss the phrase structure of the language, in particular such issues as its non-configurational nature and the lack of evidence for VP. We propose non-configurational S and some functional projections to account for word order freedom under S and to explain certain morphosyntactic phenomena, such as configurational focus assignment. Finally, Chapter 8 summarises the conclusions made in previous chapters.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

30

Wong, K. Y. "Towards a Bourdieuian understanding of the South Asian language minorities' language acquisition in Hong Kong." Thesis, Nottingham Trent University, 2016. http://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/30383/.

Full text

Abstract:

The inadequacy of Chinese language skills of the South Asian language minorities has raised concerns among educators and policymakers in recent years. Further to the notification given by the Equal Opportunities Commission to the Education Bureau of its concerns about the education of language-minority students, the provision of educational support to them became one of the priorities in the "Initiatives of the 2014 Policy Address" of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. This study adopts habitus as a research method to gain a deeper understanding on the South Asian language minorities' language acquisition in Hong Kong. Whilst there are a number of initiatives to enhance the teaching and learning of Chinese for language-minority students, in this study I work closely with a group of six language minorities who studied in and graduated from the most historical designated school in Hong Kong. In attempting to understand the complexities of language practices and strategies employed by the participants to cope with their language needs in Hong Kong, I draw heavily from Bourdieu's notions of symbolic power, habitus, capital and field. The study uncovers the familial and linguistic habitus of the participants. All of them were multilingual speakers with various degrees of proficiency. Socioeconomic status appeared to have an effect on the motive for the student participants to re/produce Chinese language as their cultural capital. Meanwhile, Chinese language in terms of Cantonese was much valued by the graduate participants when they had opportunities to interact with their Chinese counterparts after they had left the designated school. The acquisition of Chinese language among the South Asian language minorities presents an interesting issue for those working in the educational field. Lacking primary familial and linguistic habitus of Chinese, the language minorities rely heavily and even entirely on the schools to help them cultivate their linguistic habitus of Chinese. I draw specifically from the relational notions of habitus and field to argue that the language minorities' linguistic habitus of Chinese can only be inculcated effectively through exposures and immersion in arenas where the Chinese counterparts are located.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

31

Jiumpanyarach, Waruesporn. "SINGLE-PARENT FAMILIES IN BANGKOK, THAILAND: FACTORS AFFECTING CHILDREN LIVING IN SINGLE-PARENT FAMILIES." UKnowledge, 2011. http://uknowledge.uky.edu/sociology_etds/1.

Full text

Abstract:

There has been a transformation in family structure in Thailand due to the changes in economic and social structures over time. Though not recorded in census data the rise in single-parent families can be expected due to a rise in divorce rates, that have been recorded, over the past decades. However, the literature on single-parent families is limited and little is known about the experiences of single-mothers and children of singlemother families in Thailand. This study examines the factors that have major impacts on the well-being of children of single-parent families in Bangkok, Thailand. A qualitative methodology was employed to study the lived experiences from the point of views of 20 divorced single-mothers and 20 adult children from a different sample of divorced single-mother families in Bangkok, Thailand. Altogether 40 semistructured interviews were conducted in Bangkok, Thailand during June and July of 2010. Three theoretical frameworks, including family and household decision making theories, the life-course perspective, and the family composition perspective were applicable in this study to provide an understanding of how economic and social structures play an important role in the dissolution of marriages and how family composition plays an important role in the well-being of children. The findings of this study shed light on the lived experiences of participants and revealed the important factors that influence the well-being of children of single-mother families. The major factors include financial resources, parenting styles and discipline, and social supports. In addition, this study has implications for developing programs to assist and facilitate the well-being of single-parent families, strengthening the relationship within extended families, and eradicating the negative assumptions that are often associated with single-parent families.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

32

St, John David. "Non-Ownership Principles as Understood by Lay Practitioners of Jainism and Quakerism." FIU Digital Commons, 2017. http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/3205.

