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Center for Southeast Asian Studies > Students > Dissertations & Theses

Dissertations & Theses

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The University of Hawai’i at Mānoa offers students a wide array of research and academic offerings related to Southeast Asia across academic departments. Each year, the CSEAS compiles a list of dissertations and theses on topics related to Southeast Asia as a resource for potential students, researchers, and friends of CSEAS and UHM. These lists are not complete. If you see anything missing or find something that needs correction, please let us know and we’ll update this page. Thank you.

Online access to dissertations via ProQuest requires UHM or other participating institution login. Works best with Google Chrome.


2022

2021

Dean, Jacqueline Mary | Geography | MA | “Effects of State Enclosures and Industrial Concessions on Land Cover Change in Indonesia.”


2020

Thuc Bui, Duyen | Political Science | PhD | “Organizing and Mobilizing Beyond Borders: Transnational Activism in the Vietnamese Diaspora.”

Nguyen, Khoa Anh | Architecture | DARCH | “Reinventing the Vietnamese “Tube House” Flexible, Sustainable, and Affordable.”

Batallones, Jeanne | Professional Practice | Ed.D | “A Narrative Inquiry: Decolonizing Practices with Filipino Students at a Community College in Hawai‘i.” 

Estioca, Sharon Joy | Linguistics | PhD | “A Grammar of Western Subanon.”

Bondoc, Ivan Paul Mungcal | Linguistics | PhD | “Probabilistic and Predictive Parsing in Tagalog Voice Alternations.”

Vu, Uyen Thi Minh | Educational Psychology | PhD | “The Effects of Sociocultural and Educational Supports on Resilience and Learning Outcomes Among Vietnamese Undergraduate Students.”

Bloyd, Tobias | Linguistics | PhD | “Sula: Its Language, Land, and People.”

Marali, Saiful Rizal | Education | PhD | “The Persistence of Southeast Asian Malay Students Studying in Higher Education Institutions Abroad: A Grounded Theory Study.”

Smith, Charlotte Zoe | Oceanography | MS | “Evaluating the Role of High Conservation Value (HCV) Areas in Reducing Deforestation Within Indonesian Oil Palm Plantations.”

Maria Goldschmidt, Rebecca | Art | MFA | “Pag+Mul+Mula+An: An Ilokano Place of Planting.”

Marie Magdua, Jeannie | Asian Studies | MA | “Filipina War Brides.”

Esch, Tyler | Asian Studies | MA | “Thailand’s Maritime Ecosystem of Work and Industrial Seafood.”


2019

Reynolds, Annie | Asian Theatre | PhD | “Shifting Embodied Practices: An exploration and examination of movement, expression, and character depiction in contemporary Balinese legong choreographies.”

Fisher, Micah | Geography | PhD | “Beyond Recognition: Indigenous Rights and Changing Landscapes in Indonesia”

Rawichutiwan, Angkana | Geography | PhD | “Coastal Guardians and Precarious Livelihoods: The political ecology of mangrove narratives”

Loos, Joanne Romero | Communications and Information Science | PhD | “Examining the Influence of Wearable Health Monitors on Patients and Physicians in a Filipino Community”

Quinajon, Rachel Amey | Education | PhD | “Voices of Filipina Academic Success: Pinay Educational Experiences in Doctoral Programs.”

Hodges, Teresa | Educational Foundations | PhD | “Blackpinay, Blackapina, and Halfricanpina: Mixed Race Black and Filipina Epistemologies and Pedagogies.”

Graham, Janet Jeanne | English | PhD | “Traces of War and Relationalities in Vietnamese Diasporic Literature.”

Fallejo Uganiza, Sabrina D. N. | Education | PhD | “Filipina Student Affairs Professionals and the Manifestation of Impostor Phenomenon.”

Flanagan, Brendan | Anthropology | MA | “Conservation Against Conservation: Contesting Ways of Understanding Forests in Southern Myanmar”

Benitez, Sigrid S. | Educational Psychology | M.Ed | “A Multiple Case Study on the Identities of Immigrant College Students in a Filipino Language Club”


2018

Bareng, Eriza O | American Studies | PHD | “Steeling the Butterfly: The Imperial Constructions of Imelda Marcos 1966-1990.”

Chen, Yen-hsin | Linguistics | PHD | “A Reexamination of the Philippine-Type Voice System and its Implications for Austronesian Primary-Level Subgrouping.”

Chuang, Eleanor | Biomedical Sciences | PHD | “A Tale of Two Viruses: HPV Infection and Associated Anal Dysplasia among Hawaii HIV-seropositive Patients and Related HIV Seroconversion Risk in a Thai Population”

Nago, Asami | Anthropology | PHD | “Care on the Verge: Global Health Interventions for Malaria and Biological Citizenship among Undocumented Karen Migrants in the Thai-Burma Borderland.”

Pantumsinchai, Penn | Political Science | PHD | “Armchair Detectives and the Social Construction of Falsehoods: Emergent Mob Behavior on the Internet”

Parba, Jayson Eduria | Second Language Studies | PHD | “Empowering the Filipino Language Classroom: Towards Critical Pedagogy and Curriculum.”

Piphal, Heng | Anthropology |  PhD | “Political Economy and State Formation of Pre-Angkorian Cambodia: Viewed from Thala Borivat.”

Ross, Melody Ann | Linguistics | PHD | “Attitudes toward Tetun Dili, A Language of East Timor.”

Shiratori, Noriko | Political Science | PHD | “Peace in Vietnam! Beheiren: Transnational Activism and GI Movement in Postwar Japan 1965-1974.”

Sookkasikon, Pahole | American Studies | PHD | “Bangkok is Burning: Queer Cultural Productions of Thainess in Diaspora.”

Strohschein, Heather Anne | Music | PHD | “Locating Affinity and Making Meaning: Gamelan(ing) in Scotland and Hawai‘i.”

Tannenbaum, Kristina | Theatre | PHD | “Carving Out a New Future: Waying Kulit Craftsmanship in Central Java, Indonesia.”

Aitchison, Madeleine Elise | Asian Studies | MA | “Who Holds the Mirror? The Creation of an Ideal Vietnamese Woman, 1918-1934.”

DeKievit, Megan Marie | Music | MA | “Youth Identity and Regional Music in Northeastern Thailand.”

Fluckiger, Steven James | History | MA | “‘She Serves the Lord’: Feminine Power and Catholic Appropriation in the Early Spanish Philippines.”


2017

Cai, Yanjun | Urban and Regional Planning | “Photovoice for Vulnerability: Resilience Building in the Philippines”

Fairfield, Benjamin Stuart | Music | “The Participatory We-Self: Ethnicity and Music in Northern Thailand”

Ngo, Hong T. P. | Education | “Information and Communication Technologies in Learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL): Attitudes of EFL Learners in Vietnam”

Pak, Jin Kyung | Architecture | “A Detailed Analysis and Design for Future Proofing Singapore’s Changi Airport”

Phung, Hieu | History | “Land & Water: A History of Fifteenth-Century Vietnam from an Environmental Perspective”

Repollo, Charina Lyn Amedo | Oceanography | “Observations of Surface Currents in Panay Strait, Philippines”

Baicy, Caroline Rose Tacata | Art History | “Gazing Upon the Other: The Politics of Representing the Igorot in Philippine Modernism”

Edkins, Erin Elisabeth | Communications | “Associations Between Watching Korean Dramas and Single Vietnamese Women’s Relationship Satisfaction and Commitment: An Interpretation Using Cultivation Theory”

Endrizal, Cynthia Lynn | Dance | “Manariwa: A Filipina Perspective on Indigenous Contemporary Dance”

Kuestner, Alexander Rolf | Asian Studies | “Nepomuceno Legacy: The Construction of an Elite Heritage”

Luu, Amber Marie | Geography | “The Upshot of Upgrading: Seaweed Farming and Value Chain Development in Indonesia”

Remington, Kristin | Art History | “Fragments and Empire: Cambodian Art from the Angkor Period”


2016

“Cyberbullying on Facebook and Psychosocial Adjustment in Malaysian Adolescents”
Mei Sze Choo, Ph.D. | Psychology | 2016

“Captivating Hearts and Minds: The Attempted Americanization of Asian Cultures, 1945-1970”
Robert A. Findlay, Ph.D. | History | 2016

“Utilizing Rock Art to Trace Human Migration: Case Studies from Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo”
Rachel Hoerman, Ph.D. | Anthropology | 2016

“School Performance of Second Generation Southeast Asian Taiwanese Stigmatized and Undiscovered Potentials in Globalization.”
Kim-Yung Keng, Ph.D. | Sociology | 2016 | Access Dissertation via ProQuest

“Out-of-School Youth in Mindanao, Philippines: A Case Study Supporting the Upload Jobs Entrepreneurship-Training Program”
Cynthia Y. Lai, Ph.D. | Natural Resources and Environmental Management | 2016

“Three Essays on Food Staples Sufficiency: Biophysical Assessment, Socioeconomic Analysis, and Policy Evaluation of the Rice Sector in Central Luzon, Philippines.”
Rusyan Jill E. Mamiit, Ph.D. | Natural Resource & Environmental Management | 2016 | Access Dissertation via ProQuest

“Waves of Development: The Influence of Surf Tourism on Coastal Bali”
Kristin Pettina, Ph.D. | Architecture | 2016

“Dancing the Nation: The Politics of Exile, Mobility and Displacement along the Thai-Burma Border.”
Tani Helen Sebro, Ph.D. | Political Science | 2016 | Access Dissertation via ProQuest

“The Origins, Building, and Impact of a Social Welfare State in Late Colonial Singapore”
Ho Chi Tim, Ph.D. | History | 2016

“Indonesian Gene Flow and Implications for Marine Protected Areas.”
Benjamin J. Wainwright, Ph.D. | Anthropology | 2016 | Access Dissertation via ProQuest

“Gray Patronage: Rethinking Undocumented Migrant Workers’ Precarious Lives along the Thai-Burmese Border.”
Phianphachong Intarat, MA | Anthropology | 2016


2015

“Managing the Commons: Regulations, Migration and Natural Disasters”
Anna Lou A. Abatayo, Ph.D. | Economics | 2015

“Trans-Cultural Commodities: The Sama-Bajau Music Indisutries and Identities of Maritime Southeast Asia”
Bernard B. Ellorin, Ph.D. | Music | 2015

“Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (United in Diversity): Nationalism, Ethnicity, and Religion in Indonesian Higher Education.”
Chiara Logli, Ph.D. | Education | 2015

“Revaluing Rainforests The Political Ecology of Market-Based Conservation.”
Wendy Beth Miles, Ph.D. | Geography | 2015

“Love in Translation: The Co-Creation of Valentaine’s Day as a Market-Mediating Ritual”
Angeline B. A. Nariswari, Ph.D. | International Management | 2015

“The Governance of Water in Locality and Community Participation: A Study of Community Level Institutionsi n the Provision of Drinking Water in Hanoi, Vietnam”
Lanh Thi Thuy Nguyen, Ph.D. | Urban and Regional Planning | 2015

“Those Who Experience: Impacts of Landscape Transformation on the Elderly in a Peri-Urban Village, Vietnam”
Thao Cong Nguyen, Ph.D. | Anthropology | 2015

“Urban Growth Characterization by Integration of Remote Sensing, Spatial Metrics and Population Data: A Case Study of Hanoi, Vietnam”
Duong Nong, Ph.D. | Natural Resources and Environmental Management | 2015

“Power Asymmetry in River Basins: Conflict and Cooperation in the Mekong River Basin.”
Ellise Naomi Akazawa, M.A. | Political Science | 2015

“A Sea of Rhetoric: Conjuring Kalayaan.”
Dylan Michael Beatty, M.A. | Geography | 2015

“‘Stay Where You Are Until Our Backs Are Turned’ Imagining the Border from Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok.”
Nicholas James Cosmas, M.A. | Geography | 2015

“The Perceived Progress in the Quality of Commune Civil Registration Service in Cambodia.”
Sophal Leoung, M.P.A. | Public Administration | 2015 | Access Dissertation via ProQuest

“Power, Ecstasy, And Enlightenment: The Role Of The Bale Kambang In 17th Century Balinese Kingship”
Daniel Pham, M.A. | Art & Art History | 2015 | Access Thesis via ScholarSpace

