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Publication An interdisciplinary analysis of Sino-U.S. negotiation styles(University of Kansas, 1996-05-31) Cheung, Ashley F.Exploratory and interdisciplinary in nature, this study examines the role of perception, cultural orientation, and stereotypes in shaping Chinese and American negotiation styles. There were nine subjects (N=9) in the negotiation simulation. The negotiation between the Chinese from People's Republic of China and American subjects revolves around five issues: attitudes toward laws, ownership, contract length and termination, intellectual property rights and export controls. In comparing the claims researchers have made about Chinese negotiation styles in the existing Sino-U.S. negotiation literature against my simulation outcomes, four themes are particularly prominent. First, cultural orientations (time-orientation, logical reasoning, individualism and collectivism, and high context cultures versus low-context cultures), cultural stereotypes, the concept of guanxi (relationships) and the issue of mianzi (face) are all important issues when examining Chinese negotiation styles. Second, the findings of the simulation are generally consistent with the claims made in the past literature, despite the different methods employed. However, this study differs from the previous literature in that it also explores the underlying cultural assumptions affecting both Chinese and Americans' attitudes during negotiations. Third, differences in intergroup perception, as illustrated in the East-West Questionnaire are an important aspect shaping Chinese and American negotiation styles. For instance, when negotiating with in-group members, Chinese negotiators are likely to be more open and cooperative than when they negotiate with someone they have met only for the first time. Finally, the complex nature of the Sino-U.S. negotiation relationship may be understood by examining the interrelationships among various factors. These include political, economic, cultural, social and personal factors that may shape an individual's perception of the problems, hence affecting his or her negotiating strategies.Publication A Critical Approach to Human Trafficking in Japan: Rethinking Sex Trafficking Policy Through the Examples of Filipino Migrant Entertainers(University of Kansas, 2019-08-31) Gridley, Marlaena AnnThis thesis focuses on the problematic relationship between the carceral state and carceral feminism, which are U.S. centered, and its effects on human trafficking and sex work in Japan. I utilize academic research on the carceral state, government publications, and previous scholarly fieldwork involving Filipino migrants’ experiences in Japan. Critical scholarship on anti-human trafficking policies and discourses has problematized the relationship between feminists and the carceral state leading to what Elizabeth Bernstein calls “carceral feminism”. This relationship, which focuses on criminal justice and punitive policies, impacts both the U.S. Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report and contemporary human trafficking activism across countries. While critical scholarship on anti-human trafficking and carceral feminism problematized its negative impact on migrant workers, their discussions focus on theoretical levels. As a result, individual experiences and voices of migrant workers are not thoroughly integrated into the discussion. By employing the existing ethnographic research on Filipino migrant entertainers and their lived experiences, this thesis therefore sheds light on the lived experiences of individuals to rethink top-down carceral feminism while also filling the gap between the abstract critique and the lack of empirical studies of individual migrants’ experiences. The goal of this study is threefold: 1) to understand the development of current sex trafficking policy and Japan’s contemporary understanding of human trafficking, 2) to reveal how policies affect individuals in the sex work industry, and 3) to begin a discussion that promotes a dialogue that is led by migrants and provides a greater understanding of their complicated experiences.Publication Sorry but Not Sorry: Politics of Apology over Comfort Women between Japan and South Korea(University of Kansas, 2019-05-31) Shiomi, MasanoriThis study examines the politics of apology between South Korea and Japan over the issue of comfort women. The subject has been one of the primary sources of the intractable relationship between the two countries since the early 1990s when former comfort women broke their silence for the first time in South Korea. Drawing upon English translated materials from Korean and Japanese sources, including academic articles, testimonies of victims and government documents as well as sources from the United States, this research scrutinizes the milestone events in the evolution of the thorny politics related to the issue. These include the ever-problematic 1965 normalization of relations between Japan and the ROK, the bravery of those who brought the first “Me-too” movement to South Korea, and several (dis)agreements that have strained diplomatic relationships between the two countries and caused public frustration in both. In conclusion, this study