This thesis is focused on the foreign reception of visual kei performers. Through an analysis of the concept of masculinity and the online fan community this thesis attempts to grasp the different...Show moreThis thesis is focused on the foreign reception of visual kei performers. Through an analysis of the concept of masculinity and the online fan community this thesis attempts to grasp the different discourses on masculinity that exist within Japan and beyond.Show less
Research master thesis | Asian Studies (research) (MA)
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In this thesis I conduct discourse analysis on the traditional values of talent show The Voice of China (TVoC). Whereas former talent shows have been suspended because of ‘low moral standards and...Show moreIn this thesis I conduct discourse analysis on the traditional values of talent show The Voice of China (TVoC). Whereas former talent shows have been suspended because of ‘low moral standards and vulgar content’, TVoC already finished its third season in 2014. In this thesis I show that traditional Chinese values can intertwine perfectly with the Western values of TVoC, and that the discourse of harmony is reinforced multiple times in the end. The traditional values and the concept of harmony are in line with what the Chinese government propagates. Taking this and the restrictions on former talent shows into account I therefore argue that self-censorship of TVoC due to soft-power of the government has been the case in talent show TVoC.Show less
Late Modern English wills contain numerous occurrences of doublets to declare the wishes and commands of the testator. In my thesis I will study the use of doublets in Late Modern English wills by...Show moreLate Modern English wills contain numerous occurrences of doublets to declare the wishes and commands of the testator. In my thesis I will study the use of doublets in Late Modern English wills by looking at 150 wills, written between 1600 and 1900, obtained from the Langham Village History Group. This thesis focuses on the origin of doublets, the frequency of use, the etymology and the reasons of use.Show less
The problem of the Genitive of negation is one of the most up-to-date in current Russian linguistic discussion. The nature of the Genitive Rule in Russian is still unclear and the register of...Show moreThe problem of the Genitive of negation is one of the most up-to-date in current Russian linguistic discussion. The nature of the Genitive Rule in Russian is still unclear and the register of papers devoted to this scientific question grows constantly. The Genitive Rule is also popular topic for researchers, whose scientific interest belongs to other Slavonic languages (for instance, Polish) or the same language family (for example, Lithuanian). Considering the relevance of the problem, it was decided to find out if the Genitive Rule also exists in Latvian language. During the theoretical part of the work, it turned out that, it is possible to use the negated Genitive in place of the Accusative with the transitive verbs, however, the use of the negated Genitive is rather archaic; it is stylistically marked, and, as a rule, it occurs in fiction. The negated Accusative shows dominance in modern literary Latvian. However, since literary Latvian is very young (about one hundred years), since the dominance of the negated Accusative in old Latvian was not proved, and, finally, since no special papers devoted to the Genitive of negation in Latvian exist, it was aimed to make a quantitative analysis of the situation in Old Latvian and Latvian dialects. For the above mentioned purposes, Latvian popular songs (dainas) were taken as a main source. The analysis of the work was carried out manually. After analyzing more than 20000 dainas, it was found out, that the negated Accusative was not unambiguously dominant before Latvian was codified. In additon to that, it was proved than in one region of Latvia (Latgale) the negated Genitive occurred even more frequent. The results and the corpus of current thesis could be very useful for further semantic and syntactic research.Show less
This thesis concerns the social contract theory of Hobbes and Locke. The question that will be answered here is whether there is any room for resisting the social contract in their respective...Show moreThis thesis concerns the social contract theory of Hobbes and Locke. The question that will be answered here is whether there is any room for resisting the social contract in their respective theories, and if so, whether this is problematic for their theories. The thesis begins by giving a historical background to Hobbes and Locke and then moves on to problems concerning Hobbes' theory of the social contract and self-defense against the state. Following Hobbes we look at Locke's theory and the problem of the initiation of the social contract. In conclusion this thesis looks at the possibilities of maintaining a social contract even if they are found to be problematic through a synthesis of the theories discussed.Show less
This thesis focuses on the world’s largest greenhouse gas (GHG) emitter China and examines the dynamics between international norms and domestic politics. Specifically, this paper attempts to prove...Show moreThis thesis focuses on the world’s largest greenhouse gas (GHG) emitter China and examines the dynamics between international norms and domestic politics. Specifically, this paper attempts to prove that China’s position on climate change is evolving. As climate change fits in the environmental protection and economic development nexus, national interest is the basic motivation for China to participate in climate governance from a positivist perspective. But it is important to keep in mind that the international system is constructed by material as well as ideas. The EU is a leadership in global climate governance; consequently this thesis also argues that the EU as a normative power has driven diffusion of norms, and partially influenced China’s position on climate change.Show less