“Contours of Responsibility: Corporate Social Investment & Development in Myanmar’s Oil Industry.”
Hillary Windhaus Strasser, M.A. | Geography | 2015


2014

“Nakem Pedagogy (Soul Consciousness) and Constitutive Elements of Nakem Praxis.”
Jeffrey Tangonan Acido, Ph.D. | Education | 2014 | Access Dissertation via ProQuest

“On the Political Edge: Conservation in an Era of Decentralization and Democratization in Central Sumatra, Indonesia.”
Keith Andrew Bettinger, Ph.D. | Geography | 2014 | Access Dissertation via ProQuest

“Socializing Chineseness: Cambodia’s Ethnic Chinese Communities as a Method.”
Shih-Lun Chen, Ph.D. | Anthropology | 2014

“Predictability in a Region of Strong Internal Tides and Dynamic Mesoscale Circulation: The Phillipine Sea.”
Colette Gabrielle Kerry, Ph.D. | Oceanography | 2014 | Access Dissertation via ProQuest

“A Grammar of Baba Malay with Sociophonetic Considerations.”
Huiying Nala Lee, Ph.D. | Linguistics | 2014 | Access Dissertation via ProQuest

“Education Reform in Indonesia: Limits of Neoliberalism in a Weak State.”
Sulaiman Mappiasse, Ph.D. | Sociology | 2014 | Access Dissertation via ProQuest

“Imagined Diasporas: Neoliberal Nationalism in Contemporary Singaporean Fiction and State Culture.”
Narumi Naruse, Ph.D. | English | 2014 | Access Dissertation via ProQuest

“Changing Tides: A History of Power, Trade, and Transformation among the Sama Bajo Sea Peoples of Eastern Indonesia in the Early Modern Period.”
Lance Nolde, Ph.D. | History | 2014 | Access Dissertation via ProQuest

“Urban Growth Characterization by Integration of Remote Sensing, Spatial Metrics and Population Data: A Case Study of Hanoi, Vietnam.”
Duong Huu Nong, Ph.D. | Natural Res & Environmentl Mgt | 2014 | Access Dissertation via ProQuest

“2nd Year Vietnamese Heritage Language Learners in Higher Education: A Case Study.”
Leon Marshall Potter, Ph.D. | Education | 2014 | Access Dissertation via ProQuest

“Thai in Diaspora: Language and Identity in Los Angeles, California.”
Kanjana Thepboriruk, Ph.D. | Linguistics | 2014

“Application of Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to Flood Hazard Management for Makassar City, South Sulawesi- Indonesia.”
Urban El Fatih Bani Adam, M.A. | Geography | 2014

“Gender and the Nation in Popular Cambodian Heritage Cinema.”
Jessica Lynn Austin, M.A. | Asian Studies | 2014

“Bohol and Beyond”
Lurlyn Rulona Brown, M.A. | English | 2014

“Rondalya Ilokana: Constructing Rondalla Pedagogical Practices for an Ilokano Identity in Santa Lucia and Vigan City, Ilocos Sur, Philippines.”
Froilan Empleo Fabro, M.A. | Music | 2014 | Access Thesis Via ScholarSpace

“China and ASEAN: Strategic Partnership or Competition Over the South China Sea?.”
Manca Sustarsic, M.A. | Asian Studies | 2014

“Reviewing the Kilns and Stoneware Ceramics of Angkor.”
Charmaine Wong, M.A. | Anthropology | 2014


2013

“The Creole City in Mainland Southeast Asia: Slave Gathering Warfare and Cultural Exchange in Burma, Thailand and Manipur, 18th – 19th C.”
Bryce Grey Beemer,  Ph.D. | History | 2013 | World History Association 2014 Dissertation Prize | Access Dissertation via ProQuest

“Can a Basket Hide an Elephant? – Engaged Language Policy and Practices Toward Educational, Linguistic, and Socio-Economic Equity in Vietnam.”
Thuy Thi Ngoc Bui, Ph.D. | Education | 2013 | Access Dissertation via ProQuest

