published_or_final_version / China Development Studies / Master / Master of Arts in China Development Studies

published_or_final_version / Geography / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

The production of China’s new urban spaces is an important articulation of China’s local state transformation and evolving state-society relations. Previous studies have utilized theories of the entrepreneurial state and corporatism to examine the role of the Chinese state and China’s state-society relations. The entrepreneurial characteristic and direct involvement in productive and profitable activities of the Chinese state are widely analyzed. And state corporatism helps explain how the Chinese Party-state deals with new social strata, such as private entrepreneurs, through state imposition, sponsorship and co-optation. In both fields, the organizational adaptation of the Communist Party of China (CPC) per se to the changing social stratification structure, industrial structure and urban spatial structure plays a key role in undertaking entrepreneurial local governance and imposing control over China’s new social spaces. This thesis is based on an in-depth case study of Ningbo’s state-led urban redevelopment from 2000 to 2011, the two representative projects of which are Tianyi Square and the Laowaitan. Ethnographic fieldwork and documentary research were conducted as the major methods of data collection. The two urban redevelopment projects were undertaken by the Ningbo Urban Construction Investment Holdings Co., Ltd. (NBUCI), a local state-owned enterprise group specifically committed to strategic urban development projects and provision of municipal public utilities designated by the Ningbo Municipal Government. The Ningbo government significantly facilitated the two projects through high-profile promotional campaigns in an entrepreneurial manner. These phenomena represent state entrepreneurship of Ningbo’s Party-state agencies in Ningbo’s urban redevelopment. In the governance of Tianyi Square and the Laowaitan, “territorialized Party-building” is undertaken in office buildings and business districts, and within private enterprises and new societal organizations. Organizational adaptation helps the CPC to consolidate its membership basis and expand its organizational control over the economic resources and talents in the non-state sector. The concept of “entrepreneurial Party-state” is thus proposed to highlight the “Party dimension” in China’s entrepreneurial urban governance. And in the context of inter-district competition, territoriality has become central to authoritarian corporatist state-business intermediations and policy concertation, which is committed to forging the identity and promoting the interests of certain urban territories, and the subtle power struggle between the NBUCI on behalf of the Ningbo municipal authority and the district-level authority governing the territory of the Laowaitan area. The concept of “territorial corporatism” is thus proposed to articulate the territorial dimension in China’s changing state-business relations in China’s entrepreneurial urban governance. This research provides new cases of state entrepreneurship, Party-state adaptation and state corporatism taking place in the domain of urban redevelopment and urban governance, which in turn lead to new theorization of the Chinese Party-state and China’s state-society relations at the local level in urban China. The directions for future research on Party-state adaptation and territorial corporatism in relation to urban governance in urban business districts are also identified, which necessitates comparative studies of more cases in different localities in urban China. / published_or_final_version / Sociology / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Landscape Architecture

The lion dance is a traditional form of Chinese culture with thousands of years of history. From the historical record, the lion dance tradition was started in the Han Dynasty. Similar to the dragon dance, the lion dance is a spiritual activity. It is a symbol that brings good fortune to people. Nowadays, the tradition is practiced in China, particularly in Guangdong Province (廣東省), Fujian Province (福建省) and spread by the Cantonese, together with good fortune, to Asia, the United States and Canada, and even to Mexico and Europe. Wherever there are Chinese, people perform the lion dance to express joy and happiness. However, after years and events, with such a rapid development, the crafts industry of making lion heads is facing a variety of challenges in China. This dissertation aims to document the crafts, especially the Southern lion head in Guangzhou (廣州). With particular focus on the craftwork of Mr. Zhong Jiachao (鐘嘉超),the Inheritor of Intangible Cultural Heritage awarded by Guangdong Province Government for his work on lion heads, is famous with his craftwork of building lion heads in Guangzhou and overseas. The purpose of this dissertation is to provide the technical background for the future conservation of the tradition via the documentation and analysis of the heritage significance of making the lion heads. As a cultural tradition, the craftsmanship of the making of lion heads is an intangible heritage to express tangible and intangible socio-historical value within Chinese communities. It aims to conserve the crafts, and to revive and rejuvenate such folk art via the investigation on the lion dance and lion heads. / published_or_final_version / Conservation / Master / Master of Science in Conservation

