Thursday, 22 July
C.K. Choi Bldg, Conference Room #120
12:30 - 2:30 pm
CISAR-The Centre for India & South Asia Research

"Poverty reduction and NGOs in Bangladesh: An Impact Assessment of Proshika "
by Rushidan Islam, Bangladesh Institute for Development Studies Md. Shahabuddin,
NGO Proshika Abu Naser, NGO Proshika Tony Beck, Institute of Asian Research

Proshika is one of the largest NGOs in Bangadesh, working with over 1.3 million poor women and men as well as at the policy level towards the rebuilding of civil society. Dr. Rushidan Islam is Senior Research Associate at the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies and has worked extensively on impact assessments. Md. Shahabuddin is head of the advocacy and research section of Proshika. Abu Naser is head of the Internal
Monitoring and Evaluation Cell at Proshika. Tony Beck is a Research Associate at the IAR.
Support for Dr. Islam, Md. Shahabuddin and Abu Naser to come to Vancouver was provided by the Canadian International Development Agency

"Learning in dynamic inter-firm (keiretsu) networks - the efficacy of quasi-redundant contacts"
by Professor John Hagedoorn, UC-Berkeley and Maastricht University
This paper examines the relevance of both maximizing behaviour and learning behaviour for understanding cooperative strategies of companies. The effect of these different forms of network behaviour on company performance is analysed for Japanese and other global computer companies. Strategies associated with learning through so-called exploratory networks appear to generate more impact on performance in a dynamic environment than maximizing strategies through exploitative networks.

"Current Status of the Japanese Economy"
by John Sloan, Counsellor (Finance), Embassy of Canada, Tokyo
In this brief seminar Mr. Sloan will discuss the new economic policies Japanese Government has introduced recently and their implications for business conditions in Japan.  The latter half of the seminar will be devoted to questions and answers.

Herbert Norman and Japan: Hero of an International Tragedy
Herbert Norman, a Canadian historian and diplomat, was born in Japan in 1909, and raised there by his missionary parents. He was educated in Japan, at the University of Toronto, and at Harvard and Cambridge. Along with many intellectuals of the time, he became interested in Marxism and socialism. Norman's magnum opus, Japan's Emergence as a Modern State remains one of the most important books on Japan. Norman joined the Department of External Affairs in 1939, and was assigned to Japan as a language officer. He returned to Canada during the Second World War. He later returned to Japan as Canada's representative to the occupation forces and in this capacity, he helped set the course of post-war Japan. From 1950 until his death in Cairo in 1957 he was the subject of periodic investigation by the FBI and the US Congress. While serving as the Canadian ambassador to Egypt, Norman took his own life after renewed Congressional accusations of communist sympathies.
This National Film Board of Canada production recounts Norman's remarkable life. Despite persistent American accusations questioning his loyalty, he had many defenders in Canada, including Lester Pearson. Norman also played a key role in Pearson's initiative to end the Suez crisis.

Program
Film Screening: The man who might have been: An inquiry into the life and death of Herbert Norman. (Written and directed by John Kramer, National Film Board of Canada, 1998; 98 minutes.)
Introductory remarks: by Yoshio Nakatani, President, Toyota Canada Inc.
Panel Discussion:
*F. Langdon, UBC/CJR, from the perspective of a Canadian scholar of Japan
*A. McGill, from the perspective of Canadian External Affairs Department
*C. Powles from the perspective of a Canadian missionary in Japan
*T. Gonnami, UBC/CJR, from the perspective of a custodian of Norman's collection of Japanese books
Reception follows in Teck Gallery.

"Elections in Kashmir: An Exercise in Pragmatism"
by Professor Reeta Chaudhary Tremblay, Professor and Head, Department of Political Science, Concordia University
Professor Tremblay is Canada's leading expert on the politics of the Kashmir Crisis.

"The Empress Dowager"
A performance of "ping tan" (traditional Chinese historical ballad of Jiangsu Province). Composed and recited in putonghua (Mandarin) by the noted "ping tan" balladeers from Jiangsu, China   -   Wu Dijun and Zhao Lifang.

"The Potential of Coastal Settlement in Supporting Tourism for Poverty Eradication in East Java."
by Dr. Happy Ratna Santosa, Visitor from Indonesia. SEAMEO - Jasper Fellowship Awardee for 1998
Dr. Santosa will be visiting CSEAR for the week of 19-24 April occupying room 321 C.K. Choi Building. Anyone wishing to meet with her please phone Julie Nguyen at 822-3805.

