Self-Reported Social Status among Rural Residents:A Case in the Outskirts of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Metropolitan Region

China has in recent decades undergone profound changes and continues to do so—changes that are transforming the social fabric, motivating studies on how self-reported social status is changing in different parts of China. Applying a realist approach, the study emanates from theories on self-reported social status underlining the role of reference-groups, adding insights from the work of Pierre Bourdieu by introducing the terminology of habitus and types of capital. Furthermore, the study adds a ...     

The Role and Functions of the Subconscious in Cognition

The subconscious, of which man is not directly aware, always playsa role, together with consciousness, in the formation and development ofthought. It is a special element in the entire process of thought since itreflects both the biological and social attributes of man. There have beena large number of studies on the subconscious, but most of them haveapproached it from a psychological angle in terms of instinct, sexualdeterminism and irrationality, and the field is confused and problematic.I …     

The Institutional Environment of “Mutual Interpenetration of Scholars and Merchants” after the Mid-Ming:From the Perspective of Changes in Government Policy

The “mutual interpenetration of scholars and merchants” was a noticeable social phenomenon after the mid Ming. The appearance of this phenomenon had complex and deep-rooted social causes, among which institutional factors deserve attention, specifically, changes and adjustments in government policy     

An Investigation of the Practice of Respecting Civil and Commercial Customs in the Early Republican Period

In spite of frequent changes in political power and social unrest in the early Republican period, state organs and social organizations showed great concern and respect for the popular customs.     

Investigation into Current Social Capital in Rural Areas

This paper aspires to understand the true picture of current social life in the Chi-nese countryside through an investigation of social capital in rural Shandong involving a questionnaire survey and personal interviews. The authors divide the investigation into five parts: general mood of society, public participation, philosophy of life, sense of trust and safety, and network of relations and then, with the Parsons model analytical approach and the “traditional-modern” dual analytical frame…     

Political Characteristics,Efficiency Errors and Development Space:A Realistic and Rational Assessment of NGOs

The study in China of newly emerging social groups generally follows the idea of governance prevalent in the West and pro- vides an optimistic interpretation of relevant theories. However, studies proceeding from the perspective of such fixed value judgments overlook social groups’ uncertainty in a par- ticular political environment and efficiency errors in their organizational operation. The political nature and organizational efficiency errors of NGOs When people talk about the nature and…     

ABSTRACTS

（ 1 ） Status and Function of Social Work in Innovating Social Governance System： A Basic-Service Type Social Governance Wang Sibin
This paper aims to discuss the following issues from two dimensions： First, the rationale of a reform from social management to social governance in the context of modernizing state governance system and state capacity of governance; Second, the logic behind social governance from social work perspective; Third, the main areas of social work profession in participating social governance from ideological, institu- tional and principal dimensions. Based on the above issues, the author argues that social work has a spe- cial role in social governance with a basic and service-oriented feature. Moreover, it is important for so- cial work professionals to strengthen their capacities by effective service delivery and policy advocacy in order to realize the objectives of social governance     

SPCIAL ISSUE： MIGRANT WORKERS IN THE COURSE OF URBANIZATION Introduction

The term ＂nongmin gong＂ （migrant workers, or literally, peasant/farmer-workers） was non- existent in any Chinese dictionary before the 1970s, and no equivalent may be found in an English dictionary even today. The seemingly contradictory combination of ＂peasant＂ and ＂worker＂ most accurately expresses the nature and social status of a large group in today＇s Chinese society. Members of this group are industrial workers in term of occupation, yet remain peasants in terms of status： they do not share the same rights as urban residents in the state redistributive system, even though they have ＂washed the mud off their feet,＂ and left their farmland to find employment in cities.     

Reconstituting China's Social Security System——A Survey of the Seminaron Theory and Practice of Social Welfare

As China's market-oriented economic reforms deepen, an urgent task lying ahead of us is to develop, standardize and improve the system of social security. What, however, is meant by a unified, standardized and perfect social security system? How can we institute such a system? These questions remain urgently in need of study.This then was the setting of a national seminar on "The Theory and Practice of Social     

ABSTRACTS

（1）An Introduction of Professor Yuan Fang＇ s Social Work Educational Thought and Practice in Pro- moting Professional Development
Professor Yuan Fang is one of the forerunners in the restoration of social work profession in China and has profound social work educational thought. He defines social work as a professional discipline which should have solid sociology theory foundation and be supported by the social welfare and social security system in responding multiple needs of vulnerable population. Sociology can be viewed as a broader vision of social work. Social welfare and social security system is the institutional base to prac- tice social work and professional social work provides an important way to solve problems of the vul- nerable. He argues that social work should be professionalized and social work education should be closely tied with practical sectors. His thought plays an important role in directing social work＇ s resto- ration and its future development in China.     

SPECIAL ISSUE： GLOBALIZATION AND CONTEMPORARY CHINESE CULTURAL CONSTRUCTION：Introduction： building contemporary Chinese culture in the context of globalization

Building contemporary Chinese culture is a very important research topic in the context of globalization. It involves almost the entire domain of philosophy, the humanities and the social sciences, coveting every aspect of life in Chinese society. The three aspects below are the most important for this task.     

Abstracts of Liaoning''''s Economic & Social Development in 2005

The due economic guideline in 2005 is as follows. The total production value of the province increases above 10%. The retail total volume of social consumable increases 11 %, and the investment for social fixed assets increases above 20%. The export volume in foreign trade increases 15%, and the foreign businesspersons' investment used practically increases 20%. The common budget income of local finance increases 11%. The per dweller's income in     

Disequilibrium in the Changing Relationships between Chinese Social Strata

The issue of changes in the rules gov-erning the operation of the relations be-tween the social strata and their recon-structionAnother change in the relations betweenthe social strata since the inception of re-form is the change in their operating rules.Before the start of the reform,the relationsbetween social strata were basically deter-mined and controlled by the state throughcoercion.Hence policy and institutional ruleshad decisive effects on the relations betweensocial strata.Such operat…     

A Microsimulation of the Old-age Pension Policy

The old-age pension system is an important constituent part of the social security system in China, but in this respect revenue and expenditure are increasingly out of balance and the pressure in financial expenditure is increasing. At present, old-age pension institutional restructuring has become a hot topic in society and in academic circles,     

Journals Published by Social Sciences in China Press

Social Sciences in China 《中国社会科学》 A bimonthly of 208 pagesSocial Sciences in China (Chinese edition), a bimonthly starting from January 1980 and focusing in the latest and the most important developments in various areas of social science and humanities, is administrated and sponsored by Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Known for its persistent pursuit after academic rigor and innovation, and the unity of theory with practice, the journal, drawing much attention from the intelle…     

An Ethical Consideration of the Institutional Arrangement

If viewed from the angle of sociological ethics, a social system is a standard institution of social relations and social behavior. Once coming into being, the institutional norms of a social system must impose a certain     

The Popularity of Clothing Made from Machine-woven Cloth in the Late Qing Dynasty and Its Social and Cultural Significance

Dress customs are relatively stable in a period of stable social and economic conditions, and even pass from generation to generation with little change. However, in a period of social and economic upheaval customs will undergo greater changes. New styles of dress may appear or even come into vogue, evolving into a new convention.     

The Process of Urbanization and the Protection of Peasants'''' Rights and Interests

The concern of the Chinese world of learning over the existing problems of urbanization is concentrated at present on environmental pollution, traffic jams, tight accommodation, increasing unemployment and social disorder, and little attention is given to the damage to peasants' rights and interests as a matter of overriding importance for the development of urbanization. This phenomenon is rooted in the theoretical hypoth-     

Changes in Gender Structure During the Process of De-agriculturalization in Rural Areas South of the Changjiang River

I. BackgroundSince the 1980s China has been experiencing a rapid transformationin rural areas brought about by de-agriculturalization. Non-farm producein the rural areas in Jiangsu, a province with a high degree of deagriculturalization, accounted for 85% of the total social product of theseareas in 1995. In southern Jiangsu, e. g., Wuxi prefecture, the figurewas as high as 96. 1%. 1 Non-farm industries have replaced traditionalagriculture as the leading industries in rural areas.The proces…