The purposes of this study were to describe patterns of time use and to identify some of the sources of the gender gap in time expenditures in both urban and rural China. Based on previous theoretical perspectives, a number of individual and family structure characteristics were proposed to form a parsimonious and distinct model. Bivariate analysis, ANOVA, and multiple regression with interaction terms were used to test hypotheses that linked predictive variables with the dependent variables of the inquiry. Empirical work of the study was based on the 1990 survey data from a representative sample of adult Chinese persons living in Hubei Province, People's Republic of China. The descriptive results provided abundant information about gender differences in paid work, housework and leisure activities. On the whole, urban women had an equal amount of paid work as men had, their unpaid housework hours doubled or tripled their men's, and their leisure time was one hour less than men's. The gender gap in time use was larger in rural areas than in urban ones. The ANOVA results confirmed the majority of the aforementioned findings as significant. The multiple regression results identified the determinants of time use as follows: Once the other variables were held constant, (1) age, education, and income were predictive of paid work time; (2) sex, paid work time, education, and marital status had a significant impact on housework time; and (3) sex, time spent on paid work and housework, age, education, and income affected leisure time. The three models were found to be more applicable to the rural setting than to the urban one. The conclusions raised questions requiring policy development in China, and theoretical improvement and future research in both China and America. / Ph. D.

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

Lee Ka-man. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 80-88). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Members of Thesis Committee --- p.ii / Abstract --- p.iii / Chinese Abstract --- p.v / Acknowledgements --- p.vii / Table of Contents --- p.ix / List of Tables --- p.xi / Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction to the Research Question --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Introduction / Chapter 1.2 --- Life Course Perspective / Chapter 1.2.1 --- Basic Principles of the Life Course Perspective / Chapter 1.2.2 --- Timings of life events / Chapter 1.2.3 --- Cohort Analysis to Study Social Change / Chapter 1.3. --- Determinants of Family Timing / Chapter Chapter 2 --- Analytical framework --- p.11 / Chapter 2.1 --- Introduction / Chapter 2.2 --- Gender Comparison / Chapter 2.3 --- Cohort Comparison / Chapter 2.4 --- Determinants of Family Timings / Chapter 2.4.1 --- The Extension of Education / Chapter 2.4.2 --- Work Career Development / Chapter 2.4.3 --- Migration History / Chapter Chapter 3 --- Family Formation in a Changing Social Context --- p.28 / Chapter 3.1 --- Introduction / Chapter 3.2 --- Migration Experiences / Chapter 3.3 --- Education Expansion / Chapter 3.4 --- Increased Labour Force Participation / Chapter 3.5 --- First Marriage / Chapter 3.6 --- First Birth / Chapter Chapter 4 --- Data and Method --- p.43 / Chapter 4.1 --- Data and Measures / Chapter 4.2 --- Method / Chapter Chapter 5 --- First Marriage --- p.53 / Chapter 5.1 --- Introduction / Chapter 5.2 --- Gender Comparison / Chapter 5.3 --- Cohort Comparison / Chapter 5.4 --- Summary / Chapter Chapter 6 --- First Birth --- p.62 / Chapter 6.1 --- Introduction / Chapter 6.2 --- Transition to Parenthood since Age15 / Chapter 6.2.1 --- Gender Comparison / Chapter 6.2.2 --- Cohort Comparison / Chapter 6.3 --- Transition into First birth since Marriage / Chapter 6.3.1 --- Gender Comparison / Chapter 6.3.2 --- Cohort Comparison / Chapter 6.4 --- Summary / Chapter Chapter 7 --- Discussion and Conclusion --- p.72 / Chapter 7.1 --- Research Questions / Chapter 7.2 --- Key Findings / Chapter 7.3 --- Limitations / Chapter 7.4 --- Implications for Future Studies / Chapter 7.4.1 --- Sibling Order and Number of Sibling / Chapter 7.4.2 --- Parents' Educational Attainment and Occupational Status / Chapter 7.4.3 --- Residential Arrangement / Bibliography --- p.80

