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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 …


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.


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.


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 …


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 …


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 …


Women’S Entry Into Self-Employment In Urban China: The Role Of Family In Creating Gendered Mobility Patterns, Qian Forrest Zhang, Zi Pan Apr 2013

Women’S Entry Into Self-Employment In Urban China: The Role Of Family In Creating Gendered Mobility Patterns, Qian Forrest Zhang, Zi Pan

Qian Forrest ZHANG

How did family characteristics affect women and men differently in self-employment participation in urban China? Analyses of national data show dual marriage penalties for women. Marketization made married women more vulnerable to lay-offs from state-sector jobs; their likelihood of being pushed into unskilled self-employment surpassed that of any other groups. The revitalized patriarchal family tradition favored men in family businesses and resulted in their higher rates of entering entrepreneurial self-employment. Married women who had the education to pursue entrepreneurial self-employment were constrained by family responsibilities to state-sector jobs for access to family services, and had much lower rates in entering …


Women’S Entry Into Self-Employment In Urban China: The Role Of Family In Creating Gendered Mobility Patterns, Qian Forrest Zhang, Zi Pan Aug 2012

Women’S Entry Into Self-Employment In Urban China: The Role Of Family In Creating Gendered Mobility Patterns, Qian Forrest Zhang, Zi Pan

Qian Forrest ZHANG

How did family characteristics affect women and men differently in self-employment participation in urban China? Analyses of national data show dual marriage penalties for women. Marketization made married women more vulnerable to lay-offs from state-sector jobs; their likelihood of being pushed into unskilled self-employment surpassed that of any other groups. The revitalized patriarchal family tradition favored men in family businesses and resulted in their higher rates of entering entrepreneurial self-employment. Married women who had the education to pursue entrepreneurial self-employment were constrained by family responsibilities to state-sector jobs for access to family services, and had much lower rates in entering …


Sociological Perspectives On Ethnicity And Education In China: Views From Chinese And English Literatures, Hua-Yu Sebastian Cherng, Emily C. Hannum, Chunping Lu Jun 2012

Sociological Perspectives On Ethnicity And Education In China: Views From Chinese And English Literatures, Hua-Yu Sebastian Cherng, Emily C. Hannum, Chunping Lu

Emily C. Hannum

This paper reviews Chinese- and English-language literature on ethnic minorities and education in China. Six major research topics emerge from the Chinese-language research: (1) Marxism and ethnic minority education; (2) patriotism and national unity in education for ethnic minority students; (3) multicultural education; (4) determinants of ethnic differences in education; (5) school facilities and teacher quality; and (6) preferential / affirmative action policies. Four research themes are identified from the English-language literature: (1) policy overviews; (2) education and ethnic identity; (3) incentives and disincentives for buy-in to the education system; and (4) educational stratification. The majority of quantitative research from …


The Rise Of Agrarian Capitalism With Chinese Characteristics: Agricultural Modernization, Agribusiness And Collective Land Rights, Qian Forrest Zhang, John Andrew Donaldson Feb 2012

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

Qian Forrest ZHANG

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.


Status And Hierarchy: A Framework For Understanding Stratification And Inequality In Today’S China, Qian Forrest Zhang Feb 2012

Status And Hierarchy: A Framework For Understanding Stratification And Inequality In Today’S China, Qian Forrest Zhang

Qian Forrest ZHANG

Social hierarchies and inequality in a society are shaped by the modes of production that extract and transfer surplus among social groups. In China under socialism, the redistributive economy established a powerful tributary mode of production (TMP) that extracted surplus from rural areas to cities and from commoner producers to cadre-officials. This TMP created two fundamental hierarchies in socialist China: the urban-rural divide and the official-commoner divide, both of which were based on politically defined statuses. China’s post-socialist transition has led to both a resurgence of the traditional petty-commodity mode of production (PCMP) and the rise of a novel capitalist …


The Transformation Of Urban Vegetable Retail In China: Wet Markets, Supermarkets, And Informal Markets In Shanghai, Qian Forrest Zhang, Zi Pan Feb 2012

The Transformation Of Urban Vegetable Retail In China: Wet Markets, Supermarkets, And Informal Markets In Shanghai, Qian Forrest Zhang, Zi Pan

Qian Forrest ZHANG

The state-monopolised system of vegetable retail in socialist urban China has transformed into a market-based system run by profit-driven actors. Publicly owned wet markets not only declined in number after the state relegated its construction to market forces, but were also thoroughly privatised, becoming venues of capital accumulation for the market operators now controlling these properties. Self-employed migrant families replaced salaried state employees in the labour force. Governments’ increased control over urban public space reduced the room for informal markets, exacerbating the scarcity of vegetable retail space. Fragmentation in the production and wholesale systems restricted modern supermarkets’ ability to establish …


