No description available.

published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

This study aims at finding out values in the curriculum of formal schooling and private tutoring in China’s context. Value is an important component of education. As schools’ values have great influence on students’ developing values, it is significant to study values experienced by students in both formal schooling and private tutoring. The present study adopts a qualitative research method with case studies of two secondary students who go to both public formal schools at weekdays and private tutorial institutes at weekends in Guangzhou, China. Data collection consists of documents and interviews. The present study identifies and analyzes stated values in the curriculum of both formal schooling and private tutoring and values perceived by students. Comparison between these two educational systems is drawn. Also, comparison between stated values and perceived values are being made. Distinctive differences in values between formal schooling and private tutoring are identified as collectivism vs. individualism, curriculum for moral education vs. nil curriculum for moral education, and non-consumerism vs. consumerism. The two systems also share similar values such as quality and efficiency on teaching and learning and success on scores. There are some gaps between what educational institutes claim and what students perceive in practice. They are all-round development vs. all-subject development on exam success, student-centre development vs. economic efficiency and aspirations in life vs. success in realistic world. The findings suggest a need to rethink the educational aims in an era of transformation in China. / published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

Objective: In order to evaluate the current situation of health information technology (HIT) in Guangzhou, to assess the different status of HIT between different classifications of public hospitals, and find out the influencing factors, to identify the core barriers affecting the development of HIT, I conducted a comprehensive survey, to analyze the framework of HIT from various aspects. Through this study, we would accurately grasp the development level of HIT in Guangzhou, and provide basic information for guideline making in the future. Methods: This is a cross-sectional & descriptive study design. I was responsible for organizing the survey, and monitoring the project cycle and work on a regular basis. I designed the questionnaire based on “The questionnaire of the development situation of national health information technology in 2009 in China”. Cluster sampling method was used, 415 public hospitals (based on the health statistics in Guangzhou in 2009) were selected for the analysis. I sent the questionnaires to all these public hospitals, and collected and entered the data with my colleague Miss LIU. I analyzed the data and wrote up the report solely by myself. At the other side, in order to evaluate the acceptance of HIT among different stakeholders, an interview was conducted by two interviewers among 20 public hospitals (using systematic sampling method, every 10th public hospital was selected). What’s more, in order to explore the characteristics of the development status of HIT in Guangzhou, diverse approaches like descriptive statistics, linear regression, t-test, and chi-square were used for the analysis. Outcome measures: Basic information of public hospitals includes the classifications of the public hospitals; the usage status of basic infrastructure, including the utilization rates of a variety of hardware, system software, new technologies and standards; the application situation of information system, including the utilization rates of a variety of information systems, such as HIS, LIS, PACS, EHR and RHIS; the status of input of funding. In addition, the information includes the core barriers affecting the development of HIT and the acceptance of HIT. Results: 205 of the public hospitals participated in this study, and the total response rate was 49.4%. Data showed that 91% of the public hospitals adopted at least one standard; 36.3% of them had established the Main Patient Index (MPI); 34.8%, 29.4.0%, 31.5% and 37.8% of the public hospitals implemented the Inpatient Doctor Workstation System, Inpatient Nurse Workstation System, Electronic Medical Records (EMR) and Laboratory Information System (LIS), respectively. Only12.1% of the public hospitals had participated in the development of region health information system (RHIS). Besides, “high speed Ethernet”, “bar code technology” and “data safety technology” were the top three information technologies in public hospitals, and the utilization rates were 91.2%, 44.1% and 29.4% respectively. In addition, the top three main barriers were “lack of funding”, “human resources which is not enough” and “on the part of device makers or software developers their lack of abilities to provide products and services”, these three accounted for 84.8%, 56.9% and 47.1% respectively. Data showed that the total investments were 235 million RMB, 270 million RMB and 320 million RMB in 2008, 2009 and 2010, respectively. On average, the accumulative total investments had doubled digit growth in the past 3 years. [1, 2] Conclusion: In general, data displayed that public hospitals in Guangzhou had made significant progress in HIT development in the past few years, which has greatly contributed to hospital management and the delivery of healthcare services. In recent years, there were increasing investments, more and more public hospitals began to implement HIT, a large number of new technologies were used (such RFID, cloud computing), and certain core information systems, liking HIS, LIS, PACS, EMR and RHIS were implemented. At the other side, the development direction of HIT had shifted from hospital management stage to clinical information stage. Although the process of health information in Guangzhou was rapidly developing in the past few years, however, there still have many barriers and shortages in it, for instance, shortage of IT professional and lack of funding are still the main factors that affects the development of HIT; the overall utilization level of basic infrastructure is still not satisfied; the development of information systems is unbalanced, meanwhile the breadth and depth of the information systems are not well enough. / published_or_final_version / Public Health / Master / Master of Public Health

