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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

What Explains The Rise Of Majority-Minority Tensions And Conflict In Xinjiang?, Reza Hasmath Dec 2018

What Explains The Rise Of Majority-Minority Tensions And Conflict In Xinjiang?, Reza Hasmath

Reza Hasmath

In the past few years there has been a rise of inter-ethnic violence in China. While ethno-cultural repression and ineffective state policies are correctly attributed as key culprits behind this reality, this article suggests that socio-economic factors play a fundamental contributory role as well. Using the Xinjiang case, the article maps ethnic tensions and violence as a manifestation and expression of a growing and heighten ethno-cultural consciousness stemming from ethnic minorities’ low socio-economic status due, in part, to internal Han migration, and a labour market process – involving agency and structure – that has shaped a split and segmented labour …


Outsider Ethnic Minorities And Wage Determination In China, Andrew Macdonald, Reza Hasmath Dec 2018

Outsider Ethnic Minorities And Wage Determination In China, Andrew Macdonald, Reza Hasmath

Reza Hasmath

The literature on ethnic minorities in China has a significant puzzle: in some studies, urban minorities perceive lower wages relative to the majority Han, while in other studies there is little to no evidence of this wage gap. There is not a clear theoretical expectation as to how these findings could simultaneously be true suggesting that new theory-building is necessary. We propose that the primary issue, and a potential solution, is the failure to fully disaggregate ethnic minority groups’ labour market experiences. We leverage a new, large dataset solely looking at ethnic minorities in China to explore this divergence. Our …


When A Joke Is More Than A Joke: Humor As A Form Of Networked Practice In The Chinese Cyber Public Sphere, Mathew Yates, Reza Hasmath Dec 2016

When A Joke Is More Than A Joke: Humor As A Form Of Networked Practice In The Chinese Cyber Public Sphere, Mathew Yates, Reza Hasmath

Reza Hasmath

Received wisdom views political humor, viz. egao, in the Chinese cyber public sphere as a form of resistance. This study creates and tests a framework that best conceptualizes how different functions of egao are connected with one another: to analyze the patterns of ties that link the different facets of the phenomenon together. The study contends that by framing egao within network society theory, we can appreciate its fluidity and better understand its online ubiquity. Analysis of survey data suggests that it is not the content solely but the networked practice of egao that dictates its true function. Namely, the …


School Violence In China: A Multi-Level Analysis Of Student Victimization In Rural Middle Schools, Jennifer Adams, Emily C. Hannum Dec 2016

School Violence In China: A Multi-Level Analysis Of Student Victimization In Rural Middle Schools, Jennifer Adams, Emily C. Hannum

Emily C. Hannum



 Motivation: Physical victimization at school is little studied in impoverished developing country contexts. Moreover, the role of school and classroom contexts as risk factors remains poorly understood. 
 
Purpose: The aim of the study is to investigate the prevalence of physical victimization in rural Chinese middle schools as well as the individual, teacher/classroom, and school level risk factors associated with experiencing physical victimization.
 
Design: We use two waves of longitudinal, representative survey data to perform a multi-level logistic regression analysis of physical victimization among middle school students from 100 villages in one of China’s poorest provinces. We focus on …


Culture, Reform Politics, And Future Directions: A Review Of China’S Animal Protection Challenge, Peter J. Li, Gareth Davey Jul 2016

Culture, Reform Politics, And Future Directions: A Review Of China’S Animal Protection Challenge, Peter J. Li, Gareth Davey

Peter J. Li, PhD

Incidents of animal abuse in China attract worldwide media attention. Is China culturally inclined to animal cruelty, or is the country’s development strategy a better explanation? This article addresses the subject of animal protection in China, a topic that has been ignored for too long by Western China specialists. A review of ancient Chinese thought asks whether China lacks a legacy of compassion for animals. The article then considers how China’s reform politics underlie the animal welfare crisis. Through its discussion of the welfare crisis impacting nonhuman animals in China, this paper sheds light on the enormity of the country’s …


