Loading...
Office online
Journal Online
Download
More...
Links
More...

Table of Content

    25 May 2010, Volume 30 Issue 3
    Previous Issue    Next Issue
    Articles
    Understanding the Inequality in China
    Xie Yu
    2010, 30(3):  1-20. 
    Asbtract ( 6553 )   PDF (2099KB) ( 703 )  
    References | Related Articles | Metrics

    Abstract： Drawing on past research， the author has advocated the following propositions： （1） the inequality in China has been severely impacted by some collective mechanisms， such as regions and work units； （2） traditional Chinese political ideology has promoted meritbased inequality， with merit being perceived as functional in improving the collective welfare for the masses； and （3） many Chinese people today regard inequality as an inevitable consequence of economic development． Thus， it seems unlikely that social inequality alone would lead to political and social unrest in today’s China．

    Mutual Abandonment： Tension between Society and Sociology：A Discussion with Mr． Xiao Ying
    Guo Qiang
    2010, 30(3):  21-43. 
    Asbtract ( 2864 )   PDF (1584KB) ( 502 )  
    References | Related Articles | Metrics

    Abstract：Society without sociology and sociology without society are the inevitable results of their mutual abandonment． For sociology to go back in touch with society， it must be clear about the fundamentals of its own knowledge system， namely， the definitional boundaries of society and sociality， their basic internal meanings， and social subjects． But the vagueness and nonhumanization of social concepts have ended up with their legitimacy and origins lost． Xiao Ying excogitated a side way for the return of sociology； Bourdieu introduced the concept of “Field” to replace “Society．” The tension between society and sociology has led to the distancing of the two from each other， and further， the expected loss of the origins of both society and sociology． The social disorder， the breakage in social intermediation， and the singleness in the media and the public have terminated sociality as well as sociology． The resolution of the tension between the two has become the challenge to the development of society and sociology．

    Logics of Power Operations at the Grassroots Level： A Case Study of a Community in Shanghai
    Jin Qiao
    2010, 30(3):  44-64. 
    Asbtract ( 3017 )   PDF (1924KB) ( 583 )  
    References | Related Articles | Metrics

    Abstract： With the supposition that city communities had their own unique logics of power perations existing right in the interactor interactions， this study took a residential committee to examine the interactions among its Party Secretary， members and workers within the committee， members in other organizations， activists and ordinary residents in the community， and certain special groups， through which the power operations and interactive processes within city communities as well as their underlying logics were analyzed． It was found that， in the interactive processes with various groups， the residential committee workers demonstrated power in many forms， including the interpersonal humantouch power， semibureaucratic power， resourceexchanging power， organizational cooperating power， various strategic and tactic power， etc． Five logics of city community power operations were summarized： the attachment logic， the negotiated cooperation logic， the eliteleading logic， the humantouch logic， and the servicechange logic．

    Between Institution and Guanxi： Trust Building for Small Business Loans from the Commercial Bank
    2010, 30(3):  65-82. 
    Asbtract ( 2795 )   PDF (1592KB) ( 414 )  
    References | Related Articles | Metrics

    Abstract： From the perspective of trust， this paper discusses how the relational trust and the institutional trust interact in trading exchanges to stimulate the loan business． Both function through actors， who follow the “selfsituation” strategy． The institutional trust has a prominent position in the economic life， and possesses its independence to some extent． It is the foundation of modern enterprising， and it is not substitutable． What is missing in the institutional trust may be complemented by the relational trust； the risks in the relational trust， however， must be controlled by the institutional trust． Only when a good institution is established can guanxi（relation） play a positive role and overcome its negative effects．

    Governing through Campaigning： The Governance Strategy of the Township Grassroots Regime：A Case Study of Wheat Town’s Central Task of “Afforestation” in Central China
    Di Jinhua
    2010, 30(3):  83-106. 
    Asbtract ( 2708 )   PDF (1537KB) ( 485 )  
    Related Articles | Metrics

    Abstract：The operation of the township grassroots regime is always the issue of academic concern． This paper is based on the field survey data of Wheat Town in Central China and takes its case of “afforestation” as the “text” for analysis． Under the pressure system and during the posttax fiscal period， Wheat Town hoisted its routine work up to the centraltask level and then put the central task into practice through campaigning to get the planned tasks accomplished． This governing method of “Administration Absorbed into Campaigning” is in fact a temporary behavioral choice with simplified utilization of the traditional “movement/campaign” as a resource during the time when the grassroots regime has lost its absolute power while the fundamental power is yet  to set up and the administrative operation is short of resources． Such governance practice is， however， of little effect．