“Being Lahu in a Thai School: An Inquiry into Ethnicity, Nationalism, and Schooling.”
Matthew Ryan Juelsgaard, Ph.D. | Education | 2013 | Access Dissertation via ProQuest

“Philippine and North Bornean Languages: Issues in Description, Subgrouping, and Reconstruction.”
Jason William Lobel, Ph.D. | Linguistics | 2013 | Access Dissertation via ProQuest

“Cai Luong Theatre Through the Oral/Life History of its Performers.”
Trinh Kim Nguyen, Ph.D. | Theatre | 2013 | Access Dissertation via ProQuest

“The Implementation of Standards-Based Teacher Evaluation in Vietnamese Secondary Schools: A Case Study in Dong Thap.”
Huy Quang Pham, Ph.D. | Education | 2013 | Access Dissertation via ProQuest

“Ngekar Utatn Raat Kite: A Look into Cartographic Encounters in Counter-Mapping Exercises in West Kalimantan, Indonesia.”
Albertus Hadi Pramono, Ph.D. | Geography | 2013 | Access Dissertation via ProQuest

“Environmental Nonprofits Working in Indonesia: Content Analysis of Youtube Videos.”
Suria Carvalho, M.A. | Communication | 2013

“The Effects of Female Urban Migration on Rural Thai Household and Village Structures.”
Genevieve Forbes Greer, M.A. | Asian Studies | 2013

“Meeting the Information Needs of Students in the Ilokano Language and Literature Program: Assessing Hamilton Library’s Philippine Collection at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa.”
Nicolita Marie Sagun Garces, M.L.S. | Library & Information Science | 2013

“The Origins and Development of the Kingdom of Ayutthaya.”
Jason Alan Lowe, M.A. | Asian Studies | 2013


2012

“Paka(Sarita)An: On Ilokano Language, Identity, and Heritage Education.”
Julius Bajet Soria, Ph.D. | Education | 2012 | Access Dissertation via ProQuest

“Thai street imaginaries : Bangkok during the Thaksin era (2001-2010)”
Noah Keone Viernes, Ph.D. | Political Science | 2012 | Access Dissertation via ProQuest

“Composing Disaster/Disastrous Compositions: Nature, Politics and Indonesia’s Mud Volcano.”
Phillip Drake, Ph.D. | English | 2012 | Access Dissertation via ProQuest

“Domestic Violence Against Married Women in Cambodia: Help-Seeking, Re-Abuse, and Severity of Physical Violence by Husbands.”
Sreang Heak, Ph.D. | Political Science | 2012 | Access Dissertation via ProQuest

“Testing the Woman Abuse Screening Tool in Primary Health Centers in Jakarta, Indonesia.”
Livia Istania Dea Fla Iskandar, Ph.D. | Public Health | 2012 | Access Dissertation via ProQuest

“Cross-Cultural Teaching: Experiences of American Teachers in Thai Higher Education.”
Varaporn Jamklai Mann, Ph.D. | Education | 2012 | Access Dissertation via ProQuest

“Fans Turned Prosumers: A Case Study of an Online Fansubbing Community.”
Penn Pantumsinchai, M.A. | Sociology | 2012

“Disaster Management in the Digital Age: A Case Study of the Role and Impact of Facebook During the 2011 Thailand Floods.”
Uayporn Pasvekin, M.A. | Communication | 2012

Jasmine S. Yep, MFA | Theatre | 2012


2011

“Desiring Cambodia.”
Alvin Cheng Hin Lim, Ph.D. | Political Science | 2011 | Access Dissertation via ProQuest

“Three Essays on International Remittances: Evidence From the Philippines.”
Marjorie Cinco Pajaron, Ph.D. | Economics | 2011 | Access Dissertation via ProQuest

“Blogging and Political Mobilization Among Minority Indians in Malaysia.”
Asha Rathina Pandi, Ph.D. | Sociology | 2011 | Access Dissertation via ProQuest

“Ethnic Social Cohesion and Population Health Case-Studies: Malaysia, Fiji, and South Africa.”
Kiran Kaur Sagoo, Ph.D. | Sociology | 2011 | Access Dissertation via ProQuest

“Prosody and Intonation of Western Cham.”
Kaori Ueki, Ph.D. | Linguistics | 2011 | Access Dissertation via ProQuest