Full text

Abstract:

This thesis examines how lay members of the Jain and Quaker traditions understand and navigate ideals of non-ownership. The tenets of aparigraha (non-ownership) and the testimony of simplicity are explored to show how interpretation of sacred texts leave open the possibility for financial success. Through interviews with members of Jain and Quaker communities in the US, and textual research, I assert that proper methods for earning, maintaining and using capital in each tradition transcend prohibitions against excess accumulation. Following Foucault and Weber, I show that proper ethical ways of earning and spending money depend on community-based interpretations and self-policing. My research suggests that lay members focus on ethical ways to earn and spend money rather than the amount of wealth they possess. Due to these foci, transgressions of ideals are viewed within community-established norms, which maintain high levels of engagement with both the capital world and their own religious tradition.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

33

Kung, Shui Man Jessica. "Language maintenance or language shift ? : a study of South Asian ethnic minorities' Chinese language learning in Hong Kong." HKBU Institutional Repository, 2012. http://repository.hkbu.edu.hk/etd_ra/1353.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

34

Cheung, Sin-lin Isabelle. "A study of lexical errors in South-Asian Non-Chinese speaking children's writing." Click to view the E-thesis via HKUTO, 2006. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record/B36863658.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

35

Cheung, Sin-lin Isabelle, and 張善蓮. "A study of lexical errors in South-Asian Non-Chinese speakingchildren's writing." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2006. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B36863658.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

36

Steinbach, Marilyn. "Socio-cultural factors affecting the language learning experiences of south Asian female immigrants." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1998. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape11/PQDD_0004/MQ43957.pdf.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

37

Nair, Shankar Ayillath. "Philosophy in Any Language: Interaction between Arabic, Sanskrit, and Persian Intellectual Cultures in Mughal South Asia." Thesis, Harvard University, 2014. http://dissertations.umi.com/gsas.harvard:11258.

Full text

Abstract:

This dissertation examines three contemporaneous religious philosophers active in early modern South Asia: Muhibb Allah Ilahabadi (d. 1648), Madhusudana Sarasvati (d. 1620-1647), and the Safavid philosopher, Mir Findiriski (d. 1640/1). These figures, two Muslim and one Hindu, were each prominent representatives of religious thought as it occurred in one of the three pan-imperial languages of the Mughal Empire: Arabic, Sanskrit, and Persian. In this study, I re-trace the trans-regional scholarly networks in which each of the figures participated, and then examine the various ways in which their respective networks overlapped. The Chishti Sufi Muhibb Allah, drawing from the Islamic intellectual tradition of wahdat al-wujud, engaged in "international" networks of Arabic debate on questions of ontology and metaphysics. Madhusudana Sarasvati, meanwhile, writing in the Hindu Advaita-Vedanta tradition, was busy adjudicating competing interpretations of the well-known Sanskrit text, the Yoga-Vasistha. Mir Findiriski also took considerable interest in a shorter version of this same Yoga-Vasistha, composing his own commentary upon a Persian translation of the treatise that had been undertaken at the Mughal imperial court. In this Persian translation of the Yoga-Vasistha alongside Findiriski's commentary, I argue, we encounter a creative synthesis of the intellectual contributions occurring within Muhibb Allah's Arabic milieu, on the one hand, and the competing exegeses of the Yoga-Vasistha circulating in Madhusudana's Sanskrit intellectual circles, on the other. The result is a novel Persian treatise that represents an emerging "sub-discipline" of Persian Indian religious thought, still in the process of formulating its basic disciplinary vocabulary as drawn from these broader Muslim and Hindu traditions.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

38

Weekly, Robert. "Multilingual South Asian English language teachers' attitudes to English language varieties and the impact on their teaching beliefs." Thesis, University of Southampton, 2015. https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/398692/.

Full text

Abstract:

Recent changes at a global level in terms of migration patterns and telecommunications have destabilised many pre-established concepts. The notion of diaspora has given way to trans-localism and communities can no longer be conceived of as discreet homogenous units. Other language related concepts such as multilingualism, code-mixing, speech communities and language itself have been scrutinised and undermined by research in translanguaging, superdiversity, English as a Lingua Franca, World Englishes and language ideologies. In Britain new migrants from a myriad of different locations co-exist with older migrants and the local white British population in what has been termed as superdiversity. This study focuses on older migrants who interact with newer migrants within the classroom, in a teacher-student relationship, and also to a degree outside the classroom. It reports on the attitudes of multilingual English language teachers to varieties of English and how this influences their teaching practices. I interviewed and conducted focus group discussions with first and second generation migrants between January 2012 and February 2013. The participants are representative of two conflicting ideologies. On the one hand the participants have varying degrees of experience with indigenised non-native varieties of English through travel, from learning English in a context outside Britain, and through family and friendship networks. On the other hand they also have the responsibility to teach British Standard English to students who may already be speaking a fluent stable variety of English. The aim of the study was to understand how the participants reconciled conflicting attitudes about language and the extent to which this impacted on their teaching practices. The main findings of the study are that while many of the teachers are aware of and open to different variation in spoken English, this predominantly related to pronunciation. However there were clear differences between first and second generation migrants which appear to be related to the participant’s experience of different societal ideologies. This translated into different attitudes about correct language and their beliefs about their teaching practices. While first generation migrants’ attitudes showed evidence of being influenced by dual ideologies, second generation migrants’ attitudes more closely reflected societal ideologies in the UK.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

39

Chacon, Christopher. "The invention of Hindustan| V.D. Savarkar, Subhas Chandra bose, M.S. Golwalkar, and the modernization of Hindu nationalist langauge." Thesis, California State University, Fullerton, 2016. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10144643.

Full text

Abstract:

In this thesis I argue that Hindu nationalist terminology, particularly the concepts of Hindutva, Samyavada, and national identity, modernized amid currents of globalization and neocolonialism in the early twentieth-century. In the theoretical section, I examine how systems of knowledge and power in India were directly and indirectly affected by the globalization of western modernity. In the primary source analysis section, I discuss three prominent Hindu nationalists and their ideas in support of the argument made in the theoretical section. Veer Vinayak Damodar Savarkar (1883-1966), the philosopher of Hindutva, represented the ethno-nationalistic component to Hindu nationalism and looked to cultural motifs in order to unify the “true” people of India. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose (1897-1945), the militant hero who formed the Indian National Army and outright opposed the British, contributed the aggressive discourse of nationalist rhetoric. Sarsanghchalak Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar (1906-1973), the supreme leader of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), utilized Hindu nationalist rhetoric in order to mesmerize post-independence Indians and lay the foundation for the future of the RSS. Although these individuals represented a current within Indian nationalist history, their lives and literature influenced the language of Hindu nationalism.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

40

Deol, Raman Kaur. "The creation of the Khalsa : a study into the rhetorical strategies of collective identity transformation." Scholarly Commons, 2009. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/724.

Full text

Abstract:

The Khalsa is a militant sect of the Sikh religion officially created by Guru Gobind on Baisakhi Day in 1699. Sikhism, as a religion and culture, existed within the overarching structure of lndian society during the reign of the Muslim Mughal Empire. Over the course of its history, Sikhism sought to evolve and adapt to internal and external pressures, and the creation of the Khalsa was a momentous and transformational step in that evolutionary process. Using Kenneth Burke's guilt-redemption cycle as a model, this study analyses the events that created the Khalsa. The study found that historical and social pressures provided the rhetorical exigence for the creation of the Khalsa. Guru Gobind isolated and used the guilt of the Sikhs people, the guilt of being passive observers in the face of external pressures, the guilt of living in caste-organized society, the guilt of living in a bureaucratic system wherein the priests had seized power and control, and the guilt of living without external markers of the faith. These sources of guilt were brought to the forefront by Guru Gobind, and resolved through the symbolic sacrifice of five men, after which Guru Gobind created the Khalsa as an answer. Through the Khalsa, its symbols and rituals, the Sikhs were provided with a way to escape the flaws and guilt of the old order. The creation of the Khalsa was an important milestone in the evolution of the Sikh culture and religion. Through this study, the processes and methods of this identity transformation were isolated. Guru Gobind activated social and collective levels of identity through the medium of performance in order to transform his audience of Sikhs into the Khalsa.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

41

Spiegel, Rachel Hannah. "Drowning in Rising Seas: Navigating Multiple Knowledge Systems and Responding to Climate Change in the Maldives." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2017. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/pitzer_theses/76.

