Transformation within Territorial Control: A case study of Wah Fu Estate, Hong Kong

Any commodity of human usage inherits the implicit human property of having a transforming life. Like human beings, they have wear and tear due to aging and usage, need to be well maintained, and are subject to transformation in order to cope with the external surroundings, and also to fulfill internal needs. However, these transformation actions do not have absolute freedom. Each activity is restricted by either explicit or implicit line of territorial control imposed by immediate authority, beyond which one does not have the authority to act upon. Considering residential built environment, where people inhabit, and which transform according to the needs of the inhabitants, the transformation actions are restricted to different levels of territorial control. In this article, a particular residential neighborhood is chosen, and the practice of territorial control is investigated on two levels, namely the individual building level, and individual housing unit level. Choosing Wah-Fu estate for the case study, which represents a typical residential built environment in Hong Kong (HK), the study exposes two basic human aspects through the study of transformation of built environment: people’s need for change the surrounding environment, and people’s yearn for practicing authority, and emphasizes how both are restricted with certain territorial control for the sake of greater benefit of collective habitation in a society

Step by step approach for qualitative data analysis

The application of qualitative techniques is increasing and acceptable among the researchers. However, majority of the researchers and postgraduate students did not consider the importance of giving detailed procedures in qualitative data analysis for better understanding of the qualitative results. There is a need to uncover step by step approach in qualitative analysis for better application of qualitative techniques. This article presented a detailed step-by-step approach for qualitative analysis with the aid of a pragmatic illustration. The analytic process presented employed the example of qualitative data transcribed into narrative data to develop basic themes. The employment of Domain Analysis and Thematic Network analysis in the example given helped basic themes to converge to higher order themes. The article submitted that this approach in qualitative analysis will aid thorough understanding of qualitative data interpretation. This is extremely thoughtful approach for the systematic presentation of qualitative analysis

Consumers housing attributes in the context of their socio-economic background in ibadan urban centres

This study investigated the relationship between consumers’ housing attributes and their socio-economic background. Explicitly, it identified the influence of consumers’ socio-economic status on their affordable houses, how significant the socio-economic status impact on their affordable house and the facilities provided within the houses. The study used data collected from 494 respondents in five local government areas within Ibadan urban centre. Responses to housing attributes items influenced by their socio-economic status are subjected to descriptive analysis. Item variables emerged from the analysis were grouped into housing general conditions, materials and construction methods, Facilities and House rent. These were considered as significant factors under which housing attributes could be best explained. Although the housing attributes are different from localities, different levels of environment and densities, the housing attributes are similar in relation to the consumers’ socio-economic status within the urban centre. The policy implications of these results were also highlighted

How significant is durability in vernacular house construction?

For centuries, dynamic vernacular society has experienced repairing, or demolishing old houses, and constructing new houses. The time interval between those actions probably became more sparsely spread as modern and more durable technologies and materials offered wider range of options in the vernacular construction through globalization. The first objective of this paper was to compare the durability of distinctively old and new construction materials and technologies used in the vernacular houses in a context of northern Iran. The second objective was to search implicit values behind making decisions regarding durability. The ‘old’ construction technologies were ‘Kali’, Mud Houses, and Lar deh ee”, and, while Load-bearing wall, Concrete, and Steel structure were the ‘new’ categories. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted among 167 residents of different vernacular houses and 18 of them were selected for interview. Besides, a number of 20 experts also participated in a mailing survey for validating the data. Perception of users on durability of structure was assessed and compared through 5 elements namely foundation, floor, wall, roof, and attachment through the structured-questionnaire, while the implicit values were revealed from data collected through the open-ended interview. Results showed that residents tend to rate the old houses higher, rather controversially. Commercialization might be gradually inclining users’ choices towards new houses, but responses also showed that a house is likely to be redundant after only a couple of generations, even though it still has a long durable lifetime to spare, thus making the durability issue less significant

Reconciling globalization and localization in developing the architectural heritage of the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

This study investigated the impact of Globalization and Localization on architectural design evident in the unprecedented building boom in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the relationship between such impact and its influence on the Architecture of these new developments. To date, although research on the stunning architecture in UAE has focused on several aspects, much of the attention has been paid to the descriptions of the mega projects in the contexts of its historical development, documentation of the new developments, and discourse on the role and function of these new developments in relation to social aspects. In contrast, this study aimed to determine: the impact of the coexistence of these forces of change on the built environment in UAE in order to understand the impact of Globalization and Localization, and the rise of Traditionalism and Modernism during this transformation process. This research adopted a multidisciplinary logic of inquiry combining the interpretivist and structuralist paradigms in association with a framework incorporating both semiotics and hermeneutics, in order to interpret the Star Architects’ intentions and associated actions during the creation of these structures. Research data were collected from archival records, books and various electronic sources. Data analysis revealed that there is a dialectic relationship between Globalization and the design of these stunning developments in UAE. This paper therefore, can offer new insights, which is likely to add to knowledge in this field by widening and strengthening the understanding of Globalization, Localization and architectural historical theory in UAE

In vitro degradation of PHBV scaffolds and nHA/PHBV composite scaffolds containing hydroxyapatite nanoparticles for bone tissue engineering

This paper investigated the long-term in vitro degradation properties of scaffolds based on biodegradable polymers and osteoconductive bioceramic/polymer composite materials for the application of bone tissue engineering. The three-dimensional porous scaffolds were fabricated using emulsion-freezing/ freeze-drying technique using poly(hydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) which is a natural biodegradable and biocompatible polymer. Nanosized hydroxyapatite (nHA) particles were successfully incorporated into the PHBV scaffolds to render the scaffolds osteoconductive. The PHBV and nHA/PHBV scaffolds were systematically evaluated using various techniques in terms of mechanical strength, porosity, porous morphology, and in vitro degradation. PHBV and nHA/PHBV scaffolds degraded over time in phosphate-buffered saline at 37()C. PHBV polymer scaffolds exhibited slow molecular weight loss and weight loss in the in vitro physiological environment. Accelerated weight loss was observed in nHA incorporated PHBV composite scaffolds. An increasing trend of crystallinity was observed during the initial period of degradation time. The compressive properties decreased more than 40% after 5-month in vitro degradation. Together with interconnected pores, high porosity, suitable mechanical properties, and slow degradation profile obtained from long-term degradation studies, the PHBV scaffolds and osteoconductive nHA/PHBV composite scaffolds showed promises for bone tissue engineering application

Water absorption and diffusion characteristics of nanohydroxyapatite (nHA) and poly(hydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyvalerate-) based composite tissue engineering scaffolds and nonporous thin films

Water uptake characteristics of poly(hydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV-) based composite tissue engineering (TE) scaffolds incorporating nanosized hydroxyapatite (nHA) have been investigated. The water absorption of these composite scaffolds obeyed the classical diffusion theory for the initial period of time. The diffusion coefficients of the composite scaffolds during the water absorption were much faster than those for the nonporous thin films, suggesting that the water uptake process depends on the presence of porosity and porous microstructure of the composite scaffolds. The incorporation of nHA increased the water uptake of both the composite scaffolds and thin films. It was also observed that the equilibrium uptake increased with the incorporation of nHA. This increase in the water uptake was largely due to the nHA particle aggregates in the microstructure of both composite scaffolds and thin films. The activation energy for diffusion was also determined using the Arrhenius equation for both porous scaffolds and thin films and the results suggested that the activation energy for scaffolds was lower than that for thin films