This study attempts to extend the existing literature about gratitude in the on-going relationship of married couples, and examined the dynamics thereof involved. N=100 dyads in Hong Kong were interviewed at three time points. T1 measures indicated that dispositional gratitude could predict not only the grateful mood one experienced in the past seven days but also the grateful mood one perceived from his/ her spouse. Both measures of grateful mood had similar actor and partner effects on the husbands' as well as wives' marital satisfaction. Between them, perceived mood of spouse was the stronger predictor, taking up virtually all the shared variance in explaining marital satisfaction. Longitudinal measures across the three time points showed that grateful mood of both spouses could be increased by about equal degrees via one of two interventions: having one of them keeping a private gratitude journal, or overtly expressing gratitude to the other. But the resulting changes in marital satisfaction differed for the actors (who assumed the role of beneficiaries) and their partners. Specifically, two moderators were identified: partners who judged their spouses' gratitude expressions as less sincere declined in their martial satisfaction, whereas, contrary to past research findings, actors who felt more obliged to their spouse became happier about their marriage. The results suggested involvement of different mechanisms for spouses on the two sides of the gratitude equation, and that feelings of obligation could be a protective factor in intimate relationships. The implications for research and counseling were discussed. / Leong, Lai Ting Joyce. / Adviser: Helene Fung. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 72-11, Section: B, page: . / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 71-81). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [201-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web.

published_or_final_version / Comparative Asian Studies / Master / Master of Arts

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Sciences

本研究旨在探討準新人通過婚禮消費來實踐家庭和婚姻關係。通過研究準新人如何商議和安排婚禮樣式、相關的消費項目和財務安排，從而剖析新婚夫婦在婚禮籌備期間如何維持父母與子女的關係和建構未來的姻親和婚姻關係。本研究研究方法是民族誌，資料是從與三十三位新娘和二十一位新郎進行深入訪談並參與了他們的婚禮所獲得。 / 選購浪漫的、具風格的和舖張的婚禮的讓準新人展示品位，也表示準新人的結合是以自由戀愛為基礎的；但同時，婚禮也是結二姓之好的儀式，在中國傳統上公告新娘納入新郎的家族，這賦予準新人的父母參與婚禮形式和相關消費決策的過程。在此情況下，現代婚姻追求高獨立性與父母的期望為兩代關係帶來緊張和矛盾。另一方面，現代親子關係強調和諧融洽，對兩代透過商議婚禮消費來實踐帶來另一種挑戰，這些包括了兩層面：(1)親子和姻親關係；(2)維持婚姻的獨立性。 / 從探討準新人和其父母商議婚禮消費、財務安排和有關的分工，本研究得出以下發現：從家庭層面，基於道德倫理責任，準新人購買舖張婚宴以維持和建構兩代關係。同時，為突顯新婚夫婦的自主性，他們購買了不同的新興婚禮服務。而且，這些家庭關係和社會角色的定位也反映在兩代商討聛禮和嫁妝之上。 / 另外，從夫婦層面上，準新人透過選購具風格的婚禮物品和服務來體現二人結合為一個共同決策的消費單位，這個決策過程受雙方的性別態度和角色所影響；這些影響也反映夫婦的財務負擔和婚禮分工上。整體而言，儘管新婚夫婦在建構維持、婚姻、姻親和親子關係在婚禮籌備上有不同的矛盾，但在表面上皆能保持和諧的關係。 / This research studies how marrying couples do marital and family relationships through wedding consumption. By analyzing data obtained from an ethnographic study based on in-depth interviews and participant observations from a sample of 33 brides and 21 grooms, I analyze how marrying couples do marital and family relations, i.e. how they create, maintain and transform both familial and marital memberships and boundaries through the narration and reasoning of their wedding choice and relevant monetary practices. Even though public perception dictates that a wedding is owned by the couple to publicly display their independent coupledom in a romantic, stylistic and lavish ways, it is also an important family occasion that incorporates the bride into the groom’s family. These two contradictory conceptions of independent marriage and harmonious family relations put the couple and their parents into a dilemma in whether to define the wedding as jointly or solely owned by the couple. / I probed into the negotiation of lavish and stylistic weddings and the relevant money management and division of wedding labor to examine relationship making processes. The data shows that, on the family level: 1) the couple incorporates itself into the larger family network based on perceived moral obligations, the desire to maintain parent-child relationship and also to establish in-laws relationships, (e.g. through buying a lavish wedding banquet); 2) the couple also purchase various wedding consumption goods and services to differentiate the coupledom from the family network, (e.g. through wedding photography); 3) negotiation of new and existing family roles are also reflected through the couple’s negotiation of bride price and dowry with their parents. On the couple’s level, they work towards the creation of an independent coupledom a joint decision-making and consumption unit - through variously embracing and resisting stylistic consumption goods and services in the wedding market. Last but not least, the couple also negotiates the pattern of financial responsibility and division of labor based on gender ideology and “marriage ideal“. In general, couples mostly manage to create and maintain harmonious marital and family relationships despite undercurrents of tension. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Tso, Ho Yee Vienne. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2012. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 242-255). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract also in Chinese. / Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Background of this Study --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- The Significance of Wedding Consumption --- p.2 / Chapter 1.3 --- Doing Weddings --- p.4 / Chapter 1.4 --- Outline of the Thesis --- p.6 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- The Social Relational Approach to Understand Wedding Consumption --- p.8 / Chapter 2.1 --- Introduction --- p.8 / Chapter 2.2 --- Rational Choice Theory of Consumption --- p.9 / Chapter 2.3 --- The Structural Relational Embedded Consumer Market --- p.12 / Chapter 2.4 --- Wedding Consumption --- p.18 / Chapter 2.5 --- The “We“ and the “Bigger We“ --- p.29 / Chapter 2.6 --- Chapter Summary --- p.43 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- Research Methods --- p.45 / Chapter 3.1 --- Introduction --- p.45 / Chapter 3.2 --- Participation Observations --- p.46 / Chapter 3.3 --- Profile of Informants --- p.58 / Chapter 3.4 --- Types of In-depth Interviews --- p.63 / Chapter 3.5 --- Leaving the Field --- p.70 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- The Negotiation of Wedding Arrangement --- p.74 / Chapter 4.1 --- Introduction --- p.74 / Chapter 4.2 --- The Characteristics of the Respondents’ Weddings --- p.75 / Chapter 4.3 --- Between the “We“ and “Bigger We“: Demarcation of Wedding Ceremonies --- p.77 / Chapter 4.4 --- Organization of the Wedding Banquet --- p.89 / Chapter 4.5 --- Chapter Summary --- p.112 / Chapter Chapter 5 --- Bride Price and Dowry --- p.116 / Chapter 5.1 --- Introduction --- p.116 / Chapter 5.2 --- The Wedding Expenditures --- p.118 / Chapter 5.3 --- The Practice of Bride Price and Dowry. --- p.124 / Chapter 5.4 --- Practicing the Idea of Filial Daughters --- p.132 / Chapter 5.5 --- Negotiation of Bride Price: the Traditional Route --- p.141 / Chapter 5.6 --- Negotiation of Bride Price: the Transitional Route --- p.150 / Chapter 5.7 --- Chapter Summary --- p.162 / Chapter Chapter 6 --- The Making of the Coupledom --- p.167 / Chapter 6.1 --- Introduction --- p.167 / Chapter 6.2 --- Building up the “We“ in the Wedding Market --- p.168 / Chapter 6.3 --- The Public Display of the “We“ --- p.179 / Chapter 6.4 --- The Making of the Ideal Wedding. --- p.188 / Chapter 6.5 --- Chapter Summary --- p.225 / Chapter Chapter 7 --- Conclusion --- p.229 / Chapter 7.1 --- Introduction --- p.229 / Chapter 7.2 --- Wedding Consumption --- p.229 / Chapter 7.3 --- The Formation of the Coupledom and Wider Family Network --- p.230 / Chapter 7.4 --- Implications for Future Research and Limitations --- p.236