    The Impact of Leaving Home for External Employment on the Ethnically Mixed Rural Communities：A Field Survey of the Villages in Wengniute Banner， Inner Mongolia， China
    2010, 30(3):  107-129. 
    Asbtract ( 2447 )   PDF (1607KB) ( 424 )  
    References | Related Articles | Metrics


    Abstract： In the recent 20 or so years， “peasant workers” have been a significant part in China’s rural and urban economic activities， having become a social phenomenon． Millions of peasants entering cities to work and live there have not only powerfully promoted the development of urban economy but also helped balance the age structure of city populations， progressed urbanization in China， and greatly raised the incomes of peasant families． With China’s institutional reform continuously going deeper and her economy being on the rise， the volume and quality of such “peasant workers” will certainly improve in the future． Naturally， investigation of this “peasant workers” phenomenon has attracted the academic attention in China． However， most studies have been directed toward the “immigrating” locations at the macrolevel； relatively few studies are focused on the “migrating” locations． Based on the data from the field questionnaire survey of the households in 26 villages in Inner Mongolia， this paper analyzes the basic demographic characteristics of those who left home for external employment， their structural properties， and their contributions to their local households’ incomes． This study may help

    us acquire a deeper understanding of the reasons behind the phenomenon of leaving home for external employment in the rural areas and its impact on the local peasants’ lives．

    Critical Hermeneutic Theory about the “Quarrel”： Conflicts and  Shifts in the Implementation of an International Project
    2010, 30(3):  130-135. 
    Asbtract ( 2733 )   PDF (1460KB) ( 478 )  
    References | Related Articles | Metrics

    Abstract： Social work is a profession that bears “strong values．” But imposing “strong values” often convoys conflicts， which reflects the missing of “understanding and communication” emphasized in the “critical hermeneutic theory．” The author used the “critical hermeneutic theory” in his analysis， viewing the “quarrel” as a product of misplaced understanding and poor communication． In quest for its meaning， quarreling was interpreted in essence as a form of vigorous debating in the “interactive communication theory．” In the author’s opinion， quarrelling， to some extent， revealed the alienation of the “empowerment” in the project and traces of oppression in the professional relationships． The social work working models in the “critical hermeneutic theory，” as suggested by the author， needed to sustain the roles in an equal cooperation while implementing the project， to rely upon selfawareness and mutual understanding at the highest possible level， and then accordingly to maximize communication through dialogue， so as to achieve a community in its real sense．

    Media Construction： Social Significance Bestowed to Suicide：The Reported Suicide Incidents during China’s 1919-1928 Social Movements as Examples
    Liu Changlin
    2010, 30(3):  182-198. 
    Asbtract ( 2873 )   PDF (1528KB) ( 532 )  
    References | Related Articles | Metrics

    Abstract： The suicide incidents that happened during China’s 1919〖CD*2〗1928 social movements were reported utilizing a mediadesign approach with a variety of rhetorical means that bestowed these suicides a positive social significance through storytelling narratives with specific discourse structures and strategies． This was to raise the public awareness of the nation’s common values and crisis so that the public would be mobilized and unified to fight against the enemy． The bestowing of a social significance to suicidal actions by the media was characterized by social construction， which was the mission entrusted by society to the media at that time， manifesting the bidirectional interaction between society and the individuals who had committed suicide．Such a circular relation in the twoway construction resulted from then China’s social structure and the changing social ideology．

    Research on Organizations’ Network Forms： Reviews and Prospects
    Li Guowu
    2010, 30(3):  199-225. 
    Asbtract ( 2973 )   PDF (1618KB) ( 623 )  
    References | Related Articles | Metrics

    Abstract： This paper provides a review of selected empirical studies about organizations’ network forms in other countries during the recent couple of decades． Organizational networks represent an organizational form that differs from those that are based on market and rank hierarchy． The roles of trust and reciprocity within such networks are particularly emphasized by sociologists． To a firm， entering a specific network helps promote learning and innovation， enhance its legitimacy and status， and reap economic gains． And those are also the important reasons for organizations connecting with one another． Academic scholars have discussed how a nation’s institutional context， industrial properties， firm attributes， social structural and network position， and trading characteristics affect the formation of organizational networks from perspectives of institutionalism， resource dependence， social network and transactional costs， respectively． The author contends that future studies should pay more attention to the evolution and performance of interorganizational networks， the variations between different organizational network types， and the integration of different theoretical perspectives． Furthermore， empirical studies on the interorganizational networks in China need to be strengthened．