argues that the gravest hindrance toward reconciliation is the Japanese government’s apathetic attitude toward the victims and its shortsighted, insincere apologies, whose attitude appear as “sorry, but not sorry” to South Korea.Publication Murakami Haruki's Short Fiction and the Japanese Consumer Society(University of Kansas, 2019-05-31) Clements, JacobThis thesis seeks to describe the Japanese novelist Murakami Haruki’s continuing critique of Japan’s modern consumer-oriented society in his fiction. The first chapter provides a brief history of Japan’s consumer-oriented society, beginning with the Meiji Restoration and continuing to the 21st Century. A literature review of critical works on Murakami’s fiction, especially those on themes of identity and consumerism, makes up the second chapter. Finally, the third chapter introduces three of Murakami Haruki’s short stories. These short stories, though taken from three different periods of Murakami’s career, can be taken together to show a legacy of critiquing Japan’s consumer-oriented society.Publication Seeking suzhi through Modernization and Development(University of Kansas, 2017-12-31) Moramarco, Krista M.The Chinese term suzhi is generally translated into English as “quality,” but in fact, the English language does not have a single word that adequately conveys the type of “quality” to which the term suzhi refers. Suzhi refers specifically to the quality of the human, as opposed to the quality of a material, system, or an idea. The evaluation of “human quality” takes into account seemingly countless individual qualities of a person, including one’s physical health and appearance, psychological health, intellect, mannerisms, socio-economic status, and so on. The nuanced criteria under the umbrella of suzhi-evaluation render the term difficult to explain even by the Chinese citizens themselves. This thesis explores the concept of suzhi as it has been presented in government discourse over the course of the last 40 years of reform. Providing a somewhat chronological history of major developmental policies, the thesis illustrates the manner in which top-down policy framing of suzhi imbues it with new meaning in the imaginations of average citizens as they navigate a rapidly modernizing and internationalizing China.Publication RECENTERING TAIWAN: COLONIALISM, THE NATION, AND IDENTITY IN TAIWANESE FICTION AND FILM(University of Kansas, 2017-08-31) Hill, William ZacharyThe purpose of this thesis is to examine the variety of factors that have influenced Taiwanese identity formation since the latter half of the twentieth century. This was done with a particular focus on the influence of Taiwan’s various colonial relationships that have been developing at least since the Japanese occupation. This thesis also points to the power of historical narrative in identity formation and the negotiations that take place between “official” government sponsored attempts at creating historical narrative as opposed to the attempts we see by authors and filmmakers to expose crucial events in their own identity formation that has been previously been neglected or ignored. The results of this thesis illustrate how Taiwan’s colonial relationships with Japan and China continue to impact Taiwanese identity, particularly due to the influence of the Cold War. Taiwanese have responded to the influence of the Chinese by creating and propagating an image of a multi-cultural Taiwan. However, this multi-cultural Taiwan still is largely Han Chinese dominated and uses the image of the Indigenous peoples of Taiwan to fit this official historical narrative thus to some extent repeating the ills of earlier regimes.Publication Jogakusei: A Cultural Icon of Meiji Japan(University of Kansas, 2017-05-31) Hori, YokoThe term joshidaisei, female college students, is often associated with an image of modernity, stylishness, and intelligence in contemporary Japan, and media such as TV, fashion magazines, and websites feature them as if they were celebrities. At the same time, intellectuals criticize joshidaisei for focusing too much on their appearance and leading an extravagant lifestyle. In the chapter, “Branded: Bad Girls Go Shopping” in the book Bad Girls of Japan, Jan Bardsley and Hiroko Hirakawa assert that male intellectuals have criticized the consumer culture of young single woman, which joshidaisei has been a major part of, as a cause of the destruction of the “good wives, wise mothers” ideal, which many people still consider to be the ideal for young women in Japan. I argue that educated young women have been a subject of adoration and criticism since the Meiji period when Japanese government started to promote women’s education as a part of the modernization and westernization process of Japan. It was also the time when people started to use the term “good wives, wise mothers” to promote an ideal image of women who could contribute to the advancement of the country. Thus, it is crucial to analyze jogakusei (schoolgirls) in the Meiji period to understand the image of educated women in Japan and the public view of those women. The Meiji period was the time when Japan went through rapid modernization and westernization in order to catch up with Western countries, and many scholars such as Carol Gluck