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Thesis (B.Sc)--University of Hong Kong, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p.86-89)

Thesis (doctoral)--University of Tartu, 2006. / Thesis based on seven papers, three of which are not included. Includes bibliographical references.

In 2001, the Texas State Senate passed Senate Bill 5 to reduce ozone levels by encouraging the reduction of emissions of NOx that were not regulated by the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission, including point sources (power plants), area sources (such as residential emissions), road mobile sources, and non-road mobile sources. For the building energy section, the Texas State Legislature adopted the 2000/2001 International Energy Conservation Code, as modified by the 2001 Supplement, as the state's building energy code. The 2000/2001 IECC is a comprehensive energy conservation code that establishes a standard for the insulation levels, glazing and cooling and heating system efficiencies through the use of prescriptive and performance-based provisions. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to improve the accuracy of a 2000/2001 IECCcompliant performance simulation using the DOE-2.1e simulation program to investigate the energy performance of a typical single-family house. To achieve this purpose, several objectives had to be accomplished, including: 1) the development of an IECC-compliant simulation model, 2) the development and testing of specific improvements to the existing code-traceable model, 3) the calibration and installation of sensors in a case-study house, 4) the validation of the improved simulation model with measured data from the case-study house, and 5) use the validated model to simulate the energy-conserving features of single-family residences that cannot be simulated with existing versions of the DOE-2.1e program. In order to create the code-traceable IECC-compliant simulation model, a base-case house simulation was created and the results calibrated with measured energy and environmental data from the case-study house. This was done in order to obtain an improved simulation model that would more accurately represent the case-study building. The calibrated model was then used to verify the accuracy of the improved simulation methods against previous models and measured data. After validation of the new simulation methodologies, the IECC simulation model was used to simulate different energy-conserving features for a single-family residence that could not be simulated with the previous version of the DOE-2 input file. Finally, areas for future work were identified in an effort to continue to improve the model.

Although a relatively large amount of literature dealing with the demography of the People’s Republic of China has been published in recent decades, few sociologists and demographers have engaged in comparative studies of China’s ethnic minority populations. In fact, one of the major problems associated with China’s attempts at modernization today has been the uneven development of the Han majority, and its 55 different minority nationalities. This paper is an attempt to fill this void. I focus on the residential segregation of China’s minority populations from the Han majority in 2000. I calculate dissimilarity indexes of the degree of residential segregation from the majority Han for each of the 55 minority groups. I conduct my analyses at both the provincial and county levels. I then analyze the variation in residential segregation with independent variables, measuring for each minority group its levels of socioeconomic and demographic development and women’s status. Major contributions of my paper are advancing our understanding of the patterns of residential segregation of China’s minority nationalities from the Han majority and rethinking some of the possible causes of ethnic conflict in China today.

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 87-103).

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 61-68).

Social science research has been concerned with various aspects of residential segregation and why aggregate patterns of segregation emerge and become established in urban areas. This thesis aims at gaining a deeper understanding of which mechanisms influence patterns of residential segregation by examining people’s mobility behavior. People’s residential mobility behavior is a crucial factor for understanding outcomes of segregation on the aggregate level. By both including individual and neighborhood characteristics in the analysis, more insight is gained in how ethnic and socioeconomic compositions of neighborhoods affect individuals’ mobility decisions. Swedish register data from 1990-2006 is used to estimate neighborhood choice models for the greater Stockholm area. The results show that individuals are likely to choose neighborhoods in which the population is similar to themselves, regarding both migrant background and income. The analyses also find some limited support for mechanisms of native-flight and avoidance when looking at Swedes’ mobility behavior. Nevertheless, economic resources seem to be of more relative importance for Swedes' and immigrants' neighborhood choice than the percentage of migrant groups living in a neighborhood.

This thesis is a study of the residential care for elderly people in Beijing, China. First, a set of statistical indicators are developed for mapping the spatial distribution of the elderly population and residential care facilities (RCFs). Secondly, in-depth, semi-structured interviews are used to understand the socio-cultural meanings of access, the decision making process in relocation, the well-being of elderly residents, as well as the challenges of residential care and social welfare reform. In total, 27 elderly residents, 16 family members, and five RCF managers were interviewed in six RCFs in Beijing. The constant comparative method is used to analyze all the transcribed interview materials. There are several major findings resulting from the research: the distribution of the elderly population and residential care resources is geographically uneven across the districts of Beijing and the supply of resources does not match the potential need. Elderly people and their family members choose residential care because of the shortage of community and home care resources and/or the advantages of residential care. The decision making process is a process of balancing geographical factors, quality of services, and financial affordability. Access to residential care is an interactive process influenced by geographical, economic, and social-cultural factors. The physical and socio-cultural environments of RCFs and individual’s sense of place play important roles in their adaptation and well-being after the relocation from the home to a RCF. Building up the active aging model with joint efforts from governments, society, RCFs, and individuals is helpful and effective for promoting the well-being of elderly residents in RCFs. At the end, the study also provides suggestions for the government, organizations, and RCFs on aspects such as administration, policy making, planning, volunteering, and management of RCFs to meet the challenges of residential care in China. The study confirms the importance of healthy living environments to the well-being of elderly residents. It also provides knowledge for understanding the reconfiguration of filial piety in decision making processes and utilization of residential care in current Chinese society. From a health geography perspective, this thesis is one of the first studies on residential care in China. / Thesis (Ph.D, Geography) -- Queen's University, 2010-04-30 12:15:57.972

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