通向城市的阶梯--20世纪后期一个苏北村庄的教育志

燕鸣坊是苏北的一个村庄,这里的现代教育事业从新中国成立后才开始。该村教育事业在20世纪下半叶的曲折发展过程,折射出中国当代农村教育史的一般面貌。在国家现代化的宏观背景下,学校设施于50年代初在教育资源贫乏的当地扎下了根,从而扩大了农民子弟受教育的机会。但是,80年代以后学费的暴涨又使之成为当地农民的重负。乡村教育的普及并没有明显地成为该村发展的动力。相反,在以城市为中心的社会格局的影响下,它的最突出的功能只能在于使村庄倾力培养的人才通过“高考”离开乡村,进而成为作为社会上升标志的城市社会中的一员。     

Class analysis from a normative perspective

Distinguishing between an explanatory and a normative interest in social stratification, this paper considers the relation between class analysis and the value of equality. Starting from the familiar distinction between (in)equality of position and (in)equality of opportunity, and noting the extent to which mobility research focuses on the latter, it suggests that class positions can themselves be characterized in terms of the opportunities they yield to those occupying them. This enables the clear identification of the kinds of inequality that are and are not addressed by research findings presented in terms of class categories and odds ratios. The significance of those findings from a normative perspective is then discussed, and their limitations are emphasized--though the paper also explains in what ways they are indeed of normative relevance.     

The Social and Policy Predictors of Driving Mobility Among Older Adults

This research was designed to identify the impact of state driver's license renewal requirements on the driving mobility (i.e., the reduction or cessation of driving) of older (70 years or older) drivers in the United States. Nationally representative data from four waves (1993–2000) of the Asset and Health Dynamics of the Oldest Old study were linked to state policies on relicensing and used in a longitudinal logistic regression analysis. The author assessed the driving behaviors of a sample of 9,638 men and women. The findings demonstrate that the driving mobility of older people is influenced by state relicensing policies. The analysis indicates that five policies—accelerated renewal, mental testing, peripheral vision testing, renewal in person at age 70+ (as opposed to renewal by mail or online), and restricted licensing—have a significant effect on an older driver's decision to reduce or cease driving. The driving patterns of older adults are influenced not only by their health and socioeconomic backgrounds, but also by state relicensing policies. In terms of public policy, this result shows that there is a mechanism for extending the years of independent mobility for older people: restricted licensing.     

Resolving Mobility Constraints Impeding Rural Seniors' Access to Regionalized Services

Rural and small town places in developed economies are aging. While attention has been paid to the local transportation needs of rural seniors, fewer researchers have explored their regional transportation needs. This is important given policies that have reduced and regionalized many services and supports. This article explores mobility constraints impeding rural seniors' access to regionalized services using the example of northern British Columbia. Drawing upon several qualitative studies, we explore geographical, maintenance, organizational, communication, human resources, infrastructure, and financial constraints that affect seniors' regional mobility. Our findings indicate that greater coordination across multiple government agencies and jurisdictions is needed and more supportive policies and resources must be in place to facilitate a comprehensive regional transportation strategy. In addition to discussing the complexities of these geographies, the article identifies innovative solutions that have been deployed in northern British Columbia to support an aging population. This research provides a foundation for developing a comprehensive understanding of the key issues that need to be addressed to inform strategic investments in infrastructure and programs that support the regional mobility and, hence, healthy aging of rural seniors.     

Pushed or pulled? Entrepreneurial behaviour among immigrants as a strategy to cope with negative social identity

Migratory movements are one of the most remarkable demographic, social and psychological phenomena in today’s world. For the people involved, these migrations pose a radical change in environment and in their lives as they face adaptation to new perceptions, values and behaviours. All these lead to major challenges and repercussions for their personal and social identities. Using the Theory of Social Identity as our interpretative framework, together with a qualitative methodology based on semi-structured interviews, we have researched the entrepreneurial behaviour seen in 94 immigrants. We show the strategies adopted by these immigrants for personal mobility, social creativity and social competition to cope with the negative social identity derived from the occupational segregation and socio-labour exclusion they experience in the labour market and as mechanisms for psychosocial adaptation to the social, political, economic and labour characteristics in their environment.     

