Surviving in violent conflicts: Chinese interpreters in the second Sino-Japanese War (1931-1945)

In the past decade interpreting studies has gradually adopted a sociological perspective, taking into account social and cultural factors that affect interpreters actual behaviour in different settings. However, there have been few studies of interpreters practices as forms of social interaction, especially of the ways in which they become professionals and operate as social agents. Drawing upon Pierre Bourdieus theory of practice, this thesis aims to offer a contribution to the history of interpreting by examining the professional training and practices of Chinese interpreters during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1931-1945). On the basis of Bourdieus concept of field, this thesis reconstructs three competing fields dominated by three political and military powers: the Chinese Kuomingtang (KMT) government, the Chinese Communist Party, and the Japanese forces. By investigating interpreters training, employment and practices within these three fields, the thesis examines how the interpreting profession was affected by shifts in foreign policy, and how interpreters professional habitus were formed through their training and interaction with other social agents and institutions. It then highlights the interpreters active position-taking in pursuit of individual interests by examining particular interpreters career development through case studies of two interpreters, Xia Wenyun and Yan Jiarui, who served the Japanese forces and the Chinese KMT government, respectively. The study shows that the practices of the interpreters were broader than the scope of language transfer. In order to survive violent conflicts, interpreters often intertwined their interpreting with other political and professional activities. For them, interpreting was not a mere linguistic practice, but a strategy for self-protection, a route to power, or just a chance for a better life. Frequently crossing social, political and military borders, interpreters sometimes played a crucial cushioning role by protecting local residents from loss of life and property during the war.

Rape myth in true and false rape allegations

Police records of 38 rape allegations, evenly split into maintained-as-true and withdrawn-as-false categories were compared with 19 generated-false statements from recruited participants. The Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale (IRMAS) was used to assess the attitudes of the participants and a content analysis derived from IRMAS was used to compare the three categories of allegation. Rape myths were present in all three allegation types. The two categories of false allegation both contained more rape myths than the true allegations but no differences were found between the generated and withdrawn false allegations. High scorers in IRMAS also produced more violent false accounts. In addition to these findings, this study provides support for the further examination of rape myths in both false and true statements and use of generated allegations as proxies for real false statements.

Oxidation of organic compounds in molten salts

The objective of this research was to investigate the oxidation of organic compounds in molten alkali metal hydroxides containing manganates. It has been shown that controlled oxidation can be readily achieved with high specificity to give products in high yield with very short reaction times. The concurrent changes in the melt were monitored using a vibrating platinum indicator electrode with a quazi-reference electrode which was successfully developed for use in molten (Na-K)OH eutectic at 523K. Henry's Law constants for water in the molten eutectic system (Na-K)OH have been measured and used to calculate the water concentration in the melt. The electrochemistry of manganates in molten (Na-K)OH eutectic at 523K has been studied using the vibrating platinum electrode, and the existence of the species Mn(II), Mn(II!), Mn(IV), Mn(V) and Mn(VI) in such melts has been investigated at various water concentrations. The half-wave potentials of the voltammetric waves were measured versus the cathodic limit of the melt. The stability of Mn(V) or Mn(VI) in the melt was achieved by varying the water concentration. A range of organic chemicals has been passed through molten (Na-K)OH at 523K and the reactions of these chemicals with the melt have been studied. The same organics were then passed through molten (Na-K)OH containing stabilized Mn(V) or Mn{VI) without violent reaction. Methanol, allyl alcohol, propane 1, 2 diol, I-heptene and acetone were oxidized by Mn(V) and Mn(VI). Ethanol was only oxidized by Mn(VI), isopropanol and benzyl alcohol were only oxidized by Mn(V). Npropanol, butanol, 2 methyl propan-2-ol, n-hexane, n-heptane toluene and cyclohexane were unchanged by both Mn(V) and Mn(VI). Detailed experiments have been performed on the reactions of ethanol, iso-propanol and methanol in molten (Na-K)OH containing stabilized Mrt(V) or Mn(VI), and reaction mechanisms have been postulated. Ethanol and iso-propanol were oxidized to acetaldehyde and acetone respectively with a potential for useful chemical process. The oxidation of methanol could be developed as a basis for an industrial methanol disposal process.

Dangerous brown men:exploiting sex, violence and feminism in the 'war on terror'

Why is the public presentation of the war on terror suffused with sexualised racism? What does this tell us about ideas of gender, sexuality, religious and political identity and the role of the state in the Western powers? Can we diffuse inter-ethnic conflicts and change the way the West pursues its security agenda by understanding the role of sexualised racism in the war on terror? In asking such questions, Gargi Bhattacharyya considers how the concepts of imperialism, feminism, terror and security can be applied, in order to build on the influential debates about the sexualised character of colonialism. She examines the way in which western imperial violence has been associated with the rhetoric of rights and democracy - a project of bombing for freedom that has called into question the validity of western conceptions of democracy, rights and feminism. Such rhetoric has given rise to actions that go beyond simply protecting western interests or securing access to scarce resources and appear to be beyond instrumental reason. The articulations of racism that appear with the war on terror are animated by fears and sexual fantasies inexplicable by rational interest alone. There can be no resolution to this seemingly endless conflict without understanding the highly sexualised racism that animates it. Such an understanding threatens to pierce the heart of imperial relations, revealing their intense contradictions and uncovering attempts to normalise violent expropriation.

Ethnicities and values in a changing world

Recent debates about national identity, belonging and community cohesion can appear to suggest that ethnicity is a static entity and that ethnic difference is a source of conflict in itself. "Ethnicities and Values in a Changing World" presents an alternative account of ethnicity and calls into question models of community cohesion that present ethnicity as the source of antagonisms and differences that must be overcome. It suggests instead that ethnicity is itself multiple and changing and is unlikely to be a basis for articulating shared values. This volume brings together an international team of leading scholars in the field of ethnic studies in order to examine innovative articulations of ethnicity and challenge the contention that ethnicity is static or that it necessarily represents traditional values and cultures. Asserting that ethnicity is deployed in part as an expression of values and a model of ethical practice, this book examines displays of ethnicity as assertions of identity and statements about way of life, sense of entitlement and manner of connection to others. "Ethnicities and Values in a Changing World" draws together debates about the articulation of ethnic identity, the nature of our relation to each other and discussions of everyday ethics, thus engaging with discussions of racism, multiculturalism and community cohesion. As such, it will appeal not only to sociologists, but to anyone working in the fields of cultural studies, race and ethnicity, globalization, migration and anthropology. Table of Contents: Introduction: ethnicities, values and old-fashioned racism, Gargi Bhattacharyya; Teaching race and racism in the 21st century: thematic considerations, Howard Winant; Diaspora conversations: ethics, ethicality, work and life; Migrant women's networking: new articulations of transnational ethnicity, Ronit Lentin; 'The people do what the political class isn't able to do': antigypsyism, ethnicity denial and the politics of racism without racism, Robbie McVeigh; Violent urban protest - identities, ethics and Islamism, Max Farrar; Beliefs, boundaries and belonging: African Pentecostals in Ireland, Abel Ugba; On being a 'good' refugee, John Gabriel and Jenny Harding; Narrating lived experience in a binational community in Costa Rica, Carlos Sandoval Garcia; Conclusion: ethnicity and ethicality in an unequal world, Gargi Bhattacharyya; Index.