Full text

Abstract:

The threat of global climate change increasingly influences the actions of human society. As world leaders have negotiated adaptation strategies over the past couple of decades, a certain discourse has emerged that privileges Western conceptions of environmental degradation. I argue that this framing of climate change inhibits the successful implementation of adaptation strategies. This thesis focuses on a case study of the Maldives, an island nation deemed one of the most vulnerable locations to the impacts of rising sea levels. I apply a postcolonial theoretical framework to examine how differing knowledge systems can both complement and contradict one another. By analyzing government-enforced relocation policies in the Maldives, I find that points of contradiction between Western and indigenous environmental epistemologies can create opportunities to bridge the gap between isolated viewpoints and serve as moments to resist the dominant climate change discourse.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

42

Sjöberg, Anna. "The Use of the Copula in Non-Copula Constructions in the Languages of South Asia." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för lingvistik och filologi, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-360512.

Full text

Abstract:

In this thesis, I explore the use of copulas in non-copula constructions in the languages of South Asia to establish possible genetic and areal tendencies in the distribution. Using materials – language descriptions and data – from Grierson’s Linguistic Survey of India, I examine the phenomenon in 206 languages from four families (Munda, Dravidian, Indo-Aryan and Sino-Tibetan). It is found that the languages of South Asia appear to be more likely than the world-wide average to use the copula in non-copula constructions and that at least Munda, Dravidian and Indo-Aryan use it in the same way with regards to tense, namely in the past and present but not the future. Finally, I argue that there is some evidence supporting that the use of the copula in non-copula constructions is an areal feature, though more work is needed to make any definitive conclusions.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

43

Husain, Razia A. "Urdu Resultive Constructions (A Comparative Analysis of Syntacto-Semantic and Pragmatic Properties of the Compound Verbs in Hindi-Urdu)‎." UKnowledge, 2015. http://uknowledge.uky.edu/ltt_etds/10.

Full text

Abstract:

Among Urdu’s many verb+verb constructions, this thesis focuses on those constructions, which combine the stem of a main content verb with another inflected verb which is used in a semantically bleached sense. Prior work on these constructions has been focused on their structural make-up and syntactic behavior in various environments. While there is consensus among scholars (Butt 1995, Hook 1977, Carnikova 1989, Porizka 2000 et al.) that these stem+verb constructions encode aspectual information, to date no clear theory has been put forward to explain the nature of their aspectual contribution. In short, we do not have a clear idea why these constructions are used instead of simple verbs. This work is an attempt to understand the precise function of these constructions. I propose that simple verbs (henceforth SV) in Urdu deal only with the action of the verb whereas (regardless of the semantic information contributed by the second inflected verb,1) the stem+verb constructions essentially deal with the action of the verb as well as the state of affairs resulting from this action. The event represented by these constructions is essentially a telic event as defined by Comrie (1976), whose resultant state is highlighted from the use of these constructions. The attention of the listener is then shifted to the result of this telic event, whose salience in the discourse is responsible for various interpretations of the event; hence my term ‘resultive construction’ (henceforth RC). When these constructions are made using the four special verbs (rah ‘stay’, sak ‘can’, paa ‘manage’ and cuk ‘finish’), the product is not resultive. Each of these verbs behaves differently and is somewhere between a resultive and an auxiliary verb construction. This work can be extended to other verb-verb construction in Urdu and other related and non-related languages as well. The analysis of the precise function of the RCs can also help in developing a model for them in various functional grammars. The proposed properties of RCs can be utilized in the semantic analysis of the Urdu quantifiers. This work should aid in identification and explanation of constructions in other languages, particularly those that are non-negatable under normal contexts. [1] All second inflected verbs with the exception of four special verbs rah ‘stay’, sak ‘can’, paa ‘manage’ and cuk ‘finish’. These four special verbs are either auxiliaries or modals as identified in prior literature.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

44

Hsu, Tzu Ting. "The reimagined migrant portrait - exploring the lives of Chinese and Taiwanese minorities living in South Africa." Master's thesis, Faculty of Humanities, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/31251.

