The Jamaican fishing study reinterpreted

The data obtained in the Jamaican fishing study (Davenport, 1960) and the analysis imposed are reconsidered. The assumptions of both the game theory approach and a Bayesian analysis (Kozelka, 1969) are criticised and an alternative market model is presented. It is shown that if fish prices fluctuate according to a simple model of supply and demand then the strategic behaviour of the fishing captains can be explained.     

The socio-cultural context of child marriage in a Bangladeshi village

This article focuses on the reasons for child marriage in a Bangladeshi village. Although the mean age of marriage for women in Bangladesh is currently 20.2, nearly half of all girls are married before the age of 18. In Bangladesh, female sexuality is controlled through early marriage and the custom of purdah , which limits the social interactions between men and women. The methodology of this research was participant observation, supplemented by questionnaires, discussions, interviews and the construction of case studies. The study was conducted in a village in Bangladesh, and looked at why the rural people of Bangladesh marry off their daughters at an early age, whether they think that they will profit from it, and how. Cost-benefit analysis in exchange theory provides the theoretical framework. This study finds that child marriage occurs as a result of the profit-making motive of the people of Bangladesh, despite the huge costs to the individuals involved, the local community and society as a whole.     

The status of women in rural India: a village study

This paper examines the status of rural Indian women and how their status has been affected by progressive legislation designed to remove previous inequalities. A socio-demographic survey of women and adolescent girls was conducted in a Maharashtrian village of 2100 people in 1975-76. The village economy was based on subsistence agriculture with 94% of females and 84% of males engaged in farming. Data were collected by means of participant observation and questionnaire interviews. Overall levels of education were low, with only 5% of females and 15% of males having any high school education. Over 50% of females had received no education, 28% of males. Inequalities between males and females persisted throughout all age groups but were less obvious at younger ages. 97% of women felt that boys should attend school beyond the primary level, 75% said that girls should. Many adolescent girls said they would like to continue their education but admitted that they would soon marry and advanced education was unnecessary. 62% of women favored modern medicine but 57% still felt that smallpox was a punishment from the gods; fewer educated women than illiterate women answered this way. Average age of marriage was 14.1 years; 69% of the women felt that girls should be married by age 16, but 70% believed that boys should not marry until age 18 so that they can complete their studies. 62% of women who had discussed family size with their husbands also approved of eating together and 55% felt that joint discussion was preferable. Only 25% felt that large families meant greater happiness and on the average 3.4 children (2 sons, 1.4 daughters) were preferred; over 75% said that they would exceed their ideal family size if they had borne only daughters. The local family planning program was approved by 90% of the women and use has increased from 13-43% from 1966-76. Low caste was related to low levels of education for women, but there is little difference in the number of children ever born; the disparity is mainly in regard to living children with mortality highest among lower castes. Age differences existed such as: 52% of the youngest group can read and write compared to only 14% of older women, age at marriage is rising, and older women had more communication with their husbands, but also had larger families. It was found in this study that: 1) attitudes were more modern than behavior, and 2) modern practices most practical to apply to their daily lives were more easily accepted. What is needed is a broad-based educational program to demonstrate current failures to observe the legislation favoring greater equality for women. Rural schools should help to transmit modern concepts by way of organizing school trips to outside areas. For these women, modern ideas must be proven relevant and acceptable within the village milieu. Also included is a list of social reforms and legislation affecting women's status in India from 1795-present.     

The social support networks of care leavers from a children's village in Ghana: formal and informal supports

In the past few decades, the number of children requiring out‐of‐home care in the developing world has risen sharply. Many children end up in institutions where they make a transition to adulthood. Little is however known about the social support available to young people during and after they leave care. This study examines the sources and kinds of support as well as the barriers to social support for a group of care leavers from a children's village in Ghana. The participants used a combination of formal and informal sources for their support needs. The formal sources provided mostly financial and practical support, whereas the informal sources offered emotional and informational support. The barriers to access included the attitude of the staff and SOS adults and limited cultural skills of the care leavers. Recommendations for removing the barriers and improving social support for care leavers are offered in the final part of the study.     

Prototypes for modern living: planning,sociology and the model village in inter-war Romania

This article reassesses the concept of the ‘model village’ in the context of inter-war debates about rural development in Romania and in Europe more widely through the story of Dioti, a small locality in south-western Romania that was reconstructed as a model village after a great fire in 1938. Imagined by Dimitrie Gusti, the founding father of Romanian sociology, and realized under the auspices of the authoritarian King Carol II, Dio?ti was the outcome of a longer process of imagining a model of rural modernization for Romania that was tightly connected to and influenced by international agendas of reforming and improving rural living conditions. This project offers an opportunity to examine the interplay between the local, national and international levels of rural modernization as they were shaped by the disciplines of architecture, rural planning and sociology. Finally, the article also engages with the concept of the model itself, asking how and why models of rural living were used to produce or manage social change.     

村级治理中的村民代表--关于村民代表会议制度效能的讨论

村民代表会议制度是村级治理中民主决策、民主监督和民主管理的核心。正是村民代表的代表能力构成了特定的村庄基础。只有通过制度建设使村民代表会议制度提供给村民和村干部的收益大于建设所需的成本 ,村民代表会议制度才有良性发展的希望 ,其效能也会因此增强。     

当代中国乡村社区重建的传统资源——以徽州村庄为例

从徽州村庄颇具特色的传统文化资源延续方式和地方社会变迁轨迹入手,得出一些关于自治性村庄的基本判断以及基本命题,并将之运用于当代中国乡村社区重建和乡村善治之间的互动关系研究,进而推及中国乡村复兴与构建和谐社会的路径分析。     

从革命到后革命:一个村庄政治运动的历史轨迹——兼论阶级话语对于历史的建构

政治运动是 2 0世纪 5 0～ 70年代我国用以塑造革命化社会权威与秩序的重要方式 ,作为影响此一时期社会发展的一个重要现象 ,其本身又存在着自身的发展走向和惯性 ,即从革命到后革命状态的历史变奏。运用口述史和田野调查的方法考察某一村庄政治运动的历史 ,场景化地展示这一走向和惯性在微观场域中的演绎 ,可以进一步揭示出国家权威性政治话语与具体历史事件之间的动态关系