Discussion on "The Future of East Timor: Domestic andInternational Consequences"
led by Irman Gurmilang Lanti, David Webster, and Michael Leaf
Irman Lanti is a member of the Research Staff, Centre for Information and Development Studies, Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals Association(CIDES-ICMI); David Webster is Former National Office Coordinator, East Timor Action Network (ETAN); and Michael Leaf is an Associate Professor in the School of Community and Regional Planning, UBC.

"Australian Identity Towards the 21st Century"
by Dr. John Goldlust, Senior Lecturer, Dept. of Sociology, LaTrobe University, Melbourne Australia
As Australians approach a new century (and a new millenium) they are once again engaged in public debates around the question of 'national identity',  This is not a new phenomenon as, in one way or another, almost from the beginnings of European settlement of the southern continent at the end of the 18th century, ane more vigorously since the middle of the 19th century, the matter has been periodically debated, but never satisfactorily resolved.  To understand this ongoing phenomenon, we need to focus on the particular combination of geographic, political, demographic and cultural characteristics that provide the historical background and constitutive context for the Australia of today.  In this talk I will seek to highlight what I consider to be the more significant 'historical moments' of this ongoing process of collective 'soul-searching' and trace how these may have led to particular transformations in the way Australians have perceived themselves - from Australia's early history as a convict settlement, through the longer period in which it operated as a 'colonial fragment' society, to the currently projected vision of the future nation as an 'independent, multicultural republic'.  Of particular significance, I will argue, is that Australians' notions of themselves and, therefore also, the vicissitudes of Australia's 'national psyche', have always been constructed in direct response to positive, negative, and in some cases, contradictory, identifications with 'significant other' nations or groups, most notably, Britain, the United States, 'non-whites' and 'Asians'.

"Pollution, Politics and Policy: The Case of Urban Air Pollution in India"
by Madhav Badami, PhD Candidate, School of Community & Regional Planning, UBC
Madhav Badami is a PhD candidate in the School of Community and Regional Planning (SCARP) at UBC, and is currently writing his dissertation. His academic and professional training and experience are in mechanical engineering and environmental policy and planning, and include a nine-year stint in diesel engine development in the Indian truck and bus industry.His PhD work involves policy-relevant research on the prevention and control of motor vehicular air pollutant emissions, specifically from motorized two-wheeled vehicles, in India. His interests are in environmental policy and planning, urban transport and energy, particularly in the LIC (less-industrialized country) context, and in international development. He has taught graduate-level courses in UBC-SCARP, and is currently co-teaching an under-graduate course in Political Science at SFU.

"A 'Failed Revolution in Korean Writing': The Attempts to Latinize Korean Writing in the Soviet Far East, 1930-1934"
by Dr. Ross King, Dept. of Asian Studies, UBC
In this seminar I will discuss the published materials known to me in Russian and Korean surrounding the movement to 'Latinize' the Korean script in the Russian Far East, 1930-1934. This movement, centered upon the 200,000-strong ethnic Korean minority in the Russian Far East, sought to abolish the Korean script for Koreans in the USSR and replace it with a more 'international' and 'revolutionary' Latin script-based writing system. It also occurred in the context of a union-wide movement to Latinize virtually all scripts in the USSR.
My analysis concerns both the analyses behind the different Latinization schemes mooted, and  the social, political and historical context in which this 'failed revolution' occurred. My presentation will also make comparative references to parallel discussions of language and script reform in Korea itself. I conclude that the Soviet Korean 'Latinization episode' represents a new chapter in the history of Korean language and writing, and provides valuable lessons about the relationship between nationalism, linguistics, language reform, and politics, both in general, and in the specific cases of Korea and the USSR.

Thursday, 25 March
12:30 - 2:30 pm
C.K. Choi Bldg. Conference Room #120. CSEAR.

"Media and Democratization in Southeast Asia: A Philippine Case Study"
by Sheila Coronel, Executive Director of the Philippine Centre for Investigative Journalism
Sheila Coronel is visiting Canada as this year's recipient of the Marshall McLuhan Journalism Award. She is Executive Director of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (an independent non-profit agency) and Editor of The Investigative Reporting Magazine. She also was Man

Seminars in: 1998 / 1999 / 2000 / 2001 / 2002 / 2003 / 2004 / 2005 / 2006 / 2007 / 2008