The research of traditional Chinese urban dwellings mainly focuses on the dwelling forms in large cities, like Beijing and Guangzhou. The urban form and architectural typology in prefectural level cities (Zhou 州 and Fu 府cities in history) are generally overlooked. The city of Chaozhou (潮州), a typical southern Chinese prefectural city, has large areas of well-preserved urban fabric constituted of courtyard houses with unique local characteristics. However, a thorough study of its urban forms and architecture is yet to be explored. This thesis aims to explore the relation between dwelling form and urban fabric in Chaozhou’s historical district, and to look into the elements of urban fabric in Chaozhou, including the shaping of urban structure, sub-dimension of urban blocks, the location of houses within urban blocks, and the way that houses are arranged. The urban fabric of Chaozhou is examined at four levels. First, the transformation of urban structure and public space is represented based on the analysis of primary sources. Second, a typological approach is adopted in this thesis to analyze the urban fabric and traditional dwelling forms based on the field study in “Yi xing jia (义兴甲)” Historical Conservation Area of Chaozhou. The dwelling units are categorized into 14 types, according to the layout and scale of the courtyard houses. The survey and illustration of courtyard dwellings has been done with the help of open-ended interviews. Third, the relation between dwelling form and plot pattern is carefully examined, and a set of modules that control and influence the urban fabric and dwelling forms are analyzed through maping. Finally, the transformation of dwelling forms in Chaozhou from imperial China to the Republic era is reviewed, through the comparison between courtyard houses of Chaozhou and Beijing, as well as urban dwelling and rural dwelling. The findings of this study prove firstly that the shaping of Chaozhou city’s form is a process of natural growth and a result of planning, which leads to the irregular urban blocks with an organic pattern, and also the regular urban blocks with a grid pattern. Secondly, a clear module of urban fabric in Chaozhou controls the depth of urban blocks and the dimension of plots, and ultimately affects the choice of dwelling forms within the urban blocks. This research argues that three elements of urban forms (urban block, plot pattern and dwelling form) have interrelationship with each other. Fundamentally, all the plot patterns and dwelling forms are constrained by the block sizes. Streets changed very little, and as a result, the traditional residential fabric has remained through the long-history of socio-economic upheavals in Chaozhou. Finally, Chaozhou has developed a variety of residential building types, and this variety has been shaped over a long historical process. Several original dwelling types were largely determined by the socio-economic condition of the householder and the original land divisions. During the early modern time, with the introduction of modern building materials and technology, as well as the influence of overseas cultures, Chaozhou’s dwelling types transformed in several ways, adopting more free layout and forms / published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Philosophy

