2012 Vol.32

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The Problems of Fiscal Earmarked Funds: On “Governing the State through Programs” Zhou Feizhou Chinese Journal of Sociology    2012, 32 (1): 1-37.   Abstract （3708）      PDF（pc） （2488KB）（1273）       Knowledge map    Save Since the TaxSharing Reform in 1994, more and more fiscal funds have been transferred down to local governments in the form of “earmarked” or “program” funds. These funds are downward flowing in a very complicated multilevel governmental system. The first part of this paper provides an overview of the structural channels of the earmarked transfers with tables and graphics. In the second part, the paper reports a case in the education sector to illustrate the management and use of such funds. On the grassroot governmental levels, especially in counties and townships, the countylevel education bureaus transfer many earmarked educational funds directly to rural schools, rather than to township governments. The townships, which used to be the direct fundmanager of the rural schools, are no longer needed in the new management system. The author labels this new fund flowing channel as the “7”shaped pattern and the old one as the “L” pattern. The case analysis of the efficiency in utilizing the educational funds in the two patterns, especially the fund for routine operational costs of the schools, has found that the new pattern has led to more and more funds being “specialized” as earmarked funds including those for routine operational costs. Furthermore, in the new system, most funds are required to be managed as earmarked funds, therefore, it is mandatory for schools to submit fundapplication proposals and fund expenditure reports to their county education bureau, the process of which has lowered efficiency. The new “7”shaped fund transfer channel is not able to handle local emergencies efficiently because if a school faces an emergency, such as a wall clashed in a rainstorm, has to write a proposal to apply for a fund from the county bureau, but the county leaders still mandate the county bureau to solve the problem together with the township government while the latter is now kept out of the loop of the new fundtransfer system. The last part of the paper discusses the unexpected consequences of the new system of the earmarked funds and concludes that specializing funds as earmarked ones could have been leading to lowered efficiency rather than the opposite. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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Power Game and Industrial Institutional Change: An Empirical Study on the Strategic Shift in the International Cooperation by the Chinese Oil Industry (1988-2008) Liang Bo Chinese Journal of Sociology    2012, 32 (1): 38-67.   Abstract （2682）      PDF（pc） （1495KB）（504）       Knowledge map    Save From 1988 to 2008, the international cooperation of the Chinese oil industry underwent an important strategic shift from the initial ”importing” (yin jing lai) of foreign capitals and technology to the “exporting” (zou chu qu) of capitals and technology after 1998. The core issue of this study was to reflect upon this significant shift and answer questions at the theoretical level. There exist two competing theories in this regardthe theoretical explanation that emphasizes the importance of nation‘’s rational industrial policies from the perspective of new institutionalism in economic sociology, and the theoretical explanation that emphasizes market functions from neoclassic economics of industries. The current study attempted to get beyond of the inclination of a priorirationality or structural determinism in the existing research by introducing the paradigm of strategic analysis of French organizational sociology in order to describe and analyze the hidden micropolitical process during the industrial institutional change. The analysis was on four dimensions of actors’ differentiated targets, games’ organizational environments, actors’ action competencies and control of key resources, and actors’ action strategies. It was found that, as a phenomenon in an industrial institutional transformation, the strategic shift in the international cooperation by the Chinese oil industry was not only under the significant influences of the state, its industrial policies, and the market mechanism, but it was also, even to a greater extent, at the function of the dynamics of complex power relationships and the mechanisms in the power games. That means that the deeplyseated driving force for this strategic shift mainly came from a special power game between the central government （the state） and the stateowned oil companies in terms of their respective action ability and resource control as well as their respective balancing and judging of specific organizational environments in interaction and the other parties’ probable action strategies. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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The Path to the Banality of Evil Feng Ting Chinese Journal of Sociology    2012, 32 (1): 68-87.   Abstract （4161）      PDF（pc） （1432KB）（720）       Knowledge map    Save Via the concept of the banality of evil, Hannah Arendt revealed a new type of evil in modern society, which is entirely different from Kant’s ”radical evil.” This paper examines and analyzes three facets to uncover the path as how and why banality combines with evil in modern society. First, the gardening stance of modern countries, originated from the project of modernity, divides the whole populace into plants of utility that are in accordance with the requirements of rationally designed society, that is, garden of rational design, or weeds that do not meet such requirements and need to be removed. This has provided legitimacy to such acts of violence or evil as genocide. Secondly, out of the need of the operation of itself, the machine of modern politics has tamed the bureaucratic officers therein, removed their independent conscience of morality and will, and made them each pure gears of the machine such that “the banality of thoughtlessness” has become the indispensible element or constituent in the operation of modern politics. Thirdly, along with the fall of politics that is independent and coherent with its rationality and meaningfulness, politics has degraded into instrumental politics, which has led to the disappearance of its closely related public sphere. Consequently, political issues become technical or administrative issues that require no need for public debates, thus, an independent, critical public has morphed into a mass under manipulation; hence, collapse yet another barrier against the fire of the banality of evil on its way. On this basis, this article concludes that banality has been propelled toward evil by structural and institutional factors in the development of modern society and political operations. This is not to exculpate Eichmann, nor to incriminate each and every individual, but to evoke reflection on the responsibility that each individual must bear as a citizen when facing evils such as massacres so as to establish premises for introspection of politics. To equal the probe into causes of a crime to the attribution of the crime is unfair; to replace the probe into causes of a crime with attribution of the crime is dangerous. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0） Cited: Baidu(1)

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Power and Fashion Reproduction：A Review of Bourdieu’s Cultural Consumption Theory Zhu Weijue Chinese Journal of Sociology    2012, 32 (1): 88-103.   Abstract （6371）      PDF（pc） （1478KB）（950）       Knowledge map    Save  This paper discusses in great detail from the perspective of power and power relations about the fashion reproduction theory—one of the cores in Bourdieu’s cultural consumption theory. The fashion reproduction theory is based on Bourdieu’s political science concerning symbolic power. The political science of symbolic power insists that we combine the power struggle with the social field structure and its operational mechanism when we think holistically. Bourdieu argues that modern society is highly differentiated, consisting of a large number of fields full of power struggles. Fields adjust, evolve, or reconstruct in response to the changes in the power balance between classes. Bourdieu’s fashion reproduction theory is based on the following two claims: 1, Fashion is the result of the common "collaboration" between the two independent fields: the production field and the consumption field; 2, Power relations exist throughout every aspect of fashion reproduction. Clearly, Bourdieu’s theory of fashion reproduction is consistent with his position over the past years. In his view, whether the production field or the consumption field, each is a battlefield where all participants will engage in fierce competition for legitimacy and distinction. The field of fashion production, with its relative autonomy, is not a place for power struggle to be explicitly expressed as interclass antagonism but to function in an implicit way. In this, the competition usually occurs between the dominating senior designers and the dominated cuttingedge designers. The two camps produce fashion through distinguishing traditional from modern, highpriced tags from lowpriced tags, conventional from avantgarde, etc. But it must be noted that the autonomy of the fashion production field is a relative term; it is inevitably influenced by the power field. Likewise, the power relations in the production field are rooted in the social hierarchy. Fashion producers participate in a roundabout way to legitimize and to engage in the struggle for reproduction. On the other hand, the consumption field refers to the class field or the dominant class field. Here, consumers take part in an endless struggle of classification (class struggle). Power relations directly reflect class relations. And only the dominant class has the right to participate in the reproduction of fashion and vogue. The middle and lower classes are not able to join in such a distinctive game; they are present at most only as a contrast. Fashion, as an expression of the legitimate taste of the ruling class, has been widely used as the implementation of symbolic violence over the lower classes. Bourdieu’s cultural consumption theory provides us with a unique perspective to comprehensively understand the consuming phenomenon and its characteristics in the era with the richpoor divide. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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Tied CheckandBalance: Operational Mechanism of Grassroots Organizations’ Power Chen Feng Chinese Journal of Sociology    2012, 32 (1): 104-125.   Abstract （2666）      PDF（pc） （1381KB）（753）       Knowledge map    Save  The nature of the grassroots politics and the logic of rural governance are the keys to the understanding of the formation and change of the current rural order, but they also help to understand China’s unique mode of state governance. This paper explores the internal mechanism in the informal or semiformal practice of grassroots governance and its social and value bases. The study has found that the positions of village organizations in the state power system constitute part of the external conditions and pressure of the rural governance, but the power of these village organizations in their practice of general and semiformal governance is rooted in rural society itself. Village cadres govern the villagers mainly through bonds tied with interests and emotions to fulfill their governance goal; the villagers, on the other hand, try to balance the village cadres’ control through bonds tied with their various obligation and rights, especially in the form of jointresponsibilities. It is this twoway relationship between cadres and villagers in the governance that has established the overall balance between rights and obligations, and that has shaped the current rural social order, that is, "tied checkandbalance." The atomization of the social structure, the differentiation of the economic structure, and the diversification of the value system in current rural society are the social basis of grassroots governance. It is difficult for the grassroots organizations to accomplish their governance goal by relying solely on the informal system of Confucian society or public rules of modern society; what is needed is to effectively combine and balance the two. Unlike the rightobligation view with legally based rationales developed in Western civil society, Chinese farmers’ bondbased view of rights and obligations is the value basis for the grassroots organizations to put their governing power into operation. It is this combined support of both social and value foundations in rural China that has made it possible for this “tied checkandbalance" to have become the core mechanism for grassroots organizations to routinely operate their governing power. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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Housing Inequality during the Market Transition: Evidence from the Data of CGSS2006 Hu Rong Chinese Journal of Sociology    2012, 32 (1): 126-152.   Abstract （3214）      PDF（pc） （1811KB）（859）       Knowledge map    Save As an important part of the economic system reform, the housing reform in China has been going on for more than 30 years, which has led to gradual commercialization and marketization of housing distribution. The analysis using Hierarchical Linear Modeling on the data of CGSS2006 has revealed the degrees of housing inequality and the impact of the housing distribution mechanism with the background of regional disparity. Firstly, at the regional level, market transformation improved the overall housing conditions for the urban residents. The higher the regional market level, the more housing resources the urban/town residents possessed. Despite of that, there was a clear differentiation between house owners and renters concerning the positive effect of the market transition, that is, renters did not significantly benefit from the process of market transition. Meanwhile, market transition enhanced the regional housing inequality in a given period of time. An inverted Ushaped relationship between regional market level and the regional housing inequality indicated that the gap in the ownership of housing resources first expanded with the progress of the regional marketization, and shrank only at a later time. Secondly, some danwei(work unit) related factors such as its features, rank, or size no longer affected the distribution of housing resources; the housing differences between the workers who were within and those who were outside the stateowned working system no longer reached the statistical significance level. However, at the individual level, the cadre identity sustained its persistent impact on housing distribution; the political elite with the redistribution power still enjoyed an obvious advantage in obtaining houses. The findings revealed a dual stratification system in housing distribution during the current market transition and this system played a role in doubling the size of the housing inequality. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0） Cited: Baidu(26)

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The Impact of Relative Conjugal Resources and Emotional Relationships on Marital Violence in RuralUrban Migrants’ Families: From a Gender Perspective Li Chenghua | Jin Xiaoyi Chinese Journal of Sociology    2012, 32 (1): 153-173.   Abstract （3280）      PDF（pc） （1581KB）（540）       Knowledge map    Save With rapid urbanization in China, the changes in the economic power structure and emotional relationships between the married couples of ruralurban migrants will affect the risk of marital violence. This article takes the gender perspective and puts forward an integrated analysis framework to examine quantitatively the impact of relative conjugal resources and emotional relationships on marital violence (physical violence and cold violence) and gender differences. The results show that marital violence is common in ruralurban migrants’ families, with cold violence being its main pattern and women perpetrating marital violence more than men. Both relative conjugal resources and emotional relationships have significant effects on marital violence, with the first variable affecting men more than women and the second variable affecting women more than men. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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Chinese Farmers’ Environmental Justice and Action Approach: A Case Study on Environmental Complaint in Xiaoxi Village Liu Chunyan Chinese Journal of Sociology    2012, 32 (1): 174-196.   Abstract （3036）      PDF（pc） （1455KB）（775）       Knowledge map    Save  It is important to do some close examinations of environmental justice in local. Such pluralistic notions of environmental justice beyond the mainstream meaning of west countries, and will be the premises of global environmental governance. This paper provides a case study on environmental complaint in china, shows the local meaning of environmental justice. Few owners of the tungsten mine factory make a great profit by monopoly and free utilizing common resources, but leave serious ecological disaster in the local with zero cost on environment use. The phenomenon of ‘individual gain but collective pay’ is the character in China today, which is also the root leading to villagers’ unjust feelings and complaints. Environmental justice in China is different from its western definition, it is not ‘fair shares’ of the environmental benefits and harms, and not in formal structures of environmental government and policy, but collective responsibility of government and enterprises which get great benefits from the common environment freely. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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Resources of Legitimacy and Chinese Workers’ Activism: Restudying Shanghai Workers’ Strike in 1957 Lin Chaochao Chinese Journal of Sociology    2012, 32 (1): 197-219.   Abstract （3141）      PDF（pc） （1470KB）（581）       Knowledge map    Save In the mid1950s, a strike wave rolled across the city of Shanghai on an unprecedented scale. Elizabeth J. Perry wrote an article on it to stress the positive correlation of intraworkingclass divisions with labor activism. While recognizing the fragmentation among the workers, this paper furthers the investigation to the area of mobilization mechanism of Chinese workers' activism, emphasizing the importance of the institutional environment of the state to the study of the demands and expressions of Chinese workers' protests in contemporary China. With China’s actual conditions taken into consideration, the resource mobilization theory and the political process model are adopted to reexamine Shanghai's strike wave of 1957 with a focus on the interaction between the participants, resources, mobilization networks and the institutional environment of the state. The author holds that the Chinese workers in the 1950s were gradually forming the farreaching tradition of activism that was characterized of the actors’ dependency upon and attainment of the external resources of legitimacy (including the ideology of the state, top leaders' statements, official opinions, etc.). These external resources of legitimacy, as well as the elite, identification, and networks, are the elements of the mobilization mechanism of activism. However, the Chinese workers’ activism since the 1950s has been unsuccessful to obtain legitimate support for its action in the absence of the aforementioned external resources of legitimacy, resulting in the ineffectiveness of the action by the minority elite in mobilization on a large scale. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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A Sociological Analysis of Zhaojia Hu Liang Chinese Journal of Sociology    2012, 32 (1): 220-242.   Abstract （3013）      PDF（pc） （1387KB）（718）       Knowledge map    Save Asking for additional money after the initial closure of a deal (Zhaojia) was a special economic behavior in rural land transactions. It was a broadly practiced economic phenomenon in the Ming and Qing Dynasties in China, that is, after the initial closure of a deal, the seller still had the right to ask for additional money from the buyer. Plattner’s theory is used here as a frame to divide impersonal and personal exchanges to explain this phenomenon from the sociological perspective. I contend that Zhaojia belonged to the kind of personal exchanges and it was made possible when built upon stable social relationships. In this study, I first examined the social background of this economic behavior and discovered that most land transactions took place in villages where the seller and the buyer were often familiar with each other, and that both sides had other social relationships than the relationship in the transaction. The seller often sold his land with a low price, so the local elites would support the seller when he asked for more money after the transaction was done. Past scholars have pointed out that, although the seller could repeatedly ask for additional money, the total value should be within a reasonable range perceived as such by the general public. If what the seller asked for surpassed the upper limit, he would be regarded as greedy and even be accused or punished. I also examined the characteristic of land ownership as it was the basis of land transactions. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, if lineages or other local organizations were successful in making advancement, they then needed to own adequate amount of land in order to secure the extension of the lineages and their positions in the local society. Once the land became the joint family or lineage property, if somebody wanted to sell his piece of land, purchase privilege was given to the members in the seller’s lineage. Land signified the existence of the lineage; the lineage imposed rules to regulate any individual who wanted to sell land, making it difficult to have a land transaction completed with one attempt. Many sellers even reserved their privileged right to buy back the land sold. I cited several cases to demonstrate the official and legal support for Zhaojia. Based on the analysis described above, I looked at the social mechanisms for the institutionalization of this phenomenon. First of all, I explained the origin of the rationality in Zhaojia: an unstable market and the desire to avoid market risks: a growing population but a freeze in land increase, and societal turmoil. Secondly, I analyzed how rural society tried to establish the criteria for Zhaojia. Because kinorganizations, the local gentry, and the Imperial ideology all acknowledged the protection provided by Zhaojia for the weaker groups and its function to maintain local security, Zhaojia was then allowed to be practiced and the Imperial state laws gave local organizations the green light to set up and practice appropriate Zhaojia regulations. Finally, I explained how the elites, officially and locally at the villages, cooperated to mark the boundary of Zhaojia through the procedure of “villagemediationofficial attribution” to avoid local turbulence and to keep village harmony. This mechanism analysis convinced me that the existence of the economical behavior of Zhaojia was rooted in stable social relationships and protected by multiple organizations from villages to the Imperial state. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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“The Moral Topography of the Self”：An Ontological Hermeneutical Theory with Psychological and Sociological Implications XU Bing Chinese Journal of Sociology    2012, 32 (2): 1-32.   Abstract （3980）      PDF（pc） （1554KB）（574）       Knowledge map    Save  The introduction and application of hermeneutics by contemporary Chinese scholars mainly focus on the fields of philosophy, theology, law, and literary theory, while the psychological and sociological implications of this approach are often neglected. “The moral topography of the self” by CharlesTaylor, a representative of the hermeneutical approach in contemporary social theories, will correct the bias. The “topography” leads to the main parts of Taylor’s great book Sources of the Self, and occupies a basic position in his hermeneutical thoughts. Earlier than Sources of the Self, this theory was first published in a collection about the relationships between hermeneutics and psychological theories. Its sociological implications were demonstrated in Taylor’s famous political theoretical paper The Politics of Recognition, which took it as its theoretical basis. In this writing, Taylorabsorbed and revised the classical psychological and sociological thoughts of Freud, Weber, and Durkheim, turning the “topography” into an ontological hermeneutical theory with the power of interpreting complicated historical experiences in a clear way. This theory has extraordinary significance to the “cultural selfawareness” of Chinese Sociology and Psychology, because it can strongly stimulate the interest of “cultural selfawareness” in empirical studies, that is, to highlight the cultural subjectivity and communicate peacefully between cultures. Both psychology and sociology embedded in culture have integrative perspectives which make these two sciences being recognized as the fundamental disciplines of humanity and social sciences. And between the two, sociology is more outstanding in its integrative power. Taylor’s discussion of “the moral topography of the self” originates from psychological issues but concludes with strong sociological implications. This way of thinking and its framework are helpful to psychology and sociology, the latter, in particular. The theory will have its unique effects in the new wave of interdisciplinary cultural studies in China. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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Generative Schema and Reflexivity：On Pierre Bourdieu’s Sociology of Knowledge Zhao Wanli | Zhao Chao Chinese Journal of Sociology    2012, 32 (2): 33-50.   Abstract （4751）      PDF（pc） （1529KB）（628）       Knowledge map    Save Bourdieu’s sociology of knowledge makes an integral part of his sociological theory and is a critical clue for understanding his entire sociological research. This article takes his sociology of knowledge as a unique approach to systematically review Bourdieu’s theory in the areas of knowledge expression, the functional relationship between knowledge and society, practical knowledge, literature and art, and scientific knowledge. First of all, Bourdieu’s theory of knowledge was embedded in the French sociological tradition which emphasized understanding human cognation and its hidden unconscious level, and was characteristic of exploring its link to structural factors. Having incorporated phenomenological epistemology, Bourdieu reinterpreted the relationship between knowledge and society, which modified and revolutionized the French tradition of the sociology of knowledge. By describing human being’s thinking principle as “generative schema” or “doxa,” the dualism between cognition and society was replaced with the duality expression. Therefore, the logic dilemma that once puzzled Bourdieu’s French predecessors of sociology of knowledge was partly resolved. Secondly, through the description of the difference logic that the “practical knowledge” and the “scientific (including sociological) knowledge” had followed, Bourdieu discussed the specific social condition upon which objective knowledge making had to rely, making the sociology of knowledge an essential way to address epistemological problems. Thus, investigation of knowledge in all forms became possible, the unique position of scientific knowledge was maintained, and sociology of knowledge was prevented from sliding into the trap of relativism. Finally, Bourdieu’s sociology of knowledge was encapsulated in his theory of practice and his studies of culture. He transferred the theoretical issues of the sociology of knowledge into the empirical ones of the sociology of culture. Thus Bourdieu committed to correcting the dualism between theory and empirical research in the sociology of knowledge field, and pushed forward the empirical process of the discipline. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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Proletarianization：Theoretical Explanation, Historical Experiences，and Its Enlightenments Liu Jianzhou Chinese Journal of Sociology    2012, 32 (2): 51-83.   Abstract （4820）      PDF（pc） （1466KB）（1149）       Knowledge map    Save It is widely agreed that proletarianization is a process during which laborers lose their control of means of production and have to sell their labor for survival. Proletarianization has influenced both individuals and society extensively and profoundly. It gives scholars a new perspective to examine societal changes as it is a pivotal process of the development of capitalism, a main theme of modernity, and the core of industrialization and modernization. Although massive proletarianization has become a history in developed countries, it is still underway in developing countries. Therefore, it is necessary to use this macroperspective of proletarianization to theoretically discuss the following issues: (1) examining and learning from the historical trajectories of proletarianization in the developed countries; (2) comparing the proletarianization in Newly Industrialized Countries (NICs) with the proletarianization that took place in developed countries (especially those in Europe) in earlier eras to see their similarities and differences; and (3) interpreting and explaining the proletarianization in socialist countries (especially China) with this theoretical perspective and its related concepts. To deal with the aforementioned issues, the first step is to review and evaluate the classic works and studies on proletarianization. To serve this purpose, this paper analyzes the predicaments in the studies of proletarianization, introduces CharlesTilly’s definition of proletarianization and his analyticalframeworks, and then briefly reviews different patterns of proletarianization in Europe as well as in NICs, highlighting the profound significance of these historical experiences to the analysis of proletarianization in socialist countries. Finally, in order to address the important theoretical and realistic topic of “whether proletarianization exists in socialist countries,” the paperintroduces the research of IvanSzelenyi et al. and discusses the insights from their findings to the analysis of the class formation of migrant workers in China and theirproletarianization. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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Routes for Civic Engagement in Market Society: RelationlismEspoused Trust or Generalized Trust Chen Fuping Chinese Journal of Sociology    2012, 32 (2): 84-104.   Abstract （3112）      PDF       Knowledge map    Save In most studies, market economy and civic engagement are often considered helpful to the building of generalized trust, while “Guanxi” hinders trust formation. In contemporary China, when the development of the market economy is promoting the utilization of “Guanxi” and social participation is still expanding along relational routes, can such social participation produce generalized trust? With the CGSS2005 data, I used the structural equation modeling and multilevel linear modeling to analyze how multilevel interactions of market economy, civic engagement, and relationismespoused trust impacted generalized trust. The core variables were operationalized as follows: Market economy was measured by the provincial marketization index and civic engagement was measured by the residents’ participation frequencies in sports and exercising, cultural entertainment, social outings and education, and charity events. Relationismespoused trust included three types: kinshipbased trust, proximitybased trust (e.g., trust for neighborhood), and peoplebased trust (e.g., trust for fellow students, colleagues, and friends). The analysis yielded the following results: (1) relationismespoused trust, with kinshipbased trust as its core, had negative effects on generalized trust; (2) when members of an organization based their trust onrelationism, civic engagement had negative effects on generalized trust; and (3) the development of market economy improved generalized trust, but at the same time promoted utilization of “Guanxi,” thus resulting in bidirectional, opposing effects of market economy on generalized trust in contemporary China. Therefore, economy development must facilitate civic engagement, and civic engagement must not only focus on increasing organizational connections but also pay attention to institutional support for the interactions among nonGuanxirelated members. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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A Study on the Intergroup Contact Hypothesis:Interaction Between the New Immigrants and the Local Citizens in Shanghai Lei Kaichun Chinese Journal of Sociology    2012, 32 (2): 105-124.   Abstract （2461）      PDF（pc） （1280KB）（561）       Knowledge map    Save  The Contact Hypothesis contends that “equal status,” “common goals,” “intergroup cooperation,” “supportive norms,” “interpersonal contact,” and “genuine friendship” are six optimal conditions for intergroup relational improvement. According to the depth of contact, this paper reduces the six contact elements to three, namely, “equal status,” “rational contact,” and “actuarial contact.” Based on the 2007 survey data from Shanghai, this study took social distance as the index of group relationships and analyzed the contact patterns between the new immigrants and the local residents in Shanghai to test the effects of the three contact elements. The results indicated that, in regards to the group relationship between the new urban immigrants and the local citizens, and with respect to equal status, institutional identity was more important than occupational identity; job competition was more prominent than job cooperation; and practical contact was more effective than emotional contact. These findings have shown us: (1) Not all contact strategies can improve intergroup relationships; further empirical research to test the contact hypothesis will improve the validity and pertinence of the social inclusion policies; 2) from the perspective of pluralistic social integration, promoting mutual adaptation of the immigrants and the native citizens can effectively lead to a harmonious society; 3) migration with social rationality may gradually replace migration with economic rationality; and 4) the local immigration government should facilitate supportive communication between the newcomers, especially those at the bottom layer, and the local citizens. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0） Cited: Baidu(1)

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Socioeconomic Status, Lifestyle and Health Inequality Wang Funqin Chinese Journal of Sociology    2012, 32 (2): 125-143.   Abstract （4237）      PDF（pc） （1440KB）（1200）       Knowledge map    Save Many studies on health inequality in main European countries and America have found that socioeconomic status (SES) has powerful and sustainable positive relationships with health. Social causation theory has thus been forwarded, stating that SES is the most important determining factor of one’s health, namely, those who have higher SES also have better health. However, its mechanism has not been theoretically explained or tested. On the other hand, socialepidemiology has focused on how healthrelated lifestyle and behavioral factors affect health, but it has neglected the fact that lifestyle isshaped by social structural factors. According to Cockerham’s lifestyle model, the present research treated lifestyle as the mediating mechanism between SES and health in the analysis of the emergence of the health inequality among Chinese citizens. Three hypotheses were developed: first, there existed health inequality among people with different socioeconomic statuses in China; second, healthrelated lifestyle would have a significant effect on health; and third, SES influenced health via lifestyle. All three hypotheses were supported by the data from China General Social Survey (2005). As those developed countries in Europe and America, China apparently had significant health inequality among people: the higher the SES, the better the health status (measured by selfreported method). SES influenced health via healthrelated lifestyle by the healthylifestyledemand mechanism. The groups in higher social statues demanded much more for healthy lifestyle and they were able to afford the expenses to maintain such lifestyle, which in turn directly promoted their health. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0） Cited: Baidu(33)

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The Logic in the Practice of “New Land Property Rights”: Theoretical Interpretation of the Land Disputes in STown, Hubei Province Guo Liang Chinese Journal of Sociology    2012, 32 (2): 144-170.   Abstract （2422）      PDF（pc） （1374KB）（491）       Knowledge map    Save In rural China, land property ownership is composed of two parts. One part is the ownership by the collective, and the other part is the land rental contract right by the farmers. Since 2000, changes and adjustments of the state’s laws and policies have expanded the farmers’ actual control over and utilization of land. In this context, land disputes over the land rental contract right have emerged in large quantities in rural villages. As the reality of STown in Hubei Province has shown, land possession patterns have experienced many changes in more than 50 years since the land reform, which means that the same piece of land usually has belonged to different owners in different historical periods. When the land rental contract right is yet to be determined once again and it is expected to be in effect for a long time, in their fight for their own benefits, farmers have activated their memories of land ownership and the traditional way of recognizing land’s ownership, which have become important rationales to obtain their land rental contracts. The traditional land system in the past 50 years has shaped the Chinese farmers’ cognitive structure to understand land property rights. Traditionally, it has been the state and the village communities to determine the rights to the land. Farmers’ understanding of land property rights is not based on contracts in the sense of modern market, but on the political and socioethical basis. Their arguments stem out of the right to inheritance, the right to survival, and the equality principle in land distribution. Although these reasons to defend one’s rights are no longer valid in the new land laws or policies, they were effective for a long time in the previous laws and policies. Furthermore, due to the extension of politics, they still represent their legitimacy in the socialist ideology. Thus, the conflicts between the traditional understanding of land distribution and the new land laws are an important trigger at the institutional level of the land disputes over land rental contracts. To a large extent, grassrootslevel governments are ineffective at resolving such conflicts as the conflicts are rooted in the inherent tension of farmers’ insisted reasoning based on the residuals of the past land system and the current land system. This indicates that, within the current political system, any reform of land property rights must consider the continuity between the ownership reform and the social system. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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The Construction and Logic of Justice in the Mediation of Rural Disputes Wang Hansheng | Wang Di Chinese Journal of Sociology    2012, 32 (2): 171-198.   Abstract （2589）      PDF（pc） （1300KB）（589）       Knowledge map    Save  In rural China, mediation plays an essential role in resolving disputes among villagers. Based on the materials from our fieldwork, this paper looks into the practice of mediation in current rural villages, discusses how agreement and justice are realized in different types of disputes and in different situations, and tries to discover the principle of justice underlying these practices. The authors have found that, rural China is a society of acquaintances. In such a society, keeping the continuity of interpersonal relationships to achieve harmony is the legitimate basis for mediation. The mediator’s role status, moral background, and authority are the sources of legality for the mediator, and also serve as the presupposition of justice realization. During the process of mediation, mediators may use various techniques and strategies. An important one is called “Shang Men TiaoJie”(mediation on the spot), which could guarantee a mandatory intervention to a dispute, put the involved parties back into their original social relation, and also, create an informal atmosphere by transforming the situation and reconstructing the relationship, thus achieving a good chance to resolve the dispute. Another important mediation strategy is “Yi ShuoZhi He”( agreement via talking). As for the “talking,” the integration of “emotion, reason and law” is the key and the principle of “Ruan Ying Jian Shi”(both the carrot and the stick) should be employed. In additionto the community common sense and regulations, laws, regulations, and policies are being used more frequently as means to resolve disputes, and under certain circumstances when commonsense reasoning fails, they become the indispensable power of authoritarian control. “QuanHengLiHai”(weighing pros and cons) is a skill of “talking.” By explaining all possible consequences to the persons involved, the mediator may persuade all parties in the dispute to make compromises to reach an agreement. These analyses lead to the conclusion that, in addition to employing various mediating strategies and techniques, mediators must conform to the principle of justice in people’s mind. That is, reaching a mediation agreement is a process of achieving justice, which must be based on two principles: conforming to the “Chinese concept of justice” and conforming to the “conventional procedure accustomed by the Chinese.” In rural China, the concept of justice has the following characteristics: First, compared with the obtainment of individual rights through legal proceedings, maintaining social relationships is a higher order of justice; second, the principle of justice in Chinese rural communities is “situational,”which means that the justice principle and action logic vary according to the hierarchical order of the social statuses as well as the closeremote positions in the social connections; and finally, the Chinese principle of justice is highly integrative, namely, an agreement is often the outcome of coordinating various reasons on diverse dimensions. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0） Cited: Baidu(2)

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Mothering from Afar: Filipina Domestic Workers and Their ICTs Usage in Hong Kong Peng Yinni | Wong Odalia M.H. Chinese Journal of Sociology    2012, 32 (2): 199-222.   Abstract （2763）      PDF（pc） （1346KB）（489）       Knowledge map    Save This paper explores how transnational mothering is practiced through telecommunication among Filipina domestic workers in Hong Kong. It investigates the connection between information and communication technologies (ICTs) usage, especially mobile phone usage, and the practices of transnational mothering from two aspects: (1) how Filipina domestic workers in Hong Kong provide emotional support and care to their children through simultaneous telecommunication and (2) how these transnational mothers supervise and discipline their children via ICTs. By analyzing various maternal practices through telecommunication, we argue that the ICTs usage by transnational mothers strengthens their emotional bonds with their children and empowers them to discipline their children. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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Impact of Urban Grassroots’ Political Participation on Their Political Efficacy Liu Fang | Shi Wenjie Chinese Journal of Sociology    2012, 32 (2): 223-242.   Abstract （2808）      PDF（pc） （1300KB）（417）       Knowledge map    Save  Political efficacy works as an essential indicator of the political system’s democracy and health during the process of constructing democracy at the grassroots level. Research has shown that certain forms of political participation exert positive or negative impact on an individual’s political efficacy; nevertheless, few studies have paid attention to China’s urban grassroots. Through literature review, the authors dichotomized political efficacy into internal and external parts, and political participation into educated and mobilized patterns. This paper quantitatively analyzed data from communities in Shanghai by multivariable linear regression and found that political efficacy was affected by different forms of grassroots’ participation. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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Towards an OpenSource Social Science: The Replication Study in Quantitative Social Analysis CHEN Yun-Song, TUN Xiao-Gang Chinese Journal of Sociology    2012, 32 (3): 1-23.   Abstract （4400）      PDF（pc） （1449KB）（694）       Knowledge map    Save The development of quantitative analysis in social science calls for the establishment of an open and transparent mechanism to allow research data and models to be shared to the community, and the research findings to be verify and elaborated by others. The core in this practice is replication studies in social sciences. In this essay, we review the discussion and practices of replication studies in western social sciences and highlight its significance in promoting quantitative social science research in China.  Why is the replication study necessary? First, the collectivity of social science research suggests the research process should be transparent; Second, the principle of parsimony in quantitative social analysis requires the verification of research process; Third, the issue of endogeneity calls for extension of the past quantitative social analysis; Four, as a matter of fact, the rate of successful verification in published social science literature is low. Fifth, replication study is important to the teaching and training of quantitative social science; and finally, replication study can facilitate the professionalization of quantitative sociology and make us of latedevelopment advantages. Why is replication study feasible? First, the nature of quantitative data suggests that the results be verifiable; second, the development of techniques in quantitative social research makes it possible to extend the replications; third, internet provides an easy platform for sharing data and working programs; third, the practice of replication studies in other disciplines such as economics in other countries has provided valuable experience; and finally, replicable studies can increase the academic reputation of the author and the journal. Notwithstanding what are said above, there are many concerns that need to be addressed in promoting replication study. The first is the ownership of the data analyzed. The author may not have rights to share the data with other colleagues. The second issue is that it may bring extra burden to the authors, reviewers, and replicators. There might also be issues related to the sharing of the programs, the choice between the sharing of original data and working data, and results from replication studies may lead to pressures on the authors and personal attacks. We use two empirical examples as the template how to conduct the replication and the extension. The first example by Chen, Volker and Flap (2011), using more sophisticated modeling to replicate a study by two Dutch sociologists on how the use of social capital affects the attainment of the first job in East Germany. The second example is a rejoinder to the replication results on how selectivity of entry into the private sector affects earnings inequality in urban China. Both examples show how the replication and extensions help to advance the knowledge in the field. The paper concludes with the consensus and practical protocol that should be established in the academia of sociology. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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A Social Network Model of the JobSearch Process: Testing a Relational Effect Hypothesis BIAN Yan-Jie, ZHANG Wen-Hong, CHENG Cheng Chinese Journal of Sociology    2012, 32 (3): 24-37.   Abstract （3343）      PDF（pc） （1300KB）（810）       Knowledge map    Save In analyzing the 2009 JobNet Survey conducted in eight largest Chinese cities, we distinguished the measures of tie strength from relational resources to study their effects on the wages upon hiring. We found that tie strength and relational resources were statistically correlated but could not substitute for each other. Strong ties were likely to bring in influential connections and weak ties were likely to generate informational resources. With no impact on the wages upon hiring around the onset of the economic reform, informational resources started to show a positive effect when the reform was furthered, especially when China became a member of the World Trade Organization. The impact of influential connections, on the other hand, was pretty significant around the onset of market reforms but was suppressed to some extent after China entered the WTO. In conclusion, three macro factors of market competition, institutional uncertainty, and denseness of social relationships might be the causes for this change pattern, which should be the focus for scholarly research and policy adjustments. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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A MicroAnalysis of the JobSearch Process: A Structural Property Model ZHANG Shun, GUO Xiao-Xian Chinese Journal of Sociology    2012, 32 (3): 38-54.   Abstract （2486）      PDF（pc） （1261KB）（458）       Knowledge map    Save Jobsearch process and status attainment are crucial aspects of labor market research and have long attracted scholarly attention from both economists and sociologists. Since 1960s, research in both economics and sociology has addressed these issues from different perspectives, of which the human capital theory, statusattainment model, and labor market segmentation theory are important parts. This paper puts these theoretical perspectives in the jobsearch process against the background of China’s social transformation. Based on the classic theories, the study is about the differences in the influencing forces for attaining individual economic and social statuses. This paper has three main objectives: 1) to differentially treat attaining social status and economic status due to their different mechanisms; 2) to apply the classic theories to the microprocess of job search in transitional China and explain the variability in status attainment outcomes with the structural property indices at the point of hiring so that the empirical results are more convincing; and 3) to construct a status attainment model for the jobsearching process in an institutionally segmented labor market in the context of transitional Chinese society. The main findings show that once structural property variables are held constant, the educational rate of return is significantly smaller, indicating the importance of structural factors in status attainment. Ascribed factors have significantly different effects on both economic and social statuses in contrast to achieved factors. In an institutionally segmented labor market, ascribed and achieved factors differ significantly in their impact on jobsearch outcomes. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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A MacroMicro Interactive Analysis of the JobSearch Process: A Multilevel Model LIANG Yu-Cheng Chinese Journal of Sociology    2012, 32 (3): 55-77.   Abstract （3048）      PDF（pc） （1763KB）（597）       Knowledge map    Save Based on the New Institutionalism Theory’s perspective that connects macro and micro levels, this paper presents an analysis of how social capital affects the jobsearch process in Chinese large cities where marketization is under full play. There have been few empirical studies with a macromicro framework, and social capital as a multilevel theoretical concept across both macro and micro levels has not been a focus in research. In this paper, through Manski’s interactive model (1993), the collective effectiveness of social capital at the macro level and individuals’ social capital at the micro level are linked to examine how the former influences the utilization of the latter.Based on the cohesive relationship between the personal use and macrolevel collective use of social capital, and the correlated effects of the ingroup similar individuals’ behaviors in the same institutional environment, this paper has made two propositions about the interaction between capital’s collective effects and the endogenous preference of capital’s correlated effects. Thus, an individual’s social capital effects in one’s job seeking are analyzed within the framework of the macrolevel social environment with an attempt to explain that, during the social transformation of China, individuals’ social capital and the decisionmaking of how to use it reflect their endogenous preference of the market system in its evolution, which in turn promotes the development of the market system itself. The empirical analysis has confirmed the commonality and cohesiveness of the functional mechanism of the social capital in job seeking on both the individual and macro levels. The labor market’s positive attitude towards social capital may have increased the probability of using social capital at the individual level and the effective endogenous preference of it. During the establishment of the market system, its development tends to reinforce the preference of the actors in the market. Developments of the three important properties of the market system, namely, the degree of marketization, market uncertainty, and market regularity, all have positive effects on individuals’ incomes, providing evidence of the cohesive relationship in the evolution of the macro system leading to the individuals’ system preference. Bian Yanjie’ hypothesis of an inverted Ucurve about the dynamics of social networking space has been confirmed, as well. Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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An Analysis of SelfEmployers’ Social Networks WANG Wen-Ban, DIAO Yan-Dong Chinese Journal of Sociology    2012, 32 (3): 78-97.   Abstract （2523）      PDF（pc） （1347KB）（670）       Knowledge map    Save Based on the 2009 JobNet Survey conducted in eight cities, an analysis of selfemployers’ social networks and their effects was performed, with an focus on the composition of the selfemployer group, the roles of social networks in the process of raising investment funds and seizing business opportunities, and the impact of businessconnection networks on business performance. Results showed that selfemployers were playing an important role in China’s marketization. To be more specific, first, the selfemployers’ social networks, as compared with those of the employed, had unique features: The average age and educational level of the employers significantly differed from those of the employed; the network size and job variety of the selfemployers were better than those of the employed although the differences at the network top layer and network diversity displayed complexity, with the former being more dependent on restaurantrelated networks. Second, the selfemployers’ social networks functioned differently in obtaining starting funds and business opportunity: more crucial in obtaining business opportunities so as to increase profit returns than securing funds. Third, unique businessconnection networks were formed in the process of selfemployment and these networks had positive effects on the selfemployers’ business performance outcomes. If business performance was measured by selfemployers’ highest assets, it was found to be positively affected by network size, network composition, network diversity, and network resources. To the selfemployers, strong ties led to business funds, but weak ties and mixture of strong and weak ties were the key to business opportunities and better business performance. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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Disembedded Employment Relationship and Turnover Intention of PeasantWorkers：Based on a Survey of PeasantWorkers in the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta SUN Zhong-Wei, YANG Xiao-Feng Chinese Journal of Sociology    2012, 32 (3): 98-128.   Abstract （3467）      PDF（pc） （1631KB）（560）       Knowledge map    Save Since 2004, labor shortage has become prominent and it is the reality that China’s economy must face. Under this condition, it is of great significance to discuss the turnover intention of peasantworkers, an area that has been virtually not studied yet. This study was based on the survey of more than 2,000 peasantworkers in the Pearl River Delta and Yangtze River Delta in 2010, conducted jointly by the Department of Sociology and Social Work of Sun YatSen University and the Department of Sociology of Shanghai University. The focus of the study was to discuss the turnover intention of peasantworkers according to the perspectives from the theory of job embeddedness. Our analysis revealed that 65.4 percent of the peasantworkers intended to leave in the next five years, with the second generation of peasantworkers having a higher intention to leave, those in the Pearl River Delta wanting more to leave than those in the Yangtze River Delta, but married couples, especially when both in the same city, having lower intention to leave. What had led to the peasantworkers’ desire to leave？The logit regression model found that job embeddedness had a significant effect on peasantworkers’ intention to leave. To be specific, the higher the connection between the job and nonjob areas, fitness, and investments, the lower turnover intention of the peasantworkers. Putting the job embeddedness theory and the reality of the Chinese peasantworkers’ employment relationship together, this paper concludes that the current peasantworkers’ employment relationship is of disembedded nature. The paper further tries to describe the definition, dimensions, and consequences of disembedded employment relationship, which is seen in the three aspects of work, communities, and institutions. Specifically, this means that the subjects, forms, and contents of employment relationship are no longer constrained by the interpersonal relationships, organizational structures, or institutional arrangements inside the workplace; nor by the social connections across communities and cities, cultures, social structures, or public services outside the workplace. These are the main reasons for the high turnover intention and turnover rates of peasantworkers. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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Media Mobilization, DemolitionResistant Families, and Contentious Politics：Reanalysis of the Event of Yihuang LV De-Wen Chinese Journal of Sociology    2012, 32 (3): 129-170.   Abstract （3260）      PDF（pc） （1772KB）（589）       Knowledge map    Save The contention event of Yihuang in September，2010 is of great significance because it has changed the contention routine in contemporary China by adopting a new type of contentious politics. Before it became the media focus, Yihuang event was just another ordinary occurrence of residents resisting demolition of their houses, a part of the subaltern politics. The main contention strategies taken by the families under the order to move typically including negotiation with the local government in charge of demolition, intercepting visits to appeal, and seeking media attention. These are “weapons of the weak”, parochial, localspecific, and bifurcated; therefore, of low salience and poor coordination, usually unsuccessful to achieve contention objectives. This time, the Zhong family adopted an extreme contention means of selfimmolation. Since the occurrence of this event, the largescale involvement of the media has presented the inherent tension of policies to the public, and the demolitionresistant families (who do not want to move) have taken the political opportunity to innovate contentious performances, pushing it toward its extremity and turning the event of Yihuang into a part of a professional social movement to bring about institutional changes and protect the vulnerable groups’ interests. Thus, the event of Yihuang becomes cosmopolitan, modular, and autonomous. After the local government fully met the demands of the demolitionresistant families, the event of Yihuang demobilized essentially due to the competition between the contentious families and the media rather than inappropriate institutionalization. Obviously, the media were not successful in achieving their contention objects related to institutional changes because of the existence of the institutional fundamentals that led to the event of Yihuang. The demolition system and the petition system are typical low functional systems, incapable of regulating the opportunistic behaviors of the local governments or controlling the demolitionresistant families’ opportunistic violence aiming for benefits. After the conclusion of the Yihuang event, the same political structure of opportunities still exist. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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The Danger of “Despotism”: The Rural Order Reflected in Violent CrimesOn “State Laws vs. Folk Laws” CHU Hui-Juan Chinese Journal of Sociology    2012, 32 (3): 171-197.   Abstract （2712）      PDF（pc） （1398KB）（660）       Knowledge map    Save The investigation of the violent crimes that had turned civil cases to criminal cases in four prisons in Northeast China has discovered a special kind of disputes in Rural China. Its extensive occurrence signifies failure of the orderrestorative power of folk forces in specific contexts. This kind of disputes has not yet been dealt with or taken in by the state legal system. This paper analyzes seven cases in depth to reveal the realistic picture of the rural order behind disputes of this kind. Contrary to the assumptions of the traditional folk legal theories, the “external nature” in the state legal order provides a feasible channel for the increasing number of “strangers” to obtain protection. However, execution of the state laws depends upon the political operations at the local level, whose coordinating role relies upon the cooperation of the folk order. Failure of the folk order in mediating disputes forces state laws to intervene directly to the individuals’ actual needs but the ineffectiveness in the intervention in turn heightens the disappointment of the individuals in the state laws. Meanwhile, the close ties between the state legal system and the local political operations are likely to lead to suspicion of the independence of the state laws. In such a context, “despotism” may turn up to endanger the rural society. The powerful persons may use the state’s power that can penetrate and control society to undermine the power of the traditional order in a topdown fashion but at the same time they may undermine the legitimacy of the state’s legal order in a bottomup fashion via the same origin shared by the state laws and the state power. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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From the Controversy of Structure to the Action Analysis: A Literature Review on the Chinese NGOs Study in Abroad ZHANG Jin-Gen Chinese Journal of Sociology    2012, 32 (3): 198-123.   Abstract （2879）      PDF（pc） （1332KB）（713）       Knowledge map    Save The discussion on Chinese NGOs is a popular issue among oversea China experts. Considering the complexity and multidimension of Chinese NGOs, Oversea scholars in contemporary China study have different understandings and arguments for the development and the effects of Chinese NGOs, Which trigger a series of academic debates. This paper employs literature analysis method and categorizes their arguments into two dimensions: Structure study on the basis of civil society and corporatism theory, action analysis on the basis of NGO’s behaviors. Existing literatures are also sorted within their dimension to display its whole picture in this research field. Based on the dual separation of“statesociety”, it is the research purport of “structure study” of pondering the question at the state politics and power configuration level，which focus on the distribution of right between state and socieity. The research intent of“action study” is to discern and seize the interwoven mechanism, strategy and way between state and society from the medium even microscopic perspective, which emphasize focusing on the behaviors of NGO.Despite there are much differences between the two kinds of study dimensions, There is also much complementary between structure study and action study. Finally, this paper also lays out the author’s arguments for this research topic in terms of abovementioned literature review. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0） Cited: Baidu(11)

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Materiality and Materialization: The Theory of Body in Bodies that Matter FAN Xuan Chinese Journal of Sociology    2012, 32 (3): 224-242.   Abstract （2308）      PDF（pc） （1331KB）（513）       Knowledge map    Save Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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From the “Mass Society” to “The Sociological Imagination”: Understanding an Intrinsic Clue to C. Wright Mills’s Sociological Writings WEN Xiang, Institute of Sociology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Chinese Journal of Sociology    2012, 32 (4): 1-23.   Abstract （3716）      PDF（pc） （1595KB）（803）       Knowledge map    Save Abstract： This paper tries to explain an intrinsic clue in Mills’s empirical study of American society and the epistemological proposal of social sciences. In his stratification trilogy, which consists of New Men of Power: America’s Labor Leaders (1948), White Collar: The American Middle Class (1951), and Men of Power (1956), Mills depicted a grey picture of the mass society, where the power was concentrated in the hands of small groups of elites while the labor and white collar were powerless and indifferent. The Sociological Imagination, which was published after the trilogy, inherited the substantive analysis of the mass society in the trilogy and further raised the problem of human nature in the mass society, namely, the problem of socalled “happy robot.” On the other hand, it discussed what stance, position, and intervention intellectuals and social researchers should take when facing such a mass society in formation. In particular, Mills proposed how to use the sociological imagination to pursue the ideal of a democratic society. Thus, the trace from the “mass society” to “the sociological imagination” constitutes an intrinsic clue to an understanding of Mills. On this basis, the paper further discusses the two main issues in Mills’ sociological writings, namely, to explore the possibility of social change, and to care about the human meaning in modern society. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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Imperial Family and Royal Relatives: Family Ethics in the Western Han Politics HANG Suhong Chinese Journal of Sociology    2012, 32 (4): 24-49.   Abstract （2829）      PDF（pc） （1586KB）（757）       Knowledge map    Save Abstract： With the decline of the feudal patriarchal system in the preQin Dynasty, Qin and Han Empires established the emperor system. This was accompanied with the great development of royal relatives in the Western Han Dynasty. From this phenomenon, this article attempts to get a new way to understand “the relations of home and country” in traditional Chinese politics. Based on the statistical analyses of the number of royal relatives who were awarded with official positions and the awarding channels in the “Tables of Enze Hou” and “Tables of One Hundred of Officials,” and the relevant historical documents, the author has concluded that royal relatives in the Western Han Dynasty obtained extensive upper positions in the social hierarchy by the method of “Being Marquis as Relatives”(以亲受爵). They were the major constituent in the sectors of “three councillors and nine ministers” (三公九卿) and “generals/commandersinchief” (大司马将军), having affected the entire political development of the Western Han Dynasty. This phenomenon was related to the weak “situation” as a result of subinfeudating vassals with the same surname. The second reason was rooted in the family ethics that had “kinship” and “righteousness” as its foundation , which was the pillar for the marriagebased familial connected support, and, laid down the groundwork for the formation of the Western Han imperial family and its relatives. In this sense, we can glimpse into the isomorphism of “home” and “state” in the Western Han politics. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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Social Structures and Confucian Ideals: A Rupture in T’ungtsu Ch’u’s Studies of Law and Society DU Yue Chinese Journal of Sociology    2012, 32 (4): 50-67.   Abstract （2959）      PDF（pc） （1404KB）（719）       Knowledge map    Save Abstract： There exists a big gap between the early and late books by T’ungtsu Ch’u. In his earliest books “Feudal Society in China” and “Law and Society in Traditional China,” social structures and Confucian ideals matched perfectly with each other in the frame of traditional laws. Yet this harmony was upset in his latest book “Local Government in China under the Ch’ing.” This article dives into T’ungtsu Ch’u’s western influences represented by Henry Maine. Ch’u’ studies of laws were found to be characterized of “denatural law,” meaning that Ch’u completely neglected the morality in the law and took Covariation as the focal point for historical examination. In his book “Han Social Structure,” Ch’u combined this mechanism analysis with Confucian ideals of “zunzun” (respect) and “qinqin” (kinship) to explain the maintenance and changes of social structures, but only to find great structural instability caused by the mechanism. It is very possible that this was the very reason for Ch’u to dismiss Confucius ideals and turn to the importance of social conditions themselves being placed above all in his later book of “Local Government in China under the Ch’ing.” Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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VillageBased Networks and Wages of RuraltoUrban Migrants: Estimating the Causal Effects of Networks Using Combined Identification Strategies CHEN Yunsong Chinese Journal of Sociology    2012, 32 (4): 68-92.   Abstract （3271）      PDF（pc） （1471KB）（681）       Knowledge map    Save Ruraltourban migration in China since the 1970s represents the largest labour flow ever observed in the world. Despite the proliferation of research seeking to understand its mechanisms and magnitude, little is done to identify the direct causal effects of migrant networks on labour market outcomes at the destination. In addition, some previous studies show that family and social networks do not influence the wages of the ruralto urban migrants. However, this finding may be problematic because the concept of networks has not been correctly defined. Ruraltourban migrants return home frequently within a year. As a result, villages of origin serve as an important intermediary where the migrant workers exchange information. This homecomingandgo pattern implies the pivotal role of the villagelevel outflow of migrants in determining their job wages at the destination. Using data from 22 provinces in China, this paper analyses the effect of villagebased migrant networks on the wages of migrant labourers, with particular attention to the potential endogeneity problem. Heckman’s twostage method is used to correct for the sampling problem. Natural disaster in the village of origin is used as an instrumental variable (IV) to deal with other endogeneity biases. The major innovation of this study is taking the total outflow of migrants at the origins as the focus and having Heckman’s twostage method and the IV approach combined. After controlling for the unobserved factors influencing the migration decision, the model is achieved through instrumenting the outflow size of migrant workers by the endogenous effect of natural disasters. The empirical results show that the size of the migrant network significantly improves the wages of the migrants. The mechanism is straightforward: Villagebased networks transmit jobrelated information in cities among migrants through which migrant workers can get more and better job opportunities. The IV estimate suggests that network effects obtained from conventional Heckit model are downwardly biased. This paper interprets it within the framework of heterogeneous network effects. That is, Heckit estimate applies to all villages/individuals while the IV estimate mainly applies to the subgroup of villages/individuals more affected by natural disasters. With the presence of heterogeneity effects, the IV estimate can be interpreted as a Local Average Treatment Effects (LATE) . One possible mechanism is that less able people (in terms of earning ability at the destination) are more responsive to natural disasters, since they have a relatively lower ability to compensate for losses due to natural disasters. That is, villagers of lower earning ability are more likely to be “pushed” out from the villages by natural hazards. If this is the case, the IV estimate can be interpreted as a weighted average network effect and the weight for the less able migrants is relatively higher. Since less able migrants benefit more from originbased networks, the IV estimate mainly captures the network effects among them and it would then be higher than the Heckit estimate. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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Distribution of Resources, Social Class, and Social Support: Comparisons of the Chinese Societies in East Asia FAN Xiaoguang Chinese Journal of Sociology    2012, 32 (4): 93-111.   Abstract （2375）      PDF（pc） （1602KB）（552）       Knowledge map    Save Abstract： In Chinese societies, kinship relations always play a very important role in social support due to the impact of Confucian culture. The establishment of the modern welfare system including social assistance and pensions has shifted the overreliance on personal networks for social support to using the formal multilevel support system. Current scholars have studied social support from the network structural perspective. This paper tries to apply the social status perspective to the study of social support. At present there are two theoretical perspectives, i.e., the theory of resource distribution and the theory of social status block, the former emphasizing how the distribution of economic resources and political power structure influence individuals’ network selection and utilization, and the latter emphasizing how social stratification controls people’s social contact and interaction to influence the accessible network resources. Facing the theoretical limitations, the author proposes a new analytical framework of “distribution of resourcestructure of class’(DRSC)” to examine the selection of social support by the urban citizens in the Chinese societies in East Asia based on the 2006 Asia Barometer Survey. The findings suggest that, in Mainland China, which had the “Supplementary Welfare” system, and in Hong Kong and Taiwan, which had the “Productivist Welfare Capitalism,” social status made significant differences in the selection of social support by the urban citizens. To be specific, when selecting the formal or mixed support, compared with Mainland China, educational status and selection of mixed social support networks produced higher positive coefficients among Hong Kong and Taiwan residents, whereas among Mainland Chinese, the higher positive coefficients were for the relationship between educational status and selection of formal social support. However, there was no difference in the impact of employment status on social support selection in the three regions. The new analytic framework received good empirical support. For social policies, justice in resource distribution is the key to resolving the class inequality in social support. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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Gender Gap in Educational Attainment in Urban and Rural China WU Yuxiao Chinese Journal of Sociology    2012, 32 (4): 112-137.   Abstract （4204）      PDF（pc） （2082KB）（933）       Knowledge map    Save Gender gap in educational attainment has always been one of the most concerned topics for research among sociologists, especially those scholars interested in social stratification and gender studies. With the data from the “2008 Chinese General Social Survey” (CGSS2008), this paper investigates the historical trends of gender inequality in educational attainment and, in particular, examines if the effects of major factors on educational attainment also reflect gender differences. The analyses come to four conclusions. First, among those who were born between 1960 and 1990, later birth cohorts had narrower gender gaps in schooling than earlier cohorts. Since cohort effects reflect to some degree historical changes, this finding suggests a trend of the gender gap in educational access among Chinese citizens getting smaller. Second, between 1978 and 2008, the gender gaps in the opportunities of entering junior high schools and senior high schools had been decreasing successively until 2000 when a reverse was observed, i.e., more female than male students. After 1978 there was no gender difference in the opportunities of going to college. This indicates that great gains for gender equality in educational attainment among Chinese citizens were made at the level of elementary and secondary education. Third, the width of the gender gap differed with different educational levels: The lower the educational level, the larger the gender gap in school continuation (given completion of previous school levels). Among the three educational levels examined in the current study, the opportunities of entering junior high schools were the most unequal between men and women, followed by the opportunities of entering senior high schools, and then for college. Fourth, the gender gap in educational attainment varied with different social groups. Specifically, (1) the gender gap in educational attainment was larger for rural people than for urban people; (2) the gender gap correlated negatively with people’s socioeconomic status (measured by father’s ISEI and parents’ years of schooling) – the lower the socioeconomic status, the larger the gender gap; and (3) with more siblings, the gender gap got larger. The author adopts the modernization theory to interpret the above empirical findings, arguing that the patriarchal culture and the traditional attitudes towards gender roles are the factors that lead to gender inequality in educational attainment. On the one hand, with rapid industrialization and globalization, the patriarchal culture’s overall impact on the Chinese society diminishes and the citizens’ gender role attitudes have changed from traditional to modern views. This generally explains the historical trend of gender inequality decreasing in educational attainment. On the other hand, the author acknowledges the differences in the views of patriarchy and traditional gender roles of people in different social groups. Those who live in the countryside, who have low socioeconomic status, whose parents have less education, and who have more siblings are more likely to be affected by the patriarchal culture and, as a result, tend to have traditional attitudes towards gender roles, and this explains why the gender gaps in educational attainment are larger among people with these characteristics. At the end of the paper, the author discusses various specific factors that commonly contribute to the trend of the gender gap in educational attainment in China becoming smaller as well as the policy implications based on the empirical findings of the current study. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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The SelfFulfilling Prophecy of Parents’ Expectations: Findings from Migrant Workers’ Children GAO Minghua Chinese Journal of Sociology    2012, 32 (4): 138-163.   Abstract （3914）      PDF（pc） （1603KB）（677）       Knowledge map    Save The selffulfilling prophecy is a powerful, pervasive phenomenon. This study examined whether migrant worker parents’ expectations about their children’s academic performance influenced the children’s future academic achievements. This study employed both quantitative and qualitative methods. Specifically, the former included a questionnaire survey, and the latter mainly was indepth interviewing. The study targets were migrant workers and their children. This paper first reviews the origin and evolution of the selffulfilling prophecy concept, and summarizes the existing research findings. Most studies have focused on the effects of teachers’ expectations on students’ academic achievements. The effects of parents’ expectations on their children’s performance are overlooked. Actually, because parents are playing important roles in the lives of their children, the effects of their expectations deserve attention. The quantitative analyses indicated that three out of the five coefficients about the relationships between parents’ expectations and children’s academic performance could be attributed to the selffulfilling effects of parents’ expectations, and the rest two to the accuracy of the expectations. Selffulfilling prophecies, by definition, start with inaccurate expectations. In this model, inaccuarcy is the component of parent perceptions that is not based on valid predictors of future achievement. Relations between parent perceptions and children’ future achievement are assessed in the context of this model, which controls for major predictors of future achievement. . The parents in the bottom social classes had low expectations of their children. This can be attributed to their family living conditions and educational backgrounds. Relative to middleclass families, families at the bottom had very limited resources. Therefore, the cost of making wrong decisions about children’s possible future would be high. If they had high expectations of their children and therefore invested all in their children education, they might lose all if their children failed to reach the expected level of academic performance. In addition, their living conditions were dominated by the lower social classes, which also limited their expectations. Therefore, these parents usually had inaccurate and lower expectations of their children. The quality of parentchild communication mediated the relationship between parental expectations and children’s academic performance. If the parents had more opportunities to contact and communicate with their children, they would be more likely to form accurate and positive expectations which would reduce the possibility of selffulfilling prophecies. However, migrant worker families lived in poverty. The economic pressure deprived them of time to care about their children. Their time spent for making living rid of the time for communicating with their children. The study also discovered inconsistency between the verbal reports and behaviors in parental expectations. When they were interviewed and answered the questionnaire, the parents said that they had very high expectations of their children, but they didn’t put their words into action. Finally, the paper briefly discusses the limitations of this study. Gender differences were not taken into account. Parental expectations may differ according to the sex of the child, which is one of the major causes of gender inequality. Existing researches discovered that migrant workers have lower expectations of their daughters than of their sons. Girls have internalized their parents’ expectations of them and given up trying to succeed in school. As a consequence, their performance has ultimately fulfilled their parents’ negative expectations. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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The Accountability System in the Grassroots Petition Governance: The Practical Logic and Realistic Dilemma：A Case Study of Town Qiao, MidHubei Province TIAN Xianhong Chinese Journal of Sociology    2012, 32 (4): 164-193.   Abstract （2746）      PDF（pc） （1478KB）（788）       Knowledge map    Save Taking Town Qiao as an example, this paper employs the analytic triarchical relational framework of the state, local government, and peasants to explain the practical logic and realistic dilemma of the accountability system in the petition governance at the rural grassroots. My study has discovered that, although the accountability system may strengthen the responsibility awareness of the cadres and solve the problem in the petition governance to some extent, three contradictions between the monitoring environment and the spatial separation, the monitoring techniques and the social basis, the monitoring intensity and the ethical pressure have pushed this system into a dilemma, which have produced more and more goaldisplacement behaviors that deviate from the original intention of this system. The implementation of the accountability system reflects the state power penetrating rural society. The inefficiency of the accountability system indicates the dilemma of the state power when it enters rural society. The state power tries to achieve the goal of strengthening the oneonone monitoring of the petitioners via the accountability system. It is very difficult for the state to control the scattered petitioners in a rural society on the move; on the other hand, the petitioners can effectively evade the discipline of the state and occupy the driving position when they are dealing with the rural grassroots agents. On this basis, this article explains three paradoxes in the operation of the Chinese bureaucracy  rational bureaucracy and irrational operation, specialization and synthesis, routine operation and unconventional tasks. The article also gives a theoretical explanation for them. This study emphasizes that the longstanding and widespread paradox of namereality separation in the Chinese grassroots power operation is not only the result of the game of all actors in the bureaucracy or a problem of organizational excitation, but also is birthed by bureaucracy combined with rural society. Thus, we should not only limit to the institutional construction level but we also must consider whether the social basis and institutional environment exist to support a modern government at the grassroots. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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Rising of Diaspora Research and Its Trends ZHU Jingcai Chinese Journal of Sociology    2012, 32 (4): 194-213.   Abstract （2298）      PDF（pc） （1400KB）（629）       Knowledge map    Save  With fast globalization and largescaled transnational population migration, different ethnic groups and cultures exchange, collide, and even conflict with one another, which has shown unprecedented trends in breadth and depth. Diaspora research has thus risen and proliferated. It has stepped into various areas of culturology, anthropology, ethnology, economics, politics, and literature, and all fields are interrelated; nevertheless, diaspora research has the characteristics of the sociology discipline and all branches are related to sociology as ethnic groups, immigration, emigration, refugees, ethnicity, and transnationalism are all major concepts of concern in sociology. Multicultural theories have greatly stimulated the development of diaspora studies and they have become the important theoretical basis for diaspora research. Being the major targets in diaspora studies, diaspora groups are classified into the classic group and the modern group. Distinguishing the two helps depicting the historical frame of diaspora issues and their developmental trends. Immi/Emigrants have a special position among the diaspora groups, with ethnicity being the core of diaspora studies. Transnationalism has become the realistic expression of diaspora as transnational mobility is now the reality that has attracted keen attention in current diaspora studies. Classic diaspora concepts have been changing along with rapid societal changes and diaspora studies are closely related to these changes. Concepts change in meaning, similarities and differences, and interconnections and transformations. Such conceptual changes directly reflect the change trends in reality. The current paper distinguishes the differences in diaspora conceptual changes; discusses the origin, developmental history, and characteristics of diaspora studies; and tries to speculate the future developmental trends in diaspora research.   Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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What Really Matters? Return of the Living World：Review of Kleinman’s What Really Matters? Living a Moral Life Amidst Uncertainty and Danger XUE Yali Chinese Journal of Sociology    2012, 32 (4): 214-231.   Abstract （1927）      PDF（pc） （1403KB）（503）       Knowledge map    Save Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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