Thesis (M. A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

published_or_final_version / Chinese / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Fluvial sediments, as a product of erosion, are associated with a wide range of environmental issues. In particular, sediment quality and its origin represent one of the focuses of contemporary water management. This study examines the characteristics and provenance of fine bed sediments in a humid sub-tropical macro scale catchment – the East River basin in South China. Sampling was carried out in the dry seasons of 2007 – 2008, following the protocol of USGS OFR 94-458. Sample density was one per 200 km2. The particle size, grain roundness, geochemistry, mineral magnetic parameters, clay mineralogy, along with C and N, were determined for the <2-mm and <63-μm size fractions. A geochemical baseline, along with its spatial distribution, was developed for the East River by using a statistical approach. The geochemistry was generally consistent with upper crustal abundance of China and with world average suspended matter concentrations. Some analytes, such as arsenic and sulphur, were elevated and were found to associate with anthropogenic activities, whilst rare earth elements (REEs) were affiliated with the igneous geology in the study basin. These associations were also detected from exploratory factor analysis, as well as the longitudinal profiles developed for the main stem of the river. Sediment source apportionment was carried out by utilizing the fingerprinting procedure on three geologic groups. Results indicate that provenance of sediments in the East River was more or less uniform among the different geologies, but the accuracy of the apportionment has been compromised by the relatively high within-group variance of the source categories. Results suggested that source apportionment was only viable by utilizing the <63-μm fraction, and grain size correction factor shall not be employed on samples with a high granulometric variance. REE represents a robust signature to indicate provenance from igneous lithology, in particular, granites. / published_or_final_version / Geography / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

　　　Since China’s economic reform and opening up to the outside world, foreign investment has become the major dynamo of regional development in China. Under the polarized development strategy in the 1980s and 1990s, foreign investment has been highly concentrated in the coastal regions and the uneven distribution of foreign investment may be partly responsible for the significant regional disparity at the inter-provincial or even intra-provincial level within the country. Since the early 2000s, with China’s integration into the global economy and the dynamic economic restructuring in the coastal regions, foreign investment has been undergoing redistribution with the country. 　　　Based on a combination of both quantitative and qualitative research methods, this study examines the spatio-temporal pattern and dynamics of foreign investment from different sources within a full coverage of time periods from China’s opening up to recent years (1980-2006) at the intra-provincial level in Guangdong. This study demonstrates that the spatio-temporal pattern of foreign investment in Guangdong has transformed from having Shenzhen as its single growth pole in the early stage to having Shenzhen and Guangzhou as bi-growth poles in the later stages and foreign investment has widely diffused via the transportation lines from the growth poles to the peripheral regions within or out of the province. The emergence of Shenzhen instead of Guangzhou as the initial growth pole enriches traditional theories and empirical experiences of having the historic economic and industrial centre as the growth pole in the early stage of take-off of a region. Moreover, this study examines the theoretical base and effectiveness of the growth pole strategy and argues that it can be a means of transferring economic growth to new regions instead of reinforcing the cumulative effects of polarized development. Most failure of the growth pole strategy is due to the procedure of the implementation instead of the theoretical base of the strategy. 　　　To explain the initial and ongoing diffusion of foreign investment in Guangdong, this study proposes a multi-level analytical framework, which includes the push and pull factors of home and host regions at the local level, the role of government at the regional level, the structure of global production network at the global level, and the characteristics of foreign investment form different sources at the firm level. Specifically, four distinctive diffusion models of foreign investment are identified, i.e. the “cost-and-government-driven” model of Hong Kong firms, the “supply-chain-driven” model of Taiwan firms, the “market-and-group-driven” model of Japan firms, and the “market-and-institution-driven” model of US firms. This study suggests that the local push and pull factors are far from enough in interpreting such dynamic and various patterns of the diffusion of foreign investment, which should be put into a multi-level context including the local, regional, global and firm level factors and considerations. In-depth knowledge of the spatio-temporal pattern and dynamics of foreign investment from different sources is considered as the prerequisite to improve the efficiency of government development policies. / published_or_final_version / Urban Planning and Design / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / Chinese / Master / Master of Philosophy

Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 96-99).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 301-323).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1968. / Also available in print.

Thesis (M.Phil.)--Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 226-233). Also available in electronic version.