The purpose of this paper is to discuss the significance in Taiwan society of artifacts collected during the Japanese colonial period in Taiwan. The material culture of Taiwan aboriginals was not necessarily constructed among them alone. Even during the modern era, Japanese people introduced the concept of arts and crafts to Taiwan aboriginals‘ manufactures in the Japanese colonial period. After WWII, the tools and clothes of aboriginal peoples were recognized as ‘primitive art’ by others, and then aboriginals themselves insisted on their creations as aboriginal arts. The material culture of aboriginal peoples is currently one component of Taiwanese identity. Some aboriginal artists try to create their art together with Han Taiwanese people. In this sense, the aboriginal materials in the museum have worked as cultural resources to bring about a new relationship between the different ethnic peoples in Taiwan. I discuss this through a case study of an exhibition in Taiwan.

Key Words:Taiwan aboriginal peoples, museum materials, material culture, cultural resources, classification of ethnic groups

This paper will investigate the dynamic process of how the ethnic identities of pastoral society were homogenized and fixed by the nation state, and how they revived their diversity and flexibility as ethnic identities. The Kenyan national election, which was held on Dec. 27, 2007, caused a major disruption in that country. The ethnic claim over political resources during the election also caused confrontation among pastoralists in Laisamis constituency that had preserved a symbiotic relationship for a long time. To ensure that the introduction of a multi-party system in African countries will be a sufficient condition for a democratic political system, eliminating ethnic antagonism is a key factor. Nevertheless, since the introduction of a multi-party system in Kenya in 1992, many ethnic groups have been newly created, or re-created, and inter-ethnic conflicts and disputes in relation to political issues have taken place frequently. That is, it is necessary to seek opportunities for dialog among groups with different interests that were constructed in the process of the election campaign under the multi-party system. The marginalized pastoral society in Kenya has asserted various styles of ethnical identity according to the political, economic, social, and cultural conditions at any given time. In conclusion, this paper will examine the possibilities of ambiguity of ethnic identity in East African pastoral societies as a new surviving strategy for pastoralists in the modern situation.

Key Words:East African Pastoral Society, Democratization, Decentralization, Ethnosystem, Inter-ethnic tie

After discussing the introduction of higher education and its background in China, this paper examines the current situation linking changes in higher education and soaring school expenses after the introduction of a policy promoting higher education, with costs to be borne by college students from farming families, including expenses for school, board, living, and job hunting. This paper attempts to clarify how a so-called discriminatory system has created such a structure as China now faces.
In China, the rural educational environment suffers great disadvantages. Farming family children going to college must leave for the city, further financially burdening their parents, who are poor farmers. Only a few such children can go to college. Enrollment quotas for individual provinces in college entrance examinations based on an exploitative family registry system put farmers’ children at an extreme disadvantage. The high employment seeking expenses needed by college graduates trying to fi nd jobs put further pressure on farmers, creating social unrest.
For parents hoping to improve their children’s futures through education, their huge investment may turn out to be an advantage or a disadvantage, depending on success or failure in the tough job market facing college graduates and the employment seeking expenses needed during college education. There is an urgent need to review the system.

Key Words:higher education industrialization, farmhouse income, college student, school expenses, a finding employment expense

Key Words:Bunkyo Aoki, Tibet, Lhasa