This thesis examines the nature of the laryngeal contrast in English fortis and lenis stops. In the phonological literature, two analyses of the English stop contrast have been offered....Show moreThis thesis examines the nature of the laryngeal contrast in English fortis and lenis stops. In the phonological literature, two analyses of the English stop contrast have been offered. Traditionally, fortis and lenis stops are said to have a contrast of voice, the former being voiceless and the latter voiced. According to this analysis, English marks its stops for voice. A second tradition assumes that the contrast is based on aspiration instead. Here, the claim is that English marks its stops for aspiration instead of voice. With the help of a detailed examination of the phonetic realization of English fortis and lenis stops, this thesis considers the advantages and drawbacks of both approaches, and concludes that the aspiration based approach better fits the phonetic facts.Show less
In July 2014, tens of thousands of protestors from various social groups took to the streets in what could be Hong Kong’s largest pro-democracy protest ever after a number of pro-democracy...Show moreIn July 2014, tens of thousands of protestors from various social groups took to the streets in what could be Hong Kong’s largest pro-democracy protest ever after a number of pro-democracy movements in earlier years. In the following month, the Chinese government eliminates the possibility of a fully democratic election for a new Hong Kong leader in 2017, as the protesters claim has been promised to them by Beijing in late 2007. The new decision has made it impossible for politicians to take part in this election without prior approval by Beijing. September 28 marked the start of Occupy Central as students and supporters set up their tents on the streets. For weeks on end the occupation goes on in protest of the limitation of ‘real democracy’, with more than 100,000 people participating in the Occupy Central protest at its peak. This occupation came to an end only on December 15 when the Hong Kong authorities cleared the last occupation site – however, the Umbrella Movement has not yet come to an end and, from time to time, makes its way back into the local headlines. This paper aims to identify the ways in which the Hong Kong identity is framed by both the protesters themselves and the local news media in the context of the Umbrella movement. For this purpose a combination of content analysis and discourse analysis will be used to examine a selection of news excerpts from the period ranging from September until December 2014.Show less
This thesis describes the topic of labor within the NAFTA agreement, based on the labor conditions, labor unions, and finally labor mobility. It examines whether the labor conditions during the...Show moreThis thesis describes the topic of labor within the NAFTA agreement, based on the labor conditions, labor unions, and finally labor mobility. It examines whether the labor conditions during the agreement improved or worsened.Show less
In this thesis, the development of the East-Slavic languages has been investigated through the analysis of various written sources on a multitude of morphological scoring criteria. The thesis aims...Show moreIn this thesis, the development of the East-Slavic languages has been investigated through the analysis of various written sources on a multitude of morphological scoring criteria. The thesis aims at finding evidence that can either prove or disprove some of the many theories with respect to the evolution of the East-Slavic languages (these theories are also included in the thesis). The theories that are discussed in the thesis differ with respect to how much credit is given to the Polish language in the development of East-Slavic. Therefore, investigating whether or not Polish did play a role in the language development of the East-Slavic area provides us with material that can make certain theories more plausible than others. Various texts - the oldest dating to 1229 and the youngest texts to the 19th century - were analysed and scored on present and past verb inflection, the use of auxiliary verbs and the declension of the nominative adjective (thereby paying special attention to the possibility of gender distinction in nominative plural).Show less
This research tries to explore the effects of institutional social capital on the job hunt of Japanese elite university students. It does so by comparing the institutional social capital of elite...Show moreThis research tries to explore the effects of institutional social capital on the job hunt of Japanese elite university students. It does so by comparing the institutional social capital of elite university students and that of more moderate university students. By making use of semi-structured interviews wherein the students are able to explain their personal experiences, it becomes clear that there are many ways in which students feel the influence of their institutional linkage. Because there are many ways in which social capital can affect the job hunt, this study focuses on four main elements; job hunting support from the home university, job search channels which include informal contacts, effect of institutional linkage and the successfulness of students to find employment. Combining these four elements it becomes clear that the way in which elite university students make use of their institutional social capital differs from that of moderate university students.Show less
Global Health Diplomacy is essentially the relationship between global health and foreign policy in terms of International Relations theory. Health has not typically been at the fore front of world...Show moreGlobal Health Diplomacy is essentially the relationship between global health and foreign policy in terms of International Relations theory. Health has not typically been at the fore front of world politics, but this is rapidly changing due the emerging importance of soft power foreign policy. Joseph Nye tells us that soft power is produced through values, institutions, attraction and culture and in contrast to this; hard power is essentially defined by the use of military power and economic resources. Many small or medium sized countries will never be able to match the hard power capabilities of the likes of the United States or China but they can utilise their soft power potential in a variety of ways. This thesis intends to assess one; Global Health Diplomacy.Show less