The study explores the relationship between lineage, social capital and in situ urbanization of “villages within city” in the context of China’s rapid urban expansion. The literature reviewed shows that there have been studies on many aspects of “villages within city” since the middle 1990s. However, the role of lineages during the in situ urbanization of “villages within city” is largely under-examined and remains as a research gap. This study endeavors to fill this cross-disciplinary gap. Taking notice of the differences between single-lineage “villages within city” and multi-lineage ones, the study explores the following two research questions: (1) does the level of social capital vary among “villages within city” with different lineage structures? If yes, in what way? (2) does social capital in “villages within city” influence the outcomes of urbanization? If yes, what role does it play? In order to address the above research questions, the study firstly consults three areas of study, namely, lineage, social capital and in situ urbanization of “villages within city”. Through examining the relationships among the three key research variables, the thesis demonstrates the significance of theoretical integration of the three concepts and develops a tentative analytical framework. Given the different lineage structures, it is hypothesized that single-lineage “villages within city”, compared with multi-lineage ones, are more likely to possess higher levels of social capital at the administrative village level, and thus could achieve better outcomes of urbanization. To test the hypotheses, two representative “villages within city” with different lineage structures in Futian district of Shenzhen — the single-lineage Xiasha administrative village (including six natural villages which are lived by six Huang sub-lineages) and the multi-lineage Shawei administrative village (including three natural villages that are inhabited by different lineages of Wen, Mo and Liang) — are selected as the case study sites after examining the development trajectory of villages and lineages in Shenzhen. The empirical study measures the levels of social capital in Xiasha and Shawei at both the natural village level and administrative village level through the use of a questionnaire survey, and examines the outcomes of urbanization of Xiasha and Shawei through literature review, department interview, site study and observation. Three major findings are identified through analyzing the case study: (1) lineage structures in some Chinese “villages within city” are institutional legacies of rural collectivization in the late 1950s; (2) there exists a higher level of social capital at the administrative village level in single-lineage “village within city” than that in multi-lineage one; (3) social capital at the administrative village level, other than that at the natural village level, has a positive role in promoting in situ urbanization of “villages within city” in terms of collective economy development, physical environment construction and lineage culture reservation. / published_or_final_version / Urban Planning and Design / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Background: Nursing professional, up to today, is still women dominated. The consistent medical reform and scarcity of nursing labor force in China contribute to the high workload and work related pressure. On the other hand, family always plays an essential role in women’s life, especially for Chinese women. They are believed to be the principal person to provide family care. Therefore, female nurses always face the challenges in accomplishing the duty from work and family, and also face the difficulties in balancing the work-related role and family-related role. The incompatibility between work-related role and family-related role leads to work-to-family conflict. It is a kind of interrole conflict to which women are especially sensitive. Work-to-family conflict is defined as a type of interrole conflict which occurs as a result that the work related responsibilities interfere with family life. Literatures suggested that there were many aspects are significantly related to work-family conflict, such as the working model, workload, and social support. And work-family conflict was demonstrated to be associated with lower job satisfaction. Objectives: This study mainly aim to explore the relationship between shift work models and self-perceived work-to-family conflict in Chinese female nurses working in Guangzhou city hospitals. Many related aspects are also explored and we in particular focus on the effect of night shift work demand. Furthermore, we aim to detect the association between work-to-family conflict and job satisfaction among recruited sample subjects. Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted in several Guangzhou city hospitals. Employed female registered nurses were included. Questionnaires were delivered to nurses in hard copy or soft copy, involving categories of working model, working demand, job satisfaction, and work-to-family conflict. 315 questionnaires were delivered and 261 of them were returned with a response rate of approximately 83%. After data cleaning, total 250 valid-responded questionnaires were analyzed finally. Statistical description, subgroup analysis, linear regression analysis, and multivariable linear regression analysis were established for data analysis and hypothesis testing. Results: In this study, family financial responsibility, occupation support from family, overall workload, overtime work, organizational policy support, supervisor support were found to be significantly associated with self-perceived work-to-family conflict. The effects of night shift on work-to-family conflict were different among subject with different demographic characteristic, family role, work role, family-related support, and work-related support. Shift model was found to be significantly associated to work-to-family conflict, and day-night shift was related to higher level of work-to-family conflict. But the relationship between the frequency of night shift and work-to-family conflict was not found through the linear regression model. And it was found that there was a significant negative correlation association between work-to-family conflict and job satisfaction, meaning that higher work-to-family conflict was associated with lower job satisfaction among the sample subjects of this study. Among the six items measuring the overall job satisfaction, job autonomy, task requirement, organizational policy, and professional status were found to significantly related to work-to-family conflict level. Conclusions: The association between shift models and work-to-family conflict was confirmed but it was affected by nurses’ demographic characteristic. The frequency of night shift was not found to significantly affect the self-perceived work-to-family conflict level. And there was a significant negative relationship between work-to-family conflict and job satisfaction, where higher job satisfaction was associated with lower work-to-family conflict. / published_or_final_version / Public Health / Master / Master of Public Health