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Sciences

Li Wai-ki Viki. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 182-190). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Abstract --- p.i / Acknowledgments --- p.iv / Note --- p.vii / Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Historical Background / Structure of Thesis / Literature Review / Methodology / Problems Encountered / Do People Tell the Truth? / Fieldsite一Why Shenzhen? / Chapter Chapter 2 --- "The ""Superior"" Hong Kong Chinese" --- p.35 / Construction of Hong Kong Identity / Hong Kong People's Views of Mainlanders / Hong Kong People's Views of Cross-border Marriages / How Do Mainland Chinese View Themselves? / Hong Kong Identity Card as Symbolic Capital / Grading of Ethnicity / Conclusion / Chapter Chapter 3 --- Hong Kong Men --- p.64 / Who is More Inclined to Marry a Mainland Woman? / What are Hong Kong Men Looking for in a Wife? / Mainland Women vs. Hong Kong Women / Hong Kong Men's Attitude Toward Marriage / Hong Kong Men's Sense of Masculinity and Femininity / Power Relation between Husband and Wife / Yuhn Fahn Decides Who is Miss Right / Chapter Chapter 4 --- Mainland Women Who Seek Hong Kong Husbands --- p.96 / Who is More Inclined to Marry a Hong Kong Man? / What are Mainland Women Looking for in a Husband? / Mainland Women's Attitude toward Marriage / Hong Kong Men vs. Mainland Men / "Who are the Most Desirable Husbands, After All?" / Constructed Reality vs. Actual Reality / Conclusion / Chapter Chapter 5 --- When Hong Kong Men Meet Mainland Women --- p.125 / The Trip to Zhanjiang / The Magazine Version / Conclusion / Chapter Chapter 6 --- Conclusion --- p.157 / Relationship between Hong Kong People and Mainland Migrants / Possible Trends in Marriage Patterns / Appendices --- p.175 / Bibliography --- p.182

Essay 2 uses Chinese adult twin data to investigate birth weight effect, the outcomes of which have been changed to long-term achievements. The OLS results suggest that birth weight has significant positive relationship with earnings, adult height, and health conditions. However, within-twin-pair results indicate that birth weight has significant positive influence only on adult height. Essay 2 also systematically interprets the pattern of bias directions of OLS relative to within-twins estimates across empirical studies on long-term outcomes. For health measures, OLS estimates are consistently biased upward relative to within-twins estimates across empirical studies, suggesting an overall positive correlation between omitted factors and birth weight. On the contrary, the bias direction of OLS relative to within-twins estimates fluctuates across empirical studies on ability-related outcomes, including educational attainment and earnings. This suggests that there are two main types of omitted variable (e.g., endowments and post-birth parental inputs) with each type having different correlation with birth weight. / Essay 3 uses data from the 2000 and 2005 censuses of China. It analyzes trends on the marital behavior of Chinese people during 1970-2004, and the impact of the one-child policy in terms of marriage age, marriage rate, and assortative mating on age. First, this essay finds that from 1990 onwards, more people have preferred to marry at and after their mid-twenties. Interestingly, up to the early 2000s, the prevailing marriage rates of men and women over 35 years old maintained at very high levels (over 90%) despite China becoming more prosperous. Moreover, the positive assortative mating on age was more or less the same from 1970 to 2004. In addition, this essay is the first to compare the marriages of Zhuang people relative to other non-Han people (excluding Man people) around 1989 to implement the difference-indifferences (DiD) estimation. Results from DiD estimations indicate that the one-child policy encourages more people to delay marriages. On the one hand, the policy favors more men at 30 years old or above to marry young women in their twenties. On the other hand, interestingly, it also induces more young men to marry older women. / The dissertation consists of three empirical studies on Chinese household behavior. Essay 1 uses Chinese child twin data to examine the effect of birth weight on performances during childhood and adolescent periods. Essay 1 has three main contributions to literature. First, this essay is the first to use twin data of an Asian developing country to study the birth weight impact. Within-twins results suggest that birth weight has significant effect on physical growth, but no significant effect on school performance, health conditions, and personality. Second, this study is the first to apply threshold regression on twin data to examine the non-linearity effect of birth weight. Overall, there is no evidence to support the argument that the effect is nonlinear on medium-term outcomes. Third, this study is the first to test directly whether birth weight effect operates through interaction with post-birth parental inputs. There is no evidence to support that this mechanism works in within-twins results. / Wong, Man Kit. / Adviser: Junsen Zhang. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 73-01, Section: A, page: . / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references. / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [201-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest dissertations and theses, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract also in Chinese.