Thesis (M.B.A.)--Boston University

Thesis (B.Sc)--University of Hong Kong, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 92-97)

Residential buildings under co-ownership are properties governed by mixed systems of communal and individual property rights. Their management demands a high level of organized cooperation and coordination among them. However, owners’ collective actions are never straightforward owing to their temptation to free ride. Without owners’ collective actions, management works can be delayed or even cancelled, which results in deteriorating building conditions. With the increasing number of people living in co-owned residential buildings, whether they can overcome collective action problems and effectively manage their properties becomes important to long-term management of building stocks. Therefore, this study aims to assess management performance of co-owned residential buildings and to explore the variations of the management performance from a collective action perspective. A rigorous tool for assessing management performance of co-owned residential buildings was developed in this study. The tool consisted of a hierarchy of key performance indicators which evaluate the capability of an owners’ group to make collective decisions, enforce management rules, and monitor its buildings’ condition. The application of the tool on a co-owned residential building generates a performance profile representing its management performance. The proposed tool was used to assess the management performance of 74 sampled buildings in Hong Kong. The survey data was collected from the sampled buildings through desk studies, face-to-face interviews, questionnaires by post, and on- site inspections. Multiple regression analyses were applied to investigate the effects of the exogenous factors on building management performance. The empirical results showed that large-size owners groups were more likely to perform well in managing their properties. Homogeneous owners groups were associated with a greater likelihood to achieve high management performance. More importantly, the empirical results revealed that the owners group of a co-owned residential building were more likely obtain high performance in managing the communal properties under the following circumstances: 1) well-defined boundaries of the communal properties; 2) a fair distribution of their rights and responsibilities to management; 3) a presence of effective mechanism to regulate their use of the communal properties; and 4) a way to rapidly resolve their disputes over management. The major contribution of this study is to the field of building management. The proposed tool in this study can used by owners, property managers, investors, and policy-makers to access to management information on co-owned residential buildings, which helps them make better decisions on buildings. In addition, findings of this study provided an explanation of the variations in building management performance, which has great implications for government policies that aim to encourage owners to cooperate in management of their properties. / published_or_final_version / Real Estate and Construction / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Thesis (M.Hous.M.)--University of Hong Kong, 2004. / Also available in print.

The four kilometre twin-bore Du Toitskloof Tunnel is situated in the Klein Drakenstein mountain range, approximately 60 kilometres from Cape Town, near the town of Paarl. The tunnel will form part of the new National road system, upgraded to a freeway standard, linking Johannesburg and Cape Town. The subject of this report is the construction of the Du Toitskloof tunnel, with emphasis on the excavation and construction of the soft ground tunnel, by means of artificial ground freezing for ground support and stabilisation. The soft ground section of the tunnel being situated at the Western portal, and forming approximately 168 metres of the four kilometre main tunnel. The objectives of the report are: 1. to investigate the general history of tunnelling through the ages. 2. to investigate the general aspects and conditions surrounding the Du Toitskloof Tunnel project. 3. to investigate the pertinent geological investigations and conditions which prevail within the tunnel project. 4. to investigate the formation of the main tunnel within the Soft Ground tunnel contract. 5. to investigate the application of the system of artificialground freezing, inserting ground stabilisation, within the decomposed-weathered granite zone of the main soft ground tunnel project. 6. to investigate the methods of testing and monitoring the freezing process being applied to the soft ground for implementing temporary support. 7. to investigate the application of a reinforced Shotcrete lining against the frozen ground of the Du Toitskloof Soft Ground tunnel. 8. to investigate the possible alternatives for the excavation of the Soft Ground section of the Du Toitskloof tunnel.

No description available.

Thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 2000

published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

by Chan Hing-fai and Tsui King-cheong. / Bibliography: leaf 58 / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1985

published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management