Overcoming the odds: constricted ethnicity in middle-class Romà

How are different ethnic groups dealing with upward social mobility and assimilation? This is a large question that social research has tried to address in recent decades. In the United States, this issue has been framed by the theory of segmented assimilation. In Europe, regarding the Romà, the assumption still exists that upward mobility paths are intrinsically associated with a loss of ethnic identity, due to a process of full acculturation to the mainstream. In this article, through an analysis of 48 in-depth interviews with middle-class Romà in Spain, we identify other mobility paths, such as selective acculturation, that exist in addition to full acculturation. In this sense, we observe how symbolic differences exist between those middle-class Romà who live in an ethnic enclave and have a strong network of support and those who do not. In most cases, middle-class Romà tend to live outside the enclave and experience what we have called constricted ethnicity.     

Fairtrade credentialism: towards understanding certified producer organizations’ perceptions of Fairtrade as a credential

ABSTRACT

Fairtrade is a transnational voluntary labelling initiative that aims to upgrade the social, economic, and environmental conditions of producers in developing countries. In this paper, we systematically translated, coded, and analysed open-ended responses from a global survey of Fairtrade producers to explore how Fairtrade operates as a credential. The credentialism literature sheds light on Fairtrade's ability to create social and economic mobility, the operation of positive and negative selection processes and the hidden curriculum. We conclude with research and policy recommendations, including the need for the research community and Fairtrade International to track and monitor initial conditions of Fairtrade producers and measure progress over time to improve understanding of how Fairtrade operates as a credential and structures the social and economic mobility of developing country producers.     

Competing frames of immigrant integration in the EU: geographies of social inclusion in Italian regions

After the federal reform of 2001, Italian regions have gained greater autonomy in matters of social policy, including immigrant integration. In this paper, we assess frames of immigrant integration in eight Italian regions, i.e. Piedmont, Veneto and Emilia-Romagna in the North, Umbria, Marche and Abruzzi in the Centre, Basilicata and Calabria in the South, against the EU equal treatment and mobility rights-based regime. Through a diachronic analysis of the regions' official documents on immigrants' integration approved in the period 2000–2010, we shall consider: (1) the policy priorities identified and the measures funded and (2) the implementation structures. The analysis points out how the frames of immigrant integration emerging at a regional level shape different geographies of social inclusion which are sometimes openly in contradiction with the EU discourse on equal treatment and mobility rights. Immigration is perceived more as an economic asset for local labour markets' unsatisfied demand for low-qualified, flexible, and often informal workers, rather than as a strategic resource for the realisation of a competitive and knowledge-based European economy.     

Public policies affecting ethnic minorities in China

The original hypothesis of this research was that China has developed public policies to protect the rights and interests of its ethnic minorities. Using literature and web materials from different sources, however, the authors were unable to obtain findings to test this hypothesis. Nevertheless, from an analysis of 31 articles and books, eight research and news websites, and three Chinese government websites, we found three discussion areas on the relationship between public policies and ethnic minorities in China. These three areas are the characteristics of ethnic minorities in China, the theoretical underpinnings of studies of ethnic minorities in China, and recent migration patterns that affect ethnic minority populations. Limited by using scarce resources from existing literature, including general demographic and government websites, this article analyses whether policies have been formed to help ethnic minorities to be economically and politically productive.

本研究最原先的假设是中国已发展了一系列的公共政策以保护境内少数民族的权益。但是,作者无法从不同的文献和网络等获得资料以考证这个假设。不过,通过对三十一篇文章和书籍,八个研究及新闻网站,和三个中国政府的官方网站的分析后,我们发现有关研究中国公共政策和少数民族关系的三个范畴。这三个领域包括:中国少数民族的特征,中国少数民族的理论基础研究,以及近代移民模式对少数民族的影响。用现今有限的文献,包括一般人口资料和政府网站,本文分析了协助少数民族提高经济和政治生产力的政策是否已经形成。     

人类个体出行行为的统计实证

统计了欧洲某城市230位居民在6周内的出行活动中的停留时间分布和出行距离分布。首先假设人类出行的停留时间和距离在群体和个体水平上都符合幂律分布,然后用最大似然估计法对这些分布的幂指数进行估计,最后用Kolmogorov-Smirnov检验法对假设的真伪性进行检验。结果发现:在停留时间分布方面,无论在群体水平还是个体水平上都不具有幂律分布特征,而是以相对幂律分布更高的概率进行长时间停留;在出行距离分布方面,群体的出行距离服从带有指数截断的幂律分布,但有198个个体的出行距离分布并不具有幂律特征,而是在某个特征性距离上出现峰值。对这些统计特征的形成机制进行了解释。