New Middle Class And The Rule Of Law In China, Xiaogang Wu, Jinghua Cheng Dec 2011

New Middle Class And The Rule Of Law In China, Xiaogang Wu, Jinghua Cheng

Xiaogang Wu

This paper attempts to bring classes back into empirical analyses of access to civil and administrative justice, focusing on the linkage between the emergence of new middle class and legal development in China. We define six classes: the elite class, the old middle class, the new middle class, the self-employed getihu, the working class, and farmers, then examine class differentials in choosing legal resolutions to civil and administrative disputes, both actual and hypothetical ones. Based on the analysis of data from a national representative survey in 2005, we show that, the elite and the new middle class are more likely …


Three Decades Of Social Changes In China, 1978-2008, Xiaogang Wu Dec 2010

Three Decades Of Social Changes In China, 1978-2008, Xiaogang Wu

Xiaogang Wu

No abstract provided.


From Job Search To Hiring To Promotion: The Labour Market Experiences Of Ethnic Minorities In Beijing, Reza Hasmath Dec 2010

From Job Search To Hiring To Promotion: The Labour Market Experiences Of Ethnic Minorities In Beijing, Reza Hasmath

Reza Hasmath

Drawing on micro-level census data and interviews with individual workers and employers, this article examines the job-search, hiring and promotion experiences of ethnic minority workers and jobseekers in Beijing. Labour market data indicate that ethnic minorities are at a disadvantage relative to the dominant Han ethnic group, particularly when it comes to employment in high-wage, skilled jobs. The evidence provided here suggests this may be attributable to gaps in the institutional framework that encourage reliance on social-network capital for job search, hiring and promotion. [Winner of the Society for the Study of Social Problems’ Poverty, Class, and Inequality Division Paper …


The Education Of Ethnic Minorities In Beijing, Reza Hasmath Dec 2010

The Education Of Ethnic Minorities In Beijing, Reza Hasmath

Reza Hasmath

This article investigates the operations of minority schools, and the subsequent on-the-ground experiences of ethnic minorities in Beijing at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels. The article suggests that the ‘inter-sectionality’ of ethnic identities, particularly minority-majority, rich-poor and urban-rural, must be factored in when examining the varying differences between minorities who have graduated from Beijing’s minority schools and non-Beijing ethnic minorities, who have enrolled in the capital city’s universities. The article draws upon recent statistical data, interviews with minority actors and public stakeholders, and participant observation in the city’s schools and universities.


De La Búsqueda De Empleo Al Ascenso. Experiencias De Las Minorías Étnicas En Pekín, Reza Hasmath Dec 2010

De La Búsqueda De Empleo Al Ascenso. Experiencias De Las Minorías Étnicas En Pekín, Reza Hasmath

Reza Hasmath

Valiéndose de datos del censo y de entrevistas personales, el autor estudia las experiencias laborales de los trabajadores y solicitantes de empleo de Pekín pertenecientes a minorías étnicas. Los datos del mercado de trabajo indican que estas personas se hallan en desventaja respecto de la etnia han, que es la dominante, sobre todo en el acceso a los puestos más cualificados y mejor remunerados. Las comprobaciones del autor dejan entrever que ello puede achacarse a las lagunas de que adolece el orden laboral y que fomentan la dependencia de las redes sociales en este terreno. [Winner of the Society for …


Public Opinion Reform In China, David S. Mason, Ken Colburn Nov 2010

Public Opinion Reform In China, David S. Mason, Ken Colburn

Kenneth D. Colburn

As the People's Republic of China shifts toward a more market-oriented economic system, it has also begun exploring another Western institution: scientific public opinion polling. As Yang Guansan, one of China's leading pollsters, said recently in the Beijing Review: "Only five or six years ago, the public opinion poll was considered to be a 'bourgeois' or 'capitalist' method of social survey ... Now the taboo has been swept away in the strong tide of reform, which is challenging all of China's traditions, stereotypes and prejudices."


Editors’ Introduction: Emerging Issues For Educational Research In East Asia, Emily C. Hannum, Hyunjoon Park, Yuko Goto Butler May 2010

Editors’ Introduction: Emerging Issues For Educational Research In East Asia, Emily C. Hannum, Hyunjoon Park, Yuko Goto Butler

Emily C. Hannum

In recent decades, globalization and regional integration have brought significant economic and demographic changes in East Asia, including rising economic inequality, growing population movements within and across borders, and the emergence or renewed geopolitical significance of cultural and linguistic minority populations. These trends have coincided with significant changes in family formation, dissolution, and structures. How have these changes played out in the diverse educational systems of East Asia? In what innovative ways are East Asian governments addressing the new demographic realities of their student populations? This volume offers a snapshot of key educational stratification issues in East Asian nations, and …