Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

A Social Ecological Framework For Addressing Social Issues, Alexis Jaclyn Hickman, Lyndsey Christoffersen, Mo Sami, Chitvan Trivedi

Annual Interdisciplinary Conference on Human Trafficking: 1st (2009)

The School of Social Ecology at University of California, Irvine (UCI), teaches students to conduct research that is socially valid. This implies a problem-posing approach to global issues such as human trafficking. Applying a social ecological lens to such a multi-dimensional issue, allows us to systematically address the effective context of the problem. This framework assists in better targeting policies and programs that are not only aimed at the victims of trafficking, but also address the enabling environment (political, social, built) and demand side of trafficking. A social ecological framework for addressing social issues such as human trafficking was developed …

Unintended Consequences: Understanding Human Trafficking In The United States, Lyndsey Christoffersen

Annual Interdisciplinary Conference on Human Trafficking: 1st (2009)

Human trafficking became a major issue in the United States in 2000 with passage of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. In 2001, border security was tightened in response to terrorism. While some efforts have been made to eradicate trafficking, the U.S. federal government has largely ignored the immigration aspect of trafficking. This paper aims to examine the intersection of U.S. human trafficking and immigration policy. The study of international illegal flows is still in the early stages. Thus, this paper is exploratory in nature. Information was obtained from government documents, nongovernmental organizations, and academic articles. What is trafficking? Is it …

Dirty Innards, Paul Katz

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Taiwan has recently been upset by the news that imports of American beef will soon resume, including internal organs. The resulting upheaval has featured more hysteria than science, but has nonetheless had an impact on the current government’s popularity, with President Ma’s approval rating plummeting by 14%. In the midst of the discomfort about potentially contaminated beef, however, concerns are also being raised about other forms of filth at the political and social levels:

1. Yet another KMT legislator is facing the end of his political career, with the Taiwan High Court yesterday upholding a lower court ruling annulling his …

Defining And Measuring Poverty In Nebraska, Randolph L. Cantrell

Cornhusker Economics

Data recently released by the Census Bureau estimate that 47.4 million Americans, or about one-insix, are living in poverty. This latest estimate has drawn criticism from some observers who see it as an attempt to artificially inflate the magnitude of poverty in America. The criticism results from a change in methodology that included not just income (the Whitehouse Office of Management and Budget (OMB) poverty threshold for 2009 is $22,050 a year for a family of four), but also made adjustments, taking into account such things as region, out-of-pocket medical expenses and child care costs, that in total add about …

Peter Hessler: Readings On The Web

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Peter Hessler will be speaking about his new book at the University of California, Irvine on February 16 (mark your calendars, Southern Californians!). Hessler will be in the midst of a tour for the book, Country Driving. We noticed a few readings by and about Hessler this week, and thought, in honor of his upcoming visit, to share them with you.

1. This week’s New Yorker features a piece by Hessler on Lishui, a Chinese city that has a booming business in export artwork. Click here for a slide show narrated by Hessler. (For another take on Chinese copies/forgeries in …

In Case You Missed It: Repeat After Me

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

In 2005, when Rachel DeWoskin published her memoir of living in Beijing during the 1990s, I was so excited that I immediately bought the first copy I saw in a Hong Kong bookstore. Foreign Babes in Beijing represents a rare female voice among the expats-in-China genre of books, and DeWoskin’s tales of working in public relations and acting in a Chinese soap opera are deftly and humorously written. It’s a book that I still recommend to people who want to know more about living in China, and I’m looking forward to seeing the film version that’s currently in development.

After …

Party Girl

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

“Taken in a packed Christian service I attended out of curiosity at a wannabe mega-church in Beijing. While the passionately Christian Chinese acquaintance I went with stood reverent and modest by my side, this girl happened to step into my shot.”

–Alec Ash

Kabul Times (Apr - June, 1968), Afghanistan

Digitized Afghanistan Materials in English from the Arthur Paul Afghanistan Collection

Kabul Times, April - June, 1968

The Curious Case Of Jia Junpeng, Or The Power Of Symbolic Appropriation In Chinese Cyberspace, Guobing Yang

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

An Uncanny Story[1]

On July 16, 2009, an anonymous internet user in a popular Baidu discussion forum posted a message titled “Jia Junpeng, your mother wants you to go home to eat.” The message has only twelve Chinese characters in its title and has no other content. Yet it got 3,000 responses within five hours, responses that range from the routine socializing type (“Support!” “Interesting!”) to the funny and sarcastic (“I am not going to eat at home today. I’m eating in the Internet bar. Please pass on my message to my mom.”). Within one day, it received seven million …

10/19 Reader

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

1. This is a rather belated link, but in case you missed it at China Digital Times, you might be interested to read their translation of a piece on “‘The Wall’ and ‘Climbing Over the Wall’” by Tu Zifang from Southern Metropolis Weekly.

For so many years, the busiest people on the Chinese internet are those who make the Wall software and the “Climbing the Wall” software. It has been said that those people all have something in common: 1. They are all Chinese, 2. They all made a fortune, 3. They all have studied in the US. The only …

Response To “Islamic Fundamentalism: An Ignored Specter In The Xinjiang Riot”, Mark Elliott

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

China Beat has run several pieces recently on the Xinjiang riots. On October 2, we featured Rian Thum’s “The Ethnicization of Discontent in Xinjiang,” which argued that the riots had raised ethnic tensions in the region. A few days later, we published “Islamic Fundamentalism: An Ignored Specter in the Xinjiang Riot,” written by Liang Zheng. Zheng argued that the foreign media had ignored indications that the riots were instigated by fundamentalists from southern Xinjiang, an argument that preserves the notion of ethnic harmony in Urumqi itself.

Today we run a response to Zheng’s argument from Mark Elliott, Professor of Chinese …

New Engagements With Documentary Editions: Audiences, Formats, Contexts, Andrew Jewell

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Presentations

This paper is an effort to think about something different than the creation of documentary editions. It is an effort to think about the reading of them. Specifically, I want to think about the ways the reading of documentary editions is changing, or how it might change. First, however, a caveat: much of what I say is speculative and anecdotal. Though others’ research has been consulted, I’m heavily influenced by what I observe is happening with readers of my own editing project, The Willa Cather Archive, a digital thematic research collection dedicated to the life, work, and environs of the …

Yes, You Too Can “Win In China”: An Interview With Filmmaker Ole Schell, Dustin Wright

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

There has understandably been no shortage of commentary on China’s rapid economic development. Much like Japan’s economic “miracle” of the last century, this other industrialization in East Asia has generated considerable discussion, both in academia and popular media. No doubt, much of the discussion rests on a healthy crop of skepticism regarding the actual sustainability of China’s growth. However, though export growth has slowed since the boom apex in 2007, the country’s economy is nonetheless continuing to grow and many observers maintain that China is surviving the global recession better than any other major economy.

But as both domestic and …

Talks By Jeff Wasserstrom In Heidelberg

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Jeff Wasserstrom will be giving several talks at the University of Heidelberg over the next few days in the series “China Beat–Mega-Events and Recent Trends in Transcultural China”:

Thursday, October 15

“New Possibilities and Old Patterns in Publishing in and about China,” with a response by poet Bei Ling

Friday, October 16

“Mega-Events and the Rise of Global Cities: The Shanghai World Expo in Historical and Comparative Perspective”

Monday, October 19

“Chatter about China in the Global Public Sphere: From the Boxer Crisis to the Beijing Games and Beyond”

Details about these events are available here.

Long Live The Nation

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

“祖国万岁. Long Live the Nation.” The main pavilion of the Expo looks like a cross between a UFO and the hull of a ship. I spoke with some bystanders who turned out to be residents of the area. The old couple comes out everyday at night to marvel at the dramatic displays on the Expo pavilion. It seems that there isn’t enough to warrant a lawn chair but they beg to differ. It’s their city.

Photo by Grace Park, caption by Jonathan Hwang. Both are students at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center for Chinese and American Studies.

Looming Changes In The Energy Economy, Richard K. Perrin, Adam Liska

Cornhusker Economics

Over the next decade or two, the energy sector on which the world economy is based will undergo significant transformations. The fossil fuels on which the industrial revolution was built are on their way out. Nebraskans will face higher energy prices, but they will also produce more energy.

Learning From Lai Changxing?, Jeremy Brown, Xian Wang

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Last year, Angilee Shah wrote a review at China Beat of Oliver August’s Inside the Red Mansion. The review inspired Simon Fraser University Professor Jeremy Brown to assign the text to a class and he recently invited the book’s protaganist, Lai Changxing, to join his class for a day. Brown and one of his students provide an account of the day’s visit below (for a write-up in Chinese, see this report at The Global Chinese Press).

A few days before National Day, Lai Changxing joined our fourth-year Chinese history class at Simon Fraser University. For almost three hours China’s most …

Chinese History Readings

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

A hodgepodge of historically or (historian-) relevant readings from the last few weeks…

1. Of greatest interest to the historians around here (particularly those of us who don’t make it to Cambridge regularly), Harvard and the National Library of China have signed a deal to digitize Harvard’s collection of 51,000 rare Chinese books:

Once completed, these images dating as far back as the Song ynasty in 960 AD, will be publicly available for free on the Web to scholars in China and elsewhere.

“We need to change the mindset that rare materials must be kept behind closed doors,’’ said James …

October 2009 - Staff Meeting Minutes

ALEC Committee Minutes

No abstract provided.

The Great Wall Parade, Alex Pasternack

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

My second day back in Beijing, and I was already under house arrest.

It was a sensitive time — the day before China’s 60th birthday — and I found myself stuck inside the gates of the city’s oldest diplomatic compound, where many foreign newspapers and television stations now have their offices.

Granted, this was partially of my own accord. The compound sits near the eastern end of the parade route, on the city’s legendary Chang’an Jie (Avenue of Eternal Peace), and a friend’s balcony offered a good vantage point. But because of high security, I had been told that if …

Patriotism

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Peking University students queue to see the jingoistic new film ‘The Founding of a Republic’. In the screening, the young audience seemed more interested in the Chinese movie stars who appear in the film than they were in the historical content itself. Real footage of Chairman Mao in 1949, however, drew enthusiastic applause. Peking University students queue to see the jingoistic new film ‘The Founding of a Republic’. In the screening, the young audience seemed more interested in the Chinese movie stars who appear in the film than they were in the historical content itself. Real footage of Chairman Mao …

Criminal Justice Collection Development Policy, Suping Lu

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Collection Development Policies

The criminal justice collection supports the teaching, learning, research, and other related service activities of the entire university community. Its primary users are faculty, staff, and students of the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Lincoln Program) in the College of Public Affairs and Community Service, which is based at University of Nebraska-Omaha. Its essential focus is support for the undergraduate curricula for criminal justice. The collection is supplemented through interlibrary loan services whenever special curriculum and research needs of criminal justice faculty and students arise. Although the collection is not developed for the general public and community users, they …

Political Science Collection Development Policy, Suping Lu

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Collection Development Policies

The political science collection supports the teaching, learning, research, needs for political information, international exchanges and communications, and other related service activities of the entire university community. Its primary users are faculty, staff, and students of the Department of Political Science in the College of Arts and Sciences. Its essential focus is support for the undergraduate and graduate curricula for political science. The collection is supplemented through interlibrary loan services whenever special curriculum and research needs of political science faculty and students arise. Although the collection is not developed for the general public and community users, they may benefit from …

Kabul Times (Jan. - Mar., 1968), Afghanistan

Digitized Afghanistan Materials in English from the Arthur Paul Afghanistan Collection

Kabul Times, January - March, 1968

Around The Web: China’S National Day Celebration

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Now that the celebration is over and China has celebrated its 60th anniversary, we thought we would point out some of the National Day media coverage that caught our eye:

1. China Digital Times directed us to The Guardian, which posted this wonderful time-lapse video of the parade in Beijing; watch the day’s highlights in under four minutes!

2. Yale University’s Kang Zhengguo wrote this piece for the New York Times op-ed page, in which he reflects on his own National Day experiences over the span of five decades. While Kang marched as a Young Pioneer in the 1959 National …

Economics Collection Development Policy, Suping Lu

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Collection Development Policies

The economics collection supports the teaching, learning, research, needs for economic information, and other related service activities of the entire university community. Its primary users are faculty, staff, and students of the Economics Department in the College of Business Administration (CBA). Its essential focus is support for the undergraduate and graduate curricula for economics. The collection is supplemented through interlibrary loan services whenever special curriculum and research needs of economics faculty and students arise. Although the collection is not developed for the general public and community users, they may benefit from the collection for their information needs. The main focus …

Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board Ballot Issue Two, J. David Aiken

Cornhusker Economics

On November 3, 2009 Ohio voters will vote on Ballot Issue Two, which would establish the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board. This newsletter discusses Ballot Issue Two and possible implications for Nebraska.

Islamic Fundamentalism: An Ignored Specter In The Xinjiang Riot, Liang Zheng

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

It’s been three months since the city of Urumqi was plunged into chaos and terror by the deadliest ethnic bloodletting in the history of the People’s Republic. The riot on July 5th this summer erupted right after a mostly peaceful demonstration organized by Uyghur youths in Urumqi called to demand the government thoroughly investigate a brawl in southern China, which had left two Uyghur workers dead and dozens more injured. At that point, no one anticipated the demonstration would be followed by a horrible massacre in Urumqi that took at least 197 innocent lives, most of them members of the …

The Future Of Japanese-Chinese Relations Under Japan’S New Government: An Expert Weighs In, Elizabeth M. Lynch

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

The United States was not the only country that voted for change this past year. On August 30, 2009, after fifty-four years of essentially one-party rule, the Japanese people voted overwhelmingly to usher in a completely new government and a new way of thinking. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which ruled Japan since 1955, was completely rejected. Obtaining only 119 out of 480 seats of the House of Representatives (the lower Diet), the LDP took a second seat to the younger and fresher Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ). The DPJ won 308 seats in the House, ensuring that their leader, …

The Ethnicization Of Discontent In Xinjiang, Rian Thum

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

One of many disturbing long-term effects of the recent violence in Urumqi is an increased ethnicization of anger on all sides. Ethnic tensions are of course nothing new in Xinjiang, and ethnically targeted state policies have long made it difficult to distinguish between anti-government and ethnic discontent, but until now Uyghur resistance has been aimed at the state. The recent Urumqi uprisings represent a significant redirection of anger along more clearly ethnic lines.

The interactions between Uyghur and Han citizens vary with the uneven demography of Xinjiang. In the provincial capital, Urumqi, Uyghurs are a minority. This means that Urumqi …