Successful Aging In The United States And China : A Theoretical Basis To Guide Nursing Research, Practice, And Policy., Valerie Lander Mccarthy, Hong Ji, Jiying Ling Apr 2016

Successful Aging In The United States And China : A Theoretical Basis To Guide Nursing Research, Practice, And Policy., Valerie Lander Mccarthy, Hong Ji, Jiying Ling

Valerie L. McCarthy

Successful aging is an idea gaining increasing attention given the exponential growth in the older adult population. Criteria and definitions within multiple disciplines vary greatly in Western literature, with no consensus on its meaning. Moreover, sociocultural, economic and political differences between the Western view of successful aging and its use in China – with the world’s largest older adult population – add to the confusion. Similarities and differences in the meaning of successful aging in the United States and China are examined and the potential for a common definition that is useful to nursing in both countries is explored. Using …


The Effects Of The One-Child Policy On The Social Status Of Women In China, Josephine Toh Oct 2015

The Effects Of The One-Child Policy On The Social Status Of Women In China, Josephine Toh

Josephine Toh

No abstract provided.


The Evolution Of Population Census Undertakings In China, 1953–2010, Xiaogang Wu, Guangye He Apr 2015

The Evolution Of Population Census Undertakings In China, 1953–2010, Xiaogang Wu, Guangye He

Xiaogang Wu

No abstract provided.


Towards A Professional Sociology On China, Xiaogang Wu Mar 2015

Towards A Professional Sociology On China, Xiaogang Wu

Xiaogang Wu

This article identifies two internal tensions that Chinese sociology has constantly encountered since the discipline was reestablished in 1979: public versus professional and indigenization versus internationalization. I argue that professionalization is a necessary and crucial step to achieving unity in the study of social changes in contemporary China and to contributing to general knowledge in the discipline of sociology.


The Growth Of Chinese Professionals: A New Middle Class In The Making, Xiaogang Wu, Zhuoni Zhang Jan 2015

The Growth Of Chinese Professionals: A New Middle Class In The Making, Xiaogang Wu, Zhuoni Zhang

Xiaogang Wu

This chapter describes the growth of professional workers in the context of the expanding higher education system and the improving economic structure in China, especially since the late 1990s. Based on the analyses of data from the census/mini-census supplemented by the 2010 Chinese General Social Survey, the chapter illustrates the demographic profiles, socioeconomic positions, and political orientations and participation of Chinese professionals and compares them with managers, as the two groups form a major part of the emerging new middle classes in China.


Literature Review Of Popular Resistance In China (2015), Sean Yeo Jan 2015

Literature Review Of Popular Resistance In China (2015), Sean Yeo

Sean Yeo

No abstract provided.


Hs4008 Literature Review, Sheryl Chen Jan 2015

Hs4008 Literature Review, Sheryl Chen

Sheryl Chen

It has since been seven years since the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics. This study will examine the effects of the Global Sporting Event on China today, and will also examine the influences responsible for these effects.


Navigating Uncertainty: The Survival Strategies Of Religious Ngos In China, Jonathan Tam, Reza Hasmath Dec 2014

Navigating Uncertainty: The Survival Strategies Of Religious Ngos In China, Jonathan Tam, Reza Hasmath

Reza Hasmath

This article looks at the strategies religious non-governmental organizations (RNGOs) with strong transnational linkages use to maintain a continued presence in mainland China. It does so by utilizing neo-institutional theory as an instrument for analysis, with an emphasis on outlining the coercive, mimetic, and normative pressures RNGOs face. One of the key findings of the study is that there is creative circumvention of isomorphic pressures by working with local agents, fostering trust with the local government, and keeping a low profile. Moreover, RNGOs dealt with the uncertain institutional environment in China through staff exchanges, denominational supervision, tapping into global platforms, …


The Contemporary Ethnic Minority In China: An Introduction, Margaret Maurer-Fazio, Reza Hasmath Dec 2014

The Contemporary Ethnic Minority In China: An Introduction, Margaret Maurer-Fazio, Reza Hasmath

Reza Hasmath

This article introduces the historical context behind the practice of fixed ethnic identification currently employed in the People’s Republic of China. Notwithstanding the major problems to clearly delineate the boundaries of many ethnic groups in the Chinese context, the article contends there was a strong pragmatism for officially classifying ethnic minority groups rather than adopting the self-identification method used in many Western nations. Finally, the article poses the query whether ethnic minority status continues to hold a meaningful category of analysis in contemporary China.