have done significant work discussing the history and ideology of the Japanese populace during the Meiji period. Yet, there are fewer studies that focus on the image of jogakusei during the period despite of the significance of jogakusei who were the first women to be able to obtain higher education in Japan. Thus, in this thesis, I will analyze the culture and lifestyle of jogakusei during the Meiji period. I will focus on how the media, especially novels, treated jogakusei, and in so doing, I will to show how educated women were regarded by intellectuals during that time. In the last section, I will discuss the image of joshidaisei in contemporary Japan to compare the status of educated women in contemporary Japan with the status of educated women in the Meiji period. This research will show that both jogakusei and joshidaisei have been subjects of the public gaze in both positive and negative ways. Both in Meiji Japan and in today’s Japan, women with higher education who combine youth, modernity, and intelligence are adored and cherished by the public. Their modernity is often symbolized by their modern fashion and attitudes. Students, especially those who attend universities that began as mission schools, are often associated with the ability to speak English and have the reputation of being stylish, which was also the case during the Meiji period. Those female students attract people’s attention; however, at the same time, people also criticize them for their culture and lifestyle, when they are seen as undermining morals or threatening to change society.Publication Transforming the Spirit: Wang Wei’s Encomium on a Pure Land Bianxiang(University of Kansas, 2017-05-31) Aghdaie, TaranehIn this thesis, I examine an encomium written by Wang Wei in the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE). I explain how the term bianxiang 變相, which was used to refer to a certain type of Buddhist painting popular at the time, is treated by Wang Wei using references to pre-Buddhist Chinese concepts. I argue that despite previous theories which define bianxiang using theological arguments, the term means “sutra illustration.” I discuss references made by Wang Wei in the encomium to early texts, and how the encomium relates to pre-Buddhist inscriptions for the deceased. I also provide the first full translation of the encomium, and an art historical examination of the type of painting for which it was made.Publication China’s soft power investment in African nations(University of Kansas, 2016-05-31) Nagao, HarukaWhile western media reports describe China’s increasing economic and political influence as “China threat” that can undermine U.S. influence and affect the existing international hegemonic order, public opinion poll data shows that Africans tend to have more favorable views of China. Previous literature suggests that China’s soft power, such as scholarships, Confucius Institute, and iconic social infrastructure buildings, may be working to produce positive perceptions of China in African nations. However, few studies examine the causal link between China’s soft power investments and public perceptions of China (i.e. the effectiveness of China’s soft power projection). Numerous factors influence perceptions toward China including China’s hard economic investment such as industrial infrastructure projects as well as trade. Thus this study addresses the following question: Has China’s soft power investments generated positive perceptions of China among the populations in African nations? This question is examined within a framework of direct and indirect soft power. The goal of this study is to disentangle the influence of China’s hard and soft power investment on African perceptions of China as well as the distinction between direct and indirect soft power. The findings reveal that China’s soft power investments are not as effective as other studies suggest. Instead, this study suggests that China’s image in African nations is most strongly influenced by the domestic media in each country and whether they portray China in a positive or negative manner.Publication Gender Dynamics in China's Legal System: Comparative Analysis with the United States(University of Kansas, 2016-05-31) Considine, KaseyThis thesis examines gender dynamics in China’s legal system and aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the situation for female legal professionals. The gender gap is examined for several categories of legal professionals: private practitioners, government lawyers, legal academics, and emerging legal professionals in law school. The gender gap is measured using quantitative and qualitative data to chart empirical trends in gender disparities and trends in legal professionals’ perceptions on gender issues. Comparative analysis using the same types of quantitative and qualitative data from the United States is included to provide a baseline from which trends and perspectives unique to China are examined.Publication HOT ECONOMICS, COLD POLITICS: THE INFLUENCE OF ANTI-JAPANESE PROTESTS ON JAPANESE FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IN CHINA(University of Kansas, 2015-05-31) Tsuyumu Vencalek, EmiThe Japan-China relationship is one of the most significant bilateral economic relationships