Full text

Abstract:

This multimedia project explores the lives of Chinese and Taiwanese migrants living in South Africa and how language, culture, community and marginalisation have come to shape their identities and to visually represent them in a way that is not prevalent in mainstream media. It uses two visual mediums – photography and video interviews – to understand these migrants’ experiences, how they perceive themselves and how they think society perceives them. Data analysis consisted of a process of coding the video interviews and structural analysis of the visuals. Rising worldwide migration has simultaneously increased the spread of diasporic communities. China’s positionality as an economic powerhouse and the influx of East Asian migrants to South Africa in recent years has shone a light on this minority population group. However, much of what is known about them tends to be through forms of mass media which perpetuates stereotypical representations. This paper draws on various literature including acculturation, diasporic communities, representation, languaging and xenophobia to explore the lives of East Asian migrants living in South Africa and search for more empowered forms of representation.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

45

Park, Hyo Na. "Exploring South Korean Elementary EFI Learners' Construction of Investment| The Roles of Student-Centered Instructional Strategies." Thesis, Indiana University, 2019. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=13807367.

Full text

Abstract:

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.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

46

Fitzpatrick, Damian. "Making sense of the English language policy in Thailand : an exploration of teachers' practices and dispositions." Thesis, University of Exeter, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10036/3314.

Full text

Abstract:

Similar to other countries in the South-east Asian region, Thailand has transformed its education policy so that it may be able to better face the challenges of the globalised world. In order to do this, constructs such as student-centred learning and critical thinking, as well as the teaching of English in a more communicative manner, have been promoted. There has been little critical or grounded research carried out on the current English policy in Thailand, which emerged from the National Education Act of 1999 and the subsequent Basic Education Core Curricula of 2001 and 2008, therefore, in order to better understand how this policy works, this study explores how a group of Thai-English language teachers conceptualise the English language policy in Thailand by investigating their practices and beliefs (dispositions). In order to do this, and drawing on a social constructionist perspective from Bourdieu’s theory of practice, this thesis adopts a qualitative methodology that incorporates exploratory and ethnographic elements. Employing a combination of data collection methods that include classroom observations, retrospective accounts and semi-structured interviews, the findings demonstrate that a gap exists between the goals of the policy and what actually occurs in the classroom. Thus, there were few examples of either the communicative approach or student-centred learning being employed, with teachers instead tending to transmit knowledge to their students in a teacher-centred manner. Reasons for this may be due to the influence that the national examinations has on teachers’ work, the suitability and / or relevance of imported teaching and learning approaches on local contexts, as well as the need for better implementation of change. Teachers would indeed benefit from more professional development concerning the policy, but this thesis also argues that the policy itself needs to be critically examined. This would then allow Thailand, as well as other countries in the region, to better inform and improve their current education policies.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

47

Hurlstone, Lise Danielle. "Performing Marginal Identities: Understanding the Cultural Significance of Tawa'if and Rudali Through the Language of the Body in South Asian Cinema." PDXScholar, 2011. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/154.

Full text

Abstract:

This thesis examines the representation of the lives and performances of tawa'if and rudali in South Asian cinema to understand their marginalization as performers, and their significance in the collective consciousness of the producers and consumers of Indian cultural artifacts. The critical textual analysis of six South Asian films reveals these women as caste-amorphous within the system of social stratification in India, and therefore captivating in the potential they present to achieve a complex and multi-faceted definition of culture. Qualitative interviews with 4 Indian classical dance instructors in Portland, Oregon and performative observations of dance events indicate the importance of these performers in perpetuating and developing Indian cultural artifacts, and illustrate the value of a multi-layered, performative methodological approach. These findings suggest that marginality in performance is a useful and dynamic site from which to investigate the processes of cultural communication, producing findings that augment sole textual analysis.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

48

Lee, Kirk T. "Perceptions of Hmong Parents in a Hmong American Charter School: a Qualitative Descriptive Case Study on Hmong Parent Involvement." PDXScholar, 2016. http://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/3103.