Job Acquisition, Retention, And Outcomes For Ethnic Minorities In Urban China, Reza Hasmath, Benjamin Ho Dec 2014

Job Acquisition, Retention, And Outcomes For Ethnic Minorities In Urban China, Reza Hasmath, Benjamin Ho

Reza Hasmath

This article estimates wage differentials between ethnic minorities and the Han majority in China. While Han-minority wage differentials estimated with regression analysis demonstrate little evidence for ethnic minority disadvantages, evidence looking at the process of ethnic minority job acquisition and retention suggests that minorities perceive they are at a disadvantage in the job search process. The article assesses potential factors for perceived disadvantages in China’s labor market such as discrimination, social network capital, and working culture.


China's Dialectic, Joyce Ng Miss Apr 2014

China's Dialectic, Joyce Ng Miss

Joyce Ng Miss

In contemporary times, economic development and the reconciliation of environmental protection has been of increasing concern to the sustainability of the economy. This paper attempts to discuss China’s symbiotic relationship of economic progress and the environment based on extensive literature reviews. With decades of economic pursuits and progress, a mirrored upward trend of environmental degradation ensues. This paper then extends towards China’s current ambiguous environmental governance and hopes to aid in addressing the subsequent research question, of how China can effectively strengthen its environmental governance and protection through sociological empirical methods to boost the effectiveness of their implementation processes at …


Middle Class, Middle Class Women And The Meaning Of Consumption In Urban China, Dorcas Chang Ping Apr 2014

Middle Class, Middle Class Women And The Meaning Of Consumption In Urban China, Dorcas Chang Ping

Dorcas Chang Ping

No abstract provided.


Ethnic Stratification Amid China’S Economic Transition: Evidence From The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Xiaogang Wu, Xi Song Mar 2014

Ethnic Stratification Amid China’S Economic Transition: Evidence From The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Xiaogang Wu, Xi Song

Xiaogang Wu

This paper analyzes a sample from the 2005 mini-census of Xinjiang to examine ethnic stratification in China’s labor markets, with a special focus on how ethnic earnings inequality varies by employment sector. We show that Han and Uyghur Chinese dominated different economic sectors. Excluding those in agriculture, Uyghurs were more likely to work in government or institutions than either Han locals or migrants, and also more likely to become self-employed. The Han–Uyghur earnings gap was negligible within government/public institutions, but increased with the marketization of the employment sector. It was the largest among the self-employed, followed by employees in private …


Community Built Environment And Multilevel Social Determinants Of Obesity: Evidence From China Health And Nutrition Survey, Libin Zhang, Tim F. Liao, Laura L. Hayman Feb 2014

Community Built Environment And Multilevel Social Determinants Of Obesity: Evidence From China Health And Nutrition Survey, Libin Zhang, Tim F. Liao, Laura L. Hayman

Laura L. Hayman

The prevalence of overweight and obesity is highest in wealthy countries like the United States, but is rapidly increasing in less developed countries. From 1992 to 2002, China had an increase from 14.6% to 21.8% in overweight and obesity. Social determinants of obesity in developing countries remain poorly understood. Further, these associations may vary by community built environment (BE) of developing countries.


