Thesis (M. Arch.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes special report study entitled: Chinese funerals-from late-imperial era to modern China. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Arch.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes special report study entitled : Chinese funerals-from late-imperial era to modern China. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print.

Thesis (M.Arch.)--University of Hong Kong, 1996. / Includes special report study entitled : Propylaeum. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Victoria University of Wellington, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references.

Hon Chung Hei. / "Architecture Department, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Master of Architecture Programme 2010-2011, design report."

published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Architecture

Traditionally, funeral homes have been family-owned small businesses which pride themselves on their personal, caring service. Many are located in historic houses worthy of preservation. In the past few decades, however, many family-owned funeral homes have been bought out by large, national corporations in search of big profits. The future of oldhouse funeral homes is uncertain. An inventory of funeral homes was conducted in a ninecounty area of east-central Indiana, including Blackford, Delaware, Grant, Hancock, Henry, Jay, Madison, Randolph, and Wayne Counties. Findings show that a majority (59%) of the funeral homes in the nine-county area of east-central Indiana inventoried are located in former residences built before 1950, with varying degree of modification. While some have had minimal or moderate alterations, a large percentage (54%) of these have been extensively altered over the years. Case studies of four pre-1950 funeral homes in the inventory area revealed that alterations, many of which reflect the needs of the funeral business, have affected not only their integrity but also their ratings in the Indiana Historic Sites and Structures Inventory. Recommendations include greater communication between the funeral industry and preservationists, and the establishment of guidelines for sensitive additions that are addressed specifically to the needs of the funeral industry. / Department of Architecture

Status and stigma are fundamental to understanding the organization of social groups, including the forces that create and perpetuate inequality along multiple axes - race, ethnicity, and class, among others. One of the challenges in the discipline of sociology is that these deeply enmeshed processes are studied separately, rather than in relation to each other. This dissertation bridges the study of status and stigma through ethnographic examination of the affective, situational, and contextual interplay of status and stigma processes in urban spaces that are both exceptional and ubiquitous: the neighborhood funeral home. To study these processes, I observed and participated in the day-to-day activities of three New York City funeral homes over four years. The project contributes to three areas: ethnographic design, the literature on status and stigma processes, and to urban and cultural sociology. Whereas most ethnographic projects focus on a single subject – a community, a workplace, a profession - in isolation or a multi-sited framework, this project has different approach. The three focal funeral homes were selected based on a process rather than a population – all are located in neighborhoods in the midst of dramatic demographic transitions. To better understand and contextualize these micro interactions, I collected data and participated in activities at other levels of the funeral industry: national, state, and local. I attended funeral directors trainings and conventions, including with the largest national association, the historically black funeral directors association, and New York State’s convention. For other perspectives on New York City, I interviewed over forty funeral directors and allied professionals throughout the five boroughs. This project strives to avoid static and categorical explanations for status and stigma processes, the binaries of black and white, elite and poor, and explores life both in the middle and at the intersection. Using this multi-site design, it contributes to the research on neighborhood change and demographic transition as I distinguish between experiences common to the general process of neighborhood change while isolating those that emerge from the variation in changes specific to particular processes. This project is not only one of the most in-depth studies of the funeral industry, it also more broadly contributes to our understanding of the dynamic relationship of status and stigma, and the process and business of the monetization of cultural practices.

by Cheung Chi-Wing, Julian, Lo Chi-Yun. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 54-56). / ABSTRACT --- p.ii / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.iv / LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS --- p.vi / ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS --- p.vii / Chapter / Chapter I. --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Terminology --- p.2 / Scope of the Study --- p.4 / Literature Review --- p.5 / Methodology --- p.6 / Chapter II. --- CONSUMER ANALYSIS --- p.8 / Who will be the Customers --- p.8 / Death Care Goods and Services: A High Involvement Purchase --- p.9 / Complex Decision Making Process --- p.10 / Two Underlying Factors Affecting the Chinese in Purchasing Decision of Death Care Services --- p.12 / Confucian Values --- p.12 / "Superstition and""Feng Shui""" --- p.13 / Four Main Types of Consumer --- p.16 / Chapter III. --- ANALYSIS OF DEATH CARE INDUSTRY --- p.19 / Death Care Products (Goods and Services) in Hong Kong --- p.19 / Existing Players --- p.22 / Current Practices of Industry Players --- p.23 / Demand for Death Care Goods and Services --- p.25 / Analysis of the Performance of Funeral Homes of Hong Kong --- p.26 / The Perception of Death Care Providers --- p.29 / Deficiency in Existing Service --- p.31 / Chapter IV. --- PROPOSAL FOR INTRODUCING FREE GRIEF COUNSELING SERVICE IN FUNERAL HOMES --- p.34 / Bereavement Counseling in Hong Kong --- p.34 / The Jessie and Thomas Tam Centre --- p.34 / The Market Potential of the Service --- p.36 / Problems and Constraints of the Centre --- p.37 / Reasons behind Our Proposal --- p.37 / Contents of the Proposal --- p.39 / Setting up a Grief Counseling Division --- p.39 / Enhancing Communications with Other Bereavement Counseling Service Providers --- p.41 / Promotion of the Service --- p.42 / Actual Delivery of the Service --- p.42 / Pros and Cons for Funeral Homes as Counseling Service Providers --- p.44 / Chapter V. --- CONCLUSION --- p.48 / APPENDIX --- p.50 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.54

Wong Wing Kin Ken. / "Architecture Department, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Master of Architecture Programme 2005-2006, design report." / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 65-66).