Background: Data from many studies suggest that traffic exposure can influence asthma among children. Most of these studies were conducted in Europe and America. However, there is less information on the association between traffic exposure and asthmatic children in China. This study investigated whether asthma severity in children was related with living near to major road in Guangzhou, China. Methods: The study method was case-control study. In this study, cases were with diagnosed asthma by physician and they aged between 1 and 14 years old. Controls were children without asthma in the same age range. Traffic exposure was measured as the distance from the nearest major road to home and to school weighted by the proportion of time spent in each location. Result: The longer the time-weighted distance being near to major roads, the lower the risks were associated with asthmatic children (OR=0.693 [0.504-0.953]). The other risk factors of asthma includes male compared with female (OR=2.696, [1.271-5.721]), age (OR=1.224 [1.078-1.391]), secondhand smoke exposure at home (OR=2.074 [0.985-4.364]), breastfeeding duration<6 months (OR= 1.423 [0.681-2.974] but also presence of pet (OR=0.508 [0.162-1.588]) and mold at home (OR=0.326 [0.152-0.697]). We also found the distance of home and school near to major roads were associated with asthma only among boys(OR=0.598 [0.373-0.957])，but not among girls(OR=0.802 [0.504-1.278]). The second hand smoke exposure was associated with asthma in boys (OR=3.459 [1.274-9.391]), but not in girls (OR=1.041 [0.306-3.539]). The estimated risk factors were not associated with the level of asthma severity except the time-weighted distance. After adjusted with other risk factors, the time-weighted distance had negative trend with the level of asthma severity (p-value=0.030). The time-weighted distance had no association with lung function (p-vale=0.779). Conclusion: The results show that the time-weighted distance near to main roads is associated with the risk of having childhood asthma. And it may be harmful for the asthma children lung function. The sex and second hand smoke exposure are also risk factors of asthma. / published_or_final_version / Public Health / Master / Master of Public Health

The growth of informal employment characterizes the urbanization process in the developing countries in the previous decades. China is in the fast lane of urbanization and there are signs of casual employment in Chinese cities in the recent decade. This study chooses a prevalent phenomenon, i.e., street vending, in Chinese cities to investigate the emergence and growth mechanisms of informal employment in Chinese cities since the economic reform. The city of Guangzhou is chosen for case study. There are two theoretical frameworks in explaining the growth of street vendors in other developing countries. First, they could be interpreted as the mismatch of job opportunities against the capacity in generating employment under specific development strategy (the dualist framework and ISI strategy); or street vending, along with other informal employment opportunities, is the efficient way of doing business (the neoliberal framework). The Chinese case is unique as the country is on the course of marketization while the state remains strong. What is the role of the strong state played in contributing to or refraining from the growth of street vendors; and how the lives of street vendors are in this particular context; are the two questions to be investigated. Empirical finding shows that the revival of street vendors in Chinese cities (the first generation of street vendors since economic reform) is facilitated by a series of reform policies initiated by the state, particularly the introduction and promotion of individual business. Street vendors relieved employment pressure, met the commodity shortages in the cities, and rejuvenated urban economy in China. The returnees and the peasants in the city suburb are two major groups practicing street vending, who made fortune out of it. The current wave of street vendors is resulted from the unexpected consequences of the state’s policies, including the state’s promotion on labor dispatching regulations to lower the labor price, the land centered urbanization pushing up the rent, the persistent rural urban disparity in generating urban-bound migration, the hukou system in inferiorizing the rural migrants to the locals, and the changing labor market as more young rural migrants emerge. Street vendors in the current wave could be differentiated into developmental street vendors, who drop the low-wage income to practice street vending; and survival street vendors, who are rejected by regular job markets but have to turn to street vending. The street vendors in the recent years tend to have higher income than some regular paid jobs. Survey on their operation, commuting and accommodation shows that they could maintain they live in the city and their vibrancy is due to the abundant cheap products, as the country is the world factory; and a large number of low and lower-middle income wage workers being their clients. This study concludes that the state contributes to the growth of street vendors in Chinese cities. The strong growth momentum on the growth of street vendors suggests the current antagonistic policies against street vendors need to be reviewed. / published_or_final_version / Urban Planning and Design / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