Literature Review: The Religious Revival In China – Commercialism In China, Or Transnationalism And Overseas-Chinese At Work?, Joel Zhen Hong Pang Jan 2014

Literature Review: The Religious Revival In China – Commercialism In China, Or Transnationalism And Overseas-Chinese At Work?, Joel Zhen Hong Pang

Joel Zhen Hong Pang

The evolving Chinese Institution of Religion is a national phenomenon catching the attentions of many both within China and the global community, seeing it as a proxy benchmark to the relative opening of China to the world. Religion like a simmered fire, aroused by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) when it came to power in 1949, institutionalized and enshrined in the constitution of China, 5 protected and sanctioned religions came into state-religious co-appropriation where the state uses the religion and the religion uses the state People’s Republic under Mao Zedong adopted a generally hostile stance to religion, particularly during the …


The Interactions Of Ethnic Minorities In Beijing, Reza Hasmath Dec 2013

The Interactions Of Ethnic Minorities In Beijing, Reza Hasmath

Reza Hasmath

Drawing on six years of fieldwork in Beijing, this article looks at the daily interactions of ethnic minorities in local neighbourhoods and places of economic activities. Moreover, it examines ethnic minorities’ negotiations with public institutions, the Han majority and other ethnic minority groups. The article suggests that celebratory ethno-festivals and ethnic oriented restaurants that showcase minority traditions serve as a mechanism to encourage Han interactions with ethnic minority groups. However, the attendant risk in utilizing this practice is that the socio-economic struggles of many ethnic minority groups are being masked when a celebratory version of their culture and traditions are …


Family Sources Of Educational Gender Inequality In Rural China: A Critical Assessment, Emily Hannum, Peggy Kong, Yuping Zhang Sep 2013

Family Sources Of Educational Gender Inequality In Rural China: A Critical Assessment, Emily Hannum, Peggy Kong, Yuping Zhang

Yuping Zhang

In this paper, we investigate the gender gap in education in rural northwest China. We first discuss parental perceptions of abilities and appropriate roles for girls and boys; parental concerns about old-age support; and parental perceptions of different labor market outcomes for girls' and boys' education. We then investigate gender disparities in investments in children, children's performance at school, and children's subsequent attainment. We analyze a survey of nine to twelve year-old children and their families conducted in rural Gansu Province in the year 2000, along with follow-up information about subsequent educational attainment collected seven years later. We complement our …


Redrawing The Boundary: Work Units And Social Stratification In Urban China, Xiaogang Wu Sep 2013

Redrawing The Boundary: Work Units And Social Stratification In Urban China, Xiaogang Wu

Xiaogang Wu

While work units continue to play an important role in shaping employees’ economic rewards in urban China, the way organizational affiliations affect social stratification has undergone a subtle transformation and the distinctive boundaries among work units have been redrawn. Analysis of the data from the Chinese General Social Survey (2005) shows that the boundaries exist mainly between government agencies/public institutions and enterprises: workers in the former sector enjoyed significantly higher income as well as more fringe benefits than their counterparts in the latter sector. Analyses using propensity score matching methods further identify the existence of organizational premiums (structural effect) on …


Marriage, Parenthood, And Labor Outcomes For Women And Men, Yuping Zhang, Emily C. Hannum Jun 2013

Marriage, Parenthood, And Labor Outcomes For Women And Men, Yuping Zhang, Emily C. Hannum

Emily C. Hannum

With analysis of the China Health and Nutrition Survey, we argue that, in both rural and urban areas, female disadvantage in wage employment and earnings needs to be reconceptualized as being concentrated among those who are experiencing family-work conflict: wives and mothers.


It's Not Just About The Money: Motivations For Youth Migration In Rural China, Yilin Chiang, Emily C. Hannum, Grace Kao Jun 2013

It's Not Just About The Money: Motivations For Youth Migration In Rural China, Yilin Chiang, Emily C. Hannum, Grace Kao

Emily C. Hannum

This study investigates the incentives for labor migration of youth in rural China using panel data from the Gansu Survey of Children and Families, a longitudinal study of youth in rural Gansu Province of China. We investigate the individual and altruistic economic motivations featured prominently in demographic and economic research on migration. However, we propose that the non-economic goal of personal development, a motivation suggested in numerous qualitative studies of women migrants in China and elsewhere, is also important, especially for young migrants. Analyzes indicate that, while young men and young women hold different motivations for migration, the desire for …


