Toward a Historical Sociology of COVID-19: Path Dependence Method and Temporal Connections

Encountering the unprecedented social crisis of COVID-19, an increasing number of sociologists are calling for historical sociology to engage empirically with the dynamics of the COVID-19 crisis. I present the “path dependence method” and the “temporal connections” to interpret social life during the COVID-19 pandemic. By using the path dependence method, I show how the personal, social, and national problems created by the COVID-19 crisis initiate a new path and furthermore how this newly created path is justified in a society. Through the temporal connections, I will show how non-Western countries responded more reasonably and quickly than most Western countries to the COVID-19 crisis. The overall aim of this research is to disclose effectiveness of historical sociology, to encourage researchers to think time variable, and to argue that linking historical-sociological knowledge to the COVID-19 crisis would be a positive step for an in-depth COVID-19 sociology.     

Forging a Pure Military Identity: The Rise of Jurchen Heritage in Northeast Asia (15th–17th Century)

Prominent studies of the Qing dynasty's military evolution in the field of comparative military history, which is heavily dependent on the binary conception of “West–China,” have failed to present the early military heritage of the dynasty. Unlike previous studies, this paper aims to find a new voice for the early Qing military inheritance, as a reflection of past West–China comparative studies that have continued to discriminate between Western and Chinese military merits and demerits and to ignore the early Qing military approach. By presenting the economic and military interconnections between the Manchu (the Jianzhou Jurchens, the Jianzhou confederation, and Nurhaci), Ming, and Chosŏn, this article reveals that early economic and military development through border trade, tributary trade, and predatory behaviors enabled the Manchus to establish the Later Jin and Qing states. Understanding early Manchu military history helps us put forward an important but less studied military heritage of Qing.     

Selective exposure to partisan media: Moderating factors in evaluations of the president

The conditions in which moderating factors – media trust, mediabias, and political ideology – increase or limit the approval ratings of a politician in a partisan media environment were investigated using data obtained from the 2010 Pew survey. The findings show that media trust and media bias intensify negative presidential evaluations among consumers of conservative news programs, whereas these factors do not influence presidential approval among consumers of liberal news programs. The findings also reveal that conservatives tend to choose to be exposed to news messages that are congenial to their ideological orientations, while liberals select a more balanced diet of news messages. This study proposes that moderating factors have different effects on conservative and liberal news consumers.     

Bridging the territorial divide: immigrants’ cross-border communication and the spatial dynamics of their kin networks

The transnational perspective emphasises the persistence of immigrants’ home country connections, yet existing research adds little to our understanding of the mechanisms by which cross-border ties are maintained. We use nationally representative data of immigrants in Spain to describe changes in their kin network and study how two characteristics, migration stage (whether kin already resided in Spain at the time of emigration and whether any kin remained in the birth country (BC) at the time of interview) and relationship-specific locations of kin (children, parents, spouse, siblings), influence the frequency of cross-border communication. We find an expansion in the total number of kin largely due to childbearing and marriage. The average fraction of migrants’ immediate kin in Spain shifts from 6% to 41%. The presence of at least one kin in the BC increases the frequency of cross-border communication, but with the exception of siblings, the presence of family already in Spain at the time of emigration does not. Siblings and parents were far more likely to retain a BC presence, but they were less likely than spouses or children to be contacted daily. While these ties are generally long-lasting, communication wanes as immigrant embeddedness in the receiving country grows.     

Factors Related to the Institutionalization of Older Aged Individuals Using Home- and Community-Based Care Services: Data From the South Korea Long-Term Care Insurance Program, 2008–2013

South Korea introduced a public long-term care insurance (LTCI) program in response to its rapidly aging population. This study analyzed the association between living arrangement and caregiver type with institutionalization in LTCI grade 1 (very severe limitations), 2 (severe limitations), and 3 (moderate limitations) beneficiaries using data from the LTCI cohort, 2008 to 2013. The dependent variable was alteration status from home to institutional care within 1 year of receiving home service. Independent variables were living arrangement and primary caregiver type. The analysis was conducted using the generalized estimating equation model. Higher likelihoods of institutionalization were found in individuals living with a non-family member compared to individuals living with their spouses. Individuals without a caregiver or with a paid caregiver were also more likely to experience institutionalization than individuals with a spouse primary caregiver. Our findings underscore the importance of monitoring identified vulnerable groups of individuals to attain LTCI sustainability and enhance elderly quality of life.     

Multigenerational care or parental care? Familial care types,social–emotional development and mediation of parent–child relationship of single-parent children in mainland China

Children from single-parent families are at risk for problems related to social–emotional development (SED). This study investigated the associations between familial care types and single-parent children's SED, and the possible pathways through the mediation of parent–child relationship. This study analysed 431 single-parent children (50.0% girls) drawn from a local database with a total of 2507 children studying in Grades 4 to 8. We compared the SED of single-parent children in multigenerational care and those in parental care. We then tested the possible mediating effect of parent–child relationship between familial care types and children's SED. The study found that there were no deficits in the SED of single-parent children in multigenerational care compared with those in parental care. Multigenerational care had no direct relationship with the SED of single-parent children after the mediator of the parent–child relationship was entered. The parent–child relationship mediated the associations between familial care types and four dimensions of the single-parent children's SED. These findings provided support for multigenerational and parental care, and also directions for family care strategies and developing social service programmes to promote the SED of single-parent children in China.     

An Ecological Approach to Understanding Youth Violence: The Mediating Role of Substance Use

The authors tested an ecological model that posits mediating variables (substance use and mental health) in the association between ecological factors (family closeness, school closeness, and peer closeness) and youth violence in a sample of 4,783 adolescents. Model including substance use present significantly less total effect between ecological factors and youth violence than do models without substance use. Additional probing of significant mediation effect using the Sobel test was performed and suggested that substance use did function as a mediator in the hypothesized path. Considerations of adolescent violence should recognize the possible role of ecological factors and how their influence may vary by substance use.     

Child maltreatment in China: An ecological review of the literature

This article presents findings of a systematic review of empirical studies on child maltreatment in China that were published in either English or Chinese. The review uses Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory as a lens to examine risk and protective factors of child maltreatment within micro-, meso-, exo-, macro-, and chrono- system levels. A search of 5 electronic bibliographic databases and websites identified 24 outcome studies on child maltreatment in China, which included studies that examined physical/emotional/sexual abuse, and neglect. The most direct influences of child maltreatment in the micro-level system include the parent-child relationship and intergenerational transmission of abuse. At the macro-system level, maltreatment is explained by cultural values such as filial piety and familism. In essence, different factors are found within the various system levels that indicate the complexities of the factors that influence child maltreatment. Throughout the article, we highlight the need to understand the cultural dynamics, values, and mores of Chinese families. The discussion includes practical suggestions and implications for intervention with children, parents, and grandparents that school teachers, social workers, policy makers, and researchers can utilize.