Khin Nyein Nyein Aung, MPH | Public Health | 2011

“Jakarta: Of Other Spaces.”
Thomas Ray Belfield, M.A. | Geography | 2011

Jillian Rose Blakkan-Strauss, MFA | Theatre |2011

Vannet Bun, M.A. | Asian Studies | 2011

“Merry Christmas Huay Nam Khao: Domesticating Foreign Christmas Music in a Sgaw Karen Village in Northern Thailand.”
Benjamin Stuart Fairfield, M.A. | Music | 2011

“Mabuhay: A Documentary Poetry.”
Gizelle Evangelista Gajelonia, M.A. | English | 2011

“Contesting Conceptions of Disability in Javanese Society After the Suharto Regime: The Case of Yogyakarta, Indonesia.”
Slamet Thohari, M.A. | Sociology | 2011


2010

“Community-Based Marine Protected Areas in the Philippines: Understanding Long-Term Commitment.”
Sean Michael Mark, Ph.D. | Geography | 2010 | Access Dissertation via ProQuest

Livelihood and land use transition in northern Laos
Khamla Phanvilay, Ph.D. | Geography | 2010 | Access Dissertation via ProQuest

“The Transformation of Chinese Muslims Identities in Northern Thailand.”
Suchart Setthamalinee, Ph.D. | Sociology | 2010 | Access Dissertation via ProQuest

“Three Essays on Healthcare Utilization, Health Promotion, and Universal Coverage in Thailand: Empirical Analysis.”
Kaewkwan Tangtipongkul, Ph.D. | Economics | 2010 | Access Dissertation via ProQuest

“The Diurnal Variations of Rainfall and Winds Over Malaysia.”
Sandra Scholastica Richard, M.S. | Meteorology | 2010

“Erasing the Filipina Japayuki: Representations of Entertainers and Human Trafficking Reform in Japanese Newspapers.”
Leandro Lopez Romero, M.A | Geography | 2010

“The Gong Row Tradition of Central and North Sulawesi, Indonesia.”
Mayco Axel Santaella, M.A | Music | 2010

“Flight from the Philippines: The Social and Economic Causes of Filipino-American Marriages.”
Brigida Ayson Schmidt, M.A | Asian Studies | 2010


2009

“Parental Perceptions of Barriers to Immunization among the Hmong Community in Central California.”
Dian Lorene Baker, Ph.D. | Nursing | 2009 | Access Dissertation via ProQuest

“Advocating for Civic Spaces in Thailand: The Thailand Environment Institute Experience.”
Katia Balassiano, Ph.D. | Urban & Regional Planning | 2009| Access Dissertation via ProQuest

“Negotiating Nationality: Immigration Regulation and Rightful Belonging in Sabah, Malaysia.”
Bruce Anthony Lindquist, Ph.D. | Geography | 2009 | Access Dissertation via ProQuest

“Brewing Development: Coffee and Livelihoods in the Central Highlands, Vietnam.”
Giang Trieu Phan, Ph.D. | Geography | 2009 | Access Dissertation via ProQuest

“Site Selection for Sustainable Net Cage Grouper Mariculture in Waters off Kaledupa Island, Indoesnia”
Hatim Albasri, M.A. | Geography | 2009

“Traditions of Ceramic Technology: An Analysis of the Assemblages from Angkor Borei, Cambodia.”
Shawn Szejda Fehrenbach, M.A. | Anthropology | 2009

“Temporal and Spatial Impacts of Mining in Kalanaman Watershed, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia and the Local Perspective on Watershed Management.”
Migraliette Urvidy Purbaranti, M.A | Geography | 2009

“Virgins, Saints, and Fallen Women: The Representation of Women in Colonial-Era Filipino Devotional Art.”
Marya Rosenberg, M.A | Asian Studies | 2009

“Changing Patterns of Plant Use in Ayamaru, South Sorong District, West Irian Jaya (West Papua), Indonesia.”
Susan Trida Salosa, M.A | Geography | 2009

“Women’s Suicides in Early Twentieth-Century China and Vietnam.”
Linh Dam Vu, M.A | History | 2009