Full text

Abstract:

Parental involvement plays an essential role in the United States (U.S.) educational system. However, parental involvement poses many challenges for Hmong parents in American schools. Many assumptions are made on the parts of teachers, staff, and Hmong parents about parents' roles pertaining to their involvement in their children's education. Hmong parents struggle to reconcile beliefs, attitudes, and values that they bring with them from Laos with the expectations found in the U.S. due to their unfamiliarity with the U.S. educational system. This study employed the used a qualitative, descriptive case study approach to examine the perceptions of Hmong parents involvement at a K-6 Hmong American charter school in Northern California. The primary data collection method used in this study was interviews with four school-community stakeholder groups. The purposeful-selected interview participants included two administrators, four teachers, six parents, and four students. The interviews were dialogically coded and nine themes were developed related to parental involvement. These nine themes were: communication with parents, committee involvement, flexibility of staff, enrichment programs non-traditional school schedule, importance of field trips, cultural events and presence of other cultures, recommend school to others, and positive behavioral reinforcement. The study concludes with a presentation of the implications of the nine themes on the design of parent involvement models and recommendations are offered related to policies and connected strategies for how to design culturally relevant supports for parent involvement in education.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

49

Penfold, Thomas William. "Black Consciousness and the politics of writing the nation in South Africa." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2013. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/4643/.

Full text

Abstract:

Since the transition from apartheid, there has been much discussion of the possibilities for the emergence of a truly ‘national’ literature in South Africa. This thesis joins the debate by arguing that Black Consciousness, a movement that began in the late 1960s, provided the intellectual framework both for understanding how a national culture would develop and for recognising it when it emerged. Black Consciousness posited a South Africa where formerly competing cultures sat comfortably together. This thesis explores whether such cultural equality has been achieved. Does contemporary literature harmoniously deploy different cultural idioms simultaneously? By analysing Black writing, mainly poetry, from the 1970s through to the present, the study traces the stages of development preceding the emergence of a possible ‘national’ literature and argues that the dominant art versus politics binary needs to be reconsidered. Emphasising the long-term influences of education and language policy, and of publishing, the thesis documents the continuous dialogue of art and politics in South Africa, and in the process unpicks the paradox of South Africa’s (un)national literature.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

50

Gunne, Sorcha. "‘A mirror with two sides’ : liminal narratives and spaces of gender violence and communitas in South African writing, 1960–present." Thesis, University of Warwick, 2010. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/3907/.

Full text

Abstract:

This thesis examines the gendered and racialised representations of social spaces in apartheid and post-apartheid writing. My research methodology incorporates a variety of literary and culture theories, including postcolonial theory, feminism and anthropology. I begin with a reading of J.M. Coetzee’s Disgrace, examining the problematic paradigms of race and gender relations in post-apartheid South Africa which Coetzee represents through rape. Of particular importance is the idea of liminality and in the introduction I establish my interpretation of liminality amongst other theorists. I contend that the very fruitfulness of liminality as an analytical tool lies in its prismatic qualities that give rise to multiple possibilities of meaning. The complex nuances of liminality’s ‘betwixt and betweenness’ and its ‘undefinability’ are conducive to an examination of violence and violation. Simultaneously, however, liminality is also conducive to an examination of communitas or productive social relations predicated on a deep-rooted sense of shared experience. Informed by the analysis of Disgrace and the discussion of liminality in the introduction, each of the three main chapters focuses on a different thematic space. Starting with a discussion of Ruth First’s 117 Days, chapter 2 examines how the prison is a site of deactivation and conversely of collective revolutionary consciousness. I explore how Nadine Gordimer’s Burger’s Daughter, Kagiso Lesego Molope’s Dancing in the Dust and Mongane Serote’s To Every Birth Its Blood, represent prison as a rite of passage. I also investigate how Antjie Krog in Country of my Skull, Caesarina Kona Makhoere in No Child’s Play and Lauretta Ngcobo in And They Didn’t Die contest deactivation. Chapter 3 considers urban spaces in terms of liminality in Ngcobo’s And They Didn’t Die. This chapter also discusses the potential for anti-apartheid protest in Serote’s To Every Birth Its Blood and Molope’s Dancing in the Dust and the liminality of post-apartheid urban landscapes in Achmat Dangor’s Bitter Fruit and Ivan Vladislavić’s Portrait with Keys: The City of Johannesburg Unlocked. Finally, analysing the train as a site of mobile incarceration in Coetzee’s The Life and Times of Michael K, chapter 4 also considers the varied representations of the train in To Every Birth Its Blood and Third World Express by Serote, Ngcobo’s And They Didn’t Die, Molope’s Dancing in the Dust, ‘Home Sweet Home’ by Zoё Wicomb and other short stories by Miriam Tlali.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'South Asian Languages'

Create a spot-on reference in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and other styles