The Greater Pearl River Delta (GPRD) region in China has been dramatically changing since the economic reform in the late 1970s. The ‘front shop back factory’ model of industrialisation and urbanisation between Hong Kong and the hinterland cities in the region had resulted in the significant economic success, which albeit encountered several bottleneck problems. To tackle them, a new development pattern seems emerging, with more focuses on balanced growth and regional synergy in accordance with industrial upgrading towards the knowledge-intensive economy. Through the review of related literature, the research on the new pattern is linked with various classical theories and developmental concepts in the fields of industrial geography, technological innovation, as well as urban and regional planning and development. It reveals that these theories and concepts would contribute to the transition of GPRD’s industrialisation and urbanisation. Moreover, it is indicated that the concept of ‘technopole’ and its planning and development can contribute to this new pattern of urban and regional growth under current circumstances. To study the new pattern, the author conducts a detailed case study on Shenzhen, a planned city in the region with a short development history and successful economic growth attributed to economic reform. Based on a qualitative effort of data collection through secondary-data and documentary research, the study employs multiple methods for the description, interpretation, and deduction of the case, towards the understanding on three key research themes: new growth pattern (balanced development and regional synergy), urban and regional planning, and technopole development. The case study aims to fill in the gaps between Western theories and their application in China, and build connections between academic exploration and real practice. The planning and development history of Shenzhen and an overview of the city’s technopole development are documented, which illustrate a picture of industrialisation, urbanisation, and technological development in the study area. The evolution of growth centres and their contribution to the city’s growth trajectory are also analysed. At the same time, three typical technopoles of the city, namely, the Shenzhen High-tech Industrial Park (SHIP), the Huaqiangbei area, and the Overseas Chinese Town (OCT), are taken into examination, leading to categories of findings: spatial establishment, development pattern, and key characteristics of innovative milieux. Through the case study of Shenzhen and its technopoles, the research came to a conclusion in three aspects. First, the linkages between Western theories and their application in China are identified, which provide a feasible theoretical support for the new development pattern. Second, progress in planning and development system is concluded in accordance with the transition of the city and the evolution of the growth centres, which is expected to facilitate better understanding and implementation of the new pattern. Third, key issues of planning and making of technopoles are summarized based on the case of Shenzhen, leading to suggestions on possible improvement for future development. / published_or_final_version / Urban Planning and Design / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

With the rapid growth of bilateral trade between China and Africa in the past decade, more and more Africans are coming to China to seek what they see as appealing business opportunities. Guangzhou, the economic centre in Southern China, has become the largest enclave for Africans. It is estimated that there are about 100,000 Africans living and doing business in Guangzhou. This large number of Africans in Guangzhou has drawn the attention of many researchers. However, current research on Africans in Guangzhou focuses predominantly on sociological and ethnographic aspects. Although the issue of communication problems has been brought up frequently, little has been investigated in depth about actual communication, especially the actual language use between Africans and Chinese. This thesis analyzes the English-based contact language used in the marketplace between Africans and Chinese in Guangzhou. It has two main focuses: first of all, by analyzing the results from a questionnaire survey, it provides a socio-cultural and linguistic profile of the Africans in Guangzhou as well as the Chinese who has constant contact with the Africans; second, it examines several major language features based on actual language data collected from real-world communication in the marketplace. On the basis of these socio-cultural and linguistic features, I argue that the speech form between Africans and Chinese in the marketplace in Guangzhou could be regarded as a rudimentary pidgin, which has the potential of developing into a pidgin in the future. / published_or_final_version / Linguistics / Master / Master of Philosophy