in the world. However, it is also convoluted by political and historical tensions, which can be characterized as “hot economics, cold politics”. Although Japan is the second largest investor in China after Hong Kong, anti-Japanese protests periodically occur in China and anti-Japanese sentiments in China are commonplace in Japanese daily news. The central conflicts between these nations are the result of the legacy of World War II and territorial disputes. While the atrocities of the past remain part of the Sino-Japanese history, this historical brutality continues to influence China and Japan relations through Chinese nationalism and anti-Japanese protests. Despite the underlying political tension, China and Japan have continued to trade and have a strong economic relationship. Japan has a powerful economy and China is the largest growing market in the world, and so Japan invests heavily in Chinese businesses. Because of this, Japanese foreign direct investment (FDI) plays an important role in both countries’ economies. FDI data over the past decade suggests that macroeconomic trends and natural disasters had the greatest effect on Japanese FDI. International FDI broadly declined in 2006, was mixed following the 2008 financial crisis, and broadly increased following the recovery from the crisis. Japanese FDI in China was an exception to the broad international increase in FDI in 2013. It is likely that the larger magnitude, longer duration anti-Japanese protests that occurred in 2012 over contentious contemporary and historical issues contributed to greater decreases in the amount of Japanese outward FDI in China. Although investment decisions are complex and take into account many factors, the decision to dramatically contract Japanese FDI to China in late 2012 and early 2013 appears to be a direct economic response to the 2012 political protests.Publication A Failure to Communicate: Li Shangyin's Hermetic Legacy(University of Kansas, 2015-05-31) Bowden, Emily CarolAn in-depth study of the Tang poet Li Shangyin, focusing on selected hermetic poems that illustrate Shangyin's approach to Chinese poetics. This paper emphasizes the frustrating, elusive quality of Shangyin's hermetic verses, exploring the themes and techniques that both complicate and explain this poet's unique style.Publication Cross-script cognate priming effects on visual word recognition:Effects of Japanese loanword cognates in L2 Japanese learners(University of Kansas, 2015-05-31) Higashitani, NorikoResearch in bilingualism has shown that translation pairs that look or sound similar across languages (e.g., English-Spanish rich-rico) are easy to recognize for the speakers of the two languages. Such translation pairs are called cognates and the processing advantage of cognates is known as cognate facilitation effect. This thesis investigated cognate facilitation effect in visual word recognition by examining masked priming effects in beginning English-Japanese bilinguals, namely late second language (L2) learners of Japanese whose first language (L1) is English. More specifically, the current study examined (i) what constitutes cognate facilitation effect in visual word recognition in bilinguals whose two languages share no orthographic similarity and (ii) whether the facilitation effect would be modulated by L2 proficiency by testing two proficiency groups of L2 learners of Japanese. The results from masked priming experiments using English (L1) primes with Japanese (L2) targets showed that priming effects for cognate pairs (e.g., card-カード/ca:do/) were larger than for translation pairs (e.g., desk-つくえ/tukue/) and the effect was smallest for word pairs similar only in sound (e.g., nail-メール/me:ru/,mail). The same patterns of results were obtained for Japanese (L2) primes with English (L1) targets. The size of priming effects did not differ across the two proficiency groups, but significantly larger priming effects were observed in L1-L2 priming direction than in L2-L1 priming direction. These findings indicate that (i) cognate facilitation effect in visual word recognition can be obtained without shared orthography, and shared semantics and phonology underlie the cognate facilitation effect. Further, (ii) the asymmetry in the size of the priming effects in beginning bilinguals may be due to their low L2 proficiency and the fact that sufficient L2 proficiency is required to utilize cognate information from L2 primes in the process of recognizing L1 targets. The findings are discussed in regard to cross-language co-activation and interaction during bilingual lexical processing within the framework of the Bilingual Interactive Activation (BIA+) model. The role of L2 proficiency in bilingual lexical processing is also considered.Publication Hollywood in China: The Chinese Reception of 'Titanic' as a Case Study(University of Kansas, 2015-05-31) Dillon, KaylinWith China's increasingly globalized economy and Hollywood's notorious role in the global culture industry, scholars are taking particular interest in the effect of transnational commodification on Chinese culture. This paper studies the relationship between Hollywood and the Chinese culture industry, using China's reception of the 1998 film Titanic as a case study to explore the complex institutions at play in the production, distribution, consumption and reception of Hollywood films in postsocialist China. In terms of box office revenue, Titanic remains one of the most successful films ever released in China. This paper argues that Titanic resonated with Chinese audiences not only due to elements of globalization -such as transnational capitalism and Hollywood's hegemony distribution model- but also because the film reflects themes consistent with class consciousness rooted in recent Chinese history as well as individualism in youth culture today. This exploration of the Titanic phenomenon in China also highlights the role of transnational commodification in culture-making. Furthermore, this paper explores how commercial successes like Titanic in China paved the way for the dominance of co-productions (strategic joint productions between Hollywood and Chinese studios), which now dominate the Chinese film market and blur the lines of cultural origin.Publication Conscientious Rule: Political and Moral Philosophy in "The Way of Conscientiousness and Trustworthiness" (Zhong xin zhi dao)(University of Kansas, 2015-05-31) Chung, Hsiao-TungIn this thesis I research the moral significance of "conscientiousness" and "trustworthiness" in the excavated text "The Way of Conscientiousness and Trustworthiness" (Zhong xin zhi dao) to argue that conscientiousness in politics is the ideal political model for Chinese thinkers during the early to the middle of the Warring States period (475-300 BC). I approach the text in two ways in the thesis. First, I analyze the text itself, including the theoretical structure and specific rhetorical uses. This approach is used to illustrate the conceptual meaning and moral significance of "conscientiousness" and "trustworthiness." Second, I compare the text "The Way of Conscientiousness and Trustworthiness" with other excavated and transmitted texts in order to reveal how conscientiousness and trustworthiness were regarded as indispensable morals during the Warring States period. I argue that the author of the text wanted to establish an argument that rulers could not establish conscious politics without conscientiousness and trustworthiness.Publication Cold War in Asia: China's Involvement in the Korean and Vietnam War(University of Kansas, 2015-05-31) Becker, StefanieAs essential components of the Cold War, the Korean War and the Vietnam War have played significant roles in global policy among the Western forces under the leadership of the United States and the Eastern bloc led by the Soviet Union in the 20th century. Communist China, founded in 1949, was also part of the countries behind the Iron Curtain and provided substantial support to North Korea and North Vietnam in their fight against their ideological enemies. Despite the extensive research by scholars on the Korean War and the Vietnam War, as well as China’s role in both of these wars, it is interesting to know whether China’s role and attitude had changed from one war to the other. This thesis examines and compares China’s military interference in the Korean War in the beginning of the 1950s with its involvement more than ten years later in the Vietnam War through the investigation of China’s motives to enter the wars and their ways of support in connection with the development of foreign relations. While contrasting China’s role and involvement in Korea and Vietnam, similarities, but also major differences become distinguishable. This thesis argues that these major differences indicate a Chinese rethinking about a possible involvement in Vietnam because of China’s domestic problems and its foreign policy developments at that time.Publication Re-envisioning Literature and History: An Annotated Translation of Two Short Stories by Jin Renshun(University of Kansas, 2014-12-31) McCormick, Evan RandolphJin Renshun (b. 1970) is one of the most influential Chinese female authors born during the 1970s. From the mid- 1990s onward, she has written a large number of works in a range of genres and themes including play scripts and movie screenplays. As a Chinese citizen with Korean heritage, often referred to as Korean-Chinese, or of the Korean-Chinese ethnic minority, Jin Renshun grew up in a family steeped in Korean language and culture. While she writes about a wide range of topics, throughout her career she has consistently written period short stories about ancient Korean kingdoms. Her works, "Spring in the Conquered City" 城春草木深 and "The Entertainer" 伎, both translated here, are two examples in this genre that demonstrate her inventive approach to writing about ethnic Korean culture. While Jin's prolific career has garnered much attention from scholars in China, there has been virtually no scholarly work done on her in English and very few of her works have been translated into English. Furthermore, the manner in which these short stories re-envision the Korean literary canon as well as historical events in Korean history highlights the unique perspectives and insights she has developed in part through her bi-cultural Korean-Chinese identity. The short stories translated here and the accompanying analysis constitute an attempt to bring much deserved attention to her works and understand them in the context of both Chinese and Korean literary traditions.Publication Rethinking the Axial Age in Ancient China: The Role of Religion in Governance from the Shang to the Early Han(University of Kansas, 2014-08-31) Bollig, Peter L.The Axial Age is a term often used to describe an intellectual golden age that occurred in the first millennium Before the Common Era. Thinkers in civilizations across the globe at that time contributed to a philosophical movement that is sometimes portrayed as an evolution from superstition to reason. However, this thesis focuses on the changing role of religion in regards to governance in Ancient China. Beginning with the first evidence of writing on oracle bones in the Shang Dynasty, religious ideas and practices were relied on by the Shang royal court. The spread of these religious artifacts is a testament to the growing power of the Shang. By claiming supernatural influence with the spirits and deities, the authority of the Shang king was strengthened. As the ritual of divining and crafting oracle bones became more routinized, these religious practices became politically important as well. The Zhou conquered the Shang and justified their newfound rule by claiming to be favored by Heaven. Their concept of Heaven incorporated all of the Shang spiritual pantheon, thereby reinforcing Zhou legitimacy. Zhou kings were expected to uphold the Mandate of Heaven not only by pleasing the spirits but also by providing for the people. Divination and ritual continued but did not have as much of an impact on governance as it did in the Shang. As the central Zhou state began to lose power, various states favored practical measures to strengthen their own political authority. Might determined right as states preferred military power instead of religious influence. Assimilation of outside peoples paired with increased social mobility also contributed to the waning influence of the Zhou state. The philosophical trends of the Hundred Schools of Thought mirrored this development. The idealistic ritual-based rule of the early Confucians was later displaced by the pragmatic law-based rule of the Legalists. Although the Qin state succeeded in uniting the warring states by utilizing clear laws and strict punishments, their reign was short-lived. The Han Dynasty inherited the legal bureaucracy from the Qin but fused that with religious ideas to serve as an ethicopolitical framework for their rule. This legacy served as a blueprint for dynastic rule that lasted over two thousand years.Publication Pollution and Environmental Concern in Rural China(University of Kansas, 2013-12-31) Brandes, JuliaIn the last decades, China has become equally known for her high economic growth rates and the increased environmental pollution that came with the economic change. Although the central government has taken steps to mitigate environmental pollution, a large proportion of China's population still lives in rural areas where national environmental laws are often not implemented, and where environmental pollution can be quite serious. Thus, it is important to understand how China's rural population perceives and responds to environmental pollution. This thesis examines the factors shaping environmental concern in rural areas in China. It focuses specifically on the potential influence of the central government, the local government and the media. By using case studies of environmental pollution incidents during the time period of the Eleventh Five-Year Plan and a unique dataset, "the China Survey", this thesis assesses both qualitatively and quantitatively these three actors along with other possible factors. The results suggest that all three actors do influence environmental concern among rural Chinese, but that environmental concern also varies as a result of other factors like education, economic class and occupation.Publication Queer Comrades, Queer China: Hybrid Lesbian Identities in an Age of Social Media(University of Kansas, 2013-12-31) Brennan, Cammie AllisonSeeking to problematize the "global gay" versus "local cultural specificity" argument, this paper analyzes an emerging lesbian (lala) identity and culture in contemporary P.R. China through the content of webcasts on the social-media website Queercomrades.com (QC). Four female same-sex themed webcasts are explored in order to expose the issues pertinent to the Chinese lala community and examine reified female same-sex representations and self-representation. Identifying elements of rapid cultural, social, and economic changes in the PRC, as well as surviving traditional Confucian cultural norms and influence from globalization, and recognizing Chinese queer culture and identity as amorphous and ever-evolving, this study finds that by participating in QC's webcasts, the guests on QC serve as role models of a new globalized reality that includes evolving hybrid sexualities. Through confession and storytelling that draws on new emerging Chinese identities, Western discourse and globalization and performances that mirror Confucian rectification of names and the tradition of exemplary biographies, the hosts and guests on QC participate in creating a new "exemplary woman" model for women who identify beyond the boundaries of the heterosexual symbolic at the turn of the 21st century.