The Rise Of Agrarian Capitalism With Chinese Characteristics: Agricultural Modernization, Agribusiness And Collective Land Rights, Qian Forrest Zhang, John Andrew Donaldson May 2013

The Rise Of Agrarian Capitalism With Chinese Characteristics: Agricultural Modernization, Agribusiness And Collective Land Rights, Qian Forrest Zhang, John Andrew Donaldson

John Donaldson

The article discusses the agricultural transformation taking place in the rural areas of China. Details about the Chinese laws regarding rural reform and the effect they have had on rural Chinese farmers and families are included. The authors examine the expansion of agrarian capitalism in China and describe the rise of agribusiness in rural Chinese areas. The practices of Chinese agribusinesses and the Chinese land rights laws are explored. The relationships between individual farmers and agribusinesses is also examined.


China’S Agrarian Reform And The Privatization Of Land: A Contrarian View, Qian Forrest Zhang, John A. Donaldson May 2013

China’S Agrarian Reform And The Privatization Of Land: A Contrarian View, Qian Forrest Zhang, John A. Donaldson

John Donaldson

Many media and scholars outside China are advocating for the privatization of land ownership in China, claiming it to be a necessary step before China can transform its agriculture into large-scale, market-oriented and technology-intensive modern agriculture. Chinese scholars advocating land privatization, on the other hand, typically argue that land privatization would offer farmers more protection of their rights. In this paper, we present a contrarian view to these calls for land privatization published in both mainstream media and academic journals. We argue that, under China’s current system of collective land ownership and individualized land use rights, the aforementioned goals can …


Comparing Local Models Of Agrarian Transition In China, Qian Forrest Zhang May 2013

Comparing Local Models Of Agrarian Transition In China, Qian Forrest Zhang

Qian Forrest ZHANG

The development of markets and the penetration of capital into agriculture have started the agrarian transition in rural China, which is transforming smallholding, household-based agriculture into various forms of capitalistic production. This again raises in a new historical and social context the long-debated question in the agrarian transition literature: Can family farms survive the onslaught of capitalist agriculture based on wage labor and what shapes the confrontation between family farms and agro-capital? I argue that it is the local political economy—rather than some natural obstacles in agriculture to the penetration of capitalism—that shapes this confrontation and gives rise to a …


The Strength Of Sibling Ties: Sibling Influence On Status Attainment In A Chinese Family, Qian Forrest Zhang May 2013

The Strength Of Sibling Ties: Sibling Influence On Status Attainment In A Chinese Family, Qian Forrest Zhang

Qian Forrest ZHANG

What allowed eight siblings from a politically disadvantaged rural family to overcome institutional barriers and achieve upward mobility during Maoist China? What then restricted their children’s chances of upward mobility during the Reform era, when both family background and institutional environment were more favourable? In studying this anomalous case, whose experiences contradicted the well-documented effects of state policies and yet cannot be explained by parental influence, this study examines how adult siblings influenced each other’s status attainment processes, an issue largely neglected in the literature. Through comparing the micro-level mobility processes of the two generations in this family, I propose …


To Compete Globally, Brics Nations Need Reputation, Not Imitation, Ahmed E. Souaiaia May 2013

To Compete Globally, Brics Nations Need Reputation, Not Imitation, Ahmed E. Souaiaia

Ahmed E SOUAIAIA

The economic, political, and social rise of the Western block of nations was founded on the single most enduring currency: reputation. Reputation, the source of credibility and trust, is the real asset that allows the U.S. to project its stature around the world. BRICS nations cannot rise to prominence by mimicking developed countries. They must build their reputation first. Wealth is only a byproduct of this more precious commodity, and countries who have it can squander it just as emerging economies can acquire it. For either of those results to happen in any country, circumstantial conditions and principled actions must …