The pursuit of cultural heritage conservation is particularly problematic in China as the country has been undergoing substantial changes in its governance processes in the post-reform era. As the regime becomes less authoritarian and more pluralized, a multitude of stakeholders (both state and non-state), are now involved in promoting, constructing, challenging and safeguarding a variety of meanings and values in heritage. This thesis incorporates an urban governance lens to examine the policy and practical problems in conserving urban built heritage in contemporary China. This approach offers a new perspective in understanding the distribution of authority and power between the state and society as well as its effect on the management of public affairs. The reconfigurations of the role of the state, market and civil society have ushered in a new phase of urban politics that have enormous implications for built heritage conservation practices. As a result of reforms, conventional stakeholders have assumed new roles in politics; meanwhile, an increasing variety and number of new stakeholders connected to the non-state sector have also emerged; and their relationships and interactions with the state have become increasingly complex. An urban governance perspective draws attention to the new arrangements embedded in these relationships, which have profoundly impacted the decision-making processes in conservation, re-shaped the interpretation of heritage values, re-defined the scope of heritage and re-thought the use of heritage in Guangzhou. By employing a case-study approach, this thesis provides a detailed analysis of the conservation efforts undertaken by various stakeholder groups in Guangzhou in the post-reform era. Guangzhou is one of the country’s designated historic cities; it is also the provincial capital of Guangdong and has experienced rapid marketization over the past three decades. Three district-specific cases are selected to provide an in-depth analysis on the changing relationships among concerned stakeholders. The case of Shamian Island demonstrates the rigidity and constraints of central-local relation; while the case of Xinhepu discloses the evolving state-market relation. Finally, the case of Enning Road examines the rise of non-state stakeholders and their power struggle against the state. These cases were selected because each of them covers a particular heritage aspect that is directly related to the three-pronged national conservation hierarchical framework. The findings in the three cases respectively reveal the intricacies of conservation politics: the bureaucratic politics in the management and conservation of designated heritage; the struggle between state and society over what legitimate type of history is considered as “national” history and the maintenance of its local significance; and the operation-cum-conservation of heritage assets by market forces in China’s transitional economy. The findings of this thesis contribute to a broadened understanding of the changing roles and functions of the state, market and civil society in China’s transitional period; thus revealing the major deficiencies in the existing institutional and managerial frameworks for built heritage conservation in Guangzhou. This thesis also documents the impacts and outcomes of the actions of various state and non-state stakeholders on the prospect of built heritage conservation at an urban scale in China. / published_or_final_version / Geography / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Agricultural products are indispensable components of daily life. Nowadays, most cities in China, food supply is already setup, however the whole food supply chain is quite long with low efficiency. After the harvest of agricultural products, they have been transported to multi-hierarchical markets and go through plurality sales links by simple vehicles before meeting consumer. Due to the existence of an imperfect agricultural product supply system, specifically the inadequate infrastructure for cold-chain transportation and low-level storage technology, agricultural products and aquatic products, among others, suffer huge loss rates ranging from 15% to 30% during picking, transportation, and storage as well as during processing in other logistics sectors. Thus, some unscrupulous producers or agents add preservatives to the agricultural products in order to keep them looks with good quality. Besides, for the producers, though they do their utmost for farming and cultivating，they still living at the bottom of the social ladder with low income. For the consumer, owing to the increasing standard of living, the improvement of the logistical system and the structural adjustment of modern agricultural products, more and more consumers no longer just pursue the goal of having sufficient food to eat. Instead, they hope to eat better and healthier and prefer fresher or more diverse food options with high quality and nutrition. This thesis aims to study the existing agricultural product system in Guangzhou, focusing on the agricultural products supply model and discusses ways to revolutionize the “farm-to-table” agricultural products channel by proposing a new supply model in a regional scale to narrow the gap between consumer and producer in two main methods. On one hand, establish Agricultural Association to coordinate the whole system and guide the local farmer cultivate agricultural product and deliver their product to the consumer with high efficiency. On the other hand, attract the costumer come to productive area that they not only get the product directly but also understand the process of production. In these ways can guarantee the safety, freshness, and nutritional value of agricultural products, improve farmer’s income and satisfied consumer’s requirement by achieving a high-efficiency, low-pollution and energy-saving “farm-to-table” channel for local agricultural products. / published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Landscape Architecture

published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Landscape Architecture

published_or_final_version / English Studies and Comparative Literature / Master / Master of Arts