At a time when the world is becoming more monotonous under the effect of globalization, diversity has become precious. To retain the different colours of culture, cultural heritage conservation has been widely practiced in many countries. Starting from the 1970s, international conservation organizations have been advocating for area-based conservation. They believe that the goal of heritage conservation, which includes the conservation of both tangible and intangible assets, can be better achieved by conserving areas at an urban scale. In order to facilitate area-based conservation, many countries have integrated conservation with town planning. In Hong Kong, heritage conservation does not protect areas at an urban scale. It only serves an advisory function to town planning and fails to protect the landscape around historic buildings/sites. Under the fast pace of development, this building-based conservation approach has created a fragmented cityscape of Hong Kong as bits and bobs of historic structures are surrounded by incompatible features such as parking garage, flyovers, highways and skyscrapers. This ruins the spirit of the place, decreases the heritage value of the site and consequently diminishes the character of the city. This study attempts to improve heritage conservation in Hong Kong by finding out the feasibility of setting up conservation areas in the city. It explores the importance of heritage conservation, the significance of area-based conservation, and the success factors for setting conservation areas in Singapore, which has shown successful in preserving historic districts and areas of special character by area-based conservation. By reviewing Hong Kong‟s current practice in heritage conservation and town planning against these success factors, several recommendations are conducted at the end. / published_or_final_version / Urban Planning and Design / Master / Master of Science in Urban Planning

As a contribution to econometric research on the role of architectural heritage, this dissertation evaluates non-aggregate data for a total of 2142 designated National Priority Protected Sites (NPPS) in China using hedonic model and ordered probit model. Attempting to verify economic costs of conserving architectural heritage sites in China, the objectives of the dissertation are to find out the grading system of NPPS; to compare the monetary value and non-monetary value methods on architectural heritage conservation; to identify the current criteria of national heritage conservation maintenance funding (NHCMF) allocation for the NPPS; and to select and evaluate the key factors of NHCMF allocation for the NPPS. The research question of this dissertation is: “what are the decision criteria of NHCMF allocation in China?”. The dissertation conceives of one general hypothesis and 17 empirical hypotheses. The general hypothesis is based on the maintenance funding and grading system of each conservation project. The empirical hypotheses are generated from possible determined factors of NHCMF allocation, theories of sustainable development, economic value and heritage value. Based on the real market information, 7 factors have been identified as the determined factors of NHCMF allocation of NPPS. They are “average household income”, “annual economic benefit”, “average personal salary”, “population”, “ticket”, “types modern building” and “types revolutionary sites”. Of these 7 factors, on the one hand, “average household income”, “annual economic benefit”, “population”, “entry ticket fee” and “types (revolutionary sites)” have positive relationship with the maintenance cost. The positive relationship result implies that the revolutionary sites locate in economic developed area with more population and higher entry ticket fee are more likely to get more maintenance funding. On the other hand, “average personal salary” and “types (modern buildings)” have negative relationship with maintenance funding. The negative relationship result reflects that modern buildings of NPPS with higher average personal salary are less likely getting more maintenance funding. Based on the hypothetical market data, 4 factors have been identified as the determined factors of NHCMF allocation of NPPS. The factors of “population and “annual economic benefit” have the same relationship with monetary market data. The “maintenance funding” and “original usage” have negative relationship with grading system. / published_or_final_version / Real Estate and Construction / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Objective: To describe and compare the characteristics of blood donors and non-donors and to examine factors associated with donation, including motivators and barriers of blood donation in Guangzhou, China. Design: Cross-sectional survey using self-administered standardized structured questionnaires on both donors and non-donors. Setting: 12 mobile and 4 permanent blood donation stations in Guangzhou during the whole operation time. Participants: 500 blood donors who donated at the donation sites and 500 non-donors who never donated and passed by the station were asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire during Dec 10, 2013 to Jun 25, 2014. Main outcome measures: Blood donation or no donation. Results: 1080 questionnaires were collected, of which 1034(95.7%) questionnaires were valid. 602(58.2%) participants were donors and 432(41.8%) were non-donors. Older people (OR: 1.46, 95% confidence interval: 1.24 to 1.72, p<0.01), males (1.33, CI: 1.02 to 1.71, p=0.03), non-college-students (1.76, CI: 1.16 to 2.56, p<0.01) and people with higher education level (1.27, CI: 1.11 to 1.45, p<0.01) were more likely to be donors. The main objective of blood donation was helping patients (n=405, 68.2%), and the main reason of not donating was being in poor health (n=138, 33.1%). However, other motives, such as benefiting health and free check for blood type and body, and obstacles, such as failing to meet the requirements and fear, were also important. More male donors would donate again than females (80.5% vs. 68.5%, p<0.01), whereas more female donors showed uncertainty than males (25.9% vs. 16.6%, p<0.01). Usage of blood (n=182, 46.7%) was what non-donors wanted to know the most if they were to donate in the future. The majority of participants (n=730, 71.3%) considered raising the awareness of blood donation among people was one of the most effective ways of blood donation promotion. Television was considered as one of the most effective methods of blood donation promotion and recruitment, and was more acceptable to females. Younger participants preferred the internet. Conclusion: These findings suggest that raising the awareness of blood donation is vital. Campaigns should focus on multiple aspects targeting different groups of people. Television and the internet are useful tools of blood donation promotion and recruitment. / published_or_final_version / Public Health / Master / Master of Public Health

There is a long history of collaboration between private collectors and collecting institutions. Literature that discusses collaboration between these two groups typically focuses on the donation or sale of a private collection to an institution. Existing research focuses less often on the collaborative practices these two groups use to create, preserve, and access their recording collections. Furthermore, there is no scholarly work that aggregates known public-private collaborative practices. As a result, these additional practices are consistently underdeveloped and underutilized. For the first time, this thesis compiles a list of collaborative practices employed by private collectors and collecting institutions. Data was gathered through a literature review and a series of semi-structured interviews with private collectors and information professionals working with recorded sound collections. The constant comparative method of qualitative analysis was used to analyze the data. This thesis finds and discusses twelve collaborative practices employed by private collectors and information professionals. This study also discusses factors that encourage and discourage the use of these collaborative practices, the potential for their continued use, and ways in which future studies can extend the exploratory research of this study. This study’s findings contribute to the efforts of both private collectors and collecting institutions to preserve and provide access to the vast body of sound recordings documenting the multitude of historic and cultural perspectives necessary for scholarly and personal research. / text

There are numerous ways in which cultural heritage can be preserved, such as: physical museums, virtual museums, tours of historic homes, and community meetings. For this project, I participated in and observed heritage preservation activities in two very different communities--- Sulphur Springs and Seminole Heights in Tampa, Florida. My internship appointment was with OSHNA (Old Seminole Heights Neighborhood Association) under the direction of Dr. Steve Gluckman. My primary focus was assisting heritage preservation committee members in each of the two communities with heritage preservation projects specific to their community needs and interests. One project is the development of a heritage center (physical and/or virtual) that will be used to exhibit the community's cultural and material artifacts. The goal of the heritage center is to educate residents (especially the younger generation and newcomers) about current cultural traditions, achievements, and struggles of residents over time while instilling a sense of identity and belonging in residents by incorporating a diversity of perspectives in the preservation and presentation of the community's history. I was specifically involved in oral history collection; archival data collection and analysis (such as census data and city directory data); and National historic landmark designation analysis and preparation. The internship began in May 2007 and ended in August 2007.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation defines heritage tourism as: "traveling to experience the places and activities that authentically represent the stories and peoples of the past and present. It includes irreplaceable historic, cultural, and natural resources." Heritage tourism is a lucrative industry in the United States. On average, heritage tourists spend $623 per trip compared to $457 for all U.S. travelers. The rise of heritage tourism is inextricably linked with several trends in American society, namely: the historic preservation movement, the desire for a sense of place, and nostalgia. These motivating tendencies often inspire problems of authenticity, commodification, and an unhealthy romanticization of the past.The present study seeks to analyze the heritage tourism industry in Florida. Chapter one offers a brief look at the history and anthropology of tourism. Chapter two provides an explanation of heritage tourism and the human motivations that drive it, as well as an examination of several U.S. locations where it is practiced. Chapter three provides a short history of tourism in Florida, an overview of state organizations and agencies that promote and practice heritage tourism, and a look at several of Florida's unique heritage tourism locations.Chapter four is a case study focusing on the heritage tourism industry in St. Augustine, Florida, the oldest city in the United States. St. Augustine presents the best example of heritage tourism in Florida, and offers a perfect setting in which to examine many of the typical problems of heritage tourism. A popular tourist site since the 1800s, St. Augustine followed the lead of Colonial Williamsburg by extensively renovating its historic district in the 1960s. Tourism is the city's only true industry, but the number of tourists that visit annually pales in comparison to non-historical Florida attractions like Disney World. St. Augustine raises unique questions about the neglect of the Hispanic influence in the history of the United States, the American public's fascination with myth and primacy, and the inherent difficulties of maintaining authenticity in any heritage tourism location.

The growing sustainable design movement in the United States focuses almost exclusively on the construction of new buildings, largely ignoring the existing and historic building stock that constitutes the majority of our built environment. Historic preservation, a discipline that deals exclusively with the existing building stock and puts an emphasis on long-term management of the built environment, would seem to be an ideal partner for the sustainable design movement as it begins to address existing buildings. The practice and goals of the two fields, however, are currently perceived to be in opposition to one another by the building community and the general public. This thesis argues that sustainable design and historic preservation represent two unique and distinctive building subcultures – distinct subsets of the larger building culture of which they are a part, and that the opposition between the two disciplines stems from not only their historically distinct discourses, but also from cultural and ideological conflicts between the two fields. Different languages, code typologies, cultural identities, and conflicting attitudes toward the use of technology in contemporary building practice all stand as barriers to a significant partnership between the two disciplines. This thesis explores the cultures of sustainable design and of historic preservation in order to provide a view for practitioners in both fields into the culture of the other, and ultimately proposes a path towards developing shared cultural understandings by placing a new emphasis in both fields on social sustainability. / text

This dissertation recovers the political histories of New England's historic graveyards. From their early rejection of English burial practices to their modern incarnation as tourist attractions, New England's historic graveyards have been public forums for political posturing and debate. Far from the tranquil sanctuaries of later imagination, burying grounds of the colonial era were places where both the powerful and the relatively powerless could make shows of their strengths and air their grievances.

In 1906, C. W. Post, founder of the Postum Cereal Company, began implementing his plan for creating an agricultural colony in Garza County on the Southern High Plains of Texas. A central component of the colony was the town of Post, namesake of its creator. Through the Double U Company, C. W. Post laid out the town plat, built residences and business houses, a modern hospital, and the Postex Cotton Mill. Many buildings associated with the town’s origin survive alongside later buildings that reflect subsequent periods of Post’s development. This professional report relates the findings of a survey of Post, Texas utilizing field photography and historic research of primary and secondary sources to identify, document, and describe historic buildings. The report’s historic overview of the town supported assessment of building significance and analysis of field data yielded identification of building integrity. Assessment of the significance and integrity data found the town did still include properties possessing qualities that met requirements for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. Additionally, the information in the report may contribute to other local or regional heritage or preservation projects. / text

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Surgery / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy