Rural Women Climb Poverty

WITHIN the past 15 year economic development in China has experienced an unprecedented leap forward. However, much like the widely varied geography of China, great economic differences exist across this vast country. In 1984 the State Council designated 14 areas as poor areas in China. Most of these areas are distributed throughout th remote, western mountainous region, an in some densely populated communities of ethnic groups. A number of peasants in these areas still go without adequate food or clothing.     

UN Official Helps Chinese Rural Women Journey from Poverty to Empowerment

"ONE of the biggest challenges that the international society and this conference has confronted is the fight against poverty," said Dr. Leena M. Kirjavainen. a division director with Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) at the Fourth World Conference on Women (FWCW). "Today more than 550 million women live below the poverty line in rural areas worldwide. The feminization of poverty has become the major obstacle to the empowerment of women."     

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme: A Policy Solution to Rural Poverty in India?

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) was developed by the Indian government to reduce rural poverty through 100 days of guaranteed employment per year. Using focus group methods, we explore whether this scheme has provided rights' based social protection through guaranteed employment for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Odisha. We found that the experiences of participating in MGNREGA varied depending on how MGNREGA wages compared to market wages in the region, as well as local implementation of the program. Although MGNREGA offered some basic employment for marginalized groups, it did not provide substantial help to the most vulnerable. However, there was some evidence of small but significant shifts in labour relations. Higher wages, more opportunities for work, better implementation and a greater recognition of the caregiving responsibilities of women will be required for this policy to fully meet its goals.     

Modeling Family Economic Conditions and Young Children’s Development in Rural United States: Implications for Poverty Research

In this study we examined the additive and multiplicative relations between poverty status, material hardship, liquid assets, non-liquid assets, and children’s cognitive skills and social problems at 36?months. The data were from a representative sample of 1,292 children in six rural counties in the United States. Findings indicated that income, material hardship, and non-liquid assets explained unique variation in young children’s development. Material hardship was associated with more social problems for children. Poverty status was associated with lower cognitive skills, and non-liquid assets were associated with higher cognitive skills at 36?months. We concluded that models that estimate the relation between poverty and child outcomes without including measures of hardship and assets could be underspecified.     

Did Growing Rural Poverty and a Disruptive Climate Spur an Expansion in Rural Sociology? A Comparative Historical Analysis

Rural sociology first gained wide recognition during the 1930s when the intersection of economic depression and environmental crisis underlined the suffering of rural peoples. The historical conjuncture of growing rural poverty and environmental crisis has reappeared in the twenty‐first century. What does this recurring combination of circumstances portend for rural sociology? Does it imply a revival of the policy‐oriented sociological analyses of the 1930s? A comparative historical analysis of rural sociology during the New Deal, the post−World War II period, and the contemporary era suggests a qualified answer to this question. The contemporary era resembles the 1930s in providing compelling rationales for engaged scholarship, but the cross‐class coalitions between government social scientists and the rural poor that characterized the 1930s have not materialized in the twenty‐first century. Despite this difference, some common themes, such as a growing emphasis on interdisciplinary research, a primary concern with rural poverty, and an increased interest in the distinguishing features of resilient communities, have characterized scholarship during both periods. These similarities suggest that the practice of applied and engaged scholarship, so prevalent in the rural sociology of the 1930s, has found new traction in dealing with the social and ecological problems of twenty‐first‐century rural communities.     

Shanxi Cuisine——Beijing Eatery Offers Provincial Fare

JINYANG Restaurant, located on Zhushikou Xidajie, is the only restaurant serving Shanxi-style dishes and snacks in Beijing, and has been doing so for the past 30 years. From the time it opened, the restaurant has employed cooks with consummate skills from different areas of Shanxi Province who have introduced to the restaurant the famous dishes and snacks from their regions. The dishes they prepare are varied; some are spicy, others are light, crispy, thoroughly cooked or fragrant, but all are tempting to the large number of     

Platform for Action Guides Chinese Women

THE intense excitement of the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women (FWCW) waned, with Chinese women realizing the heavy commitments outlined in the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action. The documents, which represent the grand goals women have set for realizing their emancipation, will surely be fulfilled through the arduous efforts of women throughout the world. A look back at the past year following the release of the Platform for Action reveals the earnest and effective efforts Chinese women have made for realizing     

From the Editor—Social Work Education for New Times

Abstract

A content analysis of 266 recommendation letters showed that males are more often associated with so-called male stereotype traits, while females are more often associated with so-called female stereotype traits. This outcome follows Gilligan's (1982) different voice theory: There are gender-based differences in values. It is argued that male and female voices should be merged to strengthen social work education and the profession and that an artificial male-female dichotomy should not set up.     

From Play to Art—From Experience to Insight

This article investigates the role of play and playlike activities (imagination, art) in developing and using symbolic tools. We understand processes of development of symbolic tools as coordination between two types of relationships: the subject–object relationships and the subject–subject relationships. This coordination begins when a new, playlike frame of activity is introduced in the interaction. The imaginary frame of activity changes relationships between the participants. Furthermore, the imaginary activity frame may enter into interaction with the out-of-play activity frames (“reality” frames). Structures and relationships built within the imaginary frames are then used to shape the actual understanding of the world (subject–object relationship) as well as the interpersonal relationships and identities of the participants.

Introduction and further development of imaginary frames is a recursive process that takes place on different but related time scales: from microdevelopment through ontogenetic development to cultural development. Our project was designed to demonstrate some of the key moments that occur in the symbolic construction, in an “untangled” manner. To that effect, we designed a drama workshop to outline and illustrate processes that take place at the point of introduction of a new, imaginary frame and at the point when this imaginary frame begins to interact with the out-of-play frames. The aim of the workshop was to magnify each stage in construction of semiotic tools by “walking” professional researchers through a series of playlike activities.     

From Poverty Reduction to Mutual Interests? The Debate on Differentiation in EU Development Policy

Aid to middle‐income countries has become one of the most discussed issues among development researchers and in the current modernisation of the development policy of the European Union. This article argues that the question needs to be dealt with in the context of two interlinked challenges: (i) the need to reconceptualise dominant approaches to global poverty reduction beyond national income, and (ii) the growing range of global challenges and the strategically important role of middle‐income countries. For EU development policy, the implications are twofold: (i) a better‐co‐ordinated cross‐country division of labour, and (ii) a diversification of objectives towards a global rationale of development policy involving closer co‐ordination with other EU external policies.     

A Portrait of America’s Children: The Impact of Poverty and a Call to Action

The responsibility for children's services is disseminated between a multitude of advocacy organizations, social service agencies, and numerous departments within our government. A lack of conceptual integration and fiscal commitment is evident at the federal, state, and local levels. The examination of poverty and children's lack of economic security, inadequate medical care, homelessness, and nutrition inadequacies reveals a portrait of America's children that is both unsettling and alarming. The paper concludes with a call for action and the commitment that will be required to rectify this problem.     

Pasang——From Serf to State Master

WHEN we sat down facing each other, I could hardly believe this woman was the former Vice Chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Regional People's Government, now Vice-Secretary of the autonomous regional Committee of the CPC and its committee of the CPPCC. This plain looking and soberly dressed woman is Pasang, a high official grown from a serf. Looking at her weather-worn face, I guessed her age. What surprised me is     

Get Rid of Poverty—Visiting Xihaigu Region in Ningxia

The eight counties in the southern Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region is referred to Xihaigu, where severe natural conditions—intense winds and lack of rain—make it one of the poorest regions in China since ancient times. In 1983, the Chinese     

Improving Health Services for Rural Pregnant and Lying-in Women——Achievements in the Reproductive Health Program of Chinese Women

FROM 1992 to 1997, the All-China Women's Federation organized and implemented a reproductive health program for Chinese women, which was sponsored by the American Ford Foundation. The program was divided into two phases. The first phase, lasting from 1992 to 1994, focused on locating problems and studying them. Women's federations from 16 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions throughout China formed a research group and conducted extensive studies in a variety of fields while cooperating with experts from sociology, medicine     

Friends From Different Countries Long for the FWCW

“WE regard the UN's decision to have China host the FWCW as a natural and logical choice," said Mr. Farid Rahman, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)'s area representative in China and Mongolia, when meeting our staff reporter.     

“What About the Rest of Us?” An Overview of LGBT Poverty Issues and a Call to Action

In this article, I argue that, despite the myth of gay affluence, existing research is conclusive enough to claim that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) adults are overall less financially secure than their heterosexual, cisgendered counterparts. I demonstrate that LGBT poverty is a broad social issue that can no longer be viewed as affecting only specific subpopulations of LGBT communities. I argue that the social work profession and the LGBT movement need to recognize LGBT poverty as a social issue. I then present a call to action for social work practitioners, researchers and LGBT organizations.