Ultraviolet colour perception in European starlings and Japanese quail

Whereas humans have three types of cone photoreceptor, birds have four types of single cones and, unlike humans, are sensitive to ultraviolet light (UV, 320-400 run). Most birds are thought to have either a violet-sensitive single cone that has some sensitivity to UV wavelengths (for example, many non-passerine species) or a single cone that has maximum sensitivity to UV (for example, oscine passerine. species). UV sensitivity is possible because, unlike humans, avian ocular media do not absorb UV light before it reaches the retina. The different single cone types and their sensitivity to UV light give birds the potential to discriminate reflectance spectra that look identical to humans. It is clear that birds use UV signals for a number of visual tasks, but there are few studies that directly demonstrate a role for UV in the detection of chromaticity differences (i.e. colour vision) as opposed to achromatic brightness. If the output of the violet/UV cone is used in achromatic visual tasks, objects reflecting more UV will appear brighter to the bird. 11, however, the output is used in a chromatic mechanism, birds will be able to discriminate spectral stimuli according to the amount of reflected light in the UV part of the spectrum relative to longer wavelengths. We have developed a UV 'colour blindness' test, which we have given to a passerine (European starling) and a non-passerine (Japanese quail) species. Both species learnt to discriminate between a longwave control of orange vs red stimuli and UV vs 'non-UV' stimuli, which were designed to be impossible to differentiate by achromatic mechanisms. We therefore conclude that the output of the violet/UV cone is involved in a chromatic colour vision system in these two species.

Relationship between analysis and insight in Mādhyamika Buddhism (a logico-psychological model)

This thesis investigates the relationship between analysis and insight in Prasarigika Madhyamika Buddhism. More specifically it asks whether analysis is a necessary and/or a sufficient condition for the generation of insight. The thesis is divided into six chapters which include an introduction, an appendix which outlines Prasangika and Svatantrika views regarding the syllogism (svatantra) and a conclusion. The remaining chapters seek to demonstrate that analysis for the Prasarigika and the Tibetan Geluk-ba school is a necessary, but not a sufficient condition for the arising of insight. Chapter one is an investigation of certain Western psychological theories which deal with the effects on the mind of cogitating upon contradictions. Though the psychological theories are only suggestive, this chapter will lend support to the claim a) of the Prasaiigika, that analysis generates an altered state of consciousness; and b) that analysis may be a necessary and sufficient condition for the generation of insight. Chapter two seeks to construct a logico-psychological model of how insight is generated. In this model it is argued that insight is a conceptual and intuitive experience: i.e. non-inferential, and that all thought comes via the intuition. This model argues that analysis is a necessary, but not a sufficient condition for the generation of insight. In chapter three an investigation of the writings of Dzong-ka-ba (Tsong-Kha-pa) is undertaken in order to ascertain how the Tibetan Geluk-ba (dGe lugs pa) school regard the relationship between analysis and insight. The model of chapter two will be compared with the Tibetan Geluk-ba accounts to gauge its explanatory power and correspondence with the Geluk-ba views. Chapter four is an investigation of the writings of certain Western scholars. This investigation seeks to ascertain how these scholars may have regarded the relationship between analysis and insight. The chapter then compares these views with the model developed in chapter two.

Japanese investment on the Gold Coast : the interface of globalization and locality

This study explored the interface between the forces of globalization and a given place, at a given time, the Gold Coast during the 1980s. The global economic boom of the 1980s was one in which the role of Japan was particularly important. In less than half a decade capital flows from Japan surged to make it the world's largest investor. Locations in the Pacific Basin were favoured destinations for Japanese investment, one of the most significant was the Gold Coast. Japanese capital and tourism helped transform its urban area from a national resort to an international tourist destination and resort centre, The surge of capital arriving to the Gold Coast was a function of economic conditions in Japan, as was its steep reduction after November 1989, Thus the Gold Coast became integrated into global capital flows and so dependent on decisions made in Tokyo, one of the main financial centres of the world. However this study has also sought to explore a more complex reality; namely, that this place also became the interface of complex cultural forces and perceptions. The wealth of the Japanese investors on the Gold Coast enabled them to realize their dream of developing projects in the most fashionable global styles. These styles were essentially Western, and it was onto these that their Japanese owners ascribed their own meanings; meanings that reflected the cultural baggage that they had brought from Japan, and through which were filtered the economic and environmental realities of the Gold Coast. The Gold Coast as locality also included residents. Hence it became an interface between two different groups of people, the Japanese and the strongly Anglo-Celtic local community. Some in the local community perceived the Japanese presence as a threat to their perception of the Gold Coast, in fact, a threat to their perception of Australia's national identity. A campaign based on the politics of memory of the Japanese developed on the Gold Coast. Within weeks it became a national debate in which isolationalist, if not xenophobic traditionalists, concentrated on the Gold Coast challenged the economic rationalism and multicultural tolerance of the self-interested and ideologically convinced advocates of globalization. Governments at all levels sought to arbitrate, to legitimize standpoints, but more often than not were seen to move into positions of ineffectual flexibility. The forces of globalization on the Gold Coast were catalysts for change that in turn provoked local opposition which rapidly became a debate about national identity and direction. It is in the exploration of the complex and contradictory economic, cultural and political forces engendered by globalization that this study has sought to make a distinctive contribution.

Emptiness and becoming : integrating Madhyamika Buddhism and process philosophy

Beginning with a comparison of process philosophy and Madhyamika Buddhism -focussing in particular on Charles Hartshorne and Nagarjuna - which seeks to find points of similarity and difference, this thesis goes on to ask whether the differences are disagreements or complementary insights that may be integrated by means of a hermeneutical framework which can facilitate the enrichment of both systems. It is argued that process philosophy's method of creative synthesis and Madhyamika's method of negative dialectics are complementary rather than rival methods, because: (1) the Madhyamika bi-negation of symmetrical internal and external relations is complemented by process philosophy's argument that asymmetrical relations have primacy, which can be integrated into a theory of 'asymmetrical interdependence'; (2) the Madhyamika bi-negation of being and non-being is complemented by process philosophy's argument that becoming has primacy; (3) Madhyamika's emptiness (or openness) and process philosophy's creativity are complementary ideas that can be integrated into a ‘creative emptiness’; (4) Madhyamika's deconstruction of theism and acceptance of a conventional (and thus empty) ‘Cosmic Buddha-Bodhisattva’ and process philosophy's panentheism are complementary and can be integrated in the idea of an ‘empty God’; (5) The creative emptiness and the empty God are two different but complementary ultimates - the ultimate activity and the ultimate actuality; (6) Madhyamika’s two truths -conventional (empty world) and ultimate (emptiness) - can be enriched by expanding the conventional to include ultimate actuality (empty God), and not subordinating the conventional to the ultimate; (7) process philosophy can be similarly enriched by meditating on creative emptiness, which reveals the empty God-world, which is not dominant vis-a-vis creative emptiness. An attempt is made to develop a hermeneutical framework for the comparison and integration of Madhyamika and process thought, which can also be used to construct a general theory of worldviews and a theory of interreligious dialogue. Finally, the practical applications of the integration of process thought and Madhyamika Buddhism are explored, focussing on ethical and socio-political issues and how the integration of the two systems can be used to advantage in these contexts.

The halloween effect and Japanese equity prices : myth or exploitable anomaly

Bouman and Jacobsen (American Economic Review 92(5), 1618–1635, 2002) examine monthly stock returns for major world stock markets and conclude that returns are significantly lower during the May–October periods versus the November–April periods in 36 of 37 markets examined. They argue that, in general, the Halloween strategy outperforms the buy and hold strategy thereby casting doubt on the validity of the efficient market paradigm. More recently, Maberly and Pierce (Econ Journal Watch 1(1), 29–46, 2004) re-examine the evidence for U.S. equity prices and conclude that Bouman and Jacobsen’s results are not robust to alternative model specifications. Extending prior research, this paper examines the robustness of the Halloween strategy to alternative model specifications for Japanese equity prices. The Halloween effect is concentrated in the period prior to the introduction of Nikkei 225 index futures in September 1986. After the internationalization of Japanese financial markets in the mid-1980s, the Halloween effect disappears.

Prelude to the birth of Wayo-Secchu (Japanese hybrid style) in Japanese early modern architecture

This paper will investigate the background of the emergence of Wayo-secchu (Japanese Hybrid Style), by re-examining the rhetoric of the government-oriented early Meiji Western style architecture and Japanese traditionalism's reaction to it. I will elucidate the undercurrent of the intentional shift in nineteenth-century Japan towards the recuperation of traditional Japanese style, a shift which initiated the Japanese hybrid style we now call Wayo-secchu. I will discuss the effect of institutional pressure to Westernize, by investigating what was meant by a new architectural method as expressed by the government of the time.

Cultural politics and the appropriation of Theravada Buddhism in contemporary Burma (Myanmar)

In Burma, under the State Peace and Development Council, Burmese culture and Theravada Buddhism have become conjoined, the distinctions between the sacred and the secular have become blurred, and the political and the cultural have become intertwined, as the military regime seeks to legitimate its political power and authority.

Narrative analysis of female student 'resistance' in a Japanese private university

The thesis points to the emergence of a series of distinctive tensions which were informed by the author's position as a Western male researcher living in Japan, and the changing perceptions of what occured as notions of 'empowerment' and 'voice' touched the 'grounded' data. It argues that the generative narrative(s) constitutes a form of ongoing 'conversation' which succeed in producing an unstructured reading or pedagogy. Although the research does not achieve tangible liberatory outcomes, the generative narrative(s) provides the lens through which to view the student 'resistance' and, as such, permits the examination of an instance of student 'resistance' in Japan.

Paths to Buddhahood : the "sudden" and "gradual" awakening models in Mah ̄y n̄a and Vajray n̄a Buddhism

Examines the graduated paths of Mah ȳn̄a and Vajrayn̄a Buddhism and the instantaneous paths of Ch'an/Zen, rDzogs chen and Mahm̄udr.̄ The main contention between these approaches relates to how the mental defilements are to be purified and how the positive qualities of Buddhahood are to be realised. After comparing and examining the paths it is argued that the polarisation of the "sudden" and "gradual" approaches is the result of the critical philosophies of late Indian and Tibetan Buddhism, rather than a real spiritual dilemma for adherents of either path.

Team teaching and communicative language teaching in Japanese secondary schools

Explores team teaching and communicative language teaching in Japanese schools. The study's first phase uses the ethnographic approach of participant observation. The second phase uses eleven case study interviews to discover the teachers' conceptions of communicative language teaching. Identifies elements of team taught lessons and elucidates the conceptions of